Tertiary and Continuing Law/Arts at Deakin

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deeman12

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I've put this down as my second preference, and will most probably end up getting it. However, I'm a bit concerned that I'll be at a severe disadvantage to Law graduates from Monash and Melbourne because a prospective employer will prefer them over a La Trobe or Deakin graduate.

I'm now considering doing International Relations at La Trobe for one year and then transferring into Law because it's a better degree than the one offered at Deakin. With that said, I don't want to run the risk of being unable to transfer into the Law after the one year because I haven't achieved the scores necessary to facilitate a transfer.

Any advice from aspiring or current law students would be much appreciated.
 
deeman12 said:
I've put this down as my second preference, and will most probably end up getting it. However, I'm a bit concerned that I'll be at a severe disadvantage to Law graduates from Monash and Melbourne because a prospective employer will prefer them over a La Trobe or Deakin graduate.

I'm now considering doing International Relations at La Trobe for one year and then transferring into Law because it's a better degree than the one offered at Deakin. With that said, I don't want to run the risk of being unable to transfer into the Law after the one year because I haven't achieved the scores necessary to facilitate a transfer.

Any advice from aspiring or current law students would be much appreciated.
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It is possible to transfer from Deakin Arts/Law to Monash Arts/Law, but not to Melbourne, as per the new Melbourne model. So that is also a possibility. I'm assuming Monash is your first preference.

Although you could do a JD at Melbourne after an Arts degree. I'm considering it after my degree, after I get some cash after a few years working in my field.

Bear in mind I'm not a law student, just know a fair few of them. :D
 
cartel said:
It is possible to transfer from Deakin Arts/Law to Monash Arts/Law, but not to Melbourne, as per the new Melbourne model. So that is also a possibility. I'm assuming Monash is your first preference.

Although you could do a JD at Melbourne after an Arts degree. I'm considering it after my degree, after I get some cash after a few years working in my field.

Bear in mind I'm not a law student, just know a fair few of them. :D
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Nah, Law/International Relations is my first preference, but I didn't score well enough to gain a first round offer. I'm still hoping for a second or final round offer though.

Arts at Melbourne is basically out of the question. The requisites required to get into the JD are untenable in my opinion. It's too much of a gamble because the likelihood of missing out is high if you **** up the tests and can't maintain impeccable scores throughout the duration of your course.

It's either Law/Arts at Deakin or International Relations at La Trobe with the view of transfering to the law. I'm really unsure at the moment. :confused:
 

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If you decide to transfer to another law school from Deakin you will not get very many subjects credited. Monash does two semesters on all major law subjects such as contract, tort, criminal etc. Deakin only does one, and with a heavy commercial emphasis.

From my experiences, Deakin has a bit of a watered down law course (as does La Trobe and Vic) simply because they don't study certain areas as much. I don't doubt that gives Monash and Melbourne kids a head up above other candidates. But that said, if you get good marks and do the hard yards to get a seasonal clerkship/articles etc. there is no limit to what you can achieve.

I did a year of Arts at Melbourne, decided i didn't like it and transfered to Arts/Law at Monash. I had a 75% average, so it's far from impossible. I'd recommend doing similar to anyone who didn't get into law straight out of VCE.

If your heart is set on Deakin, there's nothing holding you back going there. Do what you want, not what others think you should.
 
jonoman89 said:
If you decide to transfer to another law school from Deakin you will not get very many subjects credited. Monash does two semesters on all major law subjects such as contract, tort, criminal etc. Deakin only does one, and with a heavy commercial emphasis.

From my experiences, Deakin has a bit of a watered down law course (as does La Trobe and Vic) simply because they don't study certain areas as much. I don't doubt that gives Monash and Melbourne kids a head up above other candidates. But that said, if you get good marks and do the hard yards to get a seasonal clerkship/articles etc. there is no limit to what you can achieve.

I did a year of Arts at Melbourne, decided i didn't like it and transfered to Arts/Law at Monash. I had a 75% average, so it's far from impossible. I'd recommend doing similar to anyone who didn't get into law straight out of VCE.

If your heart is set on Deakin, there's nothing holding you back going there. Do what you want, not what others think you should.
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I swung past Deakin the other day and I was impressed with their facilities and set up of the campus. They also had a couple of footy fields and a Gym which sweetned the deal, and there were some hot girls, which sweetened the deal even more. :thumbsu:

Anyway I figure that if I work hard, get good results and put myself out there, then I should be fine.

Thanks for the advice. :thumbsu:
 
You can do Law at Deakin and still get a good job at the other end, I did Comm and a few of the guys who did Comm/Law have done quite well for themselves as lawyers.
 
