ISA Study Abroad in Sydney, Australia

...was to study abroad in Sydney, Australia. Although it has been three years, it feels like yesterday that I was boarding the plane and headed halfway around the world.

Ever since I was young I have had a desire to go to Australia. My cousin happened to study abroad at the University of Sydney, and after doing research I realized that was the place for me. Normally not a city girl, Sydney is one of the two cities I would ever live in (the other being Christchurch, New Zealand). AustraLearn made the application process so smooth - I still remember where I was when I got the phone call that said I was accepted into the program. When I tell people I remember every single moment of my journey, I am one hundred percent serious.

I highly recommend to everyone studying abroad to take advantage of the orientation week. It's the first time you get to relax and take in this fantastic chapter of your life. I met two of my best friends this week!

I was lucky enough to find friends that were more into traveling than going out to bars (since we were legal in Australia). One of my best friends and I decided to buy a three month train ticket that allowed for unlimited trips between Brisbane and Melbourne. What a perfect choice we made!! While most people in our program traveled north to the islands for spring break, we went south and ventured to Kangaroo Island (one of my favorite places to ever exist in the world). Additional trips included Fraser Island, a surfing weekend, Melbourne, Adelaide, driving along the Great Ocean Road, Katoomba and hiking in the Blue Mountains, skydiving in North Wollongong, I could go on for hours (literally).

My classes were wonderful - the professors were incredible and wanted us to experience the country as best we could. I opted to take classes that were designed for study abroad students, meaning we got to go on field trips (think rugby match, swimming competitions, plays - Billy Elliot was FANTASTIC, and a tour of the Opera House). Sydney University is a gorgeous school, and I miss seeing jacaranda trees and magpies on my walks to class.

The Australian people are some of the nicest I have ever met. Always willing to help or talk, they're kind and generous; there is nothing negative to say about the country or its people.

One thing I recommend to everyone is to do their research. My friends at I would park ourselves at Gloria Jeans and try to find the coolest places to go and things to do while we could. Also...don't be afraid to ask questions!! Most people would love to help you out! After debating where to go one day with our train passes, my friend and I ended up going right down to Sydney Central and asking the gentleman at the counter what we should do for the day (we ended up going to a beach in Newcastle). Another time we took the bus to Circular Quay and walked back to the SUV - hitting every travel agency we spotted trying to find our spring break trip. Why do what everyone else is doing when you could go somewhere completely new?!

I never once got homesick. Sure, I talked to my family once a week. I didn't stay holed up in my room video-chatting or going onto social networking sites. GO OUT AND EXPLORE!! I took over 6,000 pictures in Australia alone. I have a box in my room that has every memento from my trip (including the wrapper from the first Tim Tam I've ever had! Excessive? Probably. But I can't seem to throw anything away that has some tie to Australia).

I highly recommend the YHA Hostels for traveling. They're so clean and you feel completely safe in them. The people there are always more than happy to help you out.

After my study at the University of Sydney ended, I took a two and a half week trip to New Zealand with three of the friends I met (two from orientation). I bungee jumped (twice), sailed in the Bay of Islands, took a vintage car drive around Christchurch, dolphin watched in Akaroa, and cruised in Milford Sound. My five month journey concluded all too fast.

It has been one of my top priorities since I've returned to share my experiences with others who are interested in studying abroad. My five-month adventure was absolutely flawless and I want nothing more than the same for others who are thinking about going (GO!).

So basically...if someone were to only read the final sentence of this review, I'd say this:

There will never be a day that I do not think about my trip. I tell everyone - "I could leave wherever, whenever, dressed however, and be at the airport in twenty minutes to go back. No question."

Australearn helped set up an amazing program for me from start to finish. The University of Sydney is set right in downtown Sydney. Don't let that fool you though because the campus is big and beautiful and you do not even feel like you are in a big city until you look up and see the skyscrapers in the CBD. The nightlife in Sydney is world-class and there is always something to do. Not taking away from USyd's academics though, the university is world-class as well. Also, Sydney is centrally located on the east coast so you are only a plane ride from anything and everything fun in Oceania.

