My Exchange at Monash University
I have always wanted to study at Monash as it is my first plan for University study. Unluckily, the COVID pandemic happened, and I have had to stay in Auckland for my degree. Thus, I have always wanted to participate in an exchange programme to Australia since I started my Bachelor’s degree at the University of Auckland. I have always followed 360 International opportunities; however, because of COVID, most of the opportunities were not offered to international students. Not until February 2022 I heard from one of my friends about the open application for international students. I applied quite late. However, I was still lucky enough to receive the offer from Monash University.
I have been to Melbourne before, where Monash University is located. Therefore, there was not much impression on me when I arrived. However, what shocked me was how hard it was to find suitable accommodation within my given budget. I never have to look for accommodation at home as I still live with my parents. I have to stay at my friend’s place for the first month to find accommodation. It was a room with a private bathroom in the CBD of Melbourne.
The orientation was the day right after I arrived, so it was quite tiring for me to wake up on time to arrive early at the campus. It was really nice that they have allowed all exchange students to meet and introduce us to Monash. The Clayton campus was monumental. I chose to study 4 courses at Monash this semester. Overall, I found that the course structure was pretty much similar to the University of Auckland. However, the way Monash organized the final exam was much more strict. It was also my first time to have an on-campus exam after 1.5 years of studying online. Everything was going well until the final exam came. The exam was probably the most challenging of the whole exchange programme. This is because I am not used to how Monash organized it, there was no past exam given, and also it was on campus. After all, I still passed all 4 courses which were good enough for me.
Choosing to study at the Caulfield campus was not too bad, even though I know that Caulfield is much smaller and fewer activities compare to Clayton. The cost of living in Melbourne is very similar to Auckland. However, the options are much more diverse. The food here was also much better than in Auckland. This was easy to understand since Melbourne is much bigger.
During the 4 months of staying in Australia, I got a chance to visit Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sydney. All the places were really lovely and my favourite place was Gold Coast. One piece of advice I would like to give to all students is that if you are thinking to go overseas but are scared that it would be hard to settle, Australia and Melbourne is definitely great option on the list.
What are your top 3 tips for future students attending your host university or going on exchange to your host country?
– Travel when you can
– Monash is quite far from Melbourne, so that is one thing to consider because the transportation is not that convenient
– Attending Monash events
How much did you budget for your exchange? Was this enough? Were there any lessons learned that would help future students budget for their own exchange?
$10,000 NZD not including tuition fee which was enough because I was able to find a part-time job.
What are your most significant takeaways from your experience abroad?
I have learned to be so much more independent. As my parents only gave me a particular amount of money for my exchange, I have worked to earn money and pay for my expenses.
Do you want to share anything about travels you did outside your host city/country?
I was able to visit Sydney, Brisbane and Gold Coast during my break which was such a nice experience.
