Preparation
Before we get down to the nitty-gritty, I would like to thank Sabine and the rest of the MicroEDU team again, especially for the “preparation” point, for their great help in choosing the continent, the country, the city and ultimately the university and all the support during the application process through to enrollment. I think the achievement is best described when I say that until my first day at university I did not (had to) have personal contact with the university abroad. A great job, no ifs or buts.
As you can already hear, I have the adventure of a semester abroad competed in Melbourne as a free mover. Originally I wanted to go to a partner university from my university in Weimar, but for me it was in the foreground to improve my English skills and so I really wanted to go to English-speaking countries. However, since these places are very popular with us, I decided to go abroad through an agency and thus have the almost unlimited selection of universities in the world. Wacky feeling, but doesn’t make the decision any easier. When choosing the agency, the choice fell on MicroEDU very quickly, as the first contact was super friendly and professional. What the International Office at the home university does or should do, basically CC does too, only better. As already mentioned, the choice fell on Australia, more precisely Melbourne. In contrast to other systems, the “summer semester” starts at the beginning of March, so that I was even able to write the exams in February. It was quite stressful to squeeze all the preparation, farewells and all the excitement between the exams, but at least the semester in Germany was not free. Unfortunately, I missed the orientation phase for the internationals, but there is still a “late orientation” and opportunities to meet new people one way or another.
At this point, I would like to quickly address the points that I remember most… request certified copies / translations of certificates and degrees as well as transcripts for the application at an early stage; Apply for BAföG abroad at an early stage ; Apply for an account at the Consors Bank, I never paid any fees for withdrawals or card payments; Submit application for the DAAD scholarship ; Take DAAD language test ; Medical insurance book (CAO), as the OSHC does not cover a medical evacuation to Germany; Open your bank account directly after arrival (e.g. CommonwealthBank) and get your mobile phone card. See more student reviews of universities in Oceania on ehuacom.
A hotel I have not organized me in advance. I was able to live with a friend and look for a room on site. Melbourne’s housing market has a fair amount of excess demand, but there is a lot of movement in it at the same time. Weekly rental in particular offers new opportunities on a regular basis. I found a room in beautiful St. Kilda after a week. Anyone who has always wanted to live on the beach… this is the opportunity. I gladly accepted the 30-minute tram ride to the university. Only the price is steep at around $ 1,000 per month.
Education
I have to say that studying at RMIT really impressed me and showed me a completely different side to studying. The first thing to be mentioned here, of course, is the gigantic size. Over 45,000 students are enrolled across three locations. I was lucky enough to have all the courses on the City Campus and then also in the insanely modern and futuristic Building 80. First you have to register again on site, but you also get enough help on site. The courses have to be chosen in advance, and you really don’t have to worry about it. After the beginning of the semester, you have several weeks to add, switch and deselect courses. This gives you the opportunity to view the courses and also to clarify the required examinations. One of them prefers to write homework and the other likes exams. Just don’t forget to coordinate with your home university. In general, everything is well organized and all important information such as details of the classrooms, announcements and course information are available via student login. The scientific claim is very difficult to assess because the requirements were completely different for me. A lot of emphasis was placed on soft skills and cooperation. The scientific work, especially the citation in Harvard style, is of great importance. The distributed examination performances over the semester as well as the mixture of different types of tasks help, generally good ones because the requirements were completely different for me. A lot of emphasis was placed on soft skills and cooperation. The scientific work, especially the citation in Harvard style, is of great importance. The distributed examination performances over the semester as well as the mixture of different types of tasks help, generally good ones because the requirements were completely different for me. A lot of emphasis was placed on soft skills and cooperation. The scientific work, especially the citation in Harvard style, is of great importance. The distributed examination performances over the semester as well as the mixture of different types of tasks help, generally good ones. Get grades by Australian standards. What should be noted, however, is that not all universities use the same conversion factor. For example, my university uses the Bavarian formula without any adjustments. That means 100% in the Australian system is a 1.0 in the German system. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to get 100% in some subjects or even to get into the area. For this reason, other universities have, for example, adjusted the conversion so that everything over 80% (i.e. high distinction) is already 1.0. In any case, this must be clarified in advance and, if necessary, references from other universities must be obtained.
Leisure and travel
In addition to studying, the university offers an almost endless range of clubs and activities just because of its size. A RUSU membership is recommended because you have free or reduced admission to all student parties. But also sports clubs, such as the Surf Club with its incomparable Surf Camp, as well as RMIT Link, which is something like the benefit program of the university, are endless beautiful and exciting experiences to have and get to know people. But apart from organized entertainment, there are also many opportunities to do something. In the summer months, everything actually takes place outside. Great jogging routes through the parks, botanical gardens, along the Yarra or along the beach and the many meadows and outdoor fitness areas offer plenty of opportunities to be active.
To compensate, all the restaurants, cafés and bars should be mentioned here, which offer an unbelievable range of fine things and with their diversity reflect the population structure of this gigantic city very well. Just as every district is shaped by very different residents, the restaurants are also very diverse and it is great fun to try out as many of them as possible.
With everything that Melbourne alone has to offer, travel should of course not be neglected. You can’t really avoid flying here. After exploring most of Victoria by rental car (Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island and Wilsons Promontory …), the cheap airlines such as Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Tilger Airways are a great alternative to the unbelievably huge but just as exciting rest to explore the country.
