Chances: 3.92 (L2), 3.88 (cGPA), LSAT 164

[babooshka]

3.92 (L2), 3.88 (cGPA), LSAT 164 

6+ years of work in non-profits/community arts organizing

I've applied to Osgoode, Windsor, uOttawa, Dalhousie, U of A, Uvic & UBC. Happy to attend any of them, with uOttawa being my lease favoured option....

Decided not to write the Nov LSAT after receiving my October score but wondering if it might impact my chances @ Uvic and UBC. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance 🙂

[Darth Vader]

You have good chances of getting into all of them, except maybe Windsor, as they sometimes reject candidates with strong stats that they think will go somewhere else. Why is Ottawa your least favoured option? I would take over some of the other schools in your list.

[babooshka]

Just my experiences visiting folks in Ottawa, to be honest I don't know much about the school. I like that it's a smaller community though. Did you attend/live there?

That's good to know about Windsor! It's actually of high interest to me because of the some of the experiential courses its offering. I've also heard good things from recent grads (those interested in criminal justice/human rights focus).

 

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by babooshka

[Darth Vader]

27 minutes ago, babooshka said:

Just my experiences visiting folks in Ottawa, to be honest I don't know much about the school. I like that it's a smaller community though. Did you attend/live there?

That's good to know about Windsor! It's actually of high interest to me because of the some of the experiential courses its offering. I've also heard good things from recent grads (those interested in criminal justice/human rights focus).

 

 

Ottawa is the largest law school in the country with over 300 students, so if you are looking for a smaller community, then it may not be your best option. Most criminal defence lawyers are sole practitioners or work in small firms, so you can go to any school for this. Criminal law is also a common area that a lot of people pursue, so no one school has any distinct advantages than another, other than maybe making connections in the community you want to work in. 

From the practice of law perspective, human rights is generally linked to labour and employment law. You would deal primarily in discrimination type cases. Most people outside of law school envision human rights as doing work similar to what Amal Clooney is doing, but very few lawyers in the entire world do that kind of work. Most lawyers focus on domestic work, and most lawyers work in private practice. 

I would focus on minimizing your debt as the fields you want to pursue are not lucrative. Many students go into law school with rose-coloured glasses saying they want to do human rights work, and the vast majority of them end up going into Big law and corporate areas of law for the money and the job opportunities.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Darth Vader

[babooshka]

Thanks, yeah I have a few relatives who have practiced labour and personal injury law so I am aware of some of the realities of these fields. I'm in my 30's so conscious of the debt load as well. 

 

[JanLevinson]

1 hour ago, babooshka said:

Just my experiences visiting folks in Ottawa, to be honest I don't know much about the school. I like that it's a smaller community though. Did you attend/live there?

That's good to know about Windsor! It's actually of high interest to me because of the some of the experiential courses its offering. I've also heard good things from recent grads (those interested in criminal justice/human rights focus).

 

 

If you're looking at Windsor for their experiential course offerings, I want to direct you towards Osgoode as well. The tuition is higher than Windsor for sure but it does have a variety of experiential opportunities available.

I'm a 1L so I don't know how much the bursaries help but there is that option as well to minimize law school debt.

https://www.osgoode.yorku.ca/programs/juris-doctor/jd-program/clinics-intensives/

[RickyJulian]

For UBC, they’ll drop 12 of your worst credits if you have 90+ credits. They use CGPA. You can convert your 3.88 to their % scale using the link below. They have a “92 index score” the formula is

(gpa %)*.2678+(Lsat score)*.1986)+36.5952

https://www.arts.ubc.ca/degree-planning/academic-performance/promotion-continuation-grading/

[babooshka]

@JanLevinson Thanks for your thoughts! Yes, Osgoode is definitely of interest, the cost is my main concern but I would be delighted if it was a possibility. How are you finding your first year?

@RickyJulian If I've calculated it correctly, I have an index of 92.7. Do you have a sense of what might competitive this year? I've heard different things and the UBC system has confused me. 

[RickyJulian]

On 11/22/2021 at 2:41 PM, babooshka said:

@RickyJulian If I've calculated it correctly, I have an index of 92.7. Do you have a sense of what might competitive this year? I've heard different things and the UBC system has confused me. 

With a 164 lsat and a 92.7 index score, you’d have roughly a 87.85% CGPA including drops. It’d be easier to say with your actual CGPA %. If you do have a 87.85% gpa, I’d say you’re in with a great personal statement. Your 92.7 index is great and much higher than the 92 threshold. However, since it’s an unconfirmed CGPA and I don’t know how you converted it, it’s just personal opinions. Your CGPA could be lower or even higher than what you calculated.