I was most interested in what I regard as the top three universities in Sydney, which are the University of Sydney, University of New South Wales and also the University of Technology Sydney. I do not have high academic regard for ACU or Macquarie so I was aiming for one of the three I have listed. I attended the open days for all universities and fell in love with Sydney University and had my heart set on going there. I went to the UNSW open day and didn't like UNSW at all. I didn't like the campus, I just had a weird feeling about it, it was awkward to get to and I didn't know many people going there. I was not as interested in going to UTS as I thought the whole campus was the one tower building, which is quite ugly. But then when I attended the open day, I liked the feel of the campus, having had the opportunity to walk around and see what the campus was. When it came time to choose my university through UAC and which courses I was applying for, I realised that my results probably would not lend to getting into the Business degree at Sydney Uni, as I was initially applying for a double degree in business and international studies, which had a very high ATAR score at USYD. When the results were released, I had gotten into UTS and received an early entry offer from UNSW for a similar course. I chose UTS as I did not like UNSW and didn?t get the results I needed for USYD.
Exams
I received an ATAR of 93.05 and got into the course that I wanted to get into at UTS. I have since dropped the Bachelor of Arts in international studies because one of the requirements was to study for a year abroad and I did not have the funds to do that.
Fees
I have undertaken my studies through a government HECs loan whereby I will pay back my fees later once I have a job. Most courses are around $1,000-$1,300 depending on the degree and credit points it is. I am unsure if there are international scholarships available. I'm sure there are like my friend from Costa Rica who was offered a place for a master's degree that would be paid for by the university.
Faculty
The faculty at UTS are mostly helpful and great. Like all universities, different lecturers and tutors have different teaching styles and methodologies, there is no one uniform teaching method. However, the classes are never overfilled so you can receive help if you need it. Most tutors and lecturers engage in class discussions and expect you to do a lot of pre-work before and after classes so there is a lot of independent and online learning.
Hostel
I live in a private residence. However, I know people who live in a share-accommodation run by an organization that is affiliated with the university (UrbanNest and Yura). No meals are provided at either as far as I know.
