How valid is all this information for International Students?

[Geta]

The thing is, I'm Australian, and I'm just not sure how viable this is for non-American students.  I've searched here but couldn't really find anything on it.

As an Australian, you get an interest-free loan for your uni studies that only has to be paid off once you earn above a certain amount (around 45k-50k, I think?). Many Australian unis are also quite generous with their RPL - you can even use work experience.

Doing an American degree would be a lot more work in terms of working out credits, and cost a lot more upfront.

That's definitely something to look into a bit more closely.  One of the things that appeals with this US centric approach is the apparent flexibility to do things at your own pace.  I've never found anything similar in Australia, though it's possible it exists... but usually you preselect your units for a semester and then you're locked in.  Flexibility appeals when doing it as a side project with work and kids.