UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[RVP11]

Question about ED at UVA: If you apply and get accepted but still retake the LSAT in December and get a higher score...does UVA take this into account when giving out merit aid or do they only use your September score when deciding how much aid to award you?

Never count on merit aid when you apply ED. The school has no incentive to give you $$$ that's for the purpose of "buying" students with high numbers when you're already committed.

[jawsthegreat]

I'm applying this year with a 3.5/173 with my only soft/WE being on a D1 sports Team

Knowing what you know about the school what are your thoughts on my chances?

[jcunni5]

you should be good possibly with money

[democrattotheend]

Because of some personal financial considerations I can't rely on loans on the same level as the average incoming student. As for applying ED at UVA,..UVA was my high reach. I figured what the hell,..get in to such a good school and worry about the particulars later. Honestly,..I'm not sure if Im going to law school,..the financial situation has to be right for me. I'm very averse to debt and don't want to be a corporate slave for the next ten years. But when you get into a top 10 like UVA,..obviously it deserves to be thought about.

At least UVA has a much lower cost of living than a lot of other schools. That's one of the things that makes it attractive to me...if I could find a part time job there, I could probably be in decent financial shape because I would be paying less than half of what I am paying in rent right now in DC. I have seen rooms in shared apartments for as little as $350 in Charlottesville. Coming from DC that seems unreal.

[jnorsky]

I just got into UVA baby! I took a ride down to walk around and see it and fell in love. There are so many green areas to play sports and hang out. Seems like a smart jocks dream, which i sort of consider myself. That being said, how do people decide who plays on the section softball teams? I know, stupid question, but im just curious. Also, where is the best place to live as a 1L? Where do most 1L law students live there first year? I would like to be surrounded by my peers my first year and fairly close to the law school.

Last question, do you guys love it there? I got in when i came home pretty drunk on Saturday afternoon from the Michigan - Penn State game and so its just starting to hit me that i am actually going to UVA. Is this place the shit or what?

[vanwinkle]

I just got into UVA baby! I took a ride down to walk around and see it and fell in love. There are so many green areas to play sports and hang out. Seems like a smart jocks dream, which i sort of consider myself. That being said, how do people decide who plays on the section softball teams? I know, stupid question, but im just curious. Also, where is the best place to live as a 1L? Where do most 1L law students live there first year? I would like to be surrounded by my peers my first year and fairly close to the law school.

Last question, do you guys love it there? I got in when i came home pretty drunk on Saturday afternoon from the Michigan - Penn State game and so its just starting to hit me that i am actually going to UVA. Is this place the shit or what?

Firstly, congratulations!

The section softball teams are decided by the sections themselves. The section elects softball captains and the team decides who to play when. Some sections play everyone, some only play their "best" players, or the players that most want to play, or whatever they develop.

Best place to live for your 1L year is on Arlington Blvd. You're a block or two from the law school, and a block or two from Barracks Road Shopping Center which has not just one but two 24-hour grocery stores and several restaurants and stores. There are several places on Arlington Blvd. to choose from, including the Jeffersonian, Arlington Court Condos, and the Graduate Center, each with their own pros, cons, and issues.

Otherwise a lot of people live in Ivy Gardens, which is walking distance from the law school but not as close to Barracks Road. If you read back through the earlier posts on this thread, you'll see lots of comments on Ivy and Arlington Blvd. Most 1Ls live on Arlington or in Ivy, unless they have a family and need a house somewhere.

So far I'm enjoying the hell out of living here. It's a very friendly town with a great atmosphere. The traffic and parking sucks, though; live near the law school, so you can walk even if you own a car. Once you get past that, though... Charlottesville and the law school are both great, and I have no regrets about coming here!

[YCrevolution]

..

[Kohinoor]

I just got into UVA baby! I took a ride down to walk around and see it and fell in love. There are so many green areas to play sports and hang out. Seems like a smart jocks dream, which i sort of consider myself. That being said, how do people decide who plays on the section softball teams? I know, stupid question, but im just curious. Also, where is the best place to live as a 1L? Where do most 1L law students live there first year? I would like to be surrounded by my peers my first year and fairly close to the law school.

Last question, do you guys love it there? I got in when i came home pretty drunk on Saturday afternoon from the Michigan - Penn State game and so its just starting to hit me that i am actually going to UVA. Is this place the shit or what?

Other way around home fry. They choose the sections based on fit, then the section plays softball together. I'm not privy to the details of the dynamics behind the entirety of the section, but each person has an 'another'. In your section, there is one person who likes pretty much what you like or is very similar to you with regard to history and goals.

I'll always vote for Ivy Gardens as the best simply because the combination of convenience and quality cannot be beat. There are nicer places (Woodlands/Pantops/any of the dozens of student communities) and there are closer places (Arlington Court/Jeffersonian) but I personally feel that, being nice as hell and a 5 minute walk, Ivy blows the others out of the water for overall best. It is also where the first years mostly live and party. I plan to move there my second year.

