Why is this section important?

As a student planning on embarking on a journey of a lifetime, you will need to ensure that you choose  a program that meets your academic and personal needs. It is expected that you, your parent and/or Advisor will have questions about the overseas university and academic program, pricing, health and safety and other complex issues. It is important that you ask questions and conduct your research before you apply to go abroad. Program advisors are happy to provide support wherever they can. Just because the program is an independent program, do not assume it is more expensive or offers less service! What is important is to check whether the academic program, the cost and services meet your needs. Remember, it is the collective effort of the many programs - independent programs as well as those offered by your school - and of course the universities abroad that have created an industry that offers a multitude of opportunities to today's students. All programs offer something that may be uniquely different in terms of services and pricing. The academic content however, is the same when you travel to a particular university in Australia or New Zealand for a semester or year abroad no matter which program you use to get there. In other words, you will participate in classroom study at the university abroad side by side with students that go through other study abroad programs and of course the host university's local and international students. There is therefore, immersion into the Host School's classroom. The only differences therefore, are in the cost and services provided by the program you use and this is where you need to make decisions based on your specific needs.

The My Study Australia website has been created for the Australian Education Connection (AEC program), with a view to offering prospective study abroad students an opportunity to go on semester abroad, year abroad, full degree, transfer and internship programs at direct enrollment prices to universities in Australia and New Zealand.  Direct enrollment students undertaking AEC programs will still have access to all advisory and support services including scholarship, financial aid, pre-departure and other information. Please keep reading this page!

Why quality and credibility are difficult to judge in an environment of fierce competition for outbound students?

Most would argue that education should not be considered as a `product’ but the commercial reality of the study abroad `business’ has made study abroad into a product that is aggressively marketed. This is not a bad thing as it provides students information about the many opportunities available and shows that study abroad is indeed accessible.  In reality however, in some cases relationship building and marketing has sometimes diluted the issue of quality and credibility. As more and more money is spent on marketing, there is an assumption that programs that market and/or offer special incentives are the ones that offer the best program and services. This thinking has created some monopolies in the market place, disadvantaging students who then do not have access to go on programs that may offer an equal level of service or indeed be better in terms of service and pricing. Example - if a student wants to go to University `C' in Australia and that option is available to the student through several programs that can get a student to the same University `C', then the student should have access to all programs that offer University `C'. The student should be able to decide which program meets his/her needs based on the level of service offered and the price of the program. Whilst price is not always important, some students cannot afford the additional cultural and other tours offered as part of the academic semester/year abroad experience and prefer instead a direct enrollment option with a full compliment of services. Therefore, when some home schools equate program investment in marketing and incentives as a form of clearance to `approve' study abroad programs for their students, this takes away choice from the student by providing access only to a limited number of programs and creates monopolies in the study abroad market.

Students now have access to the far corners of the world because of the collective work of the many study abroad programs (both home school and independent, small and large). All programs invest considerable time, energy and resources to make this happen. Those working or managing their study abroad programs are involved in the study abroad `industry’ because they are passionate about their work in this field. This is good for the industry. There are however, concerns that have come up in relation to students being directed only to a select number of programs rather than all programs that offer study abroad opportunities to accredited universities abroad. 

Again, it is important to understand that it is the collective effort of all programs - large and small, profit and non-profits - that have created a magnitude of opportunities abroad.  The AEC has been in existence for 12 years and most of the survey responses from students suggest that students have gone on an AEC program because of price and quality of service. As a small program, we continue to follow our mission - to bring affordable programs to students. We therefore, rely on the generosity of home schools, students and their parents to ensure that the AEC is considered side by side with other programs to accredited universities abroad.

Is the overseas university accredited?

The AEC guarantees all students, advisors and their parents that we send students only to accredited universities in Australia and New Zealand. Most of these universities are also accredited by the US Department of Education for the purpose of US financial aid. This accreditation ensures that the university in Australia and New Zealand has already been checked out by government agencies. The AEC offers direct enrollment to all its partner universities which means the student pays for direct cost of their tuition whilst studying abroad.  If you need additional tours or cultural programs, we do this as separate options -

Why? Simply to keep cost affordable so more students can afford to go abroad.

