okoshi2002

Just saw some good fares from Honolulu to Melbourne for March however have not researched this city before, nor Australia.

However, my daughter is interested in possibly attending school in Melbourne or New Zealand so a quick trip to check out the area might be fun.

Is Melbourne a city we can take in a week ? What is the GOR ?

Is there a cheap carrier that connects Melbourne to Auckland ?

Does anybody know whether credits from Australian universities transfer to US colleges by any chance ? I understand the system is more like the British, and of course, she probably needs to check with the individual schools.
Thanks.

kathleen

I can shed some light on the university question. Many universities in the US have partnerships with universities in Australia. Your daughter's school will have the partner schools listed somewhere, usually in the school catalog. And, each department chairman will know.
Even if they don't, all your daughter needs to do is check with the registrar and her department at her present university and set it up beforehand. A courses taken at another university has to have an equivalent course at the home university if credit is to be applied to her degree. Usually a certain grade is needed as well (C or higher)

If your daughter is an upper level student (junior or senior) certain restrictions may apply. Most universities require all senior level classes to be taken at the home university. But, there are always exceptions. I think taking classes at another univesity in another country is a great way to enhance a degree. Good for her! Hope this helps. Kathy

Bokhara

March is a great time to visit Melbourne, it's Autumn and you will be able to see the city and take a day trip or two in a week.

The GOR is the Great Ocean Road. www.greatoceanrd.org.au

Check www.qantas.com.au and www.virginblue.com.au for specials Melb-Auckland. Virgin has a lunchtime special either noon - 1pm or 1-2pm (AEST) which is worth checking out.

okoshi2002

Kathleen- my daughter is actually a junior in high school. We wondered how an undergraduate degree from Australia or New Zealand affects further graduate studies back in the US .

Bokhara- is it reasonable to fly into Melbourne (from Honolulu) and enjoy the city for a few days as well as travel th Great Ocean Road ?

shandy

A week would certainly give you time to spend a few days in the city and also do the Great Ocean Road without rushing around too much.

As Bokhara said, March is a great time in Melbourne. If it is early March is still likely to be hot but later in March the autumn weather is kicking in, lovely crisp mornings followed by sunny days. Autumn is my favourite time of the year in Melbourne.

I'm not sure what a "junior in high school" refers to but am assuming it is something like our Year 7, Year 8. But as you are also referring to undergraduate degress that makes her sounds as though she is quite a bit older, may be Year 11, Year 12.

To hopefully help clarify matters, in Melbourne, Years 1 to 6 refers to the primary level of education. Years 7-12 refer to secondary education. One needs to have completed Year 12 successfuly in order to then start University. We do not have the American idea of completing one generalist type degree before then embarking on a more specialist degree, eg law/medicine. (Although one of our universities is moving to the American style within the next couple of years). You simply enrol directly into a degree in law, commerce, etc.

If I am correct in assuming your daughter is at the level of education before starting university, one option you could look at is schools which offer the International Baccalaureate. As an international qualification presumably all American universities would know how to deal with it. Having said this, I have no doubt that Amercian universitites would know how to accommodate our VCE (the local certificate for getting into university) without too much trouble. After all, I do know Australians who enrol in American universities. Perhaps some smaller ones though, if they have never had Australian students before would need to some investigating though.

MachaMurtad

AS previously mentioned, March IS a good time to visit Melbourne, it's not as blistering hot as Summer and you get decent daylight hours.

The Great Ocean Road (GOR) is a good trip to take, though I would suggest including a trip to the Grampians National Park.

As for Universities, I've had American exchange Uni friends over and they say the system is actually not that far off. Melbourne have some excellent Universities though it'll be hard to recommend one as I'm not sure what your daughter would like to study for her undergrad.

Hope that helped!

okoshi2002

It sounds like late March is a perfect time to be in Melabourne.

A junior in high school here is usually 16-17 years old. It is the 11th year of schooling.

In the US university students may study 4 years before entering a more specific field for example medicine or law. But in Australia or NWZ you declare your field of study at the time you enter university ? What happens if you change your mind ?

MachaMurtad

well depends ..i mean of course the student have to make a commitment to which Faculty, ie Science, Arts, Architecture, etc etc.

But (I'm a Science student) in Science, you are only required to choose your major in 3rd (final) year.

kathleen

okoshi, It's hard to generalize the quality of a university education without knowing anything about the school. Every school is different. There are superb and crappy schools in every country, including ours. You will just have to check them out very carefully. One thing to consider is the scholarship and aid availability outside the US. Is it available? I don't know. Kathy