murdoch- Is anyone going?

[MissSilverlinin]

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Hello!

I've been accepted to Murdoch University, my first acceptance so far. WOOT. I think I'm on the the lower end of competitive applicants, so I'm seriously concidering this offer. BUT, I have so many questions that I'm having a hard time finding answers to... can anyone help?

My questions: (most of them have to do with Financial Aid)
(1) I applied for FAFSA for the 2009-2010 financial year and I've gotten the results back... now what? [I've never done this on my own before] So, the portion they deem that you can't pay will be covered in loans, right? and the part that they deem you can pay will be covered in loans (haha, seeing as a full-time vet student wont really have time to work), right?
(2) What about living expenses? I'm independent from my parents and I don't make enought to have savings... so how do you cover rent, food, books, and everything else?
(3) I'm concidering joining the Army while in school because of their benefits [which include paying for vet school 🙂] They say that the school has to be a U.S. accreditted school... do that include Murdoch because they are accredited?
(4) Has anyone else been accepted this year? and do you plan on going? and therefore, how are you getting all of this done?

I just feel so pressed for time, seeing as orientation is Feb. 8th and class starts Feb. 15th, so I'm just looking for a little help in understanding how to get everything accomplished and even a little encouragement 😳. HELP😱!

 

[OtakuVet]

Hi!
Im going to Murdoch Uni for Feb 2010. I was accepted in early November and Im pulling my hair out just with that. I can say that its possible to attend for feburary. But here is the things you are going to have to do.
You just got accepted, now send it your materials with your letter of acceptance. Make sure to give them the money for your seat described. They wont be open until the 4th of January which will be the third for us so be ready for a bumpy road. Since youve already changed your fasfa that's great. Problem is they will have quite a time getting that info to you because they've had my info since the beginning of november and I still have not received all my details for my financial aid. How financial aid works is that the school certifies the loan and then you may get certified for other loans. The government sends them the specified amount and then you may apply for plus loans which depending on your dependency status it could be parent plus or grad plus. Most people with at least 4 years under their belt have been getting grad plus. But that is just one aspect.
Another aspect of accepting your offer is accepting your seat. The deposit is normally 1000 AUD which roughly is a little over 900 USD. You will then have to pay your overseas insurance which is 1853 AUD for the entire five years. Once these payments are received you would have roughly put up around 2600 dollars up front and this is before your place and your visa.
In order to go to Australia you will have to purchase a visa and a passport. If you do not already have a passport at this point you will have to go to a United States Passport office. One is located in Washington DC and another in Miami. IF you are from the west coast then check the Passport website. Afterward you will then use your passport number to purchase the visa which comes to around 470 USD.
From all my research, living expenses in perth is around the same in the US except things just look cheaper when in the end they really are not. Rent is by the week even on campus and you have to pay for internet because there are caps there. On campus you also have to pay a small utilities fee. On campus you will have to do a deposit of 670 AUD after that is all said and done.
Once this is all done, keep hounding the international office for your financial aid and buy your plane tickets in between. The cheapest place that I bought mine were on Travelocity for 894 from LA. Im taking a plane from Richmond to LA for a little over a 100 dollars and then a plane from LA to perth for 894.
All in all you are looking to pay quite a bit upfront before you are going. As for the army, when I was looking to do that I found out that they dont like kids with ADHD and also it seems it must be an accredited school in the United States. It really matters if its in the US.
Congrats on your acceptance. Im wading through this awful awful process but its one you can get done in a couple of weeks if you push them long enough. Also Invest in a skype account it will become handy when you need to talk to the International office. If you have any more questions in regards to all of this dont hesitate to PM me or to AIM me.
Congrats on your acceptance! Its been quite the journey hasnt it?

