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Australia for School?

R

rohopish

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 12, 2006
45
0
Hey Everybody,

I currently live in Niagara Falls, Canada. I'm in Grade 11 at a Catholic High School (Secondary School) and want to finish my Secondary Schooling in another country. I've recently been looking into United Nations statistics, which show that the best countries to live in overall (other than Canada) include Norway, Iceland, Luxembourg, and Australia. I don't have anything against European countries but I'm not much of a winter person; so, I really would like to go to school in Australia.

My question is, for those of you who already live in Australia, how is the educational system? And if possible, how's is the economy? Are things expensive compared to other countries like Canada, etc.? Thank you so much for the help. :)

Sincerely,

Bobby Sullivan
 
rohopish said:
Hey Everybody,

I currently live in Niagara Falls, Canada. I'm in Grade 11 at a Catholic High School (Secondary School) and want to finish my Secondary Schooling in another country. I've recently been looking into United Nations statistics, which show that the best countries to live in overall (other than Canada) include Norway, Iceland, Luxembourg, and Australia. I don't have anything against European countries but I'm not much of a winter person; so, I really would like to go to school in Australia.

My question is, for those of you who already live in Australia, how is the educational system? And if possible, how's is the economy? Are things expensive compared to other countries like Canada, etc.? Thank you so much for the help. :)

Sincerely,

Bobby Sullivan
Click to expand...

good schools

stable economy

very cheap

great weather

fantastic beaches

very safe

great outdoors life

as you can see I'm bias

but seriously if you decide to go to OZ you will not regret it
 
it been my experience that Australians and Canadians generally like each other

schools are excellent

you will enjoy yourself here
 
Depending on what city you go to (Sydney's the most expensive), things'll probably be cheaper in Australia. The education system can be top-notch, depending on which school you go to. Generally speaking, the Catholic schools are okay because they get extra funding from the government. That's not always the case though.

If you come to a city near me, I'll cook you a BBQ.
 
Do it mate, definitely.

Aussies and Canadians get along really well.

The economy is good, from what I could tell when i was living over there the price of stuff is basically the same and you've got a decent exchange rate.

Sydney and Melbourne will be the most expensive, Sydney is bigger in population than Toronto and has a similar feel to it but I reckon Sydney is more exciting and vibrant and fun. Melbourne is a bit cooler than Sydney but has a trendiness and cosmopolitan atmosphere that Sydney can't touch.

Just take the leap mate you'll absolutely love it, by the way, how old are you? Year 11 so you're probably about 17 right?
 
Yeah I absolutely agree with everything mad jew and Chundles have said - especially regarding the cities.

Private schools here are generally excellent, but can be quite expensive. Catholic schools are also pretty well regarded and not as expensive. Public schools are a bit hit and miss on the other hand. I went to a public school and it didn't do me any harm, but they're probably not the best.

Another thing you might want to consider is what sort of 'qualification' you want to get at the end. Each state in Australia has a different education system, so what you get at the end will vary depending on state. I'm from Victoria, so I got my VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education), for example. The thing you need to look at, is how these are all regarded when trying to get into uni.

You could also consider doing an IB (international baccalaureate), but that is only offered at some (mostly private) schools.

Hope that's of some use. :)
 
max_altitude said:
You could also consider doing an IB (international baccalaureate), but that is only offered at some (mostly private) schools.
Click to expand...


I did that. :cool:

Unfortunately, it starts in year eleven so it might be a bit late for that. Still, most of the state's secondary qualifications are recognised in most unis (certainly all Aussie unis). There are tonnes of Canadian students at Adelaide Uni, and they seem to enjoy themselves. :)
 
mad jew said:
Unfortunately, it starts in year eleven so it might be a bit late for that.
Click to expand...

Ah ok, I didn't realise that.

Another thing to keep in mind is the different school years. Ours go from Feb-Dec, so all the year 12s are finishing up at the moment. Over there you're only half way through year eleven yeah? So that means you'll probably have to take 6 months off in between (or come and do half of year 11 again).
 
Ooh yeah, forgot about the HSC stuff.

I don't know how you'd go about getting your Year 11 marks transferred from Canada to Australia because Year 12 is absolutely intense.

At the end of Year 12 you take an exam for every subject you've studied for the Higher School Certificate (sometimes more than one exam per subject, I had three for English because I did the advanced course after school in addition to the higher-tier course during school hours). They're tough, full-on exams because the final standardised mark you get from the exams is the mark the Universities use to admit you to your chosen degree.

You don't have to do written applications to Universities here, you simply list your top 9 preferences online at the Universities Admissions Centre and when the final mark comes out the Unis will fill their courses from the person with the highest mark down till the course is full.

So your final year in High School is very, very busy. Lots of studying (I was doing about 6 hours a day on weekdays and 10 on the weekend - paid off too, my final mark was higher than 96% of all Year 12 students in NSW) and the exams are known to cause a number of suicides every year so you've got to keep balanced.

