Arts (and the JD too) - General Questions

[Peter_1993]

I'm still unsure about what I should major in throughout my Arts degree so I've decided to create a thread to, hopefully, alleviate the headaches of my decision making.

*I only received an 81 ATAR score (have underrepresented school and Access Melbourne) - mainly lazy throughout the whole of high school (turning this behavior around for university hopefully).

*Require a 75%+ average for hopes of pursuing a JD at Melbourne.

1. How are the Arts students treated among others? I've heard positives and negatives. :\

2. Should I base my majoring decisions on the general difficulty of the major?

3. Which majors are generally seen as relatively easier than most?

4. I've shown a little interest in Politics and International Studies (wanted to do International Studies in VCE however our school didn't offer it as a subject) but I have NO background whatsoever in international relations/politics. If I had done International Studies in VCE, there is no doubt I would've chosen this as my major however I have concerns of reaching the 75% GPA average throughout the course of this major if I have no prior experience. I'm also a little worried about the essay writing as I only received a 35 for English (wrote half a page for language analysis) although I know I am a pretty decent writer when I actually put my head down and concentrate. Should I worry about having no prior knowledge? Are there many people who will major in something they've no knowledge of and will it be hard to stand out?

5. Is Criminology a retarded and useless major? I don't know what it is about this major that just seems to capture my attention as something that has no actual purpose. I know Arts is somewhat useless in itself but I want to at the very least broaden my knowledge from it. Does Criminology have any association to the study of law and should I do it if I want to pursue a JD? I do have a deep passion for the study of law.

6. Are there any extra-curricular activities that I can participate in that will contribute towards the likelihood of being accepted into the JD?

7.  Should I start studying for the LSAT now? I'm keen - it looks fun to be honest but I don't want it to be getting in the way of my studies.

8. How are you finding university life? Better than high school?

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Excuse the grammatical/spelling errors - typing on iPad!

[Russ]

1. How are the Arts students treated among others? I've heard positives and negatives. :\

Nobody will seriously hate on you, but get ready for 3 years of being told your degree is useless (it is) and that you don't need qualifications to flip burgers.

2. Should I base my majoring decisions on the general difficulty of the major?
3. Which majors are generally seen as relatively easier than most?

Do the major you like, otherwise you will sincerely regret it.

4. I'm shown a little interest in Politics and International Studies (wanted to do International Studies in VCE however our school didn't offer it as a subject) but I have NO background whatsoever in international relations/politics. If I had done International Studies in VCE, there is no doubt I would've chosen this as my major however I have concerns of reaching the 75% GPA average throughout the course of this major if I have no prior experience. I'm also a little worried about the essay writing as I only received a 35 for English (wrote half a page for language analysis) although I know I am a pretty decent writer when I actually put my head down and concentrate. Should I worry about having no prior knowledge? Are there many people who will major in something they've no knowledge of and will it be hard to stand out?

Your VCE knowledge is quite irrelevant to your major. Pick whatever you want. It will be hard to stand out in every class.

6. Is there any extra-curricular activities that I can contribute towards in order to boost my likelihood of being accepted into the JD?

Yes, heaps.

7.  Should I start studying for the LSAT now? I'm keen - it looks fun to be honest but I don't want it to be getting in the way of my studies.

No.

8. How are you finding university life? Better than high school?

Better mostly, sometimes worse. It's all on you now...you're just one in thousands and they're all just as important as you are

[Mech]

nobody will seriously hate on you, but get ready for 3 years of being told your degree is useless (it is) and that you don't need qualifications to flip burgers.

 

[Russ]

Getting in early, what can I say

[paulsterio]

1. How are the Arts students treated among others? I've heard positives and negatives. :\

You'll get bagged here and there but it's in good humour and for fun, people don't mean it when they bag you about your Arts degree, I bag people doing Arts yet I'm doing a DipArts next year (hopefully)

2. Should I base my majoring decisions on the general difficulty of the major?
3. Which majors are generally seen as relatively easier than most?

In my opinion, do a major you enjoy, but with the other subjects, you kind of should have easier subjects in there because they boost your GPA and also they free up time for you to work on other things.

4. I'm shown a little interest in Politics and International Studies (wanted to do International Studies in VCE however our school didn't offer it as a subject) but I have NO background whatsoever in international relations/politics. If I had done International Studies in VCE, there is no doubt I would've chosen this as my major however I have concerns of reaching the 75% GPA average throughout the course of this major if I have no prior experience. I'm also a little worried about the essay writing as I only received a 35 for English (wrote half a page for language analysis) although I know I am a pretty decent writer when I actually put my head down and concentrate. Should I worry about having no prior knowledge? Are there many people who will major in something they've no knowledge of and will it be hard to stand out?

