ONSC 1L summer student program?

[jimmy991]

Just wondering how competitive it is?

[StoneMason]

13 hours ago, jimmy991 said:

Just wondering how competitive it is?

Very competitive. If I am not mistaken, and we are talking about the same program, they have historically only taken two students per summer, almost exclusively students in the top 1-2% at UofT.

You more or less need 5-6 Hs in your first semester to be considered competitive (you get 3 grades back; an HH is considered 2 Hs). To put into context how hard that is, I believe only 4-5 students out of ~200 get 5-6 Hs in their first semester at UofT. 

[jimmy991]

15 hours ago, StoneMason said:

Very competitive. If I am not mistaken, and we are talking about the same program, they have historically only taken two students per summer, almost exclusively students in the top 1-2% at UofT.

You more or less need 5-6 Hs in your first semester to be considered competitive (you get 3 grades back; an HH is considered 2 Hs). To put into context how hard that is, I believe only 4-5 students out of ~200 get 5-6 Hs in their first semester at UofT. 

Holy crap. Never mind then. I have better chances doing 1L recruit...

[StoneMason]

2 hours ago, jimmy991 said:

Holy crap. Never mind then. I have better chances doing 1L recruit...

Oh yeah, everyone has a better shot for the 1L recruit. 

You can still apply though –– the offer/interview timeline is the same as the 1L recruit, so you can partake in both. 

Edited November 14, 2024 by StoneMason

[sleepylawstudent]

I'm not sure that they only take students academically in the top 1-2% at UofT, or that only 4-5 students get 5-6 Hs in their first semester at UofT. Grades definitely matter but are not everything for that position -- it's just very unlikely to get selected since they only take 1-2 students per year. I would encourage against self-selection out, esp. if you've got 4 or more Hs in your first semester.

[StoneMason]

21 hours ago, sleepylawstudent said:

I'm not sure that they only take students academically in the top 1-2% at UofT, or that only 4-5 students get 5-6 Hs in their first semester at UofT. Grades definitely matter but are not everything for that position -- it's just very unlikely to get selected since they only take 1-2 students per year. I would encourage against self-selection out, esp. if you've got 4 or more Hs in your first semester.

It's obviously not a hard and fast rule to be from UofT and have 5-6 Hs first semester. But OP was asking about how competitive it is and not simply what is possible in theory. To gauge competitiveness, all you have to do is look at the summer students from the past few years––they're all top of their class and from UofT. 

Agreed with grades not being everything––you still have to nail the interview and have a very solid writing sample, amongst other things. But due to the meritocratic nature of court-related positions, grades are still incredibly important (as opposed to private practice where other factors can overcome an otherwise poor transcript).

People should definitely be encouraged to apply but only with realistic expectations. I agree––if you have 4 Hs, you should still apply (what's there to lose?). But it is probably the hardest 1L summer position to land in all of Canada, and sometimes even being above average isn't enough. 

Edited November 15, 2024 by StoneMason