Top 10 reasons TO go to my school

[mistertubby]

1 hour ago, Æthelflæd said:

Can someone do U of T? I would be very grateful 🙂

I would but I actually cant think of ten things I like about this place 

[LiveLawandProsper]

20 hours ago, mistertubby said:

I would but I actually cant think of ten things I like about this place 

Oof, that bad, eh?  Could you elaborate? I'm very open to hearing about the bad stuff, too.

[mistertubby]

1 hour ago, Æthelflæd said:

Oof, that bad, eh?  Could you elaborate? I'm very open to hearing about the bad stuff, too.

honestly, the bottom line is come here if you want big law. any other outcome is attainable from any other school at cheaper cost (including big law, with lesser probability). i made a pragmatic decision to come here and it paid off, but the experience has been highly mediocre. idk, maybe youll fit in better than i do 

[Rashabon]

I enjoyed U of T and had a great time but from where it's gone since I went to school and with increased tuition / COL, it really seems only worth it if (i) you want a much higher chance at Bay Street, (ii) you want to go to New York big law, (iii) you want to increase your chances at clerking. I still think U of T places very well in clerkships relative to some of the other schools, but I'm at a bit of a remove from that so one of the people that pays attention to clerking is probably better served to comment there.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Rashabon

[Ben]

I like U of T a lot. Profs are fantastic, classmates are super bright, opportunities never unduly limited, the city rocks. I don't have a bad word to say about it, except for the tuition.

The cost of living doesn't bother me. I'd much rather pay an extra $500 a month to live in downtown Toronto than somewhere in London or Kingston or, god forbid, North York. 

[cherrytree]

It's the caliber of students who attend UofT that made it a good experience for me. The students make the school, not the other way around

[QMT20]

1 hour ago, Rashabon said:

 I still think U of T places very well in clerkships relative to some of the other schools, but I'm at a bit of a remove from that so one of the people that pays attention to clerking is probably better served to comment there.

U of T still does the best for Clerkships out of the Ontario schools from what I can see. They placed like 20 students in appellate clerkships last year (7 SCC, 7 ONCA, 4 BCCA, 2 FCA). In comparison, Queen's placed  7 (2 SCC, 2 ONCA, 1 BCCA, 1 ABCA, 1 FCA). 

Anecdotally, I heard McGill places more than U of T from some of my profs in law school but at worst U of T is second for clerkships.

[legalkoala]

Would appreciate if someone could do Western 🙂

[LiveLawandProsper]

2 hours ago, Ben said:

I like U of T a lot. Profs are fantastic, classmates are super bright, opportunities never unduly limited, the city rocks. I don't have a bad word to say about it, except for the tuition.

The cost of living doesn't bother me. I'd much rather pay an extra $500 a month to live in downtown Toronto than somewhere in London or Kingston or, god forbid, North York. 

Looool I live in North York, I'd be commuting ahahaha 😂

[Ben]

7 minutes ago, Æthelflæd said:

Looool I live in North York, I'd be commuting ahahaha 😂

If you mean you live with family up there, so you're not paying rent, that changes the calculus! Feel free to DM if you have any particular questions about the school.

[jawnlegend]

On 1/19/2022 at 5:34 PM, Æthelflæd said:

Can someone do U of T? I would be very grateful 🙂

1. An incredibly generous need-based financial aid program. I come from a low-income family and am a first-generation university student. I received well over half of my tuition in financial aid. I recommend using the financial aid calculator to have an idea of what your effective tuition will be. 
2. Most of your professors will be at the top of their field. Though this isn't always a testament to their lecturing skill, it is neat to know that your instructor literally assembled the textbook on the subject. If you're interested in legal academia, this will be a relevant consideration. 
3. Best-in-class employment statistics as far as formal recruits go. If you're interested in corporate law or clerking, this is a relevant consideration. There's been a lot of debate over the effects of self-selection and survivorship bias on the data, but a middle-of-the-pack UofT student seems to be in a better position in terms of landing interviews than students from other schools. 
4. A very helpful Career Development Office. They provide a lot of great resources and services as far as the formal recruits go, though I've heard that they're comparatively lacking when it comes to helping out students interested in public interest work.
5. Jackman Law Building is really nice. We have a keyfob system that ensures it remains the exclusive domain of law students. IIRC it was built fairly recently, so all of its amenities are relatively modern. 
6. A highly accomplished and intelligent peer group. This isn't to detract from the accolades of cohorts at other schools, but UofT's comparatively competitive admission requirements assembles brings together students that I find generally have really interesting experiences prior to law school and a high degree of intellectual engagement. 
   1. I should also add that the school has a good upper-year mentorship pairing program, as well as mentorship programs (upper years and practitioners) internal to many clubs.
7. Does not feel like a commuter school. Nearly all of my friends live close to campus. I'm not sure if Osgoode or Ryerson are the same way, but people who I know went to those schools in undergrad have tended to levy that critique. 
8. Location. Being in Toronto is a huge advantage (admittedly less-so in COVID times) when it comes to networking with practitioners if you're interested in working in this market. Personally, I prefer our location compared to the other Toronto schools since the urban environment is more tame compared to Ryerson, but still far removed from the frozen tundra that is North York.
9. A pretty diverse bevy of clubs, journals, and other extra-curricular opportunities. Admittedly, one flaw in the system is that spots on public interest clinics are given out in 1L by lottery, so not everyone will get to participate in the program of their choosing, but all of these clinics offer gainful employment to students during the summer. 
10. A grading scheme that reduces student stress. This may be a controversial point, but I'm of the opinion that for most UofT students, our grading scheme does a lot of good in reducing the amount of gradations at the low end of the scoring spectrum, which works to the effect of protecting those who score at the bottom end of the class. However, it does take some time to get used to and it's hard to discern where you truly lie relative to your class (eg: a H can be the 84th percentile or the 56th — though I think that engaging in such an analysis is fruitless). 

