Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University

Admission Decisions: Beyond the Numbers

We seek to create a vibrant and diverse academic environment that is focused on developing a new kind of lawyer: One who is innovative, adaptable and well equipped to meet evolving social challenges and shifts taking place in the Canadian legal market. Our assessment is grounded in 3 of our key pillars:

1. increasing access to justice,
2. stimulating technological innovation and entrepreneurship, and
3. promoting equity, diversity and inclusion.

To ensure that our student body represents the fullest possible range of social, economic, ethnic and cultural perspectives, the Admissions Committee considers many factors. The goal of the Committee is to evaluate each applicant’s potential by completing a holistic review of the application through a diversity lens, without setting a minimum GPA or Law School Admission Test (LSAT) requirement.

The Committee considers:

• all postsecondary studies
• your best LSAT score
• Personal Statement (School Submission)
• reference letters
• resumé and Autobiographical Sketch
• online interview (completed through a separate link that will be sent after we receive your application from OLSAS)

Any information provided is considered in a manner consistent with the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Application Categories

There are 3 applicant categories: General, Access and Indigenous. You must choose the General category unless you feel you qualify for the Access or Indigenous categories.

Through your application to any category for the JD program, you must show that you:

• have strong potential to complete the rigorous JD program.
• have the ability to reason and analyze.
• can express yourself effectively orally and in writing with professionalism and civility.
• possess the skills and attributes necessary to cope with the demands of law school.

Meeting minimum standard does not guarantee you admission.

General Category

To apply under the General category, you must have completed a minimum of 3 full years (30 one-semester courses or equivalent) in an undergraduate degree program at a recognized university.

Access Category

Lincoln Alexander Law is built on 4 foundational pillars, including access to justice and equity, diversity and inclusion. In addition to the protected grounds listed in the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Admissions Committee considers serious illness or injury which impacted their studies, and severe economic hardship, to be barriers to education. Mature students are also considered under this application category.

The Admissions Committee will consider those who fall into the following subcategories:

• Identify as:
  • a 2SLGTBQ+ person (includes Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Trans, Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer and additional identities reflecting gender and sexual diversity such as non-binary, etc.)
  • a Black person (includes African Canadian, Afro-Caribbean, African American, etc.)
  • a person with a disability (includes, physical, sensory, learning and mental health disabilities, as well as chronic health conditions and persons who identify as neurodiverse)
  • a racialized person (sometimes referred to as “people of colour” or “visible” or “racial minorities” in Canada or the United States)
  • part of another historically disadvantaged group and/or underrepresented group
• Mature student
  • To be eligible to apply as a Mature student you must:
    • be at least 26 years of age by September 1 of the year of admission; and
    • have a minimum of 5 years of uninterrupted non-academic experience after any full-time study in a significant employment capacity and/or some combination of volunteer work, significant life skills and experiences (as of September 1 of the admission year).
• Significant injuries or illness
• Socioeconomic status

All candidates must still show evidence of potential to succeed at law school. Grade point average (GPA), where applicable, and LSAT are still considered for this category and essential components of the holistic assessment.

If you wish to be considered as an Access candidate, select the Access category and all relevant subcategories. Provide an explanation in the text box identified for this purpose in your OLSAS application. You may also speak to your Access application in Part B of the Personal Statement (in the School Submissions section of your application).

Additional/corroborating documentation can be included where applicable. Upload any documentation supporting your Access application through Secure Applicant Messaging (SAM) in your application.

Indigenous Category

We welcome and encourage Indigenous candidates to apply to our program. We are committed to improving access of Indigenous people to law school and increasing the representation in the field of law.

If you apply to the Indigenous category, you must include an outline in your Personal Statement that demonstrates your relationship and connection to your community and/or to Indigenous culture. You may also speak about the impact of colonization on your family, including if it impacts your connection to the community or your connection to Indigenous culture.

One of your reference letters can also corroborate your interest in, and identification with, your Indigenous community.

Those who identify as Indigenous and another category listed under the Access category can choose which application category they prefer.

Requirements

Unless you are applying under the Mature application category, you must have completed a minimum of 3 full years (30 one-semester courses or equivalent) in an undergraduate degree program at a recognized university. We will calculate your GPA using your 20 best one-semester (or equivalent) undergraduate degree courses. We do not set a minimum GPA requirement for consideration.

We calculate your GPA using the courses you completed by the end of the summer term in the year you apply. We do not recalculate it using the courses you completed during the admission cycle. Updated transcripts are not required unless requested.

We consider all eligible undergraduate degree courses in your GPA calculation regardless of term completed, course load or level of study. We also consider the courses you complete in additional undergraduate degree studies (e.g., additional degree programs, individual courses, special/visiting student).

We will not use your graduate studies, diploma, certificate, non-credit and vocational courses in your GPA calculation.

We will consider diploma-to-degree completion programs if your university transcript includes final grades for the minimum number of courses used in the GPA calculation.

Applicants With Fewer Than 3 Years of University

We encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate, through non-academic experience, including employment, community involvement and other life experiences, the ability to complete our program successfully.

You are eligible to apply if both of the following conditions are met:

1. You have not attended university or have completed fewer than 3 full years (or equivalent) of university studies (as of June 1 of the admission year).
2. You have a minimum of 5 years of non-academic experience after high school (as of September 1 of the admission year).

