Australia study abroad programs

Applying to College
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<p>cheers- the sport management programs at the Australian schools seem pretty comparable. (May not be able to say that about other majors.)
With all things being equal- and knowing that there are really good summer sport internship possibilities near our home in NY, we are giving first preference to schools that follow USA semesters. </p>

<p>My understanding is that the "winter" semester in Australia usually ends late June, which means my kid may not get back home until July 1- For her, this late date return would probably prevent her from getting good solid work experience during the summer, which is real important for her desired goals. </p>

<p>Let's be real, for SOME fields of study- it's all actual life experience not just the academic degree that's going to set a student apart from others.
I think sport management, may fall into that category.</p>

<p>Gold Coast- sound like Florida 30 years ago- that sounds ok. May not have the cultural atmosphere of a city like Sydney- but that is going to have to be a decision my kid makes. </p>

<p>I will admit- Bond seems to be more like a "regular" type college campus - whereas International School of Management is geared towards certain majors only- Tourism-Sport Management-Retail etc). My gut feeling is that my kid may feel more comfortable and get more of a real college experience at Bond. </p>

<p>I'm just obtaining info from the school's website- going to present it to my kid- Let her talk to her advisors at school- and let her make the decision. But thanks for all the info.</p>

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<p>She's not going to travel after the semester? She could probably work in Australia for a bit and then travel on those funds.</p>

<p>Having had two boys go to six different programs abroad, I can promise you that she will want to travel that rather than jet home--unless the internship is a major winner that is already in the bag. Also, I fear that in trying to control for all factors, you may be severely limiting the academic upside--and maybe the connections upside as well.</p>

<p>The downside to a Polytech is the peer group will not be unviersity educated--and may be slightly anti-intellectual. Since Australian unviersities have premier sports management programs, you'd have to wonder about the talent going to the polytech programs.</p>

<p>Food for thought....</p>

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<p>cheers- older d just returned from study abroad in Italy. Much of her travelling was done on week-ends and semester breaks. Many of the European study abroad programs specifically did not have classes on Friday which allows kids to travel throughout the semester- also there seems to be alot of travel companies that are geared towards "Americans in Europe" with a whole slew of "packaged" trips on week-ends and the semester break. Also cheap airlines (Ryan air).
My d and most of her study abroad co-horts had their fill of travel opportunities by the end of the semester and seemed ready to come home.</p>

<p>I am assuming (maybe incorrectly) that there will be much travel time also on week-ends and holiday break. (again- I am assuming there is a semester break or an Easter week holiday- though I will check the semester calendar more closely. I know Bond mentioned that they had a student travel bureau on campus which would help arrange trips during the semester.</p>

<p>Both schools I mentioned are university settings. International School of Management is part of Mcquarie U. As my older d is a student at Cornell and they too have a Hotel School, I rather doubt anyone would equate the Cornell Hotel school as a "Polytech" with an anti-intellectual environment. So I am not equating the environments of these schools as anti-intellectual. </p>

<p>As I said, we are NY based. My d already had one internship with a Major League Team. There are lots of summer major league sports including baseball, WNBA and a host of sporting event venues in the NY area. </p>

<p>As there are at least 2 solid university settings to choose from, I don't see a downside. At this stage, my guess is that her college will have the most input in deciding which program fits their criteria. But d has at least some schools to give serious consideration too. Her school has a program at Griffith which is near Brisbane. I didn't see much of a difference in any of the programs based on class offerings.<br>
so at this stage as we have gathered some basic info on different programs- the only ones in control is my d, her campus advisor, and the Australian University.</p>

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<p>That is a major internship, LOL.</p>

<p>You've made up your mind already so there is little point in my cautions but ...</p>

<p>You are right, MacQuaire is a fine institution. I question the link to your D's program because here is a list of MacQuarie's depts and divisions--no Intl School of Management listed. <a href="http://www.mq.edu.au/divisions/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.mq.edu.au/divisions/&lt;/a> . Here is the list of the business degrees offered by MacQuarie <a href="http://efs.clients.squiz.net/bus/undergraduate/degrees_on_offer%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://efs.clients.squiz.net/bus/undergraduate/degrees_on_offer&lt;/a>
Again, no sports management degree.</p>

<p>Your Ds school was founded in 1996 by the Australian hospitality industry in association with the Australian Archdioscese. It offers 'diplomas' which are usually offered at Polytechs. It offers a retail 'diploma'. I sincerely doubt it has an intellectual atmosphere. I suspect it is one of several dozen 'management' schools set up to entice overseas students to Sydney, primarily Chinese, Korean and Japanese students. Enticing overseas students with similar programs is a huge, multi-billion dollar business in Australasia. </p>

<p>Cornell, OTOH, is happy to list their hotel school in their list of depts and schools. <a href="http://www.cornell.edu/academics/colleges.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cornell.edu/academics/colleges.cfm&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

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<p>Thanks for the research Cheers- but if you use the International College of Management website, you see that there is the connection to Macquarie and that the bachelor degrees are conferred by both schools. That's not an issue for us, as d will only be going for a semester and her degree will be from her "home school" anyway. Seems like ICMS also has a few master degree programs in business.<br>
It's just coincidental- that ICMS is beginning a Sport Management major this semester. When I became aware of the school a few months back, we thought d could do courses in Event Management and business as her undergrad school requires her to take a bunch of business courses too.<br>
but they just started a Sport Management division- so that will increase the amount of classes to choice from.
If it were my life, I'd go to ICM on Manley Beach- but I have a feeling my d may feel more comfortable at Bond.
Again- Thanks for the info and sharing your concerns.</p>

