BiomedSci/Law VS BiomedSci/Comm VS BiomedSci

[bananabreadbelle]

(Not sure if in the right board, mods feel free to move this, haha!)

So after a suggestion from my dad, I have been contemplating BiomedSci/Law at Monash - law seems interesting/practical, and having never exposed myself to higher-level law subjects in high school, I feel like it's a whole new field that I may potentially enjoy and maybe even pursue if I don't end up in Medicine?

But having said that, at the moment my aim is definitely gearing towards entering post-graduate Medicine. *(edit: corrected my own grammar lol) Hence, a lot of people have advised me against taking Law/BiomedSci as it is apparently a big setback in achieving a competitive GPA for post-grad Med(?) due to the intensity of Law subjects (what more combined with Biomed).
I have also been pointed towards choosing BiomedSci/Commerce instead as apparently it's 'easier' and spaces out the Biomed workload.
Or will taking just BiomedSci be more focussed and beneficial for the post-grad Med pathway?

Really just looking out for any perspectives/opinions/anecdotal advise/experiences to share regarding these options!

 

[vox nihili]

(Not sure if in the right board, mods feel free to move this, haha!)

So after a suggestion from my dad, I have been contemplating BiomedSci/Law at Monash - law seems interesting/practical, and having never exposed myself to higher-level law subjects in high school, I feel like it's a whole new field that I may potentially enjoy and maybe even pursue if I don't end up in Medicine?

But having said that, at the moment my aim is definitely gearing towards entering post-graduate Medicine. And hence, a lot of people have advised me against taking Law/BiomedSci as it is apparently a big setback in achieving a competitive GPA for post-grad Med(?) due to the intensity of Law subjects (what more combined with Biomed).
I have also been pointed towards choosing BiomedSci/Commerce instead as apparently it's 'easier' and spaces out the Biomed workload.
Or will taking just BiomedSci be more focussed and beneficial for the post-grad Med pathway?

Really just looking out for any perspectives/opinions/anecdotal advise/experiences to share regarding these options!

 

My girlfriend started off with this combo and decided to drop law after the first year. She decided that law was not really where she wanted to go. It was also dragging her GPA a bit too.
With that said, I think she's glad she started off with law and did first year. It really does influence the way she thinks about things and approaches things. From my perspective, I think that having studied a little bit of law will be useful to her in med, as well. Not just because medicine is a legal minefield, but also because of the way law encourages you to think and the skills of independent research it helps you develop, which are actually very useful in med.

My two cents: start with biomed/law and see how you go. If you hate it, drop back to biomed at the end of first year (impact on your GPA will be negligible from first year). If you don't, keep going with the double degree

[extremeftw]

 In my anecdotal experience, law units have some of the highest fail rates and lowest HD percentages of any type of unit at the university. This leads me to think that unless you are really, really sure you are into law, then perhaps it's best to maybe do enroll in a single degree first and do some law electives first to see if it is something you are interested in. If it turns out you have an aptitude for law, then you can always transfer to a biomed/law course and if not, then you are free to do whatever else you would like.

 That being said, it would probably be more straightforward going immediately for Biomed/Law and then just transferring to straight Biomed if you don't like Law rather than the opposite way around (as the WAM required to transfer to a single degree is generally less than a double degree program). From what I have heard, biomed is a pretty good combination for law if you have an interest in patent law, but I will let people who are more knowledgeable about law outcomes speak for that.

 Also, keep in mind that doing law will add 2 years to your course time as honours is compulsory for law.

 In terms of commerce, it is definitely true that the contact hours for commerce units will typically be far less than that of biomed ones. Doing biomed/commerce will also only add one year to your program rather than the 2 years of law. Keep in mind that if you do commerce then you have to do units like intro to accounting/business law/marketing/management which a lot of student aren't very interested in which results in some of these units having a quite high fail rate.

 The only way I can see either law or commerce helping you with postgraduate medicine admissions is if they pull your WAM up significantly. I don't think they will hurt your prospects (assuming you do decently well) and of course you will be left with more options at the completion of your undergraduate program if you end up deciding to go in a different direction than medicine.

 The important thing to keep in mind is that university is very mobile. There is absolutely no issue with you enrolling in biomed/commerce or biomed/law for a year (I am just remembering now actually that biomedicine only does transfers for semester 1 intake, i.e. it does not do mid year transfers), trying it out, and then transferring immediately to straight biomed if you find the double degree program was not for you. This won't make your course any longer because you can just credit your commerce or law units to electives in the single degree program. So don't think of it like you are locking yourself in by making a decision now, you can always change very easily down the road at essentially no cost if you choose to do so!

[appleandbee]

You should PM IndefatigableLover, he was in a similar situation this time last year.

[Litigator]

(Not sure if in the right board, mods feel free to move this, haha!)

So after a suggestion from my dad, I have been contemplating BiomedSci/Law at Monash - law seems interesting/practical, and having never exposed myself to higher-level law subjects in high school, I feel like it's a whole new field that I may potentially enjoy and maybe even pursue if I don't end up in Medicine?

But having said that, at the moment my aim is definitely gearing towards entering post-graduate Medicine. And hence, a lot of people have advised me against taking Law/BiomedSci as it is apparently a big setback in achieving a competitive GPA for post-grad Med(?) due to the intensity of Law subjects (what more combined with Biomed).
I have also been pointed towards choosing BiomedSci/Commerce instead as apparently it's 'easier' and spaces out the Biomed workload.
Or will taking just BiomedSci be more focussed and beneficial for the post-grad Med pathway?

Really just looking out for any perspectives/opinions/anecdotal advise/experiences to share regarding these options!

 

My friend did bio/law and had to drop law after a few weeks because it was too much for him... and that is coming from the dux of my school who was just short of a perfect atar...

