UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[callipygian]

I really enjoyed the admitted students events yesterday, but I wish I had spent more time exploring Charlottesville because I still don't "get it." I've pretty much just driven through it, but it seems just like a lot of traffic and not much else - yet everyone loves it. Can someone set me straight?

[Cavalier]

What's the deal with all the school paid positions after graduation? How hard is it to get a job post graduation? what are these schools positions?

I am not sure how the program works for 2012 and 2013 grads, but in 2011, UVa offered unemployed graduates a stipend of $2500/month for doing anything legal, for up to nine months. I believe a significant percentage (15% or 20%, I think) of 2011 grads received the stipend. UVA is obviously motivated in part by the law school rankings--this program enables it to boost its "employed at graduation" percentage--but the program is quite beneficial for the students too. Of the two 2011 grads I know who received the stipend, both took volunteer positions in federal agencies and were eventually hired full-time by those agencies. So while the program does mask UVa's unemployment woes, it's far better than the cheap fixes used by some other schools, such as hiring unemployed grads to be research assistants for $10/hour.

[JRustle]

What's the deal with all the school paid positions after graduation? How hard is it to get a job post graduation? what are these schools positions?

I am not sure how the program works for 2012 and 2013 grads, but in 2011, UVa offered unemployed graduates a stipend of $2500/month for doing anything legal, for up to nine months. I believe a significant percentage (15% or 20%, I think) of 2011 grads received the stipend. UVA is obviously motivated in part by the law school rankings--this program enables it to boost its "employed at graduation" percentage--but the program is quite beneficial for the students too. Of the two 2011 grads I know who received the stipend, both took volunteer positions in federal agencies and were eventually hired full-time by those agencies. So while the program does mask UVa's unemployment woes, it's far better than the cheap fixes used by some other schools, such as hiring unemployed grads to be research assistants for $10/hour.

Do you know how the $2500 program worked with IBR? in other words, would someone receiving that payment from UVA but volunteering 40 hrs a week at the federal agency qualify under our VLFP guidelines?

[Cavalier]

What's the deal with all the school paid positions after graduation? How hard is it to get a job post graduation? what are these schools positions?

I am not sure how the program works for 2012 and 2013 grads, but in 2011, UVa offered unemployed graduates a stipend of $2500/month for doing anything legal, for up to nine months. I believe a significant percentage (15% or 20%, I think) of 2011 grads received the stipend. UVA is obviously motivated in part by the law school rankings--this program enables it to boost its "employed at graduation" percentage--but the program is quite beneficial for the students too. Of the two 2011 grads I know who received the stipend, both took volunteer positions in federal agencies and were eventually hired full-time by those agencies. So while the program does mask UVa's unemployment woes, it's far better than the cheap fixes used by some other schools, such as hiring unemployed grads to be research assistants for $10/hour.

Do you know how the $2500 program worked with IBR? in other words, would someone receiving that payment from UVA but volunteering 40 hrs a week at the federal agency qualify under our VLFP guidelines?

I think students receiving the stipend were ineligible for loan forgiveness until they found a paying position.

[005618502]

I really enjoyed the admitted students events yesterday, but I wish I had spent more time exploring Charlottesville because I still don't "get it." I've pretty much just driven through it, but it seems just like a lot of traffic and not much else - yet everyone loves it. Can someone set me straight?

The traffic is not an issue. 2 things made it bad for you 1) you dont know your way around the parts that most people use and 2) ASW brings in a ton of people.

Otherwise, C'ville is a great place. Tons to do (you wont have time to do everything you want to) and the people are great. If you are looking for a big city atmosphere then obviously this is not it, but I am unsure of what you are looking for people to say.

[Yardbird]

0L here. ASW was a blast - buses were a little sketchy but the cabbies were friendly and the Corner was a lot of fun. The one question I have is what bank has the most ATMs on campus/in the area. I'm currently a BofA customer but couldn't really see that many ATMs for any bank, just a few here and there.

[thesealocust]

0L here. ASW was a blast - buses were a little sketchy but the cabbies were friendly and the Corner was a lot of fun. The one question I have is what bank has the most ATMs on campus/in the area. I'm currently a BofA customer but couldn't really see that many ATMs for any bank, just a few here and there.

Honestly, I'd just get an account with USAA - reimbursed ATM usage every month and electronic depositing of checks is awesome. The interest rates and balances on their credit cards are awesome too. Credit unions are incredible, just not as well known due to the lack of brick & mortar presence.

[bgdddymtty]

What's the deal with all the school paid positions after graduation? How hard is it to get a job post graduation? what are these schools positions?

