Making a Sensible Choice
Australia

The last year has been a roller-coaster ride for many of the world's economies, with some resultant political upheavals providing even more uncertainty for the student who wishes to travel to study. So what should the student who wishes to study abroad now consider? Is it time to give up on the idea altogether? For those with the maturity to look into current events in detail and make choices, then there are still opportunities to study abroad and get that high quality internationally recognised degree.

If you have been contemplating studying abroad for a degree, then unless you are lucky enough to live in a country that has not yet joined the world recession, you are most probably having second thoughts. The fall in currency values means that foreign university education is looking more expensive this year than last and may well rise in cost next year. The same can be said for travel and accommodation costs as well. Yet a more detailed look at what is on offer can provide you with some really viable choices and options. The immediate reaction to go to a cheaper country or university is not the only option you have left.

Students who wish to study abroad often wish to do this for a variety of reasons including the desire to see the world, experience a different culture and often to get a qualification that is more internationally recognised by future employers back home and abroad. There have been world recessions before, and whilst the numbers of students travelling each year for study varies, there has been a near thirty years of continuous increase in numbers of such students. All that has happened is the slowing or speeding up of this growth. Is there any difference now? Not really!

Struggling to save and afford the cost of overseas study has always been part of the experience of international studies in all countries, including those students who stay and study at home. What may be different this time is the level of current uncertainty, but this will go too. Most experts see the current economic problems as related to a banking crisis rather than economic inefficiency. As a result, most (but not all) forecasts see rescheduling of debts and the restructuring of the world's banking systems as the answer to a relatively short-term problem. After all, the manufacturers and businesses in Korea, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia and many more economies are just as efficient as they were last year (if not more so), they have just borrowed too much money from a banking system unable to cope. Once this is resolved, these economies will begin to grow again.

So if you are an international student starting a degree course this year, you should find your economic problems getting easier over the next few years. In fact, if you start your studies now you could be qualifying just as the world economy is in high growth and has a shortage of well qualified graduates. Having said that, how do you afford a quality degree education today with all the current economic problems?

Bearing in mind you are reading "Study Australia", you would expect the advice to be 'Go to Australia to study' - and you would be right! However, there are some very practical reasons to do so that you should consider. Let us first examine the main reason for choosing any degree course or programme: academic quality. Australia is pretty well near the top of the tree when it comes to the academic quality of its universities and degrees. Besides having one of the world's oldest university sectors (everyone always thinks of Australia as being new or young), it has several academic advantages. Its university sector was originally based on the British system, with famous universities like Oxford and Cambridge founding colleges in Australia. Yet in this century, the Australian university sector has also emulated American methods of teaching and course structures. Put this together with reforms and developments throughout the 1970s, 1980s and in this decade, and you have a uniquely structured academic sector driven by a desire to achieve excellence.

You will find almost every variety of traditional and modern degree subject offered by Australian universities, with all of them concentrating very heavily on the future employment and career prospects of their graduates. The variety of teaching and learning methods is also uniquely varied, and has something for almost any student from any cultural background and aspiration. The teaching in Australian universities is also acknowledged as superb and it is often quicker to include the findings produced by research activities.

This research activity sees Australia as a world leader in several important fields, from telecommunications to biological sciences, medicine, cultural studies, economic development, tourism and a range of subjects too long to list here. In almost every measure of quality, including those done by organisations such as UNESCO or the Association of Commonwealth Universities, Australia is classed as excellent.

That excellence of academic teaching and research is jealously guarded by even the Australian Government, who maintain a quality control and auditing system that is so demanding that no other country has copied it (or dared to!), and further guarantees international students that they are going a worthwhile education. So international students thinking of studying in Australia have a quality and range of choice almost unmatched and certainly not beaten anywhere else in the world.

So what's the cost or price for such excellence? Normally better quality almost always means a higher cost. Well, in the case of choosing Australia, the world's current economic problems have made it an even more attractive choice based on cost alone!

It is a fact (not particularly liked by Australians themselves) that the Australian dollar has suffered quite a drop in value in the last year in comparison to other currencies. So whilst your own currency may be not as strong as last year, it still can buy more Australian dollars than you most probably thought. The even better news is that it still has a good domestic value, so it buys just as much in Australia as it has - including tuition fees - at universities. This Australian value for money becomes even more obvious when you compare such study cost to the other major educational provider countries (such as the U.S, Britain and Europe) where currencies are very strong and resultant cost much higher. So you can see that if you are an international student only looking for quality and excellence with value for money and lower costs, then Australia is a more attractive choice than it has ever been. Yet these are not the only factors you will consider (even if they are the most important in financially difficult times). If you are studying abroad, then you are also choosing to be a guest in a country, and what that country has to offer socially, culturally and as a place to live is also very important.

As a place to live, Australia is still one of the world's best locations. Millions come here as tourists, so it is easy to see why international students also choose Oz! Everyone knows our beaches are the best in the world (as well as the longest!), but do you know about our mountains, winter skiing, tropical rainforests, deserts, waterfalls and rolling green valleys as well? Whether you want to be in one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities, or in a country town where you are a neighbour as well as a guest, then you can find a university to match.

With all of the advantages mentioned above, you should be booking your ticket and making your application now! If you do consider studying in Australia, don't forget the best reason for coming: the Australians themselves. We are proud of our diversity of every creed, race, colour and religion that will ensure you will feel at home as well as enjoy experiencing new horizons. But most of all, enjoy our hospitality and genuine friendliness. When Australians wish you G'day ('Have a Good Day') they mean it! Who knows, if you act now we could see you in time for the Olympics.

Author

Paul Weller