Law at UNSW and USYD (1 Viewer)

[Measananon]

HI All,

I'm looking to study Arts/Law in 2017, but can't choose between UNSW and USYD. (In Arts i would be interested in Politics, Philosophy, Sociology, Government, and Economics, just for context )I know that this has been discussed numerous times on here, so I'm sorry to reignite the discussion! It would be awesome to hear newer and more relevant, anecdotal info.

So, if anyone would be able to post generally about what they Like/Dislike about UNSW/USYD and what made you choose your uni, it would be greatly appreciated!

It would be awesome if someone could comment mainly on;
- the competition at USYD Law (and if its as demeaning as people say?)
- the smaller classes at UNSW Law compared to USYD Law (and if UNSW is more student-oriented? Do you feel 'lost in the crowd' at USYD or UNSW?)
- lifestyle and general vibes (mainly what the people are like!)
- the amount of HELP that you get from Law lecturers/uni; I get the impression that UNSW tries to help students pass, whereas USYD tries to sieve out the competition? I feel like UNSW offers a more welcoming environment which would be less daunting as a first year student, but I may be misinformed.
- is true that USYD is conservative as opposed to UNSW's progressive nature?

So really, just any comments about why you chose Law (or any degree) at UNSW/USYD would be great help! (And if you'd like to link old threads, that's cool too!)

Thank you sm

 

[pHyRe]

i dont do law, but have a fair few friends who do

grading at usyd is very harsh and curved but i think employers know that and give you leeway for it.

the general social environment is quite good and lively, albeit a bit competitive. the usual rule is asian/selective school go to unsw, private/non asian go to usyd. but i do know a fair few selective kids at usyd and vice versa

in general most people at unsw law didn't get into usyd law

not sure about the conservative comments since usyd is very left wing as you'll see with all the protest/political groups on campus

 

[FortheAtar26]

Would you consider doing PPE/Law at ANU? Smallest class sizes..

 

[Trans4M]

At the end of the day it won't matter whether you went to USYD or UNSW. Both are highly respected in Australia although I will say that more people know USYD overseas. If you have the option of attending either, pick the one that is a better cultural fit for you. This is the same with when you are selecting law firms to work at. The Big 6 pretty much do the same work. You should just pick the firm that you fit in better.

A law degree is 5 years (can be 6) so you want to make sure you are studying where you feel comfortable. Law students tend to be very anxious in first year and studying at a place that you don't "fit" in makes it worse. I would have recommended going to Open Day to see the "culture" but too late now. Maybe apply to both and then attend Info Day to make the final decision.

 

[RishBonjour99]

HI All,

I'm looking to study Arts/Law in 2017, but can't choose between UNSW and USYD. (In Arts i would be interested in Politics, Philosophy, Sociology, Government, and Economics, just for context )I know that this has been discussed numerous times on here, so I'm sorry to reignite the discussion! It would be awesome to hear newer and more relevant, anecdotal info.

So, if anyone would be able to post generally about what they Like/Dislike about UNSW/USYD and what made you choose your uni, it would be greatly appreciated!

It would be awesome if someone could comment mainly on;
- the competition at USYD Law (and if its as demeaning as people say?)
- the smaller classes at UNSW Law compared to USYD Law (and if UNSW is more student-oriented? Do you feel 'lost in the crowd' at USYD or UNSW?)
- lifestyle and general vibes (mainly what the people are like!)
- the amount of HELP that you get from Law lecturers/uni; I get the impression that UNSW tries to help students pass, whereas USYD tries to sieve out the competition? I feel like UNSW offers a more welcoming environment which would be less daunting as a first year student, but I may be misinformed.
- is true that USYD is conservative as opposed to UNSW's progressive nature?

So really, just any comments about why you chose Law (or any degree) at UNSW/USYD would be great help! (And if you'd like to link old threads, that's cool too!)

Thank you sm

1) Competition at usyd law: Simply put, it is healthy competition. I am someone who thrives in competition (I probably wouldn't be as motivated to study if I knew getting anything less than a 80 WAM will close some doors for me) and I would say about half the cohort feels that way. There are people who take it relatively easy but the top 10-25% of the cohort is exceptionally smart and hard working so you would expect some healthy competition. Some people are a bit pushed by this i.e. they literally will be studying 24/7 (not that this necessarily reflects in marks/clerkships/jobs) but you have that everywhere.

2) In 1st year my Law tutes had 9 to 11 kids in each class. That is definitely small. I would rather have quality tutors/lecturers who are practicing professionals (many of my tutors were lawyers from top tier law firms) than have classes of 5 with some honours guy teaching me. Essentially lectures are massive (whole cohort) but tutorials are small because they are designed for discussion and 'active learning'.

3) Vibes: Good vibes man, good vibes. (see number 1). Fantastic people. There are heaps of social stuff if you want to get involved - I wasn't too involved as I was working part-time for most of my free time but its there if you want.

4) Just reading it your query - it seems you've picked up some misleading info from the net haha. Definitely not the case. Any law school - they try to have a MINIMAL fail rate because if you fail, you're progression is stuffed up and law school doesn't like that either. Having said that, not many people get high marks either. I'll give you an example. For my international law unit, I was cramming and had a ton of questions/clarifications and I sent them to my tutor. I got a reply within the day with DETAILED responses and she also asked if I wanted to come see her for further clarifications - I did and she spent around 40 minutes with me. Similarly for Public law, I emailed my lecturer if I could come and ask her a few questions I simply wasn't able to clarify through the readings and she replied straight away telling me to come any time. In 1st year when I was super paranoid, I also called my Torts tutor once about an assignment and she helped me on the phone. So clearly - they WANT TO HELP YOU - take it from someone who studied there. However, there was ONE lecturer who every student disliked because he used to give smart ass replies to emails (luckily 2 lecturers took that class so people emailed the other guy).

5) Again, this is something that seems to be a common misconception in BoS. 'Usyd is traditional' 'Usyd is old' 'UNSW is new and dynamic and a ton of other buzz words' - so is UTS and Macquarie. Usyd is pretty progressive be that in their teaching etc. or politics.

 

[gizdonk2]

All of this crap is really anecdotal. Tbh, the higher the atar the university, the more competitive and hardworking the cohort will be. The geographical location will also affect it. The quality of tutors and everything is hit and miss no matter where the Uni is. You are being really anal about choosing a Uni.

Every Uni is a leftie greenie cesspool, where you will fit straight in.