advice please (1 Viewer)

[jawaad]

hey,

well i'll cut straight to the chase;

i don't see myself being anything but a lawyer. i don't really want to do anything else, even if i'd be okay in other fields. i just think i'm born for that occupation.

the problem is - i don't have the atar potential to get into a combined law course anywhere nearby.

right now, i think i'm looking at about 83-87. with work, i'll be able to hit that up to ninety, and thus i'm okay for combined law at uws. but i live at mascot/rosebery, and getting to any of the campus' will kill me, as i've got other dutys to adhere to.

so i'm tossing up between getting that ninety for uws, then transferring to unsw or the like; after a year - OR just enrolling for arts at unsw, and doing well at that - to allow me to undertake law in my second year, thus transferring to combined law, with one year of arts already under my belt.

now i don't know which course of action is more wise. i've had people who are relatively well informed, advise me on either option.

so help me out here. which way should i go.
which will help me succeed best?

i'm pretty lost right now. i'd appreciate any help.
so please, some honest advice?

thanks.

jawaaaaaaaaad.
​

 

[lychnobity]

so i'm tossing up between getting that ninety for uws, then transferring to unsw or the like; after a year - OR just enrolling for arts at unsw, and doing well at that - to allow me to undertake law in my second year, thus transferring to combined law, with one year of arts already under my belt.

It's hard to gain a transfer from UWS to UNSW, especially for law, even with distinction averages, my sister got rejected, so... I think it's better to enrol for arts @ UNSW, and trying from there.

 

[jawaad]

hmm.

and ALSO.

with combined degrees, as i'm doing two courses - does that mean i'm 'part-time' studying, as far as the length of the course is concerned?

 

[izzy88]

hmm.

and ALSO.

with combined degrees, as i'm doing two courses - does that mean i'm 'part-time' studying, as far as the length of the course is concerned?

I'm a bit confused as to what you mean by 'part-time' studying. You will be studying full time a combined degree. At most uni's this means you will do your 3 year 'other' degree (ie. arts/science whatever) and complete your first year of law over that 3 years. All up it takes 5 years.

Ie. for example at USYD, you complete 2 law subjects in first year, and 3 in second and third year. So at the end of third year you have completed your 'other' undergraduate degree, as well as technically first year of graduate law. You then complete your last two years of law. All up 5 years unless you take honours or do a longer first degree (such as engineering/media communications etc which take 4 I believe).

You save yourself one year by doing law as a combined degree rather than completing an undergraduate 'other' degree and then doing postgrad law.

Hope that helps.

As for transfer, i know that its difficult- and (depending on the university), they generally look at both your UAI and your GPA (generally 50/50), so if your UAI is heaps below the cut off, I wouldn't be sure of your chances. However this could differ from uni to uni, so I would look at UNSW transfer policy if that's where you want to go.

On the other hand, if you're really set on being a lawyer and you can get into UWS law, than perhaps that is the thing to do. If distance is a huge problem maybe you could move closer or to one of the colleges?

 

[ikarusdanoz]

My opinion is that if you can get into uws law then that's good, especially since UWS law isn't as bad as you may think, and employers don't simply look at what uni you went to and ignore all other instances of merit. Another option to consider is a career where you specialise in law rather than doing a straight LLB. That's my two cents.

 

[jawaad]

thanks guys!

i'd really prefer not to do uws for a couple of major reasons.

1) i'm not BRILLIANT. and if people are getting distinction averages and still not getting a transfer, i doubt i will.
2) distance will really get me down. an hour and a half of travelling each way will slowly eat into my soul.

another question: so if i manage to transfer to a combined law course, with a full year of the 'other course' already under my belt (arts, for me), how will the allocation of time to each degree - work? i'm sorry if i haven't explained this properly, as you can see by my last post on the same topic - i'm clueless.

and another question: why is gaining entry to a course such as bachelor of psychology so much more difficult than gaining entry into bachelor of arts, and then majoring in psych. like whats the difference? is there different merit values? wouldn't you be learning exactly the same stuff? and how many majors do you do?

