UofC Recruit Stats

[East2West2025]

 

I’m trying to decide between attending law school in Ontario or Calgary.

 

I know that Calgarys 1L recruit is larger than its 2L recruit, so unlike in other provinces, Ultra Vires isn’t a reliable gauge of placement numbers. I’ve been asking current students and looking online for statistics. Here’s what I’ve found:

In 1L, Calgary places approximately 30-35 students at large firms during the recruit.

For 2L, in years when most firms responded, the number appears to be around 20.

2022 may have been an anomaly, but I the UCalgary Reddit account claimed that 46 students were placed in the 1L recruit.

 

Overall, Calgary seems to have some of the strongest placement numbers in the country for large firms. However, I don’t often hear it mentioned in the same league as UBC, Osgoode, U of T, or McGill.

 

Are these stats reasonable? And if so, why doesn’t Calgary receive the same recognition as those other schools?

 

[Pantalaimon]

You're right that UCalgary does well in the Calgary recruit. However, there are at least two reasons that UCalgary doesn't have the same reputation as those other schools: 1) most students that aren't from Alberta/Sask/Manitoba aren't trying to get into Calgary big law and school reputations are largely focused on the Vancouver/Toronto markets, and 2) I'm not sure UCalgary has any inherent advantage over the four other schools you listed in any scenario - even in Calgary. Attending UCalgary over UBC or Oz would put you at a disadvantage in the Vancouver or Toronto markets, and is likely break-even for Calgary. For the purposes of school comparisons a school that can place you anywhere in the country will naturally be held in higher regard than a school that only does well in its regional market.

[Mal]

This isn't rocket science. It doesn't receive the same recognition because it has a weaker class and a weaker program. Not everything can be boiled down to job placement, and even there, it is very self-selecting to narrow it to Calgary when most students don't want to live there. 

[TheRizz22]

I won't comment on prestige, but I will slightly correct your stats above/endorse the reddit stat. UofC students typically get around 45ish of the 85+ big law 1L summer jobs (just over or around 50% of the total). There's a good chance that the success is partly due to self-selection of ppl who want to be in Calgary going to UofC. However, if you are trying to work in big law in Calgary, I would recommend going to UofC. It just increases your exposure to the firms and ups your chances of getting a job in YYC. If you want to work big law in ONT or TO then I would suggest an Ontario school.

Side note on Pantalaimon's comment - Calgary is the 2nd largest legal market in the country, let's give a little credit where due lol. UofC is placing the most students in big law jobs in the 2nd biggest market, so they are doing alright.

Feel free if to message me directly if you want to chat East2West2025

[Chef Justice]

7 hours ago, TheRizz22 said:

Calgary is the 2nd largest legal market in the country

I'm confident Vancouver and Montreal are both larger legal markets than Calgary.