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March 29, 2024, 11:01:47 am

Author Topic: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)  (Read 18546 times)

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ellellen

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Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« on: September 25, 2017, 10:35:39 pm »
+17
Howdy !! 🤠

I'm Ellen, and I graduated high school in 2015 with an ATAR of 96.55.
My score wasn't high enough to get me into my ~dream course~ of Arts/Law at Monash, so i studied Arts at Monash for a year, and this year I transferred into Arts/Law!

When I say that Arts/Law was my dream course, that pretty much means that i had nO clue what i wanted to study at uni OR what career i wanted after uni. The subjects i studied at high school were so diverse and i didn't know which specific areas i wanted to go into. i went to a few open days and thought "ahh i guess law seems interesting?? i like legal studies ? and arts sounds fun maybe, because i enjoy history !?!! who knows !"

In my first year of uni I studied history, journalism, politics, and media & communications. I loved all of these subjects but still aimed to transfer into Arts/Law, because why not?

So currently I am in my second year of an Arts degree and first year of a Law degree. My Arts major is history, and my Arts minor is journalism (I had to drop politics and media when I transferred). At the moment i'm really enjoying my subjects, and I feel that Arts/Law was probably the right choice for me. I am still so so so unsure about what to do after uni, but that's a problem for future ellen (i've got around 4 more years of my degree to go, so plenty of time to work it out)

Feel free to ask me anything you like about arts, law, the transfer process, uni in general, or anything else !
VCE 2015: Biology | History Revs | English | Legal Studies | Media | Methods
ATAR: 96.55

Currently: Arts/Law at Monash University - History Major, Journalism Minor

strawberries

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #1 on: September 25, 2017, 10:39:48 pm »
+6
Hi Ellen welcome to AN :)

great to have another arts kid on board! :D
VCE '15
don't let dreams be dreams

ellellen

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #2 on: September 25, 2017, 10:49:11 pm »
+9
Haha thanks! :)

I've been on AN for years, but haven't logged in for a while and forgotten my login details, so i've had to make a new account! I just remember how useful AN was for me during VCE so thought I should give back to the community :)
VCE 2015: Biology | History Revs | English | Legal Studies | Media | Methods
ATAR: 96.55

Currently: Arts/Law at Monash University - History Major, Journalism Minor

peterpiper

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2017, 11:05:47 pm »
+4
Haha thanks! :)

I've been on AN for years, but haven't logged in for a while and forgotten my login details, so i've had to make a new account! I just remember how useful AN was for me during VCE so thought I should give back to the community :)


You must keep us updated. I'm going to be expecting updates and you will give me UPDATES (*peers through your window ominously in the shadows*). No I'm kidding, this will be really interesting and I look forward to reading what you have to say about the course, since I've also put this amongst other courses in my list of maybe-I-should-do-this. Thanks for posting! :)
2017: VCE COMPLETED

ellellen

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2017, 11:22:05 pm »
+3
omgggg i will make sure to give lots of updates!!!

also btw nice bojack quote ;)
VCE 2015: Biology | History Revs | English | Legal Studies | Media | Methods
ATAR: 96.55

Currently: Arts/Law at Monash University - History Major, Journalism Minor

katie,rinos

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2017, 11:24:20 pm »
+6
Hey Ellen,
Looking forward to your future updates. :)
What units are you studying with history? Would love to study history (have bachelor of arts down as some of my choices)! :D
Class of 2017 (Year 12): Advanced English, General Maths, Legal Studies, Music 1, Ancient History, History Extension, Hospitality
2018-2022: B Music/B Education (Secondary) [UNSW]

ellellen

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #6 on: September 26, 2017, 12:03:58 am »
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So far I've completed 4 history units:

1st year:
  • Medieval Europe
  • Nations at War: the twentieth century

2nd year:
  • Struggles for justice: The history of rebellion, resistance and revolt
  • The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany

The unit i did on 20th century history was honestly the best unit i've done so far out of any subject in my degree. There's so much interesting content, very similar to what you would do for twentieth century history in VCE units 1&2 but just a LOT more in depth. One thing especially cool about the unit was that when talking about the world wars it didn't just focus on Europe and the USA; it focused a lot on the effects that war had in Asia and Africa which I knew very little about, and found super interesting. I highly recommend it to everyone!!!

All my other history units have been really great too. Medieval Europe was good, and while I found it really enjoyable, it mainly helped me realise that I had more of an interest in modern history. But ultimately, it all depends on what area of history you're most interested in, and at Monash in your first year they give you the ability to explore a few different areas of history to help you gain a better idea of what you'll like :)

Struggles for justice was alright. It was a cornerstone unit which meant it was compulsory for me to choose between it and 1 other unit for my degree. It focused on different kinds of challenges to power that occurred from like the 1300s to the present day, all over the world. I learnt about a lot of things I had never heard of before (like Chipko movement in India in the 1970s), and I got to learn more about things I already had a vague idea of (like American Slavery).

Nazi Germany is the unit i'm currently undertaking. It's an elective, so I had a really long list of units I could choose from to study this semester, and I chose Nazi Gemany! While I've found the lecture content to be a bit dry, reading that I've done as research for essays has been so so interesting.

