In the US, the college culture is so vastly different to what we have in Australia.
Before actually spending some time at a US University, I didn’t realise how much more fun I’d have, had I chosen to pursue education in the US after high school.
Life after high school attains a mythic status for many students in Australia. Growing up watching US TV shows and movies about college, it carves a blissful expectation for Australian students entering University so they can enjoy “the best time of their lives”. It probably is the best part of many peoples lives in Australia, but since the average passive Australian life would probably be a shade of what many people get to experience throughout the world it isn’t saying much
The sad reality is that, in Australia the culture is lot more tame compared to anything in the US. Since the majority of students in the large universities in Australia don’t live on campus, most will have a noticable divide between their social and university lives. In the US, this is less of an issue.
Now, of course, Australia has a very accessible tertiary education system but I’m sure many students would know that they missed out on the “full college experience” by attending an Australian University. Even in the Ivy league schools, the kids seemed to be smashing 4.0 GPAs and still partying harder than anything I’ve seen in Australia.
On top of that, the quality in general of US education is very strong. I’d say the public ivies would definitely have more recognition than anything in Australia, including The University of Melbourne.
Now, not everything is perfect in the US either, you still have your odd Career Kids, FOBs, Worrying Whingers & Feminazi Loser, but most kids find their place and bond well within their niche.
Inside The University of Melbourne 