UVA Class of 2013 Forum

[Doritos]

On the one hand I'd like to potentially get a couple thou thrown my way but on the other hand...if UVA can lure away Yalies and Harvies and boost their stats they could move up in the rankings and the YHSCCV breakdown that we all know is coming could be realized before OGIs!! woohoo!

[dgouzoul]

On the one hand I'd like to potentially get a couple thou thrown my way but on the other hand...if UVA can lure away Yalies and Harvies and boost their stats they could move up in the rankings and the YHSCCV breakdown that we all know is coming could be realized before OGIs!! woohoo!

i like the way this guy thinks

[02082010]

If UVA gave me half tuition this would be extremely easy.

[ridleyroses]

its starting to look pretty likely that i'll be at UVA next year, barring some crazy development in the next few weeks (hamilton or butler at columbia). im pretty psyched about UVA anyway, so im almost hoping that doesnt happen.

one question i have, how do most people go about finding roommates? ive been doing a lot of research on housing at uva, and id be looking to have a roommate in either ivy gardens or woodlands. also, i dont have facebook. will that make it a lot harder to find a roommate, should i just bite the bullet and sign up for that?

thanks in advance (probable) future classmates

[Cavalier]

one question i have, how do most people go about finding roommates? ive been doing a lot of research on housing at uva, and id be looking to have a roommate in either ivy gardens or woodlands. also, i dont have facebook. will that make it a lot harder to find a roommate, should i just bite the bullet and sign up for that?

Probably the best resource is the admitted students site, which will be more active once more people are committed to UVA and are looking for housing. I think there is also the 2013 Facebook group, and, of course, TLS (where I found my roommate).

[ridleyroses]

thanks for the quick response dude. is there a message board or something like that on the admitted students site that im not seeing?

[Cavalier]

thanks for the quick response dude. is there a message board or something like that on the admitted students site that im not seeing?

Maybe they don't have one now... I wouldn't know since I don't think I can access that site anymore. Hopefully someone from the class of 2013 knows.

[joeshmo39]

Yeah TLS works for roommates fine. Dorito and I played phone tag for about 10 days, but it finally worked out. Also, I stopped by to post this:

http://espn.go.com/ncb/notebook/_/page/ ... 909/week-9

Things are looking up for UVA hoops. The recruiting has been solid the last few years and ACC means there will be at least 5 good home games a year. I go to Pitt right now so I'm a college hoops guy. Does anyone know what the student section is like at UVA?

[YCrevolution]

..

[joeshmo39]

Pitt does the same thing with the lottery system, it's not hard at all. Last year when Uconn was #3 and we were #1 or whatever, I don't remember the exact ranks, but two top 5 teams, everyone got tickets. A couple years ago people bought tickets for a 7pm Georgetown game at 6:30 cause they finished their papers early and just walked over. It seems that it is not very hard under said system.

[slider]

Has anyone seen the University of Virginia School of Law facebook page? (not the Admitted 2013 page, the regular one http://www.facebook.com/uvalaw)

Nick Cannon POSTED "I'm a sophomore in high school but my 2 major goals in life are 1. Go to UVA 2. Be a lawyer. Currently as a sophomore i have a 4.4 gpa, in lots of clubs and extra curriculars and i really want to go there, but i have to merit scholoship being from florida I don't want to be a gator! But i'm volunteering at a teen court, going to eventually be one of the teen attourneys there, and also volunteering at the Orlando Etournies Association doin' data entry. Am i on track to accomplish my two goals?"


Ohhh I sooo needed a good laugh!!!

[YCrevolution]

..

[avacado111]

Has anyone seen the University of Virginia School of Law facebook page? (not the Admitted 2013 page, the regular one http://www.facebook.com/uvalaw)

Nick Cannon POSTED "I'm a sophomore in high school but my 2 major goals in life are 1. Go to UVA 2. Be a lawyer. Currently as a sophomore i have a 4.4 gpa, in lots of clubs and extra curriculars and i really want to go there, but i have to merit scholoship being from florida I don't want to be a gator! But i'm volunteering at a teen court, going to eventually be one of the teen attourneys there, and also volunteering at the Orlando Etournies Association doin' data entry. Am i on track to accomplish my two goals?"


Ohhh I sooo needed a good laugh!!!

I want to tell him "no," but I feel that would be like slapping a panda cub.

hahahaha i feel sad for him. lol.

[RVP11]

He needs to be told that he can be a freaky deakie AND do data entry.

[slider]

He needs to be told that he can be a freaky deakie AND do data entry.

I also hope his "data entry" is equipped with spell check!

[Doritos]

lolerz at that kid. ok so I have a specific question about UVA law. I have been reading up on the law and business program and it seems like a biglaw training program. Am I correct in this assessment? Also, any of you current students have any experience or opinions about it?

[vanwinkle]

lolerz at that kid. ok so I have a specific question about UVA law. I have been reading up on the law and business program and it seems like a biglaw training program. Am I correct in this assessment? Also, any of you current students have any experience or opinions about it?