Currently I'm not sure what History units I'm going to choose to study next year!
VCE 2015: Biology | History Revs | English | Legal Studies | Media | Methods
ATAR: 96.55

Currently: Arts/Law at Monash University - History Major, Journalism Minor

Jigsaw

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2017, 12:10:54 am »
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Hey! I'm literally in the same boat that you were; with my dream course being Arts/Laws at Monash; however, due to its insanely high ATAR requirements, I am curious to know how difficult you perceived 1st year arts at Monash to be, in order to receive a WAM that placed you in a competitive position to transfer. Do you know what WAM one should be aiming for a transfer into the Arts/Law course at Monash? Thanks in advance :)
2017: | Business Management [47] |
2018: | Legal Studies [50] (Premier's) | English [48] | Accounting [41] | Japanese SL [38] | Maths Methods [32] |

ATAR: 99.40 2019 Onwards: Laws (Hons)/Arts @ Monash

ellellen

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2017, 12:38:04 am »
+10
Okay so I got in with a WAM of 80, but I know quite a few people who made it in with WAMs in the low 70s !!! Sooo many people I know that are doing law are transfer students. I don't know the exact numbers but it fells like they let a lot of people transfer. As long as you're averaging above a distinction (70), you should be fine.

I didn't think first year was too difficult, but ultimately it depends on what subjects you do. I was getting 90s for assignments in journalism and media, but then got 67% on one politics essay and thought my dreams of law were over (spoiler alert: they weren't). It also really depends on how much effort you're willing to put in to your subjects. A lot of arts units don't have end of semester exams, which means that you'll have a loT of work due during semester. And when you have four assignments due in the same week, each worth 30% of your unit mark, while you are trying to keep your WAM above 70, you can really start to stress!!! Once I finished year 12 I thought that uni would be more relaxed and I would get more of a social life and be able to focus less on study. Unfortunately that wasn't the case for me. Uni work turned out to be really time consuming, especially because I was putting in maximum effort in order to try and get into law. But, now that I'm in law, I've relaxed a tiny bit.
 
Some people might say to choose "easy" subjects to boost your WAM but I think the best thing to do is just choose what interests you the most. Because if you choose a subject you're not really interested in just to try and get a good WAM, you are going to have such a boring semester. It's better to risk maybE slightly lower marks for something that you're really interested in because then you will actually enjoy doing your assignments, and might even be content to keep studying that subject if you don't get in to law! That was me with politics. It was my lowest subject. After first semester I thought that if I wanted to get in to law that maybe I should drop politics and choose something easier for second semester. But I kept it, and it was such a good decision because the content in second semester turned out to be so interesting.

By the end of my first year in arts I wasn't really too fussed about whether I got in to law or not because I had enjoyed all my arts subjects so much. When I did get accepted I was even a little sad that I had to leave a few of my arts subjects behind. But I know that's not the case for everyone, especially for people whose main aim has always been to just get in to law.

TL;DR:
- Aim for a WAM above 70
- choose first year subjects that genuinely interest you
- put a lot of effort into your first year subjects, and you'll be fine!

VCE 2015: Biology | History Revs | English | Legal Studies | Media | Methods
ATAR: 96.55

Currently: Arts/Law at Monash University - History Major, Journalism Minor

Sine

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #9 on: September 26, 2017, 01:11:02 am »
+1
what are the "easy" arts units? (although I would be doing it as an elective)

I know easy is relative and you should do what you enjoy etc etc,  but objectively what are the subjects where if you actually try you get 90+?

ellellen

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #10 on: September 26, 2017, 01:57:16 am »
+5
The first year arts units that i've heard are the easiest are Academic Writing/ Professional Writing. Unfortunately, I've also heard they are the most dull, and I know quite a few people who enrolled in them looking for easy marks, but then switched out because the content was so dry. I never took these units so I personally don't know what they're like.

Other than that, some that i've heard are ~easy~ but still somewhat interesting are units from: Media & Communications, Behavioural Studies, Criminology, Film & Screen Studies (you get to watch movies at uni which is nice), and Philosophy (I've heard a lot of good things about ATS1371).

But also these subjects aren't bludges. To do really well you need to put in a tonne of effort, but maybe just slightly less effort than other arts units that are a lot more theory based. Also it depends on what you're best at. When I did media last year, one of the assessments involved having to make a short video explaining a media theory. The criteria said that the film had to be creative, and not just you reading out the details of the media theory. I personally really loved that assessment task, I had filmmaking experience and did well at it. My friends who weren't so into filming and editing didn't do so well, despite the actual content we needed to convey in the task not being super difficult.

I would read through some unit guides and see which of those subjects sounds most interesting to you and which has assessment tasks that you think would play to your strengths.