This semester I decided to study abroad at the University of New South Wales and it is a decision I absolutely do not regret! I would recommend this school for a few reasons; the main three positives I want to highlight are location, versatility, and pleasantness.
UNSW is in a prime location because on any given day, one can take a 10 minute bus ride from campus to the heart of downtown, take a scenic 20 minute walk down to the beautiful Coogee beach, or drive up north for about an hour to visit the breathtaking Blue Mountains and rainforest – all straight from campus! If you study here you’ll likely live in one of the adjacent neighbourhoods that would put you possibly even closer to these locations! (However, there are many, many available options such as living on campus, as I am doing and am absolutely crazy about.) Another great thing about the location is that no matter if you’re a small-town, simple-pleasures kind of person, or if you’re a hustle & bustle urbanite, you’ll be able to feel totally comfortable. The campus is right in residential areas where you can feel secluded and safe, like you’re at home, and really close to the busiest commercial area in Australia, where there is always some event going on and you’ll never run out of places to see and things to do. Personally, I love the mixture of both atmospheres because I come from an extremely small town in the Midwestern USA, but I’ve always craved the city life, so this location is prime.

A great thing about UNSW is its versatility. What I mean by this is that no matter what type of experience you want to get out of University life, you will no doubt be able to find it at this school and in the greater-Sydney area. The student population is extremely diverse and multi-cultural, so one is able to learn vast amounts about the special unique culture of Australia, as well as pretty much everywhere else in the world. I have personally met people from countries I did not even know existed, and by now probably have a connection with someone in almost every region of the planet. The social scene is very versatile, offering many student organizations and opportunities to meet new people, and if one sets their mind to it, it is very easy to search the internet on any given weekend and given countless activities hosted by the school’s various clubs and offices, as well as the myriad activities hosted by organizations in the neighbourhoods of Sydney. Academically, UNSW offers the most majors/fields of study of pretty much any school in Australia, and practically all the programs are top-notch. I am personally a Psychology and Communications major and I feel confident that even though I’ve been afforded the luxury of taking some electives and having an enjoyable class experience here, that simply having UNSW’s title attached to my résumé will be a great asset to my future prospective pathways. For the sake of this review, trust me when I say no matter what you’re into (or even if you don’t know what you’re into and what to find out,) that UNSW will allow you to continue enjoying it and explore it even further – academically, socially, and intrapersonally.

Finally, I thought I’d mention the pleasantness of studying here overall. While I must say after travelling some and meeting so many people that almost the entire population of Australia seems happy and agreeable, I believe this particular community of UNSW in the Sydney area has a certain enjoyability about it that I was never able to find back home. I have had the fortune of being able to live on-campus in a community full of internationals and about 90% native Aussies, and I have never felt more accepted and actively involved with my peers as I do now. I’ve learned so much about the people here & abroad just from making friends and they have pretty much gone out of their way to make sure that I enjoyed my time here. The community is great, and the natural geography is even greater.

In about 3 short months I’ve been in ocean reefs, on the sunny coastline, in the snowy mountains, in the desert, lost in an expansive bustling downtown, in the craziest night-clubs, in peaceful gardens, and so, so, much more. A lot of these opportunities were thanks to the specific location of my school, the specific people I’ve met here, and the unique trips offered by the offices of UNSW alone. I really recommend studying here, and going abroad overall, good luck!

There were definitely pros and cons to attending this program.

Cons:
• It was a little far from the center of Sydney, but there was excellent transportation
• Housing- Not a lot a Australians live in the Village. I went in hoping to live with people from other countries, but lived with Americans. They also completely ignored everyones housing requests, ie I asked to live with all girls, they put me in a house with two guys. Also the maintenance isn't good at all. However the housing is spacious and once you get over that it isn't the most glamorous of housing it really is a super fun place to live.

Pros:
• Great public transportation. With a train station on campus and busses going everywhere getting around is easy!
• Social scene. It's pretty easy to get involved on campus and meet people. I met my best Australian friends through the clubs on campus.
• Lifelong bonds. I can honestly say I got the closest I have ever been to my friends while abroad. Going through an experience like that together really bonds people and I know that I now have made lifelong friends.
• The city of Sydney! The city itself is massive, there is always something new to do or somewhere new to explore. The city is simply amazing.
• Airfare is cheap within the country! As amazing as Sydney is, you should make sure to travel while in the country. With convenient transportation to and from the airport and cheap airfare prices Sydney is a great place to study at if you want ot be able to travel too.

Things I found from AustraLearn.

• The first week orientation in Cairns was awesome.
• AustraLearn overcharges you for housing. Housing prices are also very expensive as it is, but you can avoid all these prices if you come to the school through an exchange program instead.
• If you live in Sydney University Village, expect to meet mostly Americans, the Australian students mostly live in on campus villages or elsewhere.
• Once you get to Australia and into the school, you don't really need the study abroad program. In fact you have little to no contact with them again.

That being said Sydney is a beautiful city, and the university is amazing. This is a great experience and a lot of fun. But I would suggest that this same experience would have been possible for a lot less money out of the pocket.