Abba Lonie said:
You can do Law at Deakin and still get a good job at the other end, I did Comm and a few of the guys who did Comm/Law have done quite well for themselves as lawyers.
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What's the student life like at Deakin? I saw heaps of Indians the other day. Is the place flooded with Internationals, the same way Melb Uni is?
Are the political groups any good, sports groups? Is the gym any good, or is it reserved for people who study sports?
 
I don't employ people myself , but I would have thought uni's would only be looked at if they couldn't split applicants after interview and psychological testing. Or maybe I'm being naive.
But yeah doing well and then transferring is your best option if you're absolutely set on it.
 
bucksisbest said:
I don't employ people myself , but I would have thought uni's would only be looked at if they couldn't split applicants after interview and psychological testing. Or maybe I'm being naive.
But yeah doing well and then transferring is your best option if you're absolutely set on it.
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Probably true, but the depressing thing about studying a combined law arts/commerce at a second tier university is that unfortunately the university name on the top of your transcript may prevent you from even getting an interview at a lot of places.

Especially given the current job climate, (more competition for fewer grad places/incentive for a firm to reduce recruitment costs) they have to cut down the talent pool somehow. Therefore often you won't even get a chance to 'sell yourself' in the interview.

Having said that, opportunities for Deakin graduates are out there with reputable firms.

I have law/commerce at deakin, one thing I can tell you is this, good marks are very obtainable as you can often opt to take 100% exams (if you feel this is preferable to completing assignments and then taking a 50-70% weighted exams).

I was impressed with the quality of the teaching on the law side of things, but after 2nd year there are no tutorials, only lectures. This is one downside.

My advice would be to start the LLB somewhere, whether it be at La Trobe or Deakin, and then transfer to Monash if you can at the end of first year. I had a friend do this at the end of his first year and I think he only had to repeat 2 subjects.
 
Major misconception here I'm happy to tell you.

I'm at Deakin and have had conversations with at least 10 recruiting partners at law firms around Melbourne. Deakin vs Monash is nothing. Each person is assessed on their merit. If your marks are high enough (greater than 75 average) and are an employable person, you will get interviews most everywhere.

That said, it is not hard to transfer to another uni if your heart is set on it, but beware, some units will not count for credit upon transfer.
 
Law at Deakin is very very good and this is the reason I want to stay there and do it after I have finished my undergraduate in Commerce. It is a very highly regarded course right now and has some of the best lecturers and staff anywhere. I found this out from doing the Commercial Law major. What you do need to realise though is they are very heavy on the Commercial/business law subjects especially in terms of electives. The myth about graduates and where they studied is now rubbish. It doesn't matter where you finished, as long as you have done reasonably well. Some employers actually prefer Deakin graduates, especially in the business fields such as taxation and corporations law.

Uni Life there is good, except for the fact that DUFF who used to run the on-campus parties had to move off shore because of a certain party having the riot police called in at the end of the night. Sports are run and played at AUG and SUGs but you need to note that due to the uni now giving you a break in the 2nd trimester, you will come back and have 1 and 1/2 weeks before exams.

Gym is cheap at $23 per week approximately and has good equipment coupled with other benefits such as free classes and use of basketball courts etc.

Only downsides are having to walk across the creek for parking in order to guarantee a park, 3 days of swot vac and the possibility of having a 6PM exam or 3 in a day :(.

Happy to help if you are after more info.
 
dymmot said:
Law at Deakin is very very good and this is the reason I want to stay there and do it after I have finished my undergraduate in Commerce. It is a very highly regarded course right now and has some of the best lecturers and staff anywhere. I found this out from doing the Commercial Law major. What you do need to realise though is they are very heavy on the Commercial/business law subjects especially in terms of electives. The myth about graduates and where they studied is now rubbish. It doesn't matter where you finished, as long as you have done reasonably well. Some employers actually prefer Deakin graduates, especially in the business fields such as taxation and corporations law.

Uni Life there is good, except for the fact that DUFF who used to run the on-campus parties had to move off shore because of a certain party having the riot police called in at the end of the night. Sports are run and played at AUG and SUGs but you need to note that due to the uni now giving you a break in the 2nd trimester, you will come back and have 1 and 1/2 weeks before exams.

Gym is cheap at $23 per week approximately and has good equipment coupled with other benefits such as free classes and use of basketball courts etc.

Only downsides are having to walk across the creek for parking in order to guarantee a park, 3 days of swot vac and the possibility of having a 6PM exam or 3 in a day :(.

Happy to help if you are after more info.
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Does this mean that I'll need Maths skills? I was under the impression from a number of sources that a Law degree requires little to no maths skill. I'm terrible at maths and I don't want to do a Law course which I'll hate.
 

