First Year Admission Standards

Academic Requirements

To be eligible for admission, applicants must have successfully completed a minimum of three years of full-time undergraduate studies at an institution recognized as providing an academic environment and education that prepares students for potential success in advanced study. Prior to completion of undergraduate degree studies, the applicant would have completed secondary schooling in Canada or equivalent pre-university studies.

The Admissions Committee reviews the nature and content of the undergraduate and graduate programs undertaken. Enrolment at full course-load, scholarships, awards and prizes received, the level of the degree obtained (i.e., honours vs. general), consistency and improvement in academic performance, and successful completion of graduate work are weighed positively. For more information about the profile of the first year class, see the first-year class profile.

First Year LSAT Requirement

All first year applicants are required to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). LSAT scores for the past five years may be used. The Faculty engages in a rolling admissions process commencing after the OLSAS admissions deadline at the beginning of November. First-round offers are made throughout the months of January, February and March with an acceptance deadline of April 1st. Subsequent rounds of offers continue until the commencement of the academic year.

Applicants seeking admission in the first round must have written the LSAT no later than the December test date. The February test score is the latest score accepted for admission in the current admission cycle. It is strongly recommended that applicants write the LSAT no later than the December test date in order to have the score reports available to the Admissions Committee when first round offers begin to issue in January. The Admissions Committee initially considers the average score for the ranking of applicants for scholarship purposes and ordering the files for decision by the Committee. The Admissions Committee will rely on the highest score achieved at the time of the admission decision.

First Year Language Proficiency and TOEFL

An excellent command of spoken and written English is essential for success in law school. A TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score is required for applicants who are not fluent in English. Applicants in any category who have completed at least three years of full-time study at a recognized university, taking courses for which English is the official language of instruction, may request exemption from the TOEFL requirement. Such a request for exemption must be supported by an academic letter of reference attesting to the applicant’s fluency in written and spoken English.

Test results from the new iBT TOEFL are preferred. Under the old TOEFL scoring system, no applicant with a TOEFL score of less than 600/250 and a TWE of less than 5.0 was considered. Standards for the new TOEFL iBT are a minimum total score of no less than 100, with a minimum of 24 on the Writing section, no less than 22 on the Speaking section, no less than 24 on the Reading section and no less than 20 on the Listening section.

For further information, please see the TOEFL website at www.etscanada.ca/toefl/index.php.