UVA Class of 2017 Forum

[admiringatticus]

Went to the UVA open house and had a swell old time. However, I am a little concerned about the fratty conservative atmosphere, and how much it seems to dominate the social scene. Can anyone speak to this? If I'm being totally honest here (and with myself), I guess am basically looking for reassurance that I won't be the lone liberal wolf, before I officially accept...

I'm liberal and didn't find it overwhelmingly conservative, although it did seem kind of "fratty." I really liked all of the students I met. However, I did think the student body was much less diverse than the other schools I've visited.

I definitely agree with both of these points - it seemed especially fratty when I was around campus after the ASW. In my student life session, they talked about how the conservative movements were more vocal than the liberal ones and that UVA would be somewhat more conservative than other T14s. I'm also LGBT-identified so that does give me a little bit of pause.

[rachellen]

Went to the UVA open house and had a swell old time. However, I am a little concerned about the fratty conservative atmosphere, and how much it seems to dominate the social scene. Can anyone speak to this? If I'm being totally honest here (and with myself), I guess am basically looking for reassurance that I won't be the lone liberal wolf, before I officially accept...

I'm liberal and didn't find it overwhelmingly conservative, although it did seem kind of "fratty." I really liked all of the students I met. However, I did think the student body was much less diverse than the other schools I've visited.

Agreed, everyone seemed pretty welcoming. And I'd agree with you again: UVA is definitely not a very diverse place. Unfortunately though (and I may be totally wrong in this) it seems that unless you head to law school in a major metropolitan area (NYC, Chicago, DC), the student bodies are all similarly lacking.

[rachellen]

Went to the UVA open house and had a swell old time. However, I am a little concerned about the fratty conservative atmosphere, and how much it seems to dominate the social scene. Can anyone speak to this? If I'm being totally honest here (and with myself), I guess am basically looking for reassurance that I won't be the lone liberal wolf, before I officially accept...

I'm liberal and didn't find it overwhelmingly conservative, although it did seem kind of "fratty." I really liked all of the students I met. However, I did think the student body was much less diverse than the other schools I've visited.

I definitely agree with both of these points - it seemed especially fratty when I was around campus after the ASW. In my student life session, they talked about how the conservative movements were more vocal than the liberal ones and that UVA would be somewhat more conservative than other T14s. I'm also LGBT-identified so that does give me a little bit of pause.

I attended the LGBT mixer and met some amazing people there. Several people reassured me that there are many niches at UVA and that while they may not be the most vocal, they are definitely there. And Lambda Law, at least, seemed really active.

[Workingtitle]

Went to the UVA open house and had a swell old time. However, I am a little concerned about the fratty conservative atmosphere, and how much it seems to dominate the social scene. Can anyone speak to this? If I'm being totally honest here (and with myself), I guess am basically looking for reassurance that I won't be the lone liberal wolf, before I officially accept...

I'd like to keep getting opinions on this, because it's really the only thing keeping me from ecstatically paying my seat deposit.

What I'm worried about is that when I think of "fratty," I think of people who are kind of obnoxious, maybe a little arrogant, a little cliquee, and who party pretty hard. And that doesn't sound like the best.

When I visited though, I felt like they were fratty more in the sense of, like old southern country club fratty. Like, the type of people who go to the horse track on a sunday and drink champagne. Idk though, because I only had a relatively small sample size from people I talked to. Also, again with the caveat that I talked to a small number of people, I did definitely get the feeling UVA was more conservative than some of the other schools I've been to, like Michigan, but I did not feel at all like it was hyper-conservative. I actually got the impression that there was a pretty good mix of ideologies.

Again though, I was only able to talk to a small number of people, so it would be cool if others could share their impressions too.

[rachellen]

Went to the UVA open house and had a swell old time. However, I am a little concerned about the fratty conservative atmosphere, and how much it seems to dominate the social scene. Can anyone speak to this? If I'm being totally honest here (and with myself), I guess am basically looking for reassurance that I won't be the lone liberal wolf, before I officially accept...

I'd like to keep getting opinions on this, because it's really the only thing keeping me from ecstatically paying my seat deposit.

+1

[North]

It's really not that conservative at all, guys. Not something to worry about, and much less to base a decision on. And even if it were, the personal political ideologies of other students is going to affect your law school experience by 0%.

[Workingtitle]

It's really not that conservative at all, guys. Not something to worry about, and much less to base a decision on. And even if it were, the personal political ideologies of other students is going to affect your law school experience by 0%.

I'm not really worried about the conservative thing. I'm worried about the negative associations I have with the word "fratty."

[steelythews]

There's some good info in the UVA Law Students Taking Questions thread about how "fratty" UVA is. You might find it reassuring.

