UVA Class of 2017 Forum

[UVALaw77]

Probably a long shot, but if any of you are looking to move to C'Ville early I am looking for somebody to sublease my apartment in Ivy Gardens. I need to find somebody my roommate approves. My roommate is a great guy and there are no issues with the apartment. The lease runs through mid-late July so you would have a chance to see if Ivy is for you and also still have time to move to Pavilion or somewhere else on Arlington if you decide against it. Message me with any questions if you are interested.

[RCO2012]

I went down and toured a bunch of complexes yesterday all around the school (didn't go to ivy because I have a pet). If you have questions about the complexes near the school I can give you as much info as they gave me, opinions, etc. The housing situation is kind of difficult, because of all the trade offs w/r/t distance..still have some more thinking to do. Might make another trip down in a couple weeks if anyone wants specific pictures or videos of anything!

[steelythews]

Did you check out the Arlington Park Townhomes?

[RCO2012]

I focused on one bedrooms, but looking at them now maybe I'll take a tour of one next weekend. Want me to take pictures for you?

[steelythews]

That would be amazing! Have been looking for two bedrooms that'll allow my dog and those townhomes offer everything I want, seem to be in the best location and the price isn't bad.

[RCO2012]

Yeah I saw the outside yesterday and it's very nice. Maybe a 4 minute walk from the school at most. They have one available now, but idk what the availability is like closer to the school year. I will try to schedule a tour for next week and take some more pictures and videos for you.

[Gooner91]

Ok I need some advice on something.

Does anyone have any idea how valuable attending accepted student weekend is? I am thinking most of the vital info is at orientation and ASW is just kind of for marketing? The problem is it sort of conflicts with my work schedule and I feel if I go then I will not have enough time to look at different areas for housing compared if I went earlier in the month.
Any thoughts? Trying to weigh the pros and cons.

[North]

Nah, it's not vital at all. It's mostly marketing. You'll miss out on a cool notebook, a t-shirt, and one of those drawstring backpacks, though. You do get to meet some interesting people, as well, but that'll mostly consist of the same "so where did you go to undergrad???" convo that you'll have 1,000,000 other times the first few weeks of 1L.

Don't worry about it if you have to miss it, but also don't miss it if you don't have to.

[RCO2012]

Nah, it's not vital at all. It's mostly marketing. You'll miss out on a cool notebook, a t-shirt, and one of those drawstring backpacks, though. You do get to meet some interesting people, as well, but that'll mostly consist of the same "so where did you go to undergrad???" convo that you'll have 1,000,000 other times the first few weeks of 1L.

Don't worry about it if you have to miss it, but also don't miss it if you don't have to.

I'm excited for ASW. Are any of the current 1L's hanging around there at that time?

[RCO2012]

It's quiet. I wonder if there will be a lot more movement after the first of the year this cycle...

[somuchtho]

Hey guys, hoping for some advice: I have a friend who will be going into his 2nd year of a PHd program offering me a room in his apt which is about 1.5 miles from the law school for $600ish a month including utilities. Ideally I wanted to be within walking distance of the school but I will have a car. Is this too good of a deal to pass up and how big of a difference does it make not rooming with a fellow 1L? Thanks in advance.

[RCO2012]

Hey guys, hoping for some advice: I have a friend who will be going into his 2nd year of a PHd program offering me a room in his apt which is about 1.5 miles from the law school for $600ish a month including utilities. Ideally I wanted to be within walking distance of the school but I will have a car. Is this too good of a deal to pass up and how big of a difference does it make not rooming with a fellow 1L? Thanks in advance.

I don't think your issue will be not rooming with a 1L, I think it will be rooming with someone in the midst of their Ph.D. Rooming with LS students is okay, as long as you can handle the pressure around finals time of everyone freaking out. LS Conf. suggests rooming with a med student (since they're never home anyway). Basically, you want to be able to escape somewhere away from the anxiety during finals time, and not have a roommate with an inconvenient schedule. That's just my two cents. Also, you can probably find something closer to the school for around the same price with most utilities included. HTH.

[Br3v]

Nah, it's not vital at all. It's mostly marketing. You'll miss out on a cool notebook, a t-shirt, and one of those drawstring backpacks, though. You do get to meet some interesting people, as well, but that'll mostly consist of the same "so where did you go to undergrad???" convo that you'll have 1,000,000 other times the first few weeks of 1L.

Don't worry about it if you have to miss it, but also don't miss it if you don't have to.

