UVA Law Students Taking Questions Forum

[Yardbird]

How difficult is it to get in-state status after 1L year for someone who was never in Virginia prior to that year?

Impossible (and that's only kind of an exaggeration).

Also, FWIW if you are taking a large amount of loans, it'd be $5K extra per year nonresident over the resident rate. For those on sticker, that's honestly negligible in the grand scheme of things. Even for people on half tuition it's probably a negligible addition when you look at the big picture.

[5ky]

How difficult is it to get in-state status after 1L year for someone who was never in Virginia prior to that year?

Impossible (and that's only kind of an exaggeration).

Also, FWIW if you are taking a large amount of loans, it'd be $5K extra per year nonresident over the resident rate. For those on sticker, that's honestly negligible in the grand scheme of things. Even for people on half tuition it's probably a negligible addition when you look at the big picture.

It's relatively small but still an extra half a year paying back the govt when coughing up $3k a month from the paycheck. Didn't seem like a lot then, although it does now when I'm in the middle of paying back.

[pmk180]

Does anyone know what GPA you would need for median or top third of the class as a 2L?

[monsterman]

Do any 2 or 3Ls have advice for the journal tryout? I mean any helpful tips that worked that weren't really mentioned in the official sessions.

[Yardbird]

Does anyone know what GPA you would need for median or top third of the class as a 2L?

If you find **the article** on ATL from last year, you should be able to figure out roughly what the GPA cutoffs are after 2L.

Do any 2 or 3Ls have advice for the journal tryout? I mean any helpful tips that worked that weren't really mentioned in the official sessions.

Probably repeating what you have already heard:
(1) Become familiar with the BlueBook. Know the differences between long form citations, short form citations, when to use id. Know the differences between introductory signals, know the rules for abbreviations. Be familiar with the tables in the back of the book. TAB your bluebook for quick flipping between sections. Know what an ellipsis should look like, the difference between a hyphen, en dash, and em dash, and an italicized comma/period from an unitalicized comma/period.
(2) [Some people may differ on this next one] Split up the work--either do the editing component on Friday or on Sunday. Do the reading on one day (and ideally outlining), and then writing on the next day. It is possible to put in a lot of effort into the tryout and still sleep. I personally did the editing component on Friday, read and outlined on Saturday, wrote on Sunday, and was still able to sleep 8 hours each night and finish by early evening on Sunday.
(3) Get the print copy of the tryout packet--you'll want to mark it up while you read through the sources.
(4) Don't do any other work that weekend, but take breaks to relax here and there. You don't want to burn out. It doesn't matter if you can't answer that cold call on Monday.
(5) If you are doing it this coming weekend, DO NOT START HOUSE OF CARDS SEASON 3. Also avoid Facebook, because spoilers.
(6) #5 was completely serious.

[Legal_Padawan]

anyone else not gotten a j-term grade back yet?

I'm still waiting as well. I stopped by SRO to ask - the deadline is this Saturday (2/28).

[First Offense]

Do any 2 or 3Ls have advice for the journal tryout? I mean any helpful tips that worked that weren't really mentioned in the official sessions.

Also, if you're not gunning for write-on, a simple, good faith effort will be enough to get on a journal.

[5ky]

Also, some journals don't even look at the writing portion, which is literally 2/3rds of it.

[monsterman]

Does anyone know what GPA you would need for median or top third of the class as a 2L?

If you find **the article** on ATL from last year, you should be able to figure out roughly what the GPA cutoffs are after 2L.

Do any 2 or 3Ls have advice for the journal tryout? I mean any helpful tips that worked that weren't really mentioned in the official sessions.

Probably repeating what you have already heard:
(1) Become familiar with the BlueBook. Know the differences between long form citations, short form citations, when to use id. Know the differences between introductory signals, know the rules for abbreviations. Be familiar with the tables in the back of the book. TAB your bluebook for quick flipping between sections. Know what an ellipsis should look like, the difference between a hyphen, en dash, and em dash, and an italicized comma/period from an unitalicized comma/period.
(2) [Some people may differ on this next one] Split up the work--either do the editing component on Friday or on Sunday. Do the reading on one day (and ideally outlining), and then writing on the next day. It is possible to put in a lot of effort into the tryout and still sleep. I personally did the editing component on Friday, read and outlined on Saturday, wrote on Sunday, and was still able to sleep 8 hours each night and finish by early evening on Sunday.
(3) Get the print copy of the tryout packet--you'll want to mark it up while you read through the sources.
(4) Don't do any other work that weekend, but take breaks to relax here and there. You don't want to burn out. It doesn't matter if you can't answer that cold call on Monday.
(5) If you are doing it this coming weekend, DO NOT START HOUSE OF CARDS SEASON 3. Also avoid Facebook, because spoilers.
(6) #5 was completely serious.

