During my studies in industrial engineering in Germany, professors often made me aware of how important a stay abroad would be for upgrading a degree. Together with 2 other fellow students, I was inspired by the idea of studying abroad for six months and we started looking for a suitable university abroad. Since our university did not have any very interesting partner universities to choose from, we had to look elsewhere. Through a tip from a fellow student, we came across MicroEDU and rummaged through the universities on offer in Australia – it was clear to us from the outset that we should go to Australia. After an unsuccessful application at the USQ in Springfield (so the university would have taken us only the Bafög office was not particularly enthusiastic about this idea) we decided on Grifith University on the Gold Coast. OK so far, now a little more detailed:
Canditature:
It was super easy, MicroEDU forwarded the necessary application documents to Griffith and also took care of all the other written and telephone contact with the Australian university. We only had to pay the tuition fees;)
It was really nice that you can also take the DAAD test as a language certificate at this university. It costs nothing and has to be deposited with the English professor you trust…
An important topic, it costs a lot, the trip. The application is recommended to everyone, even if they do not meet the requirements for receiving student loans in Germany. With the Auslandsbafög there are special allowances for tuition fees, flights and the like. Your total entitlement will be calculated and offset against the earnings of your parents and your assets. It’s definitely worth it for everyone. In addition, you don’t have to pay back a large part of the money and only half of the rest. Note, however: the application is extremely laborious, endless documents have to be filled out and the office will follow up on every little thing. Sometimes I really had the feeling that something was desperately looking for, that the application could be rejected. I’ve been studying in Australia for a month when the application was finally approved and I had the money in my account. The application was already 7 months ago, for my fellow student it took a month longer…
Grade recognition:
I had taken care of studying abroad on my own and not studying at a partner university through my home university, with which a learning agreement was concluded. A recognition of the work performed abroad is correspondingly cumbersome. I relied on the benevolence and understanding of my professors. At this point, thanks again to Prof. Venitz;) Unfortunately, our international office at the university was anything but helpful, which often turns out to be very annoying, because you can get documents or information from all places at the university needed, was referred to at this point. So, just as a conclusion: As soon as you carry out such a project on your own, you have to reckon with a lot of work. And another tip: At the end, ask your lecturer at Griffith for a letter about the amount of the points you have achieved, the transcript only states the degree you have achieved (High Distinction, Pass, etc.), grades are just different than in Germany. There could be problems…
See loverists for more information about Australia and Oceania.
Travel:
Well, of course I didn’t just want to go to Australia to study, I also wanted to see something of the breathtaking continent. So I started heading Down Under 6 weeks before the start of the semester and traveled the continent as a backpacker, together with the other two fellow students. How saw the big cities Melbourne and Sydney, from Cairns (please don’t make the mistake and pronounce it Cärns;)) from the east coast down via Brisbane to our destination Southport. There are so many nice things to experience along the way that you shouldn’t miss: diving and snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, sailing off the Whitsundays, hiking through the rainforest in Cape Trip, camping on Fraser Island, etc., after the final exams I still make the trip to Darwin, Alice Springs with Ayers Rock and Adelaide. Unfortunately, I had to pass the West due to lack of time and money. To explore the whole continent during the six months in Australia was almost impossible. You only really become aware of the vast distances when you are in Australia. And in return you get to know the advantages of living in Europe, where after a few hours’ drive you are in another country where another language is spoken. So after my trip I really decided to travel more in Europe, there are really no distances compared to Australia… And in return you get to know the advantages of living in Europe, where after a few hours’ drive you are in another country where another language is spoken. So after my trip I really decided to travel more in Europe, there are really no distances compared to Australia… And in return you get to know the advantages of living in Europe, where after a few hours’ drive you are in another country where another language is spoken. So after my trip I really decided to travel more in Europe, there are really no distances compared to Australia…
