Another law dropout >.< (2 Viewers)

[Casablancas]

A week in I think i'll live the stereotype of being a drop out who wanted law for 'all the wrong reasons'. Money, prestiege? I had this initial focus of achieiving justice, doing something great (pffft I know). I found the tutes overally confronting, the readings dull and the assessments (in the outline) to be quite intimidating. All this in the first year, which is supposably 'easy' I don't think I can stand it for 5yrs( with an increasing workload+limited aptitude). I gotta decide really soon before the census date. What are the good reasons for staying?

 

[Streeter]

When I'm sitting around procrastinating over study, or am overcome by a problem, I try to give thought to why I wanted to study law. For me, I want to go into Family law, so it's fairly easy to make the connection that for every hour I study, there is a slightly higher chance that I can help a family in the future.
What did you want to go into?

 

[Casablancas]

I'm not learned enough to know that. I just knew that law would(or should) be synonymous to justice and that I could make 'a difference'. I had considered family law or possibly a branch of law which would improve circumstances for the disabled(does that exist??)Despite this, I'm known for giving up when things get hard

 

[KarmaKitten]

I'd say most readings in any subject would be quite dull and most assessments upon initial glance look confronting. You get the hang of it sooner or later, just focus on researching early and breaking assessments into parts. So that would definitely not be a good reason to drop out of law. Especially after only one week.

You can't really expect first year law to be exciting and filled with the kind of material that you have been craving. First year in almost every degree tends to not be as interesting and stimulating as the senior years.

Nobody can give you reasons to stay or go. You really need to decide whether you're capable of committing yourself to university, not just Law. Choosing something 'easier' is probably not going to make you any happier.

 

[melsc]

I would say try sticking it out for this semester, a week or two wont give you must of an indication. It might seem boring/dull/scary but it feels like that to a lot of us. It could be something to do with what subjects you're currently doing.

 

[Casablancas]

I would say try sticking it out for this semester, a week or two wont give you must of an indication. It might seem boring/dull/scary but it feels like that to a lot of us. It could be something to do with what subjects you're currently doing.

I'm currently studying accounting/law at Macq, starting with Law115. People further into the degree go on about how 'it gets better' and 'everybody feels lost'. wbu?

 

[melsc]

I'm currently studying accounting/law at Macq, starting with Law115. People further into the degree go on about how 'it gets better' and 'everybody feels lost'. wbu?

That is an introductory subject, its not a 'substantive law' subject. All it does is introduce you to the legal system and how to go about reading cases and other skills required to studying law. You won't see what law is really like until you start substantive law, when you will do Criminal Law in second semester you will get a better idea of what law is actually like.

Tbh I think most first year subjects in any degree are boring and introductory.

 

[Dr_Fresh]

A week in I think i'll live the stereotype of being a drop out who wanted law for 'all the wrong reasons'. Money, prestiege?

for money AND prestige, u do med.
for just money, u rob a bank or become a hooker.
for just prestige, u study B Science and dedicate ur life to winning the nobel prize.

 

[chewy123]

Inevitably, after 4 months of holiday, getting back into work is going to be challenging. As KK said, you just have to wait until you get to hang of it. I know how course outlines often makes the assessments seem harder than it is, and authors of law books like to stretch their sentence to the max to act hard when they can make the same point using short and basic English, so indeed it will "seem" intimidating at first. And as mel said, real law (tort, crim) is going to be more interesting and much easier to grasp than theoretical law (foundation, constitutional law..etc.) and it is the former which is going to be more important for a $$ law student.

I presume since you're doing a double degree, you can count your law subjects as free options if you do choose to drop law. If so, my advice is to stick with it for at least 2 semesters, and by then if you still dislike the course, you can drop it without losing out much.

 

[Tabris]

Maybe they should re-introduce jurisprudence to first year. The readings on HLA Hart and Austin made quite a positive impression for some.

As for acheiving justice, Macq's intercontextual approach (in many of its units) actually allows you to evaluate the law from different perspective to see whether it is "just" e.g. Marxist, Libertarian and Utilitarian perspectives of law.

