What is the Inclusive Admission Stream, and what purpose does it serve?
One of the most common questions we get from prospective applicants is what our minimum GPA and LSAT scores are for admission. The simple answer is that we don’t set one. The long answer involves a bit more discussion. Since the inception of UVic Law, we have had the General Admission Stream, though it has not gone by that name until recently. Historically, this admission stream looked at an applicant’s cumulative GPA and LSAT. We still do that in the General Admission Stream, though we now review all files holistically. This means that we also consider the Personal Statement in our review. Still, cumulative GPA and LSAT scores are the primary metric that we use to review General Admission files. It is true that we don’t have a minimum score for the GPA or LSAT, but the General Admission Stream remains incredibly competitive.
What does that mean? The holistic review process identifies some applicants for admission who have a lower cumulative GPA or LSAT score. However, most people offered presumptive admission through the General Admission Stream are academically strong students with over a 160 highest reported LSAT score.
We acknowledge that many students are highly intelligent and “just do well” in school and on tests, regardless of the circumstances they have presented to them in life. For others, support for school may have been lacking for a variety of reasons, leading to either a lower GPA or a lower LSAT score. Some students needed to learn to cope with neurodiversity, disability, or physical or mental health issues. Students experience systemic or targeted racism, loss and grief, family care responsibilities, illness, addiction, and so many other things that can make school and tests challenging. School and tests are part of life, and life isn’t always perfect. Traditional competitive admissions that measure only GPA and test scores don’t acknowledge that things can be challenging during that particular slice of life. Pretending that life only exists in a set of perfect circumstances makes the assumption that those who cannot ace every exam must not be worthy of admission, that there are no second chances, that they have nothing to offer that profession. It’s another barrier to access to education put into place for people who might have an amazing set of diverse viewpoints that would make the legal profession stronger.
That is where the Inclusive Admission Stream comes in. The Inclusive Admission Stream recognizes that some of the strongest candidates for law school might not have straight A+s and a 178 LSAT score. They have lived experiences, diverse viewpoints, and worldviews that make them an asset to the classroom setting and the legal profession. They further diversify our classes, our goal of which is to have them better reflect Canadian society. For these candidates, a lower GPA and/or LSAT score are not deficiencies. Rather, they are strong candidates because of the events and experiences that caused their non-competitive GPA or LSAT score.
Who should apply to the Inclusive Admission Stream?
The Inclusive Admission Stream is a strengths-based admission avenue for applicants who either:
- Have a non-competitive GPA for a period or periods of time during their undergraduate degree; or
- Have a non-competitive highest-reported LSAT score.
Both may also be true. Applicants who have both a competitive cumulative GPA and a competitive LSAT score should apply through the General, Indigenous, or Black Admission Streams, regardless of their life experiences. Life experiences that shape an applicant may always be – and should be! – discussed in the Personal Statement.
A few things to note about applicants to the Inclusive Admission Stream:
- Applicants need to demonstratively tie their non-competitive GPA and/or LSAT score to a life event, barrier, or circumstance, both in time and in duration. It should be definitively causative, as well. We refer to this as a nexus, and it needs to be obvious in your Inclusive Statement. Your Inclusive Admission Statement is not a place to “talk around” this connection. Instead, clearly address why it is that you are eligible to apply for admission under this stream.
- Your likelihood of success in law school needs to be evident from your application. Whether your GPA was low for two terms or six, we need to be able to see from your cumulative life experiences that you are likely to be a strong student. You need to strategically write about this in your Inclusive Statement, thinking critically about how your application looks objectively to a reviewer. If, for example, you are unable to demonstrate any competitive terms in school or a competitive LSAT score, your life experiences must be described in a way that showcase your true strengths and ability to thrive in this program.
- It needs to be evident from your application that this is the right time for you to attend this program. Many of our Inclusive applicants have struggled with parts or periods of their lives. However, you need to show that you are in a place of enough progress, healing, support, or resolution that this is a good time for you to attend. Law school is a difficult program, and if you are not yet in a place where you have supports in place and are dealing well with whatever event or obstacle you have encountered, it may be better for you to wait until those coping mechanisms or support systems are better set to attend. This is something else you should discuss clearly in your Inclusive Statement.
- The Inclusive Admission Stream is highly competitive. We have no quota for admission under this stream, and the number of offers of admission to applicants under this stream varies widely from year to year. What this means is that we might have 200 applicants under the Inclusive Admission Stream, and perhaps 10 (or 5 or 20) of them get offers of admission. This year (September 2024) we admitted 27 Inclusive applicants. Admission under this stream is less about filling seats and more about welcoming incredible applicants. I don’t say this to discourage you from applying under this admission stream. However, if you believe your traditional metrics (GPA and LSAT) are close to competitive, you may have better luck applying through one of the other admission streams. The General Admission Stream, for example, maintains a waitlist from which offers are made each year.
Next week: Inclusive Statement: Style and Content