From Our Students: My UB Law Experience as a Canadian

I attended the University of Western Ontario in Canada for my undergrad. I grew up in Fort Erie and made frequent visits to Buffalo. I’ve said it before and I will say it again—Buffalo tacos, wings, pizza, and fish fry are enough to make anyone want to be here. As much as I love the food, that’s not the reason I chose to attend UB School of Law. So, let’s start there.

While applying for law school in Canada the thought of being away from home for another three years was not what I had pictured. So, I decided to look at schools in the U.S. because I knew there was a law school in Buffalo, NY. When I found out SUNY had a law school, I decided to apply.

Applications in the U.S. are very similar to their Canadian counterpart—just a different computer system. American schools take your LSAT scores regardless of where it is written, convert your grades, and send off your applications all on one site.

I received my acceptance less than a month later! When I opened my letter, I knew I wanted to be at UB. I called my mom and asked her to come on a tour of the campus with me the following week. Having spent only a few hours touring O'Brian Hall before attending, I had yet to experience the full UB effect; that changed my very first week.

It didn’t take long to settle into a routine as a group of strangers became classmates and friends. The law school community is best exemplified by the friendly lunches and the late nights working on assignments and case briefs with friends. It was a steep learning curve and an adjustment, but in true UB form, leaning on each other made all the difference. I never expected the environment to be so welcoming and accepting—every member of the faculty expects and works hard for your success. Most movies and television shows about law school show only the competitive side of law students. While I can only speak for UB, that is the furthest thing from the truth.

Now I am finishing up my last classes at UB as I will be taking part in the Pro Bono Scholars program in the spring. I plan to write the New York Bar. It’s important to know that writing the New York Bar will not close any doors for you in Canada, it opens more. To come back to Canada there are articling requirements and exam requirements. Most of which are laid out on the NCA website. Spending some time understanding the NCA application process and Canadian Bar requirements is really important. It will help you determine what you want to do when you graduate law school. If you don’t know what you want to do right now don’t be discouraged. You have three years and a whole lifetime to figure out exactly what you want to do with the law. If I can, I’d like to leave you with one final point on this:

“If you are going to be a lawyer and just practice your profession, you have a skill – very much like a plumber. But if you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself… something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you.”
-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Remember, you can take this to heart wherever you practice law. Good Luck! I am always available to chat about the application process—feel free to email me with any questions or comments at ccottone@buffalo.edu.  

You’ve got this, and if I may offer you an early welcome to the UB Family: Go Bulls!