IFSA University of Melbourne Partnership

My time abroad was truly a vacation from school. It was a time for me to explore Melbourne, meet new people, and engage with my studies in a relaxed manner. IFSA was great in being a source of support, in every sense of the word. Through my participation with IFSA, I was fortunate enough to have an instant group of friends to explore with and discover all the things that make Melbourne unique. In terms of academics, it was an easy transition from my home school to the University of Melbourne. It was great to enroll in classes that exposed me to Australian cultures and in elective classes that I would not have to opportunity to enroll in at my home university. Overall, it was a great time, and I would definitely recommend! You learn about yourself and the world, and it is a great learning experience for all.

Taking a semester abroad can be a scary thing, especially if you are younger than the "typical" study abroad applicant. As a sophomore planning to go abroad to Australia, a country around 10,000 miles away from home, you can imagine how many questions and concerns I had before I left. From the very beginning of my application until the time I landed back home after the program, I was always supported by the IFSA staff. My pre-departure advisor was always available to answer my hundreds of questions I had about studying abroad and as soon as I landed in my host country, my program advisor took her place to answer even more questions. This made my experience incredibly easy because I was able to focus on my studies and meeting locals rather than things like insurance, cellphone plans, and medications. Additionally, IFSA had planned a couple excursions that focused on specific areas around us including a tour of Sydney, the Great Ocean Road and a hike in a rain forest. These excursions allowed us to experience being a tourist in our city while also learning about the culture and building relationships with other peers on the trip. Overall, I had an excellent experience with IFSA in Melbourne and would highly recommend this program and IFSA in general to anyone planning to study abroad!

I did two semesters abroad in Melbourne because I loved it so much. I'd definitely recommend living there! My experience studying at Melbourne University as an international student was largely positive, but with ups and downs here and there. I found that the grading at times was less harsh than I expected. I was nervous for exams because I didn't know what they'd be like, but I did much better than I expected. The lectures are all recorded and it's easy to watch them online, so you don't have to worry about missing lectures and you can study pretty methodically just by re-watching as much as you'd like. I definitely had plenty of free time because I could decide to skip a lecture if my friends wanted to go explore around the city or go out to eat, because I'd just come home and watch it online. I had two class-free days a week, too, so I only had to go to campus three days if that. Also, my IFSA program coordinator was extremely helpful with my class decisions before I even met her in person, and even more helpful once I got there. Your program coordinator will let you know how to adjust your course load to suit your requirements and how rigorous you want your classes to be while you're abroad. Living in Melbourne, I definitely had the city life experience. It's like living in any city, so you'll deal with the same things you would living in a city in the U.S. Melbourne is super unique and livable and you'll never run out of amazing new restaurants and sight-seeing. If you're proactive on Facebook, you can find tons of random public events that are super fun to do with friends. White Night is a classic Melbourne tradition where all the shops are open 24 hours for one day and the whole city goes crazy and gets covered in lights all night long! There's tons of night life too so you'll seriously never be bored, but plenty of coffee shops to get work done in. The tram takes you all around, all you need is your Myki card. The outer suburbs are so quirky and cool too and have seriously amazing street art. I lived off-campus so things were accessible, but if you're living on campus it's super easy to hop on the tram and go into the city center because there's a tram stop on campus. There isn't really a notion of school spirit in Australia, everyone really just shows up for class and then goes home. The majority of students live at home and commute every day, so I don't think there are really on-campus parties or anything like that. But if you're proactive and meet people you'll have plenty to do, there just isn't the typical university social scene you'd expect in the US. It's easy to get involved in campus life, and there are plenty of clubs and societies to join too which have their own events. Also, you get super close with your IFSA friends! The program does a great job of organizing meet-ups, study groups, and trips for the IFSA students, so you have an automatic support network. The Great Ocean Road trip is also breathtaking and a great time for bonding. I'd say the best parts were learning to live in a new place and gaining mental strength about putting myself out there to have fun. It really is what you make of it. Sometimes I felt frustrated or just really didn't want to deal with the pressure of being in an unfamiliar place, but that feeling passes. But other days you're ready to jet-set and go see the world! I traveled to amazing places like Cairns, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Noosa headlands, and the Sunshine Coast. You'll have days you just fall in love with the place you're in and other days where you just don't feel great. But through all of that, you'll get home a stronger, more experienced version of yourself and you'll have so much gratitude for life. IFSA absolutely helped me through the harder parts and helped make the great parts great.