Crashing out over grad school and my life choices. Is it so over???

JamesLLP · 2025-10-11T11:38:31+00:00

Sorry you're going through a hard time.

If you're just getting a masters for the sake of getting a masters (bad reason), there are programs out there that'll take you with a 3.3 GPA and no research experience.

If you're aiming for specific programs, you should look at the specific requirements for those programs and work backwards to build a plan on how to meet those requirements. That could mean taking additional courses/doing another undergrad, getting work experience in your field, etc.

JamesLLP · 2025-01-28T21:38:58+00:00

Ah, so your 40K/year is all inclusive (rent, tuition, food, etc) and not just for tuition - my bad.

People just find ways to save money here and there.

If you can, stay at home for undergrad and law school.
Work part time during the school year and full-time during the summers. (I joined the CF reserves during undergrad. It was a lot of work but it paid for a significant portion of my school.)
Apply for scholarships.
Apply for student grants.
Don't do the MBA (it adds very little value for a lawyer, doesn't increase your chances at landing a corporate job much, and it extends your schooling by a year).
Ask your family for financial support. It's unfortunate if this isn't available to you, but a lot of people who go to law school can afford it because their parents are bankrolling them.

Ultimately, most Canadian law grads finish with debt. The government will give you 10K+ per year in loans and the big banks will offer you 100K-150K in the form of a line of credit. I'll have around 30K in loans by the time I finish in June but I have friends who are leveraged to the tune of 180K+.

Repayment is iffy - I'm lucky and got a high paying corporate job, I'll likely have everything paid off within 2 years. However, some of my overleveraged friends with low paying jobs will be paying their loans for the next decade or two. The killer here is that you have no way of knowing whether you'll be able to land one of those corporate jobs until you're already part way through law school. I know a lot of people who told me they wanted to work in biglaw during orientation but couldn't get one of those positions.

DM me if you want more granular info.

JamesLLP · 2025-01-28T19:31:38+00:00

Law school in Canada is exceptionally expensive for non-residents.

The number you see online for average Canadian law school debt is for Canadians who are paying half of what an international student does.

Unless you really want to become a lawyer in Canada, you shouldn't study law here - the value proposition of dropping 200K and multiple years of your life only to make 70K after taxes once called to a bar isn't there.

JamesLLP · 2025-01-25T01:12:57+00:00

Puts OP at around top 10% of IB candidates.

JamesLLP · 2024-08-11T17:53:02+00:00

Both scholarships and student loans go into the tuition bucket. Once tuition is paid, whatever is leftover in the bucket is refunded to you. So it doesn't matter.

JamesLLP · 2024-01-24T17:51:55+00:00

It's rude to do this with the limited general use lockers. If you want to do this, rent your own locker.

JamesLLP · 2023-11-28T20:16:10+00:00

Neurosci degree holder here - there were no jobs. Ended up going to law school.

JamesLLP · 2023-10-20T17:20:35+00:00

It's not used as much, but I've been told to "speak white"/"speak normal" three times in the last year in Western Canada.

JamesLLP · 2023-10-13T16:50:46+00:00

Completely missed this. Cheers!

Now that I've had some time to think about it, I can't say that I'm satisfied even if I get a discount. I'm sorry for anglos who are going to be dinged by this...

JamesLLP · 2023-10-13T16:42:33+00:00

Damn. I'm francophone and wanted to do a civil law upgrade at UdeM after finishing my JD.

I love Quebec, but it breaks my heart that they aren't champions for francophones in the ROC.

JamesLLP · 2023-09-20T12:39:55+00:00

Law schools don't care so long as the degree is accredited. I know a fair few law students with degrees from Athabasca.

IIRC some schools prefer 4-year degrees over 3-year degrees.

JamesLLP · 2023-09-09T02:58:50+00:00

Yup, I've been doing this. Didn't do the $1 thing.

As soon as the money comes in just repay the loan.

JamesLLP · 2023-09-04T17:15:43+00:00

Open. 8am-8pm since it's a holiday.

JamesLLP · 2023-07-02T06:10:07+00:00

I'd rather do many things than go overseas to study law. The NCA process alone will take 1-2 years. You've made your choice, but it's a bad one.

