Pathways into Law

[Christiano]

Alright so I'm aiming for 93+ to get into Bachelor of Law/Bachelor of Science at Deakin Uni. I want to practice law at the end of my degree. Is there any other pathways into practicing law that requires a score of less than 93 as an ATAR?

Also, which universities have decent faculties in law? I heard Victoria Uni was 'crap'. (need 84 to get in) Does it make a difference which university you go to for law?

Thanks in advance

[kakar0t]

I am also interested If anyone could answer these questions it would be a great help.

[eeps]

Having not finished VCE yet...

Monash/Melbourne (PG) are probably the two best unis in the state for law. Deakin and La Trobe are probably the next best. Victoria University is probably the newest university and hence, the cut-off for law is lower.

[jimmy999]

One of my friends did first year Arts/Commerce last year, got roughly an 80% average and then was able to transfer into Science/Law.

If you were going to do a transfer into Law, then obviously you'll do science first and thus wouldn't need as crazy as an average to get into Science/Law

[sgeorge]

I believe it depends on what area of law you intend to practise in regards to whether the university you choose will make a difference.

Our careers advisor suggests that if it is not possible to get into Monash (and you don't want to be part of the Melbourne Model) Deakin is quite a satisfactory option if you only intend to practise commercial/corporate law. That said, if you do go to a less reputable university and excel eg. have good grades and get some experience, I doubt it the perception that you came from a certain supposedly 'lesser' university would matter as much.

[eeps]

You can always transfer unis, if you have the necessary grades to do so. I don't think it really harms employment opportunities going to a "lesser" university (i.e. Deakin compared to Monash) if you maintain high grades. Ditto to what sgeorge said.

[Russ]

External transfers can be dicey if you're applying to a competitive course.

I have heard that law graduates have a stigma of lesser universities, unlike other fields (commerce, medicine etc.) but you might want to get a law student to confirm that

[ninwa]

These options are listed in (what I believe to be) order of desirability.

Go to Monash; do science, arts, commerce, business, performing arts, or music. Get good marks (78+ average as a rough guide). Transfer into law 2nd year.

Go to Deakin; do law; get very good marks; transfer to Monash law. AFAIK you will get some credit.

Go to Deakin; do law; get very good marks + lots of experience. Graduate with Deakin law degree.

Go to Melbourne; get very good marks; transfer to Monash law 2nd year.

Go to VU law; get extremely good marks; transfer to Monash law 2nd year. You will not get credit (afaik) i.e. you will have to repeat first year law.

Go to any uni. Study butt off for LSAT. Do JD. Quite risky unless you are prepared to accept that you may not end up with a law degree at all.

I think there's also a pathway which is something like Bachelor of Criminal Justice at some private college --> Bachelor of Laws and you get some credit too. I don't know how it works though. I know someone doing this so if you're really that interested in this pathway I can ask her for you.

anywho this is all I can think of atm

[ninwa]

@Russ yes I guess there is that kind of stigma especially if you want to practice law and want internships at decent law firms etc. A couple of the ppl I work with have law degrees from Deakin and haven't been able to find internships; both are now doing masters and considering academia instead.

Obv you can still succeed without a Monash/UoM law degree but the odds are fairly highly stacked against you. If you go to the top tier law firms and check out the partner profiles all of them are from Monash/UoM (or their equivalents in other states)

[Christiano]

These options are listed in (what I believe to be) order of desirability.

Go to Monash; do science, arts, commerce, business, performing arts, or music. Get good marks (78+ average as a rough guide). Transfer into law 2nd year.

Go to Deakin; do law; get very good marks; transfer to Monash law. AFAIK you will get some credit.

Go to Deakin; do law; get very good marks + lots of experience. Graduate with Deakin law degree.

Go to Melbourne; get very good marks; transfer to Monash law 2nd year.

Go to VU law; get extremely good marks; transfer to Monash law 2nd year. You will not get credit (afaik) i.e. you will have to repeat first year law.

Go to any uni. Study butt off for LSAT. Do JD. Quite risky unless you are prepared to accept that you may not end up with a law degree at all.

I think there's also a pathway which is something like Bachelor of Criminal Justice at some private college --> Bachelor of Laws and you get some credit too. I don't know how it works though. I know someone doing this so if you're really that interested in this pathway I can ask her for you.

anywho this is all I can think of atm

Thank you for your opinion ninwa, it'd be great if you ask your friend, I'd like to know as many pathways as possible.

So it seems that going to monash for law would be a high priority. Relatively, how difficult is it to attain a 78+ average in uni? The first option does seem ideal, as I'd only need an ATAR of 76 to get into science, then transfer to 2nd year law.

I also hear of a course in RMIT that is for civil law, and once you complete that after 3 years, you do JD for another 2-3 years at RMIT. I heard this from a friend, don't think its exactly accurate though, can anyone verify?

I'm hoping to get into commercial/corporate law.

[Russ]

I'd only need an ATAR of 76 to get into science, then transfer to 2nd year law.

Just so you know, you'd be transferring to 1st year law from 2nd year science.

A 78+ average is tough for the "average" student, it requires application and regular study and more than a bit of natural talent. It's also important to bear in mind that one poor mark can drag your average down quite substantially.

If you approach it as another year on a par with VCE then you'll be fine but it's not going to be an easy ride by any means

[werdna]

^ Christiano I see you've done Legal Studies this year. Just letting you know that you shouldn't expect a Law degree to be any similar to the VCE Legal Studies course - my house leader says that there is a misconception about practising law and being a lawyer etc. If your heart is set on Law though, try your hand at the Monash/UoM legal pathways.. for me personally, this 'prestige' thing does matter to a certain extent. Good luck!

[ninwa]

Yes Russ is right. So you would be graduating from science a couple of years earlier than law. A friend of mine transferred from science -> science/law; she finished her science degree this year and has another 2 years of law to go.

78+ is a lot tougher than it sounds. However, I still think it would be easier than doing the LSAT, which is why I put transferring above JD.

I actually have no idea how the RMIT law degree works sorry

[Christiano]

Thanks for clarifying that Russ.

I also need another clarification, on http://www.vtac.edu.au/pdf/publications/guide/guide2011-selectiondata.pdf, it says that Banking & Finance/Law at Monash Clayton requires 82.15. The VTAC course search states otherwise, needing 98.35 for the exact same course. Which one is correct?

[ninwa]

That's a VTAC error which it appears they still haven't fixed....

http://vce.atarnotes.com/forum/index.php/topic,27998.0.html