University of Sydney Law School...Worth It!?

[@sallys1901]

would definitely love to see some more vids about syd law/uni in general :) been watching your videos since year 10 and it's so inspiring to see where you guys have gone

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

laura c. Thanks for the support! :)

[@riemann9429]

Congratulations dude! Wish you were over here at unsw though. Just started 1st yr civil eng and your vids greatly assisted me in staying motivated through the hsc! Nice vid btw (:

[@tjh6314]

Omg yay I've been waiting for a video like this! I'm in Yr.12 and super scared about Law School but this made me feel a little bit more confident. Keep us updated and congrats!!!!

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Tj H you’ll survive it if you aren’t afraid of hard work! :)

[@shirleykchaps]

I really love your content. I’m at UNSW studying Commerce & Information Systems. It’s really nice seeing what it’s like for you over there at USyd. All the best for the rest of the semester 🙂

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Learning With Purpos thanks very much! All the best to you also :)

[@elag7940]

Glad you made this video. I would love to see a video about networking in university or in general. Thanks!

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Elaha Timur thanks! And yeah networking is a great topic for videos actually

[@bghcraig]

He seems too goodlooking to be doing Law at Sydney Uni.😮

[@thomaszapantis9429]

Very informative and great video. Keep up the good work mate!

[@xiaomanchen7134]

HEY, mate! I do like your video! Quite interesting and useful! Hope to see more about the law study in Uni.

[@SidneyinSydney101]

Hope to see you around campus mate! Hope you keep enjoying it!

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

SidneyinSydney101 yeah mate, give me a yell if you see me around :)

[@SidneyinSydney101]

ThatStudentLife Will do mate, bat days do you come in?

[@supermonkeyape007]

Did all your previous units from newcastle transfer over to usyd? And you reckon a mid year transfer to usyd is possible?

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

srx1 yes actually, I got the full year of credit I applied for. And ahh i think it depends on the degree, for law i don’t believe you can transfer halfway through...not sure though

[@johnwhite9220]

Great video! I have received an offer to study law at USYD and had a question I was hoping you could answer. I, like yourself have transferred from a different uni (mq - law). I was wondering how you find the usyd assessment style? From what I’ve read, it seems like the majority of assessments are heavy, closed book exams. I prefer a more practical teaching style, so am worried that the theoretical usyd approach may result in me not enjoying the course? Cheers

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Hey mate, yeah compared to other law schools USyd is definitely more on the old school closed book exam style. Basically every class’s assessment schedule is 10% tutorial participation, 30% mid semester assignment/exam, 60% final exam (half of mine were open, half were closed). I actually didn’t mind my closer book exams, it just took me back to the hsc when i had to memorise stuff anyway haha, it forced me to simplify my notes instead of bring in 100s of pages lol. The teaching style is thorough and the professors are very good but yes unless you do extra-curricula stuff like moots and paralegal work you may not be the most practical law grad ever...however you may be one of the most employable law grads based on what I can gather of usyd law grads. So I would say if you don’t mind networking and doing some practical stuff outside of class Usyd law is great

[@bobbycarter1669]

Great vid! would you be able to do a video on how you transferred/the sort of marks you need and that sort of thing? Thanks!

[@randomperson1221]

I havent done hsc yet but imagine this scenario. Say i got an atar of 84. Can i transfer to law from a different course.

[@android098]

Yes you can, you would study something like commerce or arts and transfer units across in your second year if applicable. With that in mind, you will have to have good marks to transfer into law

[@wonderwallflower]

Yep this is what I did

[@jeremybrisebois1756]

Man your content is so good you should have more subs!

[@TheKDBomb]

Congrats! I'm deciding on whether to put USYD or UNSW as my first preference for commerce, I have no clue!

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Krome Fluffyy ahh I quite like Usyd so far but I have also heard great things about UNSW commerce. Because they are both very similar and will likely lead to the same graduate success, I would be sure to think about which uni is easier for you to travel to, which campus is your favourite etc etc :)

[@shirleykchaps]

I had the same dilemma as well a few years back. I ended up going to UNSW, mainly based on the fact that I just liked the vibe at UNSW more than USyd. I recommend going to open days/ info days and getting a vibe of where you feel most at home. Either way, both universities are great

[@jahlimagick644]

Cool video, good to see a big Sydney uni in a less scary light. I am currently doing year 12 and was just wondering if I could have some advice on my situation; at the moment I have 12 units but would really like to drop one class (design and technology) due to being behind, not to mention disinterested, in my major project. This would give me a lot more time to put towards other classes (phys, chem, ext2 math) however I'm not sure if it is a good decision as I am currently ranked first in this class and my remaining 10 units would include 4 units of math that have to count... is this too risky?

