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Reapplying for 2022


e4bu

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e4bu
  • Law School Admit

Hi everyone,

I applied to UCalgary the last two cycles and I'm going to give it another go to see if the third time is a charm. 

After my first cycle (2020) I completed my undergrad and rewrote my LSAT (I have written a total of four times now) to get the score I wanted for the 2021 cycle. My stats are L2 3.3, LSAT 164. I was very confident with my 2021 PS (I had it edited by a couple current law students, including one from UCalgary) and ECs. My 2021 application did not go complete until later in the cycle as I had to wait for my January LSAT score. I'm wondering if anyone who has reapplied to UCalgary has any tips on the reapplication process. Two specific questions I have are:

  • Should my personal statement be totally new or can I rework my previous personal statement?
  • Should I discuss my multiple application cycles/LSAT takes in my personal statement or in one of the additional information sections?

Any insight is super appreciated. Thanks everyone.

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Renerik
  • Law Student

For your specific questions: During a webinar last week, the UCalgary VP of admissions said that re-using the same PS is acceptable but they hope to see small changes based on what you've been up to in the last year. I'd mention applying multiple times in your PS as a supporting statement for "why law". Personally I wouldn't mention the multiple writes.

On the same webinar, the VP said that their average LSAT for last cycle was close to 163.5 so your 164 doesn't have as much pull as it used to. I'd look into registering for some undergraduate courses this fall if you can to boost that GPA. They include grades up to December 31 in their GPA calculation. 

Edited by Renerik
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maybemaybe
  • Applicant

I remember reading once that despite taking the highest LSAT score, they really discourage taking it too many times. I think at this point really hone in on your personal statement, perhaps start with a clean slate and use the ideas in your previous personal statements to guide yours but focus on also strengthening it. Given the amount of time left before its due, write multiple drafts and get advice from different people on what they think. I think if you have a good reason, then yes, address the LSAT and multiple cycles otherwise spend most of your time making yourself stand out through the PS. Calgary is a holistic school and apart from stats, I really do believe they care about the type of person that you are and your reasons for pursuing law

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https://law.ucalgary.ca/future-students/how-to-apply/assessment-of-applications#jd-admission-statistics

Average GPA of 3.66

in the first year class

GPA

Your GPA will be based on the last 20 half-courses of your undergraduate studies, up to December 31 of the year you submit your application. When assessing your application, the Admissions Committee will also take into account your entire academic performance, in both undergraduate and graduate programs.

LSAT

If you have written the LSAT more than once, we will use your highest score to group your file statistically; however, all of your scores from the past 5 years, your average score, and the number of times you have written the LSAT will be taken into account when reviewing your application.

We highly recommend that you prepare for the LSAT in advance and write the LSAT as few times as possible.

What is your cGPA?

With L2 3.3 / B2 3.5 and LSAT 164 you are good for USask.

Did you apply to TRU?

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Thrive92
  • Applicant

Your LSAT is excellent, although it may not have seemed to be so last cycle because of the unusually high competitive admissions cycle.

As stated by many above, your L20 gpa is the problem; 3.3 is not competitive enough for you to be considered as a shoe - in for U of C.

The law school's policy for repeat courses is very much catered in favor of the applicant, so I would highly recommend you repeat a couple of courses that you have received a grade of B- or below on in order to dramatically increase your L20 gpa calculations.

The repeated course policy for U of C is as follows:

"What if I repeated a course?
How a repeated course is used in the GPA depends on whether both or only one of the
grades falls within the last 20 half courses:
 If both fall within the last 20 half courses, only the highest grade will be used in the GPA
 If one of the courses fall within the last 20 half courses, we use that grade and disregard the
grade that falls outside the last 20 half courses"

Even if you have already graduated, courses that you take under "open studies" would still be considered by U of C.

Please make sure that you are repeating the courses that are already within your L20 gpa calculations; the replacement of a B- course to a A- drastically increases your GPA (more so than what students usually think).

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13laws
  • Applicant

Hi!

Our stats are kind of similar, but my LSAT is lower than yours. I wrote my LSAT and finished my degree in January 2021, so they did not read my file until they got those marks in. I was below the average but considering how competitive last year was, my chances were already slimmer than usual. I have a lot of work experience, volunteering and club involvement so that's one of the advantages for my file (I'd like to think, lol).

Please look at these links:

https://law.ucalgary.ca/sites/default/files/teams/2/gpa-faq.pdf - Breaks down their GPA calculation process.

This video is their most recent Admissions Info Session for  the '22 cycle (August 25 2021). It's worth watching if you're not familiar with their process, otherwise, there's only a few small changes to keep in mind (I've attended and watched a lot of their info sessions).

Someone actually asked if they could recycle their statement for this cycle and they basically said yes....but it might be best not to. Consider things you've been through, or learned about yourself and your goals during this past year and how this will show growth in this new application. Use that in your statement. So you can essentially use bits and pieces from your previous one, but also add new things to show your development.

I've thought about taking random courses to boost my GPA for this fall, but it would put me in the same place I was in last year. My file would not be complete until January. They've really made it clear that it's not an advantage; obviously if you're not done school you have no choice so don't panic. But that's not something I'm willing to repeat - everyone is different though.

I've signed up for the October LSAT to retake it, if my mark is not as high as I wanted, I will take November again (hoping I don't have to). This is the best way to go about it in my case because if I take November and do not like my mark, then I'd have to wait to take January and potentially screw myself over again. So my plan is October and then November as a backup, having my file go complete by the time they start assessing applications which is November/December.

 

They have a lot of videos on their Youtube channel from last year's admissions, so check them out. They've also updated their website and included some reasons why people were not successful last year with their applications: https://law.ucalgary.ca/future-students/how-to-apply/assessment-of-applications#unsuccessful-applications

Don't be discouraged, there's still a chance. Last year a few people posted on the forum with lower stats and got admitted (most were earlier in the cycle). 

Hope it helps.

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  • 1 month later...
BrunetteLegal92
  • Applicant

So I applied to a law school few months ago and now I decided to apply to another one....however to a question on the application form around applying to other law school, I did say that I wasn't applying anywhere else (honestly wasn't going to until recently). Is it an issue? Any suggestions? Thank you!

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Renerik
  • Law Student
5 hours ago, BrunetteLegal92 said:

So I applied to a law school few months ago and now I decided to apply to another one....however to a question on the application form around applying to other law school, I did say that I wasn't applying anywhere else (honestly wasn't going to until recently). Is it an issue? Any suggestions? Thank you!

Only school that I remember asking that question was McGill. They just use it for internal stats. Play it safe and send admissions an email, not urgent.

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