Q: Can I get the Osgoode portion of the application fee waived?
A: Requests for a waiver of the Osgoode portion of the application fee must be made in writing to the Admissions Officer. Please provide reasons in support of your request and supporting documentation regarding your finances to corroborate your inability to pay the $50.00 fee. Be sure to allow enough time to meet the application deadline.

Q: Does Osgoode keep my application on file in case I am unsuccessful in gaining entry this year and I apply again next year?
A: Due to space limitations, Osgoode does not keep applications from previous years, nor do we return materials to applicants. Applicants who wish to apply in the following year must submit a new application through OLSAS and must re-submit all documentation.

Q: What about confidentiality of the materials I have submitted?
A: All materials submitted by or on behalf of applicants will be used solely for admission purposes and will be kept confidential.

Q: Can I appeal the decision if I am not granted admission?
A: Osgoode has a Reconsideration process. Unsuccessful applicants who seek reconsideration of a decision of the Admissions Committee must file a written request to that effect with the Admissions Officer. Please note that the Committee will reconsider applications based on procedural anomalies and will only consider information that was available at the time of their initial review.

Q: Does Osgoode grant deferrals of admission?
A: A limited number of requests for a one-year deferral of admission to the first year LLB Program will be considered on an individual basis after the applicant has been admitted. Such requests are granted at the discretion of the Assistant Dean (Student Services) and the Chair of the Admissions Committee. Consideration is based on compelling grounds and the likelihood of the applicant being admitted in the following year. Reasons in support of such requests must be submitted, in writing, to the Assistant Dean (Student Services).

Q: What about on-campus housing?
A: Unlike some other law schools, Osgoode students have access to numerous on-campus housing units. Osgoode students are placed in either the York Apartments (four high-rise buildings) or the Passy Gardens Apartments modern low-rise units. These units are located just minutes from the Law School and are reserved for law and graduate students. While securing on-campus housing arrangements has never been an issue in the past, housing on the York campus is now at a premium. Past practice has shown that students must firmly accept Osgoode’s offer of admission prior to April 30 will likely be able to secure housing on-campus. Priority is given to students outside the Toronto area. Past experience has shown that students firmly accepting Osgoode's offer of admission prior to April 30 will likely be able to secure on-campus housing. The Student Housing Services’ Web site is www.yorku.ca/student-housing and can be reached via e-mail at yorkapts@fbo.yorku.ca.

Q: Does Osgoode have many scholarships?
A: Thanks to the generosity of alumni and donors, and buoyed by the Ontario Government’s matching gift program known as the Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund (OSOTF), Osgoode has a wealth of scholarships and awards available to first-year and upper-year students on the basis of academic excellence and financial need. Entering students who apply to Osgoode are automatically eligible to be considered for all scholarships and awards. Because many of our scholarships have a financial need component, students are encouraged to complete the Financial Statement Form as part of their application.

Q: Does Osgoode provide financial assistance to its students that goes beyond provincial loan programs?
A: Osgoode has a special arrangement with the Royal Bank featuring an innovative loan program specifically tailored to our students. The loan program offers Osgoode students a full range of banking services including easier access to and favourable interest rates on a student line-of-credit. The Royal Student Line-of-Credit works in conjunction with Osgoode’s Bursary Program. Osgoode employs a full-time Office of Financial Services who is responsible for developing and administering the Law School’s Student Financial Assistance Program.

Q: Can I practise law once I've completed my LLB degree?
A: Successful completion of the LLB Program at Osgoode or any other law school does not itself admit students to the practice of law in any of the common law provinces of Canada.

The governing bodies of the legal profession in each of the common law provinces require some period under articles or clerkship with a practising member of the profession as a condition of being admitted to the profession.

Students intending to practise in a common law province other than Ontario should communicate with the secretary of the governing body in that province before entering upon their legal studies in Ontario.

For further information on Bar Admission requirements in Ontario and other Canadian and international jurisdictions, please contact Osgoode’s Career Services Office.