You, by no means, have to stand out in everything to achieve a 75% average GPA, just choose your subjects wisely, be consistent and efficient and you're half-way there. VCE knowledge doesn't really come into play. Yes, those who did the subject in VCE would find it easier at the start, but it fades after a while. If you're that worried, get the VCE book off a friend or from a 2nd Hand Bookstore and do some general reading. There's also a lot of information on politics and international relations on the internet, and I mean a lot, you just have to do some reading. I've never done biology in my life and I'm heading into a degree which requires biology, so I'm just doing some reading here and there, that sort of stuff.

6. Is there any extra-curricular activities that I can contribute towards in order to boost my likelihood of being accepted into the JD?

Well, I think there's an interview, so anything relevant will help, work experience, clubs...etc.

7.  Should I start studying for the LSAT now? I'm keen - it looks fun to be honest but I don't want it to be getting in the way of my studies.

Probably not NOW, but once the school year has started, I don't see a problem with that, see what others are doing.

8. How are you finding university life? Better than high school?

Well, I'll find out next year

[andy456]

5. Is Criminology a retarded and useless major? I don't know what it is about this major that just seems to capture my attention as something that has no actual purpose. I know Arts is somewhat useless in itself but I want to at the very least broaden my knowledge from it. Does Criminology have any association to the study of law and should I do it if I want to pursue a JD? I do have a deep passion for the study of law.

I wouldn't say retarded and useless because it does have its place in the world, however I found it very boring and dull. Lots of people do it in the hope that it will be similar to law. IT IS NOT! The first semester was mainly about crime theories: why people commit crimes etc and the second semester was about policing and prevention.

If you want to test it out just take the first Semester subject (ATS1281)  next year and see how you like it.

[dc302]

Nobody will seriously hate on you, but get ready for 3 years of being told your degree is useless (it is) and that you don't need qualifications to flip burgers.

LOL people actually say that? Never heard that line specifically...

OP, the people I hang out with are a mix of science, engineering, arts and comm kids so we all like each other just fine

[Peter_1993]

5. Is Criminology a retarded and useless major? I don't know what it is about this major that just seems to capture my attention as something that has no actual purpose. I know Arts is somewhat useless in itself but I want to at the very least broaden my knowledge from it. Does Criminology have any association to the study of law and should I do it if I want to pursue a JD? I do have a deep passion for the study of law.

I wouldn't say retarded and useless because it does have its place in the world, however I found it very boring and dull. Lots of people do it in the hope that it will be similar to law. IT IS NOT! The first semester was mainly about crime theories: why people commit crimes etc and the second semester was about policing and prevention.

If you want to test it out just take the first Semester subject (ATS1281)  next year and see how you like it.

Thanks for that! I'll definitely be staying away from Criminology then.

1. How are the Arts students treated among others? I've heard positives and negatives. :\

You'll get bagged here and there but it's in good humour and for fun, people don't mean it when they bag you about your Arts degree, I bag people doing Arts yet I'm doing a DipArts next year (hopefully)

Haha that's definitely fine with me! I just don't want to feel like a genuine outsider who's isolated from everyone else because his/her degree is useless.

nobody will seriously hate on you, but get ready for 3 years of being told your degree is useless (it is) and that you don't need qualifications to flip burgers.

 

I've actually heard this quite a lot.

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9. When do we have to pick our majors and are there any one-on-one sessions where students (particularly Arts students) can speak with an advisor to assist in the decision making process?

[dc302]

9. When do we have to pick our majors and are there any one-on-one sessions where students (particularly Arts students) can speak with an advisor to assist in the decision making process?

I believe you can pick your major by the end of 2nd year, as long as you have done the required prereqs. It is done through the 'portal' which is online, and you will get access to this before uni starts I believe. As for student advisors, if it's anything like the science faculty then you should be able to call them and book an appointment to have an advice session.

[Mech]

Getting in early, what can I say

This is not aimed at you personally, just a general comment on this topic.

I do not understand why people bag an Arts degree so much. Some people want to spend a few years getting an academic background before they lock in for a career. You can still have a career with the degree you got as well. I know my cousin did a double major in Arts and then ended up doing graduate finance/actuarial studies, and she had a job to support her whilst doing that and was top preference over her competition in interviews because of her background edge on other people. My other cousin only did an Arts degree and is now successfully working for an international firm in HR.

