A closer look at the Class of 2026
For several years running, Ultra Vires has surveyed U of T Law’s class of 2L students after the Toronto recruit to offer a comprehensive look at the cohort’s hopefuls. A total of 64 students responded to UV’s survey this year, answering questions about their general, academic, and financial backgrounds, as well as their habits and mental health. Respondents had the option to abstain from any question. Their responses have been anonymized, analyzed, and reproduced below.
Demographics
The majority of students fell between the ages of 23 and 24. Notably, the proportion of students aged 22 (14.1%) was significantly higher compared to last year (4.1%). By comparison, the number of students who are 28 or older (6.2%) was lower than last year (13.7%).
70.3% of respondents identified as female, 26.5% as male, and 1.6% as non-binary. The proportion of male respondents was lower than what was reported in the previous year (38%).
Exactly three-quarters (75.0%) of survey respondents identified as straight. 18.8% identified as part of the LGBTQ2S+ community, with 9.4% identifying as lesbian or gay, 7.8% as bisexual, and 1.6% as queer.
A little less than half of the survey respondents were white (46.5%). The proportion of East Asian students, again making up the majority of racialized students, was higher than last year (31.0% in 2024 vs. 23.4% in 2023). By contrast, the number of South Asian students was lower (7.0% in 2024 vs. 13.4% in 2023). Some respondents identified with more than one race/ethnicity.
The vast majority of students reported speaking one to two languages conversationally.
This year’s cohort again represented a variety of religions; however, roughly one-third of respondents (33.9%) did identify as atheist/agnostic.
There was a significantly smaller proportion of JD/MBA and JD/other combined degree program respondents this year (3.1% JD/MBAs in 2024 vs. 8.2% in 2023; 1.6% of JD/other combined programs in 2024 vs. 5.5% in 2023). The majority of students were the first in their family to attend law school.
Academic Background
Students in this cohort came from a diverse range of educational backgrounds, varying from the political sciences and business/economics to visual or performing arts. The proportion of STEM students dropped this year from 27.8% reported in 2023 to 15.9%.
Notably, over half of the students (54.0%) who completed UV’s survey reported a GPA between 3.9 and 4.0. This number is higher than last year’s 39.7% in the same category. The LSAT score distribution amongst survey respondents was similar to last year’s results. Overall, U of T Law students remain high-fliers.
Financial Background
Perhaps consistent with the age demographics reported above, the majority of student respondents came directly to law school without working in between.
In terms of estimated debt upon graduation, the highest number of responses fell within the “no debt” (25.8%) and between $25,001-$50,000 (27.4%) categories. As for the reported family pre-tax household income, a fairly large proportion of students abstained from responding. Otherwise, the results are mostly similar to the previous year’s distribution.
Accessibility and Mental Health
29.7% of students reported that they live with a mental health condition—a slightly lower number than last year’s 38.9%. Please note that we did not limit the “yes” responses to mental health conditions diagnosed by a medical practitioner.
Students were also asked to rank the effects of the recruit on their mental health, with a ranking of “1” meaning that their mental health “improved significantly” and a ranking of “5” meaning that their mental health was “disturbed significantly.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, no students responded “1.” The majority of students (51.7%) ranked the effect of the recruit on their mental health as a “4.”
Political and Social Life
Similarly to the previous year, the political affiliations of this cohort leaned left. However, 18.6% of students abstained from answering this question and 3.4% responded with “undecided”.
Alcohol consumption did not vary significantly from past cohorts; however, a slightly higher proportion of students reported that they never drank four or more drinks at one time (25.0% in 2024 vs. 14.7% in 2023). A single drink was defined in UV’s survey as “12 oz / 341 mL regular strength beer (5% alcohol), 5 oz / 142 mL wine (12% alcohol), or 1.5 oz / 43 mL liquor (40% alcohol).”
Both cannabis and study drug consumption were also comparable to last year. “Study drugs” were described in the survey as “e.g. Adderall, Modafinil, etc., excluding any drug use as prescribed for medical conditions.”