Opening Your Eyes to Australia's Natural and Cultural Worlds Past Review
By Allison N (Industrial Engineering, University of Wisconsin - Madison) for
The University of Queensland: Brisbane - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Definitely. 100%. Studying abroad allows someone to experience another country's culture in a pretty relaxed setting. My cultural awareness has increased greatly, and I now have future plans to travel to other parts of the world.
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Workload was much lighter because there was less homework, but exams were much more important because they accounted for most of your grade. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
My home institution did not help me out very much with my study abroad experience. My host university, on the other hand, gave us a lot of information about the school, city, country, etc. Our orientation sessions the first few days, although boring at times, were very informative and helped me get situated in Australia. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing is generally very expensive in Australia, since the standard of living is so much higher. I wish I had worked with the school's housing services instead of just looking on my own, though, as I heard their information is extremely helpful (and I had no information when renting on my own). |
| * Food: |
Compared to America, food in most other countries is not very high quality. Coming from Wisconsin, I found the quality of cheese in Australia very disappointing. Otherwise the food is pretty good, but again, expensive. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
No events were arranged by my program specifically, but I traveled to many different places. A few events were sponsored by a group called QUEST who introduces international students to Australia and help organize fun events to teach them about their culture. One my favorite events was a barbecue with common Australian foods. Otherwise it is very easy to plan trips by yourself or with friends. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Heath issues were addressed pretty well in our program, and the University has a very good health services center. I actually got sick while I was there and went to the on-campus hospital for free. Safety is also very good on campus and in the city. There are lights everywhere and crime is not very big issue. |
| 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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Language
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Australia's Marine Environment |
| Course Department: | MARS 2005 |
| Instructor: | Tibbetts |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This course was honestly amazing. I learned so much about the marine environment in and around Australia. This class is also predominately filled with Americans, so it was fun to meet other Americans while in another country. Also, we went on many field trips, where we enhanced our marine knowledge and friendships even further. The professor is extremely passionate about the subject and really encourages his students to get the most knowledge out of his class. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I did for one class, but I worked with my program adviser to get everything corrected. |