I second this. It is a "fun" thing so go to it if you can/can afford. But besides a few familiar faces that I say "hey" to in the halls, I didn't like make any solid connections or something that weekend. Most of your social life 1L will consist of your own small §

[SicSemperTyrannis]

Nah, it's not vital at all. It's mostly marketing. You'll miss out on a cool notebook, a t-shirt, and one of those drawstring backpacks, though. You do get to meet some interesting people, as well, but that'll mostly consist of the same "so where did you go to undergrad???" convo that you'll have 1,000,000 other times the first few weeks of 1L.

Don't worry about it if you have to miss it, but also don't miss it if you don't have to.

I second this. It is a "fun" thing so go to it if you can/can afford. But besides a few familiar faces that I say "hey" to in the halls, I didn't like make any solid connections or something that weekend. Most of your social life 1L will consist of your own small §

On that point, could you describe from your viewpoint how the social life is? From what I've heard it's definitely heavily section focused (for example, with the softball teams) but am wondering what kind of other things go on as well. I've heard that there are regular formals, mixers, and other kind of events too? What happens with those?

Also, it seems like with 350 people per class UVA is on the line between a very large class size and a small class size - do you feel like you've been able to get to know a large proportion of your 1L classmates? How about 2L's and 3L's?

Lastly, is there any separation by region going on? I feel like UVA is one of the few schools which truly brings in a 'national' crowd in significant numbers and am wondering about the dynamics of that.

Just realized that was a lot of questions but I'd appreciate any insights. I was accepted ED just recently and am incredibly excited to be attending next Fall.

[RCO2012]

Nah, it's not vital at all. It's mostly marketing. You'll miss out on a cool notebook, a t-shirt, and one of those drawstring backpacks, though. You do get to meet some interesting people, as well, but that'll mostly consist of the same "so where did you go to undergrad???" convo that you'll have 1,000,000 other times the first few weeks of 1L.

Don't worry about it if you have to miss it, but also don't miss it if you don't have to.

I second this. It is a "fun" thing so go to it if you can/can afford. But besides a few familiar faces that I say "hey" to in the halls, I didn't like make any solid connections or something that weekend. Most of your social life 1L will consist of your own small §

On that point, could you describe from your viewpoint how the social life is? From what I've heard it's definitely heavily section focused (for example, with the softball teams) but am wondering what kind of other things go on as well. I've heard that there are regular formals, mixers, and other kind of events too? What happens with those?

Also, it seems like with 350 people per class UVA is on the line between a very large class size and a small class size - do you feel like you've been able to get to know a large proportion of your 1L classmates? How about 2L's and 3L's?

Lastly, is there any separation by region going on? I feel like UVA is one of the few schools which truly brings in a 'national' crowd in significant numbers and am wondering about the dynamics of that.

Just realized that was a lot of questions but I'd appreciate any insights. I was accepted ED just recently and am incredibly excited to be attending next Fall.

Hey!!! Just wanted to say welcome, and I look forward to seeing you on grounds next year. Br3v will definitely be able to answer your questions, but I know they are in the midst of finals, so it may take a bit. Welcome again, and congrats!!

[SicSemperTyrannis]

Nah, it's not vital at all. It's mostly marketing. You'll miss out on a cool notebook, a t-shirt, and one of those drawstring backpacks, though. You do get to meet some interesting people, as well, but that'll mostly consist of the same "so where did you go to undergrad???" convo that you'll have 1,000,000 other times the first few weeks of 1L.

Don't worry about it if you have to miss it, but also don't miss it if you don't have to.

I second this. It is a "fun" thing so go to it if you can/can afford. But besides a few familiar faces that I say "hey" to in the halls, I didn't like make any solid connections or something that weekend. Most of your social life 1L will consist of your own small §

On that point, could you describe from your viewpoint how the social life is? From what I've heard it's definitely heavily section focused (for example, with the softball teams) but am wondering what kind of other things go on as well. I've heard that there are regular formals, mixers, and other kind of events too? What happens with those?

Also, it seems like with 350 people per class UVA is on the line between a very large class size and a small class size - do you feel like you've been able to get to know a large proportion of your 1L classmates? How about 2L's and 3L's?

Lastly, is there any separation by region going on? I feel like UVA is one of the few schools which truly brings in a 'national' crowd in significant numbers and am wondering about the dynamics of that.

Just realized that was a lot of questions but I'd appreciate any insights. I was accepted ED just recently and am incredibly excited to be attending next Fall.

Hey!!! Just wanted to say welcome, and I look forward to seeing you on grounds next year. Br3v will definitely be able to answer your questions, but I know they are in the midst of finals, so it may take a bit. Welcome again, and congrats!!

Thank you, congrats to you as well and greatly looking forward to it!

[First Offense]

RCO, I'm looking for housing. But I thought you already live close/ know the area well?

