1. What percentage of seats are reserved for in-state residents?
While the University of Virginia School of Law does not receive any state funding, we still reserve 40% of our seats for residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
2. What can wait-listed / deferred applicants do to improve their chances, and where is the line between an applicant's enthusiasm and obsession?
Wait-listed students can do many things to improve their chances of being made an offer. First, many wait-listed students will choose to retake the LSAT in February or even June. We have made offers from the waiting list due to the results of the June LSAT. If an applicant is still in school, the very best thing they can show is a strong final semester. They should update LSAC with their final grades as soon as they become available. Wait-listed applicants for whom Virginia is their absolute first choice should let us know. I will often receive a letter or email which states that, should an offer become available, the applicant will accept it unhesitatingly. That is a powerful statement and valuable information for me to have. If I have spots available, I will look to those applicants first.
There is a fine line between enthusiasm and obsession. A single letter of interest is sufficient. Even a letter or email once a month is fine. Beyond that, I think you run the risk of being too repetitive.
3. What makes Virginia Law unique? Would you please talk a bit about the student newspaper?
Virginia Law has a unique culture of collegiality. When I was choosing among law schools, I chose Virginia because the students seemed genuinely happy. Unfortunately there is no satisfaction quotient that one can use to measure this. I think the closest measure is the rate at which a school's alumni give back. In our most recent annual giving year, 52% of our alumni gave back to the Law School in the form of a financial contribution. That is #1 in the country and a statistic that truly demonstrates the satisfaction our alums have with their legal education. Moreover, more recent classes have been giving at rates in excess of 90%. If you can get 90% of newly minted lawyers to agree on anything, you are doing something right.
Our student newspaper, the Virginia Law Weekly, has won numerous awards for excellence. It has earned the American Bar Association's Best Law School Newspaper Award three years in a row.
4. Anything else?
I encourage interested students to visit Virginia. You are welcome anytime!
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