 

[Nexx]

Hey there, firstly congrats on your acceptance. Secondly try not to panic too much as it is possible to get here in a months time... it might be a bit hectic and stressful for you to do it, but it can be done -- and you have a bunch of people willing to help out with answers 🙂

I'm about to enter 4th year over here (i.e. I'm in Perth now!) so if you need someone to give the international office a kick in the pants or anything (sometimes they can be a bit slow) just let me know and I can make a trip down to the uni (it's about 2 min away from where I am currently staying).

Also as for expenses and paying for the whole adventure Otaku is pretty much right on. Just to clarify a bit your "EFC" on the FAFSA doesn't really matter for anything at Murdoch. In the states that your EFC is pretty much what you would be expected to pay out of pocket. At Murdoch you pretty much get your tuition + Living expenses covered in federal or other loans.

Pretty much as long as you have at least 3 years of undergrad study done and are going directly into the 5 year vet program you can get federal graduate level loans and GradPLUS loans.

My tuition per year is about $35000 and then $23000 for living allowances (these are AUD costs). There is some additional in there for travel/books/etc but they do not amount to much extra. As a side note your tuition cost will be pretty much fixed (I think it rises by about $500/yr for 4th/5th year)

But yeah if you want to proceed further with your financial aid you pretty much need to send in your deposit. This is the only way to also get started with your student visa as you can't really apply for that until you get your confirmation of enrolment..



As for the army, last time I looked Otaku is right on with that as well. Has to be an accredited school within the US.

 

[sunshinevet]

I saw yesterday that international tuition for vet had gone up to 39,500 AUD. Sorry guys! 😳

 

[OtakuVet]

Silly sunshine, thats about 35k our money

 

[MissSilverlinin]

Thanks for answering my questions Nexx and Otaku! I guess I'm going to have to take the plunge and put in the deposit. Therefore, Nexx, I may need you eventually to go and kick the admissions people into gear. haha. BUT, your saying that I shouldn't worry and that my loans will cover me being there. Can I get those in a month? can I get those in time to start living there on the 5th of February? Also, what about housing? Is the application for housing in the village take long? Obviously, I have lots of questions. I'll try and contact you two as soon as I can. [I just got back from the holiday at my grandparents where I didn't really have access to the internet, sorry for the delay.] And thanks agian.

 

[OtakuVet]

Thanks for answering my questions Nexx and Otaku! I guess I'm going to have to take the plunge and put in the deposit. Therefore, Nexx, I may need you eventually to go and kick the admissions people into gear. haha. BUT, your saying that I shouldn't worry and that my loans will cover me being there. Can I get those in a month? can I get those in time to start living there on the 5th of February? Also, what about housing? Is the application for housing in the village take long? Obviously, I have lots of questions. I'll try and contact you two as soon as I can. [I just got back from the holiday at my grandparents where I didn't really have access to the internet, sorry for the delay.] And thanks agian.

As simply said, you are going to need to invest in a skype account unless you have a landline with really really good service (aka CHEAP). So you can get your info moving. I suggest sending it to them either email or fax as soon as possible. And then putting in your application for the university. Apply for Post Grad since I know of another who will be there along with myself. The application doesnt take long. And basically they should have everything by the 5th but like I said, Im gambling too. And I would completely understand if you didnt want to be in this gamble.

 

[MissSilverlinin]

And then putting in your application for the university. Apply for Post Grad

What do you mean by this? I thought I already applied and got in? I know I still have to apply for housing, put my deposit and health care in, and get financial Aid.... do you mean enrolling in classes?

I did get a skype account. So, seeing as the rates are pretty cheap on this thing I'll definitely be using it. Thanks for the suggestion. Have you had to call FA to get them moving?

They won't be back in the office until the 4th of January, so nothing can really get going until then, right?

I'll be online all today, so just IM me if you guys get a chance. THANKS AGAIN!