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Jahli Magick In my opinion...I think it is a good idea to drop design as you said. Being disinterest + having a major project is not a good combination especially when your other subjects are as tough yet high scaling as phys/chem/ext2. Having 10 units will be a noticeable change for you and might allow you to really focus in on that analytical side of your brain and nail those few subjects you have left because they are all very similar in study methods and mindset. I think going to 10 is the best idea but at the end of the day it is all going to be about how hard you study for the entire year long anyway! Good luck :)

[@jahlimagick644]

ThatStudentLife thanks for the advice! it’s just so hard to decide as I’m really not sure if I have the potential to do as well as I want in these science/math subjects, as much as I love them. Would you be able to give me any information on how the extension bands work? I am aware they are E1, E2, E3, E4 with E4 being the highest but not sure regarding what marks are needed for each.

[@blank.9301]

D&T sucked for me. My teacher was so negative, worst teacher I ever had, but in the end I got 76 in my HSC, so pretty happy

[@rohanb2543]

Hey Shay, great vid as always mate. Just wanted your opinion on my dilemma right now. I'm currently in Yr12 and looking to study Law/Commerce at USYD but I don't realistically think I can achieve an ATAR over about 98.25ish. Judging from your experiences of Newcastle and now Sydney, do you think that doing Comm/Law at USYD is crucial for graduate success or would the same degree from MCQ Unit be alright? That said I'm a prominent leader in our YR12 leadership team so hoping I can somehow find a way straight into USYD. Keep up the good vids mate ;)

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Rohan B Hey mate! Studying law at Usyd or any of the other G8 universities is not essential for post grad success. The only places that seem to still care about prestige are the top tier law firms and investment banking firms BUT I know plenty of people who have gotten jobs in all of those huge firms straight from graduation at Newcastle/Macquarie it just seems like they pay more attention to the big g8 institutions. I would note that if you don’t want to move into that top tier super competitive stuff then it will likely matter even less where you go to uni as long as your marks are good at uni. If I was you I would aim a high as possible and apply for lots of different universities because there are some great programs in Sydney especially (usyd, unsw and uts are all exceptional law schools). If you don’t get in to any of the big ones first time around go and study at Macquarie and see how you like it. If you think you would still like to go to a usyd and what not after 6 months then make sure your uni marks are D/HD level and put in a transfer application with uac to swap unis. Also note that there is nothing wrong with doing straight commerce at usyd for one year getting good marks (i think it is credit and above) and then doing an internal transfer to commerce/law. Usyd looks favourably on current usyd students when processing transfers it seems. A few summer courses here and there and you would be caught up to everyone else in no time!

[@rohanb2543]

Awesome advice as usual Shay! Yeah I'm definitely attracted to working at a top law firm so I think usyd is where I need to end up. I'm really considering just doing commerce at usyd for my first year or so and then doing the internal transfer. Nevertheless, your advice is greatly appreciated mate and keep up the great vids for us Yr12 strugglers!

[@tashlovespaul]

to transfer from commerce to law you need a distinction average :)

[@programmingonscratch9460]

What course did u transfer from in newcastle university? And do you reckon external transfer is harder or easier than internal transfer? Thank you!

[@lavaboy1565]

hey mate, im thinking of doing law at usyd next year, and i'm just wondering about your thoughts on the prospects for law. I have a lot of people telling me that law isn't a good field to get into nowadays because it's so saturated and I won't work as a lawyer. My parents are saying the same thing and that I should do med instead. I'm just not sure what to do tbh. What do you reckon and what's your take on the career prospects.

[@danmathewsrajeeve]

If u want to do law go then go for it don't out others let u down u can do it plus even though law could be hard to study at the end it's a goof Job.im gonna do law at usyd in probably 2025 once get my qualifications

[@SkatingAT]

I am going to University of Sydney for their law and commerce program in the coming July. I am looking forward to it! At the same time, I am really nervous!

