Serious advice needed :) (1 Viewer)

[Amleops]

From what I've heard, Media and Communications at USYD is terrible. A very theoretically based study program with little practical relevance in the industry. Apparently UTS is really good for that type of course, can't say anything about UNSW though.

But still, I would definitely take the UNSW offer if you want to study media.

 

[sirable1]

From what I've heard, Media and Communications at USYD is terrible. A very theoretically based study program with little practical relevance in the industry. Apparently UTS is really good for that type of course, can't say anything about UNSW though.

But still, I would definitely take the UNSW offer if you want to study media.

Very true.

While I was studying at UTS last year and had a recent leave of absence due to my impaired toe, I was granted special needs for the second semester.

The head of special needs (person I had) has a degree in B.Arts in Media and Communications at USyd. I wouldn't really expect her to work here. She graduated 5 years ago.

UTS is better with these type of Communications/Media degree courses, although you don't want to end up in the same shoes as her after you finish.

 

[Hatake88]

ok well i have a question?

for those of you who are at USYD now, do you like it?
I read heaps of posts on BOS like last year comparing both uni's and I felt like USYD was better.....

not that the uni is the only thing that matters of course (which I'm trying to make myself understand)

how so?

 

[LoveHateSchool]

Go to usyd. This isn't a superiority thing, but you should always prioritise your preference of uni to your preference of course. University is as much about meeting like-minded people, many of whom you'll end up working with and broadening your horizons as it is about getting a degree. Moreso even.


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I disagree completely. I've always been an advocate of course first and uni second. There's no point doing a course you don't want at a good uni. Why pass up the opportunity to do what you want straight away whereas a transfer is uncertain/may end up more time at the end. And the two unis in question here (USYD and UNSW) are both highly regarded unis.

What purpose do you want to do media for? Journalism?

I'm going to be *shock horror* a little controversial here and speak maybe a little against my own uni. USYD is really well ranked in humanities yes, but I feel the Media&Comm degree has been overglorified due to the historically cut off. Why I say this, is if you are studying media, what I;d presume you'd want to be employed in is heavily practically experienced and I feel USYD can be a little theoretical sometimes. Devil's advocate says that UTS has the best journo course. I've even heard CSU Bathurst is good. (My elder sister was a journo so this is where advice vein is coming from).

So to summarise, unless you really feel much more strongly drawn to USYD (which I can understand cause I loved the atmosphere here and is why I picked it splitting hairs between uni), I just don't see why you'd bypass to study what you really want to do from the get go. So that's why I'd personally say, course first, you want media, go to UNSW.

 

[_traveler_]

Media and communications at UTS. I don't really know anyone that has done it at UNSW and from what I've heard its shit at USYD. Arts is pretty good at USYD. Massive variety of subjects which you may want to look at. My friend wanted to transfer from BA to Media and communications but she said that it was pretty competitive(?). Then again you really have to look at the subjects and other factors which you may have to consider. Eg: Travel distance, subjects, Honours, exchange lists etc etc.

ok well i have a question?

for those of you who are at USYD now, do you like it?
I read heaps of posts on BOS like last year comparing both uni's and I felt like USYD was better.....

not that the uni is the only thing that matters of course (which I'm trying to make myself understand)

I picked for its USYD well-known arts faculty. I felt that UNSW arts subjects were a bit lacking unless you wanted to do languages. After being a first year student my only complaints is that departments rules are disorganised. There isn't coherent rubric and half the time its just on the tutors whim as to how you're getting marked. Of course people will argue that there are standards but I believe that all universities courses should have a coherent rubric to guide students (this may just be a thing with Australian universities though). In addition to that, I also find that during your first year your creativity is stifled. I recommend following the narrow box of thought provided to you during your first year. To go outside of the box is risky, you could get a HD cause your tutor believed that did great work/research/outside of the box thinking; on the other hand, your tutor may find your answer irrelevant to the question and give you a C/P.

 

[pHyRe]

personally i'd take the plunge.

it's not like you've gotten into UNSW Law and are going to go to usyd and try to transfer into USyd law, now THAT would be stupid.

media/comm isn't too difficult to transfer into if you put in the work, and I think it'd be worth it in the end. Going to a uni you love is really important, especially when comparing two very similar courses.

