ISA Study Abroad in Gold Coast, Australia

I loved Bond University because of the small size and close exchange atmosphere. Many local students did not live on campus, so the dorms were filled with exchange students. This was nice because it was easy to meet students to travel with. While abroad, I was able to work at a cafe as well as study. This was hugely beneficial to me because I was able to interact and meet the locals while making enough money to fund most of my trips. I only worked twice a week and it covered most of my travel expenses. This gave me valuable experience working in another country and allowed me to form lasting relationships.

Being close to the beach was amazing. The neighborhoods nearby are very nice and fun to explore. I made an effort to get to the beach at least every other day if not every day. I would highly recommend this because the beaches on the Gold Coast are some of the best in the world! Get to know the area because there are a lot of hidden treasures.

I only had class Monday - Wednesday and classes only meet once a week. I traveled most weekends to various places in Australia. I would recommend getting to know the area in which you live because that is the best way to immerse yourself in the culture. Participate in as many campus activities as possible so as to meet local students as well as study abroad students.

GlobalLinks was the best program option I had to choose from when I was looking to study abroad programs my university offered. They were a bit pricier than some of the other ones, but they guaranteed me housing and got me a week in Cairns, Australia (for those that don't know thats where the Great Barrier reef is!) I got to scuba dive one of the seven natural wonders of the world as well as skydive out of a plane at 15,000 ft all thanks to going to Cairns for one week for our culturing transition week. They also gave me my excursion to Fiji (you can also go to Bali, New Zealand, or Thailand.. just have to pay for the flight) for my spring break and I got travel around the main island of Fiji, be leader of the group I was in and meet a real life chief and village. I also got to go sand boarding, visit a top 5 beach in the world, and hangout at some of the most beautiful hostels I have ever seen... HALF WAY ACROSS THE WORLD!!! Its unreal how much a program like this can have an impact on your life, and now that Im an ambassador for them at the University of Tampa I encourage all students to look into doing something outside of the country to see what life is like somewhere else, getting someone else's view on the world is very rare thing that few people these days can truly appreciate. Studying abroad is one of the greatest things I have ever done with my life; GlobalLinks just made the trip that much more incredible than I could have anticipated!

The Gold Coast was by far my favorite location in Australia - it had the best weather, best beaches, and most laid back lifestyle which is exactly what I was looking for in a study abroad experience.

I lived in The Village and loved its proximity to school, the little store that had a few essentials, and the pool! Also great to have lots of people from all over the world staying in the same apartment complex - it really allowed me to branch out and meet a lot of people. The apartment was about a 20 minute bus ride from the beach, but realistically its only about 3 miles. You can see Surfers Paradise from the upper levels of the Village! The Vill can get loud/messy at times but I liked living there and constantly being surrounded by people/finding more travel buddies!

School was not very hard, I actually preferred the Australian semester system with lecture and tutorial over my American quarter system.

Overall, great program, great provider, great school, great experience :)

Trying to sum up my time abroad in a few short paragraphs seems impossible - four months of my life were spent blissfully living in and exploring Australia. I owe all of my experiences to GlobaLinks Learning Abroad.

From the start, planning for my trip abroad GLA helped me stay on track with deadlines, helped we decide which school to choose, where to live, and also had representatives come to my home university and present a pre-departure info session! Every step of the way, GlobaLinks was two steps ahead of me! Organizing all of my online materials, providing me with contact information for when I went overseas (my mother loved that) and in truth so did I...it is a huge leap of faith to study abroad, and knowing that I had several GLA staff in the same country put any worries to rest.

GLA also organized a trip to Cairns where I was able to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef! Many other incredible adventures awaited and I was glad to know that GLA would assist me in any way possible. I would HIGHLY recommend this program to anyone and everyone. Get out there and see what GlobaLinks has to offer!!!

The Globalinks program was AMAZING! Made some amazing friends through it and we all bounded together during our bridging cultures week in Cairns, which was unreal! Going abroad was the best decision I ever made. I chose to live in the Griffith University Village which was a short walk to campus. There was always something going on, and even when there wasn't you could just go and hang out at the pool (yep, the village has a pool!) Classes were extremely easy and manageable. There would be a 2 hr lecture once a week and a 1 hr "tut" (tutorial) which was a smaller group discussion class. The best way to get around is on the bus, and it is only about a 25 minute bus to get to the beach and Surfer's Paradise. Gold Coast is a great location because you can get to the beach, city, and jungle all fairly easily. Travel as much as you can!!

Globalinks was extremely helpful throughout the whole pre-departure process and really helped keep me on top of all my deadlines. They were always very responsive to any questions I had and the bridging cultures program was AMAZING!

Each day was a new adventure. Bond Uni has an awesome system for relaying current events; whether it is an academic or social event, there is something to do whenever you please. The orientation programs got me off to an amazing start to my journey. From snorkeling to road-tripping to relaxing nights in my villa, Australia was more than I could have asked for. Initially, getting around and adjusting to daily life was difficult. It wasn't long before I was doing well in school and having an unbelievable time on the Gold Coast.

Studying at the University of Queensland was an amazing experience. Classes are set up completely differently than in the U.S. Usually there would be one or two meetings per week with no homework so grades are largely based on one exam and/or a paper. It is important to stay on top of your work but this format also gives you a lot of time to explore Australia and get to do the fun touristy things with your friends. We would usually travel along the coast on weekends and we made sure to see as much as possible. An average day was waking up going to class, coming home pretty early and relaxing with friends before we went out to the lagoon in the afternoon to soak up some sun or walk around food markets in the city - Definitely worth every penny.

Studying Abroad is one of the most amazing opportunities and I'm so glad I got to experience it. Living in a foreign country has opened my eyes to so many possibilities, and made me realize the world is a lot bigger than we think.

Gold Coast is the perfect climate and ideal location in my opinion. It was rarely cold during the day, cold being lower than 65 degrees, even in the winter. During the winter nights it can get chilly, but you'll get by just fine with a sweatshirt and jeans. I would highly recommend living at the Griffith University Village if you can. They aren't the nicest apartments and you'll probably find better one along the beach. However if you want to meet Australians and other international students this the best place to live.

Something I didn’t realize before going was that Australia is about the same size as mainland US. It’s unlikely you’ll get to see the whole country because you have to all the major cities; however the cost of airfare is usually pretty reasonable. I would suggest planning out any trip in advance, that way you can find the best deals on cheap flights. You can save a lot of money that way, especially if you’re trying to budget your money. There are so many amazing places to see, and you’ll want to see as many as you can. Australia tend to be more expensive in almost every way when compared to the US, so budgeting if very important.

What I really like about going through GlobaLinks was how much the staff genuinely cared about the students they send abroad. They are willing to answer any questions you have from starting an application to how to make the most out of your experience. The safety and education of the students is most important to them. There are GlobaLinks staff on site in every country, and you can call there office if you have any problems while abroad. They also check up on you thought the semester, just to see how you’re doing. Another awesome perk about choosing GlobaLinks is the Bridging Cultures Program that you do at the start of your trip. You spend 5 day up in Cairns, Queensland where the Great Barrier Reef is. You have the option to go on a boat tour of the reef or white water rafting, you also spend a full day on the reef, snorkeling and diving and a day at a wild life sanctuary where you learn about Aboriginal culture, hold a koala and get to play with the kangaroos. It is definitely one of the highlights of the program. I would recommend this program to anyone thinking of studying abroad.