Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy Oi Oi Oi! Past Review
By Maren K (Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication., Drake University) for
The Education Abroad Network (TEAN): Gold Coast - Bond University
I had a friend who went through the exact same program a year prior, so I thought had an idea as to what to expect. However, the truth is, traveling abroad is something only YOU can experience and understand. No matter what other people say. The friends I made and the memories I will have forever on my trip to Australia are unexplainable, something I will cherish forever! I am thrilled I made the decision to study abroad, and if given the opportunity to do it again, I would do it in a second.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I thought the workload was similar to my school (Drake), but other people in my group found some classes to be more strenuous. I struggled to understand the grading scale originally, the Australian grading scale is fairly different than what we have in the states. The faculty were all very friendly and more than willing to talk to you if you had any questions. Since it's such a small university, the class sizes weren't too big. I found the rules and behavior during class to be a lot more relaxed than in the US. For example, students would be whispering/talking while the teacher was giving the lesson and people seemed to come and go as they pleased. Bond is a small private university and close to 50% of their student body is made up of people from other countries - a great way to meet people from outside of Australia! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I was thoroughly impressed with The Education Abroad Network (TEAN) as a program. I talked to friends who used other programs and they weren't offered nearly as much for the price in comparison to TEAN. The people we were in contact with while in Australia were so helpful, even if we had a silly question about how to get to the grocery store. The orientation was one of the best parts of the trip and our leader made the trip so special. The program size was a little over 40, which I thought was perfect. We got to know each other really well and became a little family. I would recommend TEAN to anyone who is looking to go to Australia, New Zealand, China or Southeast Asia. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I lived in off campus apartments in Broadbeach, which meant I was a 2 minute walk to the beach but a 15 minute bus ride to campus. The rooms were fully furnished with access to indoor and outdoor pools, a workout room and close to a shopping center and an awesome nightlife. Majority of the kids in my program lived in the off campus apartments and we all loved it! The only downside was that I felt distant to the kids living on campus, and I think if I had stayed a whole semester I would have wanted to live on campus. |
| * Food: |
The food wasn't too different from what we eat in the states. Most brands at the grocery store aren't the same as what we have at home, but it was easy to discover what we liked/didn't like. If you eat meat, I highly recommend trying kangaroo! There are plenty of good restaurants in the Broadbeach area to chose from, as well as Surfers Paradise (a 15 minute bus ride from Broadbeach). |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Hands down my favorite thing that was organized by TEAN was the Sydney Harbour bridge climb during orientation. When we got to the Gold Coast, we were introduced to our resident director who was eager to get to know us all. TEAN offered plenty of fun activities to do on the weekend including markets, rugby games, Australia's version of Oktoberfest, car shows and plenty of seasonal events. The week before we left, our entire program, organized and paid for by TEAN, had dinner at a nice restaurant for one last hurrah. I thought this was a great thing to end the semester with and celebrate all the fun times we had together. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Healthcare was easy to get because TEAN helped show us how to get it. No major additional precautions like vaccines were needed for this trip either. I have severe food allergies to all nuts and eggs, so my main concern was that I wouldn't be taken care of properly if an accident were to happen. After experiencing a semester there, I know if anything would have happened, I would have been in great hands. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Be prepared to pay quite a bit for your student visa (before you go over there). I had many friends to traveled to Europe and their student visas were hundreds of dollars less than mine. I think I paid around $700 for mine when everything was said and done. In Australia, their minimum wage is a lot higher than in the US so many things were more expensive in general. For example, a bottle of pop was $5, instead of the typical $1.50 we're used to here. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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