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Best university for politics/law (1 Viewer)

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xeuyrawp

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Arts is pretty much the same, I haven't sat a tutorial at Macquarie university in any of my class (arts/law) that is more than one hour.

To be honest, I don't think for Arts it matters so much. When I was at my old uni, we had 3 hour lectures and 2 hour tutorials and I used to hate my life, especially since they seemed like such a waste.

Having said that.... for Law I think the extra hour in the tutorials would certainly benefit students a hell of a lot, especially since lecturers are so pressed for time during lectures to deliver all the relevant information. The tutorials are really what you rely on to ask those significant questions and to have those super-significant topics addressed.

So yes, I think it would certainly help to have that extra hour in tutorials for law. I've heard 2 Law tutors mention already that they think it is a shame that the university has cut that back.



No they're not paid, but it looks incredible on their CVs and also I believe you need to have done quite well in order to be a mentor for a particular subject. It also helps them rehash what they've learnt so they don't forget/become slack.



Yeah we're pretty active in that regard, lots and lots of mooting we're also participants of the international jessup (look it up).



To be honest, I don't have anything tangible to compare it to. I haven't studied law at any of the other universities, I know people who study law at UWS and at UTS and I also know someone who studies at UNSW.

UWS and UTS don't have the reputation in the industry that Macquarie does (as far as I know), which goes right back to the whole prestige thing. Because Macquarie is the third law school in NSW.

From what I know those two universities adopt a very pragmatic and practical approach, they really just teach you the bare essentials of what you need to know. Again I don't know this as a matter of fact, but from what I've heard. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I guess it doesn't really help in the way of wanting a more wholesome experience.

Macquarie on the other hand I feel probably tries to imitate UNSW and USYD a lot more in their black letter approach. Sure they promote that they adopt an "alternative" approach to teaching law, and to some extent this is quite true. But they still are quite black letter especially in the subjects that require that, for example torts and contracts.

Does the quality of teaching bother me? Sometimes. For example when I'm sitting an interview and I know that there are others in the room from USYD or UNSW that can be quite intimidating, that doesn't mean that they're smarter or better than me. At the end of the day we're all really learning the same law from virtually the same cases and the same bits of legislation.

But the fact that they have a 200 year old institution backing them with its reputation and all that it carries is for some reason super appealing to employers. Having said that, I'm sure that if you excel and do really well at any law school that won't hinder you as much but it just means that you don't have that initial advantage of being from a Go8 university. Aside from that, the other thing that probably frustrates me a lot is what I mentioned earlier about the tutorials.... Like right now I have a massive torts assignment and I have a whole bunch of questions I'd love to have answered, I know I won't be able to have them answered in a tutorial because there's not enough time.

But all that does is encourage me to work more independently, I've got the resources, I've got the whole bloody internet if I really want... So I guess it just means you gotta do a little bit more work and you become more reliant on yourself as opposed to being spoon fed. That of course has its pros and cons.



For every 3 Credit Point subject you have a 1 hour lecture and 2 hour tutorial or vice versa. Usually its an hour tutorial and 2 hour lecture. Some classes have introduced a new type of seminar system in conjunction with tutorials and lectures. You can decide which you want to attend.

Also some lectures are given twice a week.

Aside from this, the general university rule is you take the credit points and multiply them by 3 hours and that gives you how much work (in terms of hours) you should be doing per subject. Since each class is 3 credit points:

3 x 3 = 9 hours per week, per class.

So if you're doing 4 subjects a semester (which you probably will be) that's 36 hours a week of individual study time and 3 hours per week, per subject of contact time.

Also, ALL lectures are recorded and are available within the hour. We usually have like 200-300 people in lecture theatres.. with about 600 students enrolled in the LLB at any one time (a combination of graduate/undergraduate and distance).
Sorry, but I feel I must correct you on a few points:

1) Whilst I have no actual evidence or this (and will apologise if I'm wrong), I suspect that Sydney has got *far* more contact hours than Macquarie.
2) Contact hours are important, although anecdotally I prefer having 3 x 1hr classes that I have now than 1 x 3hr classes that I had at MQ.
3) PASS and PAL leaders do get paid. There has been and is talk of it being part of the participation unit or whatever, but presently they *do*; this is why it's not in all subject-areas; because it requires funding.

Outside of that, it's good to hear that you've got a positive experience at Macquarie.

To add my two cents, I really must agree on the travel issue: If you get into a better course for you and it's slightly farther away than another, you should go with the better course. This sounds lame, but I moved to the other side of the world to be in the best course for me.