All AEC partner universities in Australia and New Zealand offer services ranging from on-arrival orientation, campus counseling, medical/health centers, tutoring where required and other support services. All students also have access to the university’s housing services as well as all universities have arrangements to pick up students and/or provide specific instructions to get from airport arrival to campus or to campus housing. The list below is an example of typical services offered at universities:

• Airport pick up or specific instructions for arrival
• On campus housing
• After arrival (and settling in) an extensive university orientation program specially designed for international students
• Access to Student Buddies/Student Ambassadors or other contacts, who assist student after arrival
• Access to Mentors including Faculty/Administrative staff from International Offices
• Counseling
• Study skills support

Australian and New Zealand universities are also well serviced for amenities on campus. The list below is an example of campus amenities:

• Recreational facilities
• Housing support office
• Job centre where student jobs are posted
• Child care facilities
• Chaplaincy
• Pharmacy
• Student clubs and societies
• Libraries and computer labs
• Doctors/Dentists or other medical personnel (usually at campus Health Center)
• Emergency and Security Office (personnel)
• Prayer rooms/facilities
• Post office
• Canteens/eateries/bistros
• Student union offices
• Banks

The major advantage of using a North American program to handle your admission matters, rather than going direct to the university is the fact that students, their advisors and parents can:

1. Obtain advice from an organization that is accessible in North America and knows the overseas university and country

Your North American program (like the AEC Program) knows the university’s criteria, assists with credit transfer, subject selection, financial aid, housing and visa support and of course briefings about life in Australia or New Zealand generally. Therefore, instead of telephoning Australia/New Zealand direct to enquire about a program or an aspect of your application, you may contact the program (example, the AEC Program) direct via a toll free number. Also there is no `14-21 hrs’ time difference between you and the overseas university to deal with!

The AEC is not the only program sending students to Australia and New Zealand. There are many programs operating with variances in pricing and services. It is therefore, important to check out all programs and then make a decision based on your requirements.

There are other compelling reasons why students choose to use programs:

1. You can pay your fees in local currency rather than be concerned about sending money overseas
2. You can lodge your application to the program, rather than spending money on postage sending your application and supporting documentation abroad
3. Many programs will accept applications to multiple universities, usually with the one set of support documents (e.g. your home school transcripts).
4. Any issues related to credit transfer, financial aid and payment for your program can be dealt with locally as the program can sort these issues out with your Home School. (Many US schools only pay out financial aid in US Dollars and are not able to convert their funds into Australian or New Zealand dollars)
5. The program takes responsibility to provide you access to housing and usually programs guarantee housing on arrival so you know where you are living.
6. The program usually provides pre-departure information and/or on-arrival information that is very specific to your region. Australian and New Zealand universities invest a great deal of resources to also provide information.
7. There are times when the university may accept applications through a program without any application fees.
8. The program provides support services all the way through – from the enquiry stage, to helping with subject selection, financial aid/consortium agreements with your home school, to transferring funds for your program and housing fees to pre-departure, on-arrival notes/orientation to ongoing monitoring, usually 24 emergency contacts whilst overseas and finally return home and arrangements to send transcripts and conversion of grade information to home schools.

In summary, the Program is not a large university structure which you need to penetrate to enquire about your application and related issues – the Program deals with you and ensures that matters are dealt with on your behalf.

The cheapest way to go to Australia and New Zealand is by applying direct. (Each university’s tuition fees are listed on their web sites.) However, as listed in the response to the previous question  it is not possible to get the benefits offered by programs if you apply direct.

Using programs can be expensive because programs usually package the tuition, medical, on-arrival orientation, various tours and administrative fees. It is not unreasonable to pay application and administrative fees. The question for students is how much can they afford and what what services do they want in return.

The AEC program offers direct enrollment. We are a small agency and we don't duplicate services which our partner universities provide e.g. orientation - as all our partner universities offer comprehensive orientation programs; we also do not automatically add cultural or other tours as an all inclusive program fee which then compels students to pay higher cost - the AEC program operates a different business model. We cater to the student that wants to get a great academic experience at an affordable price. Separately, we can add optional cultural and other tours based on need. Note that many of our partner universities also offer various tours and cultural activities for students. There are students that want the additional tours and other benefits of the many programs that operate in the US. Therefore, choose the program of your choice based on your requirements. Remember all programs offer something different - make decisions based on your specific needs.