Thanks for this. I feel like I am supremely wasting my intellect by devoting so much time to the bluebook. But I guess it is right before spring break so it's cool. And looking forward to watching house of cards is the ONLY thing that will get me through the journal weekend! Cheers

[sprezz]

if you haven't tabbed the BB and you're taking the tryout this weekend, just learn to love the index in the back. frantically tabbing it a few days before isn't going to be much more helpful than learning how to use the index and seeing where everything is.

if you don't know the BB that well come gametime and/or aren't efficient in long blocks of the same work, read a few articles then switch to the cite check to BB rules individually (scan the whole thing looking for just periods at the end and signals; then scan the whole thing again now looking for proper abbreviations in one table, etc). the more passes you make at the BB part focusing on specific rules / tables the more errors you'll catch. this also avoids wasting a block of time BB'ing at the expense of your writing, which (though it must be a total crapshoot) is really the only way the journal tryout result is going to substantially impact your employment options.

[jj2014]

Does anybody have any recommendations for decent apartments for married students? Any places I should avoid?

[whats an updog]

Does anybody have any recommendations for decent apartments for married students? Any places I should avoid?

Myself and a couple other posters had some advice on pages 389-90. Just to summarize my contribution: the Copeley Hill family housing is cheap, conveniently located, warm in the winter, and is in a nice park-like setting. The downsides are old features (noisy fans, linoleum flooring, layered paint), and shared washer/dryer. Lots of kids around, so that can be a positive or negative depending on your situation. I'm pretty sure if it's just your wife and you, that Ivy Apartments would be fine too though.

[BigCreamy]

I don't know if this is the right place to ask this, but I am interviewing next week and was wondering what sort of questions would be good to ask my interviewer? I've read enough about the school that I don't really have anything substantive that needs answering, but I don't want to have zero questions.

[5ky]

Does anybody have any recommendations for decent apartments for married students? Any places I should avoid?

Arlington road townhouses could be a pretty good option if you want a little extra space. Two bedrooms, have your own washer dryer, plus a little fenced in backyard. Only like $1100 a month.

[swampman]

I don't know if this is the right place to ask this, but I am interviewing next week and was wondering what sort of questions would be good to ask my interviewer? I've read enough about the school that I don't really have anything substantive that needs answering, but I don't want to have zero questions.

If you would like to be put in touch with a student or professor or student group in an area you're interested in, ask that. At least some of the interviewers are UVA law grads so feel free to ask them about their time here. Don't ask a BS question that you could have found the answer to on the website (eg what's the average class size). If the conversation feels like it's reached a natural end don't feel the need to ask a bunch of questions just for the sake of it.

I just said I had already talked to some current students who had answered my questions, but I did ask what their timeline on making a decision was. I think there was a casual follow up about who I had talked to so don't say that if you haven't, but you get the gist.

[Tgoin]

Does anyone know what GPA you would need for median or top third of the class as a 2L?

3.4 is the median according to ATL? How can that be right. Oh Ruth Payne

[doctorofoz]

[5ky]

Not sure if anyone has asked before, as I could not find through searching this forum.

How competitive is it to get into Professor Deirdre Enright's Innocence Project Clinic? I am very intrigued by their work...

Thanks in advance!

my fav part of Serial was lol'ing at the reporter hanging on every word that some 2L or 3L with zero experience had to say on the matter.

no shade at the uva students, but i still had to laugh.

[WahooLaw24]

Does anyone know what GPA you would need for median or top third of the class as a 2L?

3.4 is the median according to ATL? How can that be right. Oh Ruth Payne

That sounds about right to me. The strict 3.3 median only applies to 1L classes.

[First Offense]

Classes cancelled.

Not even a dusting snow on the ground.

Not even mad.

[Br3v]

Classes cancelled.

Not even a dusting snow on the ground.

Not even mad.

Lol I know, are we supposed to get it heavy soon or something?

[McGruff]

Gotta be a make-up call for not cancelling classes a couple weeks ago. It's supposed to drop a couple inches and clear up by tonight.

edit: nvm this snowmageddon 2015

[TasmanianToucan]

yeah didn't you guys see the email sent by the SBA? apparently it's an effort by the university to minimize our 'drinking culture.' Cuz yanno we are so connected the problems the university has...

That's such fucking bullshit. Read about it in the law weekly. We're not the fucking rapists on Central Grounds.

To anyone considering UVA - this type of shit makes me want to tell you not consider it. If the keg is gone, Dandelion, Feb Club, all that shit isn't far behind.

Yeah I almost never go to the keg and I'm still really pretty pissed about this. $55k a year should buy us a pass on this bullshit.

What is the keg, and what happened to it?

[bluesandgreens]

any recommendations on where to live with roommates? what do y'all think of the pavilion?

[5ky]

Ivy, places on Arlington, Jeffersonian if you can find somebody looking for a roommate.

Pavilion might be nice, not sure. It's well above market price for the area, though.