 

[Nexx]

Thanks for answering my questions Nexx and Otaku! I guess I'm going to have to take the plunge and put in the deposit. Therefore, Nexx, I may need you eventually to go and kick the admissions people into gear. haha. BUT, your saying that I shouldn't worry and that my loans will cover me being there. Can I get those in a month? can I get those in time to start living there on the 5th of February? Also, what about housing? Is the application for housing in the village take long? Obviously, I have lots of questions. I'll try and contact you two as soon as I can. [I just got back from the holiday at my grandparents where I didn't really have access to the internet, sorry for the delay.] And thanks agian.

Loans can get to you in a fairly quick time assuming nothing goes wrong. So I wouldn't count on the loans if you can help it! As a side note if you get here and need emergency money Murdoch offers short-term loans (as long as they are reasonably confident you are going to get your US loans) that are interest free and up to $1000 (sometimes you can go back and get more if you are really hurting). Payment is due on those loans when your checks come in. Although I don't know how this works with new students... might not be available to you right out of the gate.

But yeah loans can be quickish.. and as long as you get your deposit in so financial aid can do the paper work.. oh and apply through american student assistance (https://asadirect.amsa.com/ewp/login/conditions.asp?i=murdoch) and don't go through Sallie mae (just don't do it!!!) it should be pretty easy.

I really don't know about the student village other than people not usually enjoying living there (so only sign up for 6 months to start if possible would be my recc)

It's going to be a hectic ride for you this month but let me know what I can do to try and help and I'll do my best. 🙂

 

[MissSilverlinin]

Nexx! Another question... When you graduate as an international student, you come back to the U.S., take a few expensive tests, and then you can practice in the U.S., correct? Does it take a long time to take the test and get liscensed in the U.S.? What is your experience with how well the graduates from Murdoch are prepared for these test?

 

[OtakuVet]

Murdoch is AVMA accredited so all you have to do to work in the states is the same as everyone else, take the NAVLE and then take your state board exams. =D And Voila: VETERINARIAN

 

[Nexx]

Yep, just the NAVLE and applicable state boards... same as graduating from a school within the US.

Murdoch has it set up so you can actually take the NAVLE over here in the middle of your last year (April if I recall correctly). You also will have the option of being able to take the NAVLE in the eastern states (Melb/Sydney?) in November should you either not want to take it in April or not pass (Let's not think about that bit). The test isn't too expensive either, the current estimate to take the NAVLE over here is $2000AUD. Right now that number isn't included in our loan amounts but I am going to work on getting that taken care of this semester 🙂

 

[MissSilverlinin]

That's what I thought! Thanks for the clarification. I e-mailed the army recruiter to see about joining after graduation and she basically told me Murdoch is not an accredited AVMA school (which, I checked the AVMA website and found some official papers saying it most definitely is!) and that I should really just get into a school in the U.S..... But not to worry... I'll show her in 5 years what a great veterinarian I am capable of being and one who graduated from a great australian school that is AVMA accredited.

 

[MissSilverlinin]

I hope you guys still look at this thread, but... I have a couple of questions about applying for gradPLUS and stafford loans. Which one covers tuition, and which one covers living expenses/travel/books/etc? And if I estimate around what Nexx did do I ask for everything on both applications? I'm uber confused about this stuff, but I need to get going on it NOW.

 

[mochavet]

Hi! I am also a student at Murdoch. I am in Nexx's class and came to Perth from the Midwest of the States. I don't know much about the loan process since I didn't go that route. Nexx will have to help you out with that.

I can tell you that I worked with a vet student here that was in the Army and she is now working as a Veterinarian on an Army base in Texas. So...I know you can go that route. Don't let them tell you that you can't.

Also, you CAN work here even with being a full-time vet student. I have worked almost 30 hours a week for the first three years I've been here and I've passed all my classes so far. I was also involved in student groups, which took up a lot of my time. The first three years are not that difficult. It is more like an undergrad course with basic science classes (only three classes a semester too with three weeks of study breaks added into the semester). So don't fret too much. Plus hourly rates here are way higher than at home. I work at a vet clinic as the receptionist and make $20 an hour. Some people are making $33 an hour working as weekend "Nutritional Advisors" for the major pet food companies. The economy here is much better than at home.

