Australia: Beautiful place, challenging schoolwork Past Review
By Hanna P (Health and Physical Education, Western Carolina University) for
University of Sydney: Sydney - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I have definitely become more confident in trying new things and meeting new people. I would really like to teach english abroad somewhere in the future.
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was okay. There were only two or three big assignments in each class which meant if you did poorly on one assignment your grade could be hurt. The grading system there is different, instead of having a grading system of A, B, C, D , and F, they use High Distinction, Distinction, credit, and Pass. It is very highly unlikely that you will get a High Distinction, and most people don't even get Distinctions., I found the grading system there to be much less forgiving than my home Uni. Definitely a challenge, but you'll feel great once you've done it. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I thought that my home school's staff was very helpful in my process to apply. They answered all my questions and were very friendly and had lots of advice. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I staye dwith a friend and her family who I mete in America working at summer camp. |
| * Food: |
na |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There weren't really any to mention with the program, but I did do a lot of things outside the program. I saw a lot of the country. One highlight for me was goind to Darwin and Kakadu National Park |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
There were't any health issues to mention. I got all of my healthcare coverage arranged before I went over. I don't feel like Australia is a big place to have many helath concerns other than kinds we would have here. |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Sydney suburbs are really expensive. On average, I spent about $30 on transportation every week. $50 on sports every week. $50 on food. $150 for rent per week. Add in about$25 each week and that is probably a good estimate. And of course you would need to factor in trips and excursions. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Everything is way more expensive than you think, especially starting out at school...just be prepared and bring quite a bit extra..there are no WalMart's... |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes 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? | The best type of student to attend the Uni I went to would be someone who really wants to work hard at school. As for the program itself, people who love a challenge and like to try new things shoudl definitely try it. I just don't think that Sydney Uni is a great place for people who would like to do a lot of traveling and exploring |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Outdoor Education |
| Course Department: | HDPE |
| Instructor: | Wayne Cotton |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | This was my favorite class and the professor was awesome! He was a really nice guy and made class interesting. This was an outdoor education class so we got to go on a 3 day camping trip in the middle of nowhere. It was so much fun. The trails and camping were a challenge, but I met so many people and got to push myself to so many levels. I really enjoyed it. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I have not yet seen my scores from Australia. They have not been sent over to my home school yet. |
