Joining the Virginia Law Review

Three methods are used to determine which students will be invited to join the Law Review at the Law School:

1.  First Year Grades (25 students).  The twenty-five students with the highest cumulative GPAs in their class after completing two semesters at the Law School will be invited to join the Law Review. Completion of the Contact Information and Grade Waiver Form is necessary for consideration.

2.  Journal Tryout (15 students).  Fifteen students will be invited to join the Law Review based solely on their performance on the Unified Journal Tryout. Up to two transfer students may also be invited to join the Law Review based on the Fall Tryout.

3.  Virginia Plan (0-5 students).  As many as five students will be invited to join the Law Review on the basis of three combined factors: first-year grades, performance on the Unified Journal Tryout, and a Personal Statement.  To be considered for membership under the Virginia Plan, a student must:

(1)  Rank within the top one-third of the entire first year class based on cumulative GPA; and

(2)  Rank within the top one-third of all Journal Tryout participants based on the Law Review’s evaluation of participants’ Tryout submissions; and

(3)  Submit a Personal Statement.  That is, any student wishing to be considered under this option must provide a personal statement.  The Personal Statement should address how its author’s experiences or personal attributes would contribute to the Virginia Law Review.  Personal Statements submitted in past years have discussed race, ethnicity, religious background, disability, age, sex, sexual orientation, political affiliation, personal adversity, and veteran status, among other things.  Personal Statements should not exceed 500 words.  Though Personal Statements are not considered under either of the two methods described above, all applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a Personal Statement. 

 

Invitations to join the Law Review will be extended in July of 2014 (before the resume-posting deadline for on-grounds 2L interviews). Anyone who accepts an offer of membership must return to school in August approximately 10 days prior to the beginning of class. If you have not received an invitation to join the Law Review by early August, you may assume that all invitations have already been extended. Please note that the Law Review does not distinguish between those who are invited to join based on grades, Tryout performance, or the Virginia Plan. If you are invited to become a member of the Law Review, no one will know whether you “graded on,” “wrote on,” or otherwise.

The Law Review also extends invitations of membership based on Note Publication and Second Year Grades. Details regarding these methods of joining the Law Review are available on the Law Review’s website, www.virginialawreview.org.