UTS law vs USYD arts --> law (1 Viewer)

[simplyinsanity]

I got an atar of 98.40 and am trying to decide between UTS law or using arts to transfer into USYD law. Obviously, I am trying to weigh up the advantages of USYD's prestige and being able to get directly into law.

Thoughts?

And these are some other questions I have:

1. How easy is it to achieve a Distinction average in Arts? What about UTS/USYD law?

2. Does UTS law tend to have a final exam with a big weighting? (as I've been told the USYD final exam often has a 70% weighting)

Thanks

 

[flashyGoldFish]

I wouldnt place much weight on 2.

What i would say is that USYD law is much better and the chance of you landing a good job after are much better with usyd.
of course if you dont get the transfer then you have problems.

 

[wannaspoon]

If its any indicator... I do really, really well on my assignments... but manage to some how do terribly on my final exams... (probably due to handwriting legibility and an assortment of other issues which really effect my performance ie: sleep, anxieties, complacency, studying patterns, etc)

it purely depends on the person... I personally would not be stressed about it and take up whatever you fancy...

as for how easy it is to achieve a distinction in an arts degree... very, very easy!!! focus on grammar, spelling and punctuation; reference relevant and reputable sources; be reasonably verbose and factual and you should get a HD not a D... (I've done a social science degree which is very, very similar to an arts degree... its kind of like comparing a business degree to a commerce degree...)

getting the marks in law is a shit load harder than in an arts degree...

 

[Crobat]

I'm a UTS Law student.

1. Not too hard - I did it without studying terribly much. Paying attention in seminars and having a good understanding of the key topics is enough if you are a decent writer with excellent memory (just don't freak in the exam).
2. Not in the first year, but I have heard later law subjects have higher weighting finals (e.g. Contracts is 70% final) - this shouldn't really be a deciding point for you anyway.

IMO if you really wanted to make USYD Law you should just do UTS Bus/Law and transfer through because Business is a fairly easy degree (GPA/WAM booster if you need it) if you put 1-2 hours of work into each subject a week, and you will still be able to get general exposure to Law (though foundies tend not to really reflect proper law school). That and there may be a possibility of credit transfers as well (I haven't checked this one out because I never planned to transfer). Arts might be risky because you may not engage with the work which will make it difficult for you to succeed, whereas in Business at least if you find it boring you can still pretty much guarantee a Distinction since it's a bit more objective and based on quantitative logic (with the exception of management and partly marketing, but you technically don't need to do either of those subjects since you schedule your own timetable and pick your own subjects for the year).

Edit: Also I may be misinterpreting flashyGoldfish's post but contrary to the belief you aren't actually just fucked if you study Law at UTS. It's true you would probably have a better chance at employment at USYD/UNSW due to their better connections and reputation, which is important considering the shit job prospects of Law students currently, but that does not mean Maccas is the only future for you if you're at UTS. UTS still has excellent industry connections and programs which the other unis are yet to match (with the Go8 actually currently trying to copy one of them because they have recognised its value (the Justice Brennan program iirc)). In any case it would be more worrying if you were to study Arts and not get the transfer from that.

 

[simplyinsanity]

Thanks so much for responding!

Also, Crobat, how many students are there usually in each lecture/tutorial?

 

[kwu1]

Usually 20 in law seminars (personalised lectures and tutorials)

 

[alstah]

Well done on your ATAR! Coming in the top 1.6% of the state is no easy feat! IMO, If you want to study law at USyd, then go with USyd Arts, because its' MUCH easier to get a high WAM in an Arts degree at USyd than it is with a law degree at UTS, thus making it easier to transfer to Usyd law.

 

[amandachung]

Well done on your ATAR! Coming in the top 1.6% of the state is no easy feat! IMO, If you want to study law at USyd, then go with USyd Arts, because its' MUCH easier to get a high WAM in an Arts degree at USyd than it is with a law degree at UTS, thus making it easier to transfer to Usyd law.

This is what I'm hoping to do

 

[brent012]

Well done on your ATAR! Coming in the top 1.6% of the state is no easy feat! IMO, If you want to study law at USyd, then go with USyd Arts, because its' MUCH easier to get a high WAM in an Arts degree at USyd than it is with a law degree at UTS, thus making it easier to transfer to Usyd law.

It's not difficult to get high marks in first year (possibly later as well, idk yet) business subjects at UTS like Crobat mentioned, so that'd be something to keep in mind.

 

[wannaspoon]

It's not difficult to get high marks in first year (possibly later as well, idk yet) business subjects at UTS like Crobat mentioned, so that'd be something to keep in mind.

I reckon its the opposite... first year is the toughest and then things get easy when you get the hang of things...

 

[brent012]

I reckon its the opposite... first year is the toughest and then things get easy when you get the hang of things...

I'm talking exclusively about first year business at UTS. Perhaps my opinion on it is affected given I did not do a single business subject until my second semester.

 

[Crobat]

I reckon its the opposite... first year is the toughest and then things get easy when you get the hang of things...

Understandable but realistically speaking it's not that difficult if you have an iota of the ability to apply yourself (this is exclusively at UTS).

methinks btx3 kind of captured it well (not srs but a little srs)

If you want to get through your first year of uni with straight HD's while doing jack shit at uni, you should come to UTS. We are the tafe you always wanted to go to but you had to get a degree instead