Letters of Reference

[Donut2001]

Hello everyone! 

I just have a quick question if others don't mind weighing in! I always thought that I would need a couple of letters of reference for each law school that I would be applying to in Canada, yet as I am working on my applications and looking into it, it seems that (for general admissions): Alberta, UBC, UVic, and Saskatoon all do not accept letters of reference. It sounds dumb but I just wanted to confirm (through others' experiences) that is actually the case, and I am not just understanding the application requirements wrong. For instance, one of the schools says they determine who is a special applicant - so would you want to submit letters regardless (in case they put you in that category) even if they might not be read? I think I am just more surprised than anything so I want to be certain I am correct! 

Thanks! 🙂 

[englishmajor]

You are correct, not all schools require them. Generally, when you put a referee down on your application the school will send them a specific LOR form for your referees to fill out rather than just have everyone format and write letters differently. It is also the case that some schools will, while not requiring letters, take them into consideration. If you are applying to any schools like that, I would recommend submitting letters for them.  

[jimmy991]

Quote

 

Reference letters are only required for Discretionary and Indigenous categories.

There are no set guidelines for the form and format of your letters, except:

For first year applicants, we prefer that one is a professional reference and the other academic, but you can submit two references of the same type if necessary. 

 

https://allard.ubc.ca/programs/juris-doctor-jd-program/admissions/how-apply

From their wording, UBC accepts LOR for general category, it's just not mandatory.