<p>Does anyone have experience with study abroad programs Australia, particularly in Sydney or Melbourne?</p>
<p>University of Sydney and University of Melbourne both have excellent reputations. Either would be a great choice. Either city would be great fun. Send the student with a wetsuit and a surfboard....</p>
<p>.. and shark repellent</p>
<p>my old math teachers little sister went to melborne...just so u know surfing is dangerous there she was trying to surf and was pulled down and banged her head on the rock...my math teacher was supposed to meat her in australia then go to new zealand...a couple of days later but ended up staying in australia w/ her family so her sister could heal she got a bad concusion</p>
<p>Ask me again a little later. My best friend's daughter is leaving Mon. for 5 months in Australia (through Chapel Hill). She is very excited about it and from what she has heard and researched, it sounds like it will be a very positive experience.</p>
<p>mkm, which university and program is she going on?</p>
<p>sorry I should have read more carefully - you said it's a UNC program.</p>
<p>cheers, both of those schools are options - any opinion on University of New South Wales?</p>
<p>I'm not sure what her classes are there, but I do know she will be in Sydney (which I believe is University of New South Wales)</p>
<p>I just was "googling' to try to get info on Study Abroad Programs in Australia for d #2.. It seems to be a bit more confusing than one might think. Alot of the universities have multiple campuses. So it looks like you have to find the area of study that your kid is interested in- then figure out the best campus within the university that offers it- and then figure out where the heck it is in relationship to the city/beach or wherever you think you want to be. As my d is a sport management major (at least as of today), not all universities have that program. But often, I am finding that field of study in the Business schools. I was also looking at UNSW website- but I am getting so confused, I don't remember any of the specifics. My d's school had a program with Griffith U near Brisbane. As she may feel more comfortable going with the program through her school, that may get serious consideration.</p>
<p>Just went back to UNSW site- I think there are 3 campuses- the main one is Kensington which I think is in Sydney proper . I noticed with some of the universities the satellite campuses could be quite a distance from one another.</p>
<p>Hi!
I spent last semester studying at the University of Melbourne and had a fantastic time. I enrolled directly (didn't use a program) which was perfectly easy and saved a bit of money. I would absolutely highly recommend studying there, particulary if you get to live in a residential college (I was at St. Hilda's), and take full advantage of the ISOP trips (Western Australia and the Great Ocean Road were my favorites). Just search "ISOP" on the melbourne uni website: <a href="http://www.unimelb.edu.au%5B/url%5D">www.unimelb.edu.au</a></p>
<p>Post back with more specific questions and I'd be happy to answer, and I can send you photos if you want too!</p>
<p>I'm not gonna be much help at the moment but my niece is about to leave for a semester abroad in Sydney. I just can't remember the name of the college that the program is through. It isn't her own college.</p>
<p>I want to say it is through Arcadia University. They told me but I forget. But I looked that one up and it is in Sydney and so I kinda think that is the program.</p>
<p>Yes, NSW is also good.</p>
<p>You might post on the Intl Students thread to get opinions from Australian--and Singaporean/Malaysian/Hong Kong/Sri Lankan students. Australian unis have long been an Asian destination and the Asian students know which ones are good for which subject. </p>
<p>jenskate, I am so glad you enjoyed Melbourne.</p>
<p>Yes, Australian surf is dangerous--full of rips and sharks. Still stunning though. The Aussies do a good job of putting up life guards in safe spots. Get a wetsuit custom-made there for a few hundred dollars....</p>
<p>Consdier buying a round the world ticket. Virtually the same cost but it allows student to stop off and see other countries...India...Africa...Asia.....</p>
<p>Thanks everybody! marny, I agree that NSW website is confusing - my son was just on it last night trying to sort through courses to list on his petition to study abroad. He thought it would be probably easier to figure out once you were on campus.</p>
<p>Jenskate - sounds like a great semester. What did you study? Those ISOP trips look terrific. (Did you go on the Philip Island trip? I just went on a similar trip about 2 weeks ago).</p>
<p>Cheers, the round the world ticket option is a really interesting one.</p>
<p>OK- I checked out arcadia u website- <a href="http://www.arcadia.edu/cea%5B/url%5D">www.arcadia.edu/cea</a>
There are 17 programs in Australia -but this website seems to link you to all the right places to look. Areas of study-which campus etc. I just did a quick overview- but I think it can be very helpful in obtaining info. I think Butler U is also pretty good for study abroad. There are also 44 programs in Australia through the SUNY system, but as is typical for SUNY, you gotta do alot of your own homework.<br>
