Dalhousie VS TRU

[LawApplicant2556]

Hi, I’m looking for some advice in deciding between Dal & TRU. My interests are around human rights, non profit and Indigenous law. Im from BC & would like to work in BC in the future! Any advice is great! 🙂

Edited May 1 by LawApplicant2556

[biffo852]

Usually they say go to the the school in your destination province. However, in this case i would urge you to consider Dal. Dal is a great school and there are so many Dal grads in BC. 

Premier David Eby is a Dal grad. Dal had the most success as an out-of-province school in  the last Vancouver recruit. When I attended a BC MAG articling panel, the crown prosecutor on the panel was a Dal grad and told me that they have no preference for in province schools. 

Also, look up the tuition for both schools. TRU is surprisingly high given the university does not fund the faculty well.

Edited May 1 by biffo852

[Conge]

On 4/30/2024 at 10:16 PM, LawApplicant2556 said:

Hi, I’m looking for some advice in deciding between Dal & TRU. My interests are around human rights, non profit and Indigenous law

So a future Bay Street corporate lawyer? J/K. 

I'd go to Dal. 

[lawlawlaw123]

Definitely stay in your home province of BC. It's a no brainer. TRU has some of the highest articling rates in the country (check their website stats), and staying in BC allows you to network with the employers in your home province. It's also cheaper to network in BC since you wouldn't have to fly back and forth from out-of-province for interviews and events. The tuition is basically the same at either school. If you're still unsure, talk to current students or alumni at each institution or even reach out to the profs and admission folk. Both schools will have courses and student clubs in the areas that interest you, but staying in province really helps with the job search and networking aspect. 

[canuckfanatic]

Dalhousie tuition is around $7,000/year cheaper and I don't think you'd have an issue finding a job in BC if you went to Dal. Halifax is obviously also a nicer city than Kamloops.

BUT you won't have nearly as many opportunities to network with BC employers at Dal than you would at TRU. You'd also have a much easier time going home during long weekends/winter break/reading break. 

Prof. Morse at TRU is a great Indigenous law prof, as is Prof. Schabus. Prof. Dhand founded the South Asian Legal Clinic of BC and is extremely knowledgeable in the areas of human rights/mental health law/pro bono legal clinics.

21 hours ago, biffo852 said:

Dal had the most success as an out-of-province school in  the last Vancouver recruit.

I don't think this is relevant to OP given they're interested in non-profit, human rights, and Indigenous law. Even if it is relevant for OP, I'm certain TRU placed better in the Vancouver recruit than Dal. It may be because more TRU students than Dal students apply for the Vancouver recruit, but I'd also hate to fly back and forth between Vancouver and Halifax for job interviews.

I don't think going to Dal is a bad decision at all, but if staying in BC is a priority and you can afford the cumulative $7,000 per year price difference, I would go to TRU.

Edited May 2 by canuckfanatic

[lawlawlaw123]

1 hour ago, lawlawlaw123 said:

The tuition is basically the same at either school.

Schulich School of Law tuition and fees - $22,094.29 23/24 year

TRU Law Tuition and fees - $22,610.40 23/24 year

[canuckfanatic]

26 minutes ago, lawlawlaw123 said:

Schulich School of Law tuition and fees - $22,094.29 23/24 year

TRU Law Tuition and fees - $22,610.40 23/24 year

My mistake - Google showed me the tuition figure from 2016 which was apparently ~$14,000.

With tuition being effectively the same, TRU is the more rational and pragmatic choice.