 

[twistedtigers]

Don't be too hasty when deciding whether you should continue with law. I'm nearly finished my degree and yet I still stress out each semester when I see the exam questions that I'll have to be answering in a few months time. It all seems so impossible. If you work through the subject though, I find about half way (some times even a bit later) it will all suddenly click you'll understand how everthing works and why.

I also detest theory units. Understanding how law works in society, etc, etc. I much prefer subjects like torts, contracts, family law, etc that have a bit more meaning.

And don't let the over confident law students psyche you out either. I let them do that to me in my first year. They acted so confident and spoke to me like I wasn't their intellectual equal - only to discover I thrashed them in assignments and exams. If you take deep breaths, plod through the work and stay focussed, you might realise in a month or so that you actually have an affinity for the unit after all.

 

[themonalisa]

yer dont let those confronting law peeps get to u -

im a first year law student this year too and just finished my first week - and WOAH IT WAS DAUNTING!

but u know what follow the tortoise and hare story.

go at ur own pace

dont worry if u cant be 2 steps ahead of ur lecturer or cant regurgitate random cases or legal terms that no one else has heard of.

Do the readings, do ur summmaries and understand what ur learning and this focus will help u come exam and assignment time.

oh and remember not many people in society are privileged to be in ur position - that is of a law student - u can weild so much influence in ur future career and help right civil wrongs, lobby for justice where injustices occur, and move our society foward!

dont give up now! we need you !

 

[misericordia]

As melsc said, try to stick with law for at least 1 year. Like you, I hated law during my 1st year, it made me feel really miserable but when I started doing black letter law subjects I began to really like it. Of course workload increases but give it some time and you’ll begin to get a grasp of how to manage your stuff efficiently. Also having a study group helps a lot. You say tutes are confronting but not all units have class participation component, so I don’t think it’s problematic. I think if you drop out before you have a good feel of what LLB is really about, you might regret it. And don’t let ‘limited aptitude’ ever get to you. English is my second language but I still manage to obtain credit average so that kinda indicates if you put effort into studying you can do ok.

 

[Aerath]

Foundations of Law apparently has the tendency to be boring. I can certainly vouch of it....second week of Foundations of Law readings are absolutely shit.
So hang in there.

 

[jellybelly59]

Foundations of Law apparently has the tendency to be boring. I can certainly vouch of it....second week of Foundations of Law readings are absolutely shit.
So hang in there.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/208/467712185_161f58128e.jpg

 

[04er]

To be honest, I have never enjoyed law at uni. The workload is intimidating and depressing and the assessments are extremely competitive. But I have stuck with it because I know I will love my job, and this has turned out to be true. Just out of curiosity, what are you thinking of transferring to?

 

[Casablancas]

Im studying accounting with laws so I would either drop to accounting or transfer to acounting with business administration. I knew law would be no walk in the park, but i didnt realise how heavy it would be. I'm particularly afraid of the essays looming. What if i pass first year, then epically fail my latter subjects in 2nd/3rd year. Oh dear

 

[FCB]

for money AND prestige, u do med.
for just money, u rob a bank or become a hooker.
for just prestige, u study B Science and dedicate ur life to winning the nobel prize.

Damn good quote. Its in my sig now. So true

 

[avant]

all i can say is that a lot of good law students feel like dropping out at various points in their degree, particularly in the first 1.5 yrs. i find that the first 2 yrs have some of the most challenging classes (history and philosophy of law, contracts, even torts is quite difficult relative to your age) and at the same time, because your knowledge of law and general legal research, advocacy, mooting, drafting etc. is not developed or consolidated, you feel like you don't know shit. don't worry, as you progress through your degree you will learn all those things by osmosis and even if you're just an average student you will surprise yourself by how much you really know. the first couple of years of your law degree are the hardest because you have yet to get your own legal voice and you are just rehashing others' thoughts. hard, tough slog. natural to feel discouraged but unless you truly think there is no future in this type of work stick it out

 

[BOSnewbie]

Medicine is a noble profession and is seen as fairly prestigious, but comparatively speaking, it is not that highly paid a profession. So I say:

For prestige, do Medicine.

For money, do Finance then do Investment Banking, which is pretty prestigious too among those in the know. But bankers are, I guess, the polar opposite of doctors in terms of 'likeability' by your average Joe on the street.

Damn good quote. Its in my sig now. So true