Education and Dorming at UTS

This is a concise subjective evaluation of my education and dorming experiences here at UTS after 75% of my exchange program completed.

Education

Studying at UTS has been quite interesting, although I don't know if it's because of the Australian culture around education or just an UTS thing. First, subjects (aka classes) are divided into different types. Out of the 4 subjects required by UHM MIX, subjects that business students, like myself, will take are categorized as Lecture, Tutorial, or Workshop. Honestly, Tutorials and Workshops are the same with smaller groups to encourage student interaction, while Lectures have a lecture going on; pretty simple right? On your timetable (subject registration system), subjects typically have one Tutorial/Workshop section per week and that's it. However, it might seem like you only have 4 sections to attend, but if your subject does not have a Lecture section alongside its Tutorial/Workshop, there will be a hidden asynchronous lecture per week that you are expected to have watched, lasting around 1.5-2 hours each. Often, this is additionally accompanied by 2-3 readings or videos.

Subjects are graded by two key components: your attendance and assessments. Note, your attendance to your tutorials (not workshops or lectures) are absolutely important. You must attend 80% of them to even be considered to pass, otherwise you fail regardless of your performance. Throughout the semester, you can expect to have around 4 assessments, which can include exams, presentations, research papers, general assignments, etc. For business subjects, expect to have at least one of them to be a group presentation and/or group paper.

Unlike the USA focusing on exams, Australia focuses heavily on writing lots of research papers. These research papers must be written with incredible detail, essentially having each sentence backed by an academic reference, meaning that the UTS Library website will soon become your best friend. While writing all of my research papers, it's incredibly irritating requiring such a high degree of referencing basically strips you of your ability to write your own thoughts, especially frustrating for reflective assignments that require you to... reflect on your own experiences.

At UTS, they utilize a different grading system: High Distinction (85-100%), Distinction (75-84%), Credit (65-74%), and Pass (50-64%) with anything lower being classified as a fail. At UHM, you must achieve a C or above if you want the credits to count toward your major or minor. This is equivalent to a Pass grade at UTS. Remember that your grades at UTS does not impact your GPA back at UHM. Your work will be placed under heavy and detailed scrutiny, often averaging your assignment around 70% if you put in a good amount of effort. It took me a while to learn, but don't be alarmed; this is still very good.

Dorming

In a previous blog post, I mentioned how I am lucky to be staying at Yura Mudang, UTS's only student dorm. One email stated how there were only 150 beds allocated for the 600 exchange students that were accepted to UTS. There is a very likely chance that, even if you do the appropriate steps to apply to Yura on time, you will not be accepted. Please prepare to be rejected and look into off campus accommodations well in advance.

Because I was fortunate to be accepted into Yura, I will be speaking from my experiences here. First, Yura has an exceptional location with incredible access to Central Station, light rail services, and buses. There are many excellent cafes within a 15 minute walk, serving great coffee and matcha, albeit a bit pricy. The university is directly connected to the dorms, allowing you to swiftly get to your tutorials asap. In the autumn/winter semester, your dorm room gets amble breeze and stays cool throughout the day. I was admitted to a 6-share flat with your own bedroom, but sharing other facilities/common areas with your other five roommates. Admittedly, living in a shared area for the first time with so many people was very nerve-wrecking for an introvert for me, but I am fortunate to have some incredibly kind roommates and the privacy of your own bedroom gives you the opportunity to dissociate in peace when you don't feel social.

Unfortunately, during my stay here, there has been and will continue to have heavy construction literally right outside of the dorm buildings. The loud noises seem to be on Mon-Fri from 7am-7pm. However, if you completely shut your window, most of the residual noise can be drowned out with a bit of music. Hopefully, construction is completed by the time the next wave of students arrive.

The demographics of Yura are highly variable, but it seems like most students are either from Germany, China, Australia, or other various European countries. While there are your typical "freshman" party youths, there's a surprising amount of graduate-level students. In fact, 3/6 of my flat are German, 2/6 are Australian, and 4/6 of my flat are all graduate level. Coming from the US, it was very shocking to see how prevalent drinking and smoking/vaping seems to be among students, however, the dorms are smoke-free, unless in designated, open-air spaces.

While I have not dormed at UHM, the RNs here in Yura host a variety of events, especially during the welcoming weeks as people start to settle into their new life for the next couple months. Events range from traveling to a popular destination, such as Bondi and Bronte Beach, to in-dorm events, such as game or barbeque nights. I challenged to put myself out there and attend as many events as I could, but I eventually found out that the events, while thoughtful, tended to leave one desiring for something else or perhaps just not my type of event to be at.

TDLR: Overall, I am happy to be living here at Yura for its location, cleanliness, and people.