UVA Class of 2013 Forum

[whattodo2008]

Okay, my mom wants to buy my laptop sometime pretty soon. Yay or nay on the UVa MBP bundle?

Only if you're ueber risk-averse, yay.

Almost sticker at UVA... I'm pretty much Matt Damon in Rounders.

I think the consensus was nay on the bundle unless it's a Mac.

I'm pissed that the 13-inch doesn't come with the I5 processor, but rather the Intel Core2 Duo.

[michstudent10]

Driving down to C'Ville this weekend with my SO to try & convince him to move down there with me this fall.
Any suggestions of things to do/places to check out while we're there? It's hard to be convincing when I've only been there once myself!

To be fair, the most convincing strategies don't require you to actually be here.

Hahaha I actually laughed out loud at that one. Those "tactics" aside... what could make a non-UVA student fall in love with the town? I was thinking restaurant suggestions, maybe the name/location of a nice national park (love the outdoors), you know, something along those lines.

[gladiator]

Driving down to C'Ville this weekend with my SO to try & convince him to move down there with me this fall.
Any suggestions of things to do/places to check out while we're there? It's hard to be convincing when I've only been there once myself!

UVA baseball is playing in the super regional Sat, Sun, and Mon if necessary against Oklahoma, winner goes to the College World Series, not sure if there are still tickets available.

As for restaurants, Maya, Continental Divide, and Michael's are good + all the expensive ones in the Downtown Mall which I generally find to be overrated and/or overpriced. For cheap food and bars, you can go pretty much anywhere on the Corner.

There's outdoorsy stuff to do but that's not really my area of Cville expertise.

[Kohinoor]

Driving down to C'Ville this weekend with my SO to try & convince him to move down there with me this fall.
Any suggestions of things to do/places to check out while we're there? It's hard to be convincing when I've only been there once myself!

To be fair, the most convincing strategies don't require you to actually be here.

Hahaha I actually laughed out loud at that one. Those "tactics" aside... what could make a non-UVA student fall in love with the town? I was thinking restaurant suggestions, maybe the name/location of a nice national park (love the outdoors), you know, something along those lines.

Downtown. I go there at least once a week now that I don't have class. Go after 5 so that the nice bars and stuff are open. Downtown at dusk = love. Blue Light Grille if you're fancy, South Street Brewery if you're not.

[vamedic03]

Driving down to C'Ville this weekend with my SO to try & convince him to move down there with me this fall.
Any suggestions of things to do/places to check out while we're there? It's hard to be convincing when I've only been there once myself!

To be fair, the most convincing strategies don't require you to actually be here.

Hahaha I actually laughed out loud at that one. Those "tactics" aside... what could make a non-UVA student fall in love with the town? I was thinking restaurant suggestions, maybe the name/location of a nice national park (love the outdoors), you know, something along those lines.

Downtown. I go there at least once a week now that I don't have class. Go after 5 so that the nice bars and stuff are open. Downtown at dusk = love. Blue Light Grille if you're fancy, South Street Brewery if you're not.

Continental Divide + Mas are the best two restaurants in Charlottesville . . . Shenandoah National Park is a must see if you don't mind paying; Blue Ridge Parkway is the just as beautiful free version (literally, when you get to the top of Afton, if you go South its free, if you go North you pay) . . . The lawn / Rotunda / Academical village is amazing (Monticello is a bit overrated) and if you want to go to one winery - Barboursville is the best winery in the region. [all this based on living in C'Ville for 6 out of the last 10 years]

[badwithpseudonyms]

Following up on the laptop discussion on page 133, I found a deal I think is worth sharing. I'm still opting for the 13" MBP, as I'm more concerned with portability/durability and battery life, but for a light gamer on a budget (is there such a thing?) this seems like a nice setup.

Dell EPP - Studio 15 , Core i7-720QM, 1GB ATI graphics, 4GB DDR3 , 500GB HD, $899 ($771 off list)
A review of a similarly spec'ed set up
And another of the Studio 17
Complaints seem to include heat and noise form the keyboard and fan.

Those with more knowledge of computers than me, please feel free to comment.

[michstudent10]

Driving down to C'Ville this weekend with my SO to try & convince him to move down there with me this fall.
Any suggestions of things to do/places to check out while we're there? It's hard to be convincing when I've only been there once myself!

To be fair, the most convincing strategies don't require you to actually be here.

