Great friendships, amazing city. Past Review

By (University of Hawaii - Manoa) - abroad from 02/20/2012 to 06/19/2012 with

Monash University: Melbourne - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
So much about the human body, study so much of bodily processes, got to see what it was like to go to school at a highly academic university.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Excellent nutrition program. Learned more about the course, and human body, than I have at my home university so far.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Monash abroad did not do much in terms of helping me out during my time in Melbourne. Even sent my OSHC health card a few weeks late.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Monash Residential Services (MRS) was absolutely horrible. Somehow ended up transferring money into the wrong account so that I was charged a late fee payment when a payment had already been made. MRS made me feel unwelcome and we very rude unnecessarily blameful when in fact the problem was in their own actions. Did not provide any complete receipt of payments and were extremely hard to get in touch. Worst part of whole exchange program.

* Food:

Australian food alright.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Extremely integrated into halls (on campus) life with young students, Australians especially.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

Did not present itself as an issue. Never got really sick.

* Safety:

Stayed in a safe dorm on campus. Good area in clayton.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* 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)

Everything was so expensive.

* Was housing included in your program cost? No
* Was food included in your program cost? No
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? $150
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Study abroad in a place where the american dollar goes far. Live cheap. Being an exchange student is not glamorous.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • Americans
  • International Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students
  • International Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? 10+

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Great people.
  • Exciting, fun, busy, international city.
  • Learning a ton about medicine/human body.
* What could be improved?
  • Housing service (MRS) was absolutely horrible.
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? How cold it got in melbourne, how far away I would be from the city.