photos: st. john's college, university of queensland

quicko: american syllabi

I came across this and surprised myself by actually being really intrigued and thoroughly skimming all the way to the end -- it's a collection of university syllabi written by (arguably, in certain circles) famous people.  I don't think I've ever seen an Australian syllabus, but these, despite a few quirks, really looked pretty typical to me.  The format is much the same as most of mine in undergrad -- though maybe that's just because my alma mater Calvin College is pretty awesome!

quicko: school snobbery

It was recently suggested to me that Australians moving interstate for university is often a sign of either 1. a highly specialized major or 2. not being smart enough to get into school in their home state.  #2 comes especially into play, I've been told, if the student has ended up in Canberra.  (With the notable exception of one very good school there ... but I forget which one ...)

quicko: double trouble

Now this is a real humdinger of a false friend.  Americans and Australians both use it, but they use it in very nearly opposite ways, quite often for years on end without realizing how linguistically daring they've been and what very narrow academic escapes they've made.  I'm an English language professional and it took me the help of a stunt linguist to get it safely right.

So yeah.  My story starts late one night and ... yeah, I haven't got time for the story, sorry.  It's late one night now and evidently there's paid a English language profession waiting for me in the morning.  Here's the short of it:

America:  to get a BA you need a minimum of one major.  One's the norm, more or less, but two is cool too.  It's more work, more prestige, yadda yadda yadda.  There's also this thing called a minor.  Basically it carries no real weight, but usually no one sees fit to tell you this until you've decided to do one or two, at which point your best bet is to scrap the whole plan entirely and go for an interdisciplinary major.  Exit, tassle left.

Australia:  to get a BA you need ... something.  Check with your friendly neighborhood Australian as to what exactly.  But there's a major involved, which would be along the lines of "lots" of courses in a particular department.  For example, English.  You'd take ... a lot of the English courses available.  But then, if, hey, you really, really loved English and you took a double dose of pretty much everything the department offered, you'd end up with a double major.

Whoa, see the difference?  America double major = study two different fields; Australian double major = study one field lots.  An Australian major sounds like of kind an American minor to me (maybe they have to have at least two to graduate?  I hope so ...), but who knows.  Like I said, it's late for me now (well, not relatively speaking, but late enough on extended doses of entirely less sleep than "needed").  So, goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the double majors bite.

photos: once a calvinite, always a calvinite :)

quicko: degree or not, here i come ...

I've been a bit shocked lately to re-discover just how common -- and acceptable -- it can be in Australia to not have a bachelor's degree.  Now, this is also really a strata of society sort of question and it varies greatly, but overall I think there is a lot less condescension if someone is a tradesman here.  I think it's much more respectable as an occupation -- and seen more as an occupation than a "just passing through" sort of job -- here than in America.

quicko: TAFE

TAFE -- who knows what it stands for -- is Australian "tertiary" education -- i.e., past high school, but not really what I'd call college.  It's a bit like a vocational school or a community college -- but, depending on your social circles, possibly without such a stigma.

quicko: GPAs or other such nonesense

Australians don't really work so much with GPAs (grade point averages) as Americans.  What's really important to them is this number they get after they take a big test near the end of high school.  This national index number gives them a relative ranking against their classmates and various numbers open the doors to various degree programs.  It's all a bit complicated and I'm pretty fuzzy on the details, but basically it's very important.  High numbers (I'm pretty sure we're on a 100 point scale -- so, say, a 95 maybe) let you do things like become a doctor; lower numbers let you rethink your options.  If you don't do up to snuff but still want to go to university, never fear!  You can still go (Americans, sit down) as a "fee-paying student."  That is, if you're not quite there, no worries, you just have to pay for it.  Oh, or if you're international.  Then they don't care what your score is (you obviously didn't take the test), they just want your money.  And tons of it.

The whole process of picking a college (er, university) is very different in Australia.  Aside from the whole most people stay in the same city and live at home thing is the actual process itself.  If I'm understanding things right, high school seniors (no doubt called something different because Australians always get really interested if I mention my "senior" year -- or "sophomore" especially.  It's such a funny word, and just something they don't have at all, you see.) fill out some vital form that lists their first, second, third, etc. choice of program at a particular school.  Then, based on the number they get on that all-important test, they may or may not get their first, second, third, etc., choice.

I think, for example, they could say they'd like to do law at Macquarie, but, failing that, journalism at UNSW, but, failing that, social work at Sydney University, but, failing that, social work at UNSW, but failing that, dance performance at Macquarie, but, failing that, whatever's left.  But I could be wrong on that.  It's all very convoluted,  Of course they understand it all perfectly (like we do with GPAs and sophomore years), but it's a mite tricky for outsiders.

quicko: school holidays

This is bizarre: the whole country takes a vacation at the same time. That's right, they schedule every single school around to have collective time off. It's called "school holidays" and everybody talks about them. Colleges might be on a slightly different schedule, but similarly have simultaneous "uni holidays."