Application process
I applied for Bond University very spontaneously two weeks before the orientation week began. The application process is a little more extensive than at some other universities, so in addition to the required language certificates, a letter of recommendation from a professor, a letter of motivation and a few forms were required. To be accepted at the university, you should have a better average than 3.0 at the German university. After I had submitted all the documents and immediately forwarded the documents to MicroEDU, the university gave the acceptance the next day. At this point I want to emphasize again that MicroEDU is very well organized and helped me enormously with the spontaneous application.
Travel to Australia and accommodation
I was lucky that Emirates was the cheapest airline at the time. I can recommend to everyone to fly with this airline! The flight took 24 hours with stops in Dubai and Singapore. When I arrived in Brisbane, Coachtrans (http://coachtrans.com.au/) drove me to the Gold Coast at two o’clock in the morning. Everything went smoothly. I settled in a hostel for the first two days because I really wanted to look for accommodation on site. The websites “http://au.easyroommate.com/queensland/gold-coast-share-accommodation” and “gumtree.com.au” are suitable for searching for accommodation.
Ultimately, I lived with a family in a really nice house for the first two weeks, who welcomed me very warmly (The Australians are generally an incredibly nice people, from which some other nations can learn a bit from). Nevertheless, especially during the O Week (orientation week), I had the feeling that I was missing out on something from student life, even though I lived only 3 km away from the university. So I moved to the Varsity Shores (http://www.varsityshores.com.au/), a residential complex next to the campus, where almost only students live. The housing options on and around the campus cannot be compared with the student dormitories in Germany;In the shores there were 2 large pools, jacuzzi, sauna, small fitness room and not to forget the beautiful houses. All of this has its price, of course, with the cheapest room costing $ 180 a week. However, it should be noted that you can also live much more expensive in Robina!
University and surroundings
In Australia everything is a little further apart. The Robina district, in which the university is located, is about 15 km from Surfers Paradise. Robina itself is mostly made up of beautiful houses, it looks like Desperate Housewifes’ Mysteria Lane. Otherwise there is the Robina Town Center, a relatively large shopping center where you can do all kinds of things. The beach is about 3.5 km from the university, and there are no end of decent surfing spots within reach. I started surfing in Australia and did it almost every day. I can just recommend it to everybody!
Bond Uni is the most expensive university in Australia. The campus looks accordingly. Nice fountains, a private lake, an amphitheater, all kinds of sports fields and a dedicated club (Don’s). You can study here!
- Australia is a major country in Oceania continent. For information about Oceania, please visit eningbo.
As a semester abroad I attended courses from the Master in Business and MBA courses. The range of courses is really good so that there should be something for everyone. Sometimes there are also courses at the university that I haven’t heard of before, such as criminology. On average, there are around 10 students in the events, so that the lessons are very individual. The professors were very nice and competent; I have to say that I was able to learn a lot there. The course itself cannot be compared to that at a German university, as attendance is compulsory and you are busy with homework, term papers, midterm exams and the like throughout the semester. But the final exams are no longer as stressful as in Germany. I can recommend the “New Venture Lab” module to everyone, where I learned a lot about how to find and implement a business idea. The professor motivated me so that after my studies I will start my own business and implement the project developed at Bond Uni. The general support at the university was also very good. There was one or more contact persons for everything.
College parties
Bond Uni rightly has the reputation of being the party university in Australia. This is already clear to you in O Week, in which various parties were held. In addition, Don’s (the club on campus) opens its doors every Thursday. People celebrate from 8 to 12 on campus and are then taken downtown to a partner club of the university in free shuttles. Every semester the university has a different partner club, in my case it was the East in Broadbeach. Since the parties on the Gold Coast are always over a little earlier than in Germany, the shuttle bus drives back to campus at 3:30 a.m.
Environment and travel
The Gold Coast is the tourist town where Australians spend their vacation. Accordingly, you shouldn’t expect a lot of culture or old buildings. Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that it has its own charm with its modern city center and the many canals. I can recommend everyone to share a car with several people, because you are much more flexible. I was lucky enough to have my own car so my friends and I could travel a lot. An hour’s drive from the Gold Coast is South Byron Bay, one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in my life. At the same time, Byron Bay is the easternmost point in Australia. One hour north of the Gold Coast is Brisbane, the largest city in the area. In the immediate vicinity there are numerous national parks with a jungle feeling and impressive waterfalls. The hinterland is not far away either.
In summary, I’ve had the best time of my life at Bond University so far. It’s easy to get to know and appreciate new people there. Despite the fact that life is incredibly expensive, I don’t want to miss the time there anymore! It was worth every penny 😉
