Student Life in Sydney

Studying away from home is your chance to immerse yourself in a new culture, expand your horizons, make new friends and create memories that will last a lifetime. “The best years of my life” say most students!

Read about how to make the most of your time in Sydney.

Where will you be studying

• The ISCA Northern Beaches Campus is one of the most amazing in the world and perfect for a memorable student experience, a beautiful place to study.
• Our Sydney Central Campus is central and convenient and perfect for those who want to immerse themselves in Sydney’s business district.

Where you will be living

• ICMS offers students off-campus accommodation options. Remember to book well in advance to avoid disappointment.
• If you don’t choose ICMS accommodation and choose to stay with family, a share house, or your own apartment, please bear in mind that Sydney is a big city and traffic can be an issue so you should not live too far away from your campus, especially if you have early morning lectures.

Preparing to arrive in Sydney

• ISCA term dates can be a bit different to other countries. Check our important dates page to get an idea of how our academic year runs.
• Before you arrive please read our Starting at ICMS page where there are lots of questions and answers on things like: accommodation check-in times, O-week, how to get to ISCA from the airport, what to wear, parking, sports etc…

Living Costs in Sydney

• If you have never lived away from home you should be aware that there are lots of things, apart for your tuition fees, that you need to budget for before you move to Sydney. Some of these expenses include:
  • Accommodation costs (budget around AU$250 – $500 weekly)
  • Food (budget around AU$100 – $300, depending on whether you intend to eat in restaurants or cook at home).
  • Travel and transport (budget around AU$20-$160 weekly)
  • Mobile Phone costs (budget around AU$20 – $120 weekly)
  • Insurance (such as overseas health cover if you are an international student)
• For more on Living costs visit https://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/english/live-in-australia/living-costs

Travel and Transport

• Students can visit the Transport NSW website to plan trips or to find out more about getting an Opal card. Opal is the smartcard ticketing system used to pay for travel on public transport in Sydney