‘Admissible’ S3 E7: Director Debrief — Inside the 2023-2024 Cycle

ROSANNE IBANEZ: Hi, Justin. How are you?

JUSTIN: I'm great. How are you?

ROSANNE IBANEZ: I'm doing really well. Would it be possible if I Zoomed you in 15 minutes?

JUSTIN: Yeah, of course.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: OK.

JUSTIN: Just shoot me an email and let me know that you're ready to go, and I'll hop back on.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: Great, Justin. Thank you for being flexible. I'm just going to turn my camera around. We are in the recording of the Admissible podcast, which you went over. So in case you were wondering, this is the production here.

NATALIE BLAZER: Sorry, Justin. Sorry.

KATIE DELSANDRO: Hi, Justin.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: And kind of ironically, we were discussing interviews. And I was like, OK, here I am going to be late to mine. OK.

NATALIE BLAZER: But hey, you've been on a podcast now.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: Yes. You're on the podcast. Yes. Thank you, Justin.

JUSTIN: [INAUDIBLE]

ROSANNE IBANEZ: Bye.

NATALIE BLAZER: This is Admissible. I'm Natalie Blazer, Dean of Admissions at UVA Law. Last cycle, I brought our two lovely directors of admission on to help me debrief the cycle at the midway point, and it's still actually one of our most listened to episodes to date. So I know that's what you all like to hear, so we're going to do it again for those of you applying this cycle.

This episode will release on Friday, December 1, which is exactly three months to the day after our application opens and three months to the day of our priority deadline. So the midway point. Having said all that, I am thrilled to reintroduce our return guest to the show, Directors of Admission Katie Delsandro and Rosanne Ibanez. Welcome, Katie and Rosanne

KATIE DELSANDRO: Hi, Natalie.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: So happy to be back.

NATALIE BLAZER: So happy to have you back. We're going to do the icebreaker, which is what are you currently reading for fun? And we share a lot of book recommendations in our office so--

ROSANNE IBANEZ: You mean we're not going to say we're reading files for fun, because I do think that sometimes it's fun?

KATIE DELSANDRO: Sometimes it's fun, although also I think sometimes it can be a little heavy. There's an emotional load that comes with really processing people's life stories. And so at this time of year, my reading is always really light. Right now, I'm reading Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: Oh, good one.

KATIE DELSANDRO: It is absolutely delightful.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: I'm not going to lie. I went through my Libby queue last night to be like, what's a good answer for this? But I'm just going to go ahead and be honest. I'm definitely in an airport lit phase. I'm spending a lot of time in airports. And this was a phrase that one of our students kind of said. She was like, oh, airport lit. And I'm like, great, that's where I am. I also would say I'm an Abby Jimenez fan.

NATALIE BLAZER: I don't know this book.

KATIE DELSANDRO: Oh, well, I'm adding it to Nat's nook when I'm done with it.

NATALIE BLAZER: Add it to the nook. We have that book exchange going. Yeah. I actually just started Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow. I know everybody's reading that but very enjoyable. So before we dive in, I do want to note as I think I've mentioned on the podcast briefly in the past, we changed our application quite a bit over the summer, particularly the essay prompts.

We changed our existing essays. We added new ones. I would say we have spent time adjusting to these new prompts this cycle and therefore taking a bit more time than usual to read a not insignificant difference in amount of content that's new to us. Is that fair, would you say?

KATIE DELSANDRO: Yeah. Absolutely. I think, if anything, we took this summer to really think about what traits are we looking for in our law students and how is our application really eliciting those traits or giving people an opportunity to explicitly talk about those traits?

And so as we have kind of recrafted the application, the way we're reading it has changed in response to that. I think that's very fair.

NATALIE BLAZER: Right. Just to say what I think everybody knows is in response to the Supreme Court decision regarding affirmative action, a lot of law schools changed a lot of things about their applications. And as much work as that was and as maybe stressful as that process was, it was a time to recommit to our values and our mission at the law school and to, like Katie just said, to make sure that our application is actually asking what we are hoping to get out of it.

