McGill vs. uOttawa help ASAP

[wordache]

Some of my questions about this:

•Does McGill’s reputation and dual degree actually make an impact in job prospects?

•Does McGill Law live up to its reputation in terms of quality of education/experience/faculty?

•Does uOttawa truly have a big advantage with Supreme Court/senate etc. over McGill because of proximity (I’d imagine McGill would be competitive considering the bilingualism and dual degree)?

•Does uOttawa law being a bigger school have negative or positive impacts on course selection, placements, social life, grades, etc.?

Another big factor for me is living in Montreal vs. Ottawa. I currently live in Ottawa, have friends here, love biking, hiking and skiing. Montreal is intimidating since it’s bigger/less accessible to nature. I have undergrad and grad degrees from Ottawa, though, so I’m thinking education diversity is worth it to move.

McGill WAS half the price but now with new out-of-province tuition it’s looking like it’ll be 15k (Ottawa is about 19k).

Don’t know what field I want to focus on or where I’d practise law after. Probably Ottawa, Vancouver or Montreal (if I like living there).

Any advice welcome, please! Need to submit my choice ASAP. Thank you!

[enpassant]

Assuming you have the required French proficiency, and considering that McGill is cheaper, I think this a no-brainer. McGill all the way. I do not think anyone would dispute the fact that McGill is a stronger school than uOttawa in pretty much every respect. If you would strongly prefer living in Ottawa, then I guess choose uOttawa, but I do not think the two are equal with respect to career outcomes (though perhaps equal re: working for the government).

[ZukoJD]

UOttawa was underwhelming.

The size of the program and the 1L small groups make it quite cliquey. Most people are friendly enough and collaborative though.

The course selection is alright, not great. The admin is terrible.

Two things Ottawa has going for it are its strong mooting program and the ability to do internships for credits (many use these to land articling jobs). 

I would choose McGill in a heartbeat if I had the chance. 

Also, living in MTL does not preclude you from seeing your friends and family during the year. It’s not that far. 

Edited March 19 by ZukoJD