Questions from a Canadian Applicant
Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 5:00 pm
Hi everyone,
I've been researching different law schools quite a bit, and I just had a few questions if anyone is nice enough to help me out. I graduated from the university of toronto, likely one of the most difficult undergraduate Canadian institutions to do well in. They're notorious for screwing over their students who wish to go into professional programs. Either way, I graduated the school with a 3.26. My first year was really bad, but since then it's streadily improved. My GPA without my first year is a 3.5, my best two years are a little over 3.7 (84%). I've taken the LSAT a few times. My highest score is 157. I've been given permission to write it again in February, which is pretty late in the admissions cycle I understand.
I was just wondering if American law schools drop any of your worst credits or look mostly at your last 2 years? In Canada, most schools drop 15/25% of your worst credits, look exclusively at your last 2, or look at everything but pay particular attention to your last 2 and LSAT for cutoff purposes. I just paid for the Credential Assembly Service, and I'm going to request that my school send my transcripts out tomorrow morning. However, I'm concerned that law schools will only consider my cGPA.
Lastly, does anyone have any advice on specific schools I could apply to. I've applied to several places in Canada, but also looking to apply to schools in the states. Assuming I can't do better in February, are there any schools I stand a reasonable chance of admission (hopefully with financial aid assistance). Also, I was wondering if the average entry salaries posted on the ranking section of this website were credible? A lot of the schools claim to produce 100,000 average salaries, which is like the absolute highest a new Canadian lawyer could hope to acheive at an entry level position. I was looking at several schools in in the top 100, but I'm not sure if I even stand a chance at those ones. I was also looking at Michigan State University, which I understand is a TTT school (they have some pretty strong outcomes and generous scholarships). However, I was considering applying to their joint MSU/Ottawa program after first year, where you can earn a U.S. and cdn law degree in 4 years. I'm not sure if I want to come back to practice in Canada, but Im pretty excited at the possibility of keeping doors open for positions in Canada and the States. Apart from my stats, I have really strong ECs, references, personal statement and work experience. I'm also just generally really confident in my ability so succeed in law school/interviewing skills, even if my marks don't reflect this bold claim. Anyways, sorry for the huge post. Any advice would be appreciated!
I've been researching different law schools quite a bit, and I just had a few questions if anyone is nice enough to help me out. I graduated from the university of toronto, likely one of the most difficult undergraduate Canadian institutions to do well in. They're notorious for screwing over their students who wish to go into professional programs. Either way, I graduated the school with a 3.26. My first year was really bad, but since then it's streadily improved. My GPA without my first year is a 3.5, my best two years are a little over 3.7 (84%). I've taken the LSAT a few times. My highest score is 157. I've been given permission to write it again in February, which is pretty late in the admissions cycle I understand.
I was just wondering if American law schools drop any of your worst credits or look mostly at your last 2 years? In Canada, most schools drop 15/25% of your worst credits, look exclusively at your last 2, or look at everything but pay particular attention to your last 2 and LSAT for cutoff purposes. I just paid for the Credential Assembly Service, and I'm going to request that my school send my transcripts out tomorrow morning. However, I'm concerned that law schools will only consider my cGPA.
Lastly, does anyone have any advice on specific schools I could apply to. I've applied to several places in Canada, but also looking to apply to schools in the states. Assuming I can't do better in February, are there any schools I stand a reasonable chance of admission (hopefully with financial aid assistance). Also, I was wondering if the average entry salaries posted on the ranking section of this website were credible? A lot of the schools claim to produce 100,000 average salaries, which is like the absolute highest a new Canadian lawyer could hope to acheive at an entry level position. I was looking at several schools in in the top 100, but I'm not sure if I even stand a chance at those ones. I was also looking at Michigan State University, which I understand is a TTT school (they have some pretty strong outcomes and generous scholarships). However, I was considering applying to their joint MSU/Ottawa program after first year, where you can earn a U.S. and cdn law degree in 4 years. I'm not sure if I want to come back to practice in Canada, but Im pretty excited at the possibility of keeping doors open for positions in Canada and the States. Apart from my stats, I have really strong ECs, references, personal statement and work experience. I'm also just generally really confident in my ability so succeed in law school/interviewing skills, even if my marks don't reflect this bold claim. Anyways, sorry for the huge post. Any advice would be appreciated!