STAGE 3: CHOOSING YOUR SUBJECTS

Now that you have chosen your college, lets take a look at choosing which subjects you want to study and get credit for.

Please keep in mind that every university has a different process for choosing subjects. For example, choosing your subjects may only come much later (e.g. right before you leave for America). However, the principles of this page will be applicable regardless of what stage you do make your subject choices for exchange. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, lets begin!

Electives vs Direct Equivalents

What is an Elective?

An elective is a subject outside of your core degree structure. They can be chosen from a wide variety of courses across numerous faculties (e.g. a finance major enrolling in a psychology subject)
 

What is a Direct Equivalent?

An direct equivalent is a subject that matches your core degree structure. The subject must teach the same learnings and outcomes that you would be expected to achieve should you have done the course domestically (e.g. a medical science student enrolling in a biology class)

This is a debate that many students have. Do I save my electives for exchange or should I do subjects that are in my major? It is recommended that you aim to do electives on your exchange program for the pure reason of flexibility and to avoid the stress. Whilst direct equivalents are possible to do, they are a lot tougher to get enrolled in. Keep in mind that you will need to compare the syllabus between your home university and your exchange college to see if the subject qualifies as a direct equivalent. Some of the reasons for trying to do electives instead of direct equivalents include:

There is nothing worse than choosing to get direct equivalents approved, but then not being able to enrol in that particular class when you get to college (e.g. if it is full, not offered during your semester of exchange etc...) Due to enrolment quotas and subject restrictions, the availability of certain subjects at your exchange university cannot be guaranteed and hence why studying electives will provide more flexibility. Try and plan as early as possible and dont be afraid to get advice from your local university faculty coordinator.

How do I find subjects to do?

 

Go to your exchange university's course catalogue (this can be found online)

  • Search for the semester you will be going (Spring = Semester 1. Fall = Semester 2). Some subjects are only offered during certain semesters!
  • The American college subject system uses the notation 101, 201, 301. The higher the number, the more advanced the course is. Note: While these 101 courses will be easier and not require prerequisites, many freshmen (i.e. first years) take these classes, so you may be the oldest in the class!
  • Check if the subject has any prerequisites. This may limit your ability to select certain classes
  • Look at how many credit points each subject is worth (remember you need to enrol in full time study, and each university will have different credit point requirements when defining “full time study”). For example, at some colleges most subjects are worth 3 ‘credit hours’, and to be considered a full-time student, undergraduate students must be registered for a minimum of 12 credit hours in a single semester

 

Write down your subjects and get approval

  • Keep a spreadsheet or consolidated lists of all subjects you are interested in doing
  • Try get as many subjects as you can approved by your Australian university. Last thing you want is doing a subject on exchange in America and not getting credit for it when you come back home. As long as you pass the courses you have been pre-approved, they will count towards your degree
  • You will need to show this list to your exchange coordinator for approval

 

Other key tips to consider

  • Timetable scheduling: not having Friday classes allows you to travel over the weekend. Plus there’s nothing worse than having to go to class hungover from thirsty Thursday student nights
  • American class system structure is different – it is not just 1 lecture and 1 tutorial. Sometimes they have 2 lectures a week on different days and multiple tutorials. Pay attention to the course structure when deciding subjects
  • Advantage of doing electives allows you to pretty much do any subject overseas (assuming it meets the credit point eligibility requirements)
  • Courses are pass/fail! This is obviously very nice, since it means that there is not a heap of pressure on you to get really good grades to achieve that HD (still make sure you do some study though! It is exchange after all)
  • To help you choose classes and get an insight into how well the class is taught by a particular professor, go to Rate My Professor to see reviews and student feedback of the professor and how they taught the subject

Textbooks

If you are not a brainiac that can pass a course without a textbook, you may have to acquire some textbooks for your exchange subjects. Instead of buying them brand new, why not consider the below tips to save some money:

Try get 2nd hand textbooks – each college usually has a few businesses run by ex-college students that help facilitate this platform

Look at buy/rent/sell Facebook groups for your college – previous students may be selling their unwanted text books

 It is worth checking if you can download the book for free online

Consider purchasing the book with friends/classmates

It is a good idea to speak to your subject professors at college in America to confirm which textbooks are relevant (if at all) for your exchange studies.