#backpacka

Many of you out there may be thinking of studying a whole degree at a university abroad. I remember that I had a lot of questions before I went to study at university in Australia, such as: Will I understand their study system? What about the English language in academic writing? Will I find any friends? These are normal things to stress about, but there is absolutely no need to worry! When I started my Bachelor Degree at university in Australia I had nothing to compare it with, I had done no studies at university in Sweden at all and was completely new to the system. It still took between 6-12 months to fully understand how it all worked, how the assignments and reports were set up, and not to mention the final exams! Just give it time, you may feel a bit lost in the first semester, but you will find your feet eventually!

A Bachelor Degree (and Honours)

I studied a Bachelor Degree in Applied Science, where I had the first 2 years in Brisbane (Queensland) and the final year in Ballarat (Victoria). Two different universities in two different states, why you might wonder? It was due to a job relocation for my partner from Brisbane to Melbourne, so I transferred universities after my second year. But interestingly, the structures of the degrees were very similar. The structure may of course still vary slightly depending on what university you enrol at, but they are usually either a 3-year course for a Bachelor Degree on its own, or a 4-year course for a Bachelor Degree which includes an Honours Degree (the 4th year).

First things first!

The grading system: For both my universities a so called Grade Point Average scale from 0-7 was used. The marks were based on percentages, which in turn were based on how much the particular exam or assessment was worth. For example, if an exam was worth 50% of your total grade and your result was 80%, then you’d receive 40 (points) towards your final grade (and therefore needed only 10 more points in order to pass the unit). 0-2 were Failing grades, whereas a 3 usually meant that you could get a supplementary assessment after the exam period (this was only available to students who ended up with a grade between 47-49% in total at the end, anything lower than that was a Fail and you need to repeat the whole unit next year). A 4 was a pass (equivalent to 50-64%), 5 was a Credit (between 65-74%), 6 was a Distinction (75-84%) and a 7 was a High Distinction (85-100%). Some universities will have a different percentage brackets (maybe 60% instead of 65%), but they all generally work the same way (and not all universities will use the GPA scale, instead they would use only the percentages). At the completion of your course, your GPA may be looking something like this: 6.125. This means your average was just above Distinction (ca 75-77%) and not 6.215/7 (confusing, but still a good system when you get used to it!).

Uni work and the student’s best friend: the laptop

Lecturers and Tutors

I had a number of different lecturers (professors) and tutors (teachers) throughout my degree. They were a very important part of the learning process. Even though it seemed scary to ask questions in the beginning (in a huge lecture theatre, and in English!), talking to them about anything I was unsure about in the lecture material was the best way for me to learn and improve. Tutors were also there to help; students were divided into tutorial groups after the lectures and this was where the tutor helped with lab reports or discussed lecture material more in depth. There were also Lab sessions, Computer Labs and other classes depending on what subject I was studying. For international students especially, there were extra classes (optional of course) on how to use the English language in academic contexts, so there is absolutely nothing to worry about regarding language skills – you will pick it up quickly.

Me in the library working on assignments, 2011

Semesters

I had 2 Semesters each academic year, with the First Semester ranging from late February to end of June, and the Second Semester from late July to late November. The semester included 3-4 units (subjects) as full-time studies, which you had to study all at the same time (time management was important here!), and often we had assessments due around the same time. Uni was sometimes pretty full on with lectures and classes 4-5 days per week, and some days starting as early as 8am and finishing at 6pm. Finding study time outside of this was very important, but was also tricky since I had to work at the same time. The study- and work- balance is crucial, since a failing grade meant repeating the unit again next year (there were no second attempts at an exam if you fail, unfortunately).

While we had some smaller exams during the semester, along with reports, essays and smaller practical assignments, the Exam Period had all the bigger final exams and ran for 3-4 weeks at the end of each semester. Some of them were theoretical while others were practical, and it wasn’t uncommon to have a few exams in the same week. However, they usually tried to spread it out to make it easier for the students to prepare.

Time management!

Me at a café preparing for a final exam

Breaks

There were several mini-breaks during the academic year. Of course, we had the huge summer break from mid-November to late February, but also an Easter break, mid-semester break (3-4 weeks in June-July), and a shorter break in Semester 2. For international students (and any student really), the breaks were a good time to catch up on some sleep and uni work, but also good for travelling! There were many University groups who organised fun trips during the holidays (such as trips to the zoo or sightseeing around the country). For people who wanted to save up a bit of money instead, this was the only time you were allowed to work full-time on a student visa.

