College in Australia vs. the States (May 30)

College life in Australia compared to the States is very different. Some of the biggest differences I have noticed are one, most people do not live on or even near campus. Majority of students commute to campus, and most of the time it is a far commute (anywhere from 30min-1hr). People take a gap year after high school or do not start college right away so people are a lot older. It is not frowned upon if you do not start college right after high school but seen as normal. Due to the fact that many of them commute they do not really get to know each other or take the effort to get to know people in their classes. Because there are huge lectures and small tutorials most likely you will not know anyone in your lecture but are more likely to get to know people in your tutor. The reason most people get to know each other is they either knew each other from high school already or they have group projects in their tutorial classes so they are forced to get to know them. People do not really care how well they do in school, as long as they get a P which is a pass they are fine with that. The motto is 'P's get degrees' Their grading system is HD, D, C, P, F which stand for High Distinction, Distinction, Credit, Pass, Fail. HD = 85-100, D = 75-84, C = 65-74, P = 50-64, and F = 0-49.
The format of how the classes work and what is required is very different from home. Teachers here do not clearly define what they expect of you but they just assume you already know that, which makes it hard for foreign/exchange students. Most classes of consists of a few essays and a final or a group project/presentation, an essay and a final. Lectures are not mandatory but tutorials are, and if you miss more than 2 tutorials you are kicked out of the class. For finals they have three weeks time which the finals are stretched out over. So my finals start on 15 June and end on 25 June.
Overall their college life and experience is more just a side thing they do rather than a huge community they build and becomes a big part of their life.