What is everyone's opinion/experience of Melbourne University?

Please explain.

Its really racist towards asians. I've heard of groups going out of their way to being racist and stealing from international students. There was also a group dedicated to stalking 'hot' female students. That group got taken down but its really about the ideas that are engrained in some people who unfortunately attend a brilliant uni

[Aaron]

Its really racist towards asians. I've heard of groups going out of their way to being racist and stealing from international students. There was also a group dedicated to stalking 'hot' female students. That group got taken down but its really about the ideas that are engrained in some people who unfortunately attend a brilliant uni

If you or anyone else has problems with a particular post, feel free to report it and the mods will look at it further

In addition, i've removed the part that is potentially viewed as racist, but kept the other points. Let's not get sidetracked now

[mahler004]

When making a decision about your future university, please don't take 'prestige' into account (or if you do, make sure it isn't the primary reason).

This is a very general statement and doesn't apply to everybody. For example if your careers aspirations lie in academia, research, management consulting or top-tier law firm, I would strongly taking prestige into account very seriously. In such career paths/work places, a high degree of nepotism exists. Considering the OP said that they wanted to do a science degree, if she (assuming OP is a girl lol) want to go into scientific research/academia prestige comes into importance when you need references and research placements. That said, 'prestigious' universities each have their own strengths/specialities even within a certain field (like Melbourne has a really strong research focus in immunology).

100% true. 'Prestige' may not have a relationship to actual teaching quality, but for research, they'll (generally!) be a higher calibre of research going on - the square kilometre around Melbourne Uni is arguably the best place to be in this hemisphere for biomedical research. Obviously, this is less important for a straight undergrad degree, but you'll be exposed to this research earlier, and potentially have the opportunity to work in labs as an undergrad. Also makes it much easier when it comes time to apply for Honours.

Can't speak so much for other professions - law in particular has a reputation for being an 'old boys club' - hear from lawyers that it's next to impossible to get into some firms from a non-GO8 uni, even if the teaching quality isn't that much better.

In particular what's the chemistry area like? I'm a fan of Monash's, but that's simply because it's ten times better then my school one. I haven't seen Melbourne's chemistry area.

The undergrad teaching labs have been recently refurbished and generally look pretty good. I had problems with the way that undergrad chemistry was taught (especially in second and third year.) The calibre of chemistry research is pretty high, and the department is pretty good at getting undergrads involved in research in third year.

Poor/inefficient administration services is something that happens across most if not all universities (I have applied for two of the top universities in UK and can confirm this), so therefore it shouldn't be judged on too harshly.

They literally lost my PhD enrolment - the administrative side has been heavily cut the past few years. You shouldn't take administrative blunders personally.

[asianguy22]

Please explain.

I apologize if I came across as racist. What i'm about to say is not racist. If anyone interprets what i'm about to say as racist then i pity you for being uneducated about the meaning of racism. Keep in mind, I can only speak from the perspective of a commerce student. When i arrived at the University of Melbourne i was excited about the prospect of making new friends. Logically thinking, i thought that classes would seem one of the best places to interact with others and build friendships. Disappointingly, this is not the case at The University of Melbourne. This is mainly due to the high number of international students. I don't have anything against international students, they are usually polite and well mannered. However, the problem is unless you speak a foreign language it is almost impossible to build friendships with international students. You might be thinking, how about the non international students? Now this is the problem. Sadly, there seems to be too many international students. In most classes there are only 2-3 'white people' and the rest are asian or foreign. I've spoken to other 'white' people and they feel the same way.

Therefore, if you want to go to uni for a social life. I don't recommend Uni of Melb unless
a) you already have a lot of friends outside of uni
b) You can speak a foreign language (asian)
c) You live close and can regularly attend society events, etc

Like i said, this is from a commerce student's perspective. I'm not sure about the other Faculties.

[vox nihili]

[Russ]

His comments aren't racist, but I don't think this is a particularly helpful line of discussion other than to say that struggling to make friends without attending social events or having pre-existing relationships is generically true for all universities

Meaning of racism according to the Oxford:  the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.

If anyone is uneducated about its meaning, it's you.

He isn't saying 'white' people are better than Asian people. He said thats its difficult for them to become friends because of the language barrier.

 If he was racist, he would have implied that he didnt want to be friends with them because asians dont speak the 'superior language' english.

[tashhhaaa]

there are some communication barriers with international students but I've made friends with some and I'd say their written and verbal communication is actually better than a lot of people who grew up here lol. I think the proportion of international students is a bit irrelevant when it comes to making friends because as Russ said if you don't actively try to meet people outside of class it's really hard to make friends

[spectroscopy]

to answer the OP's question - surely im not the only person that really likes the uni?

Hey Guys!
I'm not sure if this is the right place for this post, so please redirect me if it isn't.
I'm currently completely my VCE, year 12, and all my life I've dreamed of Melbourne Uni. Everyone outside of my school, tells me that yes I should go there, good reputation and recognized in other countries. However many inside my school, say Monash is better for science, Deakin has a better atmosphere and there hasn't been many commendations of Melbourne.

I want to go to uni to learn science, not to party.

So my question is what is everyone's experience of the place? What is the atmosphere like?

Most of my friends doing science here have found it great LOL most of them are doing medical/biological/psychological sciences, but they all find it awesome. there have been heaps of opportunities given to them and loads of fun research things and excursions. also most of my friends doing earth science really rave about it and all the practical stuff they have like camps and excursions and shit. This is all from a commerce students perspective though.

