<p>As well as applying to American colleges I'm also planning on applying to one or two Australian universities. I know there are a few Australians here so I was just wondering if you could help me out. So far I've been looking at Bond, UQ and Melbourne and from the websites I really love the look of Bond but I love the location of both the others and the fact that they are both internationally ranked which means they must be of good quality.
Are any Aussies applying to any of these unis and if you are why? What made you decide to choose them?</p>
<p>Thanks heaps! Oh, and keep in mind I'm not applying anywhere until next year when I actually finish school.</p>
<p>I am an Australian living in Sydney, Australia. I can tell you right now, that all those are good universities by international standards, but Uni. of Melbourne is easily the best out of them. It is arguably the best uni in Australia (it is in de top tier, along with USyd, UNSW, ANU and a couple of others). UQ is also a good university, it is really "up and coming", like it hasn't traditionally been the best uni, but it is investing heavily to improve its reputation and educational quality. </p>
<p>Bond University is often known as the "university of the rich and famous". It is famous for bringing in a lot of students from well off families, especially since it was founded as Australia's first private university, in 1987, by Australian billionaire Alan Bond. It is also Australia's most expensive uni, and one of the most expensive universities in the world (as verified by Forbes magazine in one of their articles). I personally would not recommend it, mainly because it has less of a focus on educational quality and instead on the profit motive (it is NOT not-for-profit and it has almost half its students from overseas). However, if you can get a scholarship or any form of aid, obviously cost would be less of an issue. Also, it is located in the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, which is pretty much the beach capital of Australia and one of the beach capitals of the world. It is beautiful and an all year round party atmosphere.</p>
<p>I actually did get the impression that Uni. of Melbourne is a better school. Do you know how hard it is to get in there? I think at this stage I will most likely apply there. </p>
<p>I had no idea that Bond was THAT expensive, wow. I mean I knew it was one of the more costly schools but one of the most expensive universities in the world? Hmm. Does this mean that students at Bond are more likely to get in because of the money that they can contribute rather than their academic ability?</p>
<p>What do you know about Griffith University?</p>
<p>Bond still has a strong academic reputation - depends on your focus. Three of its recent law grads are now associates at the High Court. Degrees are also finished in a shorter time, with smaller class sizes, and in first-rate facilities. Having international students in your classes can expose you to new people and new ideas, and give you a global personal network for travel or work in future.</p>
<p>The three unis you are considering are all very good. Keep in mind what you want to study - Melbourne now has the liberal arts focus which is more in line with American undergrad programs, but if you want to do a professional degree - law, medicine, engineering - then you will probably need to pay to do a graduate degree.</p>