Housing

Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 March 2010 22:31 Written by Andrew Lai Monday, 13 April 2009 04:56

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altIFSA-Butler provided housing

IFSA-Butler takes the hassle out of finding housing in a new country. We have done our best to source appropriate accommodation as close to your chosen university campus as possible.

There is no need to worry about whether or not you will be able to find a bed when you arrive, no need to worry about how to pay next week's rent or how to re-connect the power! Being the most experienced study abroad program in Australia means that we have excellent professional ties with residential colleges and other student accommodation complexes.

We guarantee to house you for the duration of your academic commitments in Australia, including the mid-semester break. Browse your options and have a few places in mind when it's time to make a housing choice - while we try our hardest, granting your first preference is not always possible.

To begin, housing at Australian universities is often very different than housing at US universities. In most cases, it is not better; it is not worse; it’s just DIFFERENT than you are used to. But that’s the whole point of leaving the country and studying abroad, isn’t it?

Housing by University

Australian National University James Cook University Griffith University
Macquarie University Monash University Southern Cross University
Murdoch University University of Adelaide University of Melbourne
University of NSW University of Queensland University of Sydney
University of Tasmania University of Western Australia University of Wollongong
University of Technology, Sydney Flinders University  

Residential Colleges

Residential Colleges are similar to the dormitories in the U.S.. They are on-campus (or very close to campus) and affiliated with the universities. They include mandatory extensive meal plans, and many of them have formal dinner nights in the tradition of Oxford and Cambridge. Residential colleges have the benefit of full-time staff, so there are support services included as well, such as tutoring, room cleanings, and even laundry services. Residential colleges offer tons of free extracurricular activities, including music and game nights, sporting teams, and guest speakers. Each res college has a separate identity, tradition and history. Australian students often identify more with their res college than with their university.

However, because of the services (and mandatory meal plans) that Residential Colleges have, there are always supplemental fees in addition to the accommodation cost of the program. These fees can range from USD$1,000 to USD$7,000, depending on the Residential College. If you are placed in a Residential College, our billing office will notify you (and your parents) within a month of our receiving your housing assignment of the supplemental charges you will be responsible for paying.
 
It is important to note that residential colleges are very desirable to international students and there is competition for open rooms. If you expressed a preference for residential college housing, please remember that you are competing with many other students for these spots and while we guarantee your housing, we cannot guarantee your preferences.

Flats/Apartments

The other type of student accommodation is in flats (apartments). More often than not, you’ll be sharing your apartment with other IFSA-Butler students or other international students as the vast majority of Australian students live at home. In most flats you will have your own bedroom but will be sharing the living space (kitchen, bathroom, living room) with the other students in the flat. You will be responsible for purchasing groceries and buying your own food.

Supplemental Fees, Preference Rankings

The accommodation fee that IFSA-Butler charges is a base fee that does not include meal plans. If you live in accommodation that includes a meal plan, or has a higher level of service than base apartments, you will be charged a supplemental fee 6-8 weeks into your semester abroad. The bill will be sent to your home address. We cannot get the bill to you any earlier because the costs come to us from the housing providers/university accommodation offices and we must wait until we receive those costs from them so that the bills we send you are accurate.
 
Parents, when your students filled out their housing preference forms they were asked to rank their preferences. The housing information they were provided and the housing preference form they filled out clearly states in several places the additional fees (if applicable) associated with each choice.

Click here for more information on charges

Mixed Gender Housing

Another one of the differences you will find is in terms of who you’ll be living with! In Australia, both in residential colleges and in apartments, it is very common for housing to be coed. Coed housing isn’t limited to just flats; in residential colleges, you may have coed bathrooms.

altAustralian National University (ANU)

IFSA-Butler students at the Australian National University are housed in the residential colleges affiliated with the university. All but one (Fenner Hall) are located at the northeast corner of the beautiful ANU campus. Applications are made through your IFSA-Butler program coordinator in Indianapolis.

altJames Cook University

Townsville Students IFSA-Butler students are housed in any of the six residence halls listed below. While most halls accommodate primarily Australian first year students, Australian upper-classmen and other foreign students also reside there. This sense of community has been praised by past students, who have seen it as a major advantage in assimilating fully into Australian university life.

