Advice: How to Study in Melbourne
If it’s your first time, you should also choose student accommodation. That was the best decision I made, you meet a lot of people and don’t feel so alone, I’m really grateful for that.
Go to different libraries on campus, such as the Baillieu Library and Brownless Biomedical Library.
A good way for me to explore Melbourne was through its many parks and running throughout the city. It was nice to take some time to really take in the city and reflect. In Melbourne, I really enjoyed the campus, the night markets, and St Kilda which provides a nice beach within the city.
I enjoyed exploring the malls around my place, I visited Melbourne Central and QV which are great places for groceries or just taking a walk! I think Coles and Woolies are so cool and I really think the Odd Bunch fruit scheme is amazing, you can buy odd-looking fruits for a lower price! Kmart and Big W are the go-to places for everything, I feel like they have everything under the sun.
Try to be as organised as you can beforehand because it makes your life so much easier. But you also need to be able to go with the flow.
I would have liked to have a driver’s licence because I wasn’t always able to go to a lot remote places that you needed a car to get to. You can do group trips but they were quite expensive and it adds up over time.
College is a great place if you want to fully live the Australian College life, which in some way is comparable to being in a sorority/fraternity in the USA.
I also volunteered on campus, which really helped me meet Australian and international students. It was cool to get more insight into what it is like to actually live and grow up in Australia.
Get the PTV student concession card for Myki which is available (and a must!) for semester exchange students. It makes travelling so much more affordable!
Organising things to go to in the first couple of weeks is also good. I contacted the hockey team and cycling clubs before I left, so it meant I had something to do in my first couple of weeks.