UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[005618502]

So here is a little different topic. I have seen people mention spouses not finding work etc. Well my Fiance will be working (intern) at Bergdorf in NYC next semester then likely working in NYC after. Do any of you have stories of long distance relationships from UVA to NYC. I feel it shouldnt be terrible as you can take a train to each other on the weekends. I am not from the east coast so I could be very wrong. Any insight onto this commute by train would help also. (Time, $$, etc.)

Just looked it up and this just does not seem like a good idea.

Unless I grossly overlooked something, a round-trip on AmTrack is ~$250-$300 and 6+ hours each way from Charlottesville to Penn Station in NYC. If you two see each other every weekend, that will be ~$15k in travel expenses. Maybe they have package deals?

Wow I should have looked. I didnt imagine train tickets being as much as airline tickets.

There are not many other options with there being close to no jobs in charlottesville for someone looking into fashion merchandising

[plenipotentiary]

So here is a little different topic. I have seen people mention spouses not finding work etc. Well my Fiance will be working (intern) at Bergdorf in NYC next semester then likely working in NYC after. Do any of you have stories of long distance relationships from UVA to NYC. I feel it shouldnt be terrible as you can take a train to each other on the weekends. I am not from the east coast so I could be very wrong. Any insight onto this commute by train would help also. (Time, $$, etc.)

Just looked it up and this just does not seem like a good idea.

Unless I grossly overlooked something, a round-trip on AmTrack is ~$250-$300 and 6+ hours each way from Charlottesville to Penn Station in NYC. If you two see each other every weekend, that will be ~$15k in travel expenses. Maybe they have package deals?

Wow I should have looked. I didnt imagine train tickets being as much as airline tickets.

There are not many other options with there being close to no jobs in charlottesville for someone looking into fashion merchandising

Earlier in the semester, ticket prices were more like $140.

[5ky]

Do you pick your classes your 1L year or are your classes and professors chosen for you?

In the fall, all of your classes (crim, civpro, contracts, torts, LRW) are assigned to you. In the spring, 3 of the 5 are assigned (conlaw, property, LRW), while you get to choose 2 electives on your own.

THe further in advance you buy a train ticket, the cheaper is it. If you purchased a roundtrip ticket right now, for March, it would be about 80 dollars.

[Cavalier]

...

[sea15]

So I was recently accepted to UVA with a significant scholarship, which makes it a very likely choice for me. After some research, I am left with two concerns.

1- I have a husband. There don't seem to be a lot of job options (except medical) around Charlottesville. Has anyone else had a spouse have trouble finding a substantive job?!

This is a difficulty with living in Charlottesville. My wife only recently found a decent job. Spouses of other people in my section have had a hard time, too. I think there are one or two who still haven't found anything. It's doable, but it's probably something you should seriously consider before making your decision.

2- I do not party. Never have. How accurate is UVA's reputation as being a party school? Am I going to feel left out because that's just not my thing?

So far, it seem to me that the party school reputation is fairly well-deserved. However, I know a decent number of people who pretty much never go out, and they still fit in fine. I'd say you would be doing yourself a disservice if you never show up to social events, but you're not going to be some sort of pariah.

Thanks for responding. The job thing is a bit of a problem. I don't know how that will work. I don't want my husband to have to work at a horrible job for three years. That would not be fun for anyone. Looks like Richmond is the closest for more jobs, and that's an hour away!

I am not opposed to the occasional party or social event, just not the type to get trashed every weekend.

[005618502]

Do you pick your classes your 1L year or are your classes and professors chosen for you?

In the fall, all of your classes (crim, civpro, contracts, torts, LRW) are assigned to you. In the spring, 3 of the 5 are assigned (conlaw, property, LRW), while you get to choose 2 electives on your own.

THe further in advance you buy a train ticket, the cheaper is it. If you purchased a roundtrip ticket right now, for March, it would be about 80 dollars.

Thank you for all the info!

