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University of Calgary Admission Essays

My interest in bu trustee scholarship for studying biogeosciences.

I am Okas Shakya I have completed my studies in college and now I am planning to get a higher education at Boston University. The Trustee scholarship is my only key to study at BU at the Biogeoscience program.  I am writing this letter to…

My Admissions: Interests in MBA Merchandise Marketing Program

My name is Rachel Horne and I am interested in what the Merchandise Marketing program at MBA has to offer me. In this essay, I will elaborate on the topics of what my special interests, hobbies and goals are, my reasoning behind choosing MBA merchandise…

My Academic Purposes Towards Applying for a STEM Scholarship

Dear Sir or Madam, I wish to apply to the doctoral of computer communication engineering program for STEM scholarship program for the 2023 autumn intake. In this essay I share examples why this scholarship program is a solid step towards my future career as an…

My Goal to Become an Innovative Engineer

All over the world today, the mechanical and manufacturing industries play a vital role in all areas of human existence, contributing about 85% of products to meet human needs – individual, social, corporate, domestic, mental, agricultural, health (medical), and industrial needs of the rapidly growing…

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Assessment of Applications

Admissions to the JD program are highly competitive. Interviews are not held for the program, admissions are based only on submitted materials. Deferrals are rarely available, generally only considered extraordinary circumstances. 

Average GPA of 3.70

in the first year class

LSAT Scores in the 84th percentile

at an average of 164

Average applicant age of 26 years old

Range of early 20s to mid 50s

On this page

• Complete applications
• Assessment process
• Admission factors
• Applicant responsibilities
• LSAT & GPA
• JD admissions statistics (5-year)
• Self-assessment of unsuccessful applications

Complete Applications

Your application will not be assessed until all of your supporting documents have been received. It is your responsibility to ensure your application is complete, which you can check in your Student Centre.

A form of rolling admissions is used, which means that some decisions are sent out before all the files have been read . Applications will start to be assessed as they become complete .  This is one reason to have your application submitted and supporting documents in as early as possible.

Due to the nature of the assessment process, there is no typical timeframe in which you will receive a decision after your application becomes complete. You may receive a decision very quickly, or you might receive a decision later in the admission cycle.

All applicants will receive an offer, regrets, or waitlist notification through your My UCalgary Student Centre no later than the end of June. Most applications become complete between January and March.

If you are a current student when you apply, you must wait until January before uploading the unofficial transcript for your current school. Uploading it earlier may result in a delay in assessment, since we cannot assess an application with an incomplete transcript.

Assessment Process

Your application will be grouped with other applications that have similar statistical profiles for assessment. See below for more information about the LSAT and GPA.

The process for reviewing your application depends on your statistical profile. Your application will be reviewed by members of the Admissions Committee. You will receive either an offer, regrets, or waitlist notification based on the score given to your application as a result of the review process.

In any given year, the Admissions Committee may impose a minimum requirement for LSAT scores or GPA for applications to be considered further.

Admission Factors

When we assess your application, we will be looking for evidence that you are ready to succeed academically in law school and positively contribute to your community. To do this, we use a very comprehensive assessment process.

All aspects of the application will be taken into consideration, and  there is no specific weighting assigned to any of the factors.  Your work experience, non-academic pursuits such as community involvement, extra-curricular activities, and lived experience are considered very important.

UCalgary Law encourages applications from persons who have been in the work force after university, or who have come to university after their work experience.

We admit a maximum of 130 students to our first-year class. We receive more applications from qualified applicants than we can admit in any given application cycle.  While a strength in one or more areas of the application may help overcome a relative weakness in another, you should be realistic about your chances and be familiar with the average statistics from previous admission cycles, as seen below.

Applicant Responsibilities

Members of the Admissions Committee rely on the information provided in your application and all supporting documentation to assess the merits of your application. Each applicant is responsible for ensuring that the autobiographical information they provide is truthful, complete and correct.

Withholding material information that could reasonably be expected to be relevant to the deliberations of the Admissions Committee or submitting information that is determined to be false, misleading, written by someone else, or written with the use of generative artificial intelligence technology may result in consequences up to and including revocation of an offer of admission or registration from the law school.

