Studies are semester based, where you study 3-4 subjects in each semester and progress is based on assignments, in class activities and exams. As opposed to Indian studies, results aren’t fully dependent on exams. It depends on overall performance during semester and exams can only form sometimes 50% part of your total performance. So here unlike India, you can’t be a book worm, study last minute and perform well in exams. Each semester lasts for around 3-4 months with a 2-4 week midyear break and 2 months Christmas break around December-January. These breaks are really good to earn more money and save for fees.
Also apparently, copying someone’s work in studies without giving them credit is a huge issue. It’s so big that if you are caught using someone’s work and don’t provide reference to them, you could fail in the exam and you could be expelled from University too in the name of plagiarism. This is good in a way to protect someone’s research and hard work in writing useful information for public. In India there is no such thing and people copy lots and lots of things and no one really cares. Something I need to be very careful of in my studies here.
Also studies are split between lecture and tutorial system, which is around 1-2 hour each for each subject. You must attend lecture first and tutorial after that. Depending on subject enrolments, if timing and availability matches well, I could be attending university only 1-2 days a week and work the rest of the days. Now I learnt how it is possible to earn while you learn. This is full time study for international students and permitted to work part time. Locals who work full time opt for part time studies too and sometimes study only on weekends. There is one thing for sure, studies are very flexible here.
Exams are also different type as compared to India. As I said earlier, overall results are not fully dependent on final exams. If you do really well during semester, then you may score only few marks and still pass the subject or score well everywhere and get Higher Distinction. Some exams are open book exams, but you are expected to write more precisely and accurate answers. Some exams are multiple choice and short answer exams.
I guess studies here prepare you to be practical and ready to enter work force, unlike India they make you book worms regardless of you understand or not and you have to write long essays to score well.
Fees are based on each subject, normally the same amount. There is no bribery, bias, caste based seats and so on. Although there is one thing, international students pay lot higher fees as compared to local students. I guess universities treat overseas students as their cash cows because locals hardly study up to University level. Locals normally drop out of schools and if lucky get up to Bachelors. Government also runs low interest or no interest fee help scheme to encourage studies.
This is how I learnt that education for overseas students in Australia is $15 Billion dollars industry and Australia’s largest service export.
Dressing in college, people in India dress up well to attend college, but here I noticed it’s totally different. People attend university in shorts and singlets, track pants or whatever they feel like wearing. No one really cares in getting dressed for university. Its lot more relaxed and casual in dressing and there is no issue with university too. Exceptions are if you have any presentations or some other activity than you dress appropriately for the right occasion. Lecturers are dressed well and in business attire but they don’t care if you enter late in the class or leave early or how you get dressed.
Overall feel in first few weeks is studies are fairly easy as compared to India, only burden being working; studying and managing household chores all by yourself can sometimes be stressful and frustrating. As I have lived this sort of life in my bachelors except working, I am half comfortable in managing things. I’ll get to see the stress level as soon as I find work.
khatti meethi yaadein 