I've personally found melbourne uni to have a good atmosphere. i went to a selective entry high school and it definitely has a similiar vibe to that. people (in commerce at least) are generally very very switched on. classes tend to be quiet but collaborative. ive never had any bad experiences with students or teachers. tutors have all known their stuff and been very helpful with questions, and my classmates have pretty much always been willing to contribute to work in tutorials and do what is assigned to them (to the best of their ability, i am ignoring quality) in group assignments.
there are heaps of opportunities to make friends regardless of your race and whether youre local/interstate/international.
ive met heaps of people who have moved here with no friends and now have really thriving social circles with loads of friends. you just have to get involved in events and clubs and just be friendly with people and make an effort to get to know them. the best friends tend to be made in extra-curricular activities rather than in the classroom

[Jesshope257]

to answer the OP's question - surely im not the only person that really likes the uni?Most of my friends doing science here have found it great LOL most of them are doing medical/biological/psychological sciences, but they all find it awesome. there have been heaps of opportunities given to them and loads of fun research things and excursions. also most of my friends doing earth science really rave about it and all the practical stuff they have like camps and excursions and shit. This is all from a commerce students perspective though.

I've personally found melbourne uni to have a good atmosphere. i went to a selective entry high school and it definitely has a similiar vibe to that. people (in commerce at least) are generally very very switched on. classes tend to be quiet but collaborative. ive never had any bad experiences with students or teachers. tutors have all known their stuff and been very helpful with questions, and my classmates have pretty much always been willing to contribute to work in tutorials and do what is assigned to them (to the best of their ability, i am ignoring quality) in group assignments.
there are heaps of opportunities to make friends regardless of your race and whether youre local/interstate/international.
ive met heaps of people who have moved here with no friends and now have really thriving social circles with loads of friends. you just have to get involved in events and clubs and just be friendly with people and make an effort to get to know them. the best friends tend to be made in extra-curricular activities rather than in the classroom

Awesome thanks for the response!!

[HopefulLawStudent]

The whole thing is a storm in a tea cup; "asianguy" should have referred to "asian international students" instead of simply "asians", as I (and clearly many others) interpreted the latter as inclusive of Australian domestic students of an asian background. It is not racist to suggest that international students have difficulty with language barriers and often fail to assimilate into the general student population because of this. However, I still don't see the difference between UoM and Monash in this respect- doesn't Monash also have a sizeable number of international students?

34% of the overall student body at Monash is comprised of international students according to Lord Google and 27% for Unimelb.

(http://www.universityrankings.com.au/international-student-numbers.html)

iffy about how accurate this info actually is though considering any idiot can make stuff up on the internet.

[tashhhaaa]

34% of the overall student body at Monash is comprised of international students according to Lord Google and 27% for Unimelb.

(http://www.universityrankings.com.au/international-student-numbers.html)

iffy about how accurate this info actually is though considering any idiot can make stuff up on the internet.

I would say it's more than 27%, not that it's a bad thing though.

[keltingmeith]

I'm just going to come in super late and give my own two cents:

A lot of people have come along and said that prestige=better research opportunities - NOT true. I have worked with someone who was said to be, and I quote, the "most qualified synchrotron x-ray crystallography scientist in Australia". In fact, when I was doing work at the synchrotron, the beamline scientist (the one who literally exists to teach other scientists how to use the equipment), actually said to me that because my supervisor wanted to show me how to use the equipment, he wasn't going to bother, and instead just went through the safety procedures. I would not have been able to work with this guy AT ALL if I went to ANY other university, either.

You'll often find at many universities that regardless of their prestige, there's usually one or two people that are still really good. Even then, if research turns into your endgame, you DEFINITELY don't have to do a masters/PhD at the uni you did your undergrad at.

My recommendation - go to open days, go to extra visits/programs if you can, and pick the university that YOU think has a good atmosphere and that YOU think has good teaching methods and that YOU think has the best student opportunities. I know plenty of people that walk out of first year maths at Monash thinking it's the worst thing they've ever done, I thought it was the best I've ever done. Likewise, I'm currently taking a unit called medicinal chemistry and I hate it - walk over to a friend of mine, it's his favourite unit. Don't let what anyone else says change how you feel about a uni - if you decide Melbourne is the uni for you, go there. If you decide Monash is the uni for you, go there. If you decide vic uni is the uni for you, go there.

[Orb]

Since the thread's alive again, here's my two cents:

Uni's what you make out of it.
If you go in with the mentality to have a cruise and party all day, then you'll end up having a cruise and partying all day (fun for sure, at the possible detriment of your grades).
If you go in determined with a similar cutthroat mentality like VCE, then you'll probably end up with excellent grades at possible losses in other facets.
Mind there are many people who balance partying and a healthy social life with stellar grades and it's definitely possible.

If you go in thinking that it's going to be a terrible 3 years, it'll probably be a terrible 3 years.
I wasn't overly active socialising first sem, so I felt my social life didn't peak at all. At the same time, I'm pretty conscious about my choices, and i don't really mind about doing this. I'll probably take a more proactive approach next semester to try things out more, but my experiences this sem was still fantastic, despite the frequent late-night cramming for assignments and exams

I haven't been to any uni outside of Melb, but i've found that, personally, it's your beliefs, perspectives and actions that ultimately determines your overall experience at uni.