I am not sure how the program works for 2012 and 2013 grads, but in 2011, UVa offered unemployed graduates a stipend of $2500/month for doing anything legal, for up to nine months. I believe a significant percentage (15% or 20%, I think) of 2011 grads received the stipend. UVA is obviously motivated in part by the law school rankings--this program enables it to boost its "employed at graduation" percentage--but the program is quite beneficial for the students too. Of the two 2011 grads I know who received the stipend, both took volunteer positions in federal agencies and were eventually hired full-time by those agencies. So while the program does mask UVa's unemployment woes, it's far better than the cheap fixes used by some other schools, such as hiring unemployed grads to be research assistants for $10/hour.

Do you know how the $2500 program worked with IBR? in other words, would someone receiving that payment from UVA but volunteering 40 hrs a week at the federal agency qualify under our VLFP guidelines?

I think students receiving the stipend were ineligible for loan forgiveness until they found a paying position.

Although, in fairness, if you're single with no dependents and are making $30,000 per year, your maximum IBR payment is $160 per month. Not exactly peanuts, but definitely manageable.

[Yardbird]

0L here. ASW was a blast - buses were a little sketchy but the cabbies were friendly and the Corner was a lot of fun. The one question I have is what bank has the most ATMs on campus/in the area. I'm currently a BofA customer but couldn't really see that many ATMs for any bank, just a few here and there.

Honestly, I'd just get an account with USAA - reimbursed ATM usage every month and electronic depositing of checks is awesome. The interest rates and balances on their credit cards are awesome too. Credit unions are incredible, just not as well known due to the lack of brick & mortar presence.

Doesnt USAA require a military affiliation?

[thesealocust]

0L here. ASW was a blast - buses were a little sketchy but the cabbies were friendly and the Corner was a lot of fun. The one question I have is what bank has the most ATMs on campus/in the area. I'm currently a BofA customer but couldn't really see that many ATMs for any bank, just a few here and there.

Honestly, I'd just get an account with USAA - reimbursed ATM usage every month and electronic depositing of checks is awesome. The interest rates and balances on their credit cards are awesome too. Credit unions are incredible, just not as well known due to the lack of brick & mortar presence.

Doesnt USAA require a military affiliation?

No.

[Yardbird]

0L here. ASW was a blast - buses were a little sketchy but the cabbies were friendly and the Corner was a lot of fun. The one question I have is what bank has the most ATMs on campus/in the area. I'm currently a BofA customer but couldn't really see that many ATMs for any bank, just a few here and there.

Honestly, I'd just get an account with USAA - reimbursed ATM usage every month and electronic depositing of checks is awesome. The interest rates and balances on their credit cards are awesome too. Credit unions are incredible, just not as well known due to the lack of brick & mortar presence.

Doesnt USAA require a military affiliation?

No.

I'll look into it. Any other suggestions to look into?

[005618502]

I'll look into it. Any other suggestions to look into?

I have bank of America. There is a full service bank with ATMs in the Barracks shopping center (below the school where the big shopping center is) as well as a full service bank with ATMs on the corner and in the downtown mall. Has never been an issue for me. Unless you really need to use an ATM at the law school, but I dont see why you would.

[UVAIce]

There are also a ton of Wells Fargo locations around Charlottesville from Barracks Road, 29, 250, and downtown.

[Yardbird]

I'll look into it. Any other suggestions to look into?

I have bank of America. There is a full service bank with ATMs in the Barracks shopping center (below the school where the big shopping center is) as well as a full service bank with ATMs on the corner and in the downtown mall. Has never been an issue for me. Unless you really need to use an ATM at the law school, but I dont see why you would.

Oh I didn't see the one at Barracks. I thought the one at the Corner was the closest. Nice to hear, thanks!

[005618502]

I'll look into it. Any other suggestions to look into?

I have bank of America. There is a full service bank with ATMs in the Barracks shopping center (below the school where the big shopping center is) as well as a full service bank with ATMs on the corner and in the downtown mall. Has never been an issue for me. Unless you really need to use an ATM at the law school, but I dont see why you would.

Oh I didn't see the one at Barracks. I thought the one at the Corner was the closest. Nice to hear, thanks!

Directly across the parking lot from Kroger, so at the very end basically.

[anon sequitur]

What's the deal with all the school paid positions after graduation? How hard is it to get a job post graduation? what are these schools positions?

I am not sure how the program works for 2012 and 2013 grads, but in 2011, UVa offered unemployed graduates a stipend of $2500/month for doing anything legal, for up to nine months. I believe a significant percentage (15% or 20%, I think) of 2011 grads received the stipend. UVA is obviously motivated in part by the law school rankings--this program enables it to boost its "employed at graduation" percentage--but the program is quite beneficial for the students too. Of the two 2011 grads I know who received the stipend, both took volunteer positions in federal agencies and were eventually hired full-time by those agencies. So while the program does mask UVa's unemployment woes, it's far better than the cheap fixes used by some other schools, such as hiring unemployed grads to be research assistants for $10/hour.

It is a great program, but I'm worried that this is going to become increasingly the norm for public interest jobs. Take the bar on your own and have your school fund a nine-month internship with us, then we'll talk about hiring you full-time.

