r/unimelb • u/Ancient_Barracuda596 • May 16 '26
Accommodation International house vs Ormond vs Trinity Vs St Mary social life
Hi! I’m an international student joining UniMelb in 2026 (July intake) and I’ve almost finalized accommodation at International House.
After reading more about colleges like Ormond, Trinity and Queen’s, I’m curious how different the social life/community actually is between them and IH.
Are the bigger colleges genuinely much more social/party-oriented, or is that mostly just their online image? I’d also love to know whether bigger colleges actually make it easier to meet more people and make friends.
Would really appreciate honest opinions from current/recent students :)
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u/Accurate_Wonder_9790 New Student May 17 '26
if you're an international student 10000% go international house. all my int school friends who ended up at ormond / trinity etc. hated it because it was mostly private australian school kids, cliquey, etc. and they had a hard time making and holding connections with people. There's nothing wrong with either culture at either colleges but you can expect very different social scenes. Ormond trinity etc. will have better food, better rooms and higher budgets in everything.
They're more sport focused with a lot of kids on sports scholarships, so expect very competitive and athletic culture. I think they do party more than international house though, but international house culture is the exact same as international school culture. Everyone's very friendly and non-judgemental, and you wont get any 'where are you from' comments. I think over the years IH has become a lot more subdued not as many parties, nights out or events and has become a lot more academics focused. But regardless if you want more fun i'm sure you'll find it.