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<p>Keep in mind that Australia is a country with a population of 20 million--tiny. The university student population isn't big enough to require multiple extensions of unis. MacQaurie has a great reputation and is probably making good money from the Intl Management School. <a href="http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/aboutnsw/labour/C13_highereducation_intlstudents.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/aboutnsw/labour/C13_highereducation_intlstudents.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>However, as I said, no point in my cautions. I am sure she will have fun at either school!</p>

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<p>I have studied abroad in Australia twice (once in undergrad, once for my master's) at James Cook University in Queensland and recently Macquarie University. Definitly go through AustraLearn. They are a life saver, always have the answers, and are free! </p>

<p>The International School of Management and Macquarie University have VERY VERY high international populations with English as a SECOND language. That was interesting and I learned a lot from people around the world, but it wasn't what I was expecting from Australia. It was hard to meet or even see many Australians. Macquarie isn't well located either, in my opinion. It's an hour by bus to Sydney (no trains travel there) and much longer than that to an actual beach. </p>

<p>However, my experience at James Cook University if Queensland was completely different. There was still an international population but more Australians and more peole with English as a first language. I would highly recommend universities in Queensland if she would enjoy a beautiful, warm, laid-back, amazing place (I'm a bit biased!). It's like heaven on earth! Of course, if she's a big city girl it might not be for her.</p>

<p>About Bond University - I have never been there, but have a friend who went there and loved it. She lived right on the beach. I visited the Gold Coast for 5 days and really enjoyed it. The sand on the beach is so white and clean, you can surf and take lessons, and there's everything you need to stay happy there. I think she would love it (I know I would!).</p>

<p>No matter what she does, she will love it. Watch out - she may not want to come home! =)</p>

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<p>Thanks Doodlebug for the info- d's plans for Australia are currently on the back burner, but I think she is going to speak with her advisor next semester.
I have a feeling she is going to have to go with a SUNY approved- sport management program. So that may really limit her choices.<br>
My gut feeling is, she will look into the Griffith program as it is already approved by her school for her major.
Griffith sounds fine and being near Brisbane should be a big plus.
The biggest negative seems to be (at least for me) is that it may conflict with summer job/internships. D recently started a campus job, so I do have less of a problem with her NOT working over her summer vacation!!
Thanks for your input.</p>

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<p>Does anyone have any experience with Uni of New South Wales and their performing arts programs? My D is a double major in acting and music (vocal performance) and is interested in their program. They do have a school of music and acting classes, but it's hard to get any info from the school's website.
She will also take dance classes there, so any info about those would be helpful as well.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>As general advice, the University of Melbourne is brilliant. I'm Australian, and have studied at three Victorian universities (yeah I'm a whore).</p>

<p>I did a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema at La Trobe University, and though they're IMO the leader in that particular field, and quite good in Arts in general, are lacking in other areas. The campus is also too far from the city.</p>

<p>Deakin University is where I studied next (doing Masters coursework subjects in writing/communication and international relations), and I place it far below La Trobe, even. There are some good tutors/lecturers around, but for the most part I found it seriously lacking. A majority of the students themselves don't seem to care what's going on, the campus is also quite far from the city, and a few of my classes were taken by PhD candidates rather than people established in their fields.</p>

<p>Now, Melbourne: what a seachange! I'm doing my Master of International Politics and I couldn't be happier. My classes have been taken by people who are virtually walking encyclopedias, oft-published, friendly and incredibly helpful. The academic quality is diverse too: I've only completed four subjects so far, but already I've had an expert in the fields of feminism and environmental politics, another who seemed broadly knowledgeable across the board, and one more who, despite being mildly crazy, also offers a great unorthodox view of the world. He's developing his own broad theory of world affairs, and has been working on it for the last thirty years or so. Needless to say it's a breathtaking project, and though I can practically feel the more conservative students in the classes rolling their eyes whenever he brings it up, it is definitely worthwhile having such extremely intelligent individuals willing to step outside the bounds of orthodoxy.</p>

<p>Besides that, the students are all extremely dedicated. I'm a bit of a slacker, and I really noticed it this year. Whenever I did turn up to class they would always be full, and there was never a lack of debate. The campus, by the way, is a five minute walk from the city, and beautiful. I recommend Melbourne to, um, anyone... especially people considering Arts courses.</p>

<p>I realise this advice isn't quite so suited to the questions now in this thread, but I'm hoping it will help someone ;)</p>

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<p>onetwothreefour:</p>

<p>I just got accepted to Study Abroad at Melbourne and your experience makes me even more excited! I come from a school very focused on engineering, so classes are dominated by quiet students listening to lectures--it'll be nice to have a discussion for a change.</p>

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<p>Bumped for somebody who asked.</p>

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<p>anothermom-w-q:</p>

<p>UNSW has NIDA (national institute of performing arts) and it is nearly impossible for local students to get in so i am not sure if they offer classes for students on study abroad. However, there is a school within the ARTS department called Media, Film and Theatre which may offer some acting or acting related classes. </p>

<p>As for dance, I am pretty sure students would need to audition for the dance classes so you may like to check with the school ahead of time as to what the process would be for getting into the classes. They could accept a tape for an audition or something like that, Australia is huge so i assume they would have some sort of process for distance applications. </p>

<p>Can she take some electives while she is abroad?</p>

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<p>sid19...thanks so much. She is planning to get some of her required classes like history and math out of the way while she is there, but it is important for her to keep up her dance and voice lessons also. If necessary she will take private lessons from someone in the area. Thanks for the info. I will have her email the dance department to see if students outside the dance major can take classes, and how to do the audition.</p>