Transferring to Sci/Law at USyd - Question (1 Viewer)

[Twintip]

Okay, that's basically my goal. I'm not expecting that magical 99.6, my current estimates predict about 98+. What courses would be best to transfer to sci/law after 1st year? Either like adv Science at USyd (which is 96.something) or sci/law at another Uni, for example (the UAC site is crap, I can't find out the 2002 cut-offs and we haven't been given that fat book at school yet).

What are some good options? I know you need to do well first year and that they consider your UAI for half of the weighting and your 1st year results for the other half when they determine whether you're accepted or not... If that makes sense.

 

[Lazarus]

You can access the past cut-offs from the tertiary -> university section on the main part of this website.

I spent a year doing advanced science before transferring to law. I'd strongly recommend taking as many units of study in the 'advanced' stream as possible; really pays off in terms of scaling (which isn't nearly as equitable as it is for the HSC). The alternative is to do the easiest units of study, which should, logically, be easy to do well in, but you're sort of setting yourself up for a big fall then when you transfer, heh.

The advantage to doing combined law at another university is that you won't have to catch up law units of study when you transfer (except for Macquarie, where you have to catch up just one of the first-year courses, instead of both). And in fact, if you transfer from UTS, you'll be exempted from a second year unit of study as well (public law). Personally, I prefer the catch-up option... the idea of a law education split between universities seems iffy to me.

A UAI of 98.00 would have needed the following grade averages:

USYD
2002 Main Round - GPA of 5.50 (halfway between C and D average)
2003 Main Round - GPA of 5.90 (essentially D average)
2003 Late Round - GPA of 6.00 (D average)

UNSW
2003 Main Round - GPA of 5.80 (almost D average)

 

[Twintip]

What sort of benefit did you get from having done a full year of science? I'm guessing it didn't completely 'cancel out' the law units you hadn't done, but is there stuff that you don't have to do this year that the original combined people do? I guess what I want to know it how much time did you lose? 6 months overall?

So would advanced science be a good op? When you talk about law education being split between universities when you transfer from a Law degree at, say, UTS, does that mean that when you get your degree it'll say '1st year done at UTS' or something or will it just be a USyd law degree like everyone elses? That may seem like a stupid question but I have no idea.

Thanks

 

[Lazarus]

Well, I was given credit for all of the science units of study I'd taken at USYD. I'll give you an outline of the typical program structure at UNSW, divided by years and semesters -


<table cellspacing=5><tr><td><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica" size="2" >Pure
Year 1
Foundations of Law (6 cp)
Science units of study (18 cp)
---
Torts (6 cp)
Science units of study (18 cp)

Year 2
Contracts 1 (3 cp)
Public Law (3 cp)
Criminal Law 1 (6 cp)
Science units of study (12 cp)
---
Contracts 2 (6 cp)
Criminal Law 2 (6 cp)
Science units of study (12 cp)

Year 3
Property, Equity & Trusts 1 (6 cp)
Law, Lawyers & Society (6 cp)
Science units of study (12 cp)

---
Property & Equity 2 (6 cp)
Administrative Law (6 cp)
Science units of study (12 cp)

<td><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica" size="2" >Transfer
Year 1
Science units of study (24 cp)

---
Science units of study (24 cp)


Year 2
Foundations of Law (6 cp)
Contracts 1 (3 cp)
Public Law (3 cp)
Science units of study (12 cp)
---
Torts (6 cp)
Contracts 2 (6 cp)
Science units of study (12 cp)

Year 3
Criminal Law 1 (6 cp)
Property, Equity & Trusts 1 (6 cp)
Law, Lawyers & Society (6 cp)
Science units of study (12 cp)
---
Criminal Law 2 (6 cp)
Property & Equity 2 (6 cp)
Administrative Law (6 cp)
Science units of study (12 cp)</table>


The normal course load is 24 credit points per semester. The transfer student is forced to overload in third year, if they make no other arrangements (and still wish to complete the combined degree in the alotted five years). That's the situation I'll be in, unless I'm successful in working out a compromise with the computer science department.

