General: Information about the country, the city and the university
I spent my semester abroad in Australia at Griffith University. Australia, the smallest continent in the world, has a population of around 24 million. Most of them live on the east and west coasts. Griffith University has five different campuses, four of which are in Brisbane and one on the Gold Coast. I chose the Gold Coast campus. Although it is about 70 km from Brisbane, it is right on the coast (on the beach), which was particularly important to me.
Griffith University is one of the largest and best universities in Australia with 50,000 students. It is one of the top 3 percent of all universities worldwide. The university is divided into 9 faculties, including business and commerce, engineering, health and leisure. The university is particularly known for studying medical science.
See diseaseslearning for more information about Australia and Oceania.
Gold Coast is a big city with a lot of tourists. It is also known as the Australian “Las Vegas”, which is particularly confirmed in the Surfers Paradise district by the numerous cafes, bars, nightclubs and leisure activities.
Recommended preparation: Visa, flight, insurance, visits to the doctor, apartment, maintenance costs
I came across Griffith University through MicroEDU and applied through them. The entire application process went through MicroEDU, I just had to choose whether I would like to study for a semester or two at the university and which courses I would like to take. After submitting the application form and checking the course selection, Griffith University asked me to transfer the tuition fees, which start at a minimum of AU $ 7,500 per semester (for 3 courses) depending on the number of courses. After transferring the tuition fees, I received the confirmation from the university stating the code that was used to apply for the Australian student visa. The application for the student visa was made online and processed quickly (1 week). The cost of the student visa was just under AUD 550. With this it was possible for me to stay in Australia for the duration of my studies and an additional month (to travel). Of course, depending on the application, there are also other options for obtaining a residence permit / visa. A free option is the simple tourist visa, which is only valid for 90 days.
The flight was booked shortly after the confirmation from the university and the visa. At first, I only booked the one-way flight because I wanted to keep the option open of whether I would still like to travel after the semester abroad. The one-way flight from Frankfurt to Brisbane cost around 700 euros.
Although compulsory health insurance (OSHC) is required by the Australian government for all international students, the university recommends that you take out additional health insurance abroad, as OSHC insurance only provides basic coverage and excludes certain benefits such as repatriation. I followed the advice and took out a foreign health insurance in connection with a liability, accident and luggage insurance with PROTRIP. This cost 40 euros per month. During my stay abroad I only had to see a doctor twice, the doctor’s visits went smoothly with the OSHC insurance. So I can recommend that the OSHC insurance was perfectly adequate.
I lived in Southport, a part of town between the university and the beach. The rent was $ 145 a week, which was by far one of the cheapest apartments around. When I arrived, I took a hostel and looked for a suitable apartment from there. The university offered a free living service by offering private apartments exclusively for students on its website. In addition, she offered a free shuttle service for all students who were looking for accommodation in the first 2 weeks. This shuttle service drove the students to the various apartments for the purpose of viewing the apartments, ie as a student you only had to make an apartment appointment and the university would then bring you to the respective apartment. In particular, I would not recommend moving into the University Village as it is very expensive ($ 250 and more per week) and the apartments usually do not match what is promised in the pictures.
The cost of living in Australia is generally very high. In addition to rent, food prices are on average 2-2.5 times higher than in Germany. In particular, foods such as dairy products, fruits and sausages are very expensive. On the other hand, fuel is very cheap, for example.
Study organization: course choice, recognized exams, other
On the website of the university there is a very good and structured list of all courses offered, broken down according to the semester in which the lecture is held. In addition, the filter can be used, for example, to display only Bachelor or Master courses or to find courses related to the faculty. With the help of this site, it was easy, fast and problem-free for me to find suitable courses for my studies. I attended 3 lectures (Corporate Finance, Resource Planning and Management, Heat and Mass Transfer), which I had my professors approve in advance. Griffith University has a different grading system than the German universities (the exact distribution of grades can be found on the university’s homepage). You have passed a subject if you have achieved at least 50%. The best grade is achieved from 85%. All courses had in common that the overall grade is made up of partial grades, which in turn are awarded for intermediate exams, group work, homework and reports. The resulting high expenditure of time during the semester was offset by relatively fair exams. The professors are very friendly, courteous and very interested in ensuring that their students feel comfortable in the course. You will be addressed by your first name, try to answer every question and, if there is not enough time, refer to your office hours or deal with the question in the next lecture.
Life and leisure: student life, nightlife, country, people, climate, food, sports, travel
Student life is very diverse and has something to offer for everyone.There are many sports clubs at the university, such as rugby, soccer, badminton and basketball. For non-sports enthusiasts, there are social clubs with different interests. There were social clubs for joint vegan cooking, Japanese cultural evenings, dance clubs and much more. In addition to these clubs, the university organizes various events, day trips, parties and much more through its own student center, the “Student Guild”. The latter in particular is in great demand, which is why the tickets are often sold out within a few hours. Another great way to meet new students is at the Griffith Mates events, which are particularly popular with international students. The nightlife on the Gold Coast is mostly in Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach. While Surfers Paradise is more likely to be haunted by tourists, the locals prefer the nightclubs of Broadbeach. Australians are generally very friendly and helpful. One is often addressed as “Hey how are u?”, But it should be remembered that Australians are not seriously interested in how you are. The climate in Australia can be very different. It is very typical that at the same time in the north of the country 30 degrees or more are reached, and in the south the temperatures are only 15 degrees. The food is very Western and Asian, but exotic food is not neglected either. However, it has to be said that the food on the Gold Coast is often very unhealthy and greasy. Australians love burgers or schnitzel with fries. Healthy food is available at increased or overpriced prices.
If you love to travel and want to discover new places, Australia is an ideal place. Not only nature lovers get their money’s worth, many beautiful beaches can also be visited and enjoyed. I had traveled the east coast from Brisbane to Cairns, the Uluru and then the route from Adelaide via Melbourne to Sydney. There were many beautiful places, beaches, mountains, islands, landscapes and much more on this route. Especially recommended are Frasers Island (largest sand island in the world) and Whitsundays (Whitehaven Beach, the whitest beach in Australia), but also the Great Barrier Reef. Magnetic Island and Kangaroo Island are also highly recommended.
Conclusion
I can only recommend studying at Griffith University in Gold Coast. In addition to a great and beautiful campus, the university offers very good and practice-oriented teaching. The university invests a lot of money in teaching and research, staff and student offers and activities. For example, coffee, muffins, cakes, etc. are offered free of charge every evening during the exam phase. In addition to these aspects, the Gold Coast location offers the ideal balance to everyday university life. You can relax on the numerous beaches or parks and if that’s not enough adrenaline, you can discover one of four large amusement parks. Surfers Paradise is the ideal place to do something in the evening (and also during the day).
