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Thanks for A2A!Let me start with the basic. The answer to your question lies in the practice of Cross Browser Testing.What Is Cross Browser Testing?It is a type of testing where a web application is accessed and tested through different browsers and browser version with respect to numerous operating systems.Why Would You Perform Cross Browser Testing?Well, every browser has a unique rendering engine. A rendering engine is responsible for rendering the web elements of your website or web-application.A Misconception: Cross Browser Testing Shouldn’t Take Long!Some of us would think that you would only need to test on 4 or 5 browsers, which should be easy. Well, here is the truth. There are thousands of different modern web browsers available for accessing the World Wide Web. You would also need to keep in mind about the browser versions.That means testing on a random or even latest Google Chrome or Safari version won’t suffice your validation for browser compatibility testing.All of your web users are not gonna use the same browser version, same browser, or even same device to access your content or app. If you start building checklist for browsers and browser versions which are most important to your website, you would find that your list would have an average 20-30 combinations minimum.This priority-based checklist for browsers also called Cross Browser Testing Matrix in developer lingo, reflects what the majority of your website traffic use to access your content. And you would be using this list to progressively enhance your pages, making sure that you are providing the most important functionality to most number of users. You can even prioritize based on improvisations and expansions.But, How Would You Identify Which Browsers Bring You Most Traffic?You can use a web analytics tool such as GA(Google Analytics) to track the traffic coming to your website. It is easy and there are many free tutorials/blogs available for it.That’s not all!So you have analyzed the traffic, and created a browser compatibility matrix. But this would at least give you a long list of browsers ranging from Chrome and Firefox desktop to android and iOS browsers, on which you would have to perform cross browser testing on.Installing a hundred browsers will not only take a lot of effort but would also cost a lot on devices. And trust me, I mean it when I say it a lot!!For example, if you are windows user, you cannot test on latest Safari versions cause windows do not support it. Similarly if you are Mac user, you cannot use Edge. You would have to spend on procuring different desktop devices, different android devices and multiple iOS devices.How Would You Save Your Local Machine?The answer to that question lies in Cloud! I am not referring to the one that rains! Duh!With Cloud, I am referring to cloud-based service providers. There are many tools available in the market to help you perform cross browser testing on the cloud. One such tool I prefer is LambdaTest.I started off with LambdaTest, as it is a free cross browser testing tool. Once you sign up then you get a considerable amount of testing limit that is renewed every month for free. Later, I came to like the product so much that I ended up upgrading the account with their on-demand pass.So, I work as a freelance web developer and because of that sometimes, I used to hesitate to go for an annual subscription of cross browser testing tools. But LambdaTest made my life easier with their On-Demand Subscription pass.On-Demand pass allows you to get unlimited access to LambdaTest platform for 10 days in just $15.How LambdaTest helped me perform faster website testing across all browsers and browser version?There are other alternatives available in the market as well:Crossbrowsertesting.comBrowserstackSaucelabsBut I happen to pick LambdaTest and here is why:→ Real Time Testing - This is the feature where I could select from 2000+ browsers running on a variety of operating systems with respect to mobile or desktop devices. I can perform live testing with a VM hosted on their cloud servers without installing any browser in my own.→ Local Testing - So I could even test the web files that are stored locally in my machine using an SSH connection through a binary file provided by LambdaTest. Gives me a lot of confidence while migrating any change into Production.→ Numerous Integrations to 3rd party bug tracking tools such as JIRA, asana, Paymo, Trello, Hive and many more.→ One click bug logging - I am a huge fan for this feature. This is so convenient and well thought from freelancers point of view. As a freelancer, I have to often deliver remotely. My clients use several different platforms for bug tracking purpose and LambdaTest, unlike any other tool, delivers me with numerous integrations as I stated above. These integrations allow me or even the clients to log a bug directly from LambdaTest platform to respective bug tracking tool instance while performing cross browser testing.I end up pacing collaboration and delivery with my clients.→ Customer Centricity - LambdaTest offers 24x7 chat support and their executives are always ready to jump on your every query in just a couple of minutes. I was working with a client who was using Clubhouse for bug tracking and LambdaTest wasn’t having that one on their platform. I approached them through chat support regarding my concern and they got the integration on their platform in just a week. It is always amazing to see a company value their customers like that.→ Other than that, LambdaTest also helps me with automated bulk screenshot testing, responsive testing and even visual regression UI testing.How Can You Speed Cross Browser Testing Further?I get it, that in spite of the above-mentioned features, validating browser compatibility over 100+ browsers manually would be very time-consuming.This is where I suggest you hit the accelerate paddle by automating your testing process. There are many testing frameworks that help with automated cross browser testing.But we all love open-source. So I recommend going for Selenium.