An Australian university student has argued that the country’s universities are failing to prepare graduates for life after graduation, after an exchange at the University of Pennsylvania exposed her to a more demanding and engaged academic culture.
Allegra Schubert, who is studying Commerce and Engineering at the University of Sydney, said the course content at the Ivy League institution was not significantly harder than at home. The difference, she said, was the way students were taught and encouraged to think about their futures.
At Penn, lecturers worked through problems by hand in real time rather than presenting pre-written solutions. Lectures were not compulsory or recorded, while small weekly assignments required students to keep up with the material instead of attempting to relearn it shortly before examinations.
In smaller classes, students were regularly called upon to answer questions. Schubert said the prospect of being asked to respond kept her focused and ultimately helped her learn more, despite initially finding the experience intimidating.
She also found that professors at Penn knew most of their students by name. At Sydney, she said, much of that contact was instead handled by tutors, who were often postgraduate students or, in her early years, undergraduates only slightly older than those they taught.
The sharpest contrast, however, was among the students themselves. Schubert said American students were more likely to explain why they had chosen their degree and where they expected it to lead, while also volunteering answers and asking questions without appearing concerned about being wrong.
She said many Australian students reached university without a clear sense of direction. In her own case, she argued, her Australian Tertiary Admission Rank had effectively chosen her degree rather than reflecting a settled ambition.
Schubert contrasted the Australian system, in which entry to sought-after courses can hinge on a few weeks of Year 12 examinations, with the US model. American students face pressure across several years of grades, tests, sport and other activities, while being encouraged from an early stage to identify their interests.
She acknowledged that the American admissions system was not an ideal model, particularly because it favoured families able to pay for private tutoring and admissions consultants. But she said it forced young people to confront questions about their future that Australian students could defer for years.
Australian universities urged to strengthen student experience
The exchange also highlighted the way universities compete for students. At Penn, faculties hosted dinners, the dean held a formal event and student societies distributed food and drinks, while the broader campus experience was treated as part of the institution’s appeal.
Schubert said Australian universities, which are predominantly public and broadly similar in structure, appeared to focus more heavily on attracting international students. With domestic fees regulated, she argued, the experience of Australian undergraduates could receive less attention.
Only 37.3 per cent of domestic undergraduates in the 2025 Student Experience Survey attended all their classes in person. Among those students, 54.4 per cent said they felt a sense of belonging, compared with 45.5 per cent of students combining online and in-person study.
She said Australian universities would not need to adopt the American system, including its costs and inequalities, to improve teaching. Lecturers could work through problems by hand, question students in smaller classes and make a greater effort to learn the names of those sitting their examinations.
Universities should also encourage students from their first year to take part in projects, teams and societies, she argued. With the name of an institution rarely enough to distinguish an Australian graduate, the most valuable preparation for employment may come from what students do beyond the syllabus.
Schubert said the ultimate goal should be for graduates to leave university knowing what they wanted to do next and how to pursue it.
