Mature (possible) Applicant: wondering if I may ask the forum for some guidance.

[eucalyptus]

About me:

I'm a Canadian citizen, and I'm a mature candidate (in my mid 30s). I'm a practicing health care professional with several years of work experience (I'd prefer to be vague about exactly what I do, but in case it's helpful - the prefix "Dr." is used to address me).  I have completed an undergraduate and a master's degree as well.  I have not yet calculated my GPAs, nor have I attempted to take the diagnostic LSAT yet.
 

I've only just begun thinking about applying to law schools in Canada (I realize that my question may be premature without including GPA and LSAT scores) and I'm wondering if anyone in the forum would please offer me some guidance.
 

How might my application be evaluated by an admissions committee at the following law schools: UofT, Western, Queens, UBC, McGill?
How heavily will my GPA be weighted in my application after so many years being out of school?
What are the criteria will be important to an admissions committee?

[CleanHands]

You've piqued my curiosity.

Med school admission standards in Canada are significantly higher than law school admissions, so GPA shouldn't be a concern if you were able to obtain a Canadian medical degree. Your references to being a "Canadian citizen" and being interested in "law schools in Canada" seem to suggest to me you may be based out of Canada and/or studied out of Canada.

If you are a Canadian MD and had the undergrad grades to get admitted you should have no issue getting into Canadian law schools (and of course mature student status and your work experience could only be a plus on top of that). So your concern is a bit odd to me. Did you get a medical degree from one of those practically open admission Caribbean medical schools or something?

No offence intended, it's just that this does make a huge difference with respect to what answers people should be giving you.

[Kobe]

I have many of the same questions as @CleanHands I find this is kind of odd as anyone who gets into Canadian Med school is laughing at the law school gpa requirements. 

At any rate to answer your question GPA and LSAT are the main considerations. Your work experience is valuable and will considered by admissions but you still need competitive stats. The MD mature student combo would increase your chances of being admitted but again you still need competitive stats. 

[eucalyptus]

Hi CleanHands, thanks for taking an interest in my query, I appreciate that.

For clarification:

• I did not go to Caribbean school (I'm familiar with the reputation they have, no offence taken).
• I completed my healthcare training in the US - despite having decent grades in undergrad and having a masters, I didn't make the cut in Canada.
• I wrote that I'm a Canadian to make it clear that I'm not a foreign applicant, just in case being a foreign applicant impacts an applicant's candidacy somehow.

 

What I'm hearing these days is that the admissions standards for professional programs (healthcare and law included) are increasingly competitive with each passing year, and I wonder if my transcripts from 10+ years ago would even make it through a first round of cuts in present day admissions committees.

 

Edited December 4, 2021 by eucalyptus

[scooter]

7 hours ago, Kobe said:

I have many of the same questions as @CleanHands I find this is kind of odd as anyone who gets into Canadian Med school is laughing at the law school gpa requirements. 

 

OP is being quite vague about their profession and education, for all we know they are a chiropractor or an optometrist. Most people would not refer to medical school as "healthcare training"

[HoggPower]

UofT, UBC and McGill have pretty high admissions standards. I think they all look at your undergraduate GPA along with an LSAT score to assess your application. Generally, you submit all your post-secondary transcripts but the undergrad GPA is what they will lean on to make a decision. UBC works off of an index score but they do ask for a personal statement which is weighed in the admissions calculus. You don't necessarily need an LSAT score for McGill but they will consider it if you have a score to report.

Western and Queens have lower admissions standards when it comes to undergrad GPA. However, it starts and ends with your GPA and LSAT. Though this is not an absolute rule as (very rarely) people with stellar personal statements and diverse background are admitted with lower stats in some schools. But this is exceptionally rare and to count on it would be foolish.

Your prior work experience will certainly be considered by adcoms. Any further advice specific to your situation is not possible without some concrete stats. Good luck with the process. 

Edited December 4, 2021 by Gnu

[Psychometronic]

10 hours ago, eucalyptus said:

How might my application be evaluated by an admissions committee at the following law schools: UofT, Western, Queens, UBC, McGill?
How heavily will my GPA be weighted in my application after so many years being out of school?
What are the criteria will be important to an admissions committee?

UBC has given more weight to the personal statement in recent years but it’s still an index-heavy school. Even if you apply as a discretionary candidate  and get a holistic evaluation of your application, you’ll still want your GPA and LSAT to be within competitive range (https://allard.ubc.ca/programs/juris-doctor-jd-program/frequently-asked-questions).
 

Your work history will help but not if you have weak stats. As far as I know, they consider your undergrad GPA regardless of how old it is. I’ve heard of mature students returning to school after many years of being in the workforce and getting a much higher GPA than their first go-around. I’m not an ad comm and never have been so I don’t know exactly what effect this has on your GPA calculation at UBC.

As far as I know, your citizenship status doesn’t matter.

Check out the acceptance threads for insight into what stats you might need.   Unless something has changed, discretionary applicants are usually processed in May. Those posts tend to have more work history detail than the “general” applicants. 
 

Edited December 4, 2021 by Psychometronic

[chaboywb]

2 hours ago, scooter said:

OP is being quite vague about their profession and education, for all we know they are a chiropractor or an optometrist. Most people would not refer to medical school as "healthcare training"

My bet is on chiropractor or naturopath.