[@randomperson1221]

Evangelinamusique did u get into the course through atar, or transfer and how was the process for transferal

[@SkatingAT]

Cum Stain I actually deferred my offer, and I’m going to Usyd in February/March instead. I got in through my SAT score and my OSSD average. I got 1540/1600 on my SAT and a 96 average for OSSD

[@maxjan3947]

@@SkatingAT 1540? why are you not at stanford or another ivy league

[@annikalee3351]

hi, i have a question! i'm currently applying for law and commerce at sydney, and believe i may get the sufficient atar. however, the only commerce major i can see myself doing is marketing, which i hear people say isn't very practical. furthermore i'm not interested at all in accounting or finance, but then again i don't know much about these majors. on the other hand i'm also considering the unsw co-op program's bachelor of commerce with a major in marketing (hopefully i get an offer!). it's difficult to weigh up the two, since i'm not 100% sold on law but i know i would definitely find the content very interesting! in terms of practicality and any other factors you think i should consider, which option do you think makes the most sense? thanks!

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Hi Annika, Send me an email over at [e-mail] I’ll try to address each of your questions as best I can :)

[@potatohatertaylor3414]

I'm also in my first semester at USyd and found all of this so true! - except the course specific stuff though haha

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Potato Hater Taylor that’s good to hear!

[@volk4all805]

Can I ask you questions about law

[@wiktoriadelreyy1741]

I’m from england and i’d like to apply for a scholarship for law , as for A levels i got A* in english literature A* in History A* in philosophy and A* in Italian , do you think i would have a chance in getting in ?

[@tallishaydon6704]

Hey mate, I’m currently doing law/Commerce at UON and thinking about transferring down next year if I’m at a HD level at the end of this year. Wondering what units you studied at UON and how many you were accredited for at USYD? Thanks.

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Tallis Haydon hey mate, I was lucky in that I got credit for torts, lsm and my first year/second year commerce subjects. It is never a guarantee but it is worth a shot. Id note that if you want go apply for unsw you need to take that lsat exam also

[@helen.yousifmho1723]

How much % do u need to get in ur HSC to get into usyd and to become a lawyer am going yr10 I’m high school next year I really wanna go usyd

[@allkKhan-tq8iy]

What your recommendation abt JD AT USYD OR MACQUARIE

[@darcy202live]

Do you do contracts 2 though? Or is contracts actually merged into just one course?

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Jürgen Flopp I believe i’ll do a second subject later on which involves torts and contracts at a further level

[@volk4all805]

Hi mate, I'm currently studying commerce at unsw but am thinking of transferring into law. I had some questions regarding law, do you have SC, or something else I could contact you by to ask you a couple of things about the program as I may transfer to usyd.

[@volk4all805]

How bad is law oversupply, and so far is law boring? I did legal in highschool and fucccccking hated it so idk .

[@milly4543]

Hey, really enjoyed watching this. I've been considering USyd law myself (got an offer) and would really appreciate if you could comment on the student demographic in terms of age. Are there many mature aged students or is it mostly 18 year olds in first year? I'll be 26 when I start and am somewhat worried I might not fit in idk Also, what are you majoring in for your Commerce degree and how would you rate the difficulty of Commerce? I'm having trouble deciding on what to take for my second degree simply because I'd like a fallback degree but at the same time the things I'm really interested in aren't exactly fallbacks so I've been looking into commerce as a possibility since it's fairly broad etc

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Micha hey 😊 so if you are doing a bachelor of laws you will find that most of the students are 18-22 with some exceptions, but the majority are quite young, about 60:40 girls to guys and very ethnically diverse overall. If you do a juris doctrate then you’ll be with people who are at least 22 usually because they have already done another degree before doing any law stuff. I would say that either way you’ll still fit in, 26 is really not even old haha, i wouldn’t even consider anyone a mature student until like 35 myself. As for commerce I would recommend it as a degree, it is interesting and stands on its own as an employable qualification. As for majors I am a finance major. This major along with other strong ones like economics, banking etc are usually very broadly applicable to the business and finance industry after graduation, especially when compared to less applicable majors like HR, marketing and so on

[@milly4543]

hey, thanks for the reply (YT didn't even notify me so I'm only seeing it now)! I'll be doing the LLB but yeah I guess 26 isn't that old haha That's been my thinking with the Commerce degree (figured it would be a solid degree in its own right as far as job prospects are concerned). I've been considering Accounting or Finance but I'm not sure which and luckily won't have to decide until 2nd year. How are you finding the finance subjects? Are they a lot of theory or do you see them being relevant to the workplace? Also, how much maths is there because I'm reasonably confident with HSC 2unit maths (not sure how I'd fare beyond that)?

