“Where did the idea of studying in Australia originally come from? My best friend is half-Australian and she was thinking of going to university there, so we would talk about it together, and talk about how we had spent a few years in the UK, and that it had been great, but that we wanted to experience something new. I felt as though Australia was somewhere really far away, a very interesting and exciting place to be able to live in and grow.

“Then Sarah from Study Options came to my school and that really helped, because it made it this option seem more real. It wasn’t just a crazy idea anymore, Sarah’s visit at my school made things concrete and achievable.”

“After I finished my IB, I was able to travel to Australia to visit the universities I had offers from. This was a really big opportunity for me and if someone is able to do that I would definitely recommend it. At that time everyone around me was making such a big deal about the fact that I wanted to go to university so far away; it really made me feel as though it was some fantasy, an unrealistic plan that I had. Going there made things so much more real. I could already see myself live in this city and have a really nice life and be absolutely fine!

“I chose Melbourne University in part because it was important for me to be located in the CBD (right in the city). I’d been to boarding school in the UK, so felt I’d already had that experience of living on a campus and staying there most of the time. I wanted to experience something new.

“The Melbourne campus is really good. They provide a lot of facilities and resources
for students, it feels as though there is a lot of effort put into our lives not only as uni students but also as young adults living on their own for the first time.

Melbourne is also the top-ranked university in Australia and that was something I took into consideration – I was drawn to that.

“There was a lot of time between me finishing my IB – in June – and being due to start at Melbourne the following February. It was a bit like having a small gap year.

“I was really torn between university in the UK and Australia for a long time, so my gap year wasn’t organised that well, it was all a bit last minute, but I still feel that I was able to make the most of it. I travelled, visited Hong Kong, Portugal Germany and came back to the UK for a while. I signed up for this programme in South Africa and spent two months within a volunteering organisation. I was working at a childcare centre, where a shadowed social workers and psychologists. While in Cape Town, I lived with a bunch of other people who signed up for this programme. This was probably one of the best times of my life! It was so fun and enriching! After that, I arrived in Sydney and spent a couple of months working in a riding centre. It allowed me to discover and experience Australian culture for the first time. I was able to get a feel of what living in Australia could be like. So, I spent that time resting, travelling, and working in different environments which taught me valuable lessons and gave me the tools I needed to move to Melbourne.

“Here in Melbourne, I live in a really nice accommodation that belongs to the University. There are 600 students, living in different types of apartment configurations, but I’m in a four-bed, four-bathroom apartment; we share a kitchen and a living room. We have to cook for ourselves and clean for ourselves, so it’s very independent, but there is a lot of extra security and a feeling that you’re not alone! There are lots of activities that are put on for us every week, there’s so much to do. You can find cool communal areas here too – music rooms, study rooms, cinema rooms, a free gym. It’s like being in an apartment complex but one that has a lot of shared facilities and activities available for all the students who live here.

“We’re really near the campus – about a 10 minute walk, it’s very convenient, and we’re also close to the Queen Vic market and the centre of the city which is really nice. The location is great.

“I get along well with my flatmates and people here are really nice. I think it’s a big plus to live in a uni accommodation during your first year, just being with other people who are going through the same things as you are and who are in similar stages of life as you.

“My course has been good so far. I like that my degree is so diverse. I think the whole point of doing an Arts degree is about feeling free to explore whatever you are interested in. For example, I decided to take Chinese and I am taking a song-writing course, and also doing psychology. I’m trying to make the most of it because I feel that it’s such a great opportunity to be able to try all these different things and to do so much under one Bachelors. I like the fact that while I’m majoring in psychology, I’m not studying psychology all the time. The way the subjects are taught is very diverse, because the subjects themselves are so diverse. The classes are great, the resources are great, there’s always help available if we need it. I’m enjoying it so far!

“As I was in boarding school before and was already used to living away from family, I thought this change from school to university would be easy, but it’s not!! It is still hard, sometimes I do just think that I want to go home and because I’m so far away I can’t. But I think it’s inevitable to feel that way sometimes; it’s a part of growing up. It is important to learn how to build your own life, and to understand that you can be ok with being on your own. So, the process has sometimes felt hard, but then again it can’t have been too hard because here I am, almost half a year done already, with my friends and my new life here and I’m organised and I’m managing things. So, I’m doing ok! Plus I can cook now, which is great.”