newcastle is an awesome course....i'm entering my 3rd yr now and i have to say, it's challenged me so much more than i could have imagined, but in a good way.
the staff are always handy and approachable, both academic and administrative. it's true that it was the first to implement the PBL concept and it's refined it over the many years to make it what it is...
the other thing to note is that we don't get grades after our exams, only PASS/FAIL, which is both good and bad. It's good because it prevents competition and puts less pressure on us as students, but at the same time there is some pressure, because to fail one subject can put u at a great disadvantage for the next yr since we only do 2 subjects per semester in most years. it can even make u repeat the year. ..
but anyways! cya