Terry McMahon's Awesome Blog

Well, that was a pretty big surprise. I was really not expecting to like UVa all that much, but I actually really enjoyed it there. before I forget everything, here's the scoop:

students: I had heard that UVa Law students were a lot preppier, Republican and uptight than most law students. as for preppy, there were a few people wearing khakis on admitted students weekend, as opposed to just me at Duke, so I guess that means UVa people are about as preppy as I am, maybe less. there were certainly Republicans (and a fair number of people who were clearly preppy rich kids of prominent Virginians), and I hear the breakdown is about 2/3 Democrat and 1/3 Republican, which I might be able to handle. as for uptight, honestly, didn't see it. what struck me the most about UVa students, and this really did strike me, is that pretty much everyone loves being there. at Duke everyone seemed to like it, but everyone at UVa is thrilled, alumni apparently call law school the best three years of their lives, and the alumni giving percentage (like 47% I think) is the highest of any law school in the country, which the dean said was especially impressive for a longtime public school (the law school now funds itself exclusively from donations with no state support). that is pretty compelling to me; I mean if pretty much everyone loves it there, and you're going to get just as sweet a job when you graduate, why wouldn't I want to go there? also the chicks were hotter.

professors: Here I was a little disappointed as compared to Duke. This could have been an issue of presentation, as everything I liked about the student-professor interactions at Duke (easy to work together, really talented professors) is apparently true at UVa, but Duke had better events. At Duke they had a panel with three popular professors, so you got to see what they were like as people, and then they had an outdoor event where students and professors roamed around and talked to each other. At UVa they just had sample classes, which was good, but not as instructive as Duke's. I did go to a sample Con Law class and afterwards asked the professor if his generally accessible lecture was indicative of the law school experience. he said sort of, but when I mentioned that I was thinking of my future career as based on the fact that recent baseball GMs have tended to be law school grads, and he laughed and it turns out we're both red sox fans. he said he couldn't think of a better use of a law degree. plus if you take professors out to lunch, the student bar association picks up the tab.

shollitsville: actually, charlottesville is really one heck of a nice town. that area of virginia is really beautiful (it's at the foothills of the blue ridge mountains) and reminded me a lot of west virginia when I drove through it last year. UVa is a pretty big school to begin with, but the town does exist outside campus, which is nice, and there are at least two of those college-type streets with coffeehouses and bars, which is also nice, and there's a nice downtown-village promenade that's blocked to traffic where the street's made of bricks, and they have theaters and the like. the law school facilities are nicer than Duke's too. the downsides are that it's further from the beach, I don't know anyone there, and frankly it doesn't seem nearly as appealing as the research triangle area, which seems pretty vibrant even without the universities, as opposed to charlottesville which seems to depend on it.

crushing amounts of debt: UVa is actually a lot more expensive than I thought, and it's pretty tough to get residency as a law student. that said, it would be cheaper than Duke. the impression I got is that it's not quite as easy to get handed a law firm job, and I might have to take a little more initiative to get the job I want, but I also get the impression that if I'm reasonably successful percentile-wise, I wouldn't have a problem. I don't think the cost of living is especially different from durham.

differences with Duke: whereas the operative word at Duke seemed to be "initiative", as in your ability to do whatever you want as long as you speak up and ask someone, the operative word at UVa seems to be "balance." everyone seems to have fun, so much so that some people say UVa is just a "beer and softball" law school. but everyone there seems to like it, too. I'm not sure I can say the students seemed as impressive as when I was at Duke, but maybe that was just because I was less surprised on my second visit. really though, I'm starting to suspect that I just have a choice between really good law schools, and I'll love NYU just as much next week. we'll see!