Took NINE YEARS (yes 9) to complete Undergrad :( COURSE LOAD QUESTION

[Itiswhatitis]

Hi there,

Long story short, the main reasons it took me nine years to complete my undergrad at York is having to deal with an abusive household and depression (not medically diagnosed); and being kicked out of my house several times so had to work to support myself. I would greatly appreciate any advice, opinion and/or input on here as to

whether it is realistically possible to enter law school in Canada with such a tumultuous academic history.

To expound, I only have 1 year in which I had 3 courses in both semesters that count towards my official transcript (the other courses taken during these semesters aren't graded but rather issued Pass or Fail and are required for completion of degree). This was my final year. The years prior I had on average 2 courses per semester not counting semesters i took off completely.

According to the OLSAS calc here my cGpa is 3.49 -----------L2&L3:3.67

I have not written the LSAT.

Does anyone know if academic experience like mine will even be considered. Please be honest if there is no chance. I am much more mature and take life way more seriously now than during my undergrad years and came to the conclusion after research that studying Law is something I'd excel in and appeals to me as a career.

To simplify this is how my course spread looks like: (mostly HALF year courses (3 creds), very few full year courses (i.e 6 creds)

1st year: 4 courses

2nd:4

3rd: 4

4th: 4

5: 2

6th:1

7th:4

8th:4

9th:7

Thank you kindly for reading and taking your time out to engage.

[myth000]

Some Canadian schools like Manitoba and New Brunswick calculate an index score for the regular category, and they don't really care about how long it took you to finish your undergrad. Other schools might ask you why you took so long, but you can explain it in a personal statement.

[Itiswhatitis]

Okay got it, I will be reaching out to them to get more info. Thanks

[Yogurt Baron]

Hello!

Listen, my user name would be WithSuchATumultousAcademicHistory, if this board didn't have a character limit for usernames.

Earlier, I wrote a big long rant that might not have been helpful, so I opted not to post it, but in relative brief:

If your question were more measured - "Might my not having had a more conventional path in my undergrad work against me in the admissions process?" - I'd be more circumspect: sure! It might! Law schools care primarily about your GPA and your LSAT, but they also give some weight to other factors, like course load. No one can quantify with any certainty how much weight they give to those other factors. I have...big feelings on this topic, but they aren't really relevant to anyone but my therapist, and my big feelings do not actually speak to your admissibility.

But your question wasn't that. It was, "I had difficulty with one element of undergraduate study that might be marginally relevant to law school admissions - is that one thing actually the only thing? Am I doomed? Should I give up? I should, right?" And the answer to all of that is a resounding no, for two broad reasons:
1. In 2023, the number of people who'll judge you negatively for not having led a charmed life are actually outnumbered, significantly, by the people who'll think better of you for having to overcome shit to get to this point - and they, too, are outnumbered significantly by the people who mostly care about what you can do.

2. There are mature-student categories and access categories specifically meant to contextualize life experiences like yours.

To me---and, again, this is the big feelings---judging somebody on whether they were able to sit in a chair and take five classes a year for four years from age 17 to 21 is at best as asinine as judging them by their hair colour, and at worst as tone-deaf and classist as judging them by how many ponies Daddy bought them. Like, good job sitting in a chair, little buddy, but some of us were scrapping to stay alive over here. Not everybody feels how I do on this. You'll face obstacles. But if the question is "should I even bother?": yes, you should. 3.67/no LSAT, who the hell knows if you'll make it, but if you don't, it won't be because of your course load.

[Itiswhatitis]

I've recieved your fabulous resonse here and a outstanding pm from another lovely individual.

Both messages express the same sentiment, one of astounding hope and positivity. That fulfillment is through action and hard work. 

That the determining factor can make the biggest difference and to leave any other determinant out of my control, out of mind.

 

Thank you