Which law schools have the most generous scholarship opportunities?

[jan 76]

It seems to me like Canadian scholarship opportunities are scarce in comparison to American schools. That being said, I'm wondering which law school in Canada has the best scholarship program, i.e., offers full rides, renewables, etc. What have you been offered, and with what stats? 

Obviously, there's an element of self-interest here; I'm also wondering which schools would be likely to offer me a good deal. My stats are as follows:

• Entering fourth and final year of undergrad.  
• 3.94/170
• Very demonstrable financial need (family last year was well under the poverty line).
• LGBTQ+ 

For me, going to law school is by no means contingent upon receiving a scholarship, but it would definitely make my life a lot easier. I'll update this thread if I ever get any offers! 

[shawniebear 230]

Well it depends on the school you apply to. I'm attending UNB starting September, and I was surprised to have recently been offered a $6000 scholarship, which is more than half of the 10k annual tuition. My stats are not even that good (3.8/4.3 adjusted GPA, and 164 LSAT), nor am I from the Maritimes, so with your stats I'm willing to wager that you would almost certainly get a full scholarship. You might get just as much, if not more,  scholarship money from other schools, but you have to factor in how much higher tuition is at other law schools, because my understanding is that UNB has one of the lowest tuitions of any law school in Canada, which is why I decided to attend in the first place.

[suntancity 39]

Check out the U of C. They've got a $60,000 scholarship ($20,000 renewable each year), in addition to many other big scholarships.

[sammy1234 1]

2 hours ago, jan said:

It seems to me like Canadian scholarship opportunities are scarce in comparison to American schools. That being said, I'm wondering which law school in Canada has the best scholarship program, i.e., offers full rides, renewables, etc. What have you been offered, and with what stats? 

Obviously, there's an element of self-interest here; I'm also wondering which schools would be likely to offer me a good deal. My stats are as follows:

• Entering fourth and final year of undergrad.  
• 3.94/170
• Very demonstrable financial need (family last year was well under the poverty line).
• LGBTQ+ 

For me, going to law school is by no means contingent upon receiving a scholarship, but it would definitely make my life a lot easier. I'll update this thread if I ever get any offers! 

Dalhousie offers the Schulich Scholarships which I think are about 16,000 or 13,000. Tuition at Dalhousie is about 18,000. 

Edited July 17, 2017 by sammy1234

[Starling 949]

UBC might be worth looking into. They have lots of scholarships, many of them you would probably be eligible for due to your financial need. Plus bursaries.

http://www.allard.ubc.ca/awards-and-scholarships-students-entering-jd-program

[ElevenUnderwood 7]

Tuition at U of M is under $12,000. Your stats would guarantee you an entrance scholarship (4,000+), the average bursary is $4,500 not to mention federal and provincial grants and bursaries when you apply for student loans (another couple grand). Those three sources alone could cover almost all of your tuition. Then there are scholarships to apply for. 

Factor in cost of living per city as well.

[Himalaya 24]

21 hours ago, sammy1234 said:

Dalhousie offers the Schulich Scholarships which I think are about 16,000 or 13,000. Tuition at Dalhousie is about 18,000. 

Dal also has the generous Bursary/Scholarship program; the average student last year received ~ $5000 IIRC.

[Blipple 25]

In my opinion, the two most important questions a prospective law student should ask themselves are:

(i) Where do I want to practice, and

(ii) How much is my law degree going to cost me

The first will be the biggest factor in securing articling positions because networking is easier when you are actually physically present in a place - though I stress that it is not determinative: you can go to a Maritime school and work on Bay Street and you can go to a Toronto school and work in Newfoundland, for example, but it will help if you're in the place you want to work during non-school time.

The second is often overlooked by students, and that is a huge mistake - carrying a large debt into an uncertain (to put it kindly) legal market should be avoided as much as possible. A law degree is no guarantee of riches, I'll tell you that for free. There's also a fair sized chance that law school, articling, and early practice will make you think twice about being a lawyer, so you don't want to be chained to a large debt. Financial freedom is a wonderful thing.

In other words, I would decide (to the extent that you can now with the information you have available to you) where you think you want to work, and then go to the law school that will cost you as little as possible while giving you the opportunity to work where you want. With your entrance stats, you're likely to get money from lots of places, so shop around - call up admissions offices and ask if you want.

Edited July 18, 2017 by Blipple

[akulamasusu 149]

UBC bursary.

[chaboywb 748]

If I claim LGBTQ+, can I get free stuff?

[Coolname 277]

you shouldn't just look at scholarship amount, look at tuition as well. A 10,000 scholarship to UofT would still mean paying over 10,000 more than a student with no scholarship at uvic (30,000+ tuition at uoft vs 10,000 at uvic)

Also where you want to practice and live is far more important than scholarship amount or total cost, at least to me. 

Just to note as well, family income usually isnt considered anymore, your assets and income are what matter

Edited September 8, 2017 by Coolname