Canadian debating between UQ and USyd

[medaushopefull]

I have already accepted my UQ offer but i think my USyd interview went really well and I wanna make sure I'm making the best decision. does anyone have any knowledge about these two schools they would be willing to share? UQ is in brisbane so it would be cheaper to live there and there seem to be more overseas elective positions but USyd has a better reputation and a slightly smaller class size. Which offer would you guys consider accepting? does it seem like QLD offers more internship positions to international students at this time?

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[marble30]

The main thing I didn't like about Brisbane was its tendency to get flooded every few years. I remember narrowly dodging the flood in 2011 because I ended up choosing USyd over UQ at the last minute. It's probably easier to get an internship spot in QLD than NSW at present.

 

[albno.blcksheep]

Here's a snapshot of my comparison thus far. Feel free to share your own thoughts.

	UQ​	USyd​
Tuition (2020, annual)	$81,152 AUD​	$80,000 AUD​
Cost of living	Lower​	Higher​
Location	Smaller city Risk for floods? (courtesy of @marble30)​	Large metropolitan area​
Electives flexibility	Excellent flexibility to do electives in North America​	Less flexibility ​
Class sizes*	Marginally larger​	Marginally smaller​
Research reputation (QS World University Rankings)	Ranked lower​	Ranked higher​
Internship**	Decent shot for in-state internship spots ​	Saturated in terms of internship spots vs. applicants

* I have seen several comments around this, but personally don't feel that 400 vs. 325 is a significant difference in this decision.

**Additional Reading:

https://www.amsa.org.au/sites/amsa.org.au/files/Internships%20for%20International%20Students%20%282019%29.pdf

see page 8-9 for internship placement stats, and priorities for international students

 

[medaushopefull]

Thanks guys! I think I’ll just stick to my UQ offer then

 

[med2020hopeful]

Yeah, I'm definitely going with UQ as well unless something astronomical changes. There just isn't any objective and compelling reasons to choose USyd over UQ - especially given current internship data.

 

[med2020hopeful]

Here's a snapshot of my comparison thus far. Feel free to share your own thoughts.

	UQ​	USyd​
Tuition (2020, annual)	$81,152 AUD​	$80,000 AUD​
Cost of living	Lower​	Higher​
Location	Smaller city Risk for floods? (courtesy of @marble30)​	Large metropolitan area​
Electives flexibility	Excellent flexibility to do electives in North America​	Less flexibility ​
Class sizes*	Marginally smaller​	Marginally larger​
Research reputation (QS World University Rankings)	Ranked lower​	Ranked higher​
Internship**	Decent shot for in-state internship spots ​	Saturated in terms of internship spots vs. applicants

* I have seen several comments around this, but personally don't feel that 400 vs. 325 is a significant difference in this decision.

**Additional Reading:

https://www.amsa.org.au/sites/amsa.org.au/files/Internships%20for%20International%20Students%20%282019%29.pdf

see page 8-9 for internship placement stats, and priorities for international students

Nice job making that

 

[albno.blcksheep]

There's lots of back-and-forth discussion between UQ vs. USyd.

Is anyone looking at Melbourne too?

 

[med2020hopeful]

There's lots of back-and-forth discussion between UQ vs. USyd.

Is anyone looking at Melbourne too?

I didn't apply due to the preqs. Heard it's a world-class program though!

 

[DoctorS84]

You aren't really going to get many objective "reasons" for you to attend one or the other. You have to decide that yourself. As everyone only went to one medical school, they really only have anecdotal evidence for the others.

I can tell you every Australian from QLD attending USyd in my cohort, who also had a UQ offer, turned it down to attend USyd (obviously). And there is many of them.

I am not sure where you are getting this flexibility of electives. Both Unis can undertake ~20 weeks overseas but you probably wouldn't want to do more then 12 weeks as that would take you out of the New York residency pool.

 

[med2020hopeful]

You aren't really going to get many objective "reasons" for you to attend one or the other. You have to decide that yourself. As everyone only went to one medical school, they really only have anecdotal evidence for the others.

I can tell you every Australian from QLD attending USyd in my cohort, who also had a UQ offer, turned it down to attend USyd (obviously). And there is many of them.

I am not sure where you are getting this flexibility of electives. Both Unis can undertake ~20 weeks overseas but you probably wouldn't want to do more then 12 weeks as that would take you out of the New York residency pool.

While I agree with you regarding your first statement, I think it is a different situation for us internationals. Obviously, if we were local Australians, we'd go for the higher ranked school. As internationals, and having to consider internships, it seems objectively more of a risk to go to NSW rather than QLD. Especially since both schools are highly ranked anyway.

 

[DoctorS84]

No one in the last 3 years I have been at USyd has missed out on internship in NSW if they wanted one.