Just sent d # 1 to Florence. Decided to do it through Wells College instead of Suny. Though it cost a bit more, it seemed to be better organized and I felt there was more student support.</p>
<p>Jen skate1-</p>
<p>Just wondering how difficult it was to do study overseas as a pre-med and how was Rice to deal with in the process? We have a daughter that is a potential pre-med interested in Rice so we have been following your helpful posts. She has been trying to figure out which places would be supportive of pre-meds going abroad because she really is interested in going to New Zealand. Some seem to almost discourage it. Is that something that you looked into when applying for undergrad? Also, did the schedule in Australia match up ok with Rice's calendar? Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I didn't find the surf in the areas I went to be overly problematic. Just be smart and swim at beaches with lifeguards, know your limits, go with a local, and follow all posted warnings and any announcements. I did go surfing, swimming, and snorkeling in Australia, and it was great. Gorgeous beaches, particularly the Indian Ocean beaches in WA.</p>
<p>Jrpar - I missed Phillip Island, but went on the kayaking at dusk, great ocean road, grampians, and western australia trips. I also went to Healeville Sanctuary and Australia Zoo, where you can see a lot of the same things as Phillip Island (except for the penguins!).</p>
<p>Critter - I am in somewhat of a lucky situation, since I am Rice/Baylor and was able to apply a fair amount of AP credit towards my pre-med requirements. I was done with all the required pre-med classes before I went abroad, so it was not problematic. But your daughter may actually be able to finish the requirements by sophomore year, too and then she'd be in great shape for going abroad. I knew I wanted to go abroad, but didn't really research how helpful different schools would be with it. I guess I lucked out. Australia is a pretty easy place to travel to for study abroad, and I think the study abroad office at rice did an acceptable (though by no means excellent) job at getting me there. It's certainly not something that's discouraged at all here. I know a pre-med who just got back Switzerland also and she'd not Rice/Baylor. Other pre-meds I know also spent the summer abroad, which can be a good option in terms of scheduling (though not always in terms of finances). The schedule in Australia matched up decently with Rice's. I went During Rice's fall semester, which was the Australian spring semester. It ran from July through November, so I had a short summer break and long winter break (I stayed in Australia through mid-december, and traveled around for a few weeks).</p>
<p>Hope that helped!</p>
<p>My D isn't pre-med but is a bio major/chem, psych & dance minor. She knew she wanted to go abroad and took 18-20 hours per semester plus 7 hours this past summer to make sure it could happen. She's a 2nd semester junior on the verge of arriving in Australia within the week after a month long study tour in se asia. It's tough when you're a science major, but you CAN do it by planning ahead.</p>
<p>She's probably only taking one bio course this semester, but is still on track to graduate because of her previous workloads. She thinks it is absolutely worth "the pain".</p>
<p>Not a student, but have been to australia a number of times. Don't fret over missing the Phillip Island trip (it is really a toursit trap). Yes to the Great Ocean Road, and Tasmania. I didn't see a trip to the Great Barrier Reef and Northern Queensland.
Some ideas for things in Melbourne:
1. Melbourne Greeter Service. A free tour of the city by a Melbourne resident.<a href="http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/info.cfm?top=264&pg=2318%5B/url%5D">http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/info.cfm?top=264&pg=2318</a>
2. Old Melbourne Gaol tour at night <a href="http://www.ripefruit.com/melbourne/sights/old_melbourne_gaol.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.ripefruit.com/melbourne/sights/old_melbourne_gaol.htm</a>
3. Get a few friends together and book a private tour with Janine from Echidna Walkabout <a href="http://www.echidnawalkabout.com.au/about_us.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.echidnawalkabout.com.au/about_us.html</a>
4. In the city centre, visit Suga for some candy and watch it being made <a href="http://www.suga.com.au/%5B/url%5D">http://www.suga.com.au/</a></p>
<p>We went on a tour with Wayward Bus -- they have several different tours. We did the Kangaroo Island tour and spent an extra day. It was my favorite part of the entire trip. Very reasonable prices, small group sizes. On our tour, there were 14 of us, and half were young women traveling solo after studying for a semester. DS2 is eagerly looking forward to spending a year over there -- at NSW or James Cook, at this point.</p>