UBC applicants must take the Law School Admissions Test.
The University of British Columbia (UBC) Law School in Vancouver offers students the chance to earn a law degree in the forested beauty of the rugged Pacific Northwest. UBC was ranked number four in Macleans' 2008 Canadian law school rankings, after the University of Toronto, McGill and Osgoode. Its law programs include the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies, which hosts a prestigious lecture series, and the First Nations Legal Studies program, which operates a legal clinic that serves Aboriginal clients. UBC sets high admissions requirements for regular applicants, and adjusts its admissions requirements for a limited number of discretionary applicants.
Degree Requirements
Regular applicants to UBC Law School must have a bachelor's degree from an approved university in a course of study that leads to a standard university degree, or must have completed three years of an approved degree program. UBC admits applicants who have not graduated on the condition that they complete 30 credits of senior-level courses by the end of the spring semester before law school classes begin.
Grades
There is no hard-and-fast grade requirement for a regular UBC applicant. The average undergraduate grade point average of applicants whom UBC accepts for admission is 3.80 on a 4.0 scale. That equates to a "B+" in U.S. colleges. If an applicant has completed more than one degree program, UBC only considers grades from the first program the student completed. UBC gives equal weight to an applicant's academic average and his Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score.
LSAT
The LSAT contains sections on reading comprehension, analytical reasoning and logical reasoning in a multiple-choice test. Raw scores on the LSAT scoring scale range from 120 to 180. As of January 2011, the average admitted student attending UBC as a regular applicant has a raw LSAT score of 164.
Discretionary Applicants
UBC reserves several positions in every first-year law class for discretionary applicants. An applicant may be considered discretionary because of a disability, special needs, financial disadvantage, being over 30 years of age, being a member of a historically disadvantaged group and other factors the admissions committee at UBC may consider. Discretionary applicants must take the LSAT and complete two years of undergraduate studies. They must also submit two letters of reference and, if appropriate, documentation of their status, such as medical reports or proof of ancestry.
Aboriginal Applicants
Metis and Inuit applicants may apply as regular applicants or in the First Nations category. UBC will consider First Nations applicants' academic achievements, LSAT scores and the degree of their commitment to and involvement with the First Nations community. UBC also considers the applicants' plans to use their legal training to aid the First Nations people.
Documentation
UBC requires all applicants to submit a completed application for admission, an application fee, grade transcripts, LSAT score, a personal statement and other documentation as requested. The applicant's personal statement is a 750-word essay that explains what sets the applicant apart from others applying for admission at UBC. All materials must be submitted to UBC on or before February 1.
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