The Role of IDP

I have never heard of IDP until I asked my batch mates on how to process my application to Australia. My batch mates told me about how they helped out and all I had to do was to actually schedule an appointment with them. Armed with this knowledge, I began googling where IDP was and their contact number. I scheduled an appointment to see a counsellor (the contact person who will help you out in your application). Since it was located in Makati, I asked my parents if they can accompany me and my former best friend to the location. 

Anxiety and excitement were the main emotions plaguing me that day. When my former best friend and I stepped into the building, the receptionist/guard asked us to write down our name and the area where we would want to go. We happily obliged to her request and eventually went up the flight of stairs and entered IDP. We were asked to fill out a form by one of the assistants and to wait until we were called by our counsellor. 

We saw our counsellor, Abigail Sia, on the 31st of May, 2011. We said our formalities and then she asked us regarding our needs one by one. She asked me a few questions such as the duration of study and the location. I informed her I only wanted to study for a year and Queensland was my state of choice. She immediately had a university in mind, University of Queensland. I asked her how much was the tuition fee, commencement of study and location of school. At the time my uni was located in Ipswich, Queensland (now they closed down this campus and the School of Nursing was transferred to St. Lucia campus), tuition fee costs 24000+ AUD a year back then and the commencement of study was every February only, there were no July intakes. She also informed me that the course was called Bachelor of Nursing for Overseas Educated Professional Nurses. 

At the back of my mind, timing was perfect as it was only May then, I had plenty of time to prepare for my IELTS test and sort out things that needed to be sorted. She gave us application forms and a list of documents we had to submit to her (photocopies of the original documents were needed as they would certify the documents). Since we did not have the documents at hand and we did not take the exam yet, we told her we would come back. After talking it out with my parents, they agreed this was the best avenue for me to get out of the country. So the following day, I immediately filed for resignation. 

The following month passed by quickly. Before I knew it, I was on my last shift in the hospital as Delivery Room Pay Staff Nurse. It was sad and scary at first. But when I was not working there anymore, I found myself to be happier and excited. I went back to IDP to submit my documents together with the uni's application form in July, 2011. I asked Ms. Abigail if I could take the IELTS with British Council instead of IDP because I thought it might insult them if I went ahead without asking first. She said there was no difference if I took the test there or with IDP as they would still process my papers. She then reminded me to take the Academic IELTS test and to get a 7 and above score in all bands. She also emphasised the need to get that score as my uni will not accept my application if I had a grade lower than 7. Mind you, some schools do accept a 6.5 grade but, my uni insisted on getting the said grades as there would be easier to get my registration from AHPRA. Below is a photo of the document checklist she provided me. I still kept it all these years.

After passing the IELTS, I immediately submitted my IELTS official test results to Ms. Abigail and she immediately lodged my application to the university. After about a month, I got my offer letter from the school, that was around October, 2011. The e-mail she sent me stated I had to fill out a form if I accept the school's offer and submit the application form together with the downpayment. I also had to pay for Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) as it was a compulsory requirement of a student visa. If I remember correctly, I had to pay 8000 AUD as downpayment and additional 500+ AUD for the OSHC. The balance would then be paid a few weeks before the commencement of study. Also in the e-mail, 32 units were credited from my previous study and an additional of 16 units were required of me to study leading to only a year of study (two semesters). 

How to pay for the tuition fee if you are living in the Philippines: My mom wired the money by doing bank to bank transfer. Certain information was needed to transfer the money: name of the bank, branch details, swift code, bank account details, amount and reference details of the transfer. You can go to whichever bank you are banking with and they will gladly help you out. I think my mom transferred in Philippine peso and the bank converted the money into the amount required by the school. It takes about 3 business for the transfer of money to be received by the other party. I then had to present the photocopy of the bank transfer to Ms. Abigail, so I went back to IDP and left the copy to one of the secretaries as she was not there at the time of my visit.

The uni then issued a COE (Certificate of Enrolment) which was sent to the counsellor's e-mail then she (Ms. Abigail) forwarded the said e-mail to me. She then instructed me to prepare all documents needed for the lodgement of my student visa. I forgot which documents were needed but, do not fret, as that is the role of the counsellor, she guides you on your application in your chosen university and the lodgement of the student visa. But what I do remember was together with the documents, she also asked me to bring a cheque for the application fee of the student visa as they do not accept cash payment. After two weeks of lodgement of the student visa, she e-mailed me to have my medical exam done in a satellite clinic of St. Luke's in Manila. 

It was walk-in basis back then so I only had to be there early to finish early. But, even though I was 5th under the Australian applicants, it took almost an hour and a half to two hours before my number was called. Medical exams are relatively the same wherever you want to go. They would need your documents, take a photo for your file, fill out paperwork and then proceed to the tests (chest x-ray, urine test, blood test for HIV, Hep B and C if you are working in the medical field, eye test), then finally a doctor will do a head to toe exam. Two weeks after I did my medical exams, I received my visa. This was around first week of December, 2011.

Role of IDP in application process: They determine which university you would want to study based on your answers in the initial interview, lodge your application to your chosen university, liaise with the university and yourself regarding your application, lodge your application for student visa (Higher Education Visa Subclass 573) and give you materials to read before you go fly to Australia. The best thing about getting them involved with your application process is it for FREE. So if I were you, and you are planning to take the number 2 pathway, definitely ask for IDP's help. They are more than willing to help you out in your application process.