That's not to say it wasn't an absolutely amazing time. Uni is better though, perhaps you'd be better suited to finishing school in Canada and coming out for University either on exchange or as a Study Abroad student?
 
Wow, I'm amazed by all of the replies! So, just to sum up my post question:

Is it actually possible for me to move to Australia and take "Year 12" courses to finish high school, do I need a visa, etc.?

And out of Sydney and Melbourne, which do you think is more asthetically pleasing?

Also, (and just for fun), what's some lingo you Aussies use that we don't here in Canada?

P.S. I'm 16, going on 17 in May. What is the drinking age/driving age? And there isn't any TV TAX like in England is there?

Our's would be: "Eh?" "KD" (kraft Dinner) "Newfie" (Someone from Newfoundland & Labrador) "Pop" (Soda, fizzy drink) "Garburator" (a scraps blender in your sink). :D
 
rohopish said:
Is it actually possible for me to move to Australia and take "Year 12" courses to finish high school, do I need a visa, etc.?
Click to expand...
It's possible, but I'd say there would be quite a few hassles involved in terms of equating your current education to standards here. Year 12 could be especially tricky because a lot of the time doing the year 11 subjects is pre-requisite. Maybe your school has some sort of program that allows this all to happen easily, but that's something you'd have to look into.

To study here, you would need a student visa I think. Check out the Aussie Immigration Department website. You'll probably find what you're looking for there.

rohopish said:
And out of Sydney and Melbourne, which do you think is more asthetically pleasing?
Click to expand...

They're both really nice cities. Sydney seems to be more rushed and busy compared to Melbourne. It's certainly more expensive.

Melbourne's an awesome city (obviously I'm biased ;) ). There's always lots going on, cafes, shops, restaurants everywhere and just a really good vibe in general.
 
rohopish said:
Wow, I'm amazed by all of the replies! So, just to sum up my post question:

Is it actually possible for me to move to Australia and take "Year 12" courses to finish high school, do I need a visa, etc.?

And out of Sydney and Melbourne, which do you think is more asthetically pleasing?

Also, (and just for fun), what's some lingo you Aussies use that we don't here in Canada?

P.S. I'm 16, going on 17 in May. What is the drinking age/driving age? And there isn't any TV TAX like in England is there?

Our's would be: "Eh?" "KD" (kraft Dinner) "Newfie" (Someone from Newfoundland & Labrador) "Pop" (Soda, fizzy drink) "Garburator" (a scraps blender in your sink). :D
Click to expand...

You'd have to take up the high school/visa stuff with the embassy in Canada. I have no idea abut any of that but I do know there are a hell of a lot of Canadian Uni students here in my town - they love the beach.

I would say Sydney is more aesthetically pleasing than Melbourne but Melbourne has a better "vibe" than Sydney.

As for driving you'd need a full license from Canada if you wanted to drive - getting your full license in Australia takes about 3 years and for the first period when you have your Learner's Permit you are required to have a fully licensed driver with you to sign a log book. After 50 hours of logged driving experience in a wide range of conditions you get your Provisional License which allows you to drive on your own but your speed is limited. After two years of this you get your full license.

We don't have a TV tax like they do in England, we have about 5 free to air channels which have all the major shows and sport etc and there is cable TV which almost nobody has because it's pointless and expensive.

Drinking age is 18.

As for lingo, well you've got buckley's of understanding any sort of strine I could feed you over the net because it all means different stuff wherever you are - you've got to experience it in person. There are some websites on the net that give supposed meaning to aussie slang but most of it is contrived and wrong.

Just as a finish, Outback Steakhouse = a total lie. We don't eat anything that would even vaguely resemble a "Bloomin' Onion" - I grabbed one of their menus and I've never been so embarassed in my life. Aussie food is very eclectic, borrowing from the Asian and European influences that were brought with the migrants after the war. It's generally light, tasty and made with the freshest of ingredients. One thing about the climate - there's always some amazing fruit and veg in season and the seafood is magnificent.

If you come out for the final year of school you'll probably miss the height of summer because we go from Feb -> November/December so it'll be warm at the start and finish but the rest of the year will be reasonably mild. If you get the chance, pop down to the mountains in the winter and go skiing - it's nothing on what you get in Canada but the sensation of skiing amongst the gum trees is second to none in the world and the party atmosphere is just electric (if it's a good season, last season was not a good season) and I'm yet to find anywhere that parties better.

I would seriously consider coming over for Uni instead of High School, last year of HS as I said is extraordinarily busy and stressful studying for the final exams. You get longer holidays in Uni, you could take easy bludge courses to give you more time off during the week and really get a chance to travel.
 
