Study Abroad in Australia: Best Semester of my "Uni" Years Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

As a geology major, the grading system was much more forgiving than it is in the States. However, the classes I took were more demanding than ones from my home university. Despite the challenge, I loved the ones I took and learned about aspects of my major I wouldn't have had the opportunity to study at home. Also, I only had to receive a 50% in my classes to get transfer credit to my home university!

On-site administration of your program

I didn't deal too much with Australia's program administrator, mainly because they had to deal with probably hundreds if not thousands of study abroad students, but I felt that they knew what they were doing, and if I had needed their help, they would have been able to provide.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I signed up for a housing program called Semester in Australia (SIA) that catered specifically for study abroad students. It was very difficult to apartment hunt before I left and I really did not want to get to Australia two weeks early in the heat of the summer and try to find accommodation close to campus. The other difficulty was that most housing options I saw only offered leases for six months (even though I would only need an apartment for a little less than five months) or worse a year. SIA solved these problems by offering housing just for the academic semester that was within easy walking distance to campus. Staff also provided tours of the campus and the downtown area of Brisbane as well as taking residents to an Australian rules football game (aka "footy"). They really helped me adjust to my new home and made my transition time stress free.

Food was great as was availability of whatever you wanted (minus Mexican food). However, in general, food was expensive in relation to costs in the States. However, that's a country wide issue, not specific to Brisbane.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I got an opportunity to go to both a soccer game and a footy game with my Australian friends and both were a lot of fun. It was also fun to just go out to bars and clubs with both American and Australian friends as the nightlife in Brisbane is great. None of these activities were organized by a study abroad program.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

As I mentioned before, one of the orientation meetings during the first week specifically covered safety to international students in Australia, covering everything from urban safety from criminals to wildlife safety. I felt that they knew what they were talking about and provided helpful information for me.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

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• Apartment

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• Americans
• International Students