“Selenium is a popular automation testing framework that is primarily used for the cross browser testing. It is open source and is ideal for automating testing of web applications across different browsers like Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, etc. Selenium has become a renowned framework and is giving stiff competition to other test frameworks like HP QTP (Quick Test Professional) and AKA HP UFT (Unified Functional Testing).Alright, So Automation Testing Is Cool With Selenium! But How Do I Make It Awesome!!So Selenium has many variants and knowing about them would do benefit you a lot.Components of the Selenium Suite→ Selenium Integrated Development Environment (IDE)→ Selenium Remote Control (RC)→ Selenium WebDriver→ Selenium GridSelenium Integrated Development Environment (IDE)Selenium IDE is a simple Firefox Plugin and it is used to record & playback scripts. However, the Selenium IDE can only be used to write automation scripts for automating testing of simple use cases. Selenium IDE does not support Conditional statements, Exception handling, loops, screenshot capture, etc. For automating complex use cases, a majority of developers and testers prefer to opt for Scripting testing instead of Record & Replay testing. The Selenium test suite consists of Selenium Remote Control (RC) or Selenium WebDriver.Selenium IDE is available for different operating systems namely Windows, Linux, Mac OS, etc. Selenium IDE for Firefox can be downloaded from here.Selenium Remote Control (RC)For testing complex scenarios, Selenium Remote Control (RC) can be used. It is based on the client-server model which makes it possible to execute tests on the browser that is controlled by the server. There are client libraries in different programming languages which make it easy for developers to write effective test cases in a programming language in which they are comfortable & have expertise with. Since version 2.25.0, RC has support for Java, C#, Python, Perl, Ruby, etc.Selenium Server is the core component of the Selenium RC. Some of the core features/responsibilities of the Selenium RC are belowContains the core Selenium Framework and it is mainly responsible for injecting the same in the browser [Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, etc.].The client program sends commands to the RC which are then interpreted by the server and then sent to the browser.After execution, the results are sent back to the client.The Client & Server communicate via the normal mechanism of HTTP GETS and POSTs. Which is well versed with client-server concepts can manage to write test code with Selenium & WebDriver with ease.The downside of Selenium RC is that it does not support record & playback functionality which can be vital in the automation of test cases where tasks are repetitive, especially for regression testing. Before executing the tests using Selenium RC, an instance of the Selenium RC Server should be manually invoked and that instance should be running throughout your entire test cycle.Selenium WebDriverBy far, we know that Selenium IDE is GUI based, where Selenium RC is a standalone Java program that will allow you to execute HTML test suites. Selenium WebDriver framework is more widely used when compared to Selenium IDE & Selenium RC. Unlike Selenium RC which is based on the client-server model, Selenium WebDriver framework is implemented through a browser-specific driver e.g. each browser will have its corresponding WebDriver application on which the automation testing would be performed.Hence, Selenium WebDriver directly communicates with the browser due to which it does not require any separate component like the Selenium Server. It supports top programming languages helpful for a software tester namely C#, Ruby, Java, Python, Perl, etc.Selenium GridYou were curious about the fastest way to test a website across all browsers and browser versions. Well, here is your answer. Selenium Grid helps you in the execution of automated test cases in parallel. You could run a single test case across different browser/OS configurations, simultaneously.”Source: Selenium Webdriver Tutorial for Cross Browser TestingYou can setup Selenium Grid in 2 ways:1. Local Web Driver2. Remote Web DriverLocal Webdriver would allow you to perform automated cross browser testing only on those browsers that are installed in your local machine.Remote Web Driver would allow you to integrate with a cloud-based cross browser testing tool offering Selenium support.Here is a complete guide to set up your Selenium Grid for Cross Browser Testing.FYI, LambdaTest also offers with remote cloud based Selenium-grid offering more than 2000 browsers to test from.Good luck with your cross browser testing!

*evilly rubs hands together*I hope you’re prepared for a bit of light reading… Computers are devilishly complicated devices with many, many layers of complexity piled on top of each other. I assume that you have zero background knowledge on both computers and electricity (and I have written my answer with that in mind), so you should hopefully be able to understand my explanation below!Voltages and Other Electrical StuffIn the beginning, you paid your electricity bill. And thus your local utilities company decided it was worth it to pump electrical current into your home and out of your wall socket. And so, you have lots of electric current flowing out of your wall socket, ready to power any electronic device that needs it. This electrical current is a very important thing for your video game, to say the least.The electricity from your wall socket supplies electric current to your computer. This powers a bunch of things like cooling fans and pretty blinking lights, but most importantly, the electrical energy supplied by the wall provides something called “voltage” to the computer’s circuits.What’s a voltage? Well if you haven’t taken an electromagnetic physics course, the best way to oversimplify and explain the idea of “voltage” is to think of it as very roughly corresponding to “electrical energy”. All else being equal, a “high voltage” in a wire means that it has a high electrical potential energy, and a “low voltage” means it has low electrical potential energy. Hold on to this idea for a moment— we’re going to need it later.Voltages and Math-y ThingsInside your computer is a device called the “Central Processing Unit”, or “CPU”. You can think of it as something like the “electronic brain” of your computer. It is powered by electrical energy from your wall socket. Its job is to perform calculations— there are lots and lots of math and logic problems that it needs to solve in order to run your game (and pretty much every other program on your computer as well).How does your CPU solve math and logic problems?Before it can even do that, your CPU needs a system of mathematics and logic in order to do its calculations. As humans, we generally use an agreed-upon system of special markings on paper (like “[math]2 [/math][math][/math][math]+ 2 = 4[/math]”, to name a very basic example) in order to do our math and logic problems. We have number systems, mathematical notations, and so on. Likewise, a CPU needs a number system, its own way of representing digits and logic, and a system for performing mathematical and logical calculations. A CPU can’t just use our human system— it has no way of using pencil and paper, and even if it did, it would have no way of understanding our markings.To deal with this, computer engineers agreed long ago that CPUs should use electrical voltages as a stand-in for a math and logic system. It’s not too