You will need to request it at booking time. From memory you should call SQ, tell them you're a student, and at the airport show your COE letter at the checkin.

Are you starting your flight in Malaysia or Singapore?

Read the front page. Everything you're asking is all there. Including what you can and can't bring into Australia.

Sometimes why I bother when Malaysians clearly can't read.

This post has been edited by haya: Jan 17 2011, 10:07 AM

Let me state up front Australian universities don't take kindly to these "foundation" programs. Which is why you will never find what "foundation" "pointer" you need to enter a particular course. It is all assessed on a case-by-case basis.

So you only recourse is to get the highest "foundation" "pointer" you can get, but don't be surprised if you still don't get the course and/or university of your choice.

As to scholarships, read the front page.

My impressions with Urbannest Brisbane is as follows. I cannot say its the same in any other states/cities. Your mileage may vary.

Its not too bad to be honest. You do get your own toilet, which while as big as a closet, is always welcome staying in shared accommodation. The rooms are decently sized for a one bed room, through you wouldn't be doing much entertaining in your room.

Most people BYO their own kitchen cutlery, through the basics are provided by default. You're supposed to keep to a cleaning roster for the common areas; please do so.

Internet is provided by way of a ethernet port in your room. Its not too bad (Brisbane's upstream is provided by AAPT, now part of iinet. Damn mergers), 500MB/month, so you wouldn't be downloading series after series, but generally suitable for communication. You can top up more data if you so wish: last time I checked it was $10 for 1GB.

Has airconditioning, useful for winter. The Brisbane one has a ping pong table and a social area. Oh, and newspapers (The Australian) is provided as part of your rent everyday. Just pick it up from the front counter.

I found the windows a little glaring through.

Overall its a very good place, especially in Brisbane being near almost everything. Its not something you'd stay in for the next 3 years of your study, nor can I call it cheap, but I wish I had this luxury for the first 6 months after I arrived.

There is no option to have you own line in Urbanest Brisbane. Most of the residential colleges I have seen in Brisbane are also the same. You either put up with what you have, or alternatively try 3G internet connectivity, through I don't think the latter is much cheaper.

You're lucky, being one the first tenants to move into Urbanest Adelaide. Through as I said, you probably wouldn't want to spend too much time there. The common trend is to move out after 6 months once you're more familiar with the place.
It is illegal in most jurisdictions, including Malaysia, to download copyrighted content from a source that does not have distribution rights and that you do not have a license (yes, even music and movies) for.

The fact that you are not caught does not make it legal.

You should be able to. There should at least be a phone line. As long as you're with Telstra it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Do note that some suburbs are Optus/APPT only, and generally you'll be limited to them and the ISP's that resell from Optus/AAPT.

For example, I have friends who stay in suburbs where the copper is actually owned by Optus. Poor guy can't get Exetel as his ISP cause Exetel only resells Telstra wholesale.

You'd be surprised how internet avaliablity and choices can influence where you rent.

The math sounds right. Why else do you think Monash, Swinburne and Curtin have opened Malaysian campuses?

Usually the fees are on a 1:1 basis, ie if the international student fees are A$20,000/year, they would be around RM20,000/year for their Malaysian campuses. Still a fair amount of money, but significantly less than multiplying it by 3.

Australia is a very expensive education destination currently. The UK and USA is more attractive from a exchange rate perspective.

Also, cost of living in Melboune is easily double the other cities bar Sydney. I get around with A$12,000/year in Brisbane for living expenses.

And read the front page. There is a very good reason why the cost of living for international students is so high in Melbourne and Sydney.

I'll say this until I die: we should have kept Geography a compulsory subject until Form 5.

The utter lack of geographical knowledge of Malaysians never fails to astound me. At one end of the spectrum I once had someone ask when is it winter in Bangkok. Closer to home few people believe me that Sarawak larger in land area than Taiwan.

For the record the distance between Brisbane and Adelaide is almost the same distance as Penang-Kota Kinabalu, as the crow flies.

But I digress.

Re alip_11: QUT B.Education with the Malaysian Education Department? TESOL?

This post has been edited by haya: Jan 25 2011, 07:23 PM

1) True. I never said Australians were any better at Geography. But you cannot extrapolate an outlier to justify the trend. Overwhelmingly Malaysians have a poor grasp of places both domestic and international. I believe that makes it a plural.

Its not limited to the "big scale". Try giving directions in Malaysia.

2) For the record it does snow in India. Remember, like Australia, India is a big country. Sure it may be very wet in Queensland and Victoria, but its bloody dry in WA.

Few things:

1) If you're slotting into 3rd year of a degree, I presume it is a credit transfer/twinning program. Doing another degree after that is NOT a double degree, but a second degree. Unless of course, you switch to a real double degree midway through your Marketing degree.

2) Generally get a phone from M'sia and bring it to Australia. Unlocked phones are a bit thin on the ground, and unlocking carrier locked phones can be a nightmare (even if your contract expires).

In any case I doubt any carrier will allow you to sign up with their post-paid plans (even if you BYO your own phone, which is supposed to be "no contract" but you need to give 1 months notice before you terminate, which in practice makes it a 2 month contract).

3) Three's coverage is rubbish in Brisbane. I can't say for Melbourne, but overall unless you stick to a set routine, Three would generally fail you when you need it the most. Within the metropolitan area.

4) Vodafone's Infinite Plans are that: unlimited standard calls to Australian numbers and text to all numbers, both in and out of the country, while in Australia.

Read the fine print: http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/plans/...tions/index.htm

Ah. You're in good hands. I suppose you'll be staying in CLV-Kelvin Grove? MYSA is practically made up of MOE students doing their qualifications in education. If I may ask, undergraduate or postgraduate?

