Law marks for a first-year student (2 Viewers)

[pmtennis]

hey,

i recently finished my VCE and attained 99.70 (47 in english) and am now planning to do com/law at monash (i like the course their better than at melb and i truly believe due to a range of factors ultimately my marks will be better at monash and i will enjoy monash more than at melb....hence this is why i am going to monash despite being comfortably able to go to melb com/law).

and to my question....


i just wanted some advice from law students/grads with experience on marks and exams and studying law. having read the forums and talked to a few people i will definately become involved in sports and clubs and be members of councils to have leadership qualities etc etc and i am aiming to get 70-75 for my law units.

i just wanted to know how hard that is to achieve? is it basically that if i study, do the work and be consistent with it all that i can achieve this? i made sure that i dramatically improved my english and essay writing skills/speed though out the year (i ended up getting 47 for english (top 1% of all eng students in VCE.)) or is there more to that in law?

please reply with ur expereinces and ideas.....

 

[Frigid]

Re: Law Advice (marks) 4 a 1st year

is it basically that if i study, do the work and be consistent with it all that i can achieve this? i made sure that i dramatically improved my english and essay writing skills/speed though out the year (i ended up getting 47 for english (top 1% of all eng students in VCE.)) or is there more to that in law?

the above, and getting used to the volume of reading, note-making skill and exam experience.

 

[LaraB]

Re: Law Advice (marks) 4 a 1st year

Provided you do your work it won't be hard, as said above and as you sort of said yourself.

You can even be lazy (like me lol) and do the bare minimum and comfortably get those marks provided you work when it counts.

Obviously not as easy as a 70-75 at school, but it's not as hard as people carry on.

You seem like you have half a brain if you're capable of a UAI of that range, so do your work, turn up to class, get used to legal research, be prepared to take on lots of less than inetresting readings and you'll be fine

 

[pmtennis]

Re: Law Advice (marks) 4 a 1st year

yeah thanks for the compliments and advice

in regards to the boring readings and volume of theory work, thats (in a weird way to most others) was so appealing for me in law. i am one of those guys who just loves theory, i would rather try to learn a whole slab of text than do some experiments or pracs, and hence law i felt suited me cause i liked that cause that is one of my strenghts.

btw, what r the volumes of readings? and is the study like school? i/e study for a few hours each day consistently (thats what i did in VCE, studied consistently and didnt need to cram what so ever at the end) or is it just cramming?

 

[MoonlightSonata]

Re: Law Advice (marks) 4 a 1st year

Even with all the extra-curricular activities you plan to do, you should still be aiming for Distinctions (75+).

You don't have to work yourself to death to get them. Just do all your readings, attend all your classes, and keep up-to-date notes for your subjects.

 

[pmtennis]

Re: Law Advice (marks) 4 a 1st year

also, i know this might be a tedious question, but what marks range should i be aiming for (with some extra-cirricular stuff and hopefully an exchange overseas for a semester) to make me stand out and get interviews and be a good shot at the top 10 law firms in aus? i am thinking that 70-75% (top 15% or so of the cohort) is perhaps in my range....good enough??

 

[Frigid]

if you want to stand out, i wouldn't settle for anything less than 75 average.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

Re: Law Advice (marks) 4 a 1st year

also, i know this might be a tedious question, but what marks range should i be aiming for (with some extra-cirricular stuff and hopefully an exchange overseas for a semester) to make me stand out and get interviews and be a good shot at the top 10 law firms in aus? i am thinking that 70-75% (top 15% or so of the cohort) is perhaps in my range....good enough??

For top 6 you'll be wanting a D average

It really is not hard to balance D's with extra-curricular activities. Though if you'll be employed then I suppose you have to also factor that in.

 

[_dhj_]

I think it depends on whether you're interested in law. Having received a similar uni entrance mark, it seems that comfortable distinctions are achievable for first year law subjects without doing all the readings etc., although I'm struggling a bit in commerce.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

comfortable distinctions are achievable for first year law subjects without doing all the readings etc.,

Indeed

 

[pmtennis]

yeah i will be employeed, try to work around 8 hrs of week and also i will be living on campus, so these r the 2 major factors for me that pose their own individual advantages and disadvantages

 

[existentialist]

speaking of English, you know what's funny...

monash re-ranks their middle band according to English study scores, melbourne does not.

So, in UMelb's eyes, someone who got 99.50 with 35 for eng would be more favourable a candidate than someone who got, say, 99.30 and 49 for english.... doesn't make much sense to me.

i would have thought that Engilsh would be most pertinent to studying law..

