Top Law Schools

Yes, the "Commonwealth of Virginia." Still, I liked my alliteration!

Because in the eyes of the Commonwealth, you're doing those things only because you've moved to Virginia to study. Residency status, according to them, is reserved for those with a longer history with Virginia, even if that history lasted only a year prior to enrolling.

I'm a big fan of public schools that remember that part of their mission is to educate and serve the public (i.e., the taxpayers of their state). But this point rings a bit hollow when you consider the vicious cuts in public funding for higher education that seem to follow year after year Virginia. In the southern region, only one state out of sixteen (Georgia) has cut public funding for its colleges more than Virginia in recent years (LinkRemoved). It seems a little shaky to assert your "rights" to an in-state preference when your state has starved its best public colleges of funding so severely that they've become de-facto private institutions.

At the finaid session, the associate dean made it clear that it is virtually impossible to get VA residency, unless you have a spouse who is working in the state (and the kid in school thing sounds plausible as well).


I don't understand why Virginia has been cutting public education funding.

It's not like Michigan, where the economy has essentially been in a depression for several years.

Plus its tax base is dramatically increasing... I think some of the exurbs of NoVA may be catching up to Clark County, Nevada as the nation's fastest growing region. And that growth has been fueled by well-educated, high income individuals.

nj is the same, cutting funding and raising tuition further. it's making our public schools, which aren't all that fantastic even more crappy.

sockpuppet wrote:I'm a big fan of public schools that remember that part of their mission is to educate and serve the public (i.e., the taxpayers of their state). But this point rings a bit hollow when you consider the vicious cuts in public funding for higher education that seem to follow year after year Virginia. In the southern region, only one state out of sixteen (Georgia) has cut public funding for its colleges more than Virginia in recent years (LinkRemoved). It seems a little shaky to assert your "rights" to an in-state preference when your state has starved its best public colleges of funding so severely that they've become de-facto private institutions.

Hence why I was careful to add "according to . . ." qualifiers. I'm an ardent supporter of public education and, by extension, outstanding public universities as monuments to just how good it can be. One of my favorite West Wing moments was Sam telling Mallory that the government should match education spending with defense spending dollar-for-dollar. But that elite universities like UVA and Michigan have seen their taxpayer funds continually cut by their respective state legislatures is nothing less than a travesty that also cuts at the very idea of public schooling.

UVA Law is now "public" in name and by statute only - the lone funding it receives from the Commonwealth is the $5,000 per in-state resident subsidy which, in the end, gets pocketed by the recipient resident attendees. As a result, the law school's endowment pales in comparison to those of comparable institutions (though that difference is shrinking thanks to its extraordinary alumni giving rate and aggressive endowment campaign). So VA residents are reaping the fruits of their labor in that respect, provided they paid state taxes.

sialeeds wrote:Hey man, I've lived in VA all 21 years of my life! I've earned my in-state status

Honestly, I think it makes sense... it sucks for you guys, but yeah. Otherwise, 100% of the class would be in-state by 2L. That makes no sense.

It doesn't bother me and I'm out of state. It's not a huge difference in tuition especially compared to what we're paying

Also, being in-state has its own little burdens.

Like paying personal-property tax on your car, which for me amounted to I think about $600 last year.

goose and I need a third for a 3br/3ba townhouse in The Woodlands . . . anyone interested?

DO YOU need a carat UVA? Is there reasonable housing within walking distance to campus? Is the downtown area reachable without a car?

I have a scholarship at UVA, but I guess i subtract 6k a year from that if I am gonna need a car...wasnt planning on having a car at other options.

commit to woodlands *our 3Br and i'll drive you around in my 06 acura TL no joke!

you dont need a car at UVA. You probably need a bike if you live a ways from the law school. The airport is about 10 miles away, so you will need a ride to and from there. If you need to go shopping on 29 it will be a pain for you without a car, because the Best Buy, Walmart, and shopping mall are up there. However, everything that you NEED is easy walk/bike. The only time that you would need to take a taxi is if you are sick of the corner and want to drink with people your own age at the downtown mall. For example, South Street is good on Tuesday nights.

ah I see The Woodlands is the place to be

Plenty of your classmates, and almost surely sectionmates, will have cars, which are really only necessary for weekend errands (groceries, Target, stocking up on Bodo's bagels, etc.). Cabs are so inexpensive as to make them the ideal choice for nights out downtown.

I submitted my application for the Woodlands last Saturday, but they still haven't gotten back to me...

I think I deserve reduced rent since I have advertised for them like crazy in my attempt to find a roommate.

P.S. Sorry to any of you who saw that looong message that disappeared- I meant to pm ZeeZoo... basically to say, yeah, you need a car...
P.P.S. And Wells I haven't hit yall up about the Facebook group yet 'cause (despite my disproportionate presence in the Virginia threads), I am still deciding... no deposits paid... no scholarship acceptances yet signed...
P.P.P.S. HOUSING!

.

Anybody get FinAid info yet? Haven't heard a peep about this on the boards....

SgtBilko wrote:Anybody get FinAid info yet? Haven't heard a peep about this on the boards....

I talked to Fin Aid on Monday- they said for folks whose paperwork has been received (see the dates when you login via AdmitWeb) that the first round of awards will roll out hopefully by next week. I'm pretty sure I can predict to the penny what it will say...

For anyone actually already in/near Charlottesville, Justice Scalia (former Virginia Prof) is speaking at Virginia Law on 4/10: http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/news/2 ... update.htm

SgtBilko wrote:Also, being in-state has its own little burdens.

Like paying personal-property tax on your car, which for me amounted to I think about $600 last year.

Well most of us out-of-staters will be legal residents of VA once we start law school so we will have to pay that tax.

MissVirginia wrote:For anyone actually already in/near Charlottesville, Justice Scalia (former Virginia Prof) is speaking at Virginia Law on 4/10: http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/news/2 ... update.htm

damn! wish I could be there for that!

We need to make a list of everyone who is interested in living in The Woodlands . . . that should make it easier to find roommates and whatnot

anyone else fill out the post-ASD survey?

I complimented them on many things, but said that the general financial aid session was not that beneficial, because all of the tough questions about rising tuition rates, differences between in-state and out-of-state tuition, and the process and means by which the university determines both need based and merit based financial aid were dodged by the speaker.

She gave answers like "That is how our budgeting works." or "We're not able to discuss that." We're spending $60k a year when you factor in cost of living, and I feel that since we're making such a massive investment, we deserve better answers than that.

J-Rod wrote:

MissVirginia wrote:For anyone actually already in/near Charlottesville, Justice Scalia (former Virginia Prof) is speaking at Virginia Law on 4/10: http://www.law.virginia.edu/html/news/2 ... update.htm

damn! wish I could be there for that!

I'll take notes for you- and I'll do my best to get a photo too! ... yeah, I did the ASD survey as well... and I'm sure some big time speakers will swing through while you're at Virginia...

Bilko... your av... OH NO YOU DIDN'T!

Nevertheless, I am endless amused by Chinese Crescents. Eeeesh.

MissVirginia -- do you think they're just going to give everyone the same thing, i.e. what's listed on the financial aid section of the website? Because that's what I'm kind of counting on here...