Canadian Law Schools

samantha.ashley92

Do Canadian law schools (in Ontario, specifically) allow you to apply through the LSAC, or is it pretty standard that you have to apply using the OLSAS directly?

paulmv.benthem

From what I've researched, OLSAS appears to be required by virtually all the law programs in Ontario.

keets993

Olsas! Also they make it so you only have to pay for one transcript instead of having to get multiples

samantha.ashley92

@keets993 can OLSAS get your letters of recommendation and transcript through the LSAC? One of my recommenders was an adjunct professor, so I'm not sure if he still has access to his school email if I need him to upload the letter again.

ebalde1234

@"samantha.ashley92" said:
@keets993 can OLSAS get your letters of recommendation and transcript through the LSAC? One of my recommenders was an adjunct professor, so I'm not sure if he still has access to his school email if I need him to upload the letter again.

For Ontario schools everything is done pretty much on that site there is a spot where you list the lor contact info and there needs to be an email , you also put in a transcript request if you make an account you have access to see all these features

keets993

Yeah for olsas it's all done right there, no letters are saved. So they basically write it and then either copy and paste or upload it. I think you'd have to contact olsas or lsac to figure out how to switch it over or if you can.

AshleighK

I wanted confirmation on this if anyone knows: I've heard that US law schools refer to the Canadian grading system when assessing marks for students who attended university abroad. Can anyone confirm this? The reason I ask is because an 85% is regarded as 3.9 in Canada but in US is considered a B.

I'm from the US and plan to apply to law school here but I'm attending university in Canada. I was just worried how my marks would be adjusted in this process and whether or not this would hurt my applications.

PearsonSpecterLittUp

@AshleighK said:
I wanted confirmation on this if anyone knows: I've heard that US law schools refer to the Canadian grading system when assessing marks for students who attended university abroad. Can anyone confirm this? The reason I ask is because an 85% is regarded as 3.9 in Canada but in US is considered a B.

I'm from the US and plan to apply to law school here but I'm attending university in Canada. I was just worried how my marks would be adjusted in this process and whether or not this would hurt my applications.

So I just finished my undergrad at a Canadian institution, and LSAC converted my grades based on the letter grade, not the percentage! Does that answer your question?? So like an 85% average in Canada will likely translate to a 3.75 - 3.95 LSAC gpa, depending on your letter grades overall as opposed to percentage.

samantha.ashley92

@PearsonSpecterLittUp I think what @AshleighK is saying is that an 85% would only translate to a 3.0 in the US, while it's about a 3.67 in Canada. It gives Canadians an unfair advantage. Like my 3.8 GPA in the US would be a 4.33 in Canada. However, I'm sure that admissions committees understand this and view US transcripts differently. The bad thing is that it skews the schools' medians, which I'm sure they don't like. I'm also surprised that the LSAC didn't your use percentages to calculate your American GPA. That gives you a huge edge.

PearsonSpecterLittUp

@"samantha.ashley92" said:
@PearsonSpecterLittUp I think what @AshleighK is saying is that an 85% would only translate to a 3.0 in the US, while it's about a 3.67 in Canada. It gives Canadians an unfair advantage. Like my 3.8 GPA in the US would be a 4.33 in Canada. However, I'm sure that admissions committees understand this and view US transcripts differently. The bad thing is that it skews the schools' medians, which I'm sure they don't like. I'm also surprised that the LSAC didn't your use percentages to calculate your American GPA. That gives you a huge edge.