hard to build an electronic device that manipulates voltages, after all.How does the voltage mathematical system work? Well one “dumb” way could be something like declaring that a CPU uses different voltage levels to represent different numbers. Using that system, a wire that has a voltage of 5 volts could represent the number 5, a wire with 10 volts could represent the number 10, and so on.As it turns out though, it’s not very easy to build a device that uses such a number system. How do you represent a really big number? You can’t just expect to have 20,000 volts just lying around for you to use so you can represent the number 20,000. Plus, it’s not straightforward for an electronic device to just “detect” how many volts are in a wire— that requires some complex circuitry. In addition to that, sometimes voltage levels will “jitter” a bit— they’re not guaranteed to be stable. It would be awful if that number 5 you were using “accidentally” became a 5.1 before you finished your calculations…However, all hope is not lost! Although an electronic device can’t very easily measure how many volts are in a wire, it can easily measure whether or not the wire has a significant amount of voltage. That is, it’s pretty simple to figure out if a wire’s voltage is “high” voltage or “low” voltage. This is easily accomplished by using a basic electronic device called a “transistor”.Hmm… that’s not very convenient though. Using that system of only being able to detect “high” voltage and “low” voltage, we only get two possible “digits” we can use to represent our numbers. That seems severely limiting!Thankfully, there happens to be a number system out there, called the “binary number system”, that allows you to do pretty much all possible math using just two digits (0 and 1) rather than our usual 10 digits (0123456789). Problem solved! In order to get our CPU to do math, we will construct our CPU to pretend that a “high” voltage represents the digit 1, and a “low” voltage represents the digit 0. By using the binary number system instead of our usual number system, our CPU will still be able to do pretty much any mathematical calculation imaginable, despite only having two possible “digits” it can use. Hooray! Math!A Very, Very Long “To-Do” List…Great! The computer’s CPU now has a number system it can use to do math, which is based on the ability to detect “high” and “low” voltages (supplied by the electrical power from the wall socket over there). Now how do we get it to perform the calculations necessary to run our video game?A video game, to a computer, is nothing more than a very long series of instructions telling the CPU exactly what kinds of math calculations it should do, and in what order. By performing a very specific set of mathematical calculations in a very specific order, the CPU can figure out the solutions to the many, many, many math problems that govern the way your video game works. For instance, how fast are you moving when you walk forward? What happens when an enemy sees you and needs to decide what action to perform next? If a grenade bounces off a wall at a certain speed, will its path of motion cause it to hit that small wooden crate over there? If so, how fast, and in which direction, will the crate start moving once the bounce occurs? What happens when the grenade explodes? When will the grenade explode? Are you currently close enough to the ground that you should be standing instead of falling?The CPU may be really good at arithmetic (using its system of voltages to represent binary numbers), but ultimately it is an idiot. It has no creativity, nor free will. It’s as dumb as a rock (heck, it happens to be made of rocks… very specific kinds of rocks, arranged very carefully on a tiny die). Since the CPU is stupid, it doesn’t know what calculations to perform in order to “run” your video game. It needs to be told what to do. In other words, it must be given instructions on what math equations to solve, how to solve them, and in what order it should solve them.These instructions essentially form a very long, very specific “to-do list”… like a checklist/instruction manual from hell, except worse (since its target audience, the CPU, is an idiot). A human must come up with this “to-do list” and feed it into the CPU somehow, in order to get the CPU to actually do anything useful (like run your video game). We have a word for these “to-do lists”: they’re called “computer programs”. If you’re a stereotypical hip and trendy tech consumer who is squarely aboard the Apple or Android hype train, you call them “applications” (or “apps” for short). We also have a word for the wonderful humans who come up with these elaborate “to-do lists”: we call those people “computer programmers”.Yes, your video game is nothing more than a glorified “to-do list”, and your favorite game developers are nothing more than glorified checklist writers (albeit very smart checklist writers, at that). Woohoo.Memory and Data StorageRemember how the CPU is only capable of dealing with binary numbers? Same deal when it comes with these “to-do lists” (the computer programs). The instructions in these “to-do lists” also need to be in binary format in order for the CPU to understand and follow them. So we need a way to feed lots and lots of binary instructions into the CPU, and we need a way to actually store these instructions so the CPU knows where to look for them.Typically, the instructions that make up your computer program reside in a device called a “Random-Access Memory”, or “RAM”, module. The RAM module is a specialized device that can “remember” specific patterns of electrical voltages for as long as there is enough electricity to power it. Effectively, RAM modules can serve as a convenient “scratch space” area that your computer can use to hold onto binary numbers.To execute a computer program, your CPU looks for that program’s corresponding binary numbers in the RAM module, and “reads” those locations in RAM to extract the sequence of numbers that represent the program. It interprets this stream of binary numbers as a sequence of instructions telling it to perform different calculations in a particular order. This is how you get a computer to “compute” things.A RAM module has limitations, though. For one thing, there’s a very limited amount of room available to store voltage patterns in a RAM module (i.e. it can only hold onto so many binary numbers at once), and having lots and lots of RAM gets expensive. Plus, if your computer is switched off, that means the electrical power supply to the RAM module will be cut off… and unfortunately, RAM modules have an inconvenient drawback where they will “forget” all of their previously stored voltage patterns if they ever lose power. Essentially, whenever you turn your computer off (or when your Roomba wreaks general havoc and runs over the power