Australia: A New Perspective Past Review
By Tyler M (Biology, Western Carolina University) for
ISA Study Abroad in Townsville, Australia
Totally worth it, and I would without question do it again.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload and course structure is very different. For instance, in addition to lectures and labs, many classes also have discussion-based "tutorials," to which weekly attendance is required. Lecturers usually assign one or two major (2000 to 3500 word minimum depending on the instructor) essays, labs may require weekly long-form reports, and tutorials usually involve debating or reading a journal article and discussing it in a group. Grading is VERY strict, but it often seemed that international students were more competitive than the Australian students were. Also, generally courses are coordinated by a lead instructor, but students may hear from a different lecturer every month, or in some cases, every week (especially for classes that survey multiple different aspects of a particular- usually broad- subject, or in subjects where a high degree of specialization is common, i.e. invertebrate biology). |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Great support from Australian study-abroad staff, and professors are more than cooperative if you need help with course work |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Nice room, very comfortable. A bit pricey, and Australians are not afraid to blare their music, but overall the living arrangements were great |
| * Food: |
Decent accommodation of dietary stuff, but the food was all pretty terrible |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Townsville is dead, but you can find interesting people anywhere! And there were a few clubs, and a brewery that made it almost worth there not being much else. There was a international festival in town one week that was also pretty interesting. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
The city was safe, and there was a hospital on-campus; however, it was pretty decently expensive for almost anything. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Food was covered by the meal plan, but anything else was anywhere from 50-200% more expensive than U.S. Given the exchange rate at the time, that was a terrible deal. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Take back-up money, because more than likely you are going to need it. Give yourself a budget and stick to it (always a good plan), or you may run out of money. Live bare-minimum, because people will understand that a study abroad student can't be spending buckets of money on dinner/drinks/movie/clubs on a Tuesday night. |
Language
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Going abroad is worth the effort and the money, but don't go into it with too many expectations; let your experience determine its own outcome. That said- plan for the worst and hope for the best! The students that will appreciate going abroad to places like Townsville, QLD are the ones that can "roll with the punches" so to speak. If you put yourself out there, you're going to have some successes and some failures. Don't get caught up in the failures, because they will teach you more about yourself in a new environment (and will probably come sooner, rather than later) than they could at home. Its all a great learning experience, and is SO much fun. So take note of the bad experiences, and savour the good ones- or you will spend the whole semester angry that the airline lost your luggage, when you should be enjoying a gorgeous day-hike or going clubbing! |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Food Microbiology |
| Course Department: | Microbiology and Immunology MI3041 |
| Instructor: | Dr. Jennifer Elliman |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | A challenging and fascinating course that covers a range of food-related topics like gastrointestinal illness caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungal and algal toxins, and the preservation techniques that mitigate the chances of developing them. Other topics like probiotics, laws and regulations (a thankfully brief component), water quality, packaging, and shelf-life are covered in a way that makes them actually seem interesting! Lab is helpful and not super difficult. Great course! |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Invertebrate Biology |
| Course Department: | Marine and Tropical Biology |
| Instructor: | Janine Sheaves |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Great course, interesting material covered in great detail. The course definitely has a marine slant, so if you prefer terrestrial maybe not for you. BUT still a fascinating topic with some really good instruction. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