Cairns Students JCC students are housed at Beaches Apartments. This are self-catered two-bedroom apartments located 200 metres from campus. This new facility also provides apartments with full kitchen facilities and amenities such as: swimming pool, on-site library, and a gym.

altGriffith University

IFSA-Butler students at Griffith University Nathan campus are housed in either a catered residential college or a self-catered apartment – both options are located on the Nathan campus. Students attending the Queensland College of Art (QCA) or Queensland Conservatorium of Music (QCM) are also housed at the Nathan campus and will commute to campus with bus passes provided by IFSA-Butler.

 

altMacquarie University

Macquarie students are housed either on-campus in Robert Menzies College, Dunmore Lang College, or in off-campus apartments managed by the Macquarie University Accommodation Office. Macquarie University makes the housing assignments on the basis of students’ choices and available places.

 

 

altMonash University

Monash University Students are housed in one of the five Halls of Residence: Deakin, Howitt, Roberts, Farrer or Richardson which are run by the university. The halls are situated at the northeast corner of campus, overlooking athletic fields and a parkland area.

altSouthern Cross University

Orion College accommodates 247 students in furnished single study-bedrooms, arranged in groups of three, four and six bedroom units. Each self-catered residential unit contains a kitchen, furnished lounge/dining area and toilet facilities. The College has a recreation hall, a fully equipped study centre and a 15 metre swimming pool. These apartments occupy a spectacular hill-top position on the northern edge of the university campus.

 

 

altMurdoch University

As a Murdoch University student, you will be housed on campus in the University’s Student Village. It houses about 520 students in self-contained flats ranging in size from four to eight study bedrooms. Most of the bedrooms are singles, but a few doubles are available.

 

 

 

 

 

altUniversity of Adelaide

Students attending the University of Adelaide live in the residential colleges: Lincoln College or Aquinas College. When housing cannot be secured in a residential college, students will be placed in off-campus apartments.

 

 

 

altUniversity of Melbourne

IFSA-Butler has long standing relationships with quite a few residential colleges affiliated with The University of Melbourne.

altUniversity of NSW

There are a number of on campus colleges, including Shalom, New, and Kensington Colleges, available for Butler students to apply to. Living off campus at UNSW managed houses and apartments is also an option. These facilities are spread around the suburbs that are closest to the University, including Randwick, Bondi, and Coogee. Students must be prepared to travel on average 40 minutes by bus to the University.

 

altUniversity of Queensland

Students at the University of Queensland are housed in one of the three residential colleges on campus or in houses and apartments located close to the University. About 50% of students live in colleges on campus; the others live in off-campus houses or apartments or in UniLodge. The colleges are private foundations affiliated with the University, while the apartments and houses are leased by IFSA-Butler.

 

altUniversity of Sydney

IFSA-Butler has close links with Residential colleges on campus, including St John's College, Sancta Sophia College and Mandelbaum House. Past students have enjoyed a high level of integration with Aussie students at these colleges. The majority of students live in Sydney University Village or UniLodge. These are all centrally located within 15 minutes walking distance from the university.

altUniversity of Tasmania

Students attending the Hobart campus have the option of living in off-campus flats in Sandy Bay or on campus in one of the halls of residence.

Students who attend the Launceston campus have a choice of self-catered housing located on campus.

altUniversity of Western Australia

Students attending the University of Western Australia are housed in residential colleges located across the street from the university.

 

 

altUniversity of Wollongong

Accommodation is provided in either a hall of residence or residential college, all of which are owned and operated by the university.

 

altUniversity of Technology

Students staying at the University of Technology, Sydney will be staying at Gumal Ngurang is an Aboriginal word which means ‘friendly place’. Located on Broadway, the Quadrant Apartments are literally only steps away from the city campuses and 5 minutes from the library. Rooms are all singles.

 

 

 

 

altFlinders University