I live close enough to travel down within an hour to help people who can't. I'm kind of at the mid-point between DC and C-Ville, so not very far away at all. I will be moving though to be closer to the school, just need to sell my house before moving down there, so probably looking at July-ish. I need a sounding board for ideas of types of living and distance from the school, things like that. Of course, there's a huge crowd looking at Jeffersonian, Pavilion, etc., but I think I'm considering going a little further out like a mile or two away and biking to avoid having a huge crowd of stressed out ls students to deal with come exam time. I figure a mile or two away is less than a 10 minute bike ride, and probably less than 5 if I drive for social activities, right? PM me with what you're thinking of for housing, maybe we can brainstorm.

Biking around the law school is suicide. Traffic is awful, it's hills everywhere, and people in Cville can't fucking drive. Do not plan on biking.

Edit: For the record, I came from a large-ish city with pretty bad traffic, and somehow it's actually worse here in Charlottesville. I cannot explain it. It defies logic, but this place has the worst freaking traffic. If you're planning on living around the Corner area, though, you'll be able to catch the bus no problem, and I guess during non-rush hours biking will be possible.

If you're going to live down 29 though, don't even think of biking. I don't even like going down that road in a car, much less on a bike.

[Br3v]

Nah, it's not vital at all. It's mostly marketing. You'll miss out on a cool notebook, a t-shirt, and one of those drawstring backpacks, though. You do get to meet some interesting people, as well, but that'll mostly consist of the same "so where did you go to undergrad???" convo that you'll have 1,000,000 other times the first few weeks of 1L.

Don't worry about it if you have to miss it, but also don't miss it if you don't have to.

I second this. It is a "fun" thing so go to it if you can/can afford. But besides a few familiar faces that I say "hey" to in the halls, I didn't like make any solid connections or something that weekend. Most of your social life 1L will consist of your own small §

On that point, could you describe from your viewpoint how the social life is? From what I've heard it's definitely heavily section focused (for example, with the softball teams) but am wondering what kind of other things go on as well. I've heard that there are regular formals, mixers, and other kind of events too? What happens with those?

Also, it seems like with 350 people per class UVA is on the line between a very large class size and a small class size - do you feel like you've been able to get to know a large proportion of your 1L classmates? How about 2L's and 3L's?

Lastly, is there any separation by region going on? I feel like UVA is one of the few schools which truly brings in a 'national' crowd in significant numbers and am wondering about the dynamics of that.

Just realized that was a lot of questions but I'd appreciate any insights. I was accepted ED just recently and am incredibly excited to be attending next Fall.

I think the class size is only like 298? I could be wrong.

Your social life is pretty much just your section and on random weekends when you get paired up with other sections. TO be honest though, and I dont want this to be too much of a let down, but its not like you are goint to have a lot of free time anyways.

Yeah plenty of people have fun and its not non-stop studying, but there isn't exactly a lot of time to socialize outside of your section anyways.

[North]

Yeah, UVA Law as a party school is kind of a flame. Most people, IME, are pretty srs business outside of chilling out alone with Netflix, Bar Reviews for the first half of the semester, and section stuff (e.g., softball, mixers), and all that can be chalked up to, you know, just being balanced. Can't speak about 2L/3L though.

[RCO2012]

RCO, I'm looking for housing. But I thought you already live close/ know the area well?

I live close enough to travel down within an hour to help people who can't. I'm kind of at the mid-point between DC and C-Ville, so not very far away at all. I will be moving though to be closer to the school, just need to sell my house before moving down there, so probably looking at July-ish. I need a sounding board for ideas of types of living and distance from the school, things like that. Of course, there's a huge crowd looking at Jeffersonian, Pavilion, etc., but I think I'm considering going a little further out like a mile or two away and biking to avoid having a huge crowd of stressed out ls students to deal with come exam time. I figure a mile or two away is less than a 10 minute bike ride, and probably less than 5 if I drive for social activities, right? PM me with what you're thinking of for housing, maybe we can brainstorm.

Biking around the law school is suicide. Traffic is awful, it's hills everywhere, and people in Cville can't fucking drive. Do not plan on biking.

Edit: For the record, I came from a large-ish city with pretty bad traffic, and somehow it's actually worse here in Charlottesville. I cannot explain it. It defies logic, but this place has the worst freaking traffic. If you're planning on living around the Corner area, though, you'll be able to catch the bus no problem, and I guess during non-rush hours biking will be possible.

If you're going to live down 29 though, don't even think of biking. I don't even like going down that road in a car, much less on a bike.

LOL when I was down there last, I decided to try to figure out a bike route from a couple of apartments, and ended up on the trail behind the law school. Became lost pretty quickly, ended up behind the JAG school, saw a deer, found a softball, and quickly realized that the second it rained/snowed the route would be impossible. What about parking at the law school though? Is it advisable to just try to find somewhere I can bus/walk from? I was also considering a moped, but I don't think I saw many motorcycle parking spots near north grounds.