cable), all the data in a RAM module gets wiped clean.We need an alternative device to store our programs that won’t forget its data when switched off, has much more space than a RAM module, and is ideally cheaper (on average) per binary number stored. This is where hard drives (and, more recently, solid-state drives) come in.Hard drives and solid-state drives (SSDs) can generally store way more binary numbers than a RAM module. They’re also generally cheaper per number stored than a RAM module, and they can hold onto numbers regardless of whether they are currently powered on or off— this means that they’re immune to the whole “turning-my-computer-off-wipes-my-data” problem that RAM modules have.The drawback? Hard drives and SSDs are very slow compared to RAM modules. When a CPU asks a hard drive or SSD for data, it will almost literally fall asleep while waiting for the device to respond with the requested numbers that it needs. So, computer engineers struck a compromise— the vast majority of computer data and computer programs are stored on your hard drive (or SSD) for long-term storage, but whenever the CPU needs to execute a program or read a file, it will first transfer the relevant binary numbers into a RAM module before using the data to perform calculations. That way, when necessary, the CPU can still quickly access the data it needs without having to doze off; and just as importantly, when the Roomba runs over the power cord, you don’t lose everything on your computer.Graphics, SchmaphicsSo to summarize up to this point, we currently have a setup in which we can write long, boring instruction sequences into a RAM module, and feed those instructions into a CPU to force it to a whole bunch of math that we want it to do, using binary numbers that are actually just electrical voltages in disguise. Neat! Now how do we draw that sweet first-person 3D view onto the monitor? After all, if we can’t see the enemy, how will we 360noscope them?As it turns out, the image that your monitor is showing to your human eyes right now is just an elaborately-constructed illusion— it’s made up of many, many tiny little dots called “pixels”. When viewed from far enough away, the pixels blend together and fool your brain into thinking that what you’re seeing is actually a continuous image (even though it’s not).Each pixel is broken up into three different color components— each corresponding to the three kinds of primary color cells in the back of your eyeball. Those three components are Red, Green, and Blue. Yes, your art teachers in elementary school lied to you. The third primary color isn’t yellow… it’s actually green.By varying the brightness of the red, green, and blue components of each pixel on the screen, your monitor can transmit different patterns of colors into your eyes, which hopefully fools your brain into thinking that it’s seeing an image of something recognizable. So how does our computer know what pixel patterns to display?The answer is, of course, more math. Inside your video game program is a very clever sequence of CPU instructions that makes your CPU take the current state of the video game “world”, and then do a lot of math to figure out what that “world” is supposed to look like on-screen. Based on this information, the CPU generates a very long stream of numbers that represent how bright each of the red, green, and blue components of each pixel are supposed to be. The CPU stores this pixel color data into a specific location in RAM for the benefit of a video output controller device. The video device repeatedly scans that location in RAM and continuously sends the pixel color information through a video cable out the back of your computer and into your monitor. Again— this information is just a bunch of numbers that are represented by electrical voltage patterns, so it’s not terribly difficult to send it through a bunch of wires in a cable. The monitor interprets the voltage patterns coming through the cable as numbers that represent the relevant color information it needs to light up the corresponding colors in the corresponding pixels, and voila! You now have an “image” that the human can see.As it turns out though, doing graphical computations, especially for things like 3D environments, requires a lot of math. That means in order to maintain a decent framerate, your CPU needs to work really hard in order to churn out the pixel data that needs to be sent to the monitor. Often, a CPU is not actually fast enough to do the job— it’s built for general number-crunching, not specialized high-fidelity graphical computations. For simple games with low graphical detail, a CPU is usually fine for the job, but for games that require intense graphical calculations, we can’t just tell a CPU to “do the math” and expect it to finish the calculations quickly enough to maintain a decent framerate. We especially can’t do that if the CPU also has to run other parts of the game code too— such as AI calculations, physics calculations, and so on.This is where “Graphics Processing Units”, or GPUs, come in. Not all computers have dedicated GPUs in them, but those that do have some serious capacity to perform graphical computation. You can think of a GPU as a collection of lots and lots and lots of individual CPUs all strapped together in parallel, each built specifically to specialize in the math required to perform heavy graphical computation. With the combined power of all the hundreds of graphical cores in a GPU, churning out graphical computations to put together that pixel data ends up being pretty fast. When running the game program, we can offload all the fancy-schmancy graphical computations to the GPU, while the CPU can focus on other important things, like figuring out whether your enemy is currently in the right position to get stuck by a plasma grenade.So! To summarize, your computer takes the electrical energy from your wall socket, manipulates it as electrical voltages in order to represent binary numbers, does lots and lots of math using those numbers by following long instruction sets (which themselves are also a bunch of binary numbers) made by programmers, in order to figure out what arrangement of pixel colors should be lit up on a monitor, so you can see the results of what (to your brain) looks like the enemy team popping smoke and rushing Long A on de_dust2. With sweet skins, of course.If this stuff interests you and you want to know just a bit more about the wonderfully deep world of computer engineering, I wrote an answer long ago that explores how that “CPU” thingy performs its calculations, which you can check out here.Disclaimer: Pretty much everything in this answer is a gross oversimplification of layers upon layers of absurdly complex devices and systems, that generations upon generations of people who are way smarter than me have worked tirelessly to figure out and build over the years. If you are reading this and you know a thing or two about computer systems, I am not responsible for your spontaneous cringing or any injuries that may result from your currently slamming your forehead repeatedly into the nearest wall.

