Those interested in studying medicine at Melbourne or Queensland

[OzTREKK]

I just wanted to post this information to any one that is interested.

My name is Matt Miernik and I am the Director of OzTREKK.

OzTREKK is the official representative of the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland in Canada and is the Application and Information Centre for each of these universities.

Students interested in applying to the Medical program offered at either the University of Melbourne and/or the University of Queensland, apply directly through our office.

Our services are FREE of charge to all students as they are provided by our office on behalf of the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland.

We were established to provide students with assistance through the entire application process and provide guidance and advice in getting students to Australia.

Our aim, on behalf of the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland, is to simplify the application process and provide assistance to all students through out the application process as well as the ‘Pre-departure’ phase.

Our office can provide you with all the necessary information about each of these universities and the Medical programs offered as well as provide you with information about/assist you with; accommodation, finances/student loans, the Australian student visa process, flights and travel to Australia, work permits, etc.

If you are interested in applying to either the University of Melbourne’s or the University of Queensland’s Medical program, you still have to complete the ACER Graduate-entry Degree in Medicine 2006 Entry International Student Application Form, however, you mail it to our office together with your transcripts.

Your application is then submitted electronically to the faculties of medicine at the respective university which you applied to and is couriered directly to ACER. When your MCAT results are ready, you submit them directly to ACER via the ThX system.

You then have a point of contact at all times in Canada, and we can provide you with a status update on your application, not to mention provide you with assistance in getting you to Australia.

As I mentioned above, our services are completely FREE as they are provided to you on behalf of the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland.

If you are interested in applying please visit: http://www.oztrekk.com/programs/medicine.htm

If you have any questions you can send me an e-mail at: [email protected] or contact me Toll-Free on 1 866 698 7355 (Canada only) - (+1 613 267 4004 outside Canada).

Cheers,
Matt

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[pitman]

Students interested in applying to the Medical program offered at either the University of Melbourne and/or the University of Queensland, apply directly through our office.

I think the above should be "...can apply directly through our office'' -- not that there's anything wrong with your service, but wouldn't want people to think they *must* apply through you!

-pitman

 

[spherical]

I am surprised that you are allowed to advertise your services on this site. A couple points:

1. Where is the value added?
2. Why can't these schools stand on their reputations?
3. What is your financial relationship with the schools? ie. kickbacks?

What is the deal?

Australian schools take the cake in terms of cheezy advertising and marketing. Even lies and false promises. Why do they need to do this? (The big surprise here is Melbourne! Some of the others already have a bit of a reputation for sleeze.) How can you take a medical school seriously that largely bases its admissions on a telephone "interview" from halfway across the world.

That Australian schools feel the need to enter into such arrangements can only be a sign of sheer desparation. I can only hope this serves as a warning to interested parties. Don't get sucked in without doing your research!

 

[OzTREKK]

G'day Pitman,

Yes, I do apologise for the confusion caused. Students 'can' if they wish apply through our office. There is no obligation, I just wanted to let students know that both Melbourne and Queensland have an office in Canada to help students in the application process as well as the entire 'Pre-departure' process including loans and applying for a student visa.

Again, there is no obligation and the services are free on behalf of the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland.

Cheers,

Matt

 

[OzTREKK]

G'day Spherical,

Thank you for your post.

Firstly to explain who we are and what we do, we are established on behalf of the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland to provide student support services to those interested in studying at either of these universities.

Being a former international student myself, I found it extremely difficult to find information about the necessary process of applying, finding out information about the universities, and then going through the visa process, accommodation, life in Australia, etc.

Hence, our company was established and is a NO OBLIGATIONS, FREE SERVICE. We are simply here to provide assistance to students who are interested. It is much easier to contact our office and have an information package mailed out, or have all your questions answered, then contacting 'someone' at the Australian university, spending countless hours contacting or trying to have questions answered by people half a world away and spending the money on international phone calls.

Our office is one of hundreds around the world which have been established by the Australian universities to provide assistance to students, making the process simpler, and providing them with the necessary information to make an informed decision. Let’s face it, you are paying an international tuition fee, and hence, you would like to have all your questions answered and be 100% sure that the decision which you are just about to undertake is the right one for you.

Now, with regards to your specific questions, here are my answers:
Q1. Where is the value added?

A1. The value added is that we provide you with all the necessary information about the university you are interested in. We answer all your questions, and make sure that your application is complete, while being in North America. Hence, you do not have to deal with twelve hour plus time zones, spend money calling overseas. You have someone on the end of the phone who is in North America and understands your questions from a North American perspective.

As well, we guide you through the Australian student visa process, provide you with information and assistance about housing and accommodation, explain to you Australia's way of life and provide you a 'Pre-departure' session going over everything you need to know before leaving to study in Australia at one of these universities.

Q2. Why can't these schools stand on their reputations?

A2. The universities do stand on their reputations. Each university around the world has a 'Student support' office on campus. So, in order to provide assistance to students in their 'home' country prior to coming to Australia, the Australian universities have a student support office in Canada, to provide students with assistance prior to studying in Australia. This is a much needed service, as I mentioned above, because you are paying an international tuition fee, and travelling half a world away, hence, you want to make sure that your decision is the right one.

This is just another services provided by many Australian universities to provide help and assistance to international students.

Again, it is a NO OBLIGATION, FREE SERVICE. If you wish to use it, you can, and if you do not, you do not have to. We are only here to help!

Q3. What is your financial relationship with the schools? ie. kickbacks?

A3. As for the financial relationship, there are no 'kickbacks'. Obviously, like anything in today’s society, it costs money to run an office. Hence, the Australian universities involved pay our office to continue to provide these student support services. As I mentioned, it is no different to a student support office being on campus, this office is off campus to provide assistance to those who are interested in coming to the university.

With regards to the statements which you have made about Australian universities, they are your opinions, and you are entitled to them and I respect them, just like everyone has an opinion.

I hope that this helps in explaining to you what we do and how we can be of assistance to students who are interested in studying at the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland. I invite you to contact me at any time if you have any questions.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[spherical]

It does sound like a good business opportunity. And I am sure you are good at what you do. It sounds like you are meeting an unfilled need for the schools involved. At the same time, I am surprised they have gone this route. Perhaps the motivation is to repair a "diploma mill" image abroad.

Personally, I think the process is very straightforward. I haven't heard of people having too much difficulty figuring it out. It might be different if you are not an English speaker.

All the best.

 

[pitman]

Australian schools, as Australians, don't have the same silly hangups about advertising. When you really think about it, why not advertise? And why not involve middlemen to help smooth the transition? Most Americans know 0 about Oz except for Crocodile Dundee (my generation), Steve Erwin and Russell Crowe. Not to mention how little Americans know about the world at large aside from small parts of Western Europe, or how difficult it is for so many to even consider living abroad, let alone half way round the world. It is sadly true though that some will take ads and support services to mean something nefarious, indicative of "diploma mills", or worse. But that's really just a marketing problem, and not reflective of the schools themselves. Then again, maybe it's brilliant marketing, filtering out those who truly think American schools, and such myopic ways, are "best"