Uni Advice please?

[ellieo]

Hi guys !
So, I'm facing a bit of a dilemma at the moment about university preferences. I've always loved science, particularly the biological and chemical aspects of it (genetics, drug design etc.), but I also really love language and linguistics and I really can't choose between the two. Because of this, I'm hoping to do an Arts/Science degree. (Is this a wise course of action?)
Unfortunately, Melbourne doesn't do doubles and Monash is too far away for me to go there. Swindburne, Deaking, ACU, RMIT and VU don't seem to suit me, so I'm left with LaTrobe, or going interstate.
 I've gotten the impression that LaTrobe would be a good university for many things that I'm interested in, but it certainly isn't as prestigious as other universities. Is the prestige factor a big one for undergraduate education? Can you get to Cambridge from LaTrobe? I know this may be a bit judgemental, but I've always slightly scorned LaTrobe as being some sort of 'lesser' university, but now I realise that it might suit me. Does anyone care about which university you go to? Are the people at LaTrobe nice and intelligent?  Is the quality of education the same? Should I reconsider doing a single degree?
Obviously, I'm just looking for some opinions, anecdotes and advice. Anything's appreciated 

(P.S: I'm expecting an atar above 90 and could have a chance of getting scholarships at LaTrobe, but not at other unis.)

[hobbitle]

You could do BSCI at Melbourne with an Arts breadth (4-6 subjects out of 24) and do a concurrent diploma in a language (which adds 6-12 months on your degree, another 4-8 subjects). It's close to doing a double degree except you don't have two Bachelors at the end, you have a Bachelor and a diploma.

I know SFA about other unis so that's just my opinion if you wanted to go to UoM.

[miaow]

Monash might just be a bit closer than interstate? If you're concerned about the 'prestige' factor at all you could possibly look further into Monash - is relocating to on campus/rental accommodation an option?

[Aaron]

Look... the 'prestige' factor may come into play at some point with some employers but in my personal opinion some of the 'less prestige' universities teach much better than some of the top universities (where they have higher ratings of research that make up their high rating - as an example). I know quite a few people that go to different universities other than La Trobe, with differing opinions on teaching quality.

Are the people at LaTrobe nice and intelligent? Well, only you can answer this question really. Everyone has differing opinions on what is classified as 'nice' and 'intelligent'. In my opinion majority are quite nice - although like any university there are the select few that aren't.

In the end you have to be happy with your choice since you're the one paying for it - so I guess you really need to think about whether you are happy with a "La Trobe" degree as opposed to say, a Melbourne degree.