[albanach]

Thanks for responding. The job thing is a bit of a problem. I don't know how that will work. I don't want my husband to have to work at a horrible job for three years. That would not be fun for anyone. Looks like Richmond is the closest for more jobs, and that's an hour away!

I am not opposed to the occasional party or social event, just not the type to get trashed every weekend.

I don't think you mention what your husband does. There are, however, several other large employers.

The University's academic side is probably the largest employer, and employs a very wide range of people. In finance, Charlottesville is home to the CFA. LexisNexis employ about 300 in Charlottesville. Northrop Grumman's Sperry Marine is also based in Charlottesville. The Army's National Ground Intelligence Center is situated just north of the city. GE Intelligent Platforms and Crutchfield are also headquartered locally.

Not sure if any of those help, but they are places to look.

[sundance95]

So here is a little different topic. I have seen people mention spouses not finding work etc. Well my Fiance will be working (intern) at Bergdorf in NYC next semester then likely working in NYC after. Do any of you have stories of long distance relationships from UVA to NYC. I feel it shouldnt be terrible as you can take a train to each other on the weekends. I am not from the east coast so I could be very wrong. Any insight onto this commute by train would help also. (Time, $$, etc.)

Just looked it up and this just does not seem like a good idea.

Unless I grossly overlooked something, a round-trip on AmTrack is ~$250-$300 and 6+ hours each way from Charlottesville to Penn Station in NYC. If you two see each other every weekend, that will be ~$15k in travel expenses. Maybe they have package deals?

For regular commmuters/travelers, the amtrak credit caprd is the credited response. The initial points are teh win.

[battle_tested]

So I was recently accepted to UVA with a significant scholarship, which makes it a very likely choice for me. After some research, I am left with two concerns.

1- I have a husband. There don't seem to be a lot of job options (except medical) around Charlottesville. Has anyone else had a spouse have trouble finding a substantive job?!

This is a difficulty with living in Charlottesville. My wife only recently found a decent job. Spouses of other people in my section have had a hard time, too. I think there are one or two who still haven't found anything. It's doable, but it's probably something you should seriously consider before making your decision.

2- I do not party. Never have. How accurate is UVA's reputation as being a party school? Am I going to feel left out because that's just not my thing?

So far, it seem to me that the party school reputation is fairly well-deserved. However, I know a decent number of people who pretty much never go out, and they still fit in fine. I'd say you would be doing yourself a disservice if you never show up to social events, but you're not going to be some sort of pariah.

Thanks for responding. The job thing is a bit of a problem. I don't know how that will work. I don't want my husband to have to work at a horrible job for three years. That would not be fun for anyone. Looks like Richmond is the closest for more jobs, and that's an hour away!

I am not opposed to the occasional party or social event, just not the type to get trashed every weekend.

I actually think UVA's rep as a "party" school is highly overrated. It may be well deserved in relation to other law schools, but if you're comparing it to colleges in general it's fairly tame. It's well played for the first 3 weeks and then after that you go out if you want; if not, no one will care. Seriously. About 85% of the girls in my section are in relationships and have been to maybe 3-4 social events this whole semester (excluding things like PILA/Dandelion etc.). If you went to a state school (like me) it will seem like even more of an exaggeration.

[battle_tested]

The stuff on course selection and avoiding classes with a lot of law review students is getting absurd. First of all you can't even predict what classes they will take, outside of three (fed courts, conflict of laws with Collins, and legislation with Nelson). It varies by semester. Second, and more importantly, other than the four or five people who have a legit shot at clerking for the Court, most people on law review don't work nearly as hard as 1Ls. I'd much rather be in a class full of law review students than a class full of 1Ls. If you're planning electives with an eye towards GPA, you'll be better off if you avoid the classes that all of your fellow 1Ls are taking, rather than the classes that you speculate the law review students might take.

Makes me wish I wouldn't have ranked evidence so high.

Then again, that was a huge scheduling fail to have two evidence classes, but one of which was accessible to only one section because of time conflicts.

