Location & Fees
- Speak with your parents about your options.
- Consider the price of tuition, accommodation, food, supplies, textbooks, toiletries, clothing, and socialising.
- Would you like to study close to home, further away or overseas?
Before you start looking at universities, consider if you are would like to study closer to home, further away or even overseas. Once you have thought about what you would like to do, speak with your parents about what you may be able to afford.
Tuition: A lot of costs are involved when going to uni. Your tuition fees will depend on which course you choose and will vary at each university. Tuition fees normally do not include any supplies or textbooks you will need to complete each course.
Other Expenses: If you have chosen to move away from home, you will need to fork out for accommodation, food, toiletries, clothing, plus any costs associated with your social life.
Scholarships: Most universities offer scholarships to students, or prospective students, who meet certain criteria (usually academic). The scholarship may cover your tuition costs partially or totally, as well as accommodation.
Government Grants: The Australian Government offers a range of information on course guides and study assistance payments on their website.
Courses & Class Sizes
- Compare university course availability.
- Find out the pre-requisites for each course.
- Consider lecture and tutorial sizes.
When you have decided which type of study interests you, research which universities have courses to suit your future goals.
Prerequisites: Before you apply for a course, find out what you will need to do and the grades you will need to be approved for enrolment into the course.
Class Sizes: Most universities will run quite large lectures with several hundred people attending, as well as smaller lectures with only a dozen students in attendance. Tutorials will always be smaller, but larger uni’s may have class sizes of more than 20 people. Enrol in your course as soon as possible to guarantee your place in your desired classes.
Accommodation & Transport
- Will you live at home, in a share-house or on-campus?
- Is the university easy to get to?
You may be eager to leave home, but studying often involves a few big commitments. Consider whether you will have enough money to pay for rent, or the bulk cost of on-site accommodation. It is also important to consider if you’ll be able to easily get to your classes from where you live.
Share Housing: Sharing a home with other people will cut down the cost of paying the rent and bills on your own. Check out this blog for more information about living with roomies.
On-Campus: If you love to socialise, why not consider living on-campus. On-campus accommodation will normally consist of a room with a bed, drawers and sometimes a small bathroom and kitchen. You will be close to classes and campus fun.
Transport: Driving may seem like the obvious option while you are at uni, but take into account you will need to pay for fuel and maintenance, and you may need to pay for parking. Find out if your university has free student parking or is easily accessed by public transport.
Social Activities & Work
- Look into what activities and social clubs are at each university.
- You may want to work to cover your non-tuition costs.
University can be a lot of fun. Most universities will have social clubs for a range of hobbies and interests plus student events throughout the year. If you want to be independent in covering the cost of your socialising, consider getting a casual or part-time job.