Hello,Everything you need to know before studying in Australia - education system, visa requirement and process, Indians living in Australia, post-study options and more.1. About the countryAustralia is the largest country, geographically, and is a continent in itself. It lies in the southern hemisphere so the weather changes are opposite than those of India. Australia has five of the 30 best cities in the world for students to live in based on student mix, affordability, quality of life, and employment opportunities. The capital of Australia is Canberra.Education systemAustralia has the third highest number of international students in the world after United Kingdom and United States. It also has seven of the top 100 universities in the world. Australia's national quality assurance system is unique in its structure and rigour. The Australian Quality Training Framework has been set up by the government to strengthen the quality assurance processes in education.College Fit: At the higher education level, students have a wide range of options when they choose a college or university. Although there are agencies that attempt to rank colleges and universities, the concept of “fit” is also important. The GPA* of admitted students are important, but majors offered, location, number of students enrolled, and campus culture are all factors influencing a prospective student’s decision. Some colleges and universities are publicly funded, while others are privately supported.*GPA means grade point average. It is the average of all grades received.Popular student destinations: The top universities in Australia are The Australian National University, The University of New South Wales, The University of Melbourne,The University of Western Sydney, and Monash University (in no particular order). The area of New South Wales on the east coast of Australia is the centre of all its renowned academic institutes. Most of the best colleges in the country are situated in cities like Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth. About 12,629 Indian students were studying in Australia during the academic year 2012-13. Accounting, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Health Care, Information Technology, and Hotel Management are the popular courses Indian students pursue in Australia.Safety in Australia: Australia is a multicultural society that welcomes people from other cultures, countries and backgrounds. While majority of Indian students studying in Australia have a positive experience of living and studying in Australia, there were a number of incidents of assault as well as of robbery during 2009 and 2010, which affected not only Indian students but also members of the larger Indian community in Australia. Presently, no such incidents have been reported and active efforts have been made by the Australian government to prevent such untoward incidents from happening in future.WeatherAustralia is diverse in its geography and climate. The country is located in the southern hemisphere. This means Australia's summer starts in December and winter begins in June. Nearly a third of Australia is in the tropics where the average temperatures are in the mid 20 degrees Celsius. The southern areas are in a temperate zone.Australian Capital Territory – This region covers Canberra. It has hot, dry summers, and cold winters with occasional fog and frequent frosts. The average temperature in summers would be around 30°C to 15°C; in winters it would be around 11°C to 0°C.New South Wales – This region covers Sydney and its weather is very relaxing all round the year. The average temperature in summers would be around 22°C to 40°C; in winters it would be around 17°C to 8°C.Northern Territory – This region has a tropical climate, and has two distinct seasons, the 'Wet' and the 'Dry'. The Wet season spans from November until April and is characterised by increased humidity followed by monsoonal rains and storms. The 'Dry’ season, from May until October, is characterised by warm, dry sunny days and cool nights. This region covers Darwin. The average temperature in wet season would be around 33°C to 25°C; in dry season it would be around 35°C to 21°C.Queensland - Warm summers and mild winters are what you can expect here. This region covers Brisbane. The average temperature in summers would be around 20°C to 30°C; in winters it would be around 20°C to 10°C.South Australia – This region experiences mild weather with sunshine all the year round and covers Adelaide. The average temperature in summers would be around 17°C to 30°C; in winters it would be around 15°C to 6°C.Tasmania - Snow falls in the mountains in winter. However, most people in Tasmania live in towns and cities near the coast. The ocean moderates the temperatures there. It covers cities like Hobart and Devonport. The average temperature in summers would be around 25°C to 10°C; in winters it would be around 11°C to 4°C.Victoria – This region covers Melbourne. It enjoys warm summers, pleasant springs, mild autumns and crisp winters. The average temperature in summers would be around 26°C to 15°C; in winters it would be around 13°C to 6°C.Western Australia - This region covers Perth and is famous for its long days of sunshine, spotless blue skies and brilliant beaches. The average temperature in summers would be around 31°C to 18°C; in winters it would be around 17°C to 7°C.Lifestyle tipsAustralians are know to be friendly and helpful people, with a great sense of humour. Australia is considered one of the most competitive nations on Earth. This covers all areas of life including the workplace. While English is Australia’s national language, there are certain words and expressions that have come to be regarded as uniquely Australian through common usage. Some of them might seem strange to non-Australians.Australians love their sport, both playing it and watching it. The most loved sports in Australia include Australian football, rugby, and cricket. This relatively benign climate has resulted in a country where people spend a good deal of time outdoors at beaches, in the countryside or on sporting fields as either spectators or participants.Indians living in AustraliaThere were nearly 308,542 Indian immigrants living in Australia in 2011. They represent the second-largest immigrant group by country of origin, after China. Almost one-third of all Indian immigrants resided in Victoria.Download this guide to read it offlineGet it Now!2407 People downloaded this guide2. Student lifeAccommodationFirstly, you need to decide whether you want to live in university