Yeah, I agree with Chundles The Brave, jumping into year twelve from a different system would probably be more work that it's worth. Head over for uni, ya flamin' gallah. :cool:
 
Chundles said:
You'd have to take up the high school/visa stuff with the embassy in Canada. I have no idea abut any of that but I do know there are a hell of a lot of Canadian Uni students here in my town - they love the beach.

I would say Sydney is more aesthetically pleasing than Melbourne but Melbourne has a better "vibe" than Sydney.

As for driving you'd need a full license from Canada if you wanted to drive - getting your full license in Australia takes about 3 years and for the first period when you have your Learner's Permit you are required to have a fully licensed driver with you to sign a log book. After 50 hours of logged driving experience in a wide range of conditions you get your Provisional License which allows you to drive on your own but your speed is limited. After two years of this you get your full license.

We don't have a TV tax like they do in England, we have about 5 free to air channels which have all the major shows and sport etc and there is cable TV which almost nobody has because it's pointless and expensive.

Drinking age is 18.

As for lingo, well you've got buckley's of understanding any sort of strine I could feed you over the net because it all means different stuff wherever you are - you've got to experience it in person. There are some websites on the net that give supposed meaning to aussie slang but most of it is contrived and wrong.

Just as a finish, Outback Steakhouse = a total lie. We don't eat anything that would even vaguely resemble a "Bloomin' Onion" - I grabbed one of their menus and I've never been so embarassed in my life. Aussie food is very eclectic, borrowing from the Asian and European influences that were brought with the migrants after the war. It's generally light, tasty and made with the freshest of ingredients. One thing about the climate - there's always some amazing fruit and veg in season and the seafood is magnificent.

If you come out for the final year of school you'll probably miss the height of summer because we go from Feb -> November/December so it'll be warm at the start and finish but the rest of the year will be reasonably mild. If you get the chance, pop down to the mountains in the winter and go skiing - it's nothing on what you get in Canada but the sensation of skiing amongst the gum trees is second to none in the world and the party atmosphere is just electric (if it's a good season, last season was not a good season) and I'm yet to find anywhere that parties better.

I would seriously consider coming over for Uni instead of High School, last year of HS as I said is extraordinarily busy and stressful studying for the final exams. You get longer holidays in Uni, you could take easy bludge courses to give you more time off during the week and really get a chance to travel.
Click to expand...

I agree with you on most of those things dear but the fruit and veg here is shocking! :eek:
 
i live in Sydney but i suggest you not come here, its just like every other big city in the world (except better:D), go to Brisbane, Perth is good too, it will give you a break from cold and its more easy to experience real Australian culture and people
 
I guess the moral of the story here is:

Don't go to Adelaide - it's a hole. Cue mad jew in 3, 2, 1....
 
mad jew said:
Okay, so I've really got nothin' to defend 'Delaide with... :eek:
Click to expand...
There was some Christmas parade on yesterday wasn't there? It looked nice on the news. (though I'm still a bit confused why there would be a Christmas parade in early NOVEMBER). Clearly it's the water playing havoc with your minds again. :p ;)

Honestly though, I've only been to Adelaide once, but from what I remember it's quite a nice city.
 
I agree with the others that it might be a bit too hard to just swap into yr12. I'd suggest researching about your options to do an exchange year (which may result in you doing yr12 here anyway, but maybe after you've finished your studies there - so in effect you won't care about any marks here!). Or as mentioned above, come as a working holiday visa for a year (I assume thats pretty easy from Canada - it is from the UK as far as I know) or as a uni student.
 
mad jew said:
..., ya flamin' gallah.
Click to expand...

MJ, that brought a tear to my eyes laughing... I thought my Mother-in-law was the only one left in Australia who used that phrase (in real life, not "Kath and Kim"). Mind, it's normally me who gets called it - along with Pom.

Chundles said:
I guess the moral of the story here is:

Don't go to Adelaide - it's a hole. Cue mad jew in 3, 2, 1....
Click to expand...

Ah, the beauty of the 20 minute city. I do agree though, it is... or at least the bit I have been to.

To the OP:
Aussies have a habit of shortening names, or adding an eee sound to the end of things. This might be local to my wife's family but it can happen. My name peeves them cause it couldnt be shortened so, they changed it to Gray-gray.

Other examples
Elizabeth (my daughter), immediately got shortened to Lib-lib or Libby
Chippie (with that eee sound) = French Fry
Lolly = Candy/Sweets in general
Barbie = BBQ but, notice the eee sound :)
Milk Bar... sorry no alcohol, and the milk can be dodgy... Its a general store/newsagent.
Maccas = McDonalds.
Dim-sims = part of the national diet... Every food court in every mall has at least 5 asian food places, a Maccas, and a Donut King or Muffin Break (it's the law)...

One thing I dislike about Australia is the lack of bookstores like Borders in the 'burbs. We are in Melbourne's inner suburbs and have to go all the way down to Knox to check out a decent bookstore (sorry guys, Collins/A&R at the malls just dont cut the mustard).
 
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