UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[vamedic03]

Haha, it looks like some of the posts ITT have been immortalized as quotes in the TLS UVA profile. Congrats, I guess.

Holy crap, I'm quoted like four times there. I like how my gushing love of C'ville's scenery is cut+pasted in while leaving out the following paragraph bitching about the abhorrent traffic.

Is living close to campus, i.e. in the Arlington place and those like it, really beneficial to the 1L experience?

I'm considering moving closer to downtown and want to know how that decision will affect me

1L is kind of intense, plus you've never been to law school so you don't quite know what to expect yet. There's a real advantage to living near the law school. Traffic between downtown and the law school often sucks terribly even though it's not a long distance, because of the fact that everything in that part of C-ville is tiny two-lane roads that were never upgraded due to historical concerns or a desire to keep a "small town feel" or whatever the reason. Plus, it's a long walk to the Blue Lot, which is the closest lot a 1L can get a permit for..

FYI - This isn't exactly true . . . everyone who applied for a D3 permit (the closer permit) during the second lottery received it, so I, and the other 1L's I know who applied for it, have a D3 permit and park very close to the school (about a 100 yard walk)...

I don't live in Ivy and strongly recommend against it if you can - there are far better quality living options out there

[vamedic03]

to any UVA students- my wife and i have UVA at the top of the list right now. what is the pet policy for the apt's close to campus??? we have a dog... on our visit most students said the 1L's tend to live in ivy gardens (i think?). would anyone know if our dog is welcome there?

Honestly, there's no need to live at Ivy unless you plan on not having a car . . . there are far better living options out there that allow you to have dogs . . . I have several dogs and am renting a house that's about 2 miles from the law school, but very convenient to both the stadium and to the hospital (where my wife works)

[ridleyroses]

another question: does anyone have any sense of how well UVA places in california big law?

[vanwinkle]

another question: does anyone have any sense of how well UVA places in california big law?

They can place there. Actually over the last 3 years they've put almost as many UVA grads into firms in San Francisco as they have Chicago:

http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/career/career_map.htm

I add up 71 firm jobs in the CA market gone to UVA grads over the last 3 years. Given that a lot of UVA grads probably aren't looking at CA (224 went to NYC over the same time period) that's probably a pretty large number. Granted, that is "firm jobs" in general, not necessarily BigLaw... but since they're showing $160K median in all three CA markets, it's logical to assume at least half of those 71 firm jobs were in BigLaw.

That is pre-current-economy, but really, that's going to affect placement for all schools across the board. I think that since UVA could place into the CA market before, where there are jobs there, they probably still can.

[kurama20]

What's the pricing on the on campus housing like? And exactly how much does it cost to live in this Ivy apartment complex a month?

[jdavid901]

What's the pricing on the on campus housing like? And exactly how much does it cost to live in this Ivy apartment complex a month?

UVA Graduate Housing:
http://www.virginia.edu/housing/compare.php?type=grad
($4860 total for 2 bedroom / 1.5 bath; double occupancy; 9 months)

Ivy Gardens:
http://www.ivygarden.com/apartments_2B.htm
($925/month for 2 bedroom / 1.5 bath; single occupancy; 12 months)

[kurama20]

What's the pricing on the on campus housing like? And exactly how much does it cost to live in this Ivy apartment complex a month?

UVA Graduate Housing:
http://www.virginia.edu/housing/compare.php?type=grad
($4860 total for 2 bedroom / 1.5 bath; double occupancy; 9 months)

Ivy Gardens:
http://www.ivygarden.com/apartments_2B.htm
($925/month for 2 bedroom / 1.5 bath; single occupancy; 12 months)

Please tell me the Copely price is for a semester.

[YCrevolution]

..

[kurama20]

It's for the nine-month academic year (although the only law student I know living in Copely is only there on a temporary basis while his non-UVA apartment is gutted/repaired from a fire).

Wow awesome! To be honest I know how everyone says Copely sucks but for my tastes (and budget) it's fine. I want to live as close to (preferably actually on) campus as possible. In terms of the laptop "deal" how much is the PC version? Is it a good computer?

