McGill law school admission: is there hope? Forum

[Mediana]

To whom it may concern,

I am a recent (Canadian) university graduate with a BA in International relations from UBC. I have been interested in studying at McGill's faculty of law for some time and believe I am a strong candidate for the program: I have worked in a law office part-time for a few years, have had extensive involvement (including leadership positions) with campus clubs during my time at university, recently completed an international internship in the US at a pro-bono law office (many of my colleagues there were T14 law school students completing their summer pro bono internships), and I finished my degree relatively strong with a GPA of approximately 3.8 in my upper (top three years) courses. I also possess a working knowledge of French and am working on brushing up my French to full, bilingual (academic) proficiency. However my transcript is... spotty.

TL;DR: I suffered from mood disorders throughout my undergrad, which adversely impacted my performance (after a break down towards the end of my studies, I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and major depression). These problems were reflected in my first year studies - incidentally I was studying in a faculty I didn't particularly enjoy - where I performed subpar and failed one of my courses (organic chemistry). My problems followed me later on as well, resulting in me having to withdraw from my courses several times - ergo some years I had a nearly or completely full course load while others I only took several courses per year with a pattern of Ws (my performance in any given semesters was not necessarily correlated with course load, but rather other environmental factors)... After a lengthy process of learning to manage my emotions, I completed my studies with a reduced course load and succeeded in completing my degree with excellent grades in MUCH better health (albeit I graduated several years after my peers).

So, my question is as follows: since McGill evidently does not, unlike other Canadian law schools like UBC and UofT, have a policy of dropping students' worst courses or only considering a given number of their best courses, is there hope for me to successfully apply to this school given my circumstances? I understand that McGill law takes a holistic approach to admissions, however I worry that the pattern of Ws in my transcript, relatively uncompetitive CGPA, and history of mental problems might be sufficient grounds to disqualify me as a suitable candidate... I worry about the last one particularly as there is a great deal of stigma surrounding depression in general and I fear it might cause the admission committee to unfairly discriminate against me. Moreover, this ordeal negatively impacted my CGPA (it is only around a 3.3, I believe). Then again, I did show a more upward academic trend in the later years of my studies and have other things going for me... I should also note that I have yet to take the LSAT (I have never written it before) and I also intend to do a one year masters program next year (which may help demonstrate better performance at the graduate level). Do you guys have any advice for me as a prospective McGill law graduate (i.e. should I try to do well on the LSAT to try and stand out, is the masters a good idea, is there anything else I can do in the meantime...?) Thanks in advance!

[xael]

You might be better off asking this on http://lawstudents.ca/forums, though idk how active it is.

The mood disorders might make it difficult to pass the bar (again caveat I have no idea how Canada works), especially if you were only able to manage it by taking a reduced courseload. That's also something to think about wrt law school, and working as an attorney, in the future.

If McGill is anything like american law schools then a low GPA will keep you out of the running regardless of the reason.

Of course you should try and do well on the LSAT.