Adelaide, Australia: Best 5 Months of my Life Past Review
By Wanda Y (Biomedical Science, Texas A&M - Baylor College of Dentistry) for
University of Adelaide: Adelaide - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Yes. It changed my academic interests in that I would jump at the oppurtunity to study abroad again.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was about the same as it is here at Texas A&M, thought the grading system is completely different in Australia and that took some time to get used to. The professors are very approachable and more casual than the ones here. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
I was not informed prior to my arrival that I was supposed to have registered for classes. I was barely able to get into the ones that I had already chosen. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I stayed at BlueSky Accomendations. It was affordable, clean, and right on the bus route to the school. The negative is that the management is a little up tight and some residents will take the shared cooking utensils out of the kitchen. |
| * Food: |
The food in Adelaide is similar to the food in America, though I found it to be more influence by Asian cusine than the restruants that I am used to normally seeing in Texas. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Adelaide hosts multiple festivals during the year, which come with multiple shows through out town and even a carnival on the east side of town. And while Adelaide is mainly classified as a "country" town with not much in the way of clubbing (in the opinion of some English girls I made friends with), there is plenty to do if you want to go bar hopping. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
I didn't need any vaccines for this program. Adelaide is a pretty safe city, though my friends and I made sure that no one ever had to walk home or to the bus stop by themselves after a night out. |
| 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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Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
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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? | Start budgeting early. Non-science majors would probably benefit most. Some universities won't accept science credits from overseas. |
