Dispelling the Myths About UK Law Schools: Admission Standards
For quite some time, a prevailing myth within the Canadian legal community suggests that foreign legal education, especially from the UK, is inferior to Canadian education. Misinformed articles lacking logical basis have argued that transferring a UK law degree back to Canada is "too easy," and this practice risks compromising the integrity of the Canadian legal market.
However, those who have gone through the process of obtaining a UK law degree and completing the NCA examination understand that qualifying in Canada is far from "easy." It requires significant time, expenses, dedication, and determination. Despite overcoming this challenge, internationally trained law graduates (ITLGs) encounter the added difficulty of securing an articling position in a legal job market where some recruiters perceive them as less intelligent, capable, or qualified compared to their Canadian counterparts.
So, why does this myth persist? It stems from a lack of understanding about the UK's legal education system, which has led to the notion that Canadian law schools are superior. Unfortunately, many have looked at UK law schools through a Canadian lens rather than a comparative one, ignoring the strengths and qualities that ITLGs bring to the Canadian legal market.
In the coming weeks, I will address three common myths about UK law schools and ITLGs:
- UK admission standards are significantly lower than Canadian admission standards.
- Completing law school in the UK is considerably easier than in Canada.
- The NCA exams are too simplistic.
Let's begin by exploring the first myth...
Are admission standards in the UK too lax, or simply different?
The aforementioned article points to the absence of an LSAT examination in the UK and the "lower" required entrance marks of 70-75% for high school courses as evidence that getting into a UK law school is easier and, therefore, less valuable than gaining admission to a Canadian one. However, it is essential to consider a few key differences between UK and Canadian law schools before making such qualitative judgments.
Firstly, an LL.B in the UK is an undergraduate degree, allowing students to gain entry based on their high school marks alone (or the UK equivalent A-levels). Comparing the averaged high school minimum entry marks for a Canadian undergraduate program, the UK's 70-75% is on par with the entrance requirements for many Canadian undergraduate degree programs (see Macleans university rankings). Moreover, Canadian students with existing undergraduate degrees often pursue compressed or graduate-entry versions of the LL.B, completed in two years instead of three, which tend to have higher admissions standards. For instance, at The City Law School, where I completed the 2-year LL.B, a 3.0 GPA (equivalent to 85% on the global GPA scale) is required, aligning closely with Canadian law school entrance requirements.
Secondly, while there are no LSAT-type entrance tests, the effort required to excel in an LL.B course in the UK is notoriously demanding. According to the most recent statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the first-year drop-out rate in UK law schools stands at around 5.7%. In comparison, the University of Toronto, often considered one of the most challenging Canadian law schools to gain admission to, boasts nearly 100% graduation rates when comparing published class profiles against published career statistics.
These differences in graduation rates suggest a distinct approach to student evaluation. Canadian law schools filter out students at the entrance stage using a standardized test that assesses cognitive capability rather than legal knowledge. Conversely, the UK relies on examinations of the LL.B materials themselves to determine selectivity.
It is not for me to comment on which approach is better, as both the flaws of the LSAT and the UK's increasing university drop-out rates are topics of heated debate with pros and cons on both sides. Additionally, it is vital to note that Canadian students cannot simply coast through law school once admitted; both ITLGs and Canadian students are acutely aware of how poor grades can impact their employability, a topic I will delve into in detail next time.
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