Student life in Australia

Griffith University

7.1(9 Reviews)

Reason for choosing my college

• Low fee and easy way of learning in 6 weeks model. SCU is the cheapest in Queensland and it was within my budget hence it was the best option for me as I didn't want to take a loan etc. It also had the subjects I wanted to study. The campus was in a good location so it was the best choice overall.

University of Melbourne

7.2(58 Reviews)

Reason for Rejection

• Too many applicants and my specialisation was not offered at the University of Melbourne. The technology I wanted to study was AR VR, and Southern Cross University provided that for less fee compared to the rest.

• Be honest in your SOP.
• Look for specific scholarships. Every university offers some scholarship for the students to find out the correct one for you.
• If you are a female student, look out for the STEM for Women scholarship some universities encourage female students to study IT hence, they give more scholarships.

• Australia is closest to India, and it has good universities. I chose it because it was affordable and the location was good. The weather in Queensland is nice, and it falls under regional Australia, which is less crowded, and you get a more local Australian experience.
• I wanted to specialise in user experience and user interface design, and Queensland, Southern Cross University provided that. It has a lot of opportunities in Australia if you have been in the field for a long time, then studying here becomes very beneficial.
• The faculties are very helpful; the overall staff are friendly and helpful towards the international students. There are many events that students can participate in on campus. The Lismore campus is the main campus. It is a big area, and the environment is very pleasant when lucky, you can spot Koalas.

• 2 classes, 2 hours each, and two workshops, 1 hour each. It's mandatory to maintain attendance for international students. Tutorials are on campus, which are mandatory. Workshops are online and can be attended from home. Usually, classes are between 8-2 pm Monday through Thursday. The class has 15-20 students. During my time, only two students. Overall assessment may take 2-3 days to prepare well between classes and part-time jobs. For good assessment, spending 10hrs is ideal.

• Faculties are very approachable, they are available through email and booking appointments for extra doubt-solving sessions. 1: 4 ratio per faculty. They are good in their field of research and they encourage students who are interested to work with them for research projects. Faculties may or may not have connections outside academics so it's hard to say if they will help find jobs but there are teams in university that help students find jobs, there are career advisors etc.

• Main campus in Lismore. There is a campus in Gold Coast. Overall, they have campuses in each major city in Australia, like Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and Perth. There are libraries on each campus. There are sports teams if you want to participate. You can create your own as well. You do get medical facilities such as counselling sessions, etc.

• To get part-time is easy if you have a good command of English and have experience. Normal jobs in restaurants, retail stores, etc., pay you $30/hr if you are a casual. There are many retail stores in malls and shopping centres where students can apply. There are high-paying jobs if you want to find part-time jobs in your field of study. It may take a while to get as they don't usually hire students due to work limits, but you can always try.

• Some part-time jobs are available on campus, especially in the library and IT department. You need to follow up a lot and keep approaching the correct team to consider you. The casual rate is $30/hr on weekdays and higher on weekends and public holidays. Currently, students can work up to 24hrs/week.

• It is hard to say how long it will take for students to find jobs. If you have savings, go for on-the-job training programs where you pay, and they train you, and later, you get the experience to work elsewhere. If you have friends working in companies, reference works well in Australia.
• Network, make friends, and attend events to grow your connections. LinkedIn, Indeed Seek, Hays and many other platforms can help you find jobs. Salaries for freshers start from 45k annually and can go up to 80k.

• I lived with my sister. Hence, I did not face problems with accommodation. There are Facebook pages that can help you find accommodation. Universities have an international help desk whom you can approach if you are new and have no one to get started with. There are many accommodation services for students provided by universities.