The Law Society of Alberta requires a Student-at-Law (a person who has  already   completed law   school  and has applied to be a student-at-law with the Society) to be of good character and reputation and to provide a police/check criminal record check upon applying to be a Student-at-Law. Prospective students are encouraged to speak with the Law Society of the province in which they intend to practice law with respect to any questions or concerns regarding these requirements at the time they are applying to the law school.

Test Scores and Grades

If you have written the LSAT more than once, we will use your highest score to group your file statistically; however, all your scores from the past 5 years, your average score, and the number of times you have written the LSAT will be considered when reviewing your application.

We highly recommend that you prepare for the LSAT in advance and write the LSAT as few times as possible.

GPA will be based on a minimum of the last 60 units (credits) of your undergraduate and/or graduate studies, up to December 31 of the year you submit your application. When assessing your application, the Admissions Committee will also consider your entire academic performance, in both undergraduate and graduate programs as applicable.

Except for undergraduate and graduate work completed in the US, GPAs will not be calculated for international degrees; grades will instead be viewed solely on your transcript.

The Admissions office will not fulfill requests to calculate and/or confirm your GPA under any circumstances.

JD Admissions Statistics

A five-year comparison of admission statistics, self-assessment of unsuccessful applications.

The Admissions Office is unable to provide individual feedback for candidates who received regrets. This year we received more than 1,600 applications for 130 seats in the first-year class. This represents a 35% increase in applications from last year. Unfortunately, many strong applicants received regrets. We have provided some common reasons below to provide insight into possible factors regarding why you did not receive an offer of admission, as well as provide guidance to improving your application should you choose to re-apply.

The average GPA for this intake cycle was 3.72 on the 4.0 scale.

• See how we calculate GPA
• Does your GPA demonstrate a positive academic trajectory (i.e., it has improved year over year)? If not, did you provide any insight in your application as to why?
• Are there any unexplained gaps or patterns of poor performance in your academic record that you failed to explain in the Special Facts section of the application?

The average LSAT score for this intake cycle was approximately the 85 th percentile, or 164.

• Was your LSAT score significantly below this average? If so, you may want to rewrite the LSAT for a better score prior to reapplying.
• Did you write the LSAT multiple times? If so, did you provide some insight into why that was necessary?
• Did your LSAT score go down? If so, did you provide some insight in your application as to why?
• Some free LSAT resources to consider if you plan to rewrite the LSAT for a better score:

https://www.khanacademy.org/prep/lsat

https://www.lsac.org/sites/default/files/media/2020-2021-lsac-canadian-fee-waiver-instructionsapplication_accessible.pdf

UCalgary Law provides a free LSAT Prep Program every spring/summer for low income applicants. The applications will open mid-February for spring of 2024.

Degree Completion

The minimum academic prerequisite for law school is the completion of 60 credits (typically 2 years of full time study) towards a bachelor's degree, however, it is rare (less than 2%) that an applicant is admitted without completing their full bachelor's degree prior to the start of law school. Typically, those within this 2% are mature applicants with strong career and lived experience. 

Work Experience

Did you include work experience in your application?

If no, or you have less than 2 years of work experience, this may have been a factor.

If yes, did you emphasize in your application how your work experience is relevant to your application? Examples include, but are not limited to, lengthy career, relevant experience, strong work ethic, and working while in school to support yourself and others, leadership opportunities, growth opportunities.

Please note we are not looking for a specific kind of work experience, but we are looking for how that work experience has prepared you for law school, contributed to your interest in law school, or the unique contributions your work experience might make to the legal community.

Community Service/Extra Curricular Activities

Did you include any community involvement or extra curricular activities in your application?

If no, did you explain any extenuating circumstances in the Special Facts section, i.e., need to work while in school, significant family obligations, economic or other barriers to participation, illness, etc.

If yes, please know that we are not looking for specific experience or involvement in particular activities, including law related activities. We are looking to see what your interests and involvement in your community are outside of academics, and how those personal interests and experiences have prepared you for, and contributed to, your interest in law school, and the unique contributions you might make to the legal community.

