Here is the list of tuition fees in Australia Universities for year 2008:

For Engineering courses only (in AUD$)

ANU 22800
Melbourne 27850
Sydney 24720
UNSW 24960
UQ 22750
Monash 25800
Adelaide 20600
UWA 23000
UniSA 19050
Tasmania 16000

Apparently Melbourne is significantly higher than other universities, higher than UNSW for about 15% and higher than the average for about 25%. The cheapest option will be Tasmania. haha

The cheapest rent for a single room (hostels/ rooming houses) with shared facilities in/ near the CBD would be around AUD170. Usually rooming houses will cost around that, not more than AUD200, unless you live in apartment or studio. It is quite difficult to find cheap rooms in the CBD, maybe you can try to find in Carlton, North Carlton which is within walking distance to RMIT (less than 20 minutes without taking trams). It is important not to take a tram unless you wanna go out of city, as the fare is very expensive (Weekly AUD28, Daily AUD6.50, 2-hour AUD 3.50, see... not worth it... it's for those travelling from outer suburbs to city)

AUD170 divided by 20, if your wages per hour exceed AUD8.50, it would not be a problem.

Try to find accommodation and confirm by may/early june, as july will be a peak season.

For engineering, UNSW is highly recommended. UNSW has the largest Engineering School in Australia and offer broadest range of engineering streams. In fact, it is the best choice.

University of Melbourne is not recommended due to limited streams available after implementing the Melbourne Model. There are now only six streams available. Besides, Melbourne emphasis more on theory rather than practical. In first two years of engineering subjects, most of them are learning theory part only and the assessment mode relies heavily on final exam (written exam), at least 70%. ANU also only offers limited number of streams, common streams such as chemical, civil are not offered in ANU. UWA is not too bad, can be considered if u r choosing Perth. Monash and Adelaide are also some better options.

It is much better to find a place which is within walking distance. Taking a tram to and fro is definitely time consuming yet exhausting. By the way, it is now a bit (or rather too) late to find a place to move in during july. Most of the accommodation which is near uni is almost fully booked. Finding a place not-so-close to uni is still possible. You may try unilodge, college square, s-h-a etc. to see whether places are still available.

As a quick guide, rooming house (hostel type, own bedroom with shared bathroom and other facilities) will cost approx. AUD180-200 per week, maybe much lower if far away from city and uni. Apartment with single bedroom costs approx. AUD250-300 p.w., two-bedroom (means if u share with another person) costs approx. AUD200-250 p.w. If u live in private rented house with friends, it is much lower providing everyone shares the cost, maybe only AUD150-170 p.w. But the problem it is usually unfurnished and you need to spend extra on establishment costs. Living in residential college can be considered very expensive, it costs AUD450-500 p.w. including three meals per day. But you can get extra academic support in college, i.e. extra tutorial program offered to enhance your understanding.

For A-level, Math is enough. Although accounting n economics are not formal prerequisites, it is recommended to take these subjects so that you won't struggle during your first year.

Btw, have a strong mathematics background is a must. You need to perform sufficiently well in math during high school in order to successfully complete the whole course.

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Added on July 29, 2008, 5:35 pmcorrection: There is another university offering actuarial studies as well. It is Curtin University of Technology in Perth. However it is a very new course and the first cohort of students haven't graduated. However, it has already received accreditation.

This post has been edited by alwayshappy: Jul 29 2008, 05:35 PM

Macquarie is the best uni in Australia for Actuarial Studies. It has most experience in conducting the course and is the oldest actuarial department in Australia. However, by comparison, the actuarial course in Mq is tougher than other uni. Some actuarial knowledge which is learned in Mq during 1st year is actually the syllabus for second year in Melb Uni, for instance. The tuition fees are significantly lower than Melb Uni but is considerably much the same with ANU, UNSW and Curtin.

It's much easier to seek help from those official agents, like IDP and AusEd. They will help you apply and the fees will be waived during any education fair or the presence of a uni staff. Any university who is in Go8 should be ok. Just depends which city you wanna approach to. Sydney and Melbourne have higher cost of living while Perth and Adelaide will be lower. Melbourne is exceptionally not recommended, because you can't do a computer science degree by its own starting 2009.

I think 'afford' means how much money you intend to spend on your studies. As different unis charge different tuition fees and the cost of living in different cities vary considerably, financial issues will be very important.

For unis in Go8, no doubt the cheapest for engineering will be Adelaide, which is $23000 in 2009 after a substantial 11.65% increase from 2008. UWA, UQ and ANU have similar tuition fees, which are around $23500-25000 p.a. The best part of UWA is that the tuition fee held constant throughout your entire degree including honours year, which is based on the year you commence your studies. Other unis in Go8 will increase their tuition fees annually, and all commencing or continuing students will subject to the new fees. Currently the most expensive uni to earn an engineering degree will be University of Melbourne, which charge engineering student $27850 in 2008. Unimelb will increase their tuition fees at an average rate of 5-6% p.a. and by calculating this, you need at least $125,000 to complete your studies if you start in 2009.

Not all universities have the same english language requirements. UQ does accept SPM GCE-O level moderated grade of english (at least B3), while many other universities only accept AS level General paper/ English subject. If someone can score at least A2 in 1119 English, i don't think he/she will score less than 6.5 in IELTS.

Normally, students with a high level of English Language proficiency, will score 8.0 and above and it's considered an excellent result as it will fulfill english language requirements for all courses. No courses will need any higher score than 8.0.

Students with above normal grasp of english language, score 7.0 or 7.5. Many Malaysians fall in this category.

Students with normal level, usually score 6.0 or 6.5.

Students with below average level, normally score 5.0 or 5.5, and this usually does not fulfill uni's english language requirements.

If anyone score less than 5.0, it is considered as very poor. This case rarely happens unless one has not studied english for a few years.

Like Malaysia? How long have you not been to Malaysia?
In Malaysia, afternoon temperature is over 30 degrees, it's blazing hot....
In Melbourne these few days, yup.... it's getting warmer.... however the highest is only around 18-19 degrees.... No jacket is fine....