Differences between universities

[toughertalman]

Is there a difference between what universities you go to? My ideal university is Deakin, however my parents really want me to go to either Monash or Melbourne Uni, and this got me thinking whether it really matters.
I've spoken to a teacher that went to Deakin, Monash and Melb Uni and he said that the only perk of going to MelbU is for bragging rights (he's a jokester so I don't know if he's serious lol)

Any help is appreciated.

[Aaron]

There have been many threads on this topic already.

Undergraduate degrees - there are minimal differences as most courses are required to teach similar content to meet the accreditation requirements of professional associations/bodies. You may notice differences in teaching quality, resources and the way in which this material is presented, but overall for bachelor degrees, not much.

Your choice of university definitely should be considered if it's a postgraduate/honours degree.

Obviously as well another consideration is networking opportunities which some unis offer more so than others (e.g. industry placement for applied disciplines such as IT).

I personally don't think the merit of bragging about a UoM or Monash degree is worth isolating yourself from other universities. Consider time/distance from your house, the actual structure of the content on offer etc. before making any decisions. Bragging rights vs. actually being happy.. I know which one i'd pick.

From my perspective - I hold two degrees, a Bachelor degree from La Trobe and a Masters from Monash. IMO I found La Trobe to actually be better in terms of community feel & happiness. I didn't feel that connected with Monash and it was more of a 'in and out' affair. That's not to say you will experience the same, but just providing you with my insight having been to two completely different universities in the span of 5 years.

If you don't like the uni you attend, you can always transfer across. If you get a 90+ ATAR, you CAN choose a uni like La Trobe or Deakin or Swinburne etc... I know many people that have done this and have been completely satisfied with their decision. It's about you and what you want - don't bow to pressure of prestige or parental/peer influence. Do your research, get the facts, understand your options and make a decision. After all, it's your life.

(Sorry, that's the best I can do with the limited context you have provided - if you provide the actual degree/discipline area, perhaps you could get some targeted advice relating to that discipline as to what one you should pick? Also consider that the uni student pool on AN is significantly biased towards UoM/Monash)

[toughertalman]

There have been many threads on this topic already.

Undergraduate degrees - there are minimal differences as most courses are required to teach similar content to meet the accreditation requirements of professional associations/bodies. You may notice differences in teaching quality, resources and the way in which this material is presented, but overall for bachelor degrees, not much.

Your choice of university definitely should be considered if it's a postgraduate/honours degree.

Obviously as well another consideration is networking opportunities which some unis offer more so than others (e.g. industry placement for applied disciplines such as IT).

I personally don't think the merit of bragging about a UoM or Monash degree is worth isolating yourself from other universities. Consider time/distance from your house, the actual structure of the content on offer etc. before making any decisions. Bragging rights vs. actually being happy.. I know which one i'd pick.

From my perspective - I hold two degrees, a Bachelor degree from La Trobe and a Masters from Monash. IMO I found La Trobe to actually be better in terms of community feel & happiness. I didn't feel that connected with Monash and it was more of a 'in and out' affair. That's not to say you will experience the same, but just providing you with my insight having been to two completely different universities in the span of 5 years.

If you don't like the uni you attend, you can always transfer across. If you get a 90+ ATAR, you CAN choose a uni like La Trobe or Deakin or Swinburne etc... I know many people that have done this and have been completely satisfied with their decision. It's about you and what you want - don't bow to pressure of prestige or parental/peer influence. Do your research, get the facts, understand your options and make a decision. After all, it's your life.

Ah makes more sense.
Personally, I don't really care what uni I get in - as long as I get into a course in any university than I'm fine, I just prefer Deakin because it's the closest to me. Prestige status doesn't really matter to me either.
I just want to point out that my cousin goes to Deakin (he's from Hong Kong), but he wants to transfer to either Monash or Melb because in Hong Kong, the employers look at what uni you go to and pick out the one that went to highly respected ones (dunno bout aus tho)

[Aaron]

What discipline are you thinking about doing? My post is in general, but there are some disciplines where prestige is really important (more so than others). If you could provide us with some additional info related to this, it may help others give you some specific feedback/advice as to where you should go.

Like I edited in my original post, you will find that the uni student pool on AN is significantly skewed towards Monash/UoM.. so I would definitely recommend doing your own research and advice as well before making a decision.

Every uni has its strengths and weaknesses - no uni is great at every single component. It's about checking and picking the one that is going to benefit you the most at a personal level. There is more to a uni degree than prestige itself, like actually learning (given that's the goal of a uni degree!) and being satisfied that you are being placed in the best position to use your new knowledge in the workplace.

All the best

[toughertalman]

What discipline are you thinking about doing? My post is in general, but there are some disciplines where prestige is really important (more so than others). If you could provide us with some additional info related to this, it may help others give you some specific feedback/advice as to where you should go.

Like I edited in my original post, you will find that the uni student pool on AN is significantly skewed towards Monash/UoM.. so I would definitely recommend doing your own research and advice as well before making a decision.

Every uni has its strengths and weaknesses - no uni is great at every single component. It's about checking and picking the one that is going to benefit you the most. There is more to a uni degree than prestige itself, like actually learning (given that's the goal of a uni degree!) and being satisfied that you are being placed in the best position to use your new knowledge in the workplace.

All the best

By discipline do you mean subject? (soz english is third language lol)
i'm thinking of doing bach of science (majoring in biology side rather than chem/physics). i don't think uni prestige is too important because my bio teacher graduated from latrobe (with phd) and another bio teacher graduated from melbU, and they're both teaching the same subjects.

[Bri MT]

By discipline do you mean subject? (soz english is third language lol)
i'm thinking of doing bach of science (majoring in biology side rather than chem/physics). i don't think uni prestige is too important because my bio teacher graduated from latrobe (with phd) and another bio teacher graduated from melbU, and they're both teaching the same subjects.

I'm studying science at Monash and even though I'm happy here, if Deakin is where you want to go, go there?
Afaik, prestige isn't a huge thing across science. Id recommend having a look at the facilities and support available at both places, visit the campuses (for Monash students science is at clayton campus, idk about Deakin) and see how well the vibe sits with you etc before change of preference ends so you can make your decision being in a position of knowledge.

Good luck deciding, and if you want to hear personal perspectives about Monash science I know that there are some of us here who can help you out