We're trying to make it as clear as possible. This is what we're looking for, tell us your story. We want to know.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: I know that all of the changes probably have made a really challenging process even more tedious. And so all of the essays across the different law schools are probably just a little bit different from each other or have different page requirements or have different things that they're trying to elicit in their own way.

And I just want to tell you from this side, we understand. And thank you for making the effort, because it really does make a difference. I think I've said this on the podcast before is like, we're looking for reasons to say yes. And these questions are ways that we can say yes. And so let us say yes to you by following these prompts the best that you can, even if it means you might have to spend a little bit more time on it than you might have had to last year.

NATALIE BLAZER: Agreed completely. And just to really reiterate and emphasize, if the Supreme Court changes or the application changes or just the climate out there makes you nervous, the three of us are here to really encourage you to apply.

If you are feeling hesitant for whatever reason, please know law schools want your applications, regardless us of any Supreme Court decision, regardless of any chatter that's out there. If law school is something that you feel passionate about and strongly about, don't count yourself out at this stage.

We really do want to hear from people who really want this next step in their lives. Great. So because of all those changes that we've just talked about and the time that we're spending to read all the new content, I'll just say again what I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, which is it is already a slow cycle at this halfway point.

And I think it is going to continue to be a slow cycle. I listened on another law school admissions podcast yesterday. The Slowest Cycle Ever was I think the title. I don't know about ever, but I think it is going to continue to be a relatively slow cycle for all the law schools out there who've made changes to their application and are getting used to evaluating new content.

And by the way, you want us to take our time. It's a good thing for admissions committees to be deliberate and to be intentional and to really make sure they're making the right decisions. So I know it's tough to be patient but hang in there.

OK. So what do we want to cover today? I gave a little solo sort of quick debrief a couple of weeks ago. So I don't want to be too duplicative of what we mentioned at the end of October. We're going to cover more ground here and go a lot deeper than I did. OK.

So let's start with the new essay prompts. We have a new question 13 prompt this year. For those who might have seen our application, last year question 13 was a question that was all about resilience, and we changed it to add some more qualities that we'll talk about in a second.

So that's the first one. We added an optional prompt regarding work experience. We modified our personal statement prompt, and we added an optional why UVA Law prompt. Katie, why don't you tell us, what does question 13 read as this year?

KATIE DELSANDRO: All right. So the question 13 prompt this year reads as follows, "law school and the practice of law are both rewarding and challenging. Among the qualities it takes to succeed in both are resilience, integrity, empathy, diligence, maturity, and the ability to engage across differences. Please describe how you have developed, cultivated, and/or exhibited one or more of these qualities in your life.

In your discussion, feel free to draw upon any past experience or part of your background, including but not limited to those related to your community, upbringing, educational environment, race, gender, or other aspects of your background that are important to you."

So that's a mouthful of a prompt, but really, what this is saying is here are a list of character traits that we think are really important in a law student and in a future attorney. This prompt is giving you an opportunity to talk about the ways that you have developed and exhibited one or more of those characteristics in your life.

What I have found in reading responses to this prompt is that people are really taking their time to think about this, at least in the most successful ones. And it's giving us some insight into the applicant as a whole person that would not otherwise be in the application, because we're not really eliciting those things elsewhere in the application.

And when people ask me for advice on this particular essay, I say, first and foremost, authenticity is so important. Right. If you think about a moment in your life that you really care about or that was really foundational to you, that's going to come through.

Additionally, this is a great opportunity to write us a little essay that has nothing to do with other stuff that's on your application. And I think the best applications-- and I know we have said this before, the best applications overall read as kind of a story. Right.

Each component of that application is there to show us something different about who you are, because you are a full and complex individual. Right. And so don't repeat things that you have written elsewhere in your application.

In this essay, if you can avoid it, tell us something new and different about you. I think those are the ones that have been most successful. Don't feel like you need to cover every single one of these traits in your essay. Maybe there have been a couple where that has been successfully done. But I think the majority of what I am seeing is people talking about one or two or maybe even three of these traits in a really effective way or in a way that the traits kind of tie themselves together.

