Bachelor of Laws (1 Viewer)

[Lewie J-Ho]

Hello, for the longest time I was certain I wanted to do Arts/Law at ANU, but the prospect of spending 5 years at Uni started to really freak me out recently. I then considered doing the Adv Arts thing at Syndey, an honours degree in 3 years does sound pretty tasty, if only in Arts.
As what usually happens, everyone tells me I should be doing Law, even if I have no intention of becoming a lawyer.
So I thought of perhaps doing the straight Bachelor of Laws, aking only 4 years, yet this seems to be frowned upon, actively discouraged, for reasons I don't understand. Why do you reckon this is? Any other good advice people could give me before 7pm tonight would be greatly appreciated, lol...

 

[neo o]

1) Do the degree which you want to do. Ignore what other people say you "should do" because of the perceived prestige (or in the case of arts, lack of prestige) associated with the degree. If you wind up doing a degree for the wrong reasons, there's a good chance that you won't enjoy it and won't do well.

2) If you have no intention of becoming a lawyer, don't do the straight Bachelor of Laws. The main career paths from a straight LLB will either be in the law or in a government department. However, I'm enrolled in the straight LLB, and if you actually want to be a lawyer it's a good program, plus at ANU you get 8 non law electives (a full years worth of courses) if you want to do some arts stuff on the side.

3) 5 years isn't that long, and most people enjoy their time at university.

4) Personally I think you should do what interests you. If you decide to do the law anyway, postgraduate courses are always open to you later on.

 

[Lewie J-Ho]

I appreciate the advice/assistance neo o.
I made the decision to go for the straight law degree. I think I perhaps overstated my reluctance to study law. It does genuinely interest me, if not as much as govt/political science in which I would have majored in with the BA, but the career prospects really tipped the balance. I know it is explicitly stated that no knowledge of HSC legal studies is required, but it was my highest scoring HSC subject. If nothing else, it proves I can write coherent essays/assessments with the infrequent Latin term thrown in, right?Guaranteed accomodation that ANU offers also played a role, as cynical as it may sound..
I very well may become a lawyer, perhaps a passion could be kindled to practice law, lol.. I would say working in a govt. dept. would be the more likely option, though. I know it seems dumb to dismiss the 5 year Arts/Law degree, but I couldn't bring myself in good faith to give my first preference to a course in which I would graduate at 23 y/o, especially if I did want to practice, with all the add-ons and whatnot. Perception was really everything in that respect. And, hey, if I really didn't like the LLB, I could just transfer into a BA, that would be a novel prospect, would it not, haha?
Presuming I get offered a place, the UAI would have to rise quite substantially for that not to happen, would you recommend any prior reading to the commencement of studies? You seem to be really knowledgeable, and I have made my decision and will stick by it, and as a general rule, I like to do as best as I possibly can in the things I pursuit, and any further advice in that regard would be great.
Cheers.

 

[Lewie J-Ho]

Haha, and lol at how I spelt 'pursue'...

 

[RogueAcademic]

It's always been my recommendation that if you have a list of courses and you're not sure which one you want to do, always apply for the the hardest one to get into. Because if it turns out that you don't enjoy it, it's always easier to transfer down.

 

[Lewie J-Ho]

Yeah, that sounds like some solid advice, thanks RogueAcademic. Essentially, that's what I did, but I really hope I will stick out the law degree for the duration. 'Great minds', eh?

 

[RogueAcademic]

Nothing to do with 'great minds'. It's just plain common sense.

 

[Lewie J-Ho]

Haha, I was perhaps wrong to use that expression. I guess you seemingly taking it literally kind of dispels you from my esteemed company, eh?
Haha, don't worry buddy, I was joking then too!
I really do appreciate you answering my thread in the first instance.

 

[jas0nt]

.
So I thought of perhaps doing the straight Bachelor of Laws, aking only 4 years, yet this seems to be frowned upon, actively discouraged, for reasons I don't understand. Why do you reckon this is? Any other good advice people could give me before 7pm tonight would be greatly appreciated, lol...

how is it frowned upon? admittedly i have observed single degrees to be a lot rarer these days... most people double them with something (law/comm, law/arts, law/econ)

 

[Lewie J-Ho]

Perhaps I didn't word it the best, more that it is just encouraged to 'double up' the degree, as you say.
Anyway, I've chosen now, so I've made my bed and I fully intend to lie in it.