« Last Edit: September 26, 2017, 02:14:47 am by ellellen »
VCE 2015: Biology | History Revs | English | Legal Studies | Media | Methods
ATAR: 96.55

Currently: Arts/Law at Monash University - History Major, Journalism Minor

ellellen

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2017, 12:06:06 am »
+8
Okay diary time

26/8

I don't have uni at all this week because I'm currently on midsemester break. I think I should explain for people who don't know how uni semesters work:

- At Monash there are two 12-week semesters per year
- During each semester you get one week off as midsemester break
- This break doesn't always happen ~exactly~ during the middle of semester, like this semester the break has come after week 9 (so actually a 3/4-semester break but whatev!)

This break is a nice time to catch up on any study that you've fallen behind on during semester, and help you prepare for exams.
The work I still have left to do this semester is:

Law subjects:
Spoiler
- LAW1113: Torts
I only have my exam left to go for torts. It's worth 70% of my mark so for the rest of midsemester break I really need to start writing my exam notes (it's an open book exam), and also trying to understand any concepts that have been really difficult to grasp.

- LAW1112: Public Law and Statutory Interpretation
During next week I have an online test for public law. It's basically just to test that you know how to use the law databases and how to search them for specific information. It shouldn't be too difficult, because I had to do a similar test last semester for LAW1111: Foundations of Law. It's only worth 10% and should be a good easy 10% !!!!! It's 20 multiple choice questions in two hours, done online, and I can do it at home, so I'm not too worried about it!

My LAW1112 exam. It's worth 60% and involves a lot of interpretation of legislation (something I'm not super great at), so I really need to make sure I do a lot of practice questions. I'm a tad stressed about it.


Arts subjects:
Spoiler
- ATS2595: The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany
In week 12 I have a diary due for history, worth 30%. Basically, I need to write a short little paragraph about the content from 6 different weeks of the course, just talking about what we discussed in the lectures and tutorials. I know I should have been doing this as I went, but I just was not organised enough and so my aim is to do like four weeks worth of diary entries during this break, and then do two more after the break. I feel like this should be an easy assessment, so hopefully it iS !!! we'll see!

- ATS2784: News and Power
This is my journalism subject, and I just have my major essay left, due in week 12. I have to choose a topic from a list of 10 options, and need to write 2000 words for it. It's worth 50%, and I have to submit a plan for it on Monday. I haven't chosen a topic yet, so hopefully I'll do that tomorrow!!!!!

So that's where I'm at right now. So far this semester I haven't been going as well as I'd like. I think so far I'm averaging around 75% across all subjects (excluding torts, because so far I haven't received my marks back from my one torts assignment). I know that nobody can get amazing and perfect marks every semester, but at the moment my WAM is 81.25 and i really don't want it to drop below 80. There's no reason I need to keep my WAM that high, just vanity lol. So for all my remaining assignments I know I need to try sososo hard, and not waste the remaining five days of the break.
« Last Edit: September 27, 2017, 12:50:50 am by ellellen »
VCE 2015: Biology | History Revs | English | Legal Studies | Media | Methods
ATAR: 96.55

Currently: Arts/Law at Monash University - History Major, Journalism Minor

TheFreeMarketeer

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2017, 01:15:06 am »
+1
Hey, I've got a guaranteed spot for Law/Arts at Macquarie and was just wondering what the perks of combining law with arts are, as opposed to something like Law/Commerce?

ellellen

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2017, 01:41:43 am »
+5
I don't know if there's anything I'd consider to be a perk; it just comes down to a matter of preference and what interests you most!

With arts you can take subjects like politics and international relations which would complement your law degree. Then again, you would also undertake some commercial law units as part of your law degree, so commerce could be helpful there.

With arts you can also take some more fun and light subjects like maybe film studies, theatre, a language, etc which could provide a nice break from your law subjects!

Personally, I'm taking arts because I think arts subjects are really fun! I love history and journalism, and I'm good at writing essays (essays are a very large part of arts). While history is pretty full on with content, journalism is a fun nice break from everything! I did a photojournalism unit last semester and all the assessments were just to take nice photos! If I had been doing another heavy subject instead I definitely would have burnt myself out.

Commerce has personally never interested me, but I do know quite a lot of people who are enrolled in commerce/law degrees and love it. I also know some people in biomed/law degrees. That kind of degree is verY full on, but probably good for people who are looking for a career where law and science meet!

I would suggest talking to people who have done law/commerce (or any other double degree involving law) and also look at uni handbooks to get a better idea of what each subject involves, to try and work out what you think you would enjoy more and also what you think would best assist you with your career goals!

I'm happy to answer any questions you have that are specific to arts/law :)
VCE 2015: Biology | History Revs | English | Legal Studies | Media | Methods
ATAR: 96.55

Currently: Arts/Law at Monash University - History Major, Journalism Minor

Glasses

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Re: Ellen talks about uni wow!!! (specifically arts/law)
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2017, 01:09:19 pm »
+1
How did you find the Torts case note? And who do you have for Public Law and Torts?  :)
« Last Edit: September 27, 2017, 01:14:06 pm by Glasses »
2015 - 2016 (VCE): Psychology, Religion & Society, Legal Studies, Business Management, Literature and English
2017 - Present: Bachelor of Laws (Honours)/Arts (Criminology & Psychology) @ Monash University

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