33 reviews
4.38 / 5 based on 33 reviews
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2
Rachel C
Student life
Describe host city:
Students equally interact with the local and student community
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Travel: Takes place mostly outside the university/student environment
Activities, Nightlife: Takes place both within and outside of the university/student environment
Personal social experience
Personal comments
The Fringe Festival, every 2 years
The Crown and Anchor-good student beer prices
The Austral-great local and student hangout
The Planet-good for a cheesy night of dancing!
Best of all, make friends with as many people and international students you can when you arrive...I met so many wonderful fellow exchange students. We had so many social outings throughout the year, half the time we were at parties and private get-togethers rather than always public pubs, etc.
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0
Rachel C
Housing
Type of housing: Apartment/House
Arranged by:
If returning, I would choose: Apartment/House
Why?
If I chose "university" housing, I would have lived with people of my own nationality, which is not the point of studying abroad.
By choosing a sharehouse owned by a native Australian, I experienced the culture more first-hand than in a private flat or university housing. I was able to be a part of a household and we all bought food together, and we were a lot like a family unit.
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Personal comments
Adelaide has decent student housing, but most Australians live at home or rent their own flat, even in their first year of studies, so there aren't many Aussies living in the dorms (but there are some).
Those Americans who stayed in University housing had fun, but ended up hanging out with mostly Americans, which isn't my idea of studying abroad.
But Adelaide University helps students with finding their own accomodation, there's a whole office dedicated to it, so if you arrive in Adelaide with nowhere to stay, it's no problem finding other people who want to share a flat too.
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1
Rachel C
Languages
Language of instruction: English
Was learning English a key decision factor?
No, it wasn't.
Language difficulties
Administrative / Institutional
Personal comments
It was difficult but fun to get used to Australian English from an American's standpoint (they use British English). Obviously the pronunciation and spelling is different, but using Microsoft Word when typing essays made any sort of written communication alright.
Otherwise Australians are always happy to meet a foreigner and you must listen closely to get the quick jokes!
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1
Rachel C
Expenses
Main source of funding:
Personal savings
Other sources of funding:
none
Work opportunities:
I worked during my study abroad experience
Personal spending habits
the US dollar was stronger than the Australian dollar-fresh, cheap food was cheaper and easier to come by
housing in a share house was much cheaper than in the US-prices are per week and not per month
So overall I spent less than I would've if I lived in Bloomington, Indiana for one year!
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Telephone, Travel, Nightlife:
was the same price as at home.
Food, Housing, Overall:
was less expensive than at home.
Accessibility of student needs
Second-hand household items
Personal comments
flight tickets from city to city, yet one-way tickets are really cheap now with the introduction of Virgin Blue.
Having one household shopping budget helped us-we'd buy veggies and basics at the weekend and split the cost. Much cheaper and easier than going individual.
RIDE A BIKE IF POSSIBLE! This cuts down severely on transport prices (and keeps you in shape too!)
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6
Rachel C
Overall
I wish I had known...
Not to pack much stuff. Don't bring more than the basics! You'll buy so much that you won't have room to bring your old AND new stuff home!
Limit yourself to one small bag and see how it grows (remember you might want to bring home essays, books, etc from your studies...many people don't figure this into luggage requirements! Academic things are HEAVY!)
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In my opinion:
Most people loved it.
Important factors in my choice
(1) Unimportant – (4) Very important
Personal recommendation
An excellent place to study. Not too big (you see familiar faces all around town), but big enough you'll meet new people! Definitely great for people who don't like super-huge cities, but like to go out to the "city" too (the university is right in the northern part of the city)
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During my experience abroad, I ...
(1) Never – (4) A lot
Became familiar with another culture
Met people from other countries
Experienced a change in life
Advanced my studies & career
Final comments
Wherever you choose to study abroad, keep your mind open and try to meet people from other countries as much as possible. You have your whole life to hang around with people from home (but if you meet great people from home, no problem!)
Get out there and do it! You'll be so glad you did!
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0
Rachel C
Academic
My academic experiences
Interaction with teachers
Interaction with international students
Interaction with local students
Personal comments
arts students need better computer facilities (I think they've been updated since I was there a few years ago!)
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My opinion of the university assessment
Exams throughout the course
Essays and/or projects at the end of course
Essays and/or projects throughout the course
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