So yeah. Those would be my pieces of advice on it.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah. I would echo that. Don't try to do too much. Don't say, well, I'm diligent, and I'm empathetic, and I'm-- showing is always better than telling and a really good story that does that effectively I think is great.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: Aside from the very practical things like my colleagues have just said, just know that it kind of is the teaser almost to the rest of your application if we're reading in order, which we do. Right. And we'll also say kind of on a practical matter, because I got this many times, we know the box is very confining. That's an LSAC thing.

So please don't be worried about the formatting. You don't need to add it as a second attachment. We are happy to read it as it comes in. So sometimes when people are like, please see attachment. It really kind of ruins the flow. And other candidates will be using the box. So please use the box.

NATALIE BLAZER: That's a great point. The formatting is less important here. And I'll just say, I know that this prompt could lend itself to a lot of heavy topics. OK. But it doesn't need to necessarily. Don't feel like you need to have something that is the biggest thing that's ever happened in your life.

It definitely can be. I've read very effective ones that are, but it can also be, again, using it to tease the rest of your application, to tell us something that we're not going to learn otherwise. It doesn't need to be super emotional or heavy.

KATIE DELSANDRO: I think the biggest thing, though, is don't blow it off. I know because it's built into the application itself, I feel like it's maybe a little outside the parameters of traditional law school application advice in a way. And therefore, people don't necessarily give it the amount of attention that I think we are giving it when we are reviewing it. So don't blow it off.

It's really important to us. It's become for me one of the most important parts of the application.

NATALIE BLAZER: Same. And one of my favorites. People have done a really, really great job with it. OK. So second, we're on two out of four of our new and improved I would think essay prompts. So Rosanne, why don't you say what the sort of experience prompt is.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: Sure. So this new prompt reads, "we understand that professional resumes do not necessarily reflect every major responsibility or position a candidate has ever held. We invite you to further expand on your work history, familial obligations, or other significant contributions to your household, including part time jobs or roles assumed while attending high school and/or college. Please note that this question is optional."

NATALIE BLAZER: This truly is optional, not everyone fills it out. Because not everyone is going to have something to say here. I would say less than 50% of these, at least the ones that I've read, are answering this question.

What we're getting at here, what we're hoping to elicit is a lot of times I think people aren't sure or they think it's not relevant to include caretaking for a family member or if you grew up in a single parent household, what you had to do with your younger siblings, or if you had to work when you were in high school and college to contribute to your household.

And these are not, quote unquote, "fancy jobs". Right. These are service industry type jobs. They are whatever they are, work, study, and college. We're telling you very directly here that we want to know about that.

KATIE DELSANDRO: And it's also telling us a lot about your ability to prioritize and balance competing obligations and priorities, which that's a big part of law school. Being a lawyer and practicing law is learning to prioritize things.

And so if I'm looking at this answer and I'm seeing, OK, this person had a COVID semester of college where they were caretaking for an elderly grandmother and running DoorDash on the side, and they still got great grades that semester. Wow. Now, I'm really impressed. Right.

Now, even if that GPA is maybe not quite where you wanted it to be, now I have context for that. Right. And so there's a lot that this can tell us if you have something to add. But as Natalie mentioned earlier, I think definitely majority have not filled this out. And that's perfectly OK too. You're not being penalized for that.

NATALIE BLAZER: OK. So that's two of our four. So the third, this is a big one. Our personal statement prompt, which used to be very open ended-- I think we said, please tell us about yourself-- yeah, we spent a lot of time changing that.

And it's a shorter prompt than the previous two, which is good. But I think we were really intentional with the language. So Katie, why don't you read this one?

KATIE DELSANDRO: "Please tell us how your background, perspective, or life experiences have led you to pursue law school and/or how they have influenced what you hope to achieve through your legal education."

NATALIE BLAZER: So I'll say two to start us off, we really wanted to focus applicants on the law school piece. We have read great personal statements in the past that are wonderfully written and maybe tell us a lot about the person, but they're not necessarily helping us understand why law school makes sense or what you're hoping to achieve with the law degree.

So we really want to emphasize that is what we're looking for here. After we read the two pages, we should have a very clear idea of why law school makes sense for you. And while we're talking about two pages, we for the very first time actually explicitly put a page limit on the personal statement, which is two pages, double spaced, 12 point font. So please take note of that.