[sundance95]

Then again, that was a huge scheduling fail to have two evidence classes, but one of which was accessible to only one section because of time conflicts.

TITMFCR

[johansantana21]

Whatever happened to that Jonathan kid who said that some racist cops picked on him but later admitted he made the entire story up?

[albanach]

Whatever happened to that Jonathan kid who said that some racist cops picked on him but later admitted he made the entire story up?

I think that it wasn't pursued much (at least by UVA) because they did not want to dissuade anyone from making a genuine allegation.

[Gecko of Doom]

So... lottery results are in. I ended up in Federal Income Tax with Yale, which was pretty far toward the bottom of my list. Not super excited about it. Probably shouldn't have put it on the list in the first place, but I was running out of classes that sounded useful.

Question is, from a grades perspective, how bad is it for someone with no particular affinity for numbers? I mean, I got A's in algebra and accounting in undergrad, but they weren't exactly my things. Am I going to get my ass kicked on the curve by a bunch of Econ majors? I want to take the class eventually, but would it be a better idea to try to switch it out during the add/drop period and wait until 2L when (hopefully) grades won't be as big of a deal?

[gladiator]

Assorted responses to some of the questions above...

1. Train tickets are not $250-300 round trip unless you book at the last second. The base price is $150 or less and you can get a Student Advantage card that gives you 15% off every trip. That being said, I think it'd be rough to commute to NY every weekend, especially as a 1L that needs to focus on work, but you could certainly make some trips.

2. I also think the gunner class phenomenon is overrated. However, you only have 2 1L electives and your 1L GPA is very important so my advice is to look for classes that are large and have a lot of 2Ls/3Ls and are topics you are actually somewhat interested in. If you're interested in Tax, take Tax. If you're not, don't waste your precious 1L electives on a subject that you're not going to take the upper level classes in later. If you didn't get the classes you wanted in the lottery, keep in mind that the waitlists are your friend and almost every decent sized class will run through the waitlist so if you're willing to stick with it, you'll likely get in eventually during add/drop.

3. UVA is a party school relative to other law schools but that doesn't mean 100% of people go out every weekend; it's not even close. The people who are in the NGSL/party bubble that get all the attention may make it feel like that's the entire school but that's not the case. Nobody is going to ostracize you as long as you're a pleasant person that makes an effort to be friendly. Law school is a lot like high school but the interpersonal cruelty of high school doesn't translate to law school. If you like being social but don't enjoy parties, I'd recommend joining groups at the school so you have a reason to interact with people.

[rahul2092]

Hey I from Hyderabad, India. I was wondering approx what % of the class are international students? Anyone from India?
What is the student body like? Young? Old? Will someone who just came from undergrad do alright?
Do most 1L's live on campus or off? What's the social scene like?


Thanks!

[5ky]

So... lottery results are in. I ended up in Federal Income Tax with Yale, which was pretty far toward the bottom of my list. Not super excited about it. Probably shouldn't have put it on the list in the first place, but I was running out of classes that sounded useful.

Question is, from a grades perspective, how bad is it for someone with no particular affinity for numbers? I mean, I got A's in algebra and accounting in undergrad, but they weren't exactly my things. Am I going to get my ass kicked on the curve by a bunch of Econ majors? I want to take the class eventually, but would it be a better idea to try to switch it out during the add/drop period and wait until 2L when (hopefully) grades won't be as big of a deal?

1. You'll be able to add/drop next week, and then at the beginning of the semester. I think I've ended up taking like 2 out of the 6 courses I initially got via lottery.

2. Tax is more a study of the tax code, it's not really a numbers class at all. Take a gander at some of the outlines on the SBA website.

[005618502]

What are housing prices like?

Lets say I have a car and plan on bringing it. Is it much cheaper to get a 2 or 3 bedroom than a 1?

I dont really know anyone but would like to save some money where I can or live in a nicer place for the money. Are there any places that are only like a 5-10 min drive that are either much cheaper or much nicer?

