Usyd Arts or UniMelb Arts?

[DanLuu69]

Hello everyone,
I am in year 12 in Melbourne. After year 12 I want to possibly do a bachelor of arts and major in either history, ancient history, literature or philosophy. After undergraduate I was hoping to do Law or Journalism. I decided I want to go to either UniMelb or Usyd because I heard they were the best (I don't want to live in Canberra so I excluded ANU). I can't decide between the two, so I need your help. Which city is better to live in? Which Uni is better? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I wanted to go to Usyd because I was born and raised in Melbourne and never been anywhere so Sydney would be a small change. It also allows me to be independent. If I decide to go to Usyd I would probably stay in NSW after undergraduate as well.

I am thinking about going to UniMelb because I heard it has a better JD. Apparently they are snobbish towards other unis and mostly accept UniMelb undergraduates.

Also I saw rankings online that says Usyd Arts>UniMelb Arts, however people say rank doesn't matter.

Thank you.

[SkiesTheLimit]

It's true that Usyd, and UniMelb are very good but you also have to take note that Monash and UNSW are in that class too. They are all Go8 Universities.

I think an unbiased person would agree that Melbourne is the better city to live in. That's also supported by the fact that it's in the top 3 liveable cities in the world and has ranked first numerous times in the last few years.

Sydney is a lot more expensive to live in as well.

Moving to Usyd would also mean you'd have to incur increased costs to live and study there. If you're not really wealthy that could be a major problem.

Believe me when I say this, it does not matter where you do your Law degree, you're employable anywhere provided that you have stellar marks and preferably come from Go8 Uni. However, in saying that, I have heard of employers who usually prefer graduates who have the same alma matter etc.

Rank does not matter at all, especially at two of the strongest Go8's in Australia. Marks > Rank every day of the week. Every Uni student in the land can attest to this.

[brenden]

Can't really attest for the other fields but I personally rate the Philosophy department at Monash very highly. (And I'm not one to talk up Monash for the sake of it).

[keltingmeith]

Hate to be the one that makes the decision even harder for you, but why have you completely ignored UQ? Last I checked, they were higher on the rankings than USYD (and personally, I reckon the campus is far nicer, I'd even put UQ as having the nicest campus of all the unis I've seen in Australia [which is all the Go8s, plus some "smaller" unis])

[SkiesTheLimit]

Also if rank is that important to you, considering that you want to do the JD, your post-grad degree would be more important than Undergrad. UniMelb rank > Usyd.

Not that it matter of course, like I mentioned, marks > rank.

[literally lauren]

I'm in UniMelb Arts and I can attest to the Ancient History Dept. being pretty good. History is a mixed bag but I know people who swear their lecturers are utter gods.

Would not recommend literature one bit. Very niche-y; most lecturers are dry morons who'd rather be teaching Art History or Sociology so prattle on about irrelevant stuff, and most tutors are condescending 20-somethings who are all high and mighty about that one thesis they wrote, and seem to think undergrads are incapable of holding pens let alone writing essays. There are a few diamonds in the rough (two good lecturers that I've come across so far) but really not much in the way of selling points. It also seems to be the easiest area for unis to make cuts to, so subjects are frequently appearing and disappearing which can kinda screw up planning your degree -.-

I've had fleeting affairs with the philosophy department and most of them seem alright - couple of standouts in 2nd year subjects especially. I've heard way more people praise the philo people at Monash, though it'd make a pretty solid major/minor anywhere really.

I know absolutely nothing about how Law works. All I've heard is that it's mega-competitive because you'll have more than half of the Commerce and Arts departments wanting to do the JD, so if might be worth having a back-up option.

If you're keen on Journalism, Melbourne have a good reputation for honours/post-grad Media Studies. You don't want to do Media as an Undergrad thing though!! Luckily you're eligible for almost all of the post-grad subjects so long as you've got a BA (and sometimes they require you to have 'some background in the field' which usually just means you've done some electives if not an official Major/Minor.) The undergrad Media & Comms classes are kind of a waste unless you want to sit around talking about shitty reality T.V. shows and how they represent capitalist ideologies
In post-grad they actually let you experiment with media writing and forms, so presumably that's where the interesting stuff happens.

I know independence is a really appealing idea, but unless you're financially stable enough to venture out on your own, it might not be a great move. House prices and rent aren't all that reasonable in Victoria, but they're way worse in NSW, especially in the metropolitan areas.
Very few people I know will have moved out of home by the end of an undergrad degree; unless there are extenuating circumstances you'll probably be better off staying at home, earning heaps of money for the three or four years you're at uni, and then moving out/ interstate when you're comfortable.

Happy to answer questions about Melb Arts if you want

[M_BONG]

Honestly if you are set on doing Law, I don't see why you wouldn't do an Arts/Law at Monash. Believe me, in the grand scheme of things, Melbourne or Sydney won't give you a better degree or better chances of being employed despite those uni being like 5 or 7 places above Monash (in terms of Law rankings)

Plus, Monash allows you to finish 2 years quicker if you take Arts/Law concurrently and you don't have to take the LSAT for Law (highly competitive) unlike Sydney or Melbourne JD. In terms of journalism, I don't know if you can do that post-grad - I think journalism normally comes under Arts or as a separate degree at RMIT, so you're better off doing it under your undergrad Arts degree anyway.

In terms of Monash Law, there is a high ATAR requirement (98ish) so that may put you off (compared to 90ish for Melb Arts) but Monash is just as reputable as Melbourne (in terms of Law, not so much Arts though) and the 2 year time advantage is really great.

[sjayne]

Just my two cents but I think you should definitely take in account things like travelling and being away from family etc. If you live on campus it's slightly different but otherwise travelling is the main thing that I'm struggling with so far. If you move to Usyd will you be okay if you don't like the course or if you have trouble making friends? I know people that have moved and love it but personally I need the support from my family.

All unis are good in their own way but just because they are prestigious doesn't necessarily mean that they will be the right fit for you. My friends at other unis are enjoying it so much more so wherever you go, just make sure it's right for YOU.