Another piece of advise, DON"T live in the student village!!! I have only ever heard bad things about that place. Most people I've talked to that have lived there were MISERABLE. Save yourself that misery and join up with other students who will be going to Murdoch and get yourselves a house to share. That is what we all did. I lived with Nexx for four months and it wasn't too bad. PM me if you are looking for places to live and I can send you some ideas. Also, if you guys need a ride from the airport and some help finding things first off just let us know. When we all got here we were basically left on our own and it sucked big time. A lot of us will be more than happy to help you out at least in the first few days.

Good luck with everything and welcome to the Murdoch International Student Family!

 

[flyhi]

That's great info, Mochavet! i'm not going to Australia, but it's so nice to know that you guys are willing to help the newbies...very refreshing. Also, VERY COOL that you've been able to work so much during the school year! I am hoping to do some as well.

 

[Nexx]

I lived with Nexx for four months and it wasn't too bad....

Pfft it such a glowing review! I was the best roommate you had outside of your husband! 😛


Anyhow as for loans.... Stafford loan maximum is currently at about $20,000USD (+/- a few hundred..sorry I'm being lazy and not looking it up) Anything that you need for tuition and living above and beyond that (the school calculates that out for you) should be done via gradPLUS (or private.. but privates tend to have higher interest rates so I recc gradplus). I think I applied for $35,000 in grad plus for this year due to the exchange rate fluctuations. However I can't quite remember, my brain is a bit fried from working so much lately.

Pretty much your staffords get applied to your tuition. Anything that they don't cover then needs to be taken out in other loans as does your living allowances.

Basically if you apply for your staffords through ASA at least you don't apply for a specific amount. You are essentially applying for the maximum available ($20k). With GradPLUS you need to specify an amount. And just so you are aware dont' expect an immediate decision on your approval for a gradPLUS loan. The company usually has to take a few hours to review it (usually a day or so). It shouldn't get rejected really unless you have defaulted on an education loan previously (that's the only reason I can think of really as it's not a credit-based loan).


Also further to what Mocha said, yes you can work over here.. I wouldn't recc working in the first semester until you get used to things over here. Pay is usually quite good. I'm running three jobs at the moment during our break, one pays $20-$25/hr depending on penalty rates (i.e. bonus pay for saturday work). Another pays $19-28 depending on penalty rates (night/weekend work) and my 'nutritional advising' for Eukanuba pays $33/hr.

Also a few times a year a 'live in' position at a clinic becomes available so you can get free rent in exchange for some brief night work checking on patients, usually a shared position with another student.

Also for those of you who haven't been able to contact the financial aid people at the international office, it just came to my attention this weekend that the main lady who I dealt with all last year resigned *shrug* -- anyhow the person in charge of financial stuff for international students is Dayna Bennett (Dayna.Bennett -at- murdoch.edu.au --written out to avoid spammers hopefully) 🙂

I might try to ring her before emailing though, it's been two days since I emailed her and I haven't heard anything as of yet. Also if any of you want me to I need to head there in the next day or so, so if you want to forward me your names (via pm or email) I can bring your name up to her and try to ensure she contacts you as well, given you'll be here in a month.

And yeah, we are happy to help out (rides, info, possibly temp housing, etc)... it's a big move so just let us know if you need anything at all. If I hadn't met Mocha and another girl online I wouldn't have had roommates or a pickup from the airport when I first got here. 🙂

 

[mochavet]

"Pfft it such a glowing review! I was the best roommate you had outside of your husband! 😛"

Ahhhh Nexx, you were an awesome roommate!!! Seriously though, it worked really well to find students with similar situations on here and just room together for the first 6 months. It makes for a much easier transition. Good luck everyone!