Australia: Living it up in Townsville Past Review

By (Chemistry., St. Mary's College of Maryland) for

James Cook University - Townsville: Townsville - Direct Enrollment & Exchange

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Hopefully. It's making senior year hard, but it was a blast of a time.

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 2 weeks - 1 month

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

Its difficult to go from a multi-test system to a one final, 50-60% of your grade system. That was a bit of a problem. It's a beautiful and fun place, and they all speak English(kinda)!

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

They had bad hours, but were willing to help with anything and figure out any situation.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Need to buy sheets. Good to bring them with you or determine your flight times well. Getting there, and then realizing you only have a mattress to sleep on could be a bummer.

* Food:

They worked with my vegetarianism, but there were very limited choices, if any.

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I didn't do anything specifically through my program, but I did get to live in the tropics and pet a kangaroo and wallaby and koala.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

It's a pretty safe city. I haven't heard of anything happening.

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)

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Local Students

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Beautiful place
  • Excellent people
* What could be improved?
  • Helping find jobs
  • Encouraging interactions with Aussies
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? It's expensive, but very rewarding. For someone with limited foreign language skills, but a laid back attitude, this is the place.