[RCO2012]

Yeah, UVA Law as a party school is kind of a flame. Most people, IME, are pretty srs business outside of chilling out alone with Netflix, Bar Reviews for the first half of the semester, and section stuff (e.g., softball, mixers), and all that can be chalked up to, you know, just being balanced. Can't speak about 2L/3L though.

I'm glad a current student finally posted this. I've talked to several 0Ls who are making arrangements centered around ensuring they will have proper access to the "party scene," but I just can't imagine that if you are going to do above average that you would have much time for the "party scene." To each their own though.

[First Offense]

RCO, I'm looking for housing. But I thought you already live close/ know the area well?

I live close enough to travel down within an hour to help people who can't. I'm kind of at the mid-point between DC and C-Ville, so not very far away at all. I will be moving though to be closer to the school, just need to sell my house before moving down there, so probably looking at July-ish. I need a sounding board for ideas of types of living and distance from the school, things like that. Of course, there's a huge crowd looking at Jeffersonian, Pavilion, etc., but I think I'm considering going a little further out like a mile or two away and biking to avoid having a huge crowd of stressed out ls students to deal with come exam time. I figure a mile or two away is less than a 10 minute bike ride, and probably less than 5 if I drive for social activities, right? PM me with what you're thinking of for housing, maybe we can brainstorm.

Biking around the law school is suicide. Traffic is awful, it's hills everywhere, and people in Cville can't fucking drive. Do not plan on biking.

Edit: For the record, I came from a large-ish city with pretty bad traffic, and somehow it's actually worse here in Charlottesville. I cannot explain it. It defies logic, but this place has the worst freaking traffic. If you're planning on living around the Corner area, though, you'll be able to catch the bus no problem, and I guess during non-rush hours biking will be possible.

If you're going to live down 29 though, don't even think of biking. I don't even like going down that road in a car, much less on a bike.

LOL when I was down there last, I decided to try to figure out a bike route from a couple of apartments, and ended up on the trail behind the law school. Became lost pretty quickly, ended up behind the JAG school, saw a deer, found a softball, and quickly realized that the second it rained/snowed the route would be impossible. What about parking at the law school though? Is it advisable to just try to find somewhere I can bus/walk from? I was also considering a moped, but I don't think I saw many motorcycle parking spots near north grounds.

Parking sucks too. My advice would be get a place close enough to walk from. The non-Pavilion apartments on Arlington are non-partyish, so you won't be bumping into people *too* often, Pavilion and Ivy are practically dorms. Other than that, you could try living closer to the main grounds, but ... eww, Undergrads. If you live further out, as I know a lot of people who do, it's not awful, and I kind of envy the fact they're away from the law school bullshit that goes on, but you won't be so far out that you can't find your way to the Corner for bar review, or for whatever party you want to go to, etc.

Edit: And I think I disagree with North as to the "party" aspect... the first two months it seemed like there were parties all the time. That died down right around the PILA auction, maybe because memos and panic began setting in, but there is a party atmosphere here. But you can have a fulfilling life without it.

[RCO2012]

Parking sucks too. My advice would be get a place close enough to walk from. The non-Pavilion apartments on Arlington are non-partyish, so you won't be bumping into people *too* often, Pavilion and Ivy are practically dorms. Other than that, you could try living closer to the main grounds, but ... eww, Undergrads. If you live further out, as I know a lot of people who do, it's not awful, and I kind of envy the fact they're away from the law school bullshit that goes on, but you won't be so far out that you can't find your way to the Corner for bar review, or for whatever party you want to go to, etc.

Edit: And I think I disagree with North as to the "party" aspect... the first two months it seemed like there were parties all the time. That died down right around the PILA auction, maybe because memos and panic began setting in, but there is a party atmosphere here. But you can have a fulfilling life without it.

LOL I like you already. Thanks for the insight. I just don't know how feasible it is to get into an Arlington apartment (I have pets). I do live close enough to travel down pretty frequently, but it seems like most of the complexes don't know what they'll have open for August until a few months out. I'm hoping to move down in July, but I'll be attempting to sell my house throughout the summer. Thanks again!

[eliminatorjr]

RCO, I totally dig that Jake Bugg album.

Anyone take a look at the accepted students Facebook group? I feel like everyone is better looking and better qualified than me.

[Gooner91]

RCO, I totally dig that Jake Bugg album.

Anyone take a look at the accepted students Facebook group? I feel like everyone is better looking and better qualified than me.

I'll get on there so you do not feel that way anymore. Haha