managed accommodation, or with a private landlord. Choosing university managed accommodation can also give you a catered or self-catered option. Catered accommodation offers the benefits of your meals being cooked for you and a degree of certainty with meal costs.If you have an idea about what you prefer, the accommodation office at your university will be able to tell you what accommodation they have available - so that’s the place to start. If you are thinking of renting from a private landlord or if your chosen university can’t offer you anything in its own residential facility, the accommodation office should be able to provide you with a list of private properties and landlords in the area.Wherever you choose to live, you should make sure that you know your contractual rights and responsibilities. In most cases you will be asked to enter into a tenancy agreement, which you should read thoroughly before you sign.OrientationOrientation week is mandatory for international students so ensure that you arrive before it starts. This is the time where you will be introduced to the university and its services, as well as enroll in your classes. It is essential that you read your guidebook, which is provided by the college. The guide explains each part of the admission process.ActivitiesAlong with sport, colleges offer extra-curricular activities that provide students a wide range of experiences. Music, drama, science and literary societies in colleges offer opportunities for outdoor education and other leisure activities. Visits to theatres, concerts, and places relevant to the courses of study such as art galleries and museums, religious centres or historical sites, scientific companies and projects are all part of college life.3. Admission processRequirementsThese vary between study programs and levels. For each course, Indian students will need to meet a minimum English language requirement. Along with that a minimum academic record of 65% and above in class XII will be required. Foundations and Diploma programs are available for students who have secured below 60%. The student should have completed 18 years of age before joining a degree program.It is important to note that these numbers are just for reference purpose, the actual numbers may differ from university to university.The following documents also need to be submitted:Attested copies of mark sheets of class X, XII, and the Bachelors degree (if applicable)At least, two academic reference letters from professors who have taught you most recentlyIf you have work experience then two letters of recommendation from the employer/manager who knows you well and can comment on your professional abilitiesStatement of Purpose (SOP)ResumePhotocopied score reports of GMAT / IELTS / TOEFLPortfolio (in case of Students applying for art and design courses & architecture programs)Others (certificates / achievements at the state and national level and extracurricular activities)Proof of fundsTimelineMost of the colleges in Australia accept online applications. You will have to visit each college's website to apply. In most cases, you will have to make an account on the college website to provide your basic information, submit the scanned version of your documents, and pay application fees. You will be informed about the application process and its stages through this account. Please refer to the website of the colleges of your choice to know the process of applying.Application fee: All colleges require that you pay an application fee while applying. The fee amount will differ depending upon the college and course being applied to, so check with individual colleges about their application fee.Steps: The common steps to applying for admission are as follows:Search for colleges and coursesContact schools and visit websites for informationNarrow down your list of schoolsTake the entrance exams like SAT, GMAT, GRE, TOEFL, IELTSWrite SOPs and ask for LORsApply to the colleges which fit your interestsAppear for video interviews to the colleges who shortlisted youIf accepted, apply for student visaSOP: A Statement of Purpose (SOP) is your introduction to the college and admission officers. It is always written in first person and describes the reason for applying to a particular college. It needs to highlight why you are a perfect fit for the college and why the college should accept you. The style of writing could differ from formal to casual, but it is important to remember that it should reflect your personality as well.Essay: Essays are also required to be submitted by a prospective student. Essays are an important part of the university admissions process. Students may be required to write one or two essays, along with a few optional essays too. Common topics include career aspirations, strengths and weaknesses, skills, experiences, and reasons for considering a particular school.LOR: A letter of recommendation (LOR) is a reference letter written by a third party describing the qualities, characteristics, and capabilities of the prospective student to recommend him to the college in terms of that individual’s ability to perform a particular task or function. The third party could be a professor, direct manager etc.Intake seasonsAustralia generally has two intakes i.e. February and July, with few universities offering multiple intakes in September & November. You should start your admission process around six months before the application deadline. Typically most universities have three deadlines, during one intake. It is up to the convenience of the students, which deadline to aim for. You should be done with your language and aptitude tests by three months before the deadline. The last three months should be dedicated to filling out the application form properly.It is essential to ensure that the ‘complete application process’ along with appearing for interviews and visa application procedure should be complete by Nov-Dec for the February intake.If you are looking to get admission into vocational courses, then some courses may have admissions open in January and perhaps even May or July.4. ExamsLanguage examsInternational English Language Testing System (IELTS), Test Of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Pearson Test of English (PTE) are all standardised language tests, which are required to be taken for the purpose of getting admission into colleges. These follow different formats, structure and result bands. These tests are different in various ways but many colleges ask for any one of the results. So it's up to the student to decide which exam to appear for.Repetition of exams: IELTS can be taken unlimited number of times. TOEFL can be retaken as many times as wished, but cannot be taken more than once in a 12-day period. Same with PTE, it can be taken as many times as desired. You must wait to receive your