[albanach]

What are housing prices like?

Lets say I have a car and plan on bringing it. Is it much cheaper to get a 2 or 3 bedroom than a 1?

I dont really know anyone but would like to save some money where I can or live in a nicer place for the money. Are there any places that are only like a 5-10 min drive that are either much cheaper or much nicer?

A lot of this depends on where you're coming from. If you arrive in Charlottesville from a big city, you'll likely find the traffic here quite easy. If you arrive from somewhere more rural, traffic can be frustrating at rush hour.

If you're not a non-trad/married, I would stick to Arlington/Ivy for your first year. It's where things are happening, you can share drivers when going out and you're really close to school. That will give you plenty of time to find somewhere you want to live for 2L and 3L years.

[005618502]

What are housing prices like?

Lets say I have a car and plan on bringing it. Is it much cheaper to get a 2 or 3 bedroom than a 1?

I dont really know anyone but would like to save some money where I can or live in a nicer place for the money. Are there any places that are only like a 5-10 min drive that are either much cheaper or much nicer?

A lot of this depends on where you're coming from. If you arrive in Charlottesville from a big city, you'll likely find the traffic here quite easy. If you arrive from somewhere more rural, traffic can be frustrating at rush hour.

If you're not a non-trad/married, I would stick to Arlington/Ivy for your first year. It's where things are happening, you can share drivers when going out and you're really close to school. That will give you plenty of time to find somewhere you want to live for 2L and 3L years.

I lived in a "near campus" apartment in UG and couldnt concentrate with all the distractions. Is it super loud/happening even on weeknights? Im cool with that but just wonder about concentration haha

[5ky]

What are housing prices like?

Lets say I have a car and plan on bringing it. Is it much cheaper to get a 2 or 3 bedroom than a 1?

I dont really know anyone but would like to save some money where I can or live in a nicer place for the money. Are there any places that are only like a 5-10 min drive that are either much cheaper or much nicer?

A lot of this depends on where you're coming from. If you arrive in Charlottesville from a big city, you'll likely find the traffic here quite easy. If you arrive from somewhere more rural, traffic can be frustrating at rush hour.

If you're not a non-trad/married, I would stick to Arlington/Ivy for your first year. It's where things are happening, you can share drivers when going out and you're really close to school. That will give you plenty of time to find somewhere you want to live for 2L and 3L years.

I lived in a "near campus" apartment in UG and couldnt concentrate with all the distractions. Is it super loud/happening even on weeknights? Im cool with that but just wonder about concentration haha

No, I don't think so. There just aren't enough law students for there to be an actual noticeable disruption anywhere, really.

[battle_tested]

What are housing prices like?

Lets say I have a car and plan on bringing it. Is it much cheaper to get a 2 or 3 bedroom than a 1?

I dont really know anyone but would like to save some money where I can or live in a nicer place for the money. Are there any places that are only like a 5-10 min drive that are either much cheaper or much nicer?

A lot of this depends on where you're coming from. If you arrive in Charlottesville from a big city, you'll likely find the traffic here quite easy. If you arrive from somewhere more rural, traffic can be frustrating at rush hour.

If you're not a non-trad/married, I would stick to Arlington/Ivy for your first year. It's where things are happening, you can share drivers when going out and you're really close to school. That will give you plenty of time to find somewhere you want to live for 2L and 3L years.

I lived in a "near campus" apartment in UG and couldnt concentrate with all the distractions. Is it super loud/happening even on weeknights? Im cool with that but just wonder about concentration haha

In that case, your best options would be 1)Jeffersonian (have to apply Jan 1 at 12:01 to get it though) or 2) any of the apartment complexes across from the Jeffersonian (although the one on the corner of Arlington and Emmet can get a little rowdy)
Your best option after that would be Ivy but I'm not that big into Ivy for 3 reasons: it costs more than Jeffersonian, the apartments are smaller and not as nice, and its an extension of the law school (which, personally I go home because I want to get away from the school); also, the road to Ivy is a major pain in the ass IMO. You have to take a roundabout to get there from the law school (not that you would be driving much from the law school to Ivy, just sayin)

[gladiator]

What are housing prices like?