 

[Baiku]

hey,

i recently finished my VCE and attained 99.70 (47 in english) and am now planning to do com/law at monash (i like the course their better than at melb and i truly believe due to a range of factors ultimately my marks will be better at monash and i will enjoy monash more than at melb....hence this is why i am going to monash despite being comfortably able to go to melb com/law).

and to my question....


i just wanted some advice from law students/grads with experience on marks and exams and studying law. having read the forums and talked to a few people i will definately become involved in sports and clubs and be members of councils to have leadership qualities etc etc and i am aiming to get 70-75 for my law units.

i just wanted to know how hard that is to achieve? is it basically that if i study, do the work and be consistent with it all that i can achieve this? i made sure that i dramatically improved my english and essay writing skills/speed though out the year (i ended up getting 47 for english (top 1% of all eng students in VCE.)) or is there more to that in law?

please reply with ur expereinces and ideas.....

Well done on your ENTER and looking forward to seeing you at Monash

I made the same choice as you did a year ago, doing commerce/law at Monash and I had a great year and met heaps of amazing people, I don't regret the decision at all.

That being said, I did absolutely no work at all last year (only got up to week 2 of recommended reading for my law subjects) and still got about a 71 average - it isn't that hard to do well, I definitely wouldn't stress about it. Keep your goals in mind and you will have no trouble getting the marks you want.

I am also heavily involved in clubs and committees at Monash. I'm the 1st year rep for law, and as such you shall meet me on your enrolment day in a few weeks (if you do end up at Monash) where I shall persuade you to join me on the 1st year camp and involve yourself in the mentor program we are organising.

See you then

 

[existentialist]

I'm doing comm/law at monash too, so i guess i'll be seeing you guys around.

 

[Baiku]

I'll see you at enrolment too, then.

 

[pmtennis]

thanks baiku for the advice, i will sure to see u at enrolment day on 24 Jan, i'll ask lots of questions so be prepared! haha

how is that u can do so little work and still get a D average, from what i have heard D's in law are top 20% of the cohort. Does that mean not too many law students are doing well or just that u are really smart?

 

[trishan]

For those comm/law people at Monash,could you please fill me in on why exactly you chose/are choosing Monash over UniMelb. Maybe it will sway me enough to do an irregular offer for Monash...although the location is just so annoying...

 

[pmtennis]

well in my opinion which has been shaped due to countless ppl i have talked to whom have shared their experience, at the end of the day there is very little diff between monash and melb. the major concern for most is the prestege of melb over monash and ppl think that if they go to melb they will get jobs at the top firms far more easily had they gone to monash. this perception is false in my opinion, because at the end of the day all the top law firms want ppl with good marks and a range of extra-cirricular activities and they won't reject ppl just cause they go to monash.

however, the is quite a large drop off from melb and monash to the next few uni's. the other uni's like deakin/vic uni are all underrepresented and law students struggle to find jobs in top firms going to these uni's. perhaps this will change in the future, who knows?

 

[MoonlightSonata]

Oh stick with Melbourne. Sir Owen Dixon went there after all

 

[existentialist]

- monash is a lot bigger (biggest campus in aust; has its own postcode and suburb apparently). monash is a bigger fishtank.

melb has a certain air to it... you have those old, tawdry, pretentious buildings and less places to actually enjoy yourself... the law faculty however is new, with its aesthetically appealing blue glass and that... however it still doesnt have the facilities monash does...the city is cramped. i didnt really get time to check it all out - i was only there only for the law info session.

-monash is generally more centralised, whereas melb has faculties dispersed throughout the city (well law at least)

- you're going to be there for 5+ years, which is a LONG time, virtually like all of high school, so think hard about it

Personally, the environment i'm in drastically affects my well being, focus, and, most prevalently, my marks. I think i'll be happier and i'll do better at monash.

-monash always has bbqs n stuff going on

-monash has a myriad clubs, even a skydiving club

-melb's higher ranking is mainly due to research and stuff like that which has little relevance to undergrad study. although employers probably are going to favour a melb graduate with the same marks, i don't think it's worth it

-monash law will be the most coveted course in 2008 and onwards as the melb model is realised

Just take a walk through Monash... coffee shops, eateries, cinemas etc

i don't know. at the end of the day, its up to you... just remember that you'll be there for 5+ years -- most likely 6-7 if you want to spealise in an area of law and/or commerce --