Overview
Welcome to the OzTREKK Boarding Pass!
This will be your predeparture step-by-step guide, taking you from accepting your offer to arriving in Australia or New Zealand.
#OzTREKKTip: Always refresh/clear your cache on every visit to this site to ensure you’re seeing any updates.
Here’s what you’ll find on this page:
Where Will You Be Studying?
Click on your university for more information.
Accepting Your Offer
Congratulations! You’ve received a letter of offer! Once the initial excitement wears off, you are probably wondering, “now what?”
Important: Deposits are required to accept an Australian university offer. Although you can use your offer letter to have a loan approved, you will not be able to use loans or a line of credit to pay the initial deposit. Canadian banks require proof of enrollment before they will be able to finalize a student loans.
Below, you will find information about making your deposit, purchasing health insurance, and more!
Tips from OzTREKK
“Read, absorb, and understand your refund policy. Then read it again.” Lara, Student Advisor
“Take a moment to read all the documents that are sent to you. This is a big deal—give it its due.” Jaime, Director
“Take a sec to make sure you feel comfortable with the offer. You can always change your mind, but in most cases, you can take a moment, speak with your family, and have a good think. And in the cases were time is of the utmost importance, try to do that beforehand!” 😊 Jaime, Director
“If there’s anything you’re unclear about in your offer letter, we’re just a call or email away! We’ve seen hundreds of offer letters and we’re here to help.” Heather, Operations Coordinator/Office Administrator
Got Your CoE
You’ve figured out how to accept and pay your deposit. Your university has sent you your Confirmation of Enrollment document. Very cool. Things are getting official, and you are probably quite anxious to start the next steps! Below, you will find information about applying for your student visa, scheduling a health exam, taking family members, and more.
OzTREKK Tips
“Review your CoE and please make sure your name, DOB etc. matches your passport to a T.” Leanna, Applications Specialist
“If you can’t find your policy number for Medibank, you can activate it here.” Amanda, Ar. Student Advisor
“If you bought your OSHC through the uni, your policy number will look like this: Your student ID + your uni (caps), all in one with no spaces. (e.g., XXXXXXXXUQ for University of Queensland). In the case of Melbourne, BUPA creates the ID for you.” Jaime, Director
“There isn’t actually a card for OSHC. The card is, basically, you printing a little fake card and tucking it in your wallet. You will be unable to do this until 1 – 2 weeks prior to your program’s start date.” Jaime, Director
“You only need to get a health examination as part of your visa if you’re prompted to do so.” Casey, Territory Manager, Vancouver
“Take some time to celebrate. You’ve made it one step closer to achieving your dream!” Matthew, Sr. Applications Specialist
Financing 101
As a student from Canada studying at an Australian university, you will be considered an international student and therefore charged international student tuition fees.
You may be curious to find out how do students pay for all this?!
OzTREKK students typically finance their studies using professional student lines of credit, Canadian student loans, and personal / family savings. Below, it is all broken down for you.
OzTREKK Tips
“You know what you can expect to pay for tuition, but what about your cost of living? Take a look at a comparison site to estimate how much to budget for your day-to-day expenses. I like to use expatistan.com.” – Lara, Student Advisor
“Watch the trends and news in the currency exchange markets. The difference of a few % in the exchange rate between Canadian and Australian dollars can save you hundreds/thousands of dollars when you’re paying for a semester’s tuition.” – Charlynn, Admissions Manager
“Use the resources that are available to you! Attend predep webinars and events and connect with other students before you go! – Meghan, Sr. Student Advisor
“If your bank is having trouble with the transaction, have them give us a ring! We’re happy to explain the process to them.” – Shannon, Student Engagement Manager
“Make an appointment with the bank as soon as possible. It can sometimes take them a while to process your line of credit application, so the more time they have to assess your application, the better!” – Matthew, Sr. Applications Specialist
“Don’t worry about every single transaction. For your deposit, just pay the fastest way you can. For all subsequent payments, you’ll have a ton of flexibility and much more time to review. Don’t stress about a deposit.” – Jaime, Director
“When you’re transferring money, institutions will combine fees and exchange rate in ways that are hard to compare, so it’s best to compare the total amount you will receive in Australian dollars at the other end when looking at your options.” – Jaime, Director
Student Tips About $$
Loans, bursaries, scholarships
“I also would recommend getting a provincial student loan, especially students from Alberta (can receive up to $41,220 year), which is what I plan to do for year 2 onwards.”
“I received $2000 from my old college for an overseas bursary.” (aka, check out your old uni’s scholarship options!)
Transferring Money
“There are a lot of [money transfer] services now and after conducting extensive research of our own, we decided to use TransferWise.”
“You can create an Australian bank account while overseas through HSBC Australia! They have a multi-currency Everyday Global Account you can apply for and you just send them some ID for verification.”
Budgeting for materials, living expenses, travel, etc.
“Living expenses and transportation has been expensive. You therefore have to come in the city financially ready.”
Living in private housing? “Budget for buying a fridge, washer and dryer! Very expensive for a ‘unknown’ expense.”
“Financial aspects of living in Sydney. It’s hugely expensive on top of tuition and equipment needed for the program.”
“[There are] extra costs that you find out about when you get there e.g., uniforms, physio kits…”
“The price of living expenses is higher than I expected.”
“The location of classes and the required commuting between the campus and hospitals.”
“All the additional purchases you have to make for dental tools once you enter the program.”
“A lot of items here that you use every day are ridiculously expensive! Pack maple syrup for pancakes” 🙂
Heading to Australia
You’ve accepted your offer, have your student visa, figured out your finances, and now you get to the exciting part!
Before you get ready to leave, you will want to ensure you are prepared for accommodation, meet clinical compliance requirements, and absorb predeparture information for anything you may have missed.
Let’s go!
You’ve Arrived
You made it! Now what?
You have survived probably the longest flight of your life and have landed in the Land Down Under. You are probably feeling all the emotions!
Below, you will find information on working in Australia, exploring cities, student tips, and more!