Liberal Studies?? (1 Viewer)

[vicksta]

Im in year 12 and i'm very interested in doing Liberal studies at usyd next year....I just wanted to get some feedback from people who may be doing it, re whats good/bad about the degree, fave subjects, career options etc. Ive talked to people at the open day and read the brochures and stuff, but i just wanted a students perspective on the course!!!

 

[cayte]

No. Unless you like languages and are planning on making that your arts major. It's got about the same career prospects as an straight arts or science degree (ie none you wouldn't have had when you started the degree anyway) and while all your bludgy 3-year-degree friends have graduated and are jetsetting off around the world, you'll be attending third year classes. It looks lovely on paper but the reailty is not so good. I know plenty of people who do it and very few who enjoy it. But whatever. If you have any specific questions pm me and I'll help you out.

 

[shelley]

Well that was certainly gloomy, i have a few friends who love it, though u will have to do a frist year, first semester english grammar course which is immensly painful in many ways, but fairly easy to pass without much actual work being done.

Did you go to the open day? otherwise get a copy of teh handbook and that proberbly provides teh best advice, and no i dont mean the free one, i mean the great big one that u can get on cd rom for $12 from the uni, it has all teh courses u can do, requirements, limits ect!

Most people i know who do it, absolutley love it, so i guess its a personal thing!

 

[vicksta]

thanks guys- i guess its good to get a range of responses... im still pretty certain that ill go for it next year- people have told me that if u like the range of subjects of high school, then youll like the range in libstud. Im one of those wierd sorts of people who very much enjoys the variety of school, and i honestly dont mind tiresome things like grammar and statistics, so im looking forward to it!!
Thanks for the responses..if anyone has any more views to share, feel free......yeah, i did go to the open day, the woman i talked to was a bit vague though..ill look into getting one of those books, thanks for that shelley

 

[Sarah168]

I talked to a guy at a career's day and he said he transferred from Lib Studies to B Arts cos Liberal Studies is a little TOO much like highschool and is just SO braod that there isnt much to do afterwards. I would take B Arts over Lib Studies any day though.

 

[withoutaface]

Lets do a B Everything, majoring in nothing!

 

[Generator]

I talked to a guy at a career's day and he said he transferred from Lib Studies to B Arts cos Liberal Studies is a little TOO much like highschool and is just SO braod that there isnt much to do afterwards. I would take B Arts over Lib Studies any day though.

An arts degree may be as broad as you want it to be, too, and you can easily ignore the 'science' component of a Liberal Studies degree through taking geography or something (a social science that is considered as being a science at Usyd).

 

[Toodulu]

haha deja vu
yeh liberal studies sounds very good on paper, very little people actually enjoy it when they get there though
because it's a course with electives, you go to the exact same classes as arts students, except you stick around for longer and have to do more crap

i really enjoyed my subjects in high school as well so i'm doing an electives sort of thingtoo (b. commerce (liberal studies)). Having choices is really good, but after a while you realise that you need to do repetitive/boring shit to get through uni anyway. If you're entertaining the thought of having a "broad" education, that really just translates into not being qualified for any professional job. It's really good to do something like that in 1st yr to sus out what you like, and i strongly recommend it, but sticking out a course like liberal studies won't be as appealing when reality kicks in

 

[mr EaZy]

i only decided yesterday night that lib studies was a cool course.
its not THAT broad. In 4 years, u have to study a language, do a major in arts and science and a bit of math and grammar. wats so bad about that?
----------------------
WEll, if u sayits too repetitive and there's not much options, then i might look elsewhere then.

 

[jessum]

i really want to do liberal studies too, with the aim of postgraduate medicine.... what about if u pick ur majors so that they are directing u towards a particular career path? coz i dont know what id do at the end of the degree if i didnt get into medicine... im a bit worried about that now
i guess theres always other postgraduate study i could do apart from med.. blergh its all so far away

 

[lbft]

Well, I'm in first year Liberal Studies and I like it. It's hard in that you don't have a big direction thrust at you since you've got so much choice, but so long as you settle on an arts and a science major that you love then you'll be fine. Then again, it depends on what majors you're looking at. It's probably best to try and pick majors which can be related to each other somehow.

 

[vicksta]

Yeah, im thinking about doing graduate medicine too. I got offered an interview for UNSW medicine the other day, but I dont think i want to jump into such a full on course..i feel im too young and not worldly enough. I'd much rather get a well rounded education and then decide whether medicine is for me or not.

 

[cayte]

The positive responses are great, but they're all from first years. In second year your language becomes a mission, you're still doing first year subjects (not fun, first years are bad enought he first time around) and if you find you don't like your first year arts subject you're screwed. And jessum, if you think hsc sucks wang, just wait till you have four years of uni with psycho exams at the end of each semester ahead of you. I would bet that over 50% of students who start a BLibStu will never finish it.

 

[lbft]

That's bull. Most of the students in one of my first year science subjects in particular are all second year engo students. My other science subject, about half are second or third year commerce students.

 

[Tommy_Lamp]

I heard that B.LibStud. is a good precursor to Medicine at Usyd, along with obviously medical science and b.sci?

 

[cayte]

That's bull. Most of the students in one of my first year science subjects in particular are all second year engo students. My other science subject, about half are second or third year commerce students.

What's bull? You don't seem to be responding to anything in particular. Did you understand my post? I don't undersdtand yours.

 

[lbft]

What's bull is the idea that Liberal Studies students are the only ones doing first-year subjects in second year.

 

[cayte]

If you actually read my post I never said they were. I'm just saying that in this course there's actually no way out of it. You HAVE to do some first year subjects in later years because you simply can't fit them all in in first year unless you overload, which they are now making much more difficult. Of course there are other courses which will have the same problem and some students will choose to complete their degrees with first year fillers, but if you were to do a straight arts or science or a degree that is pre-planned without a selection of electives you can avoid having to attend first year subjects after first year.

 

[mr EaZy]

U know, Uni syd gives the most misleading information out compared to any other university out there. Quite FRankly, i HATE it!, Thats why i only have one preference to uni SYD as one of my last resorts

Tru, lots of people will like liberal studies, i think i will too! but if it looks sooo good on paper, why do sooo many people get discouraged after 2nd and third years?
Liberal studies is not the only course being exaggerated. U should see the thread "SCIENCE DEGREE" under the UNSW section, where i asked about why UNI syd thinks its soo unique in medical science. It turns out, it really isnt unique at all!!!

So when reading about course information, know that the UNI is selling the course to ya. They use many techniques to get u there. ITS YOUR JOB to find out which course is right for u. My advice is to seek out independant advice. Hmmm, this thread is not a bad place to start actually! cheers!

 

[mr EaZy]

and with that thing about lib studies giving a helping hand in doing the GAMSAT, it all depends on what options u choose. That attracted my attention too, so just be careful, u bascially need to choose basic bio/chem/phys as options as part of your major.

what drew my attention to this course in the first place was in fact the, GAmsat factor, the opportunities in government (DFAT etc) and research. i told my friend it was like a dream course. Now i know, its too good to be tru

please correct me otherwise