I can tell you what I know about it, having spoken a couple times to Professor Geis about it (he's one of the prominent Contracts/Corporations professors and gave an intro session on the Law and Business program).

The Law and Business program is just a series of courses, you can take as many or as few as you want. There are L&B sections of popular business courses (like Corporations) which are more in-depth and detailed because they assume you have a greater basic knowledge of finance and accounting and they don't need to take time explaining those basic concepts to you.

If you have a finance or accounting degree you can go directly into taking the L&B sections; otherwise you are required to take an initial pair of half-semester classes (you register for them together like they're a single class). The first half of the semester is Accounting and the second half is Corporate Finance. You're only allowed to register for the L&B sections of other courses if you either 1) have an accounting/finance degree already or 2) have taken the Accounting/Corporate Finance combo.

You get the same number of credits for taking the L&B courses as you would for taking the non-L&B courses, you just get the benefit of the extra knowledge you gain from their more advanced lesson plan. Also, the best professors that deal in business subjects (like Professor Geis) typically teach the L&B sections, making them more desirable.

It is essentially preparing you for dealing with corporate law, though this could be useful for things other than BigLaw. For instance, if you're hoping to get into the DOJ/AUSA/FBI with your degree, they do a lot of white-collar crime investigation, and having a business law background could benefit you there as well. For the most part, though, I suspect the people who will be taking those courses will be doing it in hopes of landing BigLaw.

It's something to put on your resume, too, that you participated in the Law and Business program, so that can help some.

[heathbar88]

Should I be trying to secure housing now or will I be fine if I wait until the March or April ASW?

[jawsthegreat]

lolerz at that kid. ok so I have a specific question about UVA law. I have been reading up on the law and business program and it seems like a biglaw training program. Am I correct in this assessment? Also, any of you current students have any experience or opinions about it?

I can tell you what I know about it, having spoken a couple times to Professor Geis about it (he's one of the prominent Contracts/Corporations professors and gave an intro session on the Law and Business program).

The Law and Business program is just a series of courses, you can take as many or as few as you want. There are L&B sections of popular business courses (like Corporations) which are more in-depth and detailed because they assume you have a greater basic knowledge of finance and accounting and they don't need to take time explaining those basic concepts to you.

If you have a finance or accounting degree you can go directly into taking the L&B sections; otherwise you are required to take an initial pair of half-semester classes (you register for them together like they're a single class). The first half of the semester is Accounting and the second half is Corporate Finance. You're only allowed to register for the L&B sections of other courses if you either 1) have an accounting/finance degree already or 2) have taken the Accounting/Corporate Finance combo.

You get the same number of credits for taking the L&B courses as you would for taking the non-L&B courses, you just get the benefit of the extra knowledge you gain from their more advanced lesson plan. Also, the best professors that deal in business subjects (like Professor Geis) typically teach the L&B sections, making them more desirable.

It is essentially preparing you for dealing with corporate law, though this could be useful for things other than BigLaw. For instance, if you're hoping to get into the DOJ/AUSA/FBI with your degree, they do a lot of white-collar crime investigation, and having a business law background could benefit you there as well. For the most part, though, I suspect the people who will be taking those courses will be doing it in hopes of landing BigLaw.

It's something to put on your resume, too, that you participated in the Law and Business program, so that can help some.

Let me be the one to ask the only question that matters: How is the grading in these courses? Are they viewed as more competitive? Are they all graded on the scale or are there some non-scaled courses?

[02082010]

What are the 5 most important factor when choosing a law school?

[vanwinkle]

Let me be the one to ask the only question that matters: How is the grading in these courses? Are they viewed as more competitive? Are they all graded on the scale or are there some non-scaled courses?

All classes at UVA are graded on the same B+ curve. There can be exceptions for small classes (10 people or less) but it doesn't make much of a difference since most people don't want to take those anyway and the rules for that don't change the curve too much.

(In the 10-or-less classes professors have the option to set the curve to the average of the GPAs of the enrolled students. However that average figure usually works out to close to a 3.3 anyway from what I understand.)

Are they more competitive? I don't know. I do know that it's impossible for most 1Ls to take them; unless you're a finance/accounting major, you're required to take that Accounting/Finance prerequisite set first, and even if you take it in 1L spring that means you can't take any of the B&L classes until your 2L year. So, being a 1L, I have no experience with them at all and couldn't tell you.

[vanwinkle]

What are the 5 most important factor when choosing a law school?

1) Rankings
2) QOL
3) Money
4) Cash
5) Hoes

[02082010]

What are the 5 most important factor when choosing a law school?

1) Rankings
2) QOL
3) Money
4) Cash
5) Hoes

I'm just curious bc let's say I sweep the remaining school I have left (Duke, NYU, Chicago WL) then the only thing that would matter to be would be $$ and QOL. So it'd either be Chicago or UVA I'd think. Just wanted to make sure I didn't need to be doing tons of research on specialty areas, clinics, etc.

What aspects of UVA should I be researching?

