UQ Program: Bachelor of Science
The first major difference I encountered between UW and UQ was that at UW they cap the number of students that can enrol in each course. For this reason I recommend having as many courses approved as possible and getting in touch with the relevant course coordinators as soon as possible and not leaving it until you arrive to enrol in courses. The academic standards at UW were high but not all that different to science courses at UQ. The classes were smaller than I had experienced at UQ and laboratory experiments were more self directed. It was good to learn from new lecturers with different academic backgrounds.
Experiencing a real winter with lots of snow was one of the highlights of my time spent in Canada. It is hard to believe someone who is trying to tell you that ‘it’s a mild winter this year’ when it’s about -15 degrees outside. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to play in the snow on my birthday which normally falls in the middle of a scorching Australian summer.
I was very happy to exchange my 1.5 hour bus trip to UQ for a 10 minute walk from my room to the lecture theatre. I stayed on campus and my building and the one next to it were full of exchange students. I made friends from many different countries around the world and house meetings often degraded to debates about the correct way to pronounce various words.
The six months that I spent on exchange and travelling afterwards was the longest I have been away from my family by far. I found this very hard at times, however I feel that the time away made me more independent and helped me to really appreciate my family and friends and my life in Australia.