So that's not true, because our classes here in Canada are often scaled. Meaning the class average is set to a C+, which is about 65%. So the system in Canada doesn't "give Canadians an unfair advantage". They look at letter grades, not percentages. Just because in the US different percentages mean different letter grades does not mean that studying in the US is more difficult or that getting a solid GPA is more difficult. According to LSAC, the average GPA of people applying from my Canadian institution is a 3.3 - I am sure that many american schools have average GPAs way above this. (This is the average GPA of those applying. The average GPA overall is lower).
Moreover, and 85 is a solid A here, meaning it would be a 4.0 (at least in my institution) not a 3.67

You saying that it gives us a huge edge is kind of insulting. We do not have grade inflation here, our system is just scaled to different numbers than yours. That does not mean that all Canadian schools are easier than all American schools.

samantha.ashley92

@PearsonSpecterLittUp ok, that makes sense. I think it also depends on which American school you went to. My school never inflated grades, but I know some do in order to make the average a C. Also, some schools do put every exam on a bell curve. I have a friend who got a 96% on an exam and it was a C- because so many people got 100%. I also didn't mean to insult you. I just reread what I wrote, and I can totally see how it would come off that way. (I was having a bad day.) Thank you for clarifying the process, and good luck on the LSAT!

AshleighK

@PearsonSpecterLittUp said:

@"samantha.ashley92" said:
@PearsonSpecterLittUp I think what @AshleighK is saying is that an 85% would only translate to a 3.0 in the US, while it's about a 3.67 in Canada. It gives Canadians an unfair advantage. Like my 3.8 GPA in the US would be a 4.33 in Canada. However, I'm sure that admissions committees understand this and view US transcripts differently. The bad thing is that it skews the schools' medians, which I'm sure they don't like. I'm also surprised that the LSAC didn't your use percentages to calculate your American GPA. That gives you a huge edge.

So that's not true, because our classes here in Canada are often scaled. Meaning the class average is set to a C+, which is about 65%. So the system in Canada doesn't "give Canadians an unfair advantage". They look at letter grades, not percentages. Just because in the US different percentages mean different letter grades does not mean that studying in the US is more difficult or that getting a solid GPA is more difficult. According to LSAC, the average GPA of people applying from my Canadian institution is a 3.3 - I am sure that many american schools have average GPAs way above this. (This is the average GPA of those applying. The average GPA overall is lower).
Moreover, and 85 is a solid A here, meaning it would be a 4.0 (at least in my institution) not a 3.67

You saying that it gives us a huge edge is kind of insulting. We do not have grade inflation here, our system is just scaled to different numbers than yours. That does not mean that all Canadian schools aure easier than all American schools.

Yeah, I had to battle that a lot with my friends here back home in the US. I would tell them my 83% on an assignment is an “A” and they would say “wow school is easier over there. I would cruise in that school!” but since I’ve had experience with both systems I can honestly say it’s equal like you said it is weighed differently and adjusts according to letter grade. Anything over an 80% here is considered an A, A- whatever (to me an A is an A).

I just wanted to clear it up because I wasn’t sure I would have a disadvantage with that same mentality that schools may think “wow how does that mark= this grade?”. I have heard that they just take the letter grade which makes me happy especially knowing that you can back this claim up! Thanks for clearing it up

samantha.ashley92

It's really helpful to know this information because I was looking at Queens where the median GPA is much lower than mine... and then I started wondering if the median GPA in Canada is lower, making my GPA worth even less. It's all just crazy to me because I have no idea what I really need to get into Canadian schools.

PearsonSpecterLittUp

@"samantha.ashley92" said:
It's really helpful to know this information because I was looking at Queens where the median GPA is much lower than mine... and then I started wondering if the median GPA in Canada is lower, making my GPA worth even less. It's all just crazy to me because I have no idea what I really need to get into Canadian schools.

it REALLY depends on the school! Like the median GPA to get into University of Toronto is higher than a 4......... Also Canadian schools each drop certain amount of courses, whether that means your lowest 4 courses like UBC, or your worst full year of undergrad or whatever. However, many Canadian schools value GPA over LSAT, so you may notice that some Canadian schools have disproportionately high GPA reqs and pretty low LSATs.... either way sounds like your GPA is nothing to worry about That being said, OLSAS gave me a slightly lower converted GPA than LSAC, so just keep that in mind.

@AshleighK Happy to have helped

samantha.ashley92

@PearsonSpecterLittUp thanks for the info! How do they make the decision to lower a grade? Like do they just not do A+s?