UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[Doritos]

My thinking is if you are unsure max out the COL loans. If you do not spend it all you can just take less next year. I wouldn't want to risk being stressed about money. That amount of interest you may possibly pay on a few extra thousand dollars is worth it to me in exchange for the peace of mind that my bills are going to be paid and I can eat.

You need as much energy as possible to freak out about finals and potentially being homeless and broke. At least that's what I do...

[paulinaporizkova]

what up 2Ls

so i spent a little time roaming around campus this weekend and i was just wondering if you could rate/modify my checklist for new things to buy before the fall:
- sperrys
- ray bans
- women's rugby shirt
- tory burch flats
- black leggings
- ?????

[fatduck]

what up 2Ls

so i spent a little time roaming around campus this weekend and i was just wondering if you could rate/modify my checklist for new things to buy before the fall:
- sperrys
- ray bans
- women's rugby shirt
- tory burch flats
- black leggings
- ?????

tazer

[pjo]

I have an update of the Jeffersonian for all those interested: they've reached out to 15 ppl from the waitlist. All of the 2 bedroom apartments that start their lease in August are gone (only start date is June and July remain for 2Bedroom). She informed me that this is the lowest turnover they've had in the past 30 years.

[Law Sauce]

hey guys, can anyone comment on employment availability in Charlottesville. I am asking for my SO who will be coming in looking for any type of entry level position. She will have a liberal arts degree and not much work experience. are there opportunities in Cville or is the market there pretty tough right now?

[badwithpseudonyms]

Man, you go away for awhile and shit hits the fan. Thoughts:

0Ls (this includes those like the adult learners I had in ug who always wanted to debate the professor based on their life experience), you should really listen to the regular UVA posters (i.e. RVP, vamedic, cav, kohinoor, etc.). Not to pile on the old dude, as it's less about what you've said than how you say it (i.e. there's nothing wrong with knowing where you want to end up), but I'm just saying you need to show some deference to people who have already been through it. Law school is not the real world at all.

And realize that not even the very knowledgable posters on TLS can provide answers to some of the questions ya'll have. No one is trying to lie to you; they like the school and want to paint a rosy picture. The unemployed don't have a scarlet letter on their chest and, as has been duly noted, no one ever says a bad word about anything. Anecdotally, it seems like most of the 1Ls with the best jobs are well-connected.

[jcunni5]

hey guys, can anyone comment on employment availability in Charlottesville. I am asking for my SO who will be coming in looking for any type of entry level position. She will have a liberal arts degree and not much work experience. are there opportunities in Cville or is the market there pretty tough right now?

I pm'ed you

[showNprove]

I'd appreciate if some UVA students could weigh in on this. I've been admitted to UVA, and it's the only T10 I've been accepted to. I've also been accepted at GULC, with no money. GWU, WUSTL, UIUC, W&M with a small amount of money and some strong regional T2's with 1/2-2/3 scholarship. I'm positive I'm either going to attend UVA at sticker or one of the T2's because I've kind of taken an all or nothing approach to law schools and I really don't think the other schools are worth the additional debt over the T2's. I really like UVA, but I'm worried about the debt considering my goals. I want to work biglaw if possible, but I only want to work in a secondary market (I have 0 interest in NYC/DC/LA/Chi etc.). The type of markets I'm interested in are Cleveland,Columbus,Pittsburgh, Richmond, Charlotte etc. basically anything that size, preferably on the east coast/mid atlantic. Being that I don't want a large market, and most UVA grads go to NY/DC and other large markets, would it still be worth it for me to go to UVA and take on the additional debt? I'm also a little nervous because I've been following the 1L summer employment thread on here and it seems that most of the people getting paying jobs over the summer are either from HYS or strong regional T2's. I know 1L summer really doesn't have much to do with 2L summer hiring, but still.

If you have connections to those markets, then with the exception of Charlotte (where no one gets a job), landing there from UVa will not be difficult. All of these secondary (tertiary?) markets look for connections first and at the law school second. Considering most people who want to work in Columbus are from Ohio State, and Ohioan from UVa Law looks pretty damn good to those firms, almost regardless of grades.

