The Review Process – Osgoode Hall Law School (2023)

FAQs

Is Osgoode Hall Law School hard to get into? ›

Although admission decisions are made on the basis of a holistic assessment of the application, successful applicants generally have an “A-“ (3.7) cumulative GPA and an LSAT in the 80th percentile, or better. Significantly stronger results on either the LSAT or the GPA may compensate for a less competitive LSAT or GPA.

Getting into Osgoode Hall law school requires a strong academic performance, so a GPA of at least 3.7 and an LSAT score above 160, as well as a stellar written application. Applicants will need to write both a law school personal statement and an autobiographical sketch.

However, there are plenty of law schools with LSAT scores of 150 or lower within their median range, so don't be discouraged. 160 score: A score of 160 or above is typically considered a good LSAT score.

2,735 applications were submitted for the 290 first-year course places in 2020 – an acceptance rate of 10,6%.

Admission Decisions

Successful applicants generally have at least a cumulative A- average (includes all years of undergraduate study) and an LSAT in the 85th percentile or better.

Osgoode considers your highest result as reported by the Law School Admission Council and will accept LSAT scores for the past five years. You must complete the LSAT no later than January of the year you intend to start.

Although that factor is mostly defined by individual law schools, for many colleges, you'll need a score of over 150. Keep in mind, you may be able to balance an LSAT score that barely meets a school's requirements with a stellar GPA, resume, and well-written personal statement.

How low is too low? Quite frankly, if your LSAT score is below 147, it will be difficult to be admitted to an accredited law school, not impossible but very difficult. Your GPA will have to do some heavy lifting. If your LSAT score is 150 or above, your chances increase if you choose prospective law schools wisely.

First off, if you're in this score range, you're already officially above the mean (and above median, though we can't speak to mode – sorry stats fans). Within this score range, you're besting 64-78 percent of your peers, putting you solidly within the top half of test takers!

Is 149 a decent LSAT score? ›

A score of 155 on the LSAT is a classic 'in-between' score. While the score is not too low, it will also not put you in the cream of LSAT test takers. An LSAT score of 155 can at best be classified as an average score which will put you in the hunt for a decent law school. The LSAT is scored on a scale of 120-180.

UofT's location is 1000% better (each school's "campus" will pretty much consist of one building if you're a law student). Articling rates are probably the same generally (i.e., somewhere in the high 90s), but UofT places its students better in the 2L recruit if that's something you might be into.

Yale University

With an acceptance rate of just 6.9%, it's no wonder that Yale is the hardest law school to get into. Only around 1 in 15 of their highly qualified applicants makes it through. The median GPA score of a student enrolled at Yale University is 3.92, while the median LSAT score is 173.

Osgoode Hall is one of the most elite law schools in Canada. Times Higher Education ranked Osgoode Hall Law School as a top-50 law school in the world in 2022. Its long and distinguished history has led to a lay prestige that is unmatched by any other Canadian law school.

Note that a score in this range places you, on average, in the 98^th percentile, meaning that only 2% of all those who take the LSAT score a 170 or above. To get a score in the 160s you should aim for getting 70-85 of the questions correct, or around 70%.

Based on admission data, the University of Windsor is the easiest law school to get into in Canada. Compared to other schools, the University of Windsor has the lowest accepted GPA and LSAT scores among its matriculants.

When you're applying to law school you must be aware of your digital footprint. Law schools often look at your social media presence when reviewing applicants' candidacy. You don't have a lot to gain, but so much to lose by posting inappropriate things to social media.

Do law schools only look at your last 2 years? ›

We consider all years of study and, as a general rule, applicants with strong cumulative averages will be preferred. However, we will place greater weight on the last 2 years of full-time (or equivalent) undergraduate study in appropriate circumstances, typically where the cumulative average falls below 3.7.

To achieve a score of 170 requires a test taker to correctly answer 90 out of 101 questions.