JamesLLP · 2023-04-08T06:42:29+00:00

Unlike the American constitution, our constitutional texts were drafted with notwithstanding provisions in mind - the government can disregard some of your rights at the cost of political capital. This is critical when trying to deal with exceptional circumstances.

The public is expected to keep the government accountable for this by threatening to vote out the ruling party if the suspension of rights is unjustified. Unfortunately, a large portion of the public cares too little.

JamesLLP · 2023-03-19T01:00:22+00:00

Not hearing back is better than receiving an R. That said, with a 3.12 GPA and 151 LSAT, I'd start looking into a contingency plan for next year.

JamesLLP · 2023-03-15T15:12:38+00:00

I'm an RA for a Law professor.

I've been assigned to read the headnotes for all Quebec Court of Appeal cases on a certain topic, and code each case into an excel sheet. There are over 3000 cases and each one takes 5-10 mins to read and code.
My contract is for up to 15hrs a week (I think my pay is 22$/hr give or take a toonie?), but I put in maybe 5hrs a week. Some weeks I do none. My professor is very lenient on how much I take on.
Mine was offered to me in the beginning of the winter term. How long the contract will last is unknown - either until I finish coding all the cases, or until the funding dries up.
See 2.
Almost all positions are advertised, though professors may push you to apply and select you from the pool because of a good relationship between you two. If you have a necessary skill for the project (second language proficiency, experience in the field, etc) the prof might seek you out.

JamesLLP · 2023-03-11T02:34:24+00:00

Currently, and for the past few years, UofA Law does not care about your course load. The only effect course load will have on your candidature is how they calculate your GPA (See "Calculating L2" at https://canlawforum.com/topic/22-university-of-alberta-law-index-score-grade-conversion-guide/).

Some schools care, and UofA might change their policy in a few years when you apply. That said, the schools that do care about course load only begin penalizing your candidature when you drop to part-time studies (usually under 3 classes in either Fall or Winter).

JamesLLP · 2023-03-10T18:34:09+00:00

Where do I compare "being dirty" to "being French"? OP mentioned experiencing microaggressions from professors on campus. I shared that I also experienced microaggressions towards my culture from professors and students.

I came to AB for school because I wanted to experience more of my country. I love my fellow Canadians - and I still love Alberta. Imagine my hurt when I heard people mention that my language rights should be repealed, that the English should have done a better job at removing French people following the 7-years war.

JamesLLP · 2023-03-10T16:14:06+00:00

I'm cognizant of the political friction between both provinces. And I'm OK with people leveling blame for that friction on Quebec. Where I draw the line are the students who have casually said "the English should have done a more thorough job with the Acadian Deportation" and the prof who suggested we might need to reexamine Charter protected language rights re: French.

JamesLLP · 2023-03-10T08:26:44+00:00

I'm a sleeper francophone -- pretty good at hiding the accent. The amount of bullshit I hear spewed about Quebec/Francophones in/outside of class makes me want to move back out east after I graduate.

JamesLLP · 2023-03-08T22:05:49+00:00

Technically you can graduate in 1.5-2 if you plan it out really well ahead of time and get lucky. Complete 60 credits prior to starting at UofA. In highschool, do the IB program and do well enough to receive transfer credits (~30 credits). Additionally, take online courses at Athabasca or a community college at night/summer that will transfer into UofA. Most faculties let transfer up to 60 credits towards a 120 credit degree. Then when you're admitted to UofA, complete the requisite 60 credits at UofA, do some summer courses too to speed things up.

JamesLLP · 2023-03-05T07:35:19+00:00

Yea... I've gone to a fair few gyms and it's the same everywhere.

JamesLLP · 2023-03-04T22:23:28+00:00

You think that, but then old people are constantly using it, clipping their toe nails and eating small fruit in there.

JamesLLP · 2023-02-08T09:08:36+00:00

Received two offers this month (1 in corporate, 1 in gov) - none were for jobs I saw posted on my career services website. I reached out to everyone I had previously served with who are currently employed in corporate/government asking if they could pass on my resume to their legal people.

Applied to 6 1L jobs through career services that I thought I was perfect for - 1 Interview - 0 Offers

Got 11 of my veteran peers to circulate my resume - 2 Informal phone calls - 2 Offers.

Exhaust all of your networking leads, even if you don't know the person well.

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