Also to shadowdude, people have to take risks in life mate. That's how people become successful, definitely not by always taking the 100% guarunteed route. (im not saying this will make him successful, just that you should be prepared to take risks). Especially here, it's not even that big a risk really... and worst case scenario you get B. Arts from the best arts school in the state (maybe country, but i have no idea about victoria).

 

[Shadowdude]

Just because you have to take risks in life doesn't mean you automatically take unnecessary ones.

 

[sixteencandles]

Putting universities aside because I'm trying to focus on the courses now (finally) I'm just wondering whether the UNSW course would be a little bit more limited or whether the USYD is too broad?

I'm just looking at something on the BOS now and someone has said that USYD has a broader course i.e you study subjects such as radio broadcasting or video productions whereas the UNSW course is journalism so it doesn't include subject areas like that. I'm unsure of what area of media I want to study in and though what I just said definitely won't be the deciding point, I'm just wondering whether that will matter?

I prefer the subjects offered in the UNSW course such as news reporting which isn't offered at USYD but I like the scope of USYD's better because like I said it includes other areas of media. So I'm not sure which I should choose there.

Also, International studies isn't a vocational degree or anything and so when it comes to the choosing between the USYD offer or the UNSW one, I'm just wondering whether I should still consider the international studies part? because that means its a combined degree and if I transfer into media at USYD it will only be a single degree.

Sorry, so much stuff I'm thinking about!

 

[Darth_UNSW]

This isn't even a question: UNSW and USYD are almost on par except in a few courses (not yours). If you want to do media then go to UNSW. Right now.

 

[Amleops]

Putting universities aside because I'm trying to focus on the courses now (finally) I'm just wondering whether the UNSW course would be a little bit more limited or whether the USYD is too broad?

I'm just looking at something on the BOS now and someone has said that USYD has a broader course i.e you study subjects such as radio broadcasting or video productions whereas the UNSW course is journalism so it doesn't include subject areas like that. I'm unsure of what area of media I want to study in and though what I just said definitely won't be the deciding point, I'm just wondering whether that will matter?

I prefer the subjects offered in the UNSW course such as news reporting which isn't offered at USYD but I like the scope of USYD's better because like I said it includes other areas of media. So I'm not sure which I should choose there.

The "scope" that USYD offers is only a difference of one or two units. I doubt that would differentiate yourself too much.

Also, International studies isn't a vocational degree or anything and so when it comes to the choosing between the USYD offer or the UNSW one, I'm just wondering whether I should still consider the international studies part? because that means its a combined degree and if I transfer into media at USYD it will only be a single degree.

All knowledge is helpful knowledge. I see no problem with doing a combined degree as long as you are OK with being at uni for a little longer.

 

[Hatake88]

ok well i have a question?

for those of you who are at USYD now, do you like it?
I read heaps of posts on BOS like last year comparing both uni's and I felt like USYD was better.....

not that the uni is the only thing that matters of course (which I'm trying to make myself understand)

Personally, I really like the usyd atmosphere. I love the beautiful campus, the wide range of societies and just the general level of day-to-day activities to no end. It is a very vibrant environment.

However, my review of the arts faculty is not the same.

Even though I know the faculty is meant to be one of the world's best, I can't help but think it is inferior to other faculties within the university. I mean the whole faculty (except for economics/stats/work relations?) tend to holds themselves to pretty lower standards. For example I knew two arts girls who were on distinction averages even though they never handed in an essay on time - a feat nearly impossible to achieve if not for the fact the arts faculty only deducts two marks per late day (versus 20% per day if you are in the business faculty) . This slack attitude is reflected in the lecturers' teaching too. My arts elective lecturers were my only lecturers who had to spend the last five minutes "advertising" their next lecture so people will come next time. The questions to both the short and long answer questions for the final exam were also clearly written on the lecture slides even though it was suppose to be a "harder" arts course. To make things worst, my tutor basically told us she was having trouble getting employed and that was why she was our tutor (part time job as she pursued her PHD). To top it off, subjects like gender studies, asian studies and middle eastern movement...yes, its interesting but what field are you equipped for except academia/teaching? Like the other guy said, if you really wanted to transfer into Media/Comm then you should do arts...getting a credit here is a breeze . However, with the shape the faculty is currently in, do you really want to? I'm not sure about second/third year but I had two friends who did Media/Comm at Usyd last year. The only difference between that and an arts degree was they had a compulsory unit each semester (so 75% of the stuff they did was the same).

