Should I study abroad in Uni Melbourne, Uni Sydney, or Uni Wollongong?
I’m an Asian-American female from Southern California, and I plan on studying abroad in Australia during my junior year, in February of 2011. I’ve searched through many Australian Universities that my college offers and, based on the courses I need (I’m a Psychology major), I’ve narrowed them down to: University of Melbourne (my initial choice but I’m not so sure anymore), University of Sydney, or University of Wollongong? The following are the criteria I would like to meet during my study abroad experience in Australia…
1. FRIENDLY and easy-to-talk-to people with whom I can become lifelong friends
2. Good student social life on campus (clubs, sports, activities, social events)
3. EASY access to both city/nightlife AND outdoors activities (I would like to go scuba diving, snorkeling, hiking, swimming with the dolphins, beach bumming, and all that jazz)
4. Weather that isn’t too cold or too hot (65-90 degrees F)
A description of how I would like my study abroad experience to be is:
I would like a university with good classes and professors I respect and enjoy learning from who would make me feel comfortable during my adjustment in Australia. I would like to join several clubs/extracurricular activities and attend several events so that after classes I would be able to socialize and make good use of my time. I would also like to have an active night life, not necessarily partying (although I wouldn’t mind the occasional party), but going out on the town for a drink, or to a nice restaurant, museum, concert, or theater (of course I don’t mean every night, but I would want to have access to it whenever I want). I would also like to have relatively easy access (as in easily reached by bus or train) to nice beaches, outdoor activities, sightseeing (wild animals, landmarks, beautiful scenery, natural sites) during the weekends and Spring break. I DEFINITELY want to go SCUBA diving and I would also like to go snorkeling, hiking, swimming with the dolphins, and all that outdoorsy jazz. A balance of all these things is VERY important to me; I want to experience Australia to the fullest extent, and missing out on any city life or any outdoor life would upset me very much. Based on the cities these universities are in, and particularly if you know anything about the universities themselves, which one out of the three would you recommend best fits my criteria? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot everyone! =]
This question is a little different to your earlier one, so I would now recommend Sydney rather than Wollongong as Wollongong isn’t too big on museums, theatres etc. In all Australian cities you can get 105 degrees F or higher in summer for a few day here and there.
Melbourne is colder in winter and quite not as beachy or outdoorsy, but it’s still a very nice city to live.
Bias aside, I’d say University of Sydney would be your best choice (it’s my Uni). Wollongong’s not really an awesome area, you’ll find a lot more fun and things to do in central Sydney, where USyd is located. University of Melbourne is a very good University – it and USyd are pretty much right on par – and Melbourne’s a lovely city.
I would say that both the Universities are on pretty much the same standing when it comes to the students, the prestige, the social activities, the clubs, etc – you’ll find awesome people at both places, and both Unis offer a very active social life. The colleges are really great if you can get accepted into them.
The main thing you’ll be needing to consider are the cities themselves – for what you’re after, I’d say you’re better off at USyd (trying so hard not to be biased here!!). Sydney’s got generally nicer weather, as Melbourne can get quite chilly, and has some really great beaches – it’s easy to get over to Bondi Beach and the beautiful harbour from the University.
When it comes to culture, Melbourne city is better, as it’s Australia’s “culture capital”, but Sydney’s not far off its heels – lots of theatre around, as well as a diverse range of pubs and restaurants. The bohemian arty area of Sydney (Newtown/Glebe) is RIGHT next to USyd, with lots of art, cafes and international culture. For history, it’s great, as Sydney was where white Australian history began! For museums, theatre and eating out, though, Melbourne does win, with loads of variety, and right near the University… but Sydney still does all right.
For the outdoorsy stuff, definitely Sydney – we’re very close to the Blue Mountains, which are a really really beautiful area of Australia, where you’ll really get to see loads of gorgeous typical Australian native flora and fauna. Snorkeling, surfing and such would be better in Sydney, as because it’s closer to the equator, the water and weather will be much nicer for that sort of thing.
Also, it’s easier to travel elsewhere in Australia from Sydney, as it’s more centrally placed (compared with Melbourne, anyway) – easier (and cheaper) to fly up into Queensland or out into the middle of the country for a quick holiday.
As for the weather, Sydney’s more likely to stay within your preferred range – Melbourne gets quite cold – but Australian weather’s still quite unpredictable, and you can get super hot days in both cities, as well as cold stormy weather, at any time of the year.
So I’d say Sydney University – it’s a lovely place, it really is – but Melbourne’s not too far off. I just don’t recommend Wollongong!
When it comes to these sorts of things though, it can be pretty useless asking Aussies – we tend to see our respective cities like football teams: only ours is the best one, haha. Sydney people generally aren’t too fond of Melbourne and vice versa. Trying to be unbiased, though, I think USyd will fit more of your criteria than Melbourne Uni, although Melbourne is still a great place!
Have fun in Australia!
With regards to swimming with dolphins – there is only one place you can do that and that is Forster in NSW which is 3.5 hours drive north of Sydney (wollongong is 1 hours drive south of Sydney). That is with an organised tour. Dolphin swimming is mostly a mid north west coast thing. That is where the wild dolphins are located – not on the east coast.
Another thing to consider is that the social life within the university is not like that of the US. Uni friends make up about 40% of a students social life if that. Since we still live at home to go to uni, our school friends play a much more important day to day part in our social life then they would do in the US. Many uni students dont socialize at all with their uni student friends. The international students who live on campus socialise together but because of the Australian culture, the number of “events” at the university would be around 1/10 that you would have at a US school – if that.
My dreams are actually quite similar to yours (although i want to be a marine biologist) sorry i cant help you decide which college to go to seeing as though i dont live in australia (i live in so cal) i just wanted to tell you that i would like to do the same thing you are doing when i get older. Anyways, a couple tips you should know that ive picked up:
-to scuba dive, im pretty sure you need a licence (well, you do in california anyways) so you should probably look into that (there’s always snorkeling..but if you end up going scuba diving, there are many great diving spots in Australia such as the Great Barrier Reef and other great places that are not as popular)
-make sure to swim between the red and yellow flags at beaches to make it easier on the lifeguards, and if you arent a very good swimmer, then you should stay out of the water for the most part (there are dangerous rips in some parts of the water)
-have fun, enjoy yourself, try to have an easy going attitude, and be tolerant of australian customs (just because they are different than californian ways of thinking/customs…doesnt mean they are worse..they are probably better!)
I hope you have soo much fun and have the best experience of your life!!! I’m so excited for you! I’m not expecting to get best answer…because i know people from Australia will answer your question with better information…but i hoped i helped at least a little bit!!