Richmond?

[Nickledime85]

If I keep my WL spot, I'll definitely visit. With finals, the question is when...

[Journeyman]

S'all good. Yeah, I have a friend who goes there for UGrad and I've seen pictures...Wow. I live in NJ, and not even Princeton compares with that. I'm just concerned about placement outside of VA. I mean, I have nothing against living/working down south, but some degree of mobility would be good. I've heard UoR is really regional, and I have no family/friends in the area.

Both schools are really regional.  If you think you want to practice in the North, I'd say stick with Pitt.  If you visit VA and think that might be place you want to set up shop, then I'd go with Richmond.

Nice campus, good laywering skills (great, actually), the student body is balanced, great administration.

Richmond is a pretty provincial city, with ALOT of heavy suburban influence.  That being said, there are a couple of "hip" parts (Carytown, the Fan, "the Bottom", and "the Slip").

[Myshkin]

In regards to all the comments about wanting to practice; I wholly agree that that concern should play a primary role.

However, I warn you of being swayed by the "beauty" of the Richmond campus.  My personal opinion is that Richmond is an awful law school to attend in terms of setting.  The overall school's administration is so geared towards catering to the undergrads that the law school oftentimes gets the scraps.  Also, its out in the suburbs of Richmond away from everything which seems kind of odd.  On the other hand, Pitt is located in a genuine city.  It also operates like a real university instead of a college like Richmond. 

I also feel like while both are regional schools, down the road, Pitt has more prestige than Richmond. 

[calirestinpeace]

Richmond is a small city, and very obviously a southern city.. but there are some more progressive areas (carytown).  step out of richmond and it's more likely than not that you're standing in some really conservative-religious ground.  it's obvious, at least to me, that it's not in the north.  i do hear a lot of northerners go to the school, but no idea if that applies to the law school specifically.

[Journeyman]

Richmond is a small city, and very obviously a southern city.. but there are some more progressive areas (carytown).  step out of richmond and it's more likely than not that you're standing in some really conservative-religious ground.  it's obvious, at least to me, that it's not in the north.  i do hear a lot of northerners go to the school, but no idea if that applies to the law school specifically.

The undergrad draws pretty decently from the tri-state area, particularly NJ.  The law school tends to have a larger draw from the south, particularly VA from what I've observed.  Seems like at least half of the class of 2009 came from UVA.  Almost too much of a "reunion" for me.

[Nickledime85]

Well, if you don't mind working in the region for a little while you should be able to relocate eventually.  I am from Virginia and plan on staying. I have lived in northern VA and southern VA but never Richmond.  Did the dean give you a deadline to let them know your decision?

She gave me 2 weeks, and I must say, she was incredibly friendly over the phone. That's refreshing!
I still think I'm pretty firm in my decision to go to Pitt though, simply because it's ranked higher and is closer to home (by closer I mean 7 hours versus 9...haha).
Still, I'm thinking about Richmond and doing some research. I don't want to rule it out, because I know it's well-respected in the South, and I live in NJ and hate it. I'm always game for going to a new place, but in the end, I think I have to pick the school that's the least regional. I think that may be Pitt in comparison to Richmond. I'm not sure.