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So why does everyone always say "ED UVA"... are their acceptances for early decision really that much higher??

It almost seems like a joke from the amount that it's used...

My understanding is that UVA has a big in-state quota they are required to meet, so if you're out of state and you really want UVA you need to apply ASAP. Of course it's a bit more than just that (ie, UVA is somewhat splitter friendly, but splitters and reverse splitters need to ED to maximize their chances of acceptance) but that's the general idea I get from it.

It's because they'll accept or reject you in like 2 weeks, so then you're free to ED somewhere else (usually).

How do they fill 40% of their class with residents, without severely lowering the standards? Are there really that many candidates from Virginia who are in the lower T14 range and want UVA?

ben4847 wrote:How do they fill 40% of their class with residents, without severely lowering the standards? Are there really that many candidates from Virginia who are in the lower T14 range and want UVA?

Umm, yes? Top school in big state + gets you DC easy. Hell, UT fills something like 70% of their class with in-state (I think).

TheFutureLawyer wrote:

ben4847 wrote:How do they fill 40% of their class with residents, without severely lowering the standards? Are there really that many candidates from Virginia who are in the lower T14 range and want UVA?

Umm, yes? Top school in big state + gets you DC easy. Hell, UT fills something like 70% of their class with in-state (I think).

This. Imagine if Columbia didn't exist and NYU was a public school required to accept 40% New York students...their numbers would not drop

The title of this thread suggests that posting in it is a waste of time. Too bad I have time to waste.

It's a community joke. It's the standard, lazy advice that the board gives to people asking where they should apply.

Here, this should explain it: --LinkRemoved--

ben4847 wrote:How do they fill 40% of their class with residents, without severely lowering the standards? Are there really that many candidates from Virginia who are in the lower T14 range and want UVA?

There is a slight advantage to being in-state, but there are enough qualified apps that it doesn't bring down their numbers. They have to have at least twice the acceptance rate* though, so if you're borderline, in-state residency might make the difference between a WL and an admit. It's like having a decent soft. Might also be more (reverse) splitter-friendly in-state than out.

*Assuming all in-state residents that are accepted matriculate.
Math (2014): 357 students; 40% is 143 (rounded to the nearest whole). According to their office, around 10% of applicants in any given year are in-state. 7,410 applied last year, so that's around 741 in-state applicants if the trend held. That means they would have absolutely needed to accept almost 20% of in-state applicants, and wind-up having to at least wait-list a lot more in order to make-up for admits choosing to attend other law schools. I would think that this would make in-state admissions more friendly to splitters and marginal applicants. Also, if you applied ED with the right numbers, you'd probably be an auto-admit.

piscola wrote:So why does everyone always say "ED UVA"... are their acceptances for early decision really that much higher??

It almost seems like a joke from the amount that it's used...

They tend to accept anyone ED who is above one of their medians (3.85/170). For reverse splitters with a GPA above 3.85 & LSAT ~167 or lower, EDing to UVA gives you the best (or only) shot at T14.

It is mostly used as a joke, though.

Haymarket wrote:It's a community joke. It's the standard, lazy advice that the board gives to people asking where they should apply.

Here, this should explain it: --LinkRemoved--

Oh my God - that video slayed me. So amazing!

Haymarket wrote:It's a community joke. It's the standard, lazy advice that the board gives to people asking where they should apply.

Here, this should explain it: --LinkRemoved--

I was really hoping it would end with him going "wait, are you an URM?"