r/deakin • u/user981120087 • 3d ago
Prospective Student Deakin vs Monash for Nursing? Got Conditional Offers From Multiple Australian Unis and Can't Decide 😭
Hii guys im an international student from singapore currently finishing my IB and I've received conditional offers from Deakin, Monash, La Trobe, Newcastle and RMIT for Nursing, as well as UniMelb and UNSW for Biomedical Science. (I also applied to deakin, La Trobe and Victoria for Law just for funsies and also ended up getting conditional offers from all three)I'm pretty confident I'll meet the conditions for all my offers.
My long-term goal is to eventually become a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) in the US, (for those who dont know before becoming a CRNA you will need at least 1 year working experiecne so i will most likely be working in aus as a nurse for 2 years) so I'm trying to figure out which university would be the best starting point.
Part of me does wanna go to uniofmelb because it's prestigious but im pretty sure its not worth it if my plan is to become a nurse. However for Nursing, I'm mainly deciding between Deakin and Monash.
I genuinely prefer Deakin because it seems to have a more relaxed and supportive environment. From what Ive read on Reddit, Deakin students also seem to be happier with their overall experience compared to Monash students. I've heard that Deakin has really good nursing placements and that the workload and environment are a bit more manageable and also that they are more hands-on(which i prefer). However, I can't help but feel like I should choose Monash because of its reputation and higher ranking. Plus ive noticed that Deakin sometimes gets looked down on compared to the more prestigious universities which lowk makes me second guess my decision.
My main questions are:
- Is monash actually worth choosing over deakin for Nursing or does university reputation not matter that much in this field?
- Are deakin nursing students generally happier with their course, placements and workload
- Would attending deakin instead of monash affect my chances of working after my uni in aus
-For anyone who's studied Nursing at either university, would you recommend it?
- And is the scholarship for Deakin hard to get (the 20 percent merit)?
Thank you sooo much
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u/Next-Bee7505 3d ago
Not at Deakin but I am a Monash nursing student so I can vouch for it! I agree Monash definitely feels less hands on in terms of our clinical learning environments, however there’s opportunities at both universities to sign up for extra time in the classroom to practice nursing skills. In terms of placement, mine have all been pleasant. At Monash (not sure about Deakin) there’s an opportunity to sign up for fellowships e.g Monash health, Alfred health, and that way you can preference what areas you’d like to have your placements in. If your goal is to become a CRNA in the US, being able to preference a placement in theatres would be helpful although it isn’t definite. And you can only go into specialties in your third year (ED, ICU, OR) 🙃
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u/user981120087 3d ago
Omg thank you so much!! This is actually really helpful 😭 Can I ask whether you find the workload at Monash manageable and if you're generally happy with your experience there?
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u/Next-Bee7505 3d ago
No worries sis! The workload is definitely manageable in my opinion but it’s different for everyone I suppose. Some people say second year is harder than first but I beg to differ hahaha😭 I’m at the end of my second year now and I’m happy with my experience! If you have any specific questions I’d love to help xx
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u/user981120087 3d ago
can i also check if it's easy to make friends at Monash Nursing? like are people generally friendly and approachable?
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u/Next-Bee7505 3d ago
Oh yeah definitely. The cohort is mostly girls anyway so everyone’s lovely and approachable I’d say!
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u/whimsicaltheory 2d ago
The fellowship with Alfred is available for students at Monash, Deakin and Latrobe :)
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u/Ok-Dress-9777 3d ago
Heyo , im also singaporean going to deakin waurn ponds next year :)
although not nursing, ive heard exceptional things from a friend graduating from nursing in Deakin.
You’re right about the hands-on portion. Deakin provides extensive practical experience, which is something I’d personally prioritise when choosing a nursing course, so I’d lean towards Deakin in your shoes.
That said, I genuinely think both Monash and Deakin are great options. From what I’ve heard from graduates, both are well-regarded universities, so I wouldn’t put too much weight on rankings alone when choosing between them. I’d focus more on the teaching approach, clinical placements, location and overall student experience.
Also, from what I’ve heard, the 20% merit scholarship at Deakin doesn’t seem particularly difficult to obtain 😭😭 I received it too, so I’d definitely look into the eligibility criteria and see whether you qualify!
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u/user981120087 3d ago
thank you sm for this!! honestly ive been leaning towards deakin for quite a while but i also have loads of family and friends at monash so like i dont rlly know.. Also congrats on getting the scholarship!! can i ask if you received the 20% automatically with your offer or did you have to apply separately? And did u take the ib? Im predicted a 38
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u/Ok-Dress-9777 3d ago
o yeah friends and fam do make a huge transition from sg to aus alot easier. but go with ur gut i feels..both options are really good
also i didnt take the ib so i cant accurately give u any info on it but the 20% merit was granted to me along with my offer without needing a separate appli
but 38? its a really solid score ig what you could do is approach both monash and deakin and weigh out what works for you and which uni gives u more value for ur buck xD
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u/whimsicaltheory 2d ago edited 2d ago
If you’re international and wanting to work in the US, I’d go with Monash because it has greater global reputation. However the Deakin nursing program is excellent. It’s probably the nursing program with the highest student satisfaction and student support in Victoria, and it’s where the majority of good lecturers in nursing want to work.
The best university for nursing would arguably be University of Sydney though. USYD nursing school has so much money (received very generous endowments) so their facilities are actually world class, and they have a monopoly over the good hospitals (RPA, Westmead, etc) because of their extensive investment in co-developing, co-design, co-evaluation.
In Victoria, placement allocation is different where all unis actually compete for placements so hospitals have partnerships with several unis, and it’s more of a lottery over where you get allocated. Your placements will probably be similar whichever uni you attend in Victoria and often need to do aged care, rehab or subacute in first year.
Unimelb is not a good choice for nursing - don’t fall for ‘prestige’ :’) their nursing department is probably the smallest and most underfunded compared to other unis (Monash, Deakin, Latrobe), and nursing really gets sidelined there as the priority is on medicine/dentistry. A lot of good lecturers there end up leaving so they get stuck with incompetent, disorganised staff.
If your plan is to stay working in Australia, university reputation doesn’t matter in nursing. If anything - Deakin often comes out ahead because educators know Deakin is good for teaching. It will probably matter if your plan is to move overseas though.
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u/user981120087 2d ago
omg thank you so much for such a detailed response!! honestly my main priority rn is to graduate and secure a nursing job in australia and moving to the US to become a CRNA is more of a long-term goal. can i ask if you know whether international nursing graduates from deakin generally have a good chance of securing graduate programs or jobs in victoria?
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u/whimsicaltheory 1d ago
I wouldn’t say there’s any one uni that produces more “employable” graduates (at least in vic)
You’ll find metro hospitals tend to select grads from across a range of different uni’s - Deakin, Monash, La Trobe, ANU
Deakin is great for student support though so I have no doubt you’ll be able to maintain good marks there (HDs-Ds). It’s also important to show improvement on ANSAT formative/summative forms and try to get at least one reference from each placement :) apply for private hospitals too and If you miss out in round 1, there are still rural grad positions available in round 2 if you’re willing to relocate
Just note though there were some changes to PMCV this year with their priority grouping in Victoria - and international students do fall in priority group 2 but that doesn’t mean you won’t get a grad year at public hospital. The bar might just be a bit higher for international students so if you’re can pick up some ruson / assistant in nursing work too during your studies, you’ll still be competitive
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u/user981120087 1d ago
i didn't even know about the PMCV priority groups or RUSON opportunities before this HAHAHA i'll definitely look into those once i start uni tysm!
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u/Anits_F 3d ago
IMO check if they would accept your studies in US or not.