One of the trips to Tamborine Mountain, Gold Coast

Another trip: Byron Bay, New South Wales

Sunset at Phillip Island, Victoria

Me feeding a kangaroo for the first time!

What about friends?

Both universities I went to had lots of great social groups and clubs to join (often sports related such as netball, beach volley, ultimate Frisbee and sometimes even surfing!). It was easy to find people to hang out with in both my specific study area as well as other international students who were feeling just as lost as me at times. If someone found that they were struggling a bit more than usual, there were lots of advice staff and counselling services at the universities too.

My first surf lesson, in Byron Bay

Beach Volley! We had an awesome team and played at a social tournament every Tuesday

Tuition fees

The tuition fees are terrifying, no argument there! And as an international student you often had to pay for each semester up front (before the semester starts). This is really a good incentive to not fail any subjects, due to all the extra costs! My universities had very different fees due to one being in the middle of a capital city (Brisbane) and the other one in regional Victoria (Ballarat), which means it could be worth looking at a few different university options and their fees before you decide where to study. For me, however, the structure and type of degree were more important.

Graduation

Graduation, the day everyone looks forward to! Depending on what time in the year you started your degree (either mid-year start in July, or Semester 1 in February), the universities offered graduation ceremonies to all the graduates. It was in December for the people who started in February, and in July for people who started the course mid-year. If you can’t attend your ceremony (like me, I started in July and had already left Australia when my graduation ceremony was being held!), you can always do a graduation “In Absentia”, meaning they will send you your official graduation papers instead. But who wants to miss their graduation? I was very upset that I wasn’t able to attend mine! But it all comes down to what you have planned afterwards, of course.

Me in front of the university sign in Ballarat – since I had my graduation In Absentia, this was the only “sense of completion-photo” I got from this university!

I have had two types of student visas in Australia, the first one was for less than a year when I studied a Diploma (before my university degree), and the second one was for the whole university degree as a higher education visa. After the longer university course in Australia, the visa gave me an extra 3 months after the completion of the studies to just travel, work or enjoy myself (this was a huge reward for all the hard work!), whereas after the shorter visa I was given just one extra month to travel after the course completion (still a good time to travel and see the beauty of Australia). I had such a great time studying at both universities in Australia, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world!

Some of my best tips when studying a whole degree in Australia:

Talk to your lectures and tutors, they will be the key to all learning and success at university: It may be scary to ask the questions in the beginning, but if there is something that you’re struggling with (maybe you need them to explain a concept again), just talk to them! They will happily help you.

Talk to your fellow students! This might be just as important as talking to your lecturers, you need the community “feel” and share the experience with someone. Working as a team is not just useful for your grades and building your teamwork skills, but also for your social life when you feel like you’re drowning in assessments!

Time management: This is tricky, and it often takes a few semesters to get it right. Make study plans and adjust them if something is not working for you, and keep adjusting them until you find a good study process!

Find a work- and study balance that works for you! I know that working while studying is necessary, but try to not work too many hours (the limit is 20 hours per week for student visas as it is, but even 12-15 hours per week was sometimes too much for me). Your grades will be affected with the amount of time you have to give up to work instead of studying.

Try to stay active – exercising is useful in so many ways, even if it’s just a social activity rather than a professional sport.

Reward yourself for all the hard work – You need some time off every now and then, try to not feel guilty when you have a day off – you need to rest to be able to work (this is something I struggle with a lot myself!)

Eat and sleep well – this one is hard, I have had many “all-nighters” and always regretted it the day after… so plan ahead, it will reward you in the end! And, good study snacks are always useful (just saying!).

And most important: Visit home when you can. Homesickness is normal, especially during a course that takes many years to complete. While connecting with people in similar situations as you will help too, in the long run you will realise that visiting your family at home will actually give you the most!

I would highly recommend to contact Skandias for more information about education in Australia. I’m also happy to answer your questions, just comment on this posts.

Email: [email protected] Tel Australia: +61 (0) 400 502 239 Tel Sweden: +46 (0) 739 162 876

Whenever the homesickness kicked in, it was always helpful to go to the nearest Ikea and have a meatball lunch!

And finally, have fun and good luck!

// Eleonor Ryberg