UAlberta vs. Osgoode... but for Vancouver market

[Arnold Forrest]

Hi everyone! I know there's a couple other UAlberta vs. Osgoode threads out there, but I thought I'd ask around for people's opinions on either school but for working in Vancouver.

For context, I want to work in corporate/BL in Vancouver and currently deciding between UofA vs. Osgoode. Looking at recruitment numbers, I see that UofA had 6 recruits vs Osgoode's 3 in 2023. But in 2022, both schools each had 3 (https://ultravires.ca/2021/11/vancouver-2022-2l-summer-recruitment-numbers/ ; https://ultravires.ca/2022/12/vancouver-summer-2023-2l-recruit-numbers). I also understand that recruitment numbers aren't always a good indicator, because it just might be due to the number of students that apply to Vancouver firms from those schools each year.

Does anybody know if either schools have OCI's from Vancouver firms (or if this even matters post-COVID anymore, online inteviews, etc.)?

I also understand that the Alberta (both Edmonton and Calgary) 1L recruit is far less competitive than the Toronto 1L recruit. So there might be an added benefit, in that it may be easier securing some 1L experience in Alberta before, which may help with securing a 2L recruit position in Vancouver the following summer.

For additional context, I have a strong connection to Vancouver, having family in Vancouver and doing my undergrad at UBC (currently no offer from UBC).

[LMP]

I know @duck had a similar decision and ended up coming to Osgoode. They landed biglaw in Vancouver during the recurit (and I can confirm that Osgoode does Vancouver OCIs). But I'll leave it to them to talk more about their choice and the process. 

 

[Whist]

I don’t think you’d severely harm your chances choosing either school. UofA might have an advantage in terms of physical proximity (if you want to travel to Vancouver, UofA is a much shorter and cheaper flight). 

I’ll let someone else speak for Oz, but career services at UofA gives out a lot of information for the Vancouver recruit and somewhat often posts jobs from BC. Aside from those directly from AB, the second largest number of students are from BC. The 1L recruit in AB is pretty competitive, most people don’t land anything until 2L. I might be wrong on this, but I don’t think a 1L job at a big firm is necessarily going to help you more than a different 1L job at getting a 2L recruit spot at a completely different firm in another city. Four months isn’t a lot of time to learn much. Although having experience going through the recruit process might be useful in making you more comfortable your second go around. 

[Asian Jim]

Go Osgoode and apply to the Toronto recruit as "backup". The Toronto recruit happens after the Vancouver recruit ends so you can see if you will land Vancouver and if not, go for Toronto. I know the Toronto recruits is generally viewed as more competitive but going to Oz will give you an edge there so you will have a fair shot at both. In comparison, the Calgary recruits happen earlier than Vancouver. So if your goal is Vancouver then you don't get to have the Calgary recruits as a backup. Obviously both really good schools but considering how well Oz places in recruits + the timing of the recruits makes me lean heavily towards Oz over UofA. Another thing you could consider is to start at Oz and then transfer to UBC for 2L if u wanted to.