[Cavalier]

It's for the nine-month academic year (although the only law student I know living in Copely is only there on a temporary basis while his non-UVA apartment is gutted/repaired from a fire).

Wow awesome! To be honest I know how everyone says Copely sucks but for my tastes (and budget) it's fine. I want to live as close to (preferably actually on) campus as possible.

Copeley has only double-occupancy bedrooms. I highly doubt you want that, especially when you can get a place with your own bedroom for around the same price. It is right across from campus as opposed to a 5-10 minute walk if you live on Arlington, so I don't think its location provides any meaningful advantage.

[kurama20]

It's for the nine-month academic year (although the only law student I know living in Copely is only there on a temporary basis while his non-UVA apartment is gutted/repaired from a fire).

Wow awesome! To be honest I know how everyone says Copely sucks but for my tastes (and budget) it's fine. I want to live as close to (preferably actually on) campus as possible.

Copeley has only double-occupancy bedrooms. I highly doubt you want that, especially when you can get a place with your own bedroom for around the same price. It is right across from campus as opposed to a 5-10 minute walk if you live on Arlington, so I don't think its location provides any meaningful advantage.

When you say same price, do you mean at most $300 more?

[Cavalier]

It's for the nine-month academic year (although the only law student I know living in Copely is only there on a temporary basis while his non-UVA apartment is gutted/repaired from a fire).

Wow awesome! To be honest I know how everyone says Copely sucks but for my tastes (and budget) it's fine. I want to live as close to (preferably actually on) campus as possible.

Copeley has only double-occupancy bedrooms. I highly doubt you want that, especially when you can get a place with your own bedroom for around the same price. It is right across from campus as opposed to a 5-10 minute walk if you live on Arlington, so I don't think its location provides any meaningful advantage.

When you say same price, do you mean at most $300 more?

OK, I'm wrong, maybe it'll be $1000 more. But still, law school is a lot different than undergrad. I cannot imagine living in a double occupancy bedroom, especially since your roommate will almost certainly not be a law student with the same type of academic commitments that you have. Unless you have severe credit problems, you should have no trouble getting the money for an apartment in Ivy or on Arlington.

[jdavid901]

What's the pricing on the on campus housing like? And exactly how much does it cost to live in this Ivy apartment complex a month?

UVA Graduate Housing:
http://www.virginia.edu/housing/compare.php?type=grad
($4860 total for 2 bedroom / 1.5 bath; double occupancy; 9 months)

Ivy Gardens:
http://www.ivygarden.com/apartments_2B.htm
($925/month for 2 bedroom / 1.5 bath; single occupancy; 12 months)

Please tell me the Copely price is for a semester.

It's for the nine-month academic year (although the only law student I know living in Copely is only there on a temporary basis while his non-UVA apartment is gutted/repaired from a fire).

Here's a very helpful guide I found that's put out by the Rex E. Lee Law Society at the university:

--LinkRemoved--

[democrattotheend]

Thanks for starting this thread. This info has been extremely helpful.

Two questions:

1) Do you feel that being in a small town like Charlottesville limits the opportunities to do externships or get other hands on experience during the school year? I live in DC right now and I'm kind of agonizing between Georgetown and UVA (assuming I can even get into either, which is hard to predict since I'm not taking the LSAT for another 2 weeks). One thing that I think Georgetown has going for it is the opportunities for externships and hands-on experience that a big city like DC offers. Do you feel that those type of opportunities are more limited in Charlottesville, and would that be a disadvantage for someone looking to build a resume with public interest/government experience during law school?

2) Do apartments in Charlottesville offer 9 month leases, or do students who do summer associateships or internships outside Charlottesville get stuck paying for 3 months when they are not there? Is it possible to sublet, or does the college nature of the town make it impossible to find people looking for a place for the summer?

Thanks!

[vanwinkle]

Thanks for starting this thread. This info has been extremely helpful.

Two questions:

1) Do you feel that being in a small town like Charlottesville limits the opportunities to do externships or get other hands on experience during the school year? I live in DC right now and I'm kind of agonizing between Georgetown and UVA (assuming I can even get into either, which is hard to predict since I'm not taking the LSAT for another 2 weeks). One thing that I think Georgetown has going for it is the opportunities for externships and hands-on experience that a big city like DC offers. Do you feel that those type of opportunities are more limited in Charlottesville, and would that be a disadvantage for someone looking to build a resume with public interest/government experience during law school?