Some secondary (tertiary?) markets don't even require strong connections. For instance, it seemed like the Buffalo firms only cared whether a U.Va. student was from north of the Mason-Dixon line and could intelligibly articulate a solid reason for wanting to be in a small market.

[Va L Rev Stud]

sup?

[predent/prelaw]

Why is it better to go to UVA over slightly lower ranked schools located within big law cities? How do summer internships work out do you have to move all your stuff leave you SO? Could you not have a part time job at a firm 2L and 3L if you lived in a city?

[vamedic03]

Why is it better to go to UVA over slightly lower ranked schools located within big law cities? How do summer internships work out do you have to move all your stuff leave you SO? Could you not have a part time job at a firm 2L and 3L if you lived in a city?

(1) You leave your stuff for 10 weeks and sublet in whatever city you're going to for 10 weeks. Its really not a big deal.

(2) Very few people have PT school year jobs with firms and they tend not to be with big firms.

[Va L Rev Stud]

Why is it better to go to UVA over slightly lower ranked schools located within big law cities? How do summer internships work out do you have to move all your stuff leave you SO? Could you not have a part time job at a firm 2L and 3L if you lived in a city?

(1) You leave your stuff for 10 weeks and sublet in whatever city you're going to for 10 weeks. Its really not a big deal.

(2) Very few people have PT school year jobs with firms and they tend not to be with big firms.

Unless you count our internship program with Allen & Allen.

[r6_philly]

Law school is not the real world at all.

Haha thanks for this. I hope you find the real world one day.

[sundance95]

Law school is not the real world at all.

Haha thanks for this. I hope you find the real world one day.

You're a last word kinda guy, aren't you?

[r6_philly]

Law school is not the real world at all.

Haha thanks for this. I hope you find the real world one day.

You're a last word kinda guy, aren't you?

Couldn't tell before?

[pjo]

Quick question to UVA students who took out loans. Were you given your loan in a single lump sum for the year, or in 2 increments? When do you pay the school (I'm guessing once in August and again in January?)

[RVP11]

Why is it better to go to UVA over slightly lower ranked schools located within big law cities? How do summer internships work out do you have to move all your stuff leave you SO? Could you not have a part time job at a firm 2L and 3L if you lived in a city?

(1) You leave your stuff for 10 weeks and sublet in whatever city you're going to for 10 weeks. Its really not a big deal.

(2) Very few people have PT school year jobs with firms and they tend not to be with big firms.

I'll just add that very few people at any of the top schools have part time jobs at firms during 2L and 3L.

[5ky]

Quick question to UVA students who took out loans. Were you given your loan in a single lump sum for the year, or in 2 increments? When do you pay the school (I'm guessing once in August and again in January?)

Two increments, half each time.

[005618502]

Hey everyone.

So i tried to make a post about this, and got only sarcastic remarks. Maybe some of the current 2L's or 3L's that know about this kind of thing can help me out.

I am deferring for a year from UVA. I will be working at a litigation law firm for the year, nothing to exciting. I want to do something VERY interesting in my year off. To the point where if I graduate median or just below, I will have something awesome to talk about in my interview. Something to help me connect with the interviewer, or stand out from other students/resumes.

Has anyone done anything they think would/did make a difference?

Ideas so far: Climbing Mount kilimanjaro (Everest is to damn expensive), playing in the world series of poker, or trying to intern at a high court in a different country for a summer.

Would none of this (or anything else) make any difference?

Any serious replies would be greatly appreciated.

[jcunni5]

Hey everyone.

So i tried to make a post about this, and got only sarcastic remarks. Maybe some of the current 2L's or 3L's that know about this kind of thing can help me out.

I am deferring for a year from UVA. I will be working at a litigation law firm for the year, nothing to exciting. I want to do something VERY interesting in my year off. To the point where if I graduate median or just below, I will have something awesome to talk about in my interview. Something to help me connect with the interviewer, or stand out from other students/resumes.