Lets say I have a car and plan on bringing it. Is it much cheaper to get a 2 or 3 bedroom than a 1?

I dont really know anyone but would like to save some money where I can or live in a nicer place for the money. Are there any places that are only like a 5-10 min drive that are either much cheaper or much nicer?

A lot of this depends on where you're coming from. If you arrive in Charlottesville from a big city, you'll likely find the traffic here quite easy. If you arrive from somewhere more rural, traffic can be frustrating at rush hour.

If you're not a non-trad/married, I would stick to Arlington/Ivy for your first year. It's where things are happening, you can share drivers when going out and you're really close to school. That will give you plenty of time to find somewhere you want to live for 2L and 3L years.

I lived in a "near campus" apartment in UG and couldnt concentrate with all the distractions. Is it super loud/happening even on weeknights? Im cool with that but just wonder about concentration haha

In that case, your best options would be 1)Jeffersonian (have to apply Jan 1 at 12:01 to get it though) or 2) any of the apartment complexes across from the Jeffersonian (although the one on the corner of Arlington and Emmet can get a little rowdy)
Your best option after that would be Ivy but I'm not that big into Ivy for 3 reasons: it costs more than Jeffersonian, the apartments are smaller and not as nice, and its an extension of the law school (which, personally I go home because I want to get away from the school); also, the road to Ivy is a major pain in the ass IMO. You have to take a roundabout to get there from the law school (not that you would be driving much from the law school to Ivy, just sayin)

The corner of Arlington and Emmet is a Taco Bell and a Wells Fargo...

[005618502]

What are housing prices like?

Lets say I have a car and plan on bringing it. Is it much cheaper to get a 2 or 3 bedroom than a 1?

I dont really know anyone but would like to save some money where I can or live in a nicer place for the money. Are there any places that are only like a 5-10 min drive that are either much cheaper or much nicer?

A lot of this depends on where you're coming from. If you arrive in Charlottesville from a big city, you'll likely find the traffic here quite easy. If you arrive from somewhere more rural, traffic can be frustrating at rush hour.

If you're not a non-trad/married, I would stick to Arlington/Ivy for your first year. It's where things are happening, you can share drivers when going out and you're really close to school. That will give you plenty of time to find somewhere you want to live for 2L and 3L years.

I lived in a "near campus" apartment in UG and couldnt concentrate with all the distractions. Is it super loud/happening even on weeknights? Im cool with that but just wonder about concentration haha

In that case, your best options would be 1)Jeffersonian (have to apply Jan 1 at 12:01 to get it though) or 2) any of the apartment complexes across from the Jeffersonian (although the one on the corner of Arlington and Emmet can get a little rowdy)
Your best option after that would be Ivy but I'm not that big into Ivy for 3 reasons: it costs more than Jeffersonian, the apartments are smaller and not as nice, and its an extension of the law school (which, personally I go home because I want to get away from the school); also, the road to Ivy is a major pain in the ass IMO. You have to take a roundabout to get there from the law school (not that you would be driving much from the law school to Ivy, just sayin)

Are the Jeffersonian relatively nice? They look tiny. I have a 1 bedroom right now thats 850 sq. feet, thats larger than their 2 bedroom apartments. Anyone have any exp. living in one of the 2 bedrooms with a roomate?

[joemoviebuff]

Are the Jeffersonian relatively nice? They look tiny. I have a 1 bedroom right now thats 850 sq. feet, thats larger than their 2 bedroom apartments. Anyone have any exp. living in one of the 2 bedrooms with a roomate?

I'm doing it right now and like it a lot. Of course I haven't lived in a one bedroom that's bigger than this apartment. I highly recommend the Jeffersonian though.