Anyway, it really is good, regardless of the not completely altruistic intentions UVA might have. I know of people who got internships that they say they really didn't have a shot to get hired at. Who's going to say no to free labor from a graduate from a top 10 law school? Then after they've got experience with a great organization on their resume, they're in a much better position to get a second job, either with that employer or someone else.

[anon sequitur]

I really enjoyed the admitted students events yesterday, but I wish I had spent more time exploring Charlottesville because I still don't "get it." I've pretty much just driven through it, but it seems just like a lot of traffic and not much else - yet everyone loves it. Can someone set me straight?

I'll admit to think UVA does kind of oversell the merits of Charlottesville. It's a got a better than average restaurant/bar/music scene for a college town of its size. Options for outdoor activities are great when the weather is nice. Lots of cultural, historical stuff going on.

[005618502]

I really enjoyed the admitted students events yesterday, but I wish I had spent more time exploring Charlottesville because I still don't "get it." I've pretty much just driven through it, but it seems just like a lot of traffic and not much else - yet everyone loves it. Can someone set me straight?

I'll admit to think UVA does kind of oversell the merits of Charlottesville. It's a got a better than average restaurant/bar/music scene for a college town of its size. Options for outdoor activities are great when the weather is nice. Lots of cultural, historical stuff going on.

The only thing that I miss is the nighlife my UG had, not many bars here, though there are plenty for a law student. If I went out as much as I did in UG I would not do well lol

[albanach]

What's the deal with all the school paid positions after graduation? How hard is it to get a job post graduation? what are these schools positions?

They were pretty vague about this at the open house. One person said they tried to model the system after HY, and it was exclusively for people working in PI as fellowships while they do real legal work. Hard to tell though with the lack of transparency.

I've only heard from people who have one or 3Ls who have asked about one. I think they're for one year, and are for PI positions. Not sure how this is being funded, or if there's an intent to keep funding them into the long term. I think that might be the reason for the vagueness. I certainly wouldn't be going to UVA, solely on the hope that such a scheme might be available at some point in the future.

If UVA or other schools keep funding such positions, I'd anticipate it becoming a standard feature of getting a PI job. If a non-profit has the option of someone who works for free for their first year versus someone they have to pay from day one, I think we can all figure who has the better chance of being hired. That would certainly give law graduates from schools like UVA a big leg up over graduates from regional schools who may otherwise have been competitive for things like regional non-profits or prosecutor positions.

edit: I missed that anon sequitur said essentially the same thing further up ^^^

[berkeleykel06]

0L here. ASW was a blast - buses were a little sketchy but the cabbies were friendly and the Corner was a lot of fun. The one question I have is what bank has the most ATMs on campus/in the area. I'm currently a BofA customer but couldn't really see that many ATMs for any bank, just a few here and there.

I've used the city and UVA buses extensively and haven't found them to be at all sketchy.

[thethe]

Off topic but what are you guys doing for taxes with finals coming up? Is a form 4468 all we need to postpone? I'm surprised so many students aren't thinking about this as C plus F will be all on our taxes leading up to the bar, no?

[thethe]

0L here. ASW was a blast - buses were a little sketchy but the cabbies were friendly and the Corner was a lot of fun. The one question I have is what bank has the most ATMs on campus/in the area. I'm currently a BofA customer but couldn't really see that many ATMs for any bank, just a few here and there.

I've used the city and UVA buses extensively and haven't found them to be at all sketchy.

Not compared to other city's transit. It's fine. In general the city buses in a car dependent town may get some weirdos but here it's actually not bad.

[thesealocust]

Off topic but what are you guys doing for taxes with finals coming up? Is a form 4468 all we need to postpone? I'm surprised so many students aren't thinking about this as C plus F will be all on our taxes leading up to the bar, no?

(1) I've never heard of C&F looking at your taxes

(2) Maybe you're in a unique/complex situation, but I probably wasted more time on TLS per day than it took to do my taxes while I was in law school?

[albanach]

Oh I didn't see the one at Barracks. I thought the one at the Corner was the closest. Nice to hear, thanks!

I'm still interested to know what you guys are doing at the bank? I go in about once per year. I might make about four or five trips a year to use the ATM.

If you need cash, you can get it at the checkout when you're buying groceries. With Bank of America you can even pay checks into your account direct from your cell-phone.

Is this all to get quarters for the laundry? Maybe the SBA could get one of those quarter dispensers the carwash has?

[5ky]

Off topic but what are you guys doing for taxes with finals coming up? Is a form 4468 all we need to postpone? I'm surprised so many students aren't thinking about this as C plus F will be all on our taxes leading up to the bar, no?

(1) I've never heard of C&F looking at your taxes

(2) Maybe you're in a unique/complex situation, but I probably wasted more time on TLS per day than it took to do my taxes while I was in law school?

i just used turbotax every year