Has anyone done anything they think would/did make a difference?

Ideas so far: Climbing Mount kilimanjaro (Everest is to damn expensive), playing in the world series of poker, or trying to intern at a high court in a different country for a summer.

Would none of this (or anything else) make any difference?


Any serious replies would be greatly appreciated.

edit: this is what i meant to say i just messed up the post: prolly none of this will make a difference but intern at int'l court would be the best option i think

[vamedic03]

<2 Months? Climb Denali

~4-6 months? Hike the AT

12 months? Hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail

[005618502]

<2 Months? Climb Denali

~4-6 months? Hike the AT

12 months? Hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail

Yea i would be looking more at this time frame. Mount McKinley would be pretty awesome. But would this ever make a difference in interviews? would it be a convo starter? or would they still just be looking at grades, etc.

[005618502]

Hey everyone.

So i tried to make a post about this, and got only sarcastic remarks. Maybe some of the current 2L's or 3L's that know about this kind of thing can help me out.

I am deferring for a year from UVA. I will be working at a litigation law firm for the year, nothing to exciting. I want to do something VERY interesting in my year off. To the point where if I graduate median or just below, I will have something awesome to talk about in my interview. Something to help me connect with the interviewer, or stand out from other students/resumes.

Has anyone done anything they think would/did make a difference?

Ideas so far: Climbing Mount kilimanjaro (Everest is to damn expensive), playing in the world series of poker, or trying to intern at a high court in a different country for a summer.

Would none of this (or anything else) make any difference?

prolly none of this will make a difference but intern at int'l court would be the best option i think

Any serious replies would be greatly appreciated.

an int'l court would be awesome. Im just worried not having gone to law school at the time of applying might turn them off. Though I would have a year of experience in a firm (who knows how much this will help)

[fatduck]

Hey everyone.

So i tried to make a post about this, and got only sarcastic remarks. Maybe some of the current 2L's or 3L's that know about this kind of thing can help me out.

I am deferring for a year from UVA. I will be working at a litigation law firm for the year, nothing to exciting. I want to do something VERY interesting in my year off. To the point where if I graduate median or just below, I will have something awesome to talk about in my interview. Something to help me connect with the interviewer, or stand out from other students/resumes.

Has anyone done anything they think would/did make a difference?

Ideas so far: Climbing Mount kilimanjaro (Everest is to damn expensive), playing in the world series of poker, or trying to intern at a high court in a different country for a summer.

Would none of this (or anything else) make any difference?

Any serious replies would be greatly appreciated.

well, i've done the first two i have no idea if it would make any difference for OCI (i'm a 0L). probably not. i mean it might make you stand out a bit, but that's more about your personality than whether you've climbed a mountain or whatever.

honestly, kilimanjaro was a lot of fun. most of the routes are not technically challenging at all, and you don't need a lot of expensive equipment. i went with a friend, but you could easily do it alone. tanzania is awesome, the people are super friendly, and guides are cheap.

now, the world series of poker is pretty fun, too. they just posted the 2011 schedule. were you thinking of playing the main event, or just some of the smaller tournaments/cash games? the main event is a blast, but probably not worth $10k to you if you have no real chance of cashing. you could play some of the smaller tourneys and cash games (which are awesome), and rail the ME, but it might not sound as cool to your interviewer who's gonna wonder if you were on TV or not

ETA: +1 to Denali if you're looking for a more technical climbing experience. you will need more gear/training but that's definitely next on my list.

[vamedic03]

<2 Months? Climb Denali

~4-6 months? Hike the AT

12 months? Hike part of the Pacific Crest Trail

Yea i would be looking more at this time frame. Mount McKinley would be pretty awesome. But would this ever make a difference in interviews? would it be a convo starter? or would they still just be looking at grades, etc.

They'll just look at grades and past work experience.

The truth of the matter is that nothing you do in a year will make any difference for OGI. That said, life experiences will make you a better student and employee.