How do law schools look at co-op, summer classes, part-time semesters, and taking lower year courses at upper year?

[aspiring law student]

Hello, I am a third year undergraduate student and am striving to get into law school in 2023.

Before I get started, I would like to apologize and sincerely THANK YOU for taking your valuable time and effort in reading my extensive concern.

I am different from ordinary Canadian law applications for the many reasons as listed below, and I was wondering if any of them will be a hinderance or a draw back in admission, granted other portions of law school requirement are competitive. The concerns listed below are ordered in the order in which they were established and each leads to one another. 

My profile important for my concerns:

Undergraduate degree: BSc in Co-op psychology specialization with minor in biology (with minor in biology being a recent addition due to reason below)

Start-end date: Fall 2019 - Winter 2024 (5 year degree due to co-op)

cGPA: 3.96/4.00 (UofT scale)

My concerns: 

1.      I am a co-op student. In UTSC co-op programs, a student must complete a full course load in at least 1 summer semester.  As such, after my 2nd year of undergrad, 2021 summer, (where I was considered to be 3rd year due to the completed course load), I completed 5 courses in the summer (4 THIRD YEAR psychology courses and 1 second year elective) and received 85+ in each course. Concern: Taking 3rd year courses in the summer that would normally be taken (normally, I mean if I was not a co-op student) in the upcoming Fall. 

2.      When I was completing my 8-month full time co-op work term (Fall 2021-Winter 2022), I did not take any course and took the LSAT in January 2022 (w/ less than 50hrs of studying yielding 148 which was a big mistake). 

3.      During my work term in a teaching hospital, I developed an interest and passion in biology and decided to pursue a minor in biology although I have never taken a biology course . This means that I have to complete 8 biology and 2 chemistry courses (where 8/10 are first-second year courses) in my 3rd-4th year. As such, in Summer 2022 which was right after completing my work term, I took 1 1st YEAR biology course (intro to bio 2) and was the ONLY course I took (thus part-time student). At the same time, I studied for the scheduled September 2022 LSAT and worked once a week in the same hospital. I ended up withdrawing my LSAT test as I was not performing in the competitive range (withdrawn within time range so not a concern). Concern: I am scared that this may be looked down upon as it was first year course completed in summer and during part-time study. 

4.      Currently (Fall 2022, still my 3rd year based on completed credits), I am taking 2 FIRST YEAR courses (intro to bio 1 and intro to chem 1, needed for my biology minor) along with 3 THIRD YEAR major-related (psychology) courses and in Winter 2023 (4th year based on course load) I am scheduled to take 1 FIRST YEAR (intro to chem 2), 1 SECOND YEAR (human physiology), along with 3 THIRD-FOURTH year major-related courses. Concern: I am anxious because only 6/10 courses in my 3rd/4th year are higher upper-level courses. 

5.      In Summer 2023 (4th year), I am planning on taking 1 SECOND YEAR biology course (only b/c it is needed for third year biology course) while studying for the LSAT for the 2023 Nov cycle (class of 2024) without taking any other course. Concern: I will be a part-time student while taking a lower-level course. 

6.      In Fall 2023 (4th year), I am planning on taking 1 SECOND YEAR course along with 4 THIRD-FOURTH year psychology/biology courses. In Winter 2024 (4th year, final year), I am planning to do the same for Fall 2023. This is when I will graduate. This means I will be taking 5 full time semesters of courses in my 3rd and 4th year instead of 4 semesters (1 additional semester). 

To summarize, my primary concerns are 

1. Will taking a summer course during part time studies put me at a disadvantage if other law school requirements are competitive? 

2. Will it be a hinderance to take 8 first- and second-year courses in my 3rd & 4th years (out of 25 third-fourth year courses)?

Thank you so much in advance. 

[Renerik]

On 9/9/2022 at 5:25 PM, aspiring law student said:

I am different from ordinary Canadian law applications for the many reasons as listed below

You're overthinking this. 

The fragmented progression of your undergraduate program might make some schools who only look at your last 2 years for your GPA calculation look at your cGPA instead. Sure some schools dislike seeing too many intro courses in your final years of study, but they won't use that as justification to turn away an applicant with an A average cGPA.

Your grades are good, your only concern is keeping those up and getting a competitive LSAT.