Luckily, I'm not a Finance major

August 10, 2009 9:26 PM

How do I fund studies in Australia when I'm not an Australian citizen?

I'm a New Zealand citizen who is currently living in Australia. I'm currently in my third semester of study, which I am undertaking through the extramural program offered by my New Zealand university (I moved here at the beginning of my second semester). I want to apply to transfer to an Australian university from next year onwards for a few reasons
- The degree I am undertaking is a professional one, which won't be automatically accredited in Australia (i.e I will have to apply to have my studies recognised, and will most likely have to complete a conversion course). For various reasons it is unlikely that I will be returning to New Zealand to work, so I would prefer my qualifications to be accredited here.
- The administration of the extramural program, especially for students not based in NZ, seems very very lacking. It's hard for me to imagine putting up with it for a further 2.5-3 years.
- I don't particularly like studying at home, by myself, all of the time.

My problem is that as a NZ citizen, I won't be eligible for Australia's deferred payment option for tuition fees, and will have to pay them up front. The fee band for my program is the highest one, so I'm looking at upwards of $8,000 per year, and I just don't see any way to come up with that kind of money.

The NZ student loan and Australian deferred payment schemes both work by repayment through the tax system, so one doesn't need any kind of collateral or guarantor, of which I have neither. I also don't have stellar credit (it's not abysmal, though) and I have close to $20,000 NZD in existing student loans. For these reasons I think I'm going to have difficulty taking out private loans, and as a non-Australian citizen I don't qualify for 99% of the available scholarships.

So...how do I fund this? Should I forget it? Slog through the ~3 years of lonesome home study and the year or so of conversion? Do something else entirely for the remaining 3.5 years until I'm eligible to apply for citizenship? Give up on my current degree and do TAFE instead? I feel very overwhelmed (to say nothing of the application process, which is nothing like what I've previously encountered. WTF is a 'study score'?!)

Any advice is appreciated!

posted by lwb to education (12 comments total)

You don't mention what area you're studying, so I can't suggest if TAFE is an option or not.

Can you use your NZ-issued deferred loan to pay full-fee places at an Australian Uni?

Also, talk to the International Student department / uni at the Australian uni you're planning to transfer to, they're likely to have some answers.
posted by cheaily at 10:33 PM on August 10

Get a job and do uni part-time (one or two units a semester) until you have more cash squirreled away? It's not like you're limited to unemployment or 20 hours a week like a dirty foreigner.
posted by Talez at 10:33 PM on August 10 [1 favorite]

My field of study is Accounting. There are TAFE studies in Accounting, of course, but given that I've already completed the first year and a half of uni, I don't think doing them would get me any further, really, so if I did TAFE I would probably have to find another field of study.

As far as I can tell, you have to be enrolled at a NZ provider to get a NZ student loan (which is how I'm paying for my current studies - they don't seem to care that I'm not actually IN New Zealand, just that my money is going to a NZ institution :D)

I've been here for several months and haven't had any luck finding work of any description. I've applied to all the supermarkets, etc, it's just not happening. I'm still hopeful, but...

Also, I just noticed I never mentioned what state I'm in - I'm in VIC, if it matters.
posted by lwb at 10:44 PM on August 10

You haven't told us what you're studying or why, so we can't really help you puzzle out the pros and cons of your various options. But remember that New Zealanders are actually in a much better position than other overseas students in Australia:

- You pay upfront, but the government still subsidises your education. You'll pay the same as an Australian, which is a lot less than the full cost of your education.

- You have unlimited work rights. $8000 is about $150 a week - that's quite achievable if you're willing to work hold down a job while you study. Studying part-time will make this easier.

So yes, if you want to study in Australia, you'll have to pay your own way. But that's not impossible. At least you're not here on a tenuous student visa, paying enormous fees and being restricted to working less than 20 hours a week.

The application process in Australia is complicated, but very few countries have admissions systems as straightforward as New Zealand's. The aim of the Australian system (perhaps not always the outcome) is to distribute limited university places as fairly as possible, based on merit.