LSAT Percentile

For example if your LSAT Scaled Score is 157 you will have a percentile rank of approximately 75% meaning that your Scaled Score of 157 is better than 75% of the LSAT Scaled Scores for the last three years.

Offset a low LSAT score with a higher GPA.

The rest of your application must be as strong as you can make it to offset a low LSAT score. The first thing an admissions office will want to see to balance out a low LSAT score is a high GPA. This is a high cumulative GPA.

While you may be able to apply and even be accepted into a law school with a lower LSAT score, there is a cut-off for acceptable application scores. If you are consistently scoring lower than 145, you may need to consider significant studying and a retake before applying to law schools.

The LSAT is scored between 120 and 180, with 153 being the average score.

First we should state that, in general, we do not recommend canceling your LSAT score. Canceling has very few benefits—the test still counts toward your allotted 3 takes per cycle (and 5 takes per 5-year period, and 7 takes total), and it doesn't remove the test administration from your record.

The lowest being 120, which by logical reasoning would therefore suggest that the average LSAT score is around 150…which it is, or near abouts. The importance of getting a good score on your LSAT cannot be overstated.

Is 145 low LSAT score? ›

The average LSAT score is around 150. The LSAT has a margin of error, but 145 is considered a symbolic line by legal education experts and school administrators.

The LSAT is scored on a 120-180 scale.

From our independent research, we've found that students who take the LSAT without studying achieve scores between 145 and 153.

This shows that the lowest acceptable LSAT score is 139. Typically, a good rule of thumb is that you want to at least break 140 to make taking on the cost of law school economically feasible. You can get into a law school with a 140 LSAT score.

If we were to speak about a good LSAT score in very broad terms, 157 or above would be a reasonable place to start. Anything above 160 is not a bad LSAT score.

As previously stated, the score range for any LSAT exam is 120 to 180, but the average score is about 150. However, most of the top ten law schools require a candidate to have scored at least 165 on the LSAT.

Generally speaking, a score of 160 and above is necessary to guarantee admission into top-100 schools like Tulane, UC Hastings, or Case Western Reserve. For top-50 law schools such as Fordham, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, or George Washington, 165 is a good number to reach for.

If your goal is to get into one of the top 25 law schools in the country, you'll need to achieve a score of 160 or better.

Scoring a 175 means you missed 5 questions on the test, which can be the equivalent of an entire logic game. Scoring a 170 means you missed 10 or 11 questions, which is nearly half of an entire section. The point of all this is that there is room to make mistakes.

We do not have a minimum LSAT score or GPA. The strongest applicants to the 2020-2021 program had LSAT scores starting at 160 and undergraduate GPAs starting at A-. Based on the whole-person approach to admission we encourage candidates to apply.

What university has the best law program in Canada? ›

Most law students find their second year easier than their first. By the second year, you know what to expect and you know you're capable of rising to the various challenges. Unfortunately, while most law students find their second year easier, they also find it busier.

So which degree is tougher? One student may say that medical school is tougher while another says that law school is tougher. In reality, it really depends on you, how you learn, and your natural abilities and aptitude of being a student.

While only 0.1% of test-takers get a 180, many more get accepted into law school each year.

HIGH COST, HIGH REWARD

While Columbia Law is the most expensive law education in the U.S., the law school also boasts impressive employment rates. Columbia sent the largest percentage of its 2021 J.D. graduates into full-time legal jobs of any law school, according to American Bar Association data.

All discretionary category applicants must have an LSAT score above 150 (45th percentile). Although an undergraduate degree is not required, it is recommended that candidates complete three years of undergraduate study before admission. Up to 25% of the class may be admitted in the discretionary categories.

Do I need to take the LSAT in order to apply to Canadian law schools? Not all Canadian law schools require the LSAT. Your law school application must include an LSAT score if you are applying to an LSAC-member Canadian law school. The Quebec law schools do not require the LSAT.