Advice to Canadian Brit dual national

[canadianbrit]

Hi I have dual nationality. Was born and brought up in UK to Canadian/Uk parents. Am in 3rd year of 4 year undergrad poli sci in the UK. On target for 1st class honours which I think is classified as 4.0 (or maybe 3.8 but no lower). I am interested in doing law afterwards - but think I might prefer to live and work in Canada not the UK, ultimately, as the UK is a basket-case post Brexit and I can't see that getting better in the near or medium-term. I have family in Vancouver but no fixed view of where I would live. I have travelled a lot in Canada multiple times - Vancouver, Montreal/Quebec, Toronto, Nova Scotia and the Maritimes. Never Calgary/Edmonton/prairies though. 

I wondered what people would advise in terms of where I should apply to law school if I go the Canadian route. My french is poor so not McGill. I am thinking UofT, UBC, Queen's, maybe Dal. I have looked at Osgoode which I know is a great school but my feeling is that York is not the nicest place to be as a new arrival to Toronto, and it feels like it might be a commuter school so that I'll be left in a residence in York wondering what exactly I'm doing there, with no friends or family near by. Is that a false assumption? I know UBC is also a commuter school but the location and campus is great, I do have family in town (uncle, cousins) and I could see myself living in Vancouver ultimately.

I would be interested in knowing what you think would be the best place for law school for someone in my situation, i.e. someone with few contacts anywhere in canada coming from europe. Assume strong LSAT of 165 or more for the sake of argument. 

Thanks!

 

[Kobe]

8 minutes ago, canadianbrit said:

Hi I have dual nationality. Was born and brought up in UK to Canadian/Uk parents. Am in 3rd year of 4 year undergrad poli sci in the UK. On target for 1st class honours which I think is classified as 4.0 (or maybe 3.8 but no lower). I am interested in doing law afterwards - but think I might prefer to live and work in Canada not the UK, ultimately, as the UK is a basket-case post Brexit and I can't see that getting better in the near or medium-term. I have family in Vancouver but no fixed view of where I would live. I have travelled a lot in Canada multiple times - Vancouver, Montreal/Quebec, Toronto, Nova Scotia and the Maritimes. Never Calgary/Edmonton/prairies though. 

I wondered what people would advise in terms of where I should apply to law school if I go the Canadian route. My french is poor so not McGill. I am thinking UofT, UBC, Queen's, maybe Dal. I have looked at Osgoode which I know is a great school but my feeling is that York is not the nicest place to be as a new arrival to Toronto, and it feels like it might be a commuter school so that I'll be left in a residence in York wondering what exactly I'm doing there, with no friends or family near by. Is that a false assumption? I know UBC is also a commuter school but the location and campus is great, I do have family in town (uncle, cousins) and I could see myself living in Vancouver ultimately.

I would be interested in knowing what you think would be the best place for law school for someone in my situation, i.e. someone with few contacts anywhere in canada coming from europe. Assume strong LSAT of 165 or more for the sake of argument. 

Thanks!

 

My advice is write the LSAT and then you can decide where to apply. Other than that go to school where you want to live. On Osgoode, it is a great school, I think people forget it's still in Toronto and is a TTC ride away from the amenities Toronto has. 

[canadianbrit]

Thanks Kobe. That is good advice - I will look a bit closer at Osgoode and how it sits within the GTA

[LMP]

34 minutes ago, canadianbrit said:

Thanks Kobe. That is good advice - I will look a bit closer at Osgoode and how it sits within the GTA

You're right Osgoode is in a not so great part of Toronto. But it is a great place to meet people. I live on campus and the law school residence is a lot of fun. I've met a ton of people and made some very good friends. I'd actually recommended doing that for a year and then, like everyone does, move downtown or somewhere else in the GTA in 2L.

[Ryn]

Yeah with respect to Osgoode, I never lived in residence but had a lot of friends who did. It’s mainly a commuter school for upper years and for people who already live in Toronto. A lot of first years live in res, and there’s a whole close community that builds as a result. I sincerely doubt you’ll feel alone or isolated if you decide to live in residence. Osgoode has its own residence buildings so all of your neighbours will be Osgoode students. And despite what I said about upper years, quite a few of them stick around and live there for all 3 years.

North York isn’t that great as your first introduction to Toronto but York University is right on the subway line and you can be downtown in like 20 minutes. So don’t discount Osgoode just because of where it is. 

[canadianbrit]

Thanks both, I will add it to my list.

How about Uvic? I am finding it difficult to find out any information about it as a school. If I decide that Vancouver is probably where I want to be, then would UVic get me into good jobs in Vancouver after graduation? Is it a good school?

[Darth Vader]

I would not just look at the location and overall school reputation when deciding which law schools to apply to, but also the individual offerings they have. An important consideration is whether you are going for Big law or something in retail law, social justice, or public interest. If it is the former, then you want to attend a school with the best Big law placement rates in the location you want to work in, and if it is the latter, then you will want to minimize debt and also look at what the school offers in the areas of law you're interested in working in. You can go into any area of law from any school, so this won't affect your career much, but it could affect your law school experience and the type of networks and connections you form. Clinic opportunities are also not the same across all law schools. 

UVic is a very good school and has strong job placement rates in Vancouver.