Optus has significantly better coverage than Three, but their prepaid plans are very confusing. I've given up trying to make sense of them. They used to be very good value for money, but I think they're now just trying to bleed the international students (who make up the bulk of their prepaid users) dry with their hidden charges and tiered (prepaid) "cap" plans.

Telstra's prepaid plans aren't too shabby, and if there is one thing you generally can't complain about Telstra, its their coverage.

Pricing maybe. The merger has not shown any sharing of infrastructure, partially it is quite hard to merge their business cases and billing systems together. Keep in mind Telstra owns about 40% of Three's 3G network, (part of the reason why Three has a roaming arrangement with Telstra) so its not as simple as flicking the switch.

I would love to get onto Vodafone's network. For all their faults their coverage in Brisbane is better than Three's, largely due to their 2G 900Mhz network.

Does anyone ever read the front page anymore?

1) For someone who claims to be in Miri, you seem to think everyone is in KL who has access to Uniqlo. Or Universal Traveller.

2) I'm not entirely convinced about the quality and suitability of Uniqlo. I will freely admit my fashion sense, if there was ever one, is questionable at best, but I find people who buy winter type clothing tend to stick out like a sore thumb in relation to the prevailing style of Z = 0.

Uniqlo IMO tends to assume you're in some mild place (Malaysian government offices) or in the ski slopes of Hokkaido. I question their practicability in more constant climates like Brisbane.

3) I buy my clothing for Australian use in Giodarno (which is different from the SEA ones) and Big W.

Believe me, its a lot more common than you think. Back when I helped greet students from the airport I would know they were stuck when they didn't come out 2 hours after their flight landed. Invariably they were almost all Asians, and their English was questionable at best. I've had scenes where they think Quarantine is denying them their "right" to pork meat. They're trying to get their point by shouting in Mandarin and everyone's flustered.

I will admit it is hardly the best way to be welcomed to Australia, which is why I wrote what I wrote in the front page.

I can't put it any simpler. If you're going to bring fresh food, DECLARE the damn things. If they confiscate them, so be it. That is the reality of coming to Australia both as a tourist and a student. You can call it protectionism; the farmers call it pragmaticism.

There is little point asking us, because:
1) There is a link in the front page to AQS stating what can and can't be brought into Australia.
2) It really is a case by case basis. Sometimes my achar comes in, sometimes it doesn't. Luck of the draw. As I said, they're not very consistent.

On the other hand, I understand the pain of having your tea leaves, them herbs, birds nest, your grandmothers rendang, et al, confiscated. So don't bring them, or bring in small quantities. If they get through fine, if not, move on as a human.

I mean, if you want to come to Australia, and I know I'll sound like Pauline Hanson, try the local cuisine.

Endnote: Border Security is awesome. Seven consistently gets high rankings when they broadcast a new season. Get digital TV to catch up on the older episodes.

See also: http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s2876988.htm

You'd be surprised. I know people who choose to live far out from the city and the university simply because its close to a suburb with a high concentration of Asians (Sunnybank in Brisbane). There are genuinely people who truly can't live without their Asian food and grocery stores.

These people live in their own bubble, almost never interacting with the wider society, read Chinese newspapers, watch Chinese Satellite TV, it makes you wonder why they're even here to begin with. At the risk of sounding like a One Nation member, if you love your Asian food, culture and life so much, go back to Asia to live it to the fullest.

I don't mind the odd Asian meal, and in many ways my palate is still rather Asian, but I rarely step into an Asian supermarket. That, and I can't comprehend most of the Asian snacks which are so loved by students to munch on over assignments. I'll take my Tim Tams thanks.

The point is to declare your food. You can bring in 2 suitcases full of food, as long as you tick "yes" in the customs form that is given to you prior to landing. No one will fine you if you declare, and even if you have no food and tick "yes". All they will do is just take it away if it is not allowed. Move on as a people.

Which part of "If in doubt, tick yes" do people not comprehend?

I love how the Malaysian "investment banker" tried to plead ignorance (at least he was honest) and ask for a reduced fine. Meritocracy means everyone is treated equally before the law. You cannot have one rule for first timers and another for serial veterans.

You will be amazed how many times Malaysians plead ignorance in Malaysian courts. As if they can get away with it simply by not knowing the facts.

I can understand notion of culture shock if you're from the sticks, but I have seen my fair share of people who are from big cities by any metric (Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur), and the bubble is still their world.

This is not to say "big city people" do not have culture shock, but I find Asians rather bad in trying to integrate into ANY society but their own.

Its not just a fine. Read Quarantine Act (with Section 4AA of the Crimes Act) and you see they have the power to bring the fine up to $AUD66,000 or 10 years imprisonment.

I can think of better ways to spend $220, the minimum fine that can be imposed.

If you have an accurate weighing scale at home it should do. Weigh yourself, then carry the bags while weighing your self. Subtract the difference and you should have a reasonably accurate estimate of your luggage weight.

Its not scientifically accurate, and the margin of error can tip you over the scales, but I find it is good enough, other than finding out at the airport.

For ISP's everything is on Whirlpool. See front page. Only generally the big 2 (Telstra and Optus) have high street stores. Most other ISP's you have to register online.

Re mobile carriers: generally what you see their brick and mortar shops are the same as what they offer online. However, better deals can be had online, such a x months free, a popular phone at a lower price cap for a limited period of time etc.

For some telco's through, their range of phones on their online store can be actually less than their their brick and mortar shops. Don't ask me why.

Re weather: Melbourne has had somewhat of a cooler summer compared to previous years, but its not any colder than your average Malaysian government office. A long sleeve shirt should suffice, with a basic jacket for the evenings.

tl;dr for you young 'uns: Just dress as if you work in a Malaysian government office.

This post has been edited by haya: Feb 10 2011, 06:05 PM