Special Facts Related to Diversity, Equity and Lived Experience

This section allows all applicants to provide additional information about themselves that provides context and perspective to their application with respect to diversity, equity and lived experience. It is a difficult thing to provide any general feedback on the contents of this section as it is a highly individual part of the application.  

If you chose to use this optional section, did you use it appropriately for providing context and perspective regarding the contents of your application, or did you treat it as additional space to use as an extension of your Statement of Interest?  

Statement of Interest

• Did you answer all three questions posed?
• Was the Statement of Interest well-written?
• Were there typos or grammatical errors?
• Did you explain why you were interested in attending UCalgary Law specifically or was your Statement generic enough that it could have been provided to multiple institutions?  

Timing of Application Going Complete

Given the high number of applications received this year and the fact that we assess applicants on a rolling basis (when a file becomes complete) you may have missed out on an offer by writing the last available LSAT in January, or failing to providing your LSAT writing sample or transcripts on a timely basis. If any of these supplemental materials were left until the deadline, it may have been a factor in our ability to extend an offer.

We hope the above checklist is helpful to you. It is not intended to be exhaustive and it cannot take into account individual strengths and weaknesses that are noted in an application during assessment. It is intended to cover some of the common reasons why an application may have been denied.

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Join one of the world's fastest growing professions

Best of both worlds - our "blended" Bachelor of Social Work

Some students want the flexibility of online learning - but miss having an on-campus experience. Our "blended" Bachelor of Social Work provides you with the best of both worlds. Every week you'll attend one day of classes at our Edmonton, Lethbridge or Calgary campuses, along with your scheduled online classes. You'll have the opportunity for face-to-face interaction with fellow students and instructors, and get that personal connection that some students miss in an entirely online degree.

Edmonton Campus

Our downtown campus is conveniently located in Enterprise Square (10230 Jasper Avenue) at the Bay/Enterprise Square LRT station. 

Lethbridge Campus

Our campus is conveniently located in the University Hall Building (E526) on the University of Lethbridge Campus.

Calgary Campus

The University of Calgary campus is located in NW Calgary, near University Station, (light rail transit). We are in Mackimmie Tower and Hunter Student Commons buildings.

"It's just amazing how we came together online."

Our cohort system is one of the quality differences that sets our BSW program apart.

I feel like I'm so much closer with my online cohort compared to my previous degree at McGill which was in person, every day. It's strange, but it's such an amazing feeling. It's on a different level. I don't even know how to explain why I feel like we built such relationships with each other. Relationships that I think we'll carry on forever.

Ayana Woodward

BSW '20

The Fully Online Bachelor of Social Work

If you live in a rural or remote location, or have family or work commitments, our online BSW allows you to pursue your education from anywhere in Alberta or Canada, as long as you have reliable internet. This portable degree program does not require any on-campus classes. Online courses are scheduled real time classes (Mon. & Wed. evenings | Sat. mornings) with some independent learning you can do on your own time. 

Blended or Fully Online? Which program is right for you? Compare our programs

The UCalgary Social Work quality difference

A big quality difference between UCalgary and many other online social work programs is our commitment to "live" instead of "canned" learning. Rather than watching a series of recorded generic lectures, you're required to log-in to participate in a live classes on Mon. & Wed. evenings, and Sat. mornings. Our highly interactive approach requires your thoughtful contributions to class and group discussions. You'll also have some asynchronous learning that you do on your own time (participating in discussion boards, etc.) with no live video component required. 

The "Portable" BSW

David Hohol

How do I get in?

Admission requirements vary depending on your education, which also shapes your curriculum if you're accepted:

• All applicants need to have completed English Language Arts 30-1 or equivalent in high school, or a transferable post-secondary English course(s).
• If you haven't completed any formal social work education – through a recognized diploma program – you'll also need to complete Social Work 201 (or equivalent) which is an introduction to the profession and discipline.

Ready for the next step?

Applications close: March 1

Transcript Deadline: March 15

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