Should I drop Law?

[Ginny11]

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I'm a first year Law/Arts student and for this semester i only did an intro unit to Law. I failed 1 out of 2 assignments and i'm pretty sure i've failed the exam. Is this going to set the scene for the entire Law part of my degree???? fail, fail, fail, occassional pass?
Should i drop it while i'm ahead????

[Joel8945]

Originally Posted by Ginny11

I'm a first year Law/Arts student and for this semester i only did an intro unit to Law. I failed 1 out of 2 assignments and i'm pretty sure i've failed the exam. Is this going to set the scene for the entire Law part of my degree???? fail, fail, fail, occassional pass?
Should i drop it while i'm ahead????

Well one thing you have acheived the UAI, ENTER, etc to actually get into such a competitive degree so kudos to you. So first things first you have achieved to be able to get a placement to do something about 1% of the Australian students can do.

At uni in first year everyone I know is feeling as though they have been dropped in the deep end. No matter what course you do it will be a challenge. You probably have it harder because law is a very competitive subject.

Now finally you need to ask yourself as to whether you are passionate about law and why you are doing a double degree! If you truely want to become a lawyer give it another shot next semester and you may surprise yourself.

I have done 3 of my 4 exams and have felt very annoyed at my progress. Physics (my best subject at high school) turned out to be a shocking exam.

[Eclipse008]

Originally Posted by peter2222

She goes to UWS so don't talk about High scores needed for entrance. The fuckers UWS accept anyone. So

hardly. Isn't the entry still 90?
The top 10% of the state is hardly any 'fucker'. And from what I hear, uws' law faculty is pretty good.

[babikakez]

Is it at all possible to defer your law degree. Like take Arts units for the next two years or so, then reassess then whether or not law is right for you. It may not even take that long.

[JasmineNuytre]

Originally Posted by peter2222

She goes to UWS so don't talk about High scores needed for entrance. The fuckers UWS accept anyone. So

No, check her profile she goes to UNE.

[ninjapuppet]

even if you dont intend to become a lawyer, the LLB is a very useful degree to have, since our society expects people to know abit about the law. You would have learned that ignorance of the law is not a defence right?

My first few subjects in law were very tough (legal institutions/ legal research) because it was hell boring, and you have to get used to the language used. after 2nd year, it doesnt get easier, but you become more streamlined and study more efficiently. I really enjoyed the later years.
but if you did law only because you "got in" plus dont have an interest in it, then quit now! as a career choice, I think the future is bright. especially with baby boomers dying off, family law & succession will increasingly become good areas to work in. lawyers thrive on other's problems.

If you are reading law books because you "have to"... this is like overdosing on sleeping tablets

[Studentleader]

Learn from your mistakes, It is better to fail a level one unit rather than failing a level three one.

[Lara1986]

Originally Posted by Eclipse008

hardly. Isn't the entry still 90?
The top 10% of the state is hardly any 'fucker'. And from what I hear, uws' law faculty is pretty good.

Additionally, just because the entry cut off was 90 doesn't mean that the students there all achieved a max of 90. Plenty of students achieve higher marks but choose UWS nonetheless.

[melsc]

Originally Posted by Lara1986

Additionally, just because the entry cut off was 90 doesn't mean that the students there all achieved a max of 90. Plenty of students achieve higher marks but choose UWS nonetheless.

Exactly, I was at a general scholarship meeting at UWS in 06 and there were a lot of people there who got into UWS law and had UAI's over 90. I saw people there with UAI's of 98+ and many of the people there, incl myself had high enough UAI's to get into uni's like UNSW full fee. That said UAI is not indicative of academic performance at university level.

To the OP intro to law is much different to 'substantive law subjects' and most people find their university marks improve as they get used to the academic writing style required at university, time management. independant learning etc.. give yourself a bit more time. Look at what there reasons were for your poor marks and learn from it. Most academics are willing to help and give feedback - pointers, after a terrible first attempt at writing a solution to a legal problem (my structure was all over the place...actually there was little if any structure) I sat down with the academic who explained what I did wrong and it helped me a lot.

Good luck

[MichaelJackson2]

I would say do NOT drop law, stay enrolled in it, but just do arts subjects for a year, and I'm sure that by the time you take a second shot at law subjects in your second year you'll have much better success. I certainly don't think I would have survived law if I had done it straight out of school.

[Ginny11]

Thanks for the advice everyone....
Just a note, I got in on early entry which was pretty damn lucky as my UAI was shite lol

[melsc]

Originally Posted by Ginny11

Thanks for the advice everyone....
Just a note, I got in on early entry which was pretty damn lucky as my UAI was shite lol

Don't worry about the UAI, I know a few people getting C's + who had UAI's less that 80

[Omnidragon]

Depends on what you want to do. If you don't want to be a lawyer, a law degree is not that useful. Exit options are very narrow.