University
Good things
-Lots of freedom, independence and flexibility
-Way better social life and the diversity of the people you meet is much better
Bad things
-Double the stress and way more workload
-Lecturers and tutors are not as caring as your high school teacher
They do for some subjects, it really depends on the Lecturer. At UNSW, it happened to me a few times for MGMT subjects.
But usually, they bring a sheet around and you have to write your name and student number on it to confirm that you're there.
Do Arts/LAW at Macq, then you should transfer to USYD after one year of study.
You'll get credited with the subjects also, so you wouldn't be wasting any time! Plus on the bright side, you'll be doing Law subjects.
Like I said, the best field that matches your needs is the Bachelor of International Studies, there is a lot of majors within this degree also that focus on things like International Relations and development studies.
I did the Bachelor of International Studies in the beginning of this year and...
If you want a career in the field of international relations, the optimal course choice is the Bachelor of International Studies or Bachelor of Arts and by majoring in International relations.
Should be fine, engineering like you said is pretty stationary every year.
And with the 3 additional bonus points, it should be sufficient enough.
Good luck, I hope you get into your course =)
It is competitive as in 1st semester there is around 200-400 undergraduate law students at MQ, with most receiving an ATAR of atleast low 90's from what I hear from my university peers.