2) Do apartments in Charlottesville offer 9 month leases, or do students who do summer associateships or internships outside Charlottesville get stuck paying for 3 months when they are not there? Is it possible to sublet, or does the college nature of the town make it impossible to find people looking for a place for the summer?

Thanks!

On question 1: UVA has a number of clinics available that puts people working in prosecution, criminal defense, an innocence project, appellate and Supreme Court litigation, and a number of other things. You can see the full list on UVA's website. There are also a number of pro bono projects based in Charlottesville including the Legal Aid Justice Center which provides services to poor and disadvantaged individuals in the area.

The school also started a "Law and Public Service" program. For those that get in, it'll involve providing a faculty mentor, specialized public services classes, and full sponsorship of living expenses for public interest internships during your summers. Even if you can't get into that program, the Public Interest Law Association (PILA) raises money every year to provide similar fellowships to students; last year I think they provided living expense funds to 80 different students doing public-interest internships during their summers.

In all I think it's a pretty damn good school for public interest work, and they're only trying more and more to boost that part of their profile each year.

On question 2: I believe Ivy Garden does 12-month leases. My landlord for my condo does 12-month leases also. There are probably places that do 9-month leases, but I couldn't tell you what they are personally. I do know that a lot of people sublet during the summer though, when I visited for ASD there were a bunch of flyers up on some billboards with people trying to find people to sublet their apartments for the summer. However, it will be harder to find people who need to do that, since many people are going to be leaving Charlottesville for the summer and it'll be more vacant than it is during the school year.

That will just depend on the landlord/leasing agency. If you find a place you'll have to ask them whether subletting is allowed or not.

[democrattotheend]

Thanks for starting this thread. This info has been extremely helpful.

Two questions:

1) Do you feel that being in a small town like Charlottesville limits the opportunities to do externships or get other hands on experience during the school year? I live in DC right now and I'm kind of agonizing between Georgetown and UVA (assuming I can even get into either, which is hard to predict since I'm not taking the LSAT for another 2 weeks). One thing that I think Georgetown has going for it is the opportunities for externships and hands-on experience that a big city like DC offers. Do you feel that those type of opportunities are more limited in Charlottesville, and would that be a disadvantage for someone looking to build a resume with public interest/government experience during law school?

2) Do apartments in Charlottesville offer 9 month leases, or do students who do summer associateships or internships outside Charlottesville get stuck paying for 3 months when they are not there? Is it possible to sublet, or does the college nature of the town make it impossible to find people looking for a place for the summer?

Thanks!

On question 1: UVA has a number of clinics available that puts people working in prosecution, criminal defense, an innocence project, appellate and Supreme Court litigation, and a number of other things. You can see the full list on UVA's website. There are also a number of pro bono projects based in Charlottesville including the Legal Aid Justice Center which provides services to poor and disadvantaged individuals in the area.

The school also started a "Law and Public Service" program. For those that get in, it'll involve providing a faculty mentor, specialized public services classes, and full sponsorship of living expenses for public interest internships during your summers. Even if you can't get into that program, the Public Interest Law Association (PILA) raises money every year to provide similar fellowships to students; last year I think they provided living expense funds to 80 different students doing public-interest internships during their summers.

In all I think it's a pretty damn good school for public interest work, and they're only trying more and more to boost that part of their profile each year.

On question 2: I believe Ivy Garden does 12-month leases. My landlord for my condo does 12-month leases also. There are probably places that do 9-month leases, but I couldn't tell you what they are personally. I do know that a lot of people sublet during the summer though, when I visited for ASD there were a bunch of flyers up on some billboards with people trying to find people to sublet their apartments for the summer. However, it will be harder to find people who need to do that, since many people are going to be leaving Charlottesville for the summer and it'll be more vacant than it is during the school year.

That will just depend on the landlord/leasing agency. If you find a place you'll have to ask them whether subletting is allowed or not.