The AEC program is currently the only Australia/New Zealand bound program from the US  that  does not charge students going on semester/year abroad and full degrees (Bachelors, Masters and PhDs) any fees whatsoever for administration but instead charges the student the exact cost of tuition. The AEC also does not have an application fee but a refundable application deposit. 

The AEC offers semester/year abroad and full degree students all services needed to take you from the point of enquiry to application, housing, subject selection, financial aid, visa, pre-departure, on-arrival, orientation, on-going monitoring, emergency response arrangements, departure/re-entry, to transcript on return.

How does the AEC offer a study abroad program at no additional fees to the student? We do this by:

• keeping overheads low – e.g. travel costs; we travel in economy class and you will not see us over and over again at your campus. This is not because we don't want to be there to support your campus; it is because we don't want our cost to students to go up; instead we will visit campuses on invitation once a year and we will leave plenty of material for your Study Abroad Office to distribute to prospective students side by side with materials of other programs. Some schools have a closed policy because they can manage only a small number of programs, although we hope that home schools see the value in keeping materials of smaller programs such as ours in their study abroad offices.
• not going crazy on every advertising opportunity as we realize we can’t be every where and serve every body
• making sound business decisions.
• remaining focused on student services rather than investing in multiple visits to schools over and over again to market because when programs compete for business (students), the cost has to be borne eventually by the study abroad program i.e. the student ends up paying a higher cost. As we represent only accredited universities abroad and we offer direct enrollment we hope study abroad offices at schools see value in the AEC program and offer this side by side with other programs.

AEC funds itself through fees it collects from Australian and New Zealand universities for managing aspects of marketing and application processing on their behalf. These fees have no relevance to what students pay as students pay the Host University tuition fees. There are other programs that also represent Australian and New Zealand Universities. The AEC is not the only program. What is important to understand is that each program manages their infrastructure differently so take the time to understand what each program is able to do for you. You then make a determination about how you wish to proceed.

Additionally, the AEC generates revenue from managing Internships, Work and Holiday Programs, Summer/Winter/Short Course admissions and Student Tours.

Our aim is also to ensure that North American school advisors understand that they can use the AEC as a vehicle for direct enrollment without having additional administrative fees charged to their students to go abroad. This is a win-win situation for students, advisors, home schools as well as the AEC program.

From time to time, we do hear from students and parents that the home school Advisor has recommended a particular program due to their familiarity with that program.  Some students have requested the AEC for more information because the AEC program is cheaper but they do not have the permission of their Advisor or School to participate in the program. It is important that students understand that all programs offer something different. Where students experience any difficulty, the AEC suggests working with your School and where possible, writing to your school with information about your program choice and reasons.

Again you can take information about the AEC program to your School - discuss it with your Advisor. 

Home schools sometimes encourage participation in only those programs  that they believe support the work of their offices through on-going regular visits and other initiatives or incentives. Whilst recognizing that many study abroad offices do require support from programs, the AEC operates a different business model -  we are able to visit a school once a year when invited, and then leave materials at study abroad offices for interested students.

Some programs do `lobby’ for business through impressive relationship building on campuses and they are able to do this because they operate  a different business model and program pricing. Whilst the AEC believes relationship building is very important, the AEC also believes in the concept of keeping programs affordable. The AEC   takes a different approach - we believe in limited (one, maximum two visits to campuses per year) and leaving materials for campus study abroad offices to disseminate to interested students.  After all, providing quality and affordable programs is also important to study abroad offices. We believe if our cost increases, it will discourage applications from students who come from lower socio economic backgrounds or students will go into higher level of financial aid debt. Whilst competition is healthy, it must be a level playing field for all programs and current reality of the study abroad market place is that not all programs to accredited universities are known on campus.

The focus of the AEC is on direct enrollment for semester/year abroad and full degree programs, whilst not compromising service delivery. We believe the universities we represent are already accredited by the US Department of Education and approved for US financial aid and therefore, advisors at home schools should help in the process of advising students of all the opportunities they have of going abroad.