Non-academic experience typically includes at least 5 years of full-time work experience and some combination of volunteer work, significant life skills and experiences. Non-university academic studies will also be taken into consideration and academic transcripts for all postsecondary studies are required.

Documentation

The following documentation is required to complete your application:

• Official transcripts from all postsecondary institutions you attended, including those as a visiting or exchange student or study abroad program
• Official LSAT score(s) and the dates of any 2021/2022 LSAT to be written
• Personal Statement
• Letters of reference (1 academic reference strongly recommended)
• Resumé or curriculum vitae (CV)
• Online interview

It is your responsibility to ensure that all documentation is submitted by the published deadlines. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Official Transcripts

You are required to provide a full academic background, from the start of high school onward, in your OLSAS application. Transcripts for all postsecondary studies, including transcripts from studies as a visiting or study abroad/exchange student, must be submitted through OLSAS.

If you completed your undergraduate degree studies outside Canada and the United States, World Education Services (WES) must assess your transcript(s). All documentation must then be submitted through OLSAS. WES assessments are not required for graduate studies, studies completed as a visiting student, or on a study abroad/exchange program.

Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

You are required to take the LSAT. We consider your highest result, as reported by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), and we do not set a minimum LSAT score for admission consideration.

Your LSAC account number and the dates of any planned future tests must be submitted in your OLSAS application. It is in your best interest to ensure this information is submitted by the November 1 application deadline.

We strongly recommend that you write the LSAT by November 2022. The LSAT must be written in January 2023 at the latest, including the LSAT Writing. You may use LSAT scores only from the past 5 years (i.e., back to, and including, June 2018).

The LSAT consists of 2 portions:

1. A Multiple Choice portion (scored)
2. An LSAT Writing (formerly called the Writing Sample) (unscored)

You must complete both portions for your score to be released to OLSAS.

If you are a prior test-taker and you will be re-writing the LSAT, you do not need to complete the LSAT Writing again for your new Multiple Choice scores to be released to OLSAS.

Personal Statement

Your Personal Statement (School Submission) is a critical part of your application. It will be reviewed by the Admissions Committee in conjunction with the responses to the mandatory online interview and the other application components.

In your statement you may wish to elaborate on any barriers that you have faced, including but not limited to cultural, socio-economic, medical or physical barriers, learning disabilities, or extenuating circumstances, and their impact on your life.

If you are applying under the Access category, you may speak to the basis of your sub-category application in this essay.

If you are applying under the Indigenous category, we ask that you speak to your relationship and connection to your community in this section.

The statement must be authored entirely by you and it must not exceed the maximum character length, including spaces. The statement has 2 parts:

• Part A (maximum 5,000 characters)
  
  Tell us why you want to attend law school, and more specifically, why you want to attend the Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University. How does attending Lincoln Alexander Law tie into your long-term goals? Please refer to our vision, values, curriculum and/or programming in your response. You must make a meaningful connection to at least two of our foundational pillars - increasing access to justice, stimulating technological innovation and entrepreneurship, and promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, and innovative pedagogy in your response.
• Part B (maximum 2,500 characters)
  
  Please tell us how you plan to contribute to the Law School, and to the practice of Law as a whole. You can discuss any of the following considerations that are relevant to your application: Lived experience and Work/Volunteer experience that you will bring, Equity and Diversity considerations. If you are applying under the Access Category you may speak to the basis of your sub-category application in this essay. If you are applying under the Indigenous Category we ask that you speak to your relationship and connection to your community in this essay.

Letters of Reference

You must provide 2 letters of reference. It is strongly recommended, but not required, that 1 of these letters be from an academic referee.

Referees should have extensive personal knowledge of you to make statements about your character, personal qualities, academic competencies, employment performance, volunteer contributions and other areas that may be of interest to the Admissions Committee.

You need to arrange for your referees to use the OLSAS Confidential Assessment Forms that are provided with the application. All letters of reference are confidential and must be submitted by the referee directly to OLSAS.

Note: If you are applying in the Indigenous category, you can have 1 of your reference letters corroborate your interest in, and identification with, your Indigenous community.

Resumé and Autobiographical Sketch

You must submit as part of your OLSAS School Submission an up-to-date resumé or CV. You should include (with applicable start and end dates, where relevant):

• Work experience
• Extracurricular activities, including volunteer work
• Academic background and credentials achieved
• Awards
• Professional development (training/courses/certificates)
• Research, publications and major speaking events/conferences

While similar to a resumé or CV, the Autobiographical Sketch on the OLSAS application is a separate, distinct component that you must complete. Include a brief overview of all activities, generally from the end of high school onward. The standard categories include employment, volunteer activities, extracurricular activities, awards and accomplishments, and research. You may also include other activities you feel are relevant to your application.

Online Interview

After we receive your OLSAS application, we will send an invitation to the email address on your OLSAS application that grants you access to the online video interviewing portal and provides you with further information. Before beginning the interview, you can watch a brief video that introduces our program and explains how the online interview process works.

To ensure that you receive the email invitation, add no-reply@kiratalent.com to your email contact list and regularly check your spam/junk folder.

The invitation email will include your deadline to complete the interview (generally 2 weeks from the invitation date). You must complete the online interview to be considered for admission.

English Proficiency

An excellent command of spoken and written English is essential for success in law school. If your first language is not English and your postsecondary education is/was in a language other than English, proof of English-language proficiency may be required. Applicants will be contacted directly if additional documentation is required.