If your goal is study-to-migration, prioritise universities that offer good value for money, accredited courses and a regional location.

Good value for money: expensive tuition doesn’t earn you any migration points after graduation, so if rankings aren’t your priority, feel free to choose a lower-cost university. Here is a roundup of great-value hidden-gem universities in each state and territory for your reference:

NSW: University of Wollongong

VIC: Victoria University

QLD: Southern Cross University, Central Queensland University

Canberra: University of Canberra

SA: University of South Australia

WA: Edith Cowan University

NT: Charles Darwin University

TAS: University of Tasmania

Accredited courses: for many occupations — such as nursing, early childhood education and social work — you can apply for a skills assessment as soon as you graduate. Choosing a course accredited by the relevant assessing authority can speed up your skills-assessment application and fast-track you onto the skilled-migration pathway.

Regional areas: as is well known, studying in a regional area earns you an extra 5 points, and overall the living costs and tuition fees in regional areas tend to be lower too, easing the financial pressure.

Ideally you’d tick all of these boxes. Since the pandemic, post-study work-visa policies have kept improving, and the next few years are sure to be the prime window for study-to-migration in Australia. Seizing the chance to migrate to Australia starts right now, with the university and major you choose to study.

The most popular migration-friendly majors are still mainly IT, engineering, social work, early childhood education and nursing. Beyond these popular options, a number of other majors can also lead to study-to-migration, but they require work experience. When choosing a major, look beyond migration prospects and factor in your own interests and strengths — after all, career development matters too. Our advice is to weigh up your own situation and confidently choose a major you’re “confident in” and that “offers a migration pathway”.

As the pandemic recedes, study-abroad services worldwide are working to return to pre-pandemic levels, and many students apply to several countries at once and then pick the best option. After all, most people assume that Australia’s universities rank, overall, behind those of the UK, the US and Canada — and since most Australian study-abroad applications are now free, many students want to create as many options as possible up front before making a final decision.

But! Australian universities — the Go8 in particular — still rank very attractively. Students who graduated from a non-985/211 university with modest grades and a weaker background can only get into average-ranked schools in the UK, yet in Australia they can aim for far higher-ranked universities. Since a degree’s value ultimately comes down to the university’s ranking anyway, you may as well choose Australia, with its pleasant climate.

Secondly, Australia offers international students very generous post-study work-visa options. After completing a master’s, you get at least three years of work rights, with an extra 1-2 years in regional areas, for up to 5 years of work rights in total.Even if you don’t plan to migrate, you’ll build up overseas work experience — and back home, that makes you a far stronger candidate in the job market.

Finally, there’s Australia’s migration policy. The EOI points table clearly favours students who have studied in Australia: two years of study in Australia earns points, studying in a regional area earns points, and PY (Professional Year) coursework earns points too. Add it all up, and the migration advantage over offshore applicants is considerable.

Space is limited here, and study-abroad planning has to be tailored one-on-one to each person’s interests, strengths and goals — what suits someone else won’t necessarily suit you. For a plan that’s right for you, let us help — add our consultant on WeChat to discuss the details.

Whether you pursue postgraduate study at home or study abroad, we sincerely wish every candidate the very best in reaching your goals and successfully advancing your studies!