you can find me at www.top-law-schools.com! Forum

[Colonel_funkadunk]

Yes... unfortunately

Are there other t14s that are as well?

[downbeat14]

.

[Colonel_funkadunk]

Yes... unfortunately

Are there other t14s that are as well?

From what I have read on here (and the number of WL people with strong numbers on LSN) Michigan and Penn are also YP heavy. Very annoying... there could be others, but not that I know of.

Thanks for the info, I guess I don't really understand the point of it- but that's probably why I don't work in admissions lol

[Mack.Hambleton]

Yes... unfortunately

Are there other t14s that are as well?

From what I have read on here (and the number of WL people with strong numbers on LSN) Michigan and Penn are also YP heavy. Very annoying... there could be others, but not that I know of.

it seems to be pretty common at every school outside of HYSCCN and B.

[Toby Ziegler]

Yes... unfortunately

Are there other t14s that are as well?

From what I have read on here (and the number of WL people with strong numbers on LSN) Michigan and Penn are also YP heavy. Very annoying... there could be others, but not that I know of.

Thanks for the info, I guess I don't really understand the point of it- but that's probably why I don't work in admissions lol

An element of rankings depend on their yield percentage.

[sl5uw13]

I don't think anyone really answered about the boost from being in-state but from the then dean

There is no particular 'boost' given to residents. But residents have mathematics on their side." In fact, there are "over nine nonresident applications for every resident application." So, out of 7,880 applications in 2008, about 7,000 were from nonresidents. The ratio of resident to nonresident admittance is 60 to 40, so "nonresidents get only 1.5 seats for every resident seat in the entering class," which is a huge boon for resident applicants.
Still, there are no special considerations given to Virginia residents who do not meet the school's high LSAT and GPA standards. A sizable number of highly qualified applicants live in Virginia, and Trujillo has said that "the medians between the pools are not statistically distinguishable." This has led him to "joke that getting in … is ridiculously difficult (for nonresidents) rather than just being plain hard (for residents).

[xylocarp]

Got a solicited fee waiver. I guess they're open today?

[Hand]

checking in.

[kevin0201]

Got a solicited fee waiver. I guess they're open today?

No solicited waiver for me yet

[kevin0201]

Is that section on hobbies and interests of significant importance?

I don't have any impressive hobbies or interests. I just like to eat.

[Brady199]

Applied last night

[KMart]

Is that section on hobbies and interests of significant importance?

If they ask about it, I answer it. Maybe it's just me.

[Brady199]

Hahaha.. Exactly.. We applicants tend to stress unnecessarily over stuff.

Just write stuff down, takes like five minutes.

Tbh.. beyond the Admissions Index (LSAT + GPA) and a bit of the PS and WE, I am not sure they really have the time to go over that stuff.

[xylocarp]

just got a Skype interview request!!!

[Dream_weaver32]

just got a Skype interview request!!!

Already

[Hand]

Got a solicited fee waiver. I guess they're open today?

you're gonna be in before everyone else everywhere!

[MidwestLifer]

just got a Skype interview request!!!

I've been matching you step-for-step on most of these but I haven't gotten this.
Congratulations though!!

[alpha kenny body]

This thread is going to be booming the more we get into the cycle. I recently went to UVA on an unofficial visit, just a stroll through the law campus, and it was phenomenal. Charlottesville is a beautiful town and if many of you did not know, the National Bureau of Economic Research named Charlottesville the happiest place in the United States. I definitely look forward to applying here and outside of HYSC, this is at the top of the list.

[LoganCouture]

just got a Skype interview request!!!

Wait, has UVA always done interviews?

Also congrats xylo

[xylocarp]

just got a Skype interview request!!!

Wait, has UVA always done interviews?

Also congrats xylo

I think last year was the first cycle they did official interviews, going through previous threads. and thanks!!

[xylocarp]

also — last year it looks like people definitely got in without interviewing, but it seems from this FAQ that this year everyone will need to be interviewed before being admitted:

Every applicant who, upon review of his or her file, is determined to be a competitive and serious candidate for admission is contacted and interviewed via Skype or phone, by an admissions staff member.

[RCO2012]

Hey everyone! I can't believe applications are already open! I guess it's easy to forget within the first few weeks of having to try to learn to speak this different language that is used in law school. Anyway, I just wanted to with you all the best of luck. UVA is an amazing place!

Also, a helpful tip about reading through past cycles, do it! It is really helpful to find the nuances for each school's process. There is one big HOWEVER though for this tip. That is....However, for UVA we have a new Dean of Admissions. His style is much different from the previous dean, and in many ways from my POV the differences between the two are both significant and positive (for those applying this cycle).

In any case, I'm around if you have questions about the process or UVA in general, and if you make a trip down message me and we can grab a drink or something while you're out here. Also, if you take a trip down, make sure to venture outside of North Grounds (where the law school is located), and go see Main Grounds, The Corner, The Lawn, etc., etc. many places that can be seen in a day trip that will give you a better overall sense of what it is like to live here!

Again, best wishes!

RCO

[foles]

.

[RCO2012]

Could you elaborate on the differences from the new dean? Thanks!

Absolutely! I won't go into too much detail here, because this could turn into a tangent, so I'll just focus on the biggest, and simplest, one (you can message me if you have specific questions).

Dean Faulk is a graduate of UVA Law and chose to leave his practice (IP for those of you that have an interest or background that leans towards IP this is your selling point) to come back to Charlottesville and work as an Admissions Director. This makes him different than the previous dean on many levels, but the most important is his knowledge, respect, and love for the UVA Law community that is so unique. I'm not saying Dean Richard did not appreciate, respect, or love that same sense of community, I'm just saying that Dean Faulk knows it on a much deeper level.

