Folks, I think I want to get into law. Apparently the engineering and physics didn’t completely address my need for crushing course work and the joy you can only know from a final. 
Thing is, I would be returning as a mature student, complete with wife, kids and a job. I’d appreciate any opinions dopers might have about law school in general, law schools in Canada and being a mature student.
Well, the University of Ottawa has a sizeable law school, and as far as I know is unique (or almost so) in allowing you to study a combined program involving both common law and the Quebec civil code. And it’s close to home, looking at your location tag.
This page says it’s one of the best. But I’m not a law student. I study engineering at UOttawa.
I’m giving them a call next week wolfstu. The UofO is likely my best bet since I can’t ask my family to go on Raman noodles for x years while we move away from my current job. If I could find a law school that did distance learning I’d jump at that too.
Grey, there must be something going around, since I’ve been thinking the very same thing.
Anyway, I posed much the same question back in February, and got some good advice. You’ll find it in this thread.
I can’t help much with the quality of particular schools in eastern Canada, I’m afraid, since I’ve been looking mainly at schools in western Canada. But according to some of the material I have on Canadian schools in general, the U of Ottawa’s application deadline is 1 November for their English-speaking program starting the following September. You might want to get an app in soon, if you plan to start school next year.
Good luck, Grey! I’ll be following this thread; if I can contribute anything from all the material I’ve collected, I will.
It’s nice to hear that Spoons. I’ll go check your thread. Did you find out anything about online course work or was it mainly traditional classroom instruction? As for the start date, well I need a period of time to get my information down pat, dig up grades, LSATs, nail down how my family will be impacted etc. etc. Are you going in as a mature student or new grad?
Ok I’ve read the first three replies. Spoons, you wrote the OP I wanted to.
Glad I could help before the fact!
You’ve probably spotted the answers to some of your questions in the other thread (I’d be going as a mature student, for example), but I should also point out a few other things:
– As you know, you’ll have to write the LSAT. If you stop by the local law school, you should be able to get a copy of the latest LSAT Registration and Information Book. (Or the information is also online, but maybe I’m a little old fashioned; I prefer the book format.) It will explain the days and times when you can write the test, and the fees and so on, and explain how you can register online or by mail. If you can afford it (it’s about Cdn$156) and have the inclination, you might want to get that out of the way while you can. Your score will be valid for a few years, so you needn’t worry about writing the test too soon.
– Do some research now. Call a few schools and have them send you their law school’s course calendars and whatever other information they can think of. Have a few questions ready also. Yes, this information is generally online as well, but I found that the people whom I’ve spoken with are most helpful, and they will often fully explain things that their websites explain poorly or not at all. Incidentally, I’ve found very little online course work for Canadian schools; it seems to be mostly classroom instruction.
– Don’t worry too much about gathering material (undergrad transcripts, references, etc.) so you can hand it in with your application all at once. I’ve been finding that schools will open a file when you apply and then are willing to receive things as they come. They probably won’t accept a transcript from you, preferring to receive it directly from your undergrad institution; nor are they likely to accept your word on an LSAT score–they’ll get it directly from the LSAT people. They may also specify that your referees send material directly to them. But their material, their websites, or their phone contacts can let you know just what you’ll need and how they’ll receive it.
I can’t help with how your family will be affected, I’m afraid, but I’m sure that if you go to the local school, things will be fine–so Dad doesn’t head for the office in the morning, but to school instead, and he has lots of homework besides. But that’s ultimately your call to make and your circumstances to consider.
Again, good luck, Grey. Keep us posted on what you’re finding and how things are going.