Late nights, late mornings and a load of stuff I probably shouldn’t go into right now. All in all I remember student life being pretty good…And that was in Birmingham.
Which means life probably can’t get a whole lot better than studying in Oz, where soaking up the sun and enjoying beach barbies is thrown into the mix.
What’s more, once you’re on a student visa you get to stay for the duration of your course (plus a month before and after) and can leave and re-enter Australia as often as you like.
You’re also allowed to earn a little extra cash to help pay off the bar tabs. During term time you can toil for 20 hours a week. There’s no limit during the holidays.
Most importantly you’ll come away with a qualification that should stand you in good stead when you do eventually head home.
“International standards of education are adhered to and are usually transferable to overseas institutions,” says Imre Gomes of Student World. “The Australian education system is compatible with both the US and the UK.”
Courses don’t come cheap, but then they never do for international students and Australia is actually less expensive than many countries.
“Diplomas cost from $6,500, whilst a three-year degree often costs around $45,000,” says Gomes.
One thing you need to look into before signing up is health insurance (Overseas Student Health Cover), which is compulsory for students to have for the duration of their course. Without OSHC there’s no way you’ll get a student visa.
To sort the visa out you first need to get accepted on a course, which shouldn’t be too tricky with 39 universities and a plethora of colleges teaching everything from surf studies to marine biology.
If you can prove you’ve lived together for a year then you can even get your partner a visa to stay on with you.
The course needs to be with one of the providers recognised by the snappily-named Commonwealth Register of Institutions for Overseas Students (Cricos). Check by visitingcricos.dest.gov.au/.
Certainly make sure you take some care picking your course as visa conditions mean you’ll have to do at least six months before you’re allowed to change.
As Gomes says: “Select the right educational provider. Too many students arrive only to change the provider six months later. To me it’s time and money wasted.”
However, if it’s a short course you’re looking at, you might not even need a student visa as a working holiday visa allows you to study for up to four months.
Just make sure you don’t enjoy yourself too much once you’re in…Your visa can be revoked if your attendance is poor or your grades consistently drop below the 50 per cent pass mark.
Useful Contacts
Student World
Ph: (02) 9290 2366
www.studentworld.com.au/
IDP Education
Ph: 1300 788 3368
www.idp.com.au/
University of
Technology, Sydney
Ph: (02) 9514 2000
www.uts.edu.au/
Monash University, Melbourne
Ph: 1800 181 838
www.monash.edu.au/
Dept of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
http://cricos.dest.gov.au/
Dept of Immigration
and Citizenship
Ph: 131 881
www.immi.gov.au/
January 29th, 2008
