Thoughts on summer school, thoughts on taking leave.

[cibicl]

Hi guys,
Just wondering what your thoughts/opinions are on 2 issues. Would really appreciate some insight!
I'm currently a commerce student at UoM, just completed my first year.

Firstly, summer school. I've heard from a lot of people in my course that they are considering doing a subject over summer, with the idea of having the luxury of only doing 3 subjects in a semester later on (probably in third year when it gets tougher!). I've only just started really considering it - I really really can't be bothered haha going into uni during jan/feb (I love my long holiday!) but it would be tempting to do only 3 later on. Especially since I'm sort of a person that gets stressed easy and all, and think I would deal way better with 3 subjects. Have any of you done a summer subject? How intense is it? Do you still have time to socialize, work etc?

Secondly, taking leave. I've always wanted to do some exchange or something. I'm half Polish and I went to school in Poland for a semester back in high school and I'd love to spend 6 months studying there. However, I've looked into formal exchange to Poland and its tricky to do Commerce there, think it would be a real struggle to get my subjects credited, plus I'd rather do like 2 subjects rather than 4, giving me time to soak in the culture and travel etc. Also, I'm considering doing non-Commerce subjects, maybe stuff like history etc., which could maybe be credited as breadth, but not so sure. As this would put me behind schedule, I was thinking of just prolonging my degree to 4 years rather than 3. By prolonging it, I could also probably do like 3 subjects a semester from next year onwards which would be awesome. Do you reckon I could do this? Is it actually OK to extend the undergrad degree and would this impact summer vacation jobs etc?

Any thoughts would be so appreciated! Thanks in advance

[sluu001]

Has Melb Uni got official exchange partners in Poland?

If we don't, Europe is relatively small, have you thought about attending an exchange partner institute in a neighbouring country of Poland. That way, you can visit when you want.

[binders]

maybe see if you can add a diploma in polish studies through macquarie uni (who do lots of off campus languages)?
Polish Studies - Macquarie University

[sluu001]

Undergrad commerce at melb can be extended to a maximum of 8 yrs. you'll be long gone by that time.

[Eriny]

Extending your degree won't impact job opportunities. It's totally normal and in the end it will probably show that you're a well-rounded person.

I would question whether it would be possible to study part-time while on exchange though. Do you hold Polish citizenship? If so, another option could be to take leave, go to Poland, and find a uni which will let you study a couple of subjects and then when you're back in Australia you can get those subjects credited towards your degree. This would be a really expensive option though if you aren't a citizen since you'd be paying international student fees, unlike an exchange where you just put it on HECS.

[cibicl]

Extending your degree won't impact job opportunities. It's totally normal and in the end it will probably show that you're a well-rounded person.

I would question whether it would be possible to study part-time while on exchange though. Do you hold Polish citizenship? If so, another option could be to take leave, go to Poland, and find a uni which will let you study a couple of subjects and then when you're back in Australia you can get those subjects credited towards your degree. This would be a really expensive option though if you aren't a citizen since you'd be paying international student fees, unlike an exchange where you just put it on HECS.

Thanks for the responses! Glad to know it doesn't matter really whether I extend my degree. I do have a citizenship in Poland, so I don't think it would be too costly, and I'm pretty keen for the experience!
Also, hypothetically if I don't go overseas or anything is it a good idea to do summer school? So that I can have a reduced work load at one stage?

[VivaTequila]

Don't recommend going on exchange in Poland unless you can only pick electives there. It's simply to hard to get credit for subjects in other languages - unless the language of instruction is indeed English.

[Eriny]

Extending your degree won't impact job opportunities. It's totally normal and in the end it will probably show that you're a well-rounded person.

I would question whether it would be possible to study part-time while on exchange though. Do you hold Polish citizenship? If so, another option could be to take leave, go to Poland, and find a uni which will let you study a couple of subjects and then when you're back in Australia you can get those subjects credited towards your degree. This would be a really expensive option though if you aren't a citizen since you'd be paying international student fees, unlike an exchange where you just put it on HECS.

Thanks for the responses! Glad to know it doesn't matter really whether I extend my degree. I do have a citizenship in Poland, so I don't think it would be too costly, and I'm pretty keen for the experience!
Also, hypothetically if I don't go overseas or anything is it a good idea to do summer school? So that I can have a reduced work load at one stage?

Depends on you, really. I've taken summer school courses and didn't find them *too* taxing. The long break is nice, but you do usually get a bit of a break anyway because summer courses don't usually start until sometime in January.