Love it? Let's qualify this. I'm not a partier. Charlottesville is essentially a gigantic town that exists solely to cater to the 20k+ college students. Everything that an 18-24 year old could want from a large town is here (Note that I say large town and not city). Since you're a self-described 'smart jock' and spent this weekend partying, I expect that you could and would want to find a different party every Thursday to Saturday night. The sections regularly have play dates together that involve copious amounts of liquor and every weekend seems to involve people getting together to drink and cheer on football teams. There are \trivia nights at the local eateries that I believe also involve liquor. And since this is just a giant college town, you always have the recourse of hitting the town in a Virginia Law sweatshirt and preying on undergrads.

If you choose the path less traveled (which is traveled surprisingly frequently), the library is spacious, the building is quiet and open late, and the help staff is always on point. There is a coffee machine and enough nooks and crannies to not see another person for a very long time. If you so desire, you can easily find someone who loves studying as much as you do and before you know it you'll be emailing each other crim law hypos while pretending to your friends that you haven't done the reading in months. Everyone pretends to be carefree and such, but nobody got here by being a spaz. Even the crazy party people go home, buckle down, and do their work. Despite that and the economy, nobody appears to be conniving or trying to make others fail.

[jnorsky]

Thanks for the info, im going to UVA in a few weeks to catch the BC game and get to know the area a little more. Do most 1L's live in a single or do you guys have / had roommates?

[YCrevolution]

..

[napolnic]

Thanks for the info, im going to UVA in a few weeks to catch the BC game and get to know the area a little more. Do most 1L's live in a single or do you guys have / had roommates?

I believe most people in my section live with a roommate / are married, though I know of a couple that have singles in Ivy. There are also a number that live with non-1Ls or even non-law students (including myself) which I think is a really good idea.

[solotee]

Can any of you outline what a typical day looks like for you guys at UVA? Including how many hours of study/school etc.

[Kohinoor]

Can any of you outline what a typical day looks like for you guys at UVA? Including how many hours of study/school etc.

Totally depends from day to day... I can spend 12 hours working if I have a memo or none at all if I already completed the assigned reading and feel like relaxing.

[CE2JD]

Thanks for the info, im going to UVA in a few weeks to catch the BC game and get to know the area a little more. Do most 1L's live in a single or do you guys have / had roommates?

Why do you care about what other people are doing? Do you always base your preferences on what the majority is doing around you, or were you just curious about peoples' living arrangements?

[solotee]

How is the Gym? How early/late is it open? Is it free?

[Kohinoor]

How is the Gym? How early/late is it open? Is it free?

It's decent, open early, and free. There are actually several different facilities.

http://www.virginia.edu/ims/facilities/index.php
http://www.virginia.edu/ims/facilities/ ... hedule.php

[jnorsky]

Thanks for the info, im going to UVA in a few weeks to catch the BC game and get to know the area a little more. Do most 1L's live in a single or do you guys have / had roommates?

Why do you care about what other people are doing? Do you always base your preferences on what the majority is doing around you, or were you just curious about peoples' living arrangements?

Yes, you got me

[CE2JD]

Thanks for the info, im going to UVA in a few weeks to catch the BC game and get to know the area a little more. Do most 1L's live in a single or do you guys have / had roommates?

Why do you care about what other people are doing? Do you always base your preferences on what the majority is doing around you, or were you just curious about peoples' living arrangements?

Yes, you got me

::victory dance::

[theendoftheline]

I got $$ this year at UVA. So what dean T said was true.[/quote]


Did they offer you money when the accepted you?

[dailygrind]

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

[BarCliff]

Great thread, I got a lot of really useful stuff out of it.

I have a question for anyone who's willing to answer:

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

[YCrevolution]

..

[vanwinkle]

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.

You're a lot more free to wander between the law school and home and back if you live near campus. It depends on how much that's worth it to you. If you pack a lunch and prepare to spend a full day at the law school, that's fine, but for 1Ls they try to schedule a long break between morning and afternoon classes (3 hours or so) and you can head back home for that time if you want. Sometimes it's really good to get away from the law school.

On the other hand, the reverse is true for enjoying C-ville. I'm becoming increasingly tempted to look for a place to live downtown next year, because that way when I'm not at the law school I'm a quick walk from all kinds of stuff to do and see downtown. There's plenty of businesses near the law school (especially at Barracks Road Shopping Center) but most of them are chains. The "local" character of C-ville is mostly concentrated toward the downtown area.

[dailygrind]

Does anyone know anything about living in Eagles Landing? It seems relatively close to the law school, with a decent price and some nice amenities, but reviews I'm looking at online are mixed. Some complain of terrible management, others say it's been better since management's been changed, others say new management is still awful, and some of them have a flavor of undergrad entitlement. All of that makes it hard to get a good read on the situation.

[napolnic]

Does anyone know anything about living in Eagles Landing? It seems relatively close to the law school, with a decent price and some nice amenities, but reviews I'm looking at online are mixed. Some complain of terrible management, others say it's been better since management's been changed, others say new management is still awful, and some of them have a flavor of undergrad entitlement. All of that makes it hard to get a good read on the situation.

That would be my main concern. I know people who are living much farther from the school than that, so distance really isn't that much of an issue. As far as any other specifics, I'm in the dark (though traffic down Emmet can be horrendous at times).