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"Best" school for mature student? Osgoode vs. Dal


CBay

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CBay
  • Law School Admit

We've all seen the rankings for Canadian schools, however accurate they may or may not be. But schools often have qualitative differences between them that aren't (and often can't) be captured by these rankings. In my case, I am a mature admit at 35 y/o, and I'm trying to figure if one school may offer a better experience over another for someone of my age. Sometimes, having people at the same stage in life as you can significantly enrich your experience. 

Specifically, I am looking to compare Osgoode and Dal here. From my observations, it seems there are many more K-JD types at Dal than there are at Osgoode. Can anyone with experience at either school comment on that? Do adcoms at Osgoode generally favour a more mature or accomplished cohort? Can anyone speak to the percentage of mature students at either school?

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StephenToast
  • Law Student

Osgoode publishes it's admission stats with an age breakdown. Roughly 1/3 of the class is not K-JD, ~12% is above 30 years old. You can probably find the same information on Dal's website with some digging. I'm sure you can reach out to the mature student associations to find someone to talk to too.

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Conge
  • Lawyer

I went to Dal. I've (physically) been in Osgoode a few times. They couldn't be more different, if you asked me.

Dal is feels like a small school, people hang out at the law school between classes, everyone knows each other (and each other's business), and there are regular social (i.e., drinking) events. Most students live within walking distance of the law school. Some people live so close that they would show up in sweats with coffee mug in their hand from their house. 

Osgoode seemed like a commuter school with a more professional feel. People came to the school, did their business, and left. I'm sure there is a social life, but that was  my impression after a few visits.

That may or may not be helpful but I hope it provides some context. 

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OntheVerge
  • Lawyer

Osgoode is great for mature students. There's a mature students club or something like that, but even in the classes there were a lot of mature students. I was in my early-mid thirties during Osgoode and there were at least 10-30 other students my age or older in every class. Quite a few I know had families so would leave after the last class of the day to get home in time to see their kids, and maybe that's why @Conge had that impression of being a commuter school? Most of the younger students lived in residence at Passey but older people have their homes or else don't vibe with living on residence.  But in my group of friends, most of us older and not on residence, even the ones with kids would hit the Thursday night pub nights a few times a month.

 

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Garfield
  • Articling Student

I’ve heard too from my friend who is a mature student that Oz has a pretty good mature student community.

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I haven’t been to Dal (or even visited) but I concur that Osgoode has a fantastic mature student community. A large chunk of my year was mature students and I still keep in touch with many of them. 

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VitalGiraffe
  • Law Student

I'm an incoming Oz 1L and can confirm that there seems to be quite a few mature students in my class. Way more than I was expecting actually, and many of them are in the 40s with families. Impressive stuff.

Edited by VitalGiraffe
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  • 1 month later...
CBay
  • Law School Admit
On 6/30/2022 at 8:03 AM, OntheVerge said:

Osgoode is great for mature students. There's a mature students club or something like that, but even in the classes there were a lot of mature students. I was in my early-mid thirties during Osgoode and there were at least 10-30 other students my age or older in every class. Quite a few I know had families so would leave after the last class of the day to get home in time to see their kids, and maybe that's why @Conge had that impression of being a commuter school? Most of the younger students lived in residence at Passey but older people have their homes or else don't vibe with living on residence.  But in my group of friends, most of us older and not on residence, even the ones with kids would hit the Thursday night pub nights a few times a month.

 

Are there weekly pub nights organized by the school, or are these self-organized by students or the sections?

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LMP
  • Law Student
4 hours ago, CBay said:

Are there weekly pub nights organized by the school, or are these self-organized by students or the sections?

Both. Though the informal ones might be section or friend group dependant.  

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CBay
  • Law School Admit
19 hours ago, LMP said:

Both. Though the informal ones might be section or friend group dependant.  

How do you find the socializing in general there? Given that people probably live all over the city, are there spontaneous hangs out that happen during the week (not talking about Passy or anything, of course)? Or are social gathering generally planned in advance, maybe on one or two nights of the week?

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OntheVerge
  • Lawyer

Both! Osgoode has a room set up for students to hang out and chat (directly across from the bistro), so people who live off-campus will often kill time there between classes. Lots of impromptu gatherings happened there, especially in 1L when your cohorts are all on the same schedule and want to discuss/debate class topics. Then there are the organized events like the weekly pub nights. You can join the group on Facebook and find out which pub it's happening at each week. Plus all the groups/clubs tend to have their own events planned. There's a lot going on at Osgoode, mostly likely to it's large student population so you could easily find a social event to go to multiple times a week. 

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