Sydney Uni, Australia and New Zealand - Exciting, Different, and Worth Going Past Review

By (Neuroscience, Middlebury College) - abroad from 07/20/2014 to 11/22/2014 with

University of Sydney: Sydney - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Studying abroad in a foreign country, especially in a city, required me to be so much more independent. Traveling through so many different parts of Australia, as well as New Zealand's south island, was a great experience too. Definitely go to New Zealand and Cairns (near the reef and rain forest) if you can, they were probably the neatest places I went.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? None

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Classes at Sydney Uni are fairly good overall. Lectures for many courses are recorded and accessible online, which is pretty strong incentive not to actually show up to class. This is nice because it gives you some flexibility for travel. Final exams are worth about 50% of each final grade, and there's generally minimal work until then (maybe just an essay or two). Grading scale is quite different in Australia, with letter grades replaced by fail, pass, credit, distinction, and high distinction. In general it's harder to get an equivalent percent in Australia (anything above 85% is very good in most legitimate classes), but at least for my home college this was taken into account when converting GPA. Classes generally take place in larger lecture halls, but often break up into smaller tutorials once a week. There are a handful of fun classes tailored for study abroad students.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Everything was always taken care of in the end, but things seemed a little last-minute, especially in terms of signing up for classes. You sort of show up to orientation with no idea whether or not you got into the classes you want. However, everything is very flexible in terms of changing your schedule around, at least for the first few days.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I stayed at Urbanest, which was like a apartment complex/dorm tailored for Sydney Uni students. It was near campus (about a 10 minute-walk) and full of primarily study abroad students. There was a nice social component and a gym, laundry room, movie room, etc. Overall, it was a little expensive but they offered special deals for study abroad students and a lease that matched up well with the spring semester, so it was not a bad option.

* Food:

There's no meal plan unless you receive one through on of the residential "colleges." Grocery stores in Sydney have a very similar selection to those in the US, so those who would primarily cook for themselves should be okay. There are tons of awesome take-out restaurants in Sydney - Asian and Turkish food are especially prevalent. Food can get a little expensive, especially if you go out to eat a lot.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Australian culture, at least in Sydney, is fairly similar to that of the average large US city. There's more of an Asian and English influence, and of course Australia has its own unique vibe, but culture shock was minimal and the adjustment was fairly quick. Because of the similarities it didn't really feel like a special cultural experience as much as programs in other countries might, but at least it was easy to integrate to the local culture.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

NA

* Safety:

Sydney seemed fairly clean and safe, especially near the University and in the spots that we would go to often. A few weeks after we left there was a scary hostage situation, but I never felt unsafe. Still, it's best not to wander around too much at night, especially in certain neighborhoods.

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)

It really depends on how often you eat out, go to clubs/bars/etc, and travel. Restaurants can be pricey but the grocery stores are reasonable. Traveling is not super expensive if you fly using budget airlines and stay in hostels or camp, but you'll be tempted to go a lot or places which will add up (totally worth it). Between taxis, cover charges and expensive drinks, going out is fairly pricey as well.

Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? Between $40 and $100, although with rent and travel it was a lot more.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? Alcohol is expensive, especially beer and hard liquor. Wine, however, was comparatively cheap (especially goon, their word for very very cheap boxed "wine'). If you want to save on rent, get a group of other study abroad students and find an apartment when you get there. It seemed weird and risky to me but some kids did it and paid way less on housing. Cook as much as possible (spaghetti is dirt cheap). Plan trips in advance and buy plane tickets early.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? No

Direct Enrollment/Exchange

* Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? Direct Enrollment

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Apartment
* 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
  • Americans
  • International Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Internship
  • Traveling
  • Living in Sydney
* What could be improved?
  • Communication
  • Housing Proccess
  • Price?
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I wish I'd known how quickly the semester would fly by, so I could have started things sooner (like traveling). There are so many awesome places to see, both in Australia (tazmania, western AU) and nearby (Bali, Thailand) that I didn't make it to. Also, I wish I'd learned how to cook more things before I left for Sydney.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Perceptual Systems (PSYC 3013)

Course Department: Psychology
Instructor: Multiple (primarily Alais and Holcombe)
Instruction Language: English
Comments: Not too tough of a class, but very interesting and relatively well-taught. Focused on concepts and overarching themes. Tutorials were very hands-on. Assessed primarily on final exam (50%), tutorial quiz (10%), and perception experiment & paper (30%). I really liked the professors (about six or seven total, each focusing on a general topic), but it felt like a bit of a Frankenstein course that threw a bunch of related but ultimately disjointed topics together.
Credit Transfer Issues: In the process, although department head has (unofficially) approved for neuroscience major credit.
Course Name/Rating:

Study Abroad Internship (AM000)

Course Department: NA
Instructor: NA
Instruction Language: English
Comments: You apply to be part of the internship program prior to arriving for orientation. Details shouldn't be hard to find if you are on the study abroad/ exchange admissions webpage for University of Sydney. I was ultimately placed in a medical research facility, and clocked about 160+ hours. More time-consuming than other courses, but also way more rewarding. I highly recommend it, although it's a little tougher to find a good internship if you're interested in research. One of the highlights of the trip, and really took advantage of Sydney's resources.
Credit Transfer Issues: In the process of transferring
Course Name/Rating:

Sport and Learning in AU culture (EDUH 4058)

Course Department: Education
Instructor: Georgakis
Instruction Language: English
Comments: A fun, interesting course that takes a unique perspective on Australian culture. It incorporates field trips to various sports events, which is a blast. A great option if there's an extra space in your schedule.
Credit Transfer Issues: In progress. Trying to get AAL credit.
Course Name/Rating:

Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience (PSYC 3014)

Course Department: Psychology/ Neuroscience
Instructor: Multiple (Coordinator - Laura Corbit)
Instruction Language: English
Comments: It was a lot of information - nearly everyone in the class was at their last semester of Uni and had a much more developed neuroscience background than me. I would suggest taking some sort of in-depth class about the brain first (physiological psychology, for example). I think that would've helped. Overall, some instructors did well and others just spewed information. Not a bad class.
Credit Transfer Issues: In progress, although department head (unofficially) approved it for neuroscience credit.