[LiveLawandProsper]

On 1/24/2022 at 12:53 PM, jawnlegend said:

1. An incredibly generous need-based financial aid program. I come from a low-income family and am a first-generation university student. I received well over half of my tuition in financial aid. I recommend using the financial aid calculator to have an idea of what your effective tuition will be. 
2. Most of your professors will be at the top of their field. Though this isn't always a testament to their lecturing skill, it is neat to know that your instructor literally assembled the textbook on the subject. If you're interested in legal academia, this will be a relevant consideration. 
3. Best-in-class employment statistics as far as formal recruits go. If you're interested in corporate law or clerking, this is a relevant consideration. There's been a lot of debate over the effects of self-selection and survivorship bias on the data, but a middle-of-the-pack UofT student seems to be in a better position in terms of landing interviews than students from other schools. 
4. A very helpful Career Development Office. They provide a lot of great resources and services as far as the formal recruits go, though I've heard that they're comparatively lacking when it comes to helping out students interested in public interest work.
5. Jackman Law Building is really nice. We have a keyfob system that ensures it remains the exclusive domain of law students. IIRC it was built fairly recently, so all of its amenities are relatively modern. 
6. A highly accomplished and intelligent peer group. This isn't to detract from the accolades of cohorts at other schools, but UofT's comparatively competitive admission requirements assembles brings together students that I find generally have really interesting experiences prior to law school and a high degree of intellectual engagement. 
   1. I should also add that the school has a good upper-year mentorship pairing program, as well as mentorship programs (upper years and practitioners) internal to many clubs.
7. Does not feel like a commuter school. Nearly all of my friends live close to campus. I'm not sure if Osgoode or Ryerson are the same way, but people who I know went to those schools in undergrad have tended to levy that critique. 
8. Location. Being in Toronto is a huge advantage (admittedly less-so in COVID times) when it comes to networking with practitioners if you're interested in working in this market. Personally, I prefer our location compared to the other Toronto schools since the urban environment is more tame compared to Ryerson, but still far removed from the frozen tundra that is North York.
9. A pretty diverse bevy of clubs, journals, and other extra-curricular opportunities. Admittedly, one flaw in the system is that spots on public interest clinics are given out in 1L by lottery, so not everyone will get to participate in the program of their choosing, but all of these clinics offer gainful employment to students during the summer. 
10. A grading scheme that reduces student stress. This may be a controversial point, but I'm of the opinion that for most UofT students, our grading scheme does a lot of good in reducing the amount of gradations at the low end of the scoring spectrum, which works to the effect of protecting those who score at the bottom end of the class. However, it does take some time to get used to and it's hard to discern where you truly lie relative to your class (eg: a H can be the 84th percentile or the 56th — though I think that engaging in such an analysis is fruitless). 

@jawnlegend, thank you so much for taking the time to share your insights! Your post is so informative, and the employment statistics and orientation website links are super helpful!

I know you said that the school doesn't feel like a commuter school, but do you find that those who do commute are isolated at all? If I went to U of T, I would have to commute from North York, and I'm really hoping to get involved and find a community despite the long TTC ride home.

Thanks again for all of the information! 🙂

[Weeknd]

14 minutes ago, Æthelflæd said:

@jawnlegend, thank you so much for taking the time to share your insights! Your post is so informative, and the employment statistics and orientation website links are super helpful!

I know you said that the school doesn't feel like a commuter school, but do you find that those who do commute are isolated at all? If I went to U of T, I would have to commute from North York, and I'm really hoping to get involved and find a community despite the long TTC ride home.

Thanks again for all of the information! 🙂

I’m a UofT 1L who commutes, and I never had any issues with feeling isolated at all. Staying back after classes end instead of commuting back home right away also helps. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, you’ll be fine if you commute.

