I've recently been considering a career in Law and was wondering if you guys can help me out here. What are some of the best schools in Canada and how difficult is it to get admitted to them?

As well, I'd be interested to know who else is considering law school at this point in time.

The best is University of Toronto.
You need a score that ranks you in at least the 95 percentile on your LSAT to get into UofT Law. The tuition is also far and away the most expensive of any law school in Canada; ~ $20,000 / year . McGill, UBC and Osgoode Hall are also great law schools. keep in mind, to practice in Quebec you need a civil law degree and for the rest of Canada you need a common law degree.

Hope this help

U of T and Osgoode are the best schools in Canada. The medians for U of T are approximately 3.8 (best 3 years GPA) and 167 LSAT. The medians for Osgoode are 3.65 cumulative GPA and 162 LSAT. Tuition for U of T Law is the highest in Canada at 30k/ year. Unless you 100% want to work on Bay Street, I would personally go to Osgoode or Queens.

McGill Law is good but catered towards the Quebec market and requires bilingualism in French.

UBC Law is good if you want to practice in the Vancouver market and is cheap at 11k/ year.

While the acceptance rates for Law are not like medicine, it is still extremely difficult to get admitted. U of T and Osgoode are two of the toughest schools to get admitted to in the country.

Originally Posted by Avatar Aang

U of T and Osgoode are the best schools in Canada. The medians for U of T are approximately 3.8 (best 3 years GPA) and 167 LSAT. The medians for Osgoode are 3.65 cumulative GPA and 162 LSAT. Tuition for U of T Law is the highest in Canada at 30k/ year. Unless you 100% want to work on Bay Street, I would personally go to Osgoode or Queens.

McGill Law is good but catered towards the Quebec market and requires bilingualism in French.

UBC Law is good if you want to practice in the Vancouver market and is cheap at 11k/ year.

While the acceptance rates for Law are not like medicine, it is still extremely difficult to get admitted. U of T and Osgoode are two of the toughest schools to get admitted to in the country.

Well, if you have the marks for law school, you will get in. Medicine is much tougher. I do not think it is EXTREMELY difficult to get in. You just need to get a moderate grade (3.8/3.65- not even that high) and a reasonable LSAT (which can be taken again and again)....

Originally Posted by gggggg

Well, if you have the marks for law school, you will get in. Medicine is much tougher. I do not think it is EXTREMELY difficult to get in. You just need to get a moderate grade (3.8/3.65- not even that high) and a reasonable LSAT (which can be taken again and again)....

Getting into med school is harder than law but keep in mind that most med schools only look at your last 2 years and some do drop your worst grades. Law is different in that most schools emphasize the cGPA to a large extent in the admissions process. A 3.65 cGPA is harder to achieve than a 3.8 in just one's last 2 years. The LSAT is also a very difficult test not to be taken lightly and no matter how hard you study, some individuals can never improve their score. It is a test based on logic and kind of like an IQ test. The test is only offered once in February, June, September and December each year and can be taken only maximum 3 times in a 2-year period. Some law schools average test scores so that plays a role as well. The MCAT in comparison is a knowledge test and can be taken as many times as you want. I think both tests play to different strengths depending on the person so you can't say one is easier or harder than the other.

Having the median or cutoff GPA and LSAT score also does not guarantee one into law school. They look at personal statement, extracurriculars, autobiographical sketch, reference letters, etc. The Ontario schools employ a very holistic approach, on top of needing stellar grades in all 4 years of your undergraduate study.

I have friends with 3.9+ GPAs who failed to get into law school. Grades and LSAT score are not everything.

just don't be tempted to go a subpar school in the states or worse bond law school in Australia. A lot of people who can't make it into a Canadian law school are tempted to go to crappy law schools. They don't realize that you have to write the bar exam to become a lawyer.

Originally Posted by Lawstudent

Getting into med school is harder than law but keep in mind that most med schools only look at your last 2 years and some do drop your worst grades. Law is different in that most schools emphasize the cGPA to a large extent in the admissions process. A 3.65 cGPA is harder to achieve than a 3.8 in just one's last 2 years. The LSAT is also a very difficult test not to be taken lightly and no matter how hard you study, some individuals can never improve their score. It is a test based on logic and kind of like an IQ test. The test is only offered once in February, June, September and December each year and can be taken only maximum 3 times in a 2-year period. Some law schools average test scores so that plays a role as well. The MCAT in comparison is a knowledge test and can be taken as many times as you want. I think both tests play to different strengths depending on the person so you can't say one is easier or harder than the other.

Having the median or cutoff GPA and LSAT score also does not guarantee one into law school. They look at personal statement, extracurriculars, autobiographical sketch, reference letters, etc. The Ontario schools employ a very holistic approach, on top of needing stellar grades in all 4 years of your undergraduate study.

I have friends with 3.9+ GPAs who failed to get into law school. Grades and LSAT score are not everything.

Most med schools look at all 4 years.

Originally Posted by airvcarmelo

Most med schools look at all 4 years.

I know Ottawa looks at cumulative and places less of an emphasis on the MCAT, but Queens and Western look at your last 2 years. U of T looks at wGPA, dropping some of your lowest credits I believe. Not sure about the other schools.

Originally Posted by rpg51

just don't be tempted to go a subpar school in the states or worse bond law school in Australia. A lot of people who can't make it into a Canadian law school are tempted to go to crappy law schools. They don't realize that you have to write the bar exam to become a lawyer.

Or they realize it and just don't care because they want to qualify themselves as a lawyer so badly. There are thousands of Canadians each year going to a low-tier U.S, UK or Australian school. It's an uphill battle for them when they try to come back to Canada or even get a good articling position. Those NCA exams could take up to a couple years to complete, and still firms probably won't hire them. It's comparable to all those pre-meds going to the Caribbean to become doctors; the process is only becoming increasingly hard for them to return to the U.S or Canada.

Originally Posted by Lawstudent

I know Ottawa looks at cumulative and places less of an emphasis on the MCAT, but Queens and Western look at your last 2 years. U of T looks at wGPA, dropping some of your lowest credits I believe. Not sure about the other schools.

Both Queens and Western still have tough and strict MCAT (>90% percentile with a specific minimum score in each section) cut offs to make up for that