jan

I guess unless you are going to a u.k. uni on your doorstep you will have the same situation You will have to make new friends either way. No family in the u.k. when they leave.You will not be familiar with any new town initially. I can assure you 20 is no age in the big picture! wish i was 20 again.

You did not mention will you have to work in either oz or the u.k. also is it the god given right of your parents to pay all your fees and bills at your age?
Maybe you are a little ungrateful for the opportunities laid before you nice to have the choice i say!

Ozzidoc

Wasn't supposed to be mean!! I know of several women who became grannies when they were in their early 30s.

Ozzidoc

Pommy Babe

Start the course in Qld. Leave after one year if you dont like it, having investigated other options. The subjects you do (and pass) are likely to be credited towards other degrees worldwide...most degrees have "elective" subjects, for which the business subjects could be used.

Of course, it may be that the spreadsheets stuff is really, really whizz-bang now and that you could learn something from it....or it may be that you discover some people are rubbish at doing whizz-bang spreadsheet stuff, and you can teach them for 25 or 30 bucks an hour!.

It's just one year of your life (80, 90, 110 years long). Give it a go I reckon.

galba

What about trying to get into the 2nd year - if your results are good. I did it in the UK and missed out the whole of the 1st year of Uni. Just a thought!

However, I can't say that I ever loved the courses that I have done, they were a means to an end......if they were easy...than I saw that as a bonus.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Galba

pominNoosa

Well I'm half way through a uni course in Bris - and I'm 36! The general consensus on degree courses here are that they are a bit easy compared to the UK. I'm no brain box - was a very average student when I did my UK degree but here I'm getting top marks in a subject I'm totally new to, much to the shame of more 'experienced' students of the subject! So if you're after a respectable, quality degree you're probably better off in the UK.
I like Brisbane a lot but if you're getting a buzz out of London then Bris probably won't really compare. Sydney would probably be a better option if you're after excitement in oz - although it sounds like you aren't!

Dorothy

Only teasing. Thankfully I look younger than my age and most of the time I act very juvenile, so it's hard to tell I'm an oldie.

kazza1

I would decide where to go to university based on the course/ career that interests you most- whether this is in Australia or the UK. I wouldn't do a boring course just because your parents want you to and in my experience an Aussie degree is easier than a UK degree. I did an exchange from my UK uni to a Perth Uni for six months about 10 years ago and although I was in my second year in the UK we studied third year modules and these were pretty similar to what I have covered in the UK in my first year (which was similar to my A-levels!!) but maybe it was just the course.

Also bear in mind that the best part about uni is living an independent life away from your parents, meeting lots of new people and trying new experiences.

Also when looking at courses, make sure you the course is an 'honours degree' which you would get as standard on most degree courses in the UK. When I was at uni in Oz you needed to do an honours year to get the full qualification which made the course four years.

Good luck with your decision!!

Sparky wife

I agree with Kazza1, Pommy Babe.

I personally don't see the point in doing a course that you aren't interested in (and this is even before you have started it). If this was a question about a Uni course in the UK, surely it would not be recommended for Pommy Babe to do it, even if it was just for a year.

Because it would be a waste of time and there would be more chance of the student dropping out through boredom.

I find it incredibly unfair that your parents have changed the goalposts although I can imagine that it is only because they want you to be with them

The Bloke made a good suggestion...any chance of looking into that?

I hope that everything gets worked out ok for you.

Ozzidoc

By not starting the course, does not Pommy babe resign herself to not being able to live in Oz? I am not clear as to the exact immigration/residency situation.

diddy

I haven't read any of the replies so sorry if repitition.

Why not start Uni in Qld. If you like it stay. If you don't go home for September 2008, then at least your parents will pay for your life for a while. Check out Griffith and QUT too. They have simlar courses.

Pommy babe

I'm going to try and quote from a few posts now

"Start the course in Qld. Leave after one year if you dont like it, having investigated other options."