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deeman12 said:
Does this mean that I'll need Maths skills? I was under the impression from a number of sources that a Law degree requires little to no maths skill. I'm terrible at maths and I don't want to do a Law course which I'll hate.
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No, definately not. Well on the law side definately. The Commercial Law side they give you half an exam worth of calculations and some people's final mark was only a credit because of it despite getting a HD for the law part of the exam :confused:.

Commercial law is things like banking law which looks at the rights of a bank to take a lien over a property etc due to a defaulting creditor. Because you are doing a double degree (or intend to), you will only have to do 24 law units like me and 20 of them are compulsory. 2 or 3 of your electives are advisable to be taken at level 4 so you can go for the honours program. Also, use the 3 trimesters for your Arts component and possibly your law component so you can knock it off earlier and concentrate more on less load.

If you get in, go see a course adviser after you enrol. They are really helpful and had I seen one earlier, I wouldn't have wasted a trimester of Uni.
 
dymmot said:
Law at Deakin is very very good and this is the reason I want to stay there and do it after I have finished my undergraduate in Commerce. It is a very highly regarded course right now and has some of the best lecturers and staff anywhere. I found this out from doing the Commercial Law major. What you do need to realise though is they are very heavy on the Commercial/business law subjects especially in terms of electives. The myth about graduates and where they studied is now rubbish. It doesn't matter where you finished, as long as you have done reasonably well. Some employers actually prefer Deakin graduates, especially in the business fields such as taxation and corporations law.

Uni Life there is good, except for the fact that DUFF who used to run the on-campus parties had to move off shore because of a certain party having the riot police called in at the end of the night. Sports are run and played at AUG and SUGs but you need to note that due to the uni now giving you a break in the 2nd trimester, you will come back and have 1 and 1/2 weeks before exams.

Gym is cheap at $23 per week approximately and has good equipment coupled with other benefits such as free classes and use of basketball courts etc.

Only downsides are having to walk across the creek for parking in order to guarantee a park, 3 days of swot vac and the possibility of having a 6PM exam or 3 in a day :(.

Happy to help if you are after more info.
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:eek: whaaaat!?

Not cheap, that's approximately $1000 a year. At ANU we pay $300 for thhe year
 
dymmot said:
No, definately not. Well on the law side definately. The Commercial Law side they give you half an exam worth of calculations and some people's final mark was only a credit because of it despite getting a HD for the law part of the exam :confused:.

Commercial law is things like banking law which looks at the rights of a bank to take a lien over a property etc due to a defaulting creditor. Because you are doing a double degree (or intend to), you will only have to do 24 law units like me and 20 of them are compulsory. 2 or 3 of your electives are advisable to be taken at level 4 so you can go for the honours program. Also, use the 3 trimesters for your Arts component and possibly your law component so you can knock it off earlier and concentrate more on less load.

If you get in, go see a course adviser after you enrol. They are really helpful and had I seen one earlier, I wouldn't have wasted a trimester of Uni.
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Man I'm really concerned about the commercial law requiring good maths skills. I'm really shocking, so shocking I failed year 10 maths! :eek:

Are you studying at Burwood or the Waurn Ponds campus in Geelong? I considered Geelong, but I got a good enough score for Burwood though.
 
skelly12 said:
:eek: whaaaat!?

Not cheap, that's approximately $1000 a year. At ANU we pay $300 for thhe year
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Sorry, fortnight. But is definately worth it with the other benefits, range of equipment, option to suspend/cancel with little to no financial penalties, the range of classes, the basketball courts and free usage, discounted team sports and its location.
 
dymmot said:
Sorry, fortnight. But is definately worth it with the other benefits, range of equipment, option to suspend/cancel with little to no financial penalties, the range of classes, the basketball courts and free usage, discounted team sports and its location.
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Are the girls at uni hot? I saw heaps of Indians, but I'm not really interested in the Internationals.
 
deeman12 said:
Man I'm really concerned about the commercial law requiring good maths skills. I'm really shocking, so shocking I failed year 10 maths! :eek:

Are you studying at Burwood or the Waurn Ponds campus in Geelong? I considered Geelong, but I got a good enough score for Burwood though.
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You need zero math skills for any law unit.

Commerce units can require maths; law units do not.

Don't sweat it
 
deeman12 said:
Are the girls at uni hot? I saw heaps of Indians, but I'm not really interested in the Internationals.
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Yeah man they are seriously some of the best of any uni in Melbourne :D:thumbsu:. There are only Indians there now cause they are the ones who take up T3 as it is marketed and designed for them and they do the courses which have the subjets offered in it. Wait till T1. Different ballgame.
 
It's $23 a fortnight, not a week ;)

I'm applying for medicine at Deakin...does anybody know anything about the course, whether it's any good, what it's like?
 
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