[Lawllapalooza]

On 1/20/2022 at 5:12 PM, Rashabon said:

I still think U of T places very well in clerkships relative to some of the other schools, but I'm at a bit of a remove from that so one of the people that pays attention to clerking is probably better served to comment there.

I'd be curious to know whether this is a function of actually attending U of T (e.g. due to the prestigious name, the quality of education, the connections), or simply that U of T students tend to be of a higher calibre (e.g. more intelligent, more impressive resumes, etc.) such that those same students would land the clerkships regardless of what school they attended. 

[Rashabon]

44 minutes ago, Lawllapalooza said:

I'd be curious to know whether this is a function of actually attending U of T (e.g. due to the prestigious name, the quality of education, the connections), or simply that U of T students tend to be of a higher calibre (e.g. more intelligent, more impressive resumes, etc.) such that those same students would land the clerkships regardless of what school they attended. 

The latter is what results in the former, and it's ultimately moot since this isn't testable and there's evidently no sign of these same students fleeing U of T to cheaper pastures. But who knows. I don't know that I would be where I am right now absent having gone to U of T, and I'm far from the marginal candidate being buoyed by U of T's name.

[Rashabon]

1 hour ago, Æthelflæd said:

@jawnlegend, thank you so much for taking the time to share your insights! Your post is so informative, and the employment statistics and orientation website links are super helpful!

I know you said that the school doesn't feel like a commuter school, but do you find that those who do commute are isolated at all? If I went to U of T, I would have to commute from North York, and I'm really hoping to get involved and find a community despite the long TTC ride home.

Thanks again for all of the information! 🙂

I commuted from Wilson station to U of T all three years and never had any issues.

[jawnlegend]

15 hours ago, Æthelflæd said:

@jawnlegend, thank you so much for taking the time to share your insights! Your post is so informative, and the employment statistics and orientation website links are super helpful!

I know you said that the school doesn't feel like a commuter school, but do you find that those who do commute are isolated at all? If I went to U of T, I would have to commute from North York, and I'm really hoping to get involved and find a community despite the long TTC ride home.

Thanks again for all of the information! 🙂

I agree with the other posters in saying that your social life is as much as you make of it. Most people's friend groups revolves around your assigned small group (a group of students that you take the same classes and a year long, seminar-style substantive course with) but there are ample opportunities to branch out through joining clubs and other day-to-day interactions. 

Another advantage of being Canada's "top" law school is that UofT tends to draw students from all over the country, so there are many people with little roots in the city also actively seeking out a sense of community. In general, I think law school feels a little like high school in the sense that the whole school is enclosed in one building (we even have lockers!) and you get to know at least the names of most of your cohort by the end of the year.  

[mjslava]

Anyone up for doing UVIC or UofC?

[shawarmalaw]

Can anyone do Ottawa ?

[theroaringbadger]

On 1/26/2022 at 11:09 AM, jawnlegend said:

I agree with the other posters in saying that your social life is as much as you make of it. Most people's friend groups revolves around your assigned small group (a group of students that you take the same classes and a year long, seminar-style substantive course with) but there are ample opportunities to branch out through joining clubs and other day-to-day interactions. 

Another advantage of being Canada's "top" law school is that UofT tends to draw students from all over the country, so there are many people with little roots in the city also actively seeking out a sense of community. In general, I think law school feels a little like high school in the sense that the whole school is enclosed in one building (we even have lockers!) and you get to know at least the names of most of your cohort by the end of the year.  

If anyone who goes to UOFT could answer this - as someone who wants to do environmental/climate/energy law for big law, boutiques or even the gov, is there a lot of interest. I know that UOFT has an environmental clinic but it’s low relative credit count and number of students suggest it’s a low interest. Can anyone comment on it? In the sense that would it make me stand out at UOFT to employers?  Would you say there is a big interest in that amongst the student body compared to other schools

[Darth Vader]

29 minutes ago, theroaringbadger said:

If anyone who goes to UOFT could answer this - as someone who wants to do environmental/climate/energy law for big law, boutiques or even the gov, is there a lot of interest. I know that UOFT has an environmental clinic but it’s low relative credit count and number of students suggest it’s a low interest. Can anyone comment on it? In the sense that would it make me stand out at UOFT to employers?  Would you say there is a big interest in that amongst the student body compared to other schools

I didn't go to U of T but know many people who did. Most people I know who want to practice in this area went to a school like Osgoode (a lot did the JD/MES), UVic (the new JD/JID looks good), Saskatchewan, Calgary, or Ottawa. Do you have any background in this area? Are you indigenous yourself?  

