Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dilemma (1 Viewer)

iheart1

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I saw a thread very similar surprisingly, but thought I should start my own.
I am in my first year of Commerce/Law at UNSW. I always wanted to do commerce or commerce international but when I got my ATAR I was euphoric and parents +friends +teachers convinced me, to place combined law at UNSW first on UAC!
Anyway, I hate areas of uncertainty and ambiguity, I hate talking in class and I hate the manipulation associate with law.
My family are pressuring me a lot and even friends are saying don't throw law away :( but I really don't want anything to do with it and just want to do single commerce and have balance.
Does anyone know anyone that has done this? Am I jeopardizing my future?
Thankyou
 

HeyJes

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

ok the exact situation as me been through last year
Unfortunately law is always uncertain and ambiguous and I guess you'll just need to live with that ...
 
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iheart1

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

Wow HEYjes congrats on making the change , I am too scared what others will say
 

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

Way too many people get a good ATAR and do law because they 'dont want to waste their atar.' Its why law has such a massive drop out rate.

If you realise law isnt for you dont do it. You can see get a good job and good employment through the commerce degree and you would be far from the first to drop law. Go for it and dont care what others think
 

iheart1

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

Way too many people get a good ATAR and do law because they 'dont want to waste their atar.' Its why law has such a massive drop out rate.

If you realise law isnt for you dont do it. You can see get a good job and good employment through the commerce degree and you would be far from the first to drop law. Go for it and dont care what others think

Thanks for that :)
And JD is possible for later on right....if I changed my mind
 

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

Don't do something because others want you to do it, because at the end of the day if it doesnt make you happy then whats the use? Do something you have a passion for, something you can see yourself succeeding in, something that makes you happy/satisfied. Law is only going to get tougher and if your only motivation is that 'parents/friends think its best' then the next couple of years are going to be hard to get through..
 

iheart1

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

thanks everyone
who here does single commerce degree.
what are your majors and how do you find it + the workload ?
 

iheart1

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

ive always been taught to honour my parents though, and what they've sacrificed for me to get into law (like tutoring etc) and they say I am letting them down :(
 

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Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major...

You are not jeopardising your future just because you don't study law.

My parents didn't want me to do law, based on your point, the manipulation associated with it.

As you mentioned you can do a JD as a post grad.

Do what your heart tells you to do but remember you should be studying something you want to pursue in the long run. Maybe I'm thinking of the money, but I really wouldn't waste anymore time, energy or money into something that won't benefit in the future. Especially something I don't want to pursue a career in.

Edit: I do straight comm. I plan to major in business law and accounting. For me, I see it as getting to do law but having it relate to the world of business. I don't know how naive that statement is, or uninformed but that's how I see it. Hahaha.
 

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

Granted, I have heard the first few law subjects are really.lame and boring but it gets more interesting after that, maybe stick it out for a while in case you just feel that way from how uni is going so far?
 

iheart1

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

thanks for the help.
I know, it will cost another $20k to do law :/ and another 2 years of my precious life. I just wannabe working already, ideally in a bank :)
I find law hard and deceitful...
business law and accounting ? @kiraken. is that a good combo? sounds fun!
 

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

If you are certain on Commerce, there is no real point sticking around with law. It will probably cause you more harm than good.

On a side note if you are finding the LLB programme difficult I would not recommend taking a JD programme later on. The LLB programme is designed to help you transition into law school. The JD programme is extremely difficult for a lot of people especially in the first semester when you are suddenly forced to do 4 law subjects in one semester.
 

iheart1

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

If you are certain on Commerce, there is no real point sticking around with law. It will probably cause you more harm than good.

On a side note if you are finding the LLB programme difficult I would not recommend taking a JD programme later on. The LLB programme is designed to help you transition into law school. The JD programme is extremely difficult for a lot of people especially in the first semester when you are suddenly forced to do 4 law subjects in one semester.

