Application process
The side of the UTS is unfortunately a bit confusing. I looked up all the information there, but was always irritated and, above all, unsure whether I was really paying attention to everything. So I turned to MicroEDU for help. I can only recommend this, as it is a great help. If you have any questions, you can always get in touch with your contact person. You can be sure that all documents have been filled out completely and correctly, as they will send it to you and check it again beforehand. You get answers almost immediately and if an answer is not immediately available, the contact person even contacts the university for the applicant. That took a lot of strain off me, as you have a thousand other things to do in the organization. As soon as you cross something off the to-do list, three new things are added.
University
The university is in a great central location – right at the Central. So you can get back and forth without any problems.
The university is currently being rebuilt, so for the most part everything is very modern and of high quality. The work rooms are well equipped and the university itself offers wonderful places for breaks – a very large cafeteria, two cafes, a large meadow where people like to take a nap in the sun or play football. Table tennis is also there and in some cases we even had Wii and Playstation available in the hall.
The first week is the so-called “Orientation week”. About 40 totally motivated students took care of us for a whole week (on a voluntary basis!). You can visit them again and again during the course of your studies and ask if you need help (UTS help). In general, students are extremely active there, whether as helpers, tutors, or in various clubs – social university life is a matter of course there. We were always provided with drinks, BBQ and lectures of all kinds. See more student reviews of universities in Oceania on toppharmacyschools.
In addition to the lectures and tours, welcome parties were organized for us, as well as games such as “speed friending”, where you can make friends very quickly.
The UTS offers various clubs that you can enroll in (various sports clubs, party clubs, chocolate clubs, etc. ).
In addition, we were informed about culture shocks during the orientation week and that there is a help group for this (as well as for self-organization and procastination). So there is almost nothing there that is not there.
In general, I have had the experience that all professors / lecturers / tutors were extremely disciplined and focused on respect and professionalism, but at the same time always taught in a very humorous way.
Level of difficulty
The level of difficulty depends very much on the degree program. A friend from Göttingen, whom I met there, studied ” Education ” and only went to university twice a week, so she could work as an au pair on the side.
A couple of friends from France were studying ” business ” and they had little to do either, apart from studying before their exams at the end of their studies. I, on the other hand, only had 10 days off during the 4 months of study!
So the level for my course was a lot higher than in Germany – UTS is very well known for communication design and notorious for being a tough university (and one of the best) – I can definitely confirm that.
I sat in the FH from morning to evening and then at home, usually until 2 a. m. on my projects – on the weekends over homework. It was extremely tough and I fought a lot. The system is very different from that at my home university. You only have a maximum of 4 courses in the UTS, but around 4 tasks per course – that means that you only have 4-6 weeks time per task. In comparison: In Germany you usually have the whole semester per task. I had to get used to the system but found it to be much more effective from the start. Every week is also planned in a completely disciplined way. You get a briefing and a weekly schedule for every task; when, what, is done and has to be finished – there is no deviation from that! Each subject is also divided into 3 parts, which is why you spend the whole day at the university: Class = lecture / tutorial = you are taught the required program / studio = there homework / progress is checked and creative exercises are carried out. Since a semester consists of over 100 people, you only have the lecture together and the other two parts in your “smaller class” (approx. 20 people). This means that each student is treated individually.
For me it was the toughest semester I’ve ever had and I really had to fight and work hard on myself. However, it was also the semester that I had the most fun and that brought me the most, because I was really challenged and was able to develop enormously. I loved and hated it at the same time, so to speak.
What made it all more difficult was that I had taken courses from different semesters, which means that the submission deadlines constantly collided with each other. The lecturers can of course only coordinate with each other within one semester. I had also chosen 4 project courses. My fellow students all had 2 project and 2 theory courses, so the workload was a lot more balanced for them.
Otherwise, I was the only exchange student of around 500 in my course. Most of the exchange students were from the business or technology sector and people of the same nationality quickly got together. Most of them then had the same courses and did group work together. Even though I was the only exchange student in my degree program, I immediately found connections in all courses – even with group work, it took less than 5 seconds for my fellow students to ask me if I would like to sit down with you.
Basically, I also see this as an advantage, as you are “forced” to deal with the “local students” and my English improved much faster as a result. The orientation week is the quickest way to get in touch with Germans and other Europeans, later I deliberately refrained from doing so because you quickly take the chance to get involved with Australia and Australians.
City and life
Sydney as a city is a dream come true and definitely has the most beautiful backdrops in the world.
It’s the perfect mix of big city and nature: skyscrapers, beautiful beaches and huge parks / nature in the middle of the city. Every district – from the architecture to the people to the atmosphere – looks completely different and has its own charm, so Sydney is never boring.
Unfortunately it is incredibly expensive there. If you don’t have the opportunity to work alongside your studies, you really have to turn every penny 10 times. Fruits and vegetables are not a bit cheaper there either! For example: Mozarella, which we get in Germany from 50 cents, you get there from $ 8, Gouda, etc. also, tomatoes the kilo from $ 3-4, 1 liter of milk from $ 1. 50, cream cheese $ 4 and one Pack of Ferrero Rocher $ 17 (!). You can basically calculate all prices at least X 3. In general, there is NOTHING under $ 1 in the supermarket – it really hurts in the student wallet. The purchases are often limited to toast and spaghetti. The choice of supermarkets is also limited. In principle there are only 2 in Sydney: Coles and Woolworth. Those who live outside of Sydney can still be lucky and have an Aldi nearby.
As exchange students, we unfortunately did not have the privilege of being able to buy student tickets and had to pay the full price.
Living
I lived right in the city, so I could walk to the university and the center, so I saved a lot of money.
When it comes to living in general, you have to say: EXPENSIVE! The UTS offers to live in the dormitory. This is also new and decorated at its finest! The dormitory space is cheap for locals, but shockingly expensive for Europeans. I lived in a hostel for the first week and looked for a place to stay myself. You can get a single room from $ 180 a WEEK (prices are always given per week), if you live further out of the city it might be cheaper. “Room” sharing is therefore commonplace. I looked at some flat shares and sometimes it was terrible – apart from the fact that you usually live with 3-4 people in a mini-room with bunk beds, it was often very dirty and people even lived in the living room, so you didn’t have any Had retreat.
I was lucky and in the first week after a few visits I found a neat, clean flat share and then shared my little room with 3 other girls. It went well and quite smoothly, but you definitely have to be flexible, considerate, capable of criticism and also be able to express criticism yourself – otherwise it quickly becomes a psychological burden.
In the semester itself I hardly had any time to explore Sydney, let alone OZ, but I used the time all the more during the semester break. Then I explored all parts of the city, the many museums, lay in the park on my doorstep, on the beach (they are very overcrowded in Sydney – mostly by tourists / backpackers), traveled through Australia etc.
In addition, there is always a festival in Sydney and most of the offers are free – concerts, various art exhibitions, etc. These are also well attended and really worth seeing.
The Australians are all extremely friendly – EVERYONE starts the sentence with “how are you?” And if you don’t know the way, they immediately get their cell phone out and google the necessary information. However, it is sometimes difficult to get in touch with locals outside of the university. Most of them do not live in the city. Sydney is extremely international – you get to know people from all over the world (especially a lot of Asians) and of course tourism / backpackers is very widespread.
You should therefore be open to diverse people, mentalities and cultures.
All in all, there was not a single day when I felt alone, which I certainly owe to this Australian mentality and this TOGETHER, not a day went by when I would have preferred to have been somewhere else – I was and am grateful for everything I was able to experience there.