KATIE DELSANDRO: I will say here one thing that's really been bumming me out this cycle is when people submit a personal statement that is otherwise a lovely personal statement but that is not responsive to our prompt. And this is kind of going back to the idea that for better or worse in this law school application cycle, you may have to tweak your materials.

You may have to have multiple personal statements that you're submitting to different schools. Please make sure you're being responsive to the prompt, because if you're not, you're telling me, I'm not reading and following directions, which again is not boating super well for law school. So please pay attention to that.

NATALIE BLAZER: Or that I don't care that much about UVA. I wrote this statement for Penn, and it's good enough for this one. Right. Definitely read the prompts of every school carefully and make sure you're being responsive.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: I will say I get a lot of questions of like, what are you looking for in a personal statement? And I'm kind of here to say, there is no good answer to that. You're the subject matter expert on what we are looking for. No one knows you better than you and so follow the prompt.

Do a lot of reflection on why this is an important choice for you, what your motivations are. I promise this actually helps you in the process too. But there's no right answer except to be true to yourself, so that the process works.

NATALIE BLAZER: That's right and one thing I say often but bears repeating, after you read this relatively short prompt that is about yourself and your desire to go to law school, if nothing is coming to you, pay attention to that. Because again, like Rosanne said, you know yourself. And if nothing is coming up for you as to why you want to go to law school, that is something that you should not ignore.

And you should maybe take a step back and not apply right now. Writing a solid personal statement, of course, is a major task. But the content itself that should come to you, I would say, pretty easily. Would you guys agree?

KATIE DELSANDRO: 100%. And then my advice is give that personal statement once it is written to someone who doesn't know you. Right. And I don't know if I've said this on the pod before, but your best friend's cousin who's an English major is a great person to read this. Because we don't know you. Right.

So giving your essay to someone else who doesn't and then having them come back to you and say, this is what I learned about from reading this essay, can be really valuable. Because I think a lot of people end up not being as clear as they think they're being or conveying things in a way that they didn't mean to.

So taking that extra step and putting yourself out there on the front end can really clear things up for us on the back end.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: I also say, I think people kind of dwell on this a lot. I'm like, just do it. I promise you can just do it. I think people spend a lot of time worrying about this, and the pressure that people feel to commit their whole life to two pages.

That's not what we're asking. We're just asking for a thread of that gives us insight. And so don't worry about being cliche. If your answer is you want to help people, let's write about why we want to help people. Right. And I think a lot of them are about that. And so don't overthink the process too much. As long as you're authentic to yourself, then this works.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yes. Just like with Q 13 with the very first prompt we discussed. Don't try to do too much. I like what you said, it's a thread. It's a window. It's combined with every other element of your application should be putting together the story.

OK. So let's move on to the fourth and final prompt. This is something that was always sort of in the atmosphere, but now, we officially sort of put down on paper this optional why UVA Law prompt. So Rosanne, why don't you read that one?

ROSANNE IBANEZ: Sure. "We recognize that some applicants have personal reasons for applying to UVA Law. Such reasons might include but are not limited to being a child of someone who graduated from or works for UVA Law, being a descendant of ancestors who labored at UVA, prior participation in other UVA programs, specific interests in our academic offerings, and/or a personal connection to the Charlottesville area.

If these reasons are not already addressed elsewhere in your application, you are welcome to include that information here. Please note that this question is optional." and it really is optional.

NATALIE BLAZER: Really is optional. And if you are not feeling called to answer this question, please don't. Please don't just ramble off some facts and statistics from the website. That's not what this is for. This is for people who feel that they need a space to further expand on why UVA Law might be a top choice of theirs.

I've seen perfectly successful applications where they do not include this prompt. Maybe there are other elements of the application that point to UVA Law making sense for them, or maybe they leave it a little bit into their personal statement. It can be done effectively, believe me.

Some people just have a lot more to say. So for example, if you do have a personal connection to the Charlottesville area, if you do have family members who attended here. One thing I've seen a lot this cycle is you've worked for one of our alums who is evangelized about UVA Law. And tell us that.