Thanks for the reply.
Iam pretty much set on commerce but the parents say I won't get a job! SO annoying.
 

hayleyemma96

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

thanks everyone
who here does single commerce degree.
what are your majors and how do you find it + the workload ?
I was doing business/law combined degree and I ended up dropping after 4 weeks.
Originally, I had decided I definitely wanted to do law and had to choose another degree that it would go with. I ended up loving business and hating law.
I'm majoring in accounting and doing a sub major in commercial law (the aspect of law I am most interested in)
 

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

I was doing business/law combined degree and I ended up dropping after 4 weeks.
Originally, I had decided I definitely wanted to do law and had to choose another degree that it would go with. I ended up loving business and hating law.
I'm majoring in accounting and doing a sub major in commercial law (the aspect of law I am most interested in)
wowowowowo exactly the same, just i am majoring in acct and media now
 

iheart1

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

you guys are inspiring :) family and friends say noone drops law this soon. btw just got my court report back yesterday and got 6.5/10 so definitely not law student material...
 

hayleyemma96

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

you guys are inspiring :) family and friends say noone drops law this soon. btw just got my court report back yesterday and got 6.5/10 so definitely not law student material...
A lot of people don't want to feel like they've failed or haven't tried so try stick it out even though they hate it.
My friend wants to drop it as well but he didn't drop before the census date.
He didn't want to seem like he didn't try so he's sticking it out for the semester
 

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Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major...

And if you want to completely get out of the commerce/law nonsense and do a single commerce degree, go to Melbourne Uni or UWA( Western Australia). They have followed the American model recently and they don't have anymore combined degrees. So the single degrees have full funding ie. Arts, Science, Commerce, Biomedicine etc.


They have moved law, medicine and engineering to postgraduate degrees.
 

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

Thanks for that :)
And JD is possible for later on right....if I changed my mind
JD is always possible but the majority of JD students I meet regret not doing the LLB while they had the chance because they've found that they've been limited in what they wanted to do with just their single Business or Commerce degree and now have to tough full time work with full time law in order to get where they want to get. I went through a similar thing as you did last year but all JD students tell me not to drop it and just flesh it out while I can because it'll be beneficial in the long run.

The only JD students I meet that don't regret not doing an LLB are unemployed and can afford the time put into law school or mature aged students just wanting to learn more about it

Edit: I do straight comm. I plan to major in business law and accounting. For me, I see it as getting to do law but having it relate to the world of business. I don't know how naive that statement is, or uninformed but that's how I see it. Hahaha.
Business Law is a watered down version of real law so it is quite naive :haha: What you get in Business Law subjects is a gist of what the laws surrounding something like Contracts are but in application you won't be able to actually do anything with that knowledge. Most people I know who do it end up dropping it and taking up something more practical like finance/accounting to add more employable skills to their palate.

And if you think about it there's no real use of a Business Law major because you'll be outsourcing any legal work to law firms or your in house legal team (if your company is big enough) anyway, and the most you'll be able to do with that knowledge is gain an expectation as to what the lawyers will come back with.

you guys are inspiring :) family and friends say noone drops law this soon. btw just got my court report back yesterday and got 6.5/10 so definitely not law student material...
A lot of people drop law after their first or second year. Foundies represent nothing close to proper law school so if you want, you can wait out the year and gain your opinion of whether you like law school after your first semester of real law subjects.

If it's investment banking you want to do, you'll need a law degree just to be on the same level as the other competitors. Working in a bank on its own is ridiculously difficult to get to, so you'll need to consider if you really think you'll be able to compete with everyone who hold a law degree and commerce degree applying for the same position with just your commerce degree. If you held a co-op at UNSW (worth applying for if you want to drop Law), you'll be able to make it easier. But a law degree will always be useful because of the skills and knowledge you will develop in the degree. Being at uni for another 2 years also isn't actually that bad. I know first hand how frustrating it is because you can't really do anything like preview programs or vaccies programs as early as other students but it also means that you have more time to maximise your experience and extra-curriculars and to get your name out to recruiters before you even apply. Being on something like the Business society at your uni can help with that incredibly, and having a law degree by your name is always going to be beneficial in your application.

It might also be relevant to know that PwC has gotten rid of their graduate programs, and it won't be long before the other Big 4s follow suit. This is just in the world of Accounting firms atm, which is no where the league working in a bank is. I have read that acceptance rates at banks are as low as 2-3% in literally thousands of applicants. Usually less than 20 people are accepted into graduate programs. Westpac had over 5000 applicants last year and picked 8 for internships/grad programs. This is all stats and knowledge you can find reading articles on Bloomberg or in the Financial Review and other finance publications.