It is typical Science/Mathematics/Engineering versus Arts/Humanities snobbery. I even had this during high school with being one of the only students  to be doing purely humanities subjects. I was scorned by my coordinators for abandoning mathematics and science because I was apparently only going to get a 90+ ATAR if I did science and mathematics (I was also very good at science). Well, I got a 90+ ATAR, topped two of my humanities classes and, most importantly, pursued my passions.

It infuriates me this immature, and ever prevalent, bad attitude people have towards some people's passions. 

[Eriny]

^ As above. The idea that Arts is useless on its own is pervasive and not true. It is the case that you are unlikely to get a job in the area you majored in if you only have a BA without honours or higher research, but there are a whole heap of job opportunities for arts grads in a real diverse range of areas. I think the bias might stem from sexism (the idea that arts is 'girly' and therefore somehow bad), from jealousy (because arts subjects are actually, by and large, interesting), because on the surface Arts subjects seem accessible (by which I mean, most people can probably pick up a journal article in arts and understand the basics of it, but if I picked up a random maths paper it would be completely unintelligible to me without a great deal of training), by insecurity (because, let's face it, nobody is guaranteed a great job at the end of uni, regardless of their degree choice), and because even though there are job opportunities, there isn't really one obvious career trajectory which forms from an Arts degree.

[dc302]

^ And probably ignorance too, which I am also guilty of as I have no idea what arts graduates do (same kinda goes for science though...I mainly see people pursuing further education afterwards).

[Peter_1993]

9. When do we have to pick our majors and are there any one-on-one sessions where students (particularly Arts students) can speak with an advisor to assist in the decision making process?

I believe you can pick your major by the end of 2nd year, as long as you have done the required prereqs. It is done through the 'portal' which is online, and you will get access to this before uni starts I believe. As for student advisors, if it's anything like the science faculty then you should be able to call them and book an appointment to have an advice session.

So majors aren't something we pick before commencing study? I always thought that the major in which we chose, would become the 'degree' to which we complete - for example a major in Politics and International Studies would take a different route through Arts in comparison to someone who undertook Criminology as their major. Can I get a little clarification on this? Is it actually two years of generic Arts subjects and then a year of majoring?

^ And probably ignorance too, which I am also guilty of as I have no idea what arts graduates do (same kinda goes for science though...I mainly see people pursuing further education afterwards).

I've been told many times before that Arts is a pretty good starting point for those interested in doing a post-graduate in anything Humanities/Social Science based such as the Juris Doctor, so perhaps most Arts students have a plan that would benefit them from undertaking an Arts approach? I honestly don't see why there is so much prejudice against Arts students to be honest. It's not like every Arts student has no plan for the future.

10. Is it bad idea to cram all lectures/tutorials into three days so that an extra long weekend is possible? (Cram everything into Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). Taking into consideration my need to do well, would this be suggested?

[Russ]

So majors aren't something we pick before commencing study? I always thought that the major in which we chose, would become the 'degree' to which we complete - for example a major in Politics and International Studies would take a different route through Arts in comparison to someone who undertook Criminology as their major. Can I get a little clarification on this? Is it actually two years of generic Arts subjects and then a year of majoring?

1st year is generally all generic arts subjects, 2nd year is generic subjects from the fields you're considering majoring in and 3rd year is your major + a couple of supporting subjects. Your major is what differentiates you from the other students, but you'll have a very similar skillset to somebody who did Politics if you did Criminology. The route you take only really differs substantially in 3rd year.

I honestly don't see why there is so much prejudice against Arts students to be honest. It's not like every Arts student has no plan for the future.

Well yes, not every arts student...

10. Is it bad idea to cram all lectures/tutorials into three days so that an extra long weekend is possible? (Cram everything into Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). Taking into consideration my need to do well, would this be suggested?

Most people do this, your ability to do well is pretty independent of it.

[ninwa]

I've been told many times before that Arts is a pretty good starting point for those interested in doing a post-graduate in anything Humanities/Social Science based such as the Juris Doctor, so perhaps most Arts students have a plan that would benefit them from undertaking an Arts approach? I honestly don't see why there is so much prejudice against Arts students to be honest. It's not like every Arts student has no plan for the future.

I would say an arts degree is by far the best "preparatory degree" you can do before a JD/LLB, especially if you're majoring in an area like politics or international studies which requires a large amount of reading and analysis.

Most people who bag arts degrees have very little idea of what it actually encompasses. I would say it mostly stems from ignorance.