Which catered Hall of Residence is best at Australian National University?
It depends on a few factors. I've lived at Ursula Hall for just under 4.5 years, and I don't mind the place - it's a nice community where people generally get along fairly well. Bruce Hall seems to be fairly similar in this regard (also with less Soviet-style architecture than Ursies...).If you're particularly competitive in sports or you like to party hard (i.e. the complete opposite of myself), then you might want Johns. (don't do it, it's a trap!) Burgmann seems to be a bit more involved in student politics and the like, but maybe that's just its reputation.I can't speak for Johns or Burgmann, but Bruce and Ursies share a catering service - Bruce provides slightly better quantities of food in a much grander dining hall, but otherwise the quality and variety is fairly similar between the two. A lot of people get sick of the food after a couple of years, and it can require some negotiation if you've got allergies or dietary conditions, so be warned.
Where are some little known places to stay in Australia as a US tourist that will get you out of the main cities and immersed in the natural beauty of this country?
OK, please don’t tell any other Americans about this. Because we are keeping it to ourselves, we don’t want it spoiled.The coast immediately to the north of Brisbane is called the “Sunshine Coast”. It gets very few international tourists (though a lot of domestic tourism).I won’t include photos; you can Google “sunshine coast” for images.The coast is a 100 km of stunning surf beaches. The northernmost point is Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. Much of the hinterland is national parks, subtropical rainforest punctuated by the cores of extinct volcanos (the Glasshouse mountains). Abundant wildlife ranging from kangaroos to whales outside the towns. Quirky, interesting towns ranging Maleny to the township of “1770” (yes, that’s its name) and much else besides. Arts and crafts. Australia’s home of giant things (see Australian Big Icons, though it doesn’t mention the giant lawnmower, giant strawberry, or any other giant things on the Sunshine Coast other than the giant pineapple).Because it has a fair amount of domestic tourism - though apart from Fraser Island almost no international tourism - it has excellent infrastructure for tourists.The Sunshine Coast is not a “little known place” for Australians, but its not exactly well known overseas. And in parts it is gobsmackingly beautiful. Lovely, lovely area. Rent a car.
What is the best route for a road trip from Brisbane to Melbourne in 2 days? Where should you take a break and stay overnight?
You’ll be surprised at how you can make this trip interesting, especially taking the time to enjoy the coastline.If you’re keen, I'd take some time to make it a worthwhile trip, and enjoy driving through pristine national parks and nature reserves, stunning ocean scenery and charming beach side towns, such as:Jervis BayNaroomaMallacootaMetungWilsons PromontoryPhillip IslandMornington PeninsulaCheck out the various self drive itineraries on the Britz website for some inspiration. Why not make something of it? Self drive road trips are the best way to see to the real country anyway eh?
What is it like to study at the Australian National University?
The university is very strong in some research fields (astrophysics, medicine, Asian studies, public policy). There are many overseas students studying post-graduate courses, moreso than other universities. Several research institutes are co-located on campus, and ANU has many linkages with Commonwealth research agencies (CSIRO, ACIAR).In terms of student experience, it is the same as any other research-orientated university in Australia. It is however much newer than the older G8 universities, although there is some ivy that manages to survive the Canberra winter.ANU may have lower entry scores simply because of demand is less intense in a city of 350,000. Those who do choose to stay, or come to Canberra, do so knowing the winters are a lot colder than elsewhere in Australia - so they must be quite dedicated to their studies!
Which is better, Australian National University or University of Melbourne?
It depends entirely on who you are and what you want to do. If you’re doing professional or postgraduate training, you would want the one with the best program in your particular area, for which you will have to do your own research. If you’re an undergraduate without firm preferences about that, the main difference is that Unimelb is much bigger and in a real city (and a very nice one as such things to), whereas ANU is in Canberra, which is basically an overgrown large country town. Most young people would probably prefer Melbourne, but ones into nature-based activities or with young children would have a nicer time in Canberra. (Just the other night I was talking with the wife of a recently arrived colleague, with a 5 year old child, who had lived in places like London, Edinburgh and Istambul, already thinking that they never want to leave Canberra …). Housing is expensive in both places.
I'm going to Australia for three weeks - Melbourne, Sydney and the Sunshine Coast. What should I see?
My girlfriend and I did very similar to you last year, travelling to Melbourne, Sydney, the Whitsundays and Brisbane over a three week period.In Melbourne we visited the 360 Observation Tower, Captain Cooks House(Shipped from England), The Melbourne Cricket Ground, took a cruise along the Yarra River, took a tram to St Kilda Beach and explored Federation Square.Sydney - Bondi Beach, Harbour cruise, Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge(Bridge Climb), explore the Botanic Gardens, Hyde Park Barracks, Australian Museum, Sydney Museum, Blue Mountains (just outside Sydney), Sydney Olympic Park, get a ferry from Circular Quay across the harbour to Manly.From Sydney we flew to Hamilton Island in the Whitsunday's and then got a ferry to Airlie beach which is popular with backpackers but is a nice place to use as a base to explore the Whitsundays. We went out on the reef and did a reefsleep (http://www.fantasea.com.au/page/...) which I cannot recommend highly enough if you can get up there.We flew back to Brisbane from Prosperine airport and explored Brisbane for a day including; the Botanic Gardens, beach on the South Bank and cruise along Brisbane River.From Brisbane we took a trip up to Fraser Island stopping at Noosa on the way back. You should try to get to Fraser Island and see Lake McKenzie and Lake Wabbi and there is also the Maheno ship wreck further up the beach.
What is the best University in Canberra?
I am going to be all philosophical here and ask what you mean by best and how we judge best?If we use international rankings, obviously ANU is the best but I’ve got degrees from the University of Canberra, Australian National University and the University of Sydney so I wouldn’t say that international rankings are the best criteria to go from.The ANU is a research university and quality of research is ranked by citations and citations are often reciprocal in that you cite me and I cite you. Obviously, this encourages academics to buy into populist academic issues rather than challenge them in a way that results in being put on the academic blacklist. At ANU, I got the impression that my academics were very much about the campaign rather than evaluating the theory on merits. This made for quite a boring educational environment. Additionally, I had professors that obviously had no interest in teaching and were all about their research. For example, one visiting psychology professor from Norway just read one of his academic papers each time he was due to give his two hour lecture. The first time he gave his lecture, there were about 500 under-graduate students in the theatre. I felt it was pointless to stay. I popped my head in again about 3 weeks later and there were only above 15 people left so around 485 students obviously felt like I did. I found it ridiculous that nothing had been said to him and he had been allowed to do it.In contrast to the ANU, the University of Canberra is not really a research university so it tends to attract academics with industry experience and/or academics with a passion for teaching. Additionally, it has some great art around the campus, which gets me enjoying being on campus.When I’ve worked overseas, having ANU on my resume has been a bonus but that reflects cultures of foreign countries where university rankings are much more salient in the public’s mind. In Australia, few people pay attention to rankings or would accord one university status over another. Therefore, chose the university that will give you the greatest joy in learning.
Which is better: ANU or University of Melbourne? What are the pros and cons of each one?
Congratulations in getting accepted into both.ANU and UoM are both excellent establishments. Both have a great history of research and both would allow you to live up to your ambitions and capabilities.It really comes down to the stuff outside of University.I am in Melbourne and it's a great place live. It has a vibrant culture, wonderful food and top notch coffee. There are lots of places to go to and things to see. It is generally more expensive to live.Canberra is lovely city, but if often deemed sterile and is of course much smaller - with less opportunities that a larger city offers. It should be cheaper to live there.So in short - both are world class, but it depends upon what you want outside of your academic life.