Secondly, is this a moot (lol) point? Will you get into Sydney? I feel that students often worry and make all of these decisions when they should just focus on the HSC and then cross that bridge when they come to it. I hope you've gone to Open Days, Information Nights, etc etc and have been doing your research, but, statistically speaking, it's very difficult to get into Sydney law and it may not be worth the effort to decide quite yet.
 

andyfg88

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Sorry, but I feel I must correct you on a few points:

1) Whilst I have no actual evidence or this (and will apologise if I'm wrong), I suspect that Sydney has got *far* more contact hours than Macquarie
2) Contact hours are important, although anecdotally I prefer having 3 x 1hr classes that I have now than 1 x 3hr classes that I had at MQ.
3) PASS and PAL leaders do get paid. There has been and is talk of it being part of the participation unit or whatever, but presently they *do*; this is why it's not in all subject-areas; because it requires funding.

Outside of that, it's good to hear that you've got a positive experience at Macquarie.

To add my two cents, I really must agree on the travel issue: If you get into a better course for you and it's slightly farther away than another, you should go with the better course. This sounds lame, but I moved to the other side of the world to be in the best course for me.

Secondly, is this a moot (lol) point? Will you get into Sydney? I feel that students often worry and make all of these decisions when they should just focus on the HSC and then cross that bridge when they come to it. I hope you've gone to Open Days, Information Nights, etc etc and have been doing your research, but, statistically speaking, it's very difficult to get into Sydney law and it may not be worth the effort to decide quite yet.
Thanks for providing some more accurate information... :)

Just on the first point, I assumed USYD would have more contact hours, but I didn't know for sure thats why I shied away and only talked about how Macq operated. And on point 3, I had no idea PAL leaders got paid lol... that's nuts, I thought they were just volunteering because it "looked good".
 

Existential

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@ PwarYuex

1. you are talking about moving, which is different to everyday commuting.

2. i guess im being realistic in that my aim is to get into MAQ arts/law if not MAQ arts.
 
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xeuyrawp

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@ PwarYuex

1. you are talking about moving, which is different to everyday commuting.
?? I was just illustrating the point that sometimes the short-term is less important than the long-term. Moving overseas is a massive investment, the same way that commuting is.

2. i guess im being realistic in that my aim is to get into MAQ arts/law if not MAQ arts.
Have you had an ATAR estimate?
 

Aerath

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How far do you live away from Macquarie/City?
 

Azure

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I've got to agree with what the people above have said. If you were able to get into both law schools, then I wouldn't put Macquarie first (and this is coming from a current Macquarie student).

If you want to do other stuff like accounting/finance/whatever, then sure. In law however, UNSW and USYD are clearly ahead. This is not to say that Macquarie doesn't have its benefits, but you are asking for the "best" university for politics/law (I'm assuming in terms of reputation).

I do however understand that not everyone can get into the above two unis. While the quality of the university is often important, it's been said many times around this place that university is ultimately what you make of it. If you smash the course and come out with some good marks, good extra-curriculars and work experience you should be fine going anywhere decent.
 

Existential

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I've got to agree with what the people above have said. If you were able to get into both law schools, then I wouldn't put Macquarie first (and this is coming from a current Macquarie student).

If you want to do other stuff like accounting/finance/whatever, then sure. In law however, UNSW and USYD are clearly ahead. This is not to say that Macquarie doesn't have its benefits, but you are asking for the "best" university for politics/law (I'm assuming in terms of reputation).

I do however understand that not everyone can get into the above two unis. While the quality of the university is often important, it's been said many times around this place that university is ultimately what you make of it. If you smash the course and come out with some good marks, good extra-curriculars and work experience you should be fine going anywhere decent.
Ok the options I would have if I didn't make it into Sydney law:
1. Go to Macquarie Law
2. Start with Arts at Sydney
Assume I don't make it into Macquarie law:
3. Start with Arts at Macquarie
4. Start with Arts at Sydney

I don't think 2. or 4. would be worth it. Thoughts?
 

Aerath

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If you're so set upon Macquarie - I don't see the purpose of this thread. You've asked for advice, people have given it to you, and you haven't changed your mind. :p
 

Azure

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Yeah it's really up to you at the end of the day. If you don't think those options are worth it then there's your answer. :)

Everyone's circumstances are different. Only you know what's possible and what isn't, so if you think Macquarie is the most realistic/attainable option for you at the moment then go for it IMO.

As I said, the degree is what you make of it.
 

Existential

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If you're so set upon Macquarie - I don't see the purpose of this thread. You've asked for advice, people have given it to you, and you haven't changed your mind. :p
Just because I haven't changed my mind doesn't mean the thread is useless. There's no logic in saying that. Just because I may or may not act on advice for whatever reason doesn't necessarily make the advice or the thread useless to me. FOr example I have found your advice to be insightful. :)
 

Existential

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Yeah it's really up to you at the end of the day. If you don't think those options are worth it then there's your answer. :)

Everyone's circumstances are different. Only you know what's possible and what isn't, so if you think Macquarie is the most realistic/attainable option for you at the moment then go for it IMO.

As I said, the degree is what you make of it.
:)
 

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