One of the first questions I’m always asked when people find out I’m an exchange student is; “What’s different here compared to home?” Coming from Australian student life to the American college experience has been a bigger change then I expected. Here’s why…
I chose The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) because of its close proximity to New York City, one of my favourite cities in the world. A lot of the characteristics have been very similar to what I expected, but there have been some major differences I have noticed having lived the college life in both Australia and America.
Social organizations
Campus organizations are a major part of college in the US, whether it be an academic group, sporting club, fundraising group etc. Greek life is huge and it seems the further down south you go, the bigger they are, with mansions for sorority houses and the full Legally Blonde experience. It seems that anything goes with organizations and the activities fair each year showcases that. Just like the movies, groups set up their booths and try to sign up new members. At TCNJ I saw a crazy variety of everything, from Harry Potter clubs to circus clubs and to a group that volunteer at animal shelters. Getting involved in clubs on campus is vital to the American college culture. Australia don’t really encourage the social aspect at university. Whilst there are some small clubs aimed at improving campuses or fundraising/raising awareness for certain causes, it is not a big thing at all. I really enjoy the atmosphere on campus at TCNJ with all that is going on thanks to different organizations.
Sports enthusiasm
The setting for sports in American colleges is a lot different to home. There are sporting fields all over campus and whilst my university in Oz did have a football field and a few other small sporting fields, the majority of students wouldn’t even know it existed (they’re across the road from the main campus). There can be small sporting clubs and teams for different sports but unless you seek them out, barely anyone knows about them. In America, sports are huge. Students watch and cheer on their teams and partake in tailgating, which is where people set up marquees and drink in the car parks before and during the game. TCNJ has a smaller football stadium and being a smaller school, the team isn’t as celebrated. Games aren’t as crazy as you see at larger colleges and there was only one tailgate event for homecoming weekend (when past students return to campus). Bigger schools, however, have stadiums the size of NFL stadiums, thousands of people attend and tailgating happens every weekend.
Football may be the main sport that the students rally around but there are countless other sporting clubs like basketball, cheerleading, dancing, baseball, tennis, hockey, soccer, rugby and more. I definitely appreciate the football and sporting culture in America.
Living
One of the major difference between Australia and the US is that most students in Australia will go to university in their home state or the major city closest to them. There are also campuses in some of the bigger rural towns. In the US it is not uncommon to move to the other side of the country to attend university and students sometimes even seek out universities far from home. Americans tend to choose a university based on it’s merit, excellence and specialty. Australians do this to an extent and some universities will excel in certain areas but generally most universities offer similar courses.
Because of this American colleges have a huge on campus living presence. TCNJ actually had a lot of students from New Jersey, Pennsylvania or surrounding states but they all still lived on campus or in the college town. Despite the expensive price tag I don’t know anyone that commuted from their home town, as it’s really part of the experience to live on campus.
Australian universities differ, but most people generally commute to school from either their parents home or a house they rent themselves or with friends. Students who lived on campus were mostly international students or students from rural towns.
One other aspect that is unique to American colleges is sharing dorms. At TCNJ, only the freshman share dorms with another student, but in some colleges they do this for longer. If you live on campus in Australia students are given their own rooms.
The food options are outstanding in the US compared to Australia. Campus accommodation in Australia includes access to a large communal kitchen to cook your own food or some offer average meal plans. On campus there will be a selection of cafes, bakeries, stores etc but you pay for your own food. At TCNJ, we were given unlimited access to a huge food-court style hall with endless options. Students also got points on their student cards to use at all the other cafe’s and convenience stores across campus. Expensive housing, yes, but very convenient if it includes all your food/coffee.
Drinking culture
Apart from the obvious detail that the legal age in Australia is 18 versus America’s 21, the way students drink could not be more different. Australian students tend to pre-drink (pre-game) in big groups for hours before they head out and sometimes it’s more fun than going out itself. We play games, chat whilst drinking etc and it was the complete opposite for American students. Groups tend to be smaller, and half an hour before they head out they will down some shots and leave. This may be because they have to be more sneaky, not sure.
Then there’s the parties themselves. Frat parties, or just general house parties are the way to go for most American college students. This involves the house (usually a fraternity house) organising beer and jungle juice (a mix of spirits and juice others may call punch) and students pay an entry fee (ours was $5) or sometimes buy tickets before the event. Unless it’s a mixer, which is where a fraternity and sorority or sporting group will have a exclusive party ‘mixing’ together. They organise drivers, which is a great way to get everyone to and from the party safely. But the major issue is the discretion and we were always trapped inside by people guarding the door to avoid noise outside. And in summer, or when the house was crowded, it was HOT! There can be bars close to the college campuses that are hubs for older students as well, but generally it’s all about the frat parties. Which I loved!
In Australia, clubs and bars are where students tend to go, and usually there is one on campus. Big parties will also be organised for the students living on campus, where drinking is allowed because everyone is generally over 18. Parties will be organised in the housing communal areas and with sometimes hundreds of people per college they can be huge. They also organise events like pub crawls and fundraisers hosted at bars. Both are extremely fun in different ways.
The work load & grading
A main difference I have noticed is the way students work. Classes in Australia tend to work like this:
1 x lecture a week (which is recorded and posted online to catch up on later if you miss it)
1 x tutorial/seminar/lab a week.
This is a general rule, some courses may be different. Generally students will just need to attend that one class a week because attendance isn’t taken at lectures.
In the US (and this is just my personal experience) there is nothing online, and we had two classes per week where attendance was taken. A lot of reading and homework was assigned per class, meaning I am already doing double what I would do in Australia.
Readings assigned by Australian lecturers/professors are also commonly posted online (this will differ between courses), but at TCNJ, it was all via textbooks and I spent almost $500 on books. We were assigned a lot of small bits of homework that didn’t go towards our final grade.
Grading surprised me in the US as they are more lenient on the marks they give. In Australia I had harder assignment tasks, but not as many and they are graded very harshly. Whereas in the US, they give a lot more homework, but it is more lightly graded.
Final thoughts
So there you have it. My exact thoughts on the difference in cultures at university and I have to say, I have loved every minute of both! I would highly recommend anyone thinking about studying abroad to do it! It’s such an amazing experience to live in another country and learn a different way of life! I would love to hear your thoughts on this or any interesting stories you have related to studying abroad.
For tips on how to plan your next trip check out my Travel Planning 101 Guide.
Happy travels!
Caitlyn xo