 

[_traveler_]

Even though I know the faculty is meant to be one of the world's best, I can't help but think it is inferior to other faculties within the university. I mean the whole faculty (except for economics) tend to holds themselves to pretty lower standards. For example I knew two arts girls who were on distinction averages even though they never handed in an essay on time - a feat nearly impossible to achieve if not the fact the arts faculty only deducts two marks per late day (versus 20% per day if you are in the business faculty) . This slack attitude is reflected in the lecturers' teaching too. My arts elective lecturers were the only lecturers who had to spend the last five minutes "advertising" their next lecture so people will come next time. The questions to both the short and long answer questions for the final exam were also clearly written on lecture slides. To make things worst, my tutor basically told us she was having trouble getting employed and that was why she was doing her PHD. To top it off, I got a high credit for the subject when I didn't attend half the lectures. Like the other guy said, if you really wanted to transfer into Media/Comm then you should do arts...getting a credit here is a breeze. However, with the shape the faculty is currently in, do you really want to? I'm not sure about second/third year but I had two friends who did Media/Comm at Usyd last year. The only difference between that and an arts degree was they had a compulsory unit each semester (so 75% of the stuff they did was the same).

+1 to some of the things mentioned such as questions for the exam on the lecture slides. However I would like to mention that that is not the case for all subjects. Especially comparing 1000 and 2000 subjects. I took 2, 2000 subjects during my first semester and the teaching attitudes were vastly different. Marking in my 2000 subjects were harsher as well as in similar circumstances whereby lecturers gave us the questions to the exam. Funnily enough for ECOP1001 the lecturer gave us the exam questions during the last lecture, but she never explicitly said that these were the exam questions. She labeled them as 'example' questions. I would also like to mention something one of my lecturers said, exams are only there to make sure that you've learn something during the subject. By giving you the exam questions they have higher expectations for the answers. They want you to come with well-prepared answers.

Also.. those two girls that you've mentioned. Is it possible that they got an extension from the faculty? The Arts faculty hands out extensions like paper. Simple <5 day extensions don't really require documentation at all. I do agree with the sentiments above, I mean personally I was pissed that some girl pretty much copy and pasted her essay got a D while I get a C for researching for hours (went off subject). Also, the boxes that they give you in the criteria's are just general 'guidelines' aka arbitrary and do not reflect the marking scheme (as a tutor has told me). Then again... each department within the faculty do operate slightly different so it really depends what subjects you pick.

 

[Hatake88]

Also.. those two girls that you've mentioned. Is it possible that they got an extension from the faculty? The Arts faculty hands out extensions like paper. Simple <5 day extensions don't really require documentation at all. I do agree with the sentiments above, I mean personally I was pissed that some girl pretty much copy and pasted her essay got a D while I get a C for researching for hours (went off subject). Also, the boxes that they give you in the criteria's are just general 'guidelines' aka arbitrary and do not reflect the marking scheme (as a tutor has told me). Then again... each department within the faculty do operate slightly different so it really depends what subjects you pick.

Nah. Both of them were self-admitted perfectionists who handed in things three days to a week late because they only wanted to hand in "perfection". They would get a raw HD mark or something in the 80s which eventually gets lowered down to something in the upper 70s...hence the distinction average.

Although I did have another friend who broke up with her boyfriend of two years and went to see the counselor. She got a week extension for her philosophy essay lol.

 

[HeyJes]

You never know how well exactly a person is going to go in uni due to the new learning style, so for me - as a risk-averse person - I'd take the guarantee, rather than take something that's not 100% guaranteed.

I would go for UNSW. It really depends on what COURSE you.want to.do. UNSW is great based on my last years understanding. I am transfering from Commlaw to Comm/media this year in UNSW

 

[obliviousninja]

don't doubt the new south