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Micha hey! I find that finance subjects are very applicable to the real world, especially now that I work in finance/law. The maths is fine if you did 2 unit. As for accounting i really wouldn’t do it unless you actually want to be an accountant, otherwise it truly is a boring boring 3 years hahaha. Finance/economics/banking are the good ones

[@milly4543]

heey! ahh ok then, finance sounds good. I definitely wouldn't want to be an accountant, in fact I'm 99% certain law is where I want to be so it might be better to stick to something more interesting like finance. Thanks so much for the insight!

[@benmark5518]

Thanks for d video, that's a very great video, I'm actually planning to join the university in next year, would be great to know u if it's possible

[@lindaliu9611]

is it hard to get to usyd law major? what is the gpa to get to it?

[@bensimmons6149]

Just starting law at the University of Queensland this year

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Congrats mate, it’s a great uni from what I hear

[@bensimmons6149]

ThatStudentLife thanks bruh. It’s number 47 in the world and it’s law school is number 43.

[@Sazzay96]

Did you move down or are you commuting? I'm from Newcastle and study medicine at USYD :)

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Sarah Emily at the moment I am commuting/staying with family because i don’t actually have that many clases! What about you? + congrats on med!!

[@Sazzay96]

Thats a good decision. If you don't have the long contact hours, the $$$ to stay here isn't worth it! My hours have always been pretty long and with 5-8 hours everyday, travelling isnt worth it. I spend those hours that I would be on the road working instead. I actually started off at UON doing biomed and transferred to UNSW Medical Science for my undergraduate degree. I couldn't agree more with your comment about the 'old style learning'. I wasn't challenged at UON yet at UNSW everyone was incredibly determined, keen and the teachers didn't expect anything less. Same goes for USYD. Nothing against UON though! My sister and most of my highschool friends love it! It just wasn't for me.

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Sarah Emily yeah definitely! Id be interested to here more about med at Usyd, you should add my snapchat “thatstudentshay” or send us an email!

[@blank.9301]

Just pointing out something you said, (good video by the way), but you don't need the best marks to get a job. Obviously it helps for internships and some particular jobs after. Only some firms, like the big 4 etc, do expect at least 65% (credit) WAM. But others only a pass. 👍

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

True, I interned at CBA over the summer and I believe their minimum was 65 so it is definitely not a hard and fast rule. However when you’re just starting out at uni and have no work experience or internships to solidify your resume, the one thing in your control is your marks so it can be worth aiming high. Keep in mind that if you want to work for the big 6 law firms or the international investment banks you’ll need more than 65 haha

[@SkatingAT]

I am just wondering if you have any advice for enrolment, cuz I'm so lost

[@SkatingAT]

thank you!

[@benmark5518]

How do you speak so fast? How did u make it?

[@samuelkachi1414]

Hey mate, I love your video I was hoping if you could help me with university process, guide me on what to do cos I'm an international student from NIGERIA

[@maylam27]

Do you have to go to lectures because I can't make it to the lectures lol

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Yeah, usyd law has mandatory attendance to tutorials at least

[@tommurray1650]

what is the required atar

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Tom Murray Very high 90’s to get straight in...I transferred so I used my 97 atar as well as mid 80s WAM

[@randomperson1221]

Say u got an atar of 80 and decided to study a random course but choose to transfer with a wam of 80 would it he possible?

[@AymenDergham]

How do you manage this trip from New Castle to Sydney everyday?

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

Aymen Dergham i only go down for 2 nights a week (in a row) and stay with family at this stage :)

[@beethathsaphone6205]

We are sharing the great uni......

[@HectorSanchez-vv6cf]

All i can say... no lazy, dumb lawyer comes out from that law school..... I have to say.. everything is quality... from buildings, to lecturers and very hardworking smart students... nothing to borrow from Harvard.....

[@nadine-rj7jd]

University of New South Wales all day everyday😂

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

nadine Hahaha yeah if I ever moved to Sydney full time it would probably be to the eastern suburbs 😂

[@kartikeyt9168]

kinda snobby bro

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

I didn’t get that vibe when I re-watched it bro. At around 5 mins I talk about that exact point vs my time at a smaller University.

[@worm6942]

What do you think of UTS? its down the road form USYD, did you consider it?

[@ThatStudentLifeAustralia]

worm6942 I didn’t apply there myself but I do know it is in the top 100 law schools in the world which is pretty damn good