[North]

Sure there's a sizable contingent of former frat bros and sorority girls. But just like in UG, if that's not your thing, then there are plenty of people here who aren't about that life. I'm one of them. No issues. Fratty and conservative are just UVA's buzzwords. They help non-UVA people frame how they think about the people who go here (see, e.g., writers at ATL), but they're only marginally reflective of the actual student body.

And that aside, there's probably some professional value in learning how to get on with rich Southern frat bros.

[dcpanther]

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[RCO2012]

I tend to lean a little bit to the conservative side, but most of the prospective students I spoke with at ASW did not seem to be closed minded to other ideologies. As far as the "fratty" point, I agree that it's there (and also agree that it is a different type of "fratty"). However, to some degree, when people talk about the "fratty" environment at UVA, it seems that it's often in relation to 1) the frequent enjoyment of alcoholic beverages and 2) the extremely (maybe overly) social, outgoing population. There probably is a spot for everyone at UVA, but from my experience at ASW and speaking with current students/alumni, I would say that if you are not social and have no intention of becoming more social, you may have a bit of a tough time at UVA. Also to note, the LGBT community (both those currently attending and throughout the alumni network that I've spoken with) have all been extremely pleased with their time at UVA, so that makes me feel a little better since that was something I was concerned about. I noticed someone else mentioned the LGBT issue above, and I can tell you I have no qualms about it right now after speaking with others.

[rachellen]

Thanks for all the thoughts, everyone. See you at UVA next year...

[Workingtitle]

And that aside, there's probably some professional value in learning how to get on with rich Southern frat bros.

Haha fair point

[OsaroLJ]

Anyone else having this insatiable desire to pull a Lebron James and troll everyone by announcing the date when you would decide your law school future and maybe set a time for the 'release?'

Oh so tempting...maybe a twitter exclusive

"I will be taking my talents to Charlottesvile!"

[rachellen]

Anyone else having this insatiable desire to pull a Lebron James and troll everyone by announcing the date when you would decide your law school future and maybe set a time for the 'release?'

Oh so tempting...maybe a twitter exclusive

"I will be taking my talents to Charlottesvile!"

I actually did something like that today... Decided last night that UVA is my pick, and so today I wore the shirt they gave us at ASW under a zip-up sweater, and had a big reveal at work today... Totally felt like I was announcing my future team.

[jasper09]

Anyone else having this insatiable desire to pull a Lebron James and troll everyone by announcing the date when you would decide your law school future and maybe set a time for the 'release?'

Oh so tempting...maybe a twitter exclusive

"I will be taking my talents to Charlottesvile!"

I actually did something like that today... Decided last night that UVA is my pick, and so today I wore the shirt they gave us at ASW under a zip-up sweater, and had a big reveal at work today... Totally felt like I was announcing my future team.

This is so cool- I'm planning a little Facebook announcement (only my supervisor and her boss know I'm applying since they wrote my recs) that will probably get a lot of questions from coworkers who are FB friends with me. But as far as timing, I'm not entirely sure...I don't want five months of hell at work, you know?

[persia1921]

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[Cocoblues]

Finally checking in here.

[rachellen]

Where is everyone planning on living?

I am in the midst of debating between living in walking distance or driving 5-10 min. It seems like the places a little further out are nice/ generally better quality, but walking would be convenient.

I just applied for a place at the Jack Jouett apartments, which is 1 mile walk, or a few minute walk from a bus line that goes directly to the law school (see: http://www.u-apts.com/property.cfm?id=62). I have a cat, so needed to find a place that allowed that. Unfortunately the property is in a neighborhood near several frats, so it's probably not the quietest, but I have heard that management is awesome (a rare thing in a university town!) and that the apartments themselves are great. I'm okay dealing with a bit of noise, if it's not every single night (and I've heard from former residents there that if noise issues are a problem, it's typically only on the weekends).

[okaygo]

Finally checking in here.

Nice!

[persia1921]

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[Madmen321]

Woodlands is legit, no question about that. I went and checked it out during ASW and its very nice, views of mountains, quiet, amenities are amazing, etc... Im not sure how other people feel on the matter, but a <10 min drive, of which 90% is highway, does not seem bad at all . Even with the walk from the parking lot included thats only a 15 minute commute. Woodlands also has a shuttle bus to the law school, not that I would rely on that for your sole transportation but its a good backup option. Im not sure how many law students are there, but from perusing the "ask a graduate forum" there seem to be a few.

[RCO2012]

I'll be on Arlington the first year just to make 1L as simple as possible. After that, I may stay or move a little further out, depending on how much I enjoy the convenience.

[sl5uw13]

I'm gonna be on Arlington too!

[Otunga]

How has negotiation been with UVA? I recall reading something on TLS about Anne Richard replying to a negotiation request over the phone and stating an increase wasn't happening, or something along those lines.