In all honesty, this is such a niche area of law that maybe a handful of people at any law school go into it. If you are not indigenous, don't have superstar academic credentials, and do not have a strong background in this area, then you want to be going to a school with more opportunities in these areas if you want to be competitive in the job market. You need to be looking at schools that have strong offerings like Osgoode's Intensive Program in Indigenous Lands, Resources & Governments and their Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinical Program. 

U of T places well in big law but most firms are looking to fill mostly their corporate practice groups. You can certainly go into this field from U of T but then it will likely come down to your grades and networking abilities.

https://www.law.utoronto.ca/student-life/career-development-office/career-statistics 

Going by this data, it looks like boutiques are unlikely. You will have to bank on the few government jobs in this area, or get into Big law and somehow network your way into these practice groups.

Edited February 3, 2022 by Darth Vader

[theroaringbadger]

8 minutes ago, Darth Vader said:

I didn't go to U of T but know many people who did. Most people I know who want to practice in this area went to a school like Osgoode (a lot did the JD/MES), UVic (the new JD/JID looks good), Saskatchewan, or Ottawa. Do you have any background in this area? Are you indigenous yourself?  

In all honesty, this is such a niche area of law that maybe a handful of people at any law school go into it. If you are not indigenous, don't have superstar academic credentials, and do not have a strong background in this area, then you want to be going to a school with more opportunities in these areas if you want to be competitive in the job market. You need to be looking at schools that have strong offerings like Osgoode's Intensive Program in Indigenous Lands, Resources & Governments and their Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinical Program. 

U of T places well in big law but most firms are looking to fill mostly their corporate practice groups. You can certainly go into this field from U of T but then it will likely come down to your grades and networking abilities.

Background in this area yes. Quite a bit of policy work actually. UOFT I know is in downtown Toronto, plus it’s near a lot of the environmental law firms and the corporate firms who have climate change divisions. So I thought that it might have an inherent advantage especially the new dean being an environmental law prof. But I see your point about clinical opportunities. Osgoode’s EJS is what compelled me to apply in the first place 

Edited February 3, 2022 by theroaringbadger

[BananaSlug]

On 2/2/2022 at 10:53 PM, shawarmalaw said:

Can anyone do Ottawa ?

I’ll give it a go. Currently a 1L at uOttawa and really enjoying things. It was my first choice for a lot of reasons, mostly related to location and the type of law I want to practice. 

1. The professors are excellent. I realize that this is not exclusive to my school, but I have to say that I have been very impressed with the quality of my professors. They are kind and genuinely want us to succeed. Some of them have wicked cool stories about their practice.

2. Variety of courses. Since uOttawa is a larger school, there are a lot of courses to choose from. We got to choose one of ~15 winter term electives from Constitutional Litigation to Happiness and the Law. There are a ton of upper year courses that I am excited to take. 

3. You can add a focus area/option to your studies in 1 of 8 different areas. A major consideration for me was the option in health law. uOttawa also has the largest concentration of health law professors + the broadest selection of health law courses in Canada. We also have one of the largest concentrations of environmental law professors. 

4. Focus on student mental health. uOttawa law students get up to $2,000 in insurance coverage for mental health services. There are a lot of mental health resources available within the law school as well. I can only speak to my own experience but I feel like I am very supported here. 

5. Collegial atmosphere. Overall, I feel like uOttawa does a good job of promoting collegiality among students. Even though law school is inherently competitive, I don’t feel like we’re looking at each other as competition. Some people definitely do, but it's not the prevailing attitude. From what I’ve seen, people are very willing to share notes and help each other out. 

6. The small group courses. At uOttawa, you take one of your first-year courses in a small group format (18-25 students) which I loved. We have the same classes together, so there’s always a bunch of familiar faces. They are some of the smartest, funniest, most talented people I have ever met and I don’t feel like I’m going through all of this stress alone. I was a bit worried about attending a larger law school since I prefer a close-knit environment, but I’m glad that I still got to have this at uOttawa.

7. Location to government opportunities. There are a lot of government opportunities in Ottawa because of its proximity to Parliament and other government buildings. If you want to work in the federal government after graduation, you really can’t go wrong with uOttawa.

8. American dual JD options. You can pursue a dual degree with Michigan State University or American University in Washington and pay tuition at a regular Canadian rate. Definitely a pro for anyone considering practicing in the states.

9. The city itself is nice and there is a lot to do. Campus is downtown and within walking distance from the Byward market, a bunch of museums, and some great restaurants and shops. There are a lot of activities in the winter too since we get so much snow. 

10. There are lots of ways for 1Ls to get involved. There are 1L positions on law review, we have a ton of different clubs that look for 1L reps, and there are also paid Technoships and Santeships for 1Ls. There is also the 1L Nelligan moot, which was really popular among my cohort. These things are competitive but there are a decent number of spots available.

[blue]

UVic ??

[Lulu_spector]

Dare I ask, can someone do Lincoln Alexander (Ryerson)? Please and thank you!