[brenden]

You can read my full experience in in signature, but I've been around the block a bit in terms of degrees, with some time in Law as well.

I can without a doubt confirm that getting an HD in law is harder than getting an HD in a standard Arts unit, and I'd probably apply that to Biomed as well (whilst I never did it, I can imagine that you 'get out what you put in' - i.e., if you study well for Chemistry, you can usually get an HD if you're funning for it, compared to a Law unit which can really just punish you. I.e., to get First Class honours in a Law degree, you don't even need to average an 80 because that's just fkn hard).

As far as pure postgrad strategy goes, Law will make it harder for you to get a around a 4.0 GPA than your peers in other degrees.

Biosci and Commerce wouldn't have that problem. Actually a pretty interesting strategy to be honest. Would definitely make things easier from what I know of Biomed.

The thing is though that like... if you want to do Med, why bother with Law? and if you MIGHT want to do Law... then... you can always do postgrad Law instead of postgrad med! There's no reason to do Law as an undergraduate degree (other than the fact that undergraduate Law is cheaper than postgrad Law).

I.e., if you do Biosci/Law and then do a Med degree and become a doctor, you've basically invested 2 years of your life and an thousands of dollars into something that hasn't given you much return. But if you do straight Biosci or Biosci/Comm, you can always make the decision to transfer into EITHER one of Med OR Law at a postgraduate level.

(And I'll point out that you could do an Arts degree or any other undergraduate degree and still do postgrad med so long as you fulfilled the prereqs... It doesn't have to be Biosci, although that will probably help you decide if you want to do Med etc).

[bananabreadbelle]

First off, thank you so much (emphasis very intended) everyone for all the input, I really do find it helpful and it genuinely informs my decision!

I can without a doubt confirm that getting an HD in law is harder than getting an HD in a standard Arts unit, and I'd probably apply that to Biomed as well (whilst I never did it, I can imagine that you 'get out what you put in' - i.e., if you study well for Chemistry, you can usually get an HD if you're funning for it, compared to a Law unit which can really just punish you. I.e., to get First Class honours in a Law degree, you don't even need to average an 80 because that's just fkn hard).

As far as pure postgrad strategy goes, Law will make it harder for you to get a around a 4.0 GPA than your peers in other degrees.

...

The thing is though that like... if you want to do Med, why bother with Law? and if you MIGHT want to do Law... then... you can always do postgrad Law instead of postgrad med! There's no reason to do Law as an undergraduate degree (other than the fact that undergraduate Law is cheaper than postgrad Law).

I.e., if you do Biosci/Law and then do a Med degree and become a doctor, you've basically invested 2 years of your life and an thousands of dollars into something that hasn't given you much return. But if you do straight Biosci or Biosci/Comm, you can always make the decision to transfer into EITHER one of Med OR Law at a postgraduate level.

(And I'll point out that you could do an Arts degree or any other undergraduate degree and still do postgrad med so long as you fulfilled the prereqs... It doesn't have to be Biosci, although that will probably help you decide if you want to do Med etc).

I am very aware of the sheer amount of work required of the BiomedSci/Law double degree, as my friend who's currently in her 4th year of the degree summarised it: "super super intense". The reasoning behind my interest in Law simultaneous with my desire to enter Medicine is mainly because I realise now that I do actually have an interest in studying it. I've been so set, especially during my VCE years, on Science and Medicine that I never really gave myself a chance to process a legit possibility of studying Law. And now this big fat opportunity is sitting in front of me to give it a go, and the potential that I may really enjoy it/it may open up a whole new career path for me that I never thought of for myself is what really draws me to it.
I know it definitely might seem wasteful to invest time, money and energy into Law if I do end up studying Medicine, but like vox nihili stated, for now, I do see it instead as skills that I would have gained; plus, I also see Law as a kind of 'backup plan' if I don't end up in Medicine.

So, it does seem a bit counterintuitive to attempt Law, but I feel like I would probably regret if I didn't give it a shot (future self don't kick me pls).

As vox nihili neatly stated my plan for now:

My two cents: start with biomed/law and see how you go. If you hate it, drop back to biomed at the end of first year (impact on your GPA will be negligible from first year). If you don't, keep going with the double degree

You should PM IndefatigableLover, he was in a similar situation this time last year.

Will get on it, thank you for letting me know! 

Biosci and Commerce wouldn't have that problem. Actually a pretty interesting strategy to be honest. Would definitely make things easier from what I know of Biomed.
...But if you do straight Biosci or Biosci/Comm, you can always make the decision to transfer into EITHER one of Med OR Law at a postgraduate level. 

In terms of commerce, it is definitely true that the contact hours for commerce units will typically be far less than that of biomed ones. Doing biomed/commerce will also only add one year to your program rather than the 2 years of law. Keep in mind that if you do commerce then you have to do units like intro to accounting/business law/marketing/management which a lot of student aren't very interested in which results in some of these units having a quite high fail rate.

Yeah, BiomedSci/Comm is definitely something I'm considering very heavily too! The workload, from what I've heard, is definitely a lot lighter relative to BiomedSci/Law. But reading up on subject reviews and course outlines for Commerce somehow doesn't stir the same interest to study it as when doing the same for Law, albeit there is overlap with Commercial/Business Law, etc.
Sounds semi-ridiculous, but I instinctively feel more drawn to Law. (HAHA, I had the same gut feeling when picking up 3/4 History: Revolutions over my comfort-zone-boring-as Business Management for VCE this year and consequently wanted to kick myself in Term 3 due to the workload, but hey PTL it worked out!  )
But definitely, something I'm still considering! 
Law/Science was also suggested to me, apparently it's a lot more chill than Law/BiomedSci(?).

DECISIONS.

Thanks again, though!