I could avoid overloading by tacking another semester on to the end of my degree, but I don't particularly want to do that. There are dozens of transfer students, so I'm sure they'll have created some kind of popular arrangement in the past - though I haven't had time to look into exactly what that is yet.

With regard to your second query; whilst you will graduate with a degree from USYD (and it will state that on your transcript), it will also show your first-year courses as being undertaken at another university. I dislike the idea mainly due to the fact that each law school has their own agenda and emphasises different things; UNSW law is taught fairly differently to USYD law, for example. Don't ask me which is "better".

Hope some of that incoherent mess helped.

 

[Twintip]

Yep, thanks Laz, makes perfect sense. Is anyone else in a similar position?

 

[jessika]

Originally posted by Twintip
Yep, thanks Laz, makes perfect sense. Is anyone else in a similar position?

was sorta, still undecided on whether Im going to transfer yet though.

 

[Lazarus]

Originally posted by Asquithian
UNSW is the BETTER law school

Well... you do have a point there.

I stopped listening to my foundations tutor when she told us that we should be up to our sixth draft one week after receiving the assignment.

 

[kini mini]

Originally posted by Lazarus
Well... you do have a point there.

I stopped listening to my foundations tutor when she told us that we should be up to our sixth draft one week after receiving the assignment.

I hear yours is apparently the best torts teacher, perhaps I heard wrong .

 

[Lazarus]

Originally posted by kini mini
I hear yours is apparently the best torts teacher, perhaps I heard wrong .

Admittedly, she certainly knows her stuff... and she's actually quite a good tutor... but some expectations are just too high.

 

[kini mini]

Originally posted by Lazarus
Admittedly, she certainly knows her stuff... and she's actually quite a good tutor... but some expectations are just too high.

LOL she must be murder with the CP marks!

Apparently Annie, the Tu/Thu 11/1 teacher, replies to most questions with "If you'd done the readings you'd know that", or words to that effect .

 

[Lazarus]

Originally posted by kini mini
LOL she must be murder with the CP marks!
Apparently Annie, the Tu/Thu 11/1 teacher, replies to most questions with "If you'd done the readings you'd know that", or words to that effect .

rofl! That sounds terrible. I don't even know whether most of our class does the readings... there are generally only two or three people who can actually be bothered to say or ask something (inc. myself). We just share knowing smiles with our tutor when her requests are answered with silence. And then she explains the answer, which is nice.

Hmm... we weren't given estimate CP marks, and the final ones won't be decided until the end of this week. But I don't think they'll be anything unexpected.

Originally posted by Asquithian
LAZ who is your tutor?

Christine Forster. If you want some inside info, she's apparently attempting to claim the Tue/Thur 2pm - 4pm class next session. Though I'm not sure if you'll want to switch. Most of us are transfers... don't know if I'll end up choosing that class either (am trying to arrange for a day off).

 

[kini mini]

Originally posted by Lazarus

Christine Forster. If you want some inside info, she's apparently attempting to claim the Tue/Thur 2pm - 4pm class next session. Though I'm not sure if you'll want to switch. Most of us are transfers... don't know if I'll end up choosing that class either (am trying to arrange for a day off).

Asq - M transferred out of that class to stay with us, Christine F will be taking it next session according to the levell 10 people. I like the time slot and the people so I'm going to stay .

 

[lexie]

Originally posted by Lazarus
I spent a year doing advanced science before transferring to law. I'd strongly recommend taking as many units of study in the 'advanced' stream as possible; really pays off in terms of scaling (which isn't nearly as equitable as it is for the HSC). The alternative is to do the easiest units of study, which should, logically, be easy to do well in, but you're sort of setting yourself up for a big fall then when you transfer, heh.

Lazarus, just wanted to ask if there is any way I can find out how subjects at usyd are ranked/scaled in this process. I'm planning to transfer into comb law after just completing 1st year of a b economics. Wanted to clarify my chances of getting an offer

Cheers

 

[Lazarus]

None of that sort of info is published, sorry - we only know that 'advanced' subjects scale better than the corresponding 'normal' ones.