<p>just to make some generalizations:
ANU is a really good university but it’s located in Canberra so most people spend most of their time studying.
USyd and UMel are big and you won’t feel any real sense of community like you would on an American campus. The quality of teaching leaves much to be desired but if you wisely use the resource available you can still get a decent educational experience. Life in these two cities is pretty good, of course. And you pay about the same amount of money as you would to an American college (approx. 35,000 AUSD tuition fees + living cost which is high).
Major reason you should consider Australia : legal Drinking age is 18!!!</p>