and also: right now i'm battling depression, and over the last several months - i've been on and off depression. i didn't take that many days off school, because i forced myself to battle on - but one way or another, the disease affected me. i've heard that i can be compensated for this... so how much do you think i will be compensated? i'm asking because getting a fair idea of this will help me make my choices, i've heard that people have been granted A LOT of consideration - and have gone from a uai of 70 something, into a course worth 97 or so. i don't know. i guess i should add that i've been in depression for awhile, but only been diagnosed recently - and hence my past results in high school aren't much better than how they are now.

so yeah, if i'm expected to get a lot of compensation (from a potential 90 to an entry into combined law at unsw at 99), i might put it as a choice on uac.

sorry about the length about this guys. and im not trying to take advantage of the system, i guess its just where i am at the moment.

i appreciate all the help

 

[ajdlinux]

Firstly, if you can't get into a law degree at all, but you really want to become a solicitor you could do a Diploma of Law through the Legal Profession Admission Board. That has an entry requirement of 68.90 with a minimum English mark of 60.

In response to your questions:

1) If you transfer in, you'd apply for credit from your previous courses to go towards your new program. Basically, you've just got to ensure that at the end of the degree that you have enough units in the Arts area, enough in Law and enough total to make it satisfy the degree's rules.

2) 'Named degrees' like a BSc (Psych) are specially structured to focus more around the particular area, so they do more in that area than just a major. Sometimes they're also an extra year for more courses. Also in areas like Psychology there's Government registration requirements that you'd have to look out for.

3) You'd get compensation through UAC's Educational Access Scheme, but the precise rules as to bonus points and so on are dependent on each institution as far as I know.

 

[lychnobity]

thanks guys!

i'd really prefer not to do uws for a couple of major reasons.

1) i'm not BRILLIANT. and if people are getting distinction averages and still not getting a transfer, i doubt i will.

Keep in mind that transfers are granted provided there are actual spots to fill in. ie someone has to drop out for you to get in (she was trying to transfer straight to second year law). There is the option to redo first year, but I doubt that's helpful

another question: so if i manage to transfer to a combined law course, with a full year of the 'other course' already under my belt (arts, for me), how will the allocation of time to each degree - work? i'm sorry if i haven't explained this properly, as you can see by my last post on the same topic - i'm clueless.

You should have attended the Open days then. There were people there who were capable of answering such questions.

For scheduling, it depends if they allow you to undertake second year w/o repeating any first year units.

and another question: why is gaining entry to a course such as bachelor of psychology so much more difficult than gaining entry into bachelor of arts, and then majoring in psych. like whats the difference? is there different merit values? wouldn't you be learning exactly the same stuff? and how many majors do you do?

B Psych. is for professional psychologists, clinical ones, the ones working with patients etc. the science of it all

B Arts (Psych) is, as the name suggests, a theoretical, I suppose more metaphysical/abstract take on the study of the human mind. An Arts degree is basically a 'pick and choose' degree, except you 'speciailise' in one area. ie you can choose to study history, economics, languages and psych (as a major)

You won't be learning the same stuff - B Psych includes the science aspect of psychology, whereas arts, no.

B Psych has a higher cut off because it would qualify you to be a psychologist. They can be considered health professionals. Lots of people want to be one.

B Arts (Psych) has a low cut off because there isn't a huge demand for the course... this is a very simplistic explanation

aso how much do you think i will be compensated? i'm asking because getting a fair idea of this will help me make my choices, i've heard that people have been granted A LOT of consideration - and have gone from a uai of 70 something, into a course worth 97 or so.

bullshit - even those considered to be socioeconomically disadvantaged (such as those in rural areas, the disabled etc) aren't given as much consideration.

Take Hanna for example. Both parents died within one week of each other, and her compensation? Maximum of 8 ATAR allowance, and she isn't guaranteed to get 8 either.

I envisage about 4

 

[jawaad]

okay thanks, that cleared a lot up for me.

one last question;

how much do the rankings of your nominated courses affect your selection.
like if you get into one, does that mean you're excluded from the rests selection?
and hence, would putting a course with a lower cut off as a high-ish priority be a stupid move?

oh and i did go to the open day today.
except things were a bit hectic, so i had no chance to really talk one on one to the right people..

 

[ajdlinux]

UAC only gives you one offer, so if you get your highest preference you are no longer considered for any lower preferences.

 

[jawaad]

that complicates matters.