RedZenith said:
I've heard that several newspapers have ranked ANU as the best university in Australia. Why is it that barely anyone mentions wanting to go there? Is it really not that good? Or is it too secluded? Or is it hard to get into?
because it's in canberra, it comes with the stereotype of being a boring/grey/dark/cold place. if it were in sydney, a science degree would require a 99 to get into and a law degree would require a uai of 200.
it's not hard to get into. a 75 guarantees you entry into science/economics/commerce, and a 95 guarantees you entry into law (without the expense of the course being dumbed down).
personally i love ANU in terms of teaching. all the lecturers i have had this year are extremely knowledgeable (all 8 lecturers i've had hold PHDs and i think 80% of the lecturers here follow suit) and i could easily tell they enjoy standing in front of the lecture teaching. i liked having the opportunity to approach a lecturer anytime to ask him/her a question, and get a thorough explanation back without the fear of being told to piss off as i'm taking up their free time and not their consultation time. from experience, all lecturers will be happy to assist on one condition - that you've attempted the question yourself (even if your attempt was stupid), as it shows you are keen to learn, they'll be happy to reciprocate by being keen to help you.
also i'm quite grateful about the types of questions/assessments as they require you to apply "out-of-the-box" analysing as opposed to slapping down text-book factual answers in order to get marks. i think this challenges students' thinking as they not only have to understand the fundamentals but also understand how to apply the facts to a scenario. honestly, in the real world, what use is that? "oh wow i can tell you recite to you a text-book definition of what inflation means but i can't apply it to a real world scenario..." this is of course to the extent what the question can ask... i.e. obviously a maths or a physics course cannot do this.
just my $0.02. i'm sure there are other outstanding uni's out there, but to be fair, i've never been to any other uni to give my opinion, but from accounts from my buddies at other universities, they seem to envy me.
if you have any specific questions let me know and i'll do my best to convince you that ANU is a great uni to learn at... to the extent of the courses i've done so far.