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University of Melbourne / Monash / UWA / Adelaide & Scholarships???

Hi! I'm an international student and I have just finished IB. I currently hold offers from the University of Melbourne, Monash, UWA, Adelaide and UQ for Bachelor of Science. My top choices at the moment are the University of Melbourne, Monash and UWA. Does anyone know which would be the best choice in terms of course? I'm hoping to major in physiology, pathology or something in the health/medical sciences.

Also, after going to a few Australian uni fairs I've been told I have a pretty good chance of getting a merit scholarship for the University of Melbourne and Monash - but is it true that you only find out whether you get a scholarship after accepting the offer?

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks in advance!
Well I'm a bit biased because I go to Melbourne, but it's always been well known for being very strong in biological sciences, health science in particular. However, with that in mind I'd think you'd be more likely to get a scholarship to Monash or something, because it would be less competitive? However I have no idea how scholarships work. I go to Melbourne and live near Monash though, so if you have any questions about these universities or Melbourne in general feel free to PM me.
Thanks for the reply! At the moment I'm trying to decide between Melbourne and Monash, and the courses are pretty similar so I'm having a hard time trying to decide. I've read on some threads that Monash has a smaller community feel than Melbourne... do you know if that's true? Personally I'd like to go to a smaller campus university.

I was wondering as well how multicultural it is? I know Melbourne is really diverse, but are people in uni willing to mix? Or do the locals and internationals just to stick to their respective groups?

Also, how busy of a city is Melbourne? I live in Hong Kong and I'm pretty sick of huge crowds and big city life.

Thanks so much again for the quick reply!
Original post by chickenbella
Thanks for the reply! At the moment I'm trying to decide between Melbourne and Monash, and the courses are pretty similar so I'm having a hard time trying to decide. I've read on some threads that Monash has a smaller community feel than Melbourne... do you know if that's true? Personally I'd like to go to a smaller campus university.

I was wondering as well how multicultural it is? I know Melbourne is really diverse, but are people in uni willing to mix? Or do the locals and internationals just to stick to their respective groups?

Also, how busy of a city is Melbourne? I live in Hong Kong and I'm pretty sick of huge crowds and big city life.

Thanks so much again for the quick reply!


I'm pretty sure Monash campus is as big as Melbourne if not bigger. From what I hear from people at Monash, social events at Monash tend to be less well attended, so the people who do attend are likely to get to know each other. I think what that person may have been saying is that Monash is a bit of a way out of the city, so people might hang out around the campus and halls more, since there's honestly not much in the area around the university. That being said, I find that a lot of people hang out around Melbourne uni and I've never felt like there's a lack of community feel, although it is a big university. If you want to go to a smaller campus with a community feel, Adelaide might be better? I'm not sure, really.

Melbourne is a very diverse place, and I think that locals are willing to mix but international students, particularly east Asian international students, in my experience, have been the ones unwilling to mix, and they tend to hang out with people from their own country so that they can speak their own language. However, if you try talking to local students and going to club events, most people will be willing to make friends with everybody. Melbourne uni is a weird place though, in that even though Melbourne is quite diverse, Melbourne uni often seems very white, unless you're in a class or event that is specifically targeted at Asian students, or at engineering or Commerce students. That's just my perspective though, I went to a very multicultural school and seemed to make a lot of white friends at Melbourne compared to my high school. But I've also made friends with plenty of international students, but sometimes it's hard because a lot of them are just intending to get their degree and go home,and don't seem to have much desire to mix locally or speak English. Monash might be a little bit more mixed in that respect, but they still have a club specifically for East Asian social events (it's called ASEAN).

Melbourne is a fairly big, bustling city with 4 million people, it won't compare to Hong Kong, but it's fairly busy. UQ UWA and Adelaide will all be quieter. Monash university is about 45ish? minutes from the Melbourne CBD by bus and train, (I'm mostly just guessing, I don't frequently make the trip), and it's a much quieter, suburban area. There are one or two pubs and McDonald's nearby, but it's more suburban and quiet. Melbourne Uni is more in the middle of things and is a busier, more crowded area. However, the only time it tends to be really crowded on trams and things is around 5-5.30 when everyone is leaving uni and work.

Hope that helps :smile:
(edited 9 years ago)
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Aahmsil
Original post by chickenbella
Hi! I'm an international student and I have just finished IB. I currently hold offers from the University of Melbourne, Monash, UWA, Adelaide and UQ for Bachelor of Science. My top choices at the moment are the University of Melbourne, Monash and UWA. Does anyone know which would be the best choice in terms of course? I'm hoping to major in physiology, pathology or something in the health/medical sciences.

Also, after going to a few Australian uni fairs I've been told I have a pretty good chance of getting a merit scholarship for the University of Melbourne and Monash - but is it true that you only find out whether you get a scholarship after accepting the offer?

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks in advance!


Hi there,
Congratulations on your offers! I'm also an international student currently based at Monash's Clayton campus. I'm in my first year of medicine and I can tell you that the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences here is a very capable division.

Being a suburb, Clayton isn't as lively as Melbourne city but if you're only going to be making occasional visits to the city, the trip isn't too long.

Both Melbourne and Monash are excellent choices but when it comes to making a decision, I'd suggest considering which courses offer you more breadth and graduate options. It was a no-brainer for me, Medicine at Melbourne was 7 years versus just 5 here at Monash.

Hope that helps you out somewhat, all the best!
Hi, thanks to you all for your responses. I'm currently deciding between the University of Melbourne and UWA. Melbourne is my top choice, but I'll only be able to go if I get a 50% or 100% merit scholarship.

I haven't accepted either of the offers. I know that students who don't accept their offers are given less priority when it comes to scholarships - so I have a lower chance of receiving one unless I accept. I also know that I should find out the outcome of the scholarships by the 21st of December. Given all this, I have 3 choices.

1. Accept the Melbourne offer and wait until the 21st December to hear about the scholarships. This way I have a higher chance of receiving a substantial scholarship but it's a bit risky.

2. Don't accept either offer and wait until the 21st December. Students who have accepted and have high marks will then be given higher priority, and so I'm less likely to get a scholarship. I also prefer not to wait until then as I have to keep time to sort out my student visa.

3. Decline Melbourne and go for UWA. I'm happy to go to UWA, just the possibility of a scholarship at Melbourne would be such a relief and I'd love to go there.

Considering my options, what do you think I should do?
Original post by chickenbella
Hi, thanks to you all for your responses. I'm currently deciding between the University of Melbourne and UWA. Melbourne is my top choice, but I'll only be able to go if I get a 50% or 100% merit scholarship.

I haven't accepted either of the offers. I know that students who don't accept their offers are given less priority when it comes to scholarships - so I have a lower chance of receiving one unless I accept. I also know that I should find out the outcome of the scholarships by the 21st of December. Given all this, I have 3 choices.

1. Accept the Melbourne offer and wait until the 21st December to hear about the scholarships. This way I have a higher chance of receiving a substantial scholarship but it's a bit risky.

2. Don't accept either offer and wait until the 21st December. Students who have accepted and have high marks will then be given higher priority, and so I'm less likely to get a scholarship. I also prefer not to wait until then as I have to keep time to sort out my student visa.

3. Decline Melbourne and go for UWA. I'm happy to go to UWA, just the possibility of a scholarship at Melbourne would be such a relief and I'd love to go there.

Considering my options, what do you think I should do?


Hello, Just out of curiosity what decision did you make in the end? I'm considering post grad study in Australia and any info would be really helpful if I can contact you directly about you application process?

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