The same course is not necessarily the same price for every duration
Language schools often price a course in ranges such as 1–4 weeks, 5–12 weeks and longer. Before comparing cities, fix the duration you can actually take, start date and course type, then read the matching tier. Multiplying a four-week rate by 12 weeks can import a tier that does not apply.
BROWNS's 2026 course list uses duration tiers for Brisbane, Gold Coast and Melbourne, and the same tier can differ by city. It is a starting point for comparing the same school, course and duration, not a promise for another school or a later date.
Separate required, optional and refundable items beyond tuition
A budget should separate application, learning resources, accommodation placement and accommodation deposit. A resource fee can vary by course length; a placement fee and some housing deposits are not weekly tuition and should not be missed because they sit near a tuition quote.
BROWNS lists accommodation placement and a refundable student-residence deposit as separate items. Use the current school document for amount, campus applicability and refund terms. Adding “refundable?” and “when due?” fields avoids treating a deposit as consumed living cost.
Use campus address to decide the accommodation radius worth comparing
Within a city, the relation between accommodation and campus affects daily life more than the city name. BROWNS Brisbane is on Adelaide Street, Melbourne on Church Lane and Gold Coast in Southport on Hicks Street. Testing routes from these actual addresses to candidate accommodation is more useful than writing one vague line for “central transport”.
For each place, record expected class-day one-way time, interchanges, final walk, evening return and first-arrival route with luggage. Only then can you judge whether a lower room price has exchanged for an overlong or unreliable commute.
Place course, accommodation and arrival on one timeline
Fix the course start, then confirm when accommodation can be entered, whether it has a minimum duration and whether it remains available after class ends. Homestay, residence and private rental have different meal, deposit and early-departure conditions, so they cannot be merged into only “weekly accommodation”.
Put arrival arrangements on their own line too. School transfer records have campus and airport boundaries: the Melbourne transfer, for example, names Tullamarine and lists Avalon separately. Write such boundaries into the proposal rather than assuming every airport and time is available at one price.