scores before you can book your next test.Fee: The fee for these exams is Rs 9,300 for IELTS, Rs 10,000 for TOEFL and Rs 9,350 for PTE.Time to apply: Ideally, if you are aiming at the September intake you should appear for these exams by November, so that you can apply before the first deadline. The universities you will be applying to will mention which exam results they will accept. But if they give a choice to go for either of these, then the choice depends on you. The time required to prepare for IELTS/TOEFL/PTE would depend on the existing English language proficiency. You may require 2 to 4 months of preparation before the exam date.General examsGMAT - The Graduate Management Aptitude Test is used to measure the abilities of the potential MBA aspirant to undertake higher education in the field of business or management. It measures mathematical, english, and reasoning skills of the student.GRE - The Graduate Record Examination is another test required to be taken by students applying to graduate schools to pursue MA or MS. Increasingly many business schools are also accepting GRE scores for the purpose to granting admission for MBA.Repetition and Fee: You can give GMAT unlimited number of times, subject to five times a year and a gap of 30 days between two tests. You can take these tests with a gap of 30 days from the first time. The cost of GMAT is Rs 16,000, and GRE is Rs 12,000.Ideally, if you are aiming at the September intake you should appear for these exams by November, so that you can apply before the first deadline. The preparatory duration generally ranges from 4 to 6 months.Average Scores: The average GMAT accepted across universities is 520. Average GRE score is 145 for Verbal, 160 for Quantitative and 4.0 for Writing.It is important to note that these numbers are just for reference purpose, the actual scores may differ from university to university.5. Cost of livingThe cost of living depends heavily on what part of Australia will you be living in along with how much you will socialie. Some of the basic elements for living as an international student in Australia are:Accommodation rent ( on campus or off campus )Groceries and foodUtilities like electricity, water, gas, internetPhone billsText and reference booksAirfare for traveling back to IndiaOther elements which may differ from person to person would be:Dining outTravel and VacationCar rent and Car insuranceCable TV connectionSchool expensesThe tuition fee varies according to different universities, courses and the city. The tuition expenses in Australia might be up to $15,000 to $33,000 per year for an undergraduate course. And if you are thinking of applying to a postgraduate course, the cost would be $20,000 to $37,000 per year approximately.Living expensesThe Department of Immigration and Border Protection has financial requirements you must meet in order to receive a student visa. You must have $18,610 to study in Australia.Health insuranceOverseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) is compulsory and you will not be able to apply for your student visa until you have purchased a policy recommended by your host university. It includes cover for visits to the doctor, some hospital treatment, ambulance cover and limited pharmaceuticals (medicines). The Department of Immigration and Citizenship requires overseas students to maintain OSHC for the duration of time they are in Australia.ScholarshipsFee waivers are awarded to international students on the criteria of merit and need of it. Candidate with strong academics, good performance in standardised exams and extracurricular achievements would be eligible for scholarship awards and financial assistance. To benefit from these opportunities, one has to make sure to send all the required documents by particular deadlines. In addition to this, the presentation of the application is also important because one is judged by the image one projects.Documents required: The documents usually needed for a scholarship application are as follow, although the requirements may differ:Academic records and photocopiesA recent CVA letter of intent, which acts as a cover pageCertificate of Language Proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS scores)Letters of ReferenceLoansStudent Eligibility criteria: The first thing is to be aware whether you are eligible to apply for the loan or not. The general eligibility criteria that are followed by all the banks are –You should be an Indian nationalYou must have a strong academic recordYou must be seeking admission to a professional, technical or other course of studies. Most banks maintain that the selected course should be job oriented.You must have secured admission to foreign university institutions.You must be above the age of 18 years or else your parents can avail the loan.Eligibility for course: You may not get a loan on every course. Here are the kinds of courses that qualify for the education loan.For Graduation: Job oriented professional or technical courses offered by reputed universitiesFor Post Graduation: MCA, MBA, MS and also diplomasThese courses could be from foreign universities or institutes approved by the state and central government.Loan amount: If your total fee is Rs 10 lakh, the bank may offer to give a loan of 80% of the amount and you will have to put in the balance 20%. This is called the margin amount. The maximum loan amount offered by banks for studies abroad is generally around Rs 20 lakh.If your tuition fees amount is Rs 30 lakh, you’ll have to manage the rest of the funds by yourself. Some banks charge a processing fee, while others don’t. it may be a fixed amount or a percentage of the total loan amount. So if the bank charges you 1% as processing fee, that will be an additional cost you’ll have to cover.Documentation required: You will have to provide the acceptance letter sent by the University reflecting that you have been selected for the course and the schedule of fees. You will also need to show the mark sheet of the last qualifying examination to show your academic record.All banks have different requirement for documentation, so you need to confirm with the bank first.Repayment: Repayment starts only after the course period. If the student got employed within one year after completion of the course, the repayment should start immediately after the expiry of one month from the date of employment.If you do not secure a job within a year of completing the course, then repayment starts irrespective of whether or not you are employed. The loan is generally to be repaid in 5-7 years after commencement of repayment. If the student is not able to complete the course within the scheduled time, extension of time for completion of course may be permitted for a maximum period of two years. Generally, you will get up to a maximum number of 10 years to repay the