Basically, you rate your courses in order of preference and submit your application, complete with your previous study history, to the relevant state admissions centre. These organisations process applications from all the major universities in their state. They rank you in comparison to other applicants, forward this information to the universities, and if one of the courses you've selected is willing to take you, you'll receive an 'offer' of admission. Study scores are used to rank Victorian school leavers - because you've already done some university study, your score will be calculated differently.

So, you need to pick up an admissions guide. Looks like you're in Victoria, so you'll want the Vtac guide. If you wanted to study in New South Wales, you'd want the UAC guide. You can read it online, or pick up a hard copy from a newsagent for about $20. It contains everything you need to know about how to apply. Also, find out about your preferred university's open day - they'll all be happening in the next few weeks.

One more helpful hint: Nobody understands the term 'extramural' here. You're studying by correspondence. Good luck!
posted by embrangled at 10:54 PM on August 10 [1 favorite]

On preview: If you don't have a job, can't get a job, and don't have another source of income, then no, right now you can't afford to get study at an Australian university. Neither the Australian government nor the New Zealand government are going to help you pay for it, and you won't be eligible for the unemployment benefit, either. I'd say stick it out with your NZ correspondence course, and make a written complaint to the university about the poor administration of the course.
posted by embrangled at 11:00 PM on August 10

get
posted by embrangled at 11:01 PM on August 10

But remember that New Zealanders are actually in a much better position than other overseas students in Australia

Another thing to keep in mind: you're most likely eligible for the local scholarships over there the same as an Aussie student. Here's an example from Melbourne Uni and here's one for Monash, both listing NZ citizens as eligible. I don't know how widely available scholarships are for undergrads, if you're otherwise eligible for any of them, or if the NZ=local rule holds for all of them but definitely poke around some websites and contact the scholarship office of your prospective University(s) and see what your options are.
posted by shelleycat at 11:48 PM on August 10

I would ring New Zealand studylink if you haven't already- NZ student loans claim they can only be used for NZ institutions, but Australian stuff will often get through as they have special exceptions for a bunch of stuff. You would be unlikely to get an allowance, but fees is a possibility.
posted by scodger at 1:21 AM on August 11

focus on the course you want to do, then talk to the unis.
you are not the first to face this predicament.
posted by edtut at 4:00 AM on August 11

I'm formerly an international student in Australia under one of the visas that embargled mentioned - limited work rights, hardly any scholarships, full fee. I've noticed a lot of the scholarships and funding on offer are also open to NZ citizens - go look them up.

You don't have to go through VTAC if you're transferring. I transferred from a Malaysian uni to QUT (well, after a year-long break) and they took me in within 5 minutes after seeing my transcripts at an education fair. Since you're here already I'd suggest going up to your uni and figuring out what your options are for transfers - my experience might be Queensland-only.

But yeah, go talk to Student Services and scour your uni website. That's how I found the partial scholarship that funded most of my uni - it was the only one I qualified for. You never know!
posted by divabat at 5:24 AM on August 11

I knew a Kiwi who funded his uni fees thusly:

Every Friday lunch time he picked up a carton of alcopop (not beer). He then spent a couple of hours wandering near the uni lounge selling raffle tickets for $2 each. This was the genius part - blokes wouldn't fork over to win beer, but women seemed happy to fork over to win a case of Breezers as an impulse buy. When he had a coupe of hundred bucks, he picked a ticket, called them and got them to come get their prize.

Probably illegal, but it worked.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 6:45 PM on August 11 [2 favorites]

Thank you all for the help.

Embrangled gets best answer for the reality check and essentially reminding me to count my blessings - something I should work on a lot more! I feel horribly spoiled, now, my question really does reek of entitlement syndrome. Oh dear.

Thanks to Shelleycat for those scholarship links - while I don't meet the criteria for those particular ones, at least I now know that I am not automatically disqualified from every scholarship ever on the basis of my citizenship, which was the impression my previous searches had left me with. And hell, I might have to go back and do VCE anyway (yay for NCEA and non-compulsory English), so you never know!

And obiwanwasabi - that story is awesome. I love it.
posted by lwb at 4:40 AM on August 14