IMO you should just stick it out, but I can understand that law school is retardedly intense and seemingly a waste of time if you don't engage with it at all, or if you don't even want to go into that field. But don't make the mistake of assuming you're the exception or on par with the exceptions you've heard of. Getting a job will involve so much more than just the degrees you hold. You're already in an advantageous position for what you want to achieve, so be conscious of that before you make the decision. Don't forget you might also be able to schedule your degree to be only doing commerce subjects for the first 2 or 3 years and delay your law subjects until later, giving you time to get the relevant experience you might need. I have a friend currently doing that and if he is able to get into the job he wants at an accounting firm or bank, he'll either keep law if the firm wants him to or drop it if they say it's not necessary.

Also a credit is a good mark for Law ;) Considering majority of students who don't fail pass, and that most law subjects have a <5% D rate and <2% HD rate a credit even if you're scraping it is good.
 

iheart1

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Re: Should I ditch combined law to do single commerce? Please help me in my major dil

WOW! Firstly, I would liek to thank you for such a thoughtful, insightful response.
You have really left me with concerns though, about my future and employment. Do you think commerce science or commerce arts could have the same benefits in setting me apart?
It isn't a good mark! The teacher said I lack legal writing skills D: which I am guessing is very important.
The idea of delaying law subjects to the end (and possibly graduating when finishig commerce if I find a job) is a good one, but I am worried it won't be approved/won't work.
Thanks alot




JD is always possible but the majority of JD students I meet regret not doing the LLB while they had the chance because they've found that they've been limited in what they wanted to do with just their single Business or Commerce degree and now have to tough full time work with full time law in order to get where they want to get. I went through a similar thing as you did last year but all JD students tell me not to drop it and just flesh it out while I can because it'll be beneficial in the long run.

The only JD students I meet that don't regret not doing an LLB are unemployed and can afford the time put into law school or mature aged students just wanting to learn more about it



Business Law is a watered down version of real law so it is quite naive :haha: What you get in Business Law subjects is a gist of what the laws surrounding something like Contracts are but in application you won't be able to actually do anything with that knowledge. Most people I know who do it end up dropping it and taking up something more practical like finance/accounting to add more employable skills to their palate.

And if you think about it there's no real use of a Business Law major because you'll be outsourcing any legal work to law firms or your in house legal team (if your company is big enough) anyway, and the most you'll be able to do with that knowledge is gain an expectation as to what the lawyers will come back with.



A lot of people drop law after their first or second year. Foundies represent nothing close to proper law school so if you want, you can wait out the year and gain your opinion of whether you like law school after your first semester of real law subjects.

If it's investment banking you want to do, you'll need a law degree just to be on the same level as the other competitors. Working in a bank on its own is ridiculously difficult to get to, so you'll need to consider if you really think you'll be able to compete with everyone who hold a law degree and commerce degree applying for the same position with just your commerce degree. If you held a co-op at UNSW (worth applying for if you want to drop Law), you'll be able to make it easier. But a law degree will always be useful because of the skills and knowledge you will develop in the degree. Being at uni for another 2 years also isn't actually that bad. I know first hand how frustrating it is because you can't really do anything like preview programs or vaccies programs as early as other students but it also means that you have more time to maximise your experience and extra-curriculars and to get your name out to recruiters before you even apply. Being on something like the Business society at your uni can help with that incredibly, and having a law degree by your name is always going to be beneficial in your application.

It might also be relevant to know that PwC has gotten rid of their graduate programs, and it won't be long before the other Big 4s follow suit. This is just in the world of Accounting firms atm, which is no where the league working in a bank is. I have read that acceptance rates at banks are as low as 2-3% in literally thousands of applicants. Usually less than 20 people are accepted into graduate programs. Westpac had over 5000 applicants last year and picked 8 for internships/grad programs. This is all stats and knowledge you can find reading articles on Bloomberg or in the Financial Review and other finance publications.

IMO you should just stick it out, but I can understand that law school is retardedly intense and seemingly a waste of time if you don't engage with it at all, or if you don't even want to go into that field. But don't make the mistake of assuming you're the exception or on par with the exceptions you've heard of. Getting a job will involve so much more than just the degrees you hold. You're already in an advantageous position for what you want to achieve, so be conscious of that before you make the decision. Don't forget you might also be able to schedule your degree to be only doing commerce subjects for the first 2 or 3 years and delay your law subjects until later, giving you time to get the relevant experience you might need. I have a friend currently doing that and if he is able to get into the job he wants at an accounting firm or bank, he'll either keep law if the firm wants him to or drop it if they say it's not necessary.

Also a credit is a good mark for Law ;) Considering majority of students who don't fail pass, and that most law subjects have a <5% D rate and <2% HD rate a credit even if you're scraping it is good.
 

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