[vanwinkle]

I'm just curious bc let's say I sweet the remaining school I have left (Duke, NYU, Chicago WL) then the only thing that would matter to be would be $$ and QOL. So it'd either be Chicago or UVA I'd think. Just wanted to make sure I didn't need to be doing tons of research on specialty areas, clinics, etc.

What aspects of UVA should I be researching?

I guess it depends on what you really want to do when you graduate. I think any intent that's too specialized is foolish, because 1) the law is extremely broad and you won't know what you like until you see it in action and 2) it's hard to find the exact job you want right out of law school. However, you can usually divide goals up into different overall categories (law firm/corporate, government, public interest, academia) and then it makes sense to research which schools prepare you best and more importantly give you the best post-graduation options.

If you want to do public interest work, you're going to want a school with a lot of clinics and opportunities for getting your feet wet. The really good PI jobs are competitive and building up a resume while your'e in law school will help you get ahead. UVA has a dedicated career services center just for gov't/PI work; I know Penn does also, but I'm not sure which other top law schools offer this.

Clerkships can be valuable no matter what you want to do. It's 1-2 years after you graduate and it pops out on your resume as highly valuable experience. However, the important thing to keep in mind is that outside of HYS, only those who finish toward the top of their class have a chance at the federal clerkships, which are the ones that make a real difference. That said, if you do work your ass off and get the highest grades in your class, it would be good to have at least a chance to turn that into a clerkship opportunity (which tells future employers both "My resume was impressive enough that this judge picked me to clerk for him" and "I gained experience seeing how federal courts work and got my hands dirty in a wide range of legal cases for a year"). UVA has a dedicated "clerkship director" now whose job is solely to place UVA students and grads into judicial internships and clerkships.

Ignore "specialty areas". Employers won't care when you graduate if you went to the school with the #2 environmental law program in the nation. The better strategy is for you to have the best education (which means going to the highest-ranked school) and then bolster your resume and make connections by doing internships during the school year or on the summers. So, whatever field you're most eager to work in, find out what kind of connections that school has with those kind of employers.

As an example, I want to do criminal law, and this winter break I interned with a New York City public defender who was a UVA Law grad. That's valuable experience and also valuable networking. I may be able to turn that into a summer internship there, which if that goes well I might be able to turn into a job offer when I graduate... There's nothing better than a school that'll use its alumni network to your advantage.

Without more info on what you want to do when you graduate I can't really give you more specific advice, but hopefully that'll give you ideas.

[02082010]

I'm just curious bc let's say I sweet the remaining school I have left (Duke, NYU, Chicago WL) then the only thing that would matter to be would be $$ and QOL. So it'd either be Chicago or UVA I'd think. Just wanted to make sure I didn't need to be doing tons of research on specialty areas, clinics, etc.

What aspects of UVA should I be researching?

I guess it depends on what you really want to do when you graduate. I think any intent that's too specialized is foolish, because 1) the law is extremely broad and you won't know what you like until you see it in action and 2) it's hard to find the exact job you want right out of law school. However, you can usually divide goals up into different overall categories (law firm/corporate, government, public interest, academia) and then it makes sense to research which schools prepare you best and more importantly give you the best post-graduation options.

If you want to do public interest work, you're going to want a school with a lot of clinics and opportunities for getting your feet wet. The really good PI jobs are competitive and building up a resume while your'e in law school will help you get ahead. UVA has a dedicated career services center just for gov't/PI work; I know Penn does also, but I'm not sure which other top law schools offer this.

Clerkships can be valuable no matter what you want to do. It's 1-2 years after you graduate and it pops out on your resume as highly valuable experience. However, the important thing to keep in mind is that outside of HYS, only those who finish toward the top of their class have a chance at the federal clerkships, which are the ones that make a real difference. That said, if you do work your ass off and get the highest grades in your class, it would be good to have at least a chance to turn that into a clerkship opportunity (which tells future employers both "My resume was impressive enough that this judge picked me to clerk for him" and "I gained experience seeing how federal courts work and got my hands dirty in a wide range of legal cases for a year"). UVA has a dedicated "clerkship director" now whose job is solely to place UVA students and grads into judicial internships and clerkships.

Ignore "specialty areas". Employers won't care when you graduate if you went to the school with the #2 environmental law program in the nation. The better strategy is for you to have the best education (which means going to the highest-ranked school) and then bolster your resume and make connections by doing internships during the school year or on the summers. So, whatever field you're most eager to work in, find out what kind of connections that school has with those kind of employers.

As an example, I want to do criminal law, and this winter break I interned with a New York City public defender who was a UVA Law grad. That's valuable experience and also valuable networking. I may be able to turn that into a summer internship there, which if that goes well I might be able to turn into a job offer when I graduate... There's nothing better than a school that'll use its alumni network to your advantage.

Without more info on what you want to do when you graduate I can't really give you more specific advice, but hopefully that'll give you ideas.

Thanks for the valuable info.

I would like to clerk (CoA) immediately after graduation and then do litigation (biglaw or boutique) for long enough so that I can pay off loans, bank my (future) kids college tuition, and amass some $$ before heading to the DoJ or USAO. That career trajectory would be FTW in my opinion.