First-year Juris Doctor (J.D.) - Regular applicants

Welcome to UVic Law

All applications for entry into the first-year J.D. program must be submitted by December 1. However, applicants in the Regular category are strongly encouraged to submit applications earlier in the fall, since offers will be made on a continual basis beginning as early as November.

To be considered for admission to the Faculty of Law, Regular applicants must:

• present proof of having received, with standing satisfactory to the Faculty of Law, a degree from the University of Victoria or an equivalent degree from a recognized college or university; or
• present proof of having completed, with standing satisfactory to the Faculty of Law, at least the first three years (45 units) of a program leading to a degree at the University of Victoria, or the equivalent at a recognized institution; and
  
• allow UVic admissions staff to access your Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score obtained in the last five years; and
  
• satisfy such other requirements as may be prescribed from time to time.

A complete application will include:

• submission of the online application form;
• payment of the application fee;
• Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score; and
• one certified copy of a transcript from each and every post secondary institution attended (including exchange and study abroad transcripts).

Personal statements and letters of reference are not required in the Regular admissions category. If letters or statements are sent, they are filed separately from an applicant's file and are not viewed by the Admissions Committee.

There is no deadline for submission of transcripts, however, applications will not be reviewed until your transcripts are received. If an applicant completes additional courses during the application period, they are encouraged to send an updated transcript when additional grades are available.

Admission decisions are primarily determined by a candidate's pre-law academic record and Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score. Where an applicant has multiple LSAT scores, the highest score is considered. Only LSAT scores within five years of the application deadline will be accepted. Greater weight is given to an applicant's grade point average (weighted 70 percent) than LSAT score (weighted 30 percent). An assessment of the applicant's extra-curricular activities, community involvement, work experience and personal characteristics may also be done.

Applicants whose first language is not English and who have not completed a minimum of three full academic years of post-secondary study that was taught and assessed in English, must write the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Applicants who have written the TOEFL IBT need a minimum score of 100, with no less than 25 on each of the individual components. Those who have written the computerized version need a score of 250 out of a possible 300, whereas those who wrote the paper and pencil test need a score of 600 out of a possible 677. Applicants who do not meet these TOEFL minimums will not normally be admitted to the Law Faculty.

A limited number of positions in the Faculty are available for part-time studies. Students must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Faculty that they are unable to attend on a full-time basis because of health factors, physical disability or exceptional family or financial hardship.

This grid profiles the first-year class admitted in the Regular category for the 2011-12 academic year. As the profile varies from year to year, it should only be used as an approximate guide in determining an applicant's probability of being admitted.

 

GPA	LSAT Percentile Rank
	below 55	55-59	60-64	65-69	70-74	75-79	80-84	85-89	90-94	95-99	Totals
4.00+	-	-	-	-	2	3	4	8	5	1	23
3.9-3.99	-	-	-	-	-	1	6	4	4	1	16
3.8-3.89	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	7	8	2	22
3.7-3.79	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	4	8	6	19
3.6-3.69	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	4	6
3.5-3.59	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1
3.4-3.49	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3.3-3.39	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3.2-3.29	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3.1-3.19	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3.0-3.09	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Totals	-	-	-	-	2	4	16	23	27	15	87

 

• 87 applicants were registered in the Regular category.
• The applicants admitted in the Aboriginal and Special Access categories do not appear in the above profile.

Regular Category:

• Average GPA is 3.89 (3.89 last year).
• Median GPA is 3.88 (3.91 last year).
• Average LSAT is 88 percentile (88 last year).
• Median LSAT is 88 percentile (88 last year).

Five-Year Comparison of LSAT Scores and GPA For Matriculants in Regular Category

 

	2007		2008		2009		2010		2011
	LSAT	GPA	LSAT	GPA	LSAT	GPA	LSAT	GPA	LSAT	GPA
Range	156-173	3.47-4.26	155-173	3.42-4.28	156-173	3.42-4.22	157-175	3.56-4.24	157-175	3.57-4.31
Average	163	3.84	162	3.85	162	3.81	163	3.89	163	3.89
Median	163	3.85	163	3.83	162	3.79	163	3.91	163	3.88

NOTES:

1. Matriculants refer to those students who actually register in the first year class each September.
2. GPA is calculated on the standard North American 4-point system.
3. LSAT is the acronym for the Law School Admissions Test.