Dalhousie vs Osgoode (any advice appreciated!)

[gacres1]

I was accepted to Dalhousie a number of months ago and was very glad as I like Halifax and I am interested in Health Law and Health Policy. However, I was accepted to Osgoode more recently and now I am am weighing up my options. My gut instinct is that the culture at Dalhousie will suit me better and they have a Health Justice Institute so it may be my better option, but I am not very familiar with what Osgoode has to offer in terms of Health law or student culture. Any insights about this would be much appreciated.

Also, I am from Northern Ontario, so Osgoode is much closer to me than Dal but I don't have any specific plans about where I would like to work when finished law school.

[LMP]

Here's my take away. These specializations and centers/institutes don't matter much. Especially for something as broad in scope as health law. 

That isn't a shot at Dal, I think this is the case across schools. 

Pick a school based on factors like cost or what area/location you want to practice in. 

And for what it is worth, I found all the health law offerings at Osgoode to be very high quality. But again, it really matters much less than you think. 

[Dinsdale]

Amongst other things, do you want to spend the next three years in the centre of a vibrant, mid-sized Canadian city or in the barren northwest corner of Canada's largest metropolis?

[MyWifesBoyfriend]

26 minutes ago, Dinsdale said:

barren northwest corner of Canada's largest metropolis?

York is on a rail line, no? It's not like you're isolated from the rest of the city. 

[Scrantonicity2]

24 minutes ago, MyWifesBoyfriend said:

York is on a rail line, no? It's not like you're isolated from the rest of the city. 

That's correct. I live downtown and I would guess that around half of my class did as well. The commute is longish but easy once you get on the subway, and I found I could get school work done on the train.

[MyWifesBoyfriend]

That's what I figured. I always used to buy used textbooks from York students back in my undergraduate, and the trip from U of T to York was ~45-50 minutes via TTC if I remember correctly. Not too shabby. 

[Yogurt Baron]

1 hour ago, MyWifesBoyfriend said:

That's what I figured. I always used to buy used textbooks from York students back in my undergraduate, and the trip from U of T to York was ~45-50 minutes via TTC if I remember correctly. Not too shabby. 

Yeah, as someone who's lived in the actual boonies (town of 500, literally twenty hours away from anything) who considers places like Kingston and London "pretty close to Toronto", the longstanding "this school that's in Toronto is prohibitively far away from Toronto" shtick about York has always been flat-out baffling to me. On the other hand, if you're a downtown type for whom everything is within a three-block radius, I understand that it's a matter of perspective.

[BlockedQuebecois]

The northward boundary of Toronto is the south side of Bloor Street, so I’m confused by the objection to recognising that Osgoode is in Northern Ontario. 

[MyWifesBoyfriend]

@BlockedQuebecois I don't think anyone objected to this though? 

Technically, @Dinsdale is right.

Edited May 17 by MyWifesBoyfriend

[Dinsdale]

I guess I'm thinking more of the immediate environs of the campus, really, which are a bit dire.  I never actually attended York/Osgoode, though I have visited many times, so maybe I'm projecting a bit, but how does anyone go for a drink after class or socialize in the immediate area?  Sure, you can live anywhere in Toronto on the subway line and get there in 45 minutes, but that makes it pretty much a commuter school with no social life, doesn't it?  I presume everyone is scattering in various directions.  At Dal many of the great bars and restaurants of Halifax are a short walk away.

[BHC1]

34 minutes ago, Dinsdale said:

I guess I'm thinking more of the immediate environs of the campus, really, which are a bit dire.  I never actually attended York/Osgoode, though I have visited many times, so maybe I'm projecting a bit, but how does anyone go for a drink after class or socialize in the immediate area?  Sure, you can live anywhere in Toronto on the subway line and get there in 45 minutes, but that makes it pretty much a commuter school with no social life, doesn't it?  I presume everyone is scattering in various directions.  At Dal many of the great bars and restaurants of Halifax are a short walk away.

No wonder Doug Ford rules everywhere north of the 401. You folks think the 905 is a barren wasteland. 

[Scrantonicity2]

1 hour ago, Dinsdale said:

I guess I'm thinking more of the immediate environs of the campus, really, which are a bit dire.  I never actually attended York/Osgoode, though I have visited many times, so maybe I'm projecting a bit, but how does anyone go for a drink after class or socialize in the immediate area?  Sure, you can live anywhere in Toronto on the subway line and get there in 45 minutes, but that makes it pretty much a commuter school with no social life, doesn't it?  I presume everyone is scattering in various directions.  At Dal many of the great bars and restaurants of Halifax are a short walk away.

Not trying to advocate for York over Dal necessarily (Halifax is a very cool city), but this wasn't my experience. There are a few places on York campus to grab food/drinks and there are organized events that happen everywhere in the city. I also found that even students who commuted from elsewhere, even as far as Pickering or Newmarket, still got involved in lots of in-person stuff, both on campus and elsewhere. Obviously, all of this is easier at a place like Queens or U of T because the campus is in the centre of things, but I really didn't feel that York's location impacted the student experience much. The environment immediately around the campus leaves a bit to be desired in terms of aesthetics and walkability. That said, I've really enjoyed spending time in and learning about parts of North, West, and East Toronto that typically get dunked on. In some ways these are actually the most vibrant and interesting parts of the city because more different kinds of people can afford to live there (at least for now). 

[theroaringbadger]

Student at Oz… in the JD/MES program but also accepted into Dal. Dal was one of my top schools (three way tie between UBC,Dal and Oz) for their environmental law components. The JD/MES allows me to engage in environmental law in a whole new way. Dal likewise has similar dual degree. And it more than punches its weight for recruiting – their grads come and go everywhere (someone I know they know someone at Dal I know is at Mt Sinai – 1L or one of those hospitals in the 6). I researched Dal’s school extensively, if you know you want to do health law or are at least extremely interested go there, you will have the option of a great dual degree, amazing profs, great courses and recognition. And Dal still has excellent profs and courses in other areas. If you like the Dal culture that’s another plus. And as someone who is interested in a more niche area of law, I will def recommend looking at the specializations and taking that into account. 

The JD/MES remains one of the best academic decisions I made and I stand by it. 

 

 

[Conge]

I went to Dal. All I have to add is that Dalhousie is a fun place to go to law school. I'm from NS, but most of my friends who came to Dal from ON/BC/AB seemed to love it there, and find excuses to come visit 10+ years after graduation.