Faculty of Law

[LiquidK]

alright, I'm not even sure if this is the right category to be posting this, or even the right forum.

But im planning on attending U of C next january (or fall after next if thats what it takes) and i want to enroll in the faculty of law.

I know there are no specific prerequisites at U of C (no pre-law major) but i was wondering if anyone know what courses would be useful for application, preferablly a two year program at U of C, but if there is anything useful at mount royal i'm not against hearing it.

If anyone has enrolled there before, or just has an educated idea what to take i would really appreciate it.

[Krayzie]

you can't get admission into law school without a degree. It is very rare to see that people who have only completed 20 courses are admitted into law school. U of C only considers your last 20 courses for admission into law school.

There is no specific degree that you need for law school. Law students come from many differeny backgrounds but a common major is Political Science.

You should be doing a degree or taking courses in which you will achieve the highest marks in. The law school at the U of C does not only look at Lsat and Gpa they also do take into consideration life experience.

i'm not sure if you already knew all this information but from what i understood this is what you wanted to know

[LiquidK]

life experience i have, and thanks for the tip i'm going to take a look into political science

[shakalaka]

I thought you need a degree like BA or BSC or something before you can get into law. No prereq. as far as I know. I am not too familiar with the Canadian Law schooling system as I do not go to Law school here, but as Krayzie mentioned LSAT, GPA and volunteering is also very important, before they even consider you for Law school.

[Weapon_R]

My suggestion is that you get an undergrad worth the paper its written on. So many people focus on law school that they fail to realize that the chances of getting in are so little and end up in a tough position.

[shakalaka]

^Yes deffinately that's one of the most important things, they won't even consider you unless you have some sort of other undergrad degree before you can get into actual law school. Lots of people I know that are already lawyers and doing law here in calgary, went this way. Get undergrad try to do as good as you can, do volunteering, do the lsat and get a good score, pass the interview and you are in law school.

[LiquidK]

I know the only actual prerequisite is a undergrad degree in anything, i think i said that in my topic. then you qualify to write the lsat and based on scores and volunteer experience, you'll be admitted or not.

they say that theres no specific prerequisite in the pursuit of "admitting prospective law students with a wide array of educational backgrounds. but i also know that there must be a few specific courses that will look good on an application.

to put it simple, what degrees are a good background to have going into the lsats?

[shakalaka]

The best way to figure that out is to look into some LSAT exams and see what kinda questions they ask in those exams, and you should take courses that are related to that, cauz this way you will be preparing yourself for the LSAT and getting a degree at the same time.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, like I said I don't got to law school here, so I am not well aware as to what sort of courses various undergrad degrees offer that would help you in this field.

PS:Weapon_R, your mailbox is full.

[AsianCaucasian]

You will definitely need a 4.0 GPA to get in to UC's law faculty. My business law prof said you need an average of 97% or above. Good luck.

[Krayzie]

Originally posted by AsianCaucasian
You will definitely need a 4.0 GPA to get in to UC's law faculty. My business law prof said you need an average of 97% or above. Good luck.

I am pretty damn sure you dont need a 4.0 to get into U of C's law school. I know people who have gotten into the U of C's law faculty without getting a 4.0
You need an amazing gpa and a really good lsat score (aim for around 160).

As weapon r said focus on your degree. Don't just do a degree because it is going to get you to law school. You need to have a backup plan. Admission into law school is very difficult and some students find that after 1 semester of law school they want to drop out. Major in something that you like to do and naturally you will do well.

[three.eighteen.]

you do not need an undergrad to get into law, but i think the statistic is over 90% of law school faculty members do hold a degree, you basically need to have done insanely well and be a well rounded individual to get into law school without an undergrad...what are some good volunteer positions that look good on a law school application?

[LiquidK]

"The educational prerequisite for admission to Law School in Alberta is successful completion of 10 full courses or 20 half course equivalents in a program of studies leading to a degree at a university in Alberta, or its equivalent. Courses to be considered must be completed prior to January 1 in the year in which the application is made. These requirements apply to all applicants. As a practical matter, very few applicants who do not already possess a degree are admitted to the Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary. Most have demonstrated academic competence before presenting themselves as candidates to the Law Faculty by successfully completing one or more degree programs. The educational prerequisites for admission are subject to change. "

How can you be admitted without having a degree yet having completed one or more degree programs. Im talking about the last sentence.

I could understand them admitting you if you scored 180 on you're lsats without doing a degree in anything, but still.

[Super_Geo]

If you want to go the poly sci route for law school you're going to be one fish in a really big pond... here are some undergrad degrees that look good on a law application:

- Commerce
- Engineering
- Something with a international focus (International Development Studies, etc)
- Life Sciences (psedo pre-med)

I hear that with an engineering degree you can get into a lot of law schools, and will definately have a leg up on the English/History/PolySci/Philosophy applicants. There's a killing to me made in areas of law that require a lot of technical knowledge (patent lawyers, for one), and they're banking on the fact that they won't get that from someone who spent 4 years learning about 14th century novels ;)

But the biggest key IS THE LSAT. Just prep for 3-4 weeks and aim to destroy it. I have a buddy who's smart as hell, but the biggest slacker you will ever meet. He decided to get his shit straight and, after working for 2 years in industry with his engineering degree, wanted to be a lawyer. His GPA in school was like 2.9 or 3.0 or something... but he got 178 on his LSAT and got accepted to every single law school he applied to (Osgoode, UofT, UBC, UofA).

Also, UofC Law will not accept you if you are young and without a pretty solid work/life experience. I remember hearing something along the lines of 'don't apply unless you're 27+'. Might as well go to the UofA, which has a very well respected law school.

[ashee]

I'm doing my Poli Sci degree with hopes to go into law after and I did all of my research before I chose this path, it's very easy to obtain the accurate information. Go onto the U of C's homepage click the Faculty of Law and there is all the info and more you will need to know about admissions. I printed out the whole 100+ page PDF file and had actually read it all it was very useful, there are even stats about the average grade, age, etc. that get accepted. You need AT LEAST 2 years of an undergraduate degree, a good number who get accepted into law have completed their degree and many have their masters as well but ya check out the site.

"The average G.P.A. for the first year class of 2006 is 3.51 on a 4 point scale. This equates to a B+/A-. The average LSAT score is 157. The average age is 26 years. "


http://www.law.ucalgary.ca/program/class-profile.htm

[pinoyhero]

If law is the end goal take a degree while you prep that's worth while and that you can fall bacvk on or just take off with if things dont work out with law school, given your after LAW you must be a glutton for punishment .. go wtih engineering ...