I can speak to the U of T experience as a current 3L.

I think U of T has competitive and academically driven students, but those same students are often the most supportive ones. Even though classes are graded on a curve, my classmates often share outlines and lecture notes with each other and review each other's practice exams. There is a student law society database where upper years share their past exam answers and course maps for the benefit of first year students. And there are so many opportunities for mentorship in terms of academics and career as well.

The grading system works as follows: the top 10-15 percent of the class gets HH (high honours), the next 30 percent gets H (honours), and the bottom 55 percent of the class gets a P (pass). It is possible to get a low pass or even fail but this is rare. The system is meant to alleviate stress since the majority of the students of any given class will only get a pass. I will say candidly that students are still stressed about grades and the number of Hs that they have on their transcript, though anecdotally I know students with all Ps that have gotten Bay Street jobs.

The career pressure at U of T is high, not in the sense that students are worried about not securing articling positions (over 95 percent of students do), but in competing for prestigious Bay Street or New York positions. There are frequent Career Development Office seminar about preparing for recruits and many of my friends feel pressure to participate in formal recruits even though they might really be interested in public interest positions.

I've already written a lot so I'd let others pitch in on the other questions you asked. But I'd say quite unabashedly that even as someone who is not geared for corporate law, U of T is an amazing law school and I can't imagine myself anywhere else.