Hey, thanks for getting back to me so quickly. With regard to #2, do most students have that problem? I'm assuming most people do summer employment outside Charlottesville. So do most people just pay for 3 months they are not using? I guess that wouldn't be the end of the world since rent is pretty cheap in Charlottesville, but the student loan budget is only based on rent for 9 months, which seems unrealistic if most places make you pay for 12.

[YCrevolution]

..

[ridleyroses]

do people only spend time with other people in their sections pretty much? or do people tend to make friendships across sections? do the sections last past the first year?

[vanwinkle]

do people only spend time with other people in their sections pretty much? or do people tend to make friendships across sections? do the sections last past the first year?

I'm friends with a couple people outside my section, but they're people I met on TLS prior to attending. I really haven't had time for new friend-making this semester. Sections make it really convenient to get to know the people in your section. I'm assuming as the year goes on and I get to take electives in the spring that won't have my current classmates in them, I'll get to know more people.

It seems like the 2Ls and 3Ls maintain a lot of friendships they formed from their 1L sections. I can see myself staying in touch with several of my current section-mates and certainly plan on doing so. However, I don't think the sections are that fully cohesive, different people have different interests and it's going to start fragmenting after 1L is over as people start pursuing different interests and courses.

[Kohinoor]

do people only spend time with other people in their sections pretty much? or do people tend to make friendships across sections? do the sections last past the first year?

I don't spend much time with my section. This may change after this semester when the intensity drops down a few decibels. The more social people in my section have pretty strong inter-sectional friendships through pregaming with other sections and just natural social interactions.

[Kohinoor]

A bit of a ridiculous question perhaps, but I'm asking anyway. When is it considered appropriate to ask for scholarship consideration, and if you did ask for such consideration, how did you go about doing it? Thanks for the thread and whatever response you give.

Hm. Unless you have a competing offer from a peer school, I can't imagine contacting them would make them consider you for aid if they weren't already planning to.

[ridleyroses]

This isn't really so much UVA specific, but I'm wondering: When people talk about perhaps half of the 2L class not getting summer work, or 3L's getting no offers, does this mean that they aren't getting any summer work or offers whatsoever, or only that they aren't getting v-10 or v-50 or whatever summer work and offers? It seems unfathomable to me that uva kids would find themselves simply unable to get a job. If you're ok with settling for a job that pays 100k for example instead of 160k, is this extremely difficult in this economy?

[kurama20]

This isn't really so much UVA specific, but I'm wondering: When people talk about perhaps half of the 2L class not getting summer work, or 3L's getting no offers, does this mean that they aren't getting any summer work or offers whatsoever, or only that they aren't getting v-10 or v-50 or whatever summer work and offers? It seems unfathomable to me that uva kids would find themselves simply unable to get a job. If you're ok with settling for a job that pays 100k for example instead of 160k, is this extremely difficult in this economy?

I think some of the problem is that a lot of people are only willing to look at NYC, Cali, and DC.

[vanwinkle]

This isn't really so much UVA specific, but I'm wondering: When people talk about perhaps half of the 2L class not getting summer work, or 3L's getting no offers, does this mean that they aren't getting any summer work or offers whatsoever, or only that they aren't getting v-10 or v-50 or whatever summer work and offers? It seems unfathomable to me that uva kids would find themselves simply unable to get a job. If you're ok with settling for a job that pays 100k for example instead of 160k, is this extremely difficult in this economy?

There are still opportunities in smaller markets. Like another poster pointed out, a lot of people want to go work in DC or NYC, and they can apply to 50 firms in those cities and maybe not get a single callback. However, I've heard from people who've had success getting work at smaller firms. Those jobs lack the prestige and the pay of the bigger firms, but they're still highly respectable jobs.

A lot of it is going to boil down to your grades. People in the top quarter here at UVA seem to be able to get jobs where they want. Those in the top half are having to stretch further and look around more and a few haven't found anything yet. It's the people who're in the lower half that are having the most problems. The main thing is, ITE, don't finish in the bottom half of your class, but that's going to be true just about anywhere.

[tumbleweed664]

I think some of the problem is that a lot of people are only willing to look at NYC, Cali, and DC.

I know UVA is a T10 and thus, at least in better times, placed in all the major markets. Is Cali Biglaw still viable from UVA?