Mamak so soon? I find that if I get too addicted to Malaysian food, it makes me homesick too soon since the Malaysian food here is often crap and overpriced, watered-down fare. Though, I might want to give this a try: http://www.mamak.com.au/
Generally there are no tutes in Week 1, unless you have an overzealous course admin. O Week is in Week 0, a non-study week. If you're doing some courses which has a laboratory component, Week 0 may also be used as an introductory session.
UNSW now implements a 12-week full academic session, in line with other Go8 unis. Previously, we have 14-weeks of study and teaching, so be prepared for more cramming people!

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 14 2008, 09:54 PM

Good airlines, like MAS and SIA allow 30kg if you're a student. You must inform them about this when you purchase your tickets.

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Added on January 15, 2008, 1:05 pmI use more than that.

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 15 2008, 01:05 PM

I doubt you can install broadband yourself in a hostel. Internet connection should be provided by the hostel, failing which you'd need to opt for a wireless solution.

That's one of the benefits of Computing subjects. You rarely need books because technology moves so fast that by the time it hits the press, the contents will be outdated.
Having said that, I still have some reference books that I need, like Stroustrup's excellent C++ book and the OpenGL one. However, you can get e-book versions of them all over (I just can't read e-books).

Computing students do require more bandwidth than your average student. Last session, my project had a large source repository (because it was a pretty large project). In addition, we have to download many software libraries for our projects. You can of course do it at uni if you bring your laptop in, but you can't be there all the time. You'll appreciate a fast, generous bandwidth when you need to get something done at 3am in the morning.

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 16 2008, 01:13 PM

It's the type of cable you connect to your laptop's Ethernet port, not modem.

Course webpages, past students, uni bookshop textlist.
Sometimes it's not a good idea to buy them too early. In some of my courses, the lecturer will tell us that the textbook is not compulsory, which usually means you don't need it (and it won't be used). The lecturer may also change the textbook from that used in the previous session.
You can also purchase 2nd hand textbooks.
http://www.textbookexchange.com.au

Ppl usually state the condition when they advertise their books for sale. If it's not what you want, you can always decline.
Most books are in good condition because they are only used for a session or less.

You will be fine. Every computing, electrical and mechatronics engineering student will have to do it.
C will be used. Tim Lambert will be teaching it. He's an awesome lecturer and I bet you'll enjoy it.
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs1911/

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 17 2008, 10:13 PM

Cheapest and most popular is MSY in Ultimo (http://www.msy.com.au/). They can sometimes be cheaper than Malaysian prices too because they purchase in bulk. It's not in the list.
Besides that, I also like CX Computer. They are in Sydney CBD and are quite popular too.
Apus Computer is decent. They are adjacent to UNSW's Kensington campus, but their prices are slightly higher than MSY and online retailers.

I find it quite different. NZ accent sounds like South African accent, very clipped. I find it annoying when they tend to pronounce their E's as I's and vice versa.
Australian accents, on the other hand, sound more like cockney English.

The rankings will fluctuate from year to year, hence never base your decision purely on ranking, unless of course you want to feel superior at that very moment. UNSW Engineering is still consistently one of the best engineering faculties in the country. Perhaps they should take in less international students?

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 20 2008, 07:45 AM

Check out AGSM@UNSW (now Australian School of Business) and MBS (Melbourne Business School at Melbourne University). They are very well-recognised MBA programs in the country.

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 20 2008, 07:54 PM

Well, it's because you're haya.

Anyway, I agree with you about Malaysian government websites (or even commercial ones for that matter). They are still stuck in the early days of everything-Flash. The colors don't match, the links may be broken, a mix of Java applets and Flash menus (wth), slow servers, overloaded pages, no integration (asp, jsp, php, and everything else), insecure, etc. Just plain ugly and unprofessional. Please hire proper programmers who don't just cut and paste whatever they can find on the web or pay someone who's more capable. After all, aren't there tons of "local web development firms".

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 22 2008, 11:39 AM

I think this is quite tough due to Australia's tough customs and quarantine regulations.

I have tried to do this before and I did get taxed. Basically, if the value of the goods exceeds $1000, you get taxed 10% (GST), plus a standard customs processing fee. You can't really get away by declaring it as gifts or anything because they will open up the package, check the contents and value the contents according to the average retail prices here. On top of that, you will need to fill in an export form from Malaysia (provided by the courier) and then complete another customs form here with the necessary amount payable before they release the goods to the receiving courier in Australia.

If you have to do it, I suggest a reliable international courier like UPS, DHL or FedEx (not sure if they do consumer delivery). These major couriers operate in major cities across Australia, so you can easily track your shipment.

http://www.customs.gov.au/

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 23 2008, 09:14 PM

Poslaju uses standard EMS service, which means they will be received by Australia Post Express. Generally less reliable than your average courier, but definitely cheaper. If they are not items of value, they're fine.
Afaik, there is no insurance for courier services, only best effort delivery. You can purchase additional shipping insurance, but they will be very expensive (this is not the normal registered post). The cheapest option with some form of insurance is probably registered air parcel (non-express), but that will take up to 2 weeks (10 working days) for delivery.

Laptops shipped into Australia will be charged taxes, regardless of being new, refurbished or old. Some electronic parts like PC motherboards, iphones, laptops or software (even genuine) may be rejected by Customs due to stringent enforcement of US export regulations (actually I suspect it's just Australian distributors putting pressure on Customs to avoid influx of gray imports). However, you can still try, there is just no guarantee.

Declaring it as a gift still doesn't guarantee you'll be exempt from taxes. Due to the practices of those ebay sellers, they no longer trust the "gift" declaration. You can get away sometimes, but not always.

A standard undergraduate Engineering program in Australia is 4 years.

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 24 2008, 08:27 PM

The maths subjects I've done all allow calculators in the exams, but they are provided by the university since we can't bring our own calculators for finals. They are Casio FX-570s. Other unis may have different regulations, so check the university's respective guidelines.

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 24 2008, 09:04 PM

$320 per week is too much, even for a place like UniLodge. You can share (2 person, own room) a very good apartment in Kingsford/Kensington around $250/week, including bills. As a student, you don't need facilities (use UniGym) and the high end security systems are just an overkill.
Rents are generally increasing due to the ever increasing interest rates, hence cost of mortgage. It's a buyers market, so rental properties are being stretched pretty tight.

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 29 2008, 05:38 AM

You cannot make such a comparison. Generally, Australian unis has never implemented such a requirement, even for their local students. They are purely merit-based as places are determined and ranked by the admissions score index. But hey, it doesn't necessarily degrade their quality in any way, but I guess you might not feel that elite anymore.
Yes, they are running a business, so are the UK universities. You might think it's easy to go in, but that's only the first 5% of the story.

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Jan 29 2008, 09:14 PM