Queens vs Western

[Mr Mango 77]

I received my Queens acceptance only as of today, so now I am trying to decide between Queens and Western before the April 1st deadline. I attended the Western Admitted Student Day and just emailed Queens to see if it is still possible to get a guided tour of the campus before April 1st. There are pros and cons for me for both schools, and while I obviously will get a better idea once I tour Kingston, I hope to get some advice from students on their experiences. I don't know any current or former law students, so any advice would be appreciated. 🙂

One thing I appreciate about Western is its collegial environment and smaller class sizes (I feel I learn best in smaller learning environments, and I like the idea of having a small 1L section group which you go from class to class with). Another pro is its Summer 1L program, as this seems like it would remove a lot of the stress and pressure that comes from summer internship hunting in an already overwhelming 1st year.  However, although maybe this will change, I'm not very interested in corporate law, which seems to be what Western is known for. I still have a lot to learn in my first year, but as of right now, I am interested in immigration law and civil litigation. Another potential downside is that London, Ontario doesn't seem like the most attractive place for me to live given my brief impression on admitted students day. 

I haven't toured Queens yet, but I've heard positive things about living in Kingston. I have dual US and Canadian citizenship and wouldn't mind living and working in New York. I'm not sure if one school is better than the other in offering job placements in New York and Toronto. As of right now, I have no scholarship offer for either school. I was admitted to Western first round and have yet to hear anything about any potential scholarship. Is anyone else planning on visiting Queens before April 1st?

Edited March 18 by Mr Mango 77

[Chef Justice]

Every law school separates their sections into small groups. At Queen's, you'll have 2 classes with 25 people and other classes with 50-75ish. Queen's is a more diverse law school than Wester, but doing something like civil litigation is attainable from either school. I can't speak for Western, but people in the top 10% of the class have a chance at landing in New York and Queen's has been sending 2-3 students in recent years. However, I wouldn't make a decision based on this, as you should never bank on being top 10% in any law program. 

[Dinsdale]

Probably little to no difference in collegiality or small group structure between the two schools.  They have roughly similar numbers in the 2L recruit.  No discernible difference in getting you to New York, if that is your ultimate goal. It's very unlikely you'll get a 1L Bay Street job out of either school, so I wouldn't even think about that as a factor, let alone stress over it.  Both are great schools and you'll probably be happy at either.  Definitely get yourself to Kingston before April 1 so that you can judge them both on an equal footing.  Kingston is much closer to NY state than London, if that matters?  35 minutes to the Ivy Lea bridge.  

[LMP]

This is probably one of the most commonly requested comparisons. As others have said it mostly comes down to a matter of preference with no clear winner. But since it is such a common discussion I really reccomend going through older posts on this forum, you'll find a lot of discussion on the topic that you might find helpful.