So, what does this mean for you? Really it means that your knowledge of the UVA Law community will help you immensely in you application and interviews. I've spoken to a few of you privately and noted that the downturn in the number of applicants, as well as less pressure statistically due to most of UVA's peer schools also dropping medians (noticed I said less, this should not be construed to infer no pressure), leads to a strong number of applicants who are qualified based on the numbers. So, UVA has freedom now, as it did last cycle (and it shows from the extremely minimal use of the WL), to really look at the applicant as a whole. The details in your application are becoming (not quite there yet, but becoming) just as important in many respects as your numbers. Now, during this cycle you'll here countless times that your personal statement, resume, soft factors, etc. are not enough to get you in without the numbers, but can be enough to knock you out. This is true, but the line is getting thinner as to how much your soft factors can over power your stats, so be aware of that.

What I'm really suggesting here is simple:

1) Have the numbers
a. If you have a great LSAT and great GPA, then that's awesome proceed to 2).
b. If you have a great LSAT and an acceptable GPA, great proceed to 2).
c. If you have a great LSAT and a poor GPA determine if your LSAT is high enough to compensate (then proceed to 2)).
d. If you have a poor LSAT and a great GPA, retake the LSAT then proceed to 2).
e. If you have a poor LSAT and a poor GPA, REALLY RETAKE THE LSAT.

2) Compose an application that demonstrates:
a. You have the academic background and statistics to succeed at UVA (see 1)).
b. You're mature enough to be a law student (think about this one and how to demonstrate it, it is important and a factor that is rarely addressed).
c. You know enough about UVA that you have made an informed decision to apply knowing that you would be happy spending three years of your life there.
d. That you have a deep grasp of what it means to be a UVA Law student (and possibly slightly more important, a UVA Law graduate). This is EXTREMELY essential (and is what I was referring to in the big difference between the 2), and I'll tell you why:
i. UVA Law has an extremely different culture than any other law school in the country (it has its positives and its negatives, to be sure).

ii. UVA Law is extremely proud of its alumni involvement and support (how does this factor into your application you might ask, well, if I'm looking at a fixed rate of return investment (yes, your acceptance into the school is seen as an investment) I want to pick the investment that fits relatively well into my existing portfolio and compliments it, so that I can expect similar returns from this investment as those I've seen in the ones I've made previously (alumni). I do not want to choose an investment that I cannot even begin to try to reconcile the differences between it and my portfolio.

iii. There are few scholarly related things more sacred or memorable to UVA Law alumni than the traditions of the school. Some of these traditions are important due to the fact that they mold lawyerly skills that give the UVA degree its value in the marketplace. Other traditions are valuable because they create a bond between UVA Law graduates from 1976 and UVA Law graduates from 2014, and that is an important bridge to create. It is important that the school makes an investment in someone who knows what they're getting themselves into as far as UVA culture and traditions, because if that investment rejects the traditions, they start to crumble away at that bridge and may possibly even decrease the value of the degree.

e. That you're well rounded. Meaning that when you get here, your nose won't constantly be in a book. This relates back an important skill that the UVA culture and tradition helps mold (social skills) and that creates value for the degree in the marketplace. This doesn't mean that you have to have 20 social organizations that you were a part of in UG, that you were honored with the award for best pre-game host of the Class of 2014, or that your hobbies have taken you to every corner of the world. It can be much more simple and subtle (for more on this message me, but I'm sure you get the gist).

f. That you're a human. Holy hell is this a component that a lot of people miss on their applications. Take note that f. is the point where anything that didn't fit into a. - e. comes into play. For brevity, show the adcomms that there's a person on the other end of that application. It is a lot more difficult to throw out an application that you can't feel a connection to than one where you're dying to learn more about this individual. Law school applications are extremely monotonous, and in several aspects they should be, but don't forget that there are aspects of you that are very individual to you (emphasize these) (I recommend asking close friend and relatives what they deem unique about you and make a list, then go ask someone you've only known for a few months and that should help you narrow the list of 50 things your mom gave you to 1 or 2 that everyone else realizes really are unique).

3) Know the application, its intricacies, its uncorrectable deficiencies, its strong points, its aspects that demonstrate a-f, and know them like the back of your hand. Also know how to expand on each of those items with more details that further cements the aspect of the application, but gives even more reassurance to the adcomm that you truly are representative of a-f.

a. I can't stress 3) enough, because I was completely thrown off guard when my interviewer brought up an aspect of my application (one bullet point of about 5 words) on my resume at the end of one of my job descriptions. Why was it at the end and had so little elaboration? Because it accounted for a very menial portion of my overall job, probably less than an hour per month. However, my interviewer was interested in it because it was a big part of his practice before he came back to UVA. So, knowing the intricacies and being able to elaborate on them (specific examples of situations from each of your bullet points for your work and leadership listings is helpful) is key to a smooth interview.

I realize that I listed a lot of things here that you won't know by looking at the UVA Law website or other recruiting materials. Realize that there is a huge group of UVA students on here willing to impart some of this knowledge. You can find them scattered all over the place in different threads that they frequent (for me, I prefer PMs, because there is no guarantee I will look back at a thread frequently enough to catch your question. I'll do my best to check back on this thread regularly, at least until mid-October.

That was a lot more information than you asked for, and went way beyond the scope of what I intended to cover, but I remember sitting down to do my applications after I had my score and thinking, "I know a hell of a lot about how to take a logical reasoning test, but now what the hell do I do with these applications." So, hopefully, this information helps start you on the right path.

Good luck everyone!

ETA: Forgive the mass amount of grammatical errors and parentheses that were never closed. No time to edit in detail now.

[xylocarp]

thanks RCO, you are awesome!