Bond Uni: The Best 4 Months of My Life Past Review
By Frank D (Marketing, Clemson University) for
The Education Abroad Network (TEAN): Gold Coast - Bond University
Meeting people from not only Australia, but places like Norway and Germany helps to give a great degree of cultural understanding. I did group projects with a girl from France, a guy from Thailand and a girl from China. Living abroad shows you just how much there is to see outside of the United States, and has shaped my future goals in life.
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. |
Australia places a huge emphasis on group projects compared to the US where most of your grade will be determined on how you do on individual assignments such as tests and quizzes. I also found the courses to be more based around writing papers than I was used to. With that being said, all my professors were excellent and were willing to make themselves available if you wanted to meet outside of class. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The program consisted of 40 people or so and we lived about 15 minutes away by bus. Having the group spread out made it difficult to organize things so everyone could easily attend, but overall our leader was very helpful. Several excellent events were arranged via facebook and email. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Compared to the accommodation that some of our peers in the program received, our place of residence only had the benefit of being close to class. There were a lot of add-ons, such as having a limited amount of electricity, and having to pay for laundry ($12 for two loads). However, we were able to easily make it to nightlife via bus or cab and could walk to class. I feel that it would have been preferable to live at Varsity Shores than Varsity Towers though. |
| * Food: |
The dining hall is the most popular option on campus but I would recommend going to Robina Town Centre or Pacific Fair and just buying groceries. My roommate and I would get $50 in groceries every 2 weeks and did just fine. If you are looking for a change of pace, Los Hombres is an excellent Mexican restaurant in Market Square. As far as drinks go, beer is very expensive, and most students resort to drinking boxed wine, or "goon" as it is affectionately called. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The trips to Sydney and Fiji were excellent bonding opportunities with the other students, and will forever be remembered fondly. These were some of the best weeks of my trip, which I have told everyone was the best four months of my life. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
You are living in a city, so be careful. However, I don't know of anyone that had any issues with safety during the four months there, and I mean anyone. |
| 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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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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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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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Bond is an excellent school, but also loves to party/surf. If that's not your scene, perhaps consider living in a bigger city where there are a wider variety of activities. I personally do not surf but still managed to have a great time. Also, be sure to check and see if your home school has a direct exchange with the school you are going to, as you may be able to save yourself a lot of money. |
