"Australia? But why that far away?"

I remember those were the words of someone I had just told I was going to Australia to study for a year. I tried hard, but I just can't seem to remember who it was...

Anyway, it wasn't a matter of distance for me. It's not like I want to run away from anything. Of course I could just go out and say I chose Australia because it's an awesome country, but I mean to point out the main reasons for that.

I wanted an english speaking country all along. The Science without Borders program has lots of other countries as options, but I narrowed 'em down to 3: US, UK and Australia.

Here's why the third one won me over:

• Top Universities: the Group of 8 is a group of, not only the best universities in Australia, but also the best ones in the world! So I knew I would surely be placed in a great university to begin with. If you want to check it out here, Monash University is in the 61st position and "worst rated" one, University of Adeleide, is in 102nd.

• The results for Australia would be out in a short time, compared to US's and UK's. This meant a lot to me, especially because waiting sucks and anxiety takes over you sometimes. Besides, the bureaucracy for filling out form and turning in documents was much simpler!

• It would never be a common destination for me. I was more likely to travel to US or UK before considering Australia, but this opportunity presented itself for me, and that is why I think this is it.

• 6 cities available, and 5 of them have a high cost of living. It means that I'm going to receive more money than usual. Of course, it is proportional to the cost of living, but if I spend it wisely, I believe I'll be able to get by just fine!

• The agency, Latino Australia Eduation, seemed to have a very helpful and thoughtful crew, which I ended up confirming up to now.

So, those are only some of the reasons why I chose Australia as a destination to study for a year abroad. I could easily name some more, but I believe I've already made my point... Of course my other options were really good and I'm sure it would be just as awesome, but I had to pick one, and I'm still pretty happy with it.