The thing is, if I start the course in Queensland; I will be 1. starting a course which I initially have no interest in studying because it is nothing like the courses i wanted in the U.K. and 2. I'll be alone by myself on the otherside of the world. The course in Queensland will cost £3000,accomodation is a further £5000 - 6000 plus i have food costs and uni costs of books, and general things like O-week activities, health and medical insurance, flights, travel expenses etc. Meanwhile, had I been staying in the U.k. at home, I could have been working ful-time to earn money to pay for my uni fees, and as someone said earlier, the Aus course will be 4 years long as opposed to 3 years for the U.K. course.

"I guess unless you are going to a u.k. uni on your doorstep you will have the same situation You will have to make new friends either way. No family in the u.k. when they leave.You will not be familiar with any new town initially."

My family won't be leaving when i would be leaving, they'll still be here when i commence my first year in the u.k. university and my mum and sister may still be here when i finish my first year, so I will only really have 2 years apart from them, during which time I could travel out to Australia during the U.K. long summer break and perhaps even start some work experience which I know u.k. uni's encourage, during my holidays, in Australia. That way after I have finished my U.K. course I will have some Australian work experience under my belt and i may find it easier to get a visa for when I've finished my studies. In addition to this I know that many business industries like international degrees, as it shows independence... If i go to Australia with a u.k. degree in 3 years, perhaps with some australian work experience on top, I may be able to get a visa and rejoin my family. As well as this, there is no reason why I can't study for a year abroad as part of my course as I know my first choice uni in the u.k. and the university of queensland are both part of the universitas 21 and co-operate in student exchanges.
It is true that I will have to make new friends initially, but old friends will still be here to turn to, and the u.k. towns and cities are so close together, relatively speaking, as opposed to Australia, and some cheap travel coach companies make it so easy to get from city to city i.e. London to Manchester for £3.50. And with regards to getting used to a new town, the shops, and layout of most english cities and towns is the same wherever you go, just some have higher/ lower crime rates and are more/less congested. Australia is a completely different ball game, EVERYTHING is different, the currency,the fashions, the food (not all of it obviously, but the brands and things you get used to eating) the t.v., the music stations, the nightlife (especially hard seeing as i live so close to london now) so u.k. towns even if they are a 2/ 3 hr drive from where i normally live are not greatly dissimilar.

With reagards to what The Bloke said about an online course at sydney, this is a great idea, but I wanted to go to universirty for the whole experience and meeting new people etc and with an online course, you don't exeperience any of that.

Sparky wife

I see your point, but if Pommy Babe could go and study in Sydney, why not? Otherwise, if she has her mind set on a certain career could she not get some related experience in Brisbane? That way she would not be wasting her time doing a course she feels will be boring and she could earn some money for Uni too.

How's everything going Pommy Babe?

quoll

What a dilemma!

If I were you I would stay where you are and go to uni in UK. Find a course that you like and enjoy every minute of it. Life is too short to be tied into something that you dont like but have to do - you will hate uni and not get nearly as much fun out of it as you should. Also bear in mind that UK degrees are usually honours degrees and you get your honours in 3 years provided you do well enough. 3 years in Aus gives you a pass degree and you have to do another year for honours so an equivalent level is another year. I always thought Law was 5 years - and you dont want to do it anyway!!!

I tend to think that a UK degree will stand you in better stead internationally than an Aussie one.

At 20 you are well able to look after yourself and you will probably have a good time in doing so. I do think your parents are being rather short sighted about all this and they should have realized by now that blackmailing a young adult is not very sensible (yes, been the mother of now adult sons!!).

Ozzidoc

As a university-educated Aussie who has done degrees in both countries and as a former Human Resources Manager also in both countries, employing people from all over the world, I can confirm that this is a load of tosh.

A degree is a degree, as long as it is recognised by the relevant local body.

Fly Away

Hi Pommy Babe,

I've read your post and all the replies. It seems to me that you have made your mind up. You want to stay in the UK. Well, get out there and prove to your parents that you are an adult who is capable of making her own decisions and supporting herself. I supported myself all the way through uni by working in the vacations and taking a 'year out' to work. It wasn't easy but I did it and finished my degree in credit at the bank which most students who rely on Mum and Dad don't do.

The only 'problem' with following this course of action is that you may find yourself trapped in the UK whilst your family are in Brisbane. (Not sure of the visa situation) If this worries you then consider your options carefully.