No, its not that bad.
Like all Universities it has its good and bad points. Prestige being something it lacks.
For law the degree is more practical than most uni's which is being increasingly recognised, it means that you get assessed in moots (mock court) rather than traditional essays, something I miss at Macquarie.
Lucky for you, Economics is also on Paramatta campus as is law so there will be no extra travel for you (which is the issue most people have).
Some of the things I didn't like at UWS:
1. The attitude of other students - most were apathetic and I wasn't feeling challenged, a lot of them acted like they were forced to be at uni and this frustrated me.
2. The ability and attitude of the academics - UWS has some great academics (Katrina and Simon for law <3) but like all uni's it has some shockers. The worst is some teach down, thinking because you go to UWS you are stupid.
3. Travel - Arts law was spilt across capuses andat one stage with the electives I chose I was looking at 4 campuses in some semesters.
All that said you will be taught the same stuff often out of the same textbooks that students at other universities are studying. With law in particular all universities are required to teach certain things. You will also benefit from new buildings and the sexiest moot court around. Its not some primitive campus and despite my transfer there are elements of UWS I miss and find lacking at Macquarie.
That said there is always the option to transfer out if you hate it, provided you put the effort in
University is what you make of it though, you can do well if you get some work experience, get involved with extra-circulars and get decent marks.
There are many successful UWS grads and I havent had it impact badly on me. I recently got a part-time job with two barristers (one of which is a SC) and both asked me about both UWS and MQ but mainly if I prefered one or the other, they couldn't careless where I went and I just make sure that I counter act the lack of prestige with good marks and other reputable activities.
Good luck
doink said:
And advanced english is something you should seriously consider doing if you do not wish to be at a disadvantage, since law comprises of alot of writing with sophisticated language getting into the habit wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea. Don't worry about legal studies though it is useless for law.
I disagree. Do the English course that will get you the best UAI and the one you can handle. Even advanced english does not adequately prepare one to write at university level. All this is learnt at university and they even have courses to help people learn these skills. The art of legal writing in particular is a difficult skill to learn and your first law subjects teach you these skills.