Downtown. I go there at least once a week now that I don't have class. Go after 5 so that the nice bars and stuff are open. Downtown at dusk = love. Blue Light Grille if you're fancy, South Street Brewery if you're not.

Continental Divide + Mas are the best two restaurants in Charlottesville . . . Shenandoah National Park is a must see if you don't mind paying; Blue Ridge Parkway is the just as beautiful free version (literally, when you get to the top of Afton, if you go South its free, if you go North you pay) . . . The lawn / Rotunda / Academical village is amazing (Monticello is a bit overrated) and if you want to go to one winery - Barboursville is the best winery in the region. [all this based on living in C'Ville for 6 out of the last 10 years]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I'll let you know how it goes!! I'm pretty excited to check the town out myself, I didn't get to do much exploring when I was there last time.

[HJO]

I just got the e-mail explaining how to set up my UVA e-mail address, but I can't seem to find nor do I remember ever getting a student ID or computing ID. What e-mail were these sent in?

[YCrevolution]

..

[D Brooks]

I did part 1 of 3 for the FinAid entrance counseling. So loooooooong. Took me at least 45minutes, even though they said it'd only take 30min.

[slider]

I just got the e-mail explaining how to set up my UVA e-mail address, but I can't seem to find nor do I remember ever getting a student ID or computing ID. What e-mail were these sent in?

Subject: UVA Law - IDs for Applying for Financial Aid
From: Jdugas
Date: January 28 (to me)

HTH

[5ky]

I'm sure current UVA students already know this, but it might be helpful for the incoming 0Ls like me who are considering buying a Mac:

You can buy both Windows 7 and MS Office 2007 (ie the PC version) for 10 dollars each with your student ID. So for those of you who have/are buying a Mac and still want Windows capabilities, best wait until you get to campus to buy those things, because of the ridiculous discounts.

[michstudent10]

Best sushi place in Cville?

[D Brooks]

Nine weeks

[Kohinoor]

Nine weeks

You'll look back so fondly.

[Kohinoor]

Best sushi place in Cville?

Ten? Definitely the best sushi/sake place afaik.

[alirod12]

If this has been answered before, please point me in the right direction, but I'm trying to figure out what computer to buy. Can I get everything I would want (i.e. test taking software, note taking programs) on a Mac, or will it make my life easier to buy a PC?

[vanwinkle]

If this has been answered before, please point me in the right direction, but I'm trying to figure out what computer to buy. Can I get everything I would want (i.e. test taking software, note taking programs) on a Mac, or will it make my life easier to buy a PC?

Well, first, "test taking software" for UVA is Microsoft Word. You just write your exam answer in Word and upload a .doc file to the law school website when you're done. It's really that simple. Works the same on both PC and Mac, no special stuff required.

For note taking programs, there are several that are available for Mac. Microsoft OneNote isn't, but there are other programs (the Circus Ponies note-taking one seems popular). I just use Word itself to take notes with.

[alirod12]

Thanks Van. So good to know that I can stay with a mac. Thinking about a MBAir. Would I miss a cd-rom drive terribly?

[vanwinkle]

Thanks Van. So good to know that I can stay with a mac. Thinking about a MBAir. Would I miss a cd-rom drive terribly?

The only time I've ever used the CD/DVD drive on my MBP has been to install Photoshop. Also, if you end up actually needing it, you can buy an external DVD drive to go with it, which just connects to the USB port.

I kind of wish at this point that I had gotten the Air.

[alirod12]

Has anyone on here researched dog parks in the area? Anyone interested in doggy playdates?

[Vanessa583]

My dog would likely be down for playdates, though she can be a bit shy at first. Don't know about dog parks yet, though.

[badwithpseudonyms]

Thanks Van. So good to know that I can stay with a mac. Thinking about a MBAir. Would I miss a cd-rom drive terribly?

The only time I've ever used the CD/DVD drive on my MBP has been to install Photoshop. Also, if you end up actually needing it, you can buy an external DVD drive to go with it, which just connects to the USB port.

I kind of wish at this point that I had gotten the Air.

Is there any other format (read: a download) of Office or Windows 7 available from the bookstore?

[YCrevolution]

..

[badwithpseudonyms]

No, but you can download office online (as a trial), and then enter the key for the software CD you get from the bookstore.

Good idea. Workaround getting Office for $10 and not having to buy an optical drive (for those without one - i.e. MBAir)

Still planning on the MBP, but all the talk about the MBAir had me reconsidering for a minute.