loan.6. VisaConditionsIf you want to attend a University or college in Australia you will need a student visa. Following documents will be required for the application purposes –Valid Passport - Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond your period of stay in the Australia.Nonimmigrant Visa ApplicationApplication fee payment receipt, as you are required to pay before your interviewConfirmation of Enrolment Form (COE) To obtain a visa to study in Australia you must be fully enrolled in an Australian institution and receive a “Confirmation of Enrollment (COE)”. These forms are issued by the Australian institution you will be attending. The forms are usually issued after the tuition fees have been received.Acceptance letter from your host university, this will include the proposed study planLetter from your current institution confirming status as a Study Abroad StudentOverseas health insurance receipt2 or 4 passport sized photographsNote: Additional Documentation May Be Required. During the personal interview additional documents may be requested by the interviewer. These may be documents to prove evidence of academic or financial status -Transcripts, diplomas, degrees, or certificates from schools you attendedScores from tests that your college required, such as the TOEFL, SAT, GRE, or GMATYour intent to depart Australia upon completion of the course of studyHow you will pay all educational, living and travel costsProcessThe average time taken by the Australian High Commission for the visa procedure is anywhere between 8 to 12 weeks depending on the individual’s background, so the students need to apply for their visas at least three months prior to their course commencement.As an international student, you must complete your course within the minimum course duration listed on your CoE. You must leave Australia after completion of your studies. If you wish to stay in Australia for your graduation ceremony, you may need to apply for a visitor class visa.Work permitStudent visa holders are allowed to work up to 40 hours per fortnight during their study in Australia. The spouses of Masters and PhD students can work unlimited hours. If you are doing voluntary, unpaid work, it is not included in the limit of 40 hours per fortnight.Visa for spouseThe partner of the student gets a Dependent Visa and a valid work permit for the same duration as the primary applicant. This is applicable only for Master's degree application.Please note that the Student Visas for Australia have changes effective July 1, 2016. Please read about the New Student Visa Guide for Australia to understand the various rules.7. Checklist before departureYour checklist before you leave for AustraliaBook airline ticketsArrange accommodation in AustraliaArrange transportation to/from the airport to home in AustraliaArrange your banking – consider buying traveler’s chequesCheck baggage and customs limitationsClear all paperwork with your home educational institutionGet your documents in order and make photocopies to store in your baggage and keep at home, including:PassportAirline ticketsTravel insurance certificateLetter of Acceptance by the educational institutionKey addresses and phone numbersA bank statement showing proof of fundsPrescriptions for any medication you are carryingTraveler’s cheques—if applicableMedical and immunization recordsAcademic history and university transcripts8. Once you landHomesicknessHomesickness is a predictable problem faced by most students at one point or another. It may occur at the beginning or even well into your year. Homesickness will pass. Be patient. Give it at least two weeks. If you are feeling sad, explain what is happening to your friends. Do not hide in your room; if you do, the homesickness will only worsen. Find your counselor on staff with whom you can talk about homesickness or other problems.Homesickness might be made worse by frequent, long telephone calls home. Most homesick students feel more homesick after a call home than they did before they picked up the phone. Try to limit yourself to one call home every week. The sooner you integrate into the university experience, the sooner your homesickness will pass.Shopping in AustraliaLarge shopping malls and supermarkets like Wal-Mart, Target in the Australia are one-stop shops for all of your daily needs. Be vigilant to ensure that all of your shopping is properly billed and that you keep the bills with you at all times.Learning basic cookingCooking for yourself will save you money. Indian food is expensive in Australia. It will also satisfy your urge to eat ‘your food’ during moments of cultural shock. Indian spices are not commonly available in smaller cities, but there are often shops on campus where you can get ingredients used in most Indian food.TravelEach large city has and provides different methods of public transportation, such as buses, taxis or trains. You might wish to rely on a private car for transportation. Even with the rising cost of petrol, private cars are the most economical and convenient mode of transportation because you get a lot of flexibility and freedom with your car. You can travel wherever and whenever you want, and don't have to depend on the schedule of public transport. However, before you buy your own car, you will have to use public transportation or ask friends for rides.Stay on Student VisaWhen you enter Australia, you may remain there as long as you are enrolled in the school to complete your academic program. After the program ends you may apply for the temporary graduate visa through either the new post-study work stream or the graduate work stream provided you meet the specific eligibility requirements. The duration of the subclass 485 visa you are granted will depend on the qualification that you have used to qualify for the arrangements.9. Post studies optionsPlacementsIndian students are used to the concept of campus placements and on-campus recruitment for getting jobs. There is no concept of placements in Australia, like most other countries. Most Australian Universities have a cell called a Career Services Center, which helps you get jobs and help you prepare for interviews. The on-campus recruitment is always driven by student interest. Companies that recruit through the university do not offer a job directly. What they offer is an internship or co-op. Companies like to see your work for few months before they hire you full time.Work visaGraduates who have completed a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree may be eligible to apply for a two year post-study work visa. Graduates who have completed a Master’s by research degree or a Doctorate may be eligible to apply for a three or four year post-study work visa respectively. Other graduates may be eligible to apply for an 18 month subclass 485 visa through the graduate work stream.