Have questions about going to law school in Canada? Please post them here!

[Administrator]

From the webinars I have attended on how to craft a personal statement, it appears that American Law Schools, like seeing personal stories. However, for Canadian Schools, do they like less storytelling and more direct experiences that show what they learnt and how it can be applied to Law? I just wanted to clarify that because I am not good at writing compelling stories about my life but have a ton of good experience that is directly applicable to Law School.

Thanks for the insight on the matter!

I have done a lot of reading on the powerscore blog etc. about crafting a memorable/meaningful personal statement. Should personal statements be prepared in the same style for Canadian law schools, or should they be more generic (ie. my undergrad program is X, I want to study law because...)

Hi Argi and Kristin,

Thank you for posting! Someone asked a similar question a few years ago, and you can now find that response at the top of this thread here: viewtopic.php?p=16969#p16969

You might find the blogs below to be useful for general personal statement tips:

https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid-15 ... statement/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/law-sc ... ever-done/

For additional assistance, we offer personal statement admissions consulting packages to help students craft top notch essays. Many of our expert consultants have lots of experience with Canadian applicants and would be happy to help. You can see all our admissions consulting options here: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/law-school-admissions/

Thank you!

Julie Lipscomb
Director of Tutoring and Admissions
PowerScore Test Preparation
1-800-545-1750

[Stephanie Oswalt]

Hey everyone,
Background: I am Mayank from India, and I intend to move to Canada soon (by virtue of being a permanent resident ). I am 29 years old and I am an India CPA with extensive work experience in commercial law related areas...

Hi Mayank,

Thanks for the post, and for the background information! Your situation is a bit unique here and is one that will likely require reaching out to schools directly to determine your eligibility.

One important piece that you did not mention in your background is if you have an undergraduate degree. I'm not sure where you saw on LSAC's website that your GPA would not be applicable. Schools do tend to understand that international GPAs are weighted differently than those in the US/Canada. However, schools typically still do require you to provide your transcripts and GPA. Peter Allard's website does state as part of its requirements:

"General applicants must have the following to be eligible for selection: undergraduate degree from a university, or three years (minimum 90 credits) from a university, 30 credits of which must be comprised of upper-level courses"

So first, I would recommend contacting Peter Allard to see if you are eligible for admissions, and if so, how your GPA/transcripts would be weighted. They do have a "discretionary applicants" section that you may want to apply under, but even this still does require at least "two years of a program leading toward a university degree."

This same advice would apply to any schools that you are looking to apply to! Once you determine your eligibility at this or any other school, your next steps are to make sure that your LSAT score is as high as possible, and to make sure your personal statement is as strong and compelling as possible!

Thanks!

[Stephanie Oswalt]

As a Canadian citizen who completed her undergrad degree in the US, I can't help but feel like I'm at a disadvantage when applying to Canadian law schools. For example, in McGill Admissions, I know my file is not reviewed with the other "Quebec applicants/residents" but rather is reviewed with the pile of "Other/US Institutions" applicants, which are undoubtedly more competitive as there are less spots available for this group of applicants. Do you think it's worth it for me to inquire about the possibility for my application to be reviewed among the other Quebec applicants, or is this just how it goes? Thanks.

Hi Holly!

Thanks for the post! According to this McGill document regarding Quebec residents, you only have to meet in full one of the 14 requirements listed to be considered a Quebec resident. But it certainly won't hurt to call schools and clarify their policies!

Thanks!

[mayank_vaishya]

Dear Stephanie,

Thank you for your revert. I do, as a matter of fact, have a graduate degree (3 year full-time) in Economics from the University of Delhi, India (apart from the India CPA which is considered akin to a graduate program in India) .Therefore, submitting the transcripts shouldn't be a problem. What I meant when I said GPAs wont matter is, as I understand, international transcripts are not translated into a 4.0-scale cumulative GPA and LSAC uses a service called AACRAO to translate your grades into one of the following categories: superior, above average, average, and below average. These categories are roughly equivalent to an A average, B average, C average, and D average, respectively.

Can you shed some more light on this fact ?

Best
Mayank

[Stephanie Oswalt]

Dear Stephanie,

Thank you for your revert. I do, as a matter of fact, have a graduate degree (3 year full-time) in Economics from the University of Delhi, India (apart from the India CPA which is considered akin to a graduate program in India) .Therefore, submitting the transcripts shouldn't be a problem. What I meant when I said GPAs wont matter is, as I understand, international transcripts are not translated into a 4.0-scale cumulative GPA and LSAC uses a service called AACRAO to translate your grades into one of the following categories: superior, above average, average, and below average. These categories are roughly equivalent to an A average, B average, C average, and D average, respectively.

Can you shed some more light on this fact ?

Best
Mayank

Hi Mayank!
Thanks for confirming that! Your best bet is to contact Peter Allard directly to confirm that they accept your degree and to ask how they will translate your GPA. They will know best their particular admissions requirements and practices.

Thanks!

[pwfquestions]

I am wondering if coursework/ GPA applies to courses taken after undergraduate degree. I am a mature applicant, and I went back to school following the completion of undergrad. Will law schools calculate my entrance GPA after including these other courses or just my degree courses?

[Stephanie Oswalt]

I am wondering if coursework/ GPA applies to courses taken after undergraduate degree. I am a mature applicant, and I went back to school following the completion of undergrad. Will law schools calculate my entrance GPA after including these other courses or just my degree courses?

Hi pwf,

Thanks for your post. Your LSAC GPA only includes your undergraduate GPA, not any graduate work. You can read more about how law schools look at graduate work here: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid-15 ... uate-work/

Thanks!

[pwfquestions]

Thanks for that. Actually I went back to college and didn't go to grad school. I completed some business courses at the colleges I attended after graduation, so they are in addition to my undergrad degree, but still undergrad courses. I suppose I would be better off asking the law schools. Thanks again.

[lsatstudent22]

Hello!

I am in the process of selecting my courses for my final undergrad year at a Canadian university, and I was wondering if law school admissions take course level/course difficulty into consideration when reviewing applications? I've been taking strictly year-appropriate courses thus far (3rd year courses in my 3rd year, 2nd year courses in 2nd year, etc), and have been avoiding taking any lower-level courses (ex. 1st year course in my 3rd year), but my course options as a 4th year student are a bit limited. If I take a lower-level course, would this reflect negatively on my application?

Thank you!

[Stephanie Oswalt]

Hello!

I am in the process of selecting my courses for my final undergrad year at a Canadian university, and I was wondering if law school admissions take course level/course difficulty into consideration when reviewing applications? I've been taking strictly year-appropriate courses thus far (3rd year courses in my 3rd year, 2nd year courses in 2nd year, etc), and have been avoiding taking any lower-level courses (ex. 1st year course in my 3rd year), but my course options as a 4th year student are a bit limited. If I take a lower-level course, would this reflect negatively on my application?

Thank you!

Hi lsatstudent22,

Thanks for the post, and good question! I wouldn't worry too much here — a lower-level course or two (provided you perform well in them!) will not concern admissions committees.

That's not to say the rigor of your coursework isn't important; it is. But admissions committees are looking for trends: did you generally take rigorous courses or typically pick mostly easier courses? Thus, I wouldn't opt for all lower-level courses—it may look like you're trying to slack off in your final year—but again, one or two should be fine! After all, schools don't know if those particular courses were of special interest to you, or if you were required to complete them for your degree, for example.

And of course, two of the most important factors here are your GPA and LSAT score, so make sure those are as strong as possible.

Thanks!