Maybe that doesn't take up a whole essay in which case don't include it. Like with everything else we have said, we just want you to be genuine. We don't want you to twist yourself into a pretzel to tell us what you think we want to hear. I think this more than the other essays, I think, is where we can really tell how authentic someone is being.

So we love reading them when they are included. We do not in any way hold it against you if you haven't included it. So truly, truly optional. So for all of these four prompts, there are main things to consider.

I think we've kind of touched on all of this, but I'll just run through them. And if you all have things to add, let's add them. So consider the content. Of course, that's primary. The quality of your writing, the tone. Are you casual? Are you professional? Are you stilted? Are you natural? What is your writing tone?

Responsiveness, are you responding to the actual prompt that we have spent a lot of time crafting for you? Are you following instructions? There are page limits, there are character limits. Like Rosanne said, if we want you to reply in the box, please reply in the box.

Non repetitiveness of other parts of the app. Right. Are you telling us something new in this essay? If you get to the why UVA optional prompt and you say, I already kind of talked about this in my personal statement. Don't repeat yourself. Give us less to read if you feel that you have covered everything you need to cover.

Overall, for each of these four questions, two required, two optional, is your response moving the needle to help us get to you better? Is it going to make a material difference to our decision?

KATIE DELSANDRO: I think the other thing is please don't use robots to write your essays. They're not as fun to read. OK. I mean, look, I'm not going to claim I can identify a robot written essay with 100% accuracy, but I can identify an essay that doesn't have personality and tone and warmth and authenticity to it.

So just because the syntax is perfect, doesn't mean-- I would rather have an essay with a grammar mistake that really conveys something personal and human than something that's perfectly written but written by a robot. So please don't.

NATALIE BLAZER: And even if you wrote it yourself, if it sounds like it could have been written by AI, I would do some editing.

It should come across as natural. It's a very difficult thing to do. I realize that. It's hard to write in your natural voice. It takes a lot of time and editing, but this is such a critical skill for lawyers to get it just right. So definitely take the time to get that part right.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: Put all of your pieces together and read them at one time. I think when people do things kind of piecemeal, different parts of your application can take on a very different range of tones. And I will tell you having just read a whole bunch of files yesterday, sometimes I do go back and read your writing prompt. Because I'm like, is your writing prompt writing like your other writing?

And I don't expect that to be as polished as your personal statement or things that you have infinite time to work on. But I will tell you like the disparity in some of the writing does-- we pay attention to that.

NATALIE BLAZER: So true. The writing should feel like it's all coming from the same person. But going back to what I mentioned earlier, if there are parts of your application that are a little bit more sort of heavy or a serious topic, you have a lot of opportunities if there are other sides of you to show us other sides of you.

So I think that's a great piece of advice. Read them all together and think about who you are presenting. A lot of apps I've read this cycle are very intense. Right. And so if you are really intense, be that. Always be true to yourself.

If you have more of a sense of humor, if you have lightness, do that. If you have multifaceted sides of you, don't feel afraid of using each of these essays to do something different. OK. So moving on, I want to talk about interviews.

So as long as I have been at UVA Law, in order to be admitted, you have to be interviewed. Now, that was not always the case. I was not interviewed for admission back in the day. I don't think--

KATIE DELSANDRO: I was not interviewed either.

NATALIE BLAZER: So they have changed that. We have changed that. We now interview everyone we're considering for admission. So this is a huge deal. I think more and more schools that maybe weren't interviewing are moving towards an interview.

So I hope that for those of you applying widely, that this will-- I think this will be pretty universal advice, but we'll be specific to of what we've seen this cycle. So all three of us interview applicants. We are the only three people who interview applicants.

But these two, Katie and Rosanne are our directors of admission, have interviewed far more candidates than I do or than I will this cycle. I do a fraction of the interviews that these two do. So we all have things to say, but I'm definitely going to let you two kick us off with your key interview observations of the cycle.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: I will say, interviews are a labor of love. I love them, because we get to know people just at a different level. We sit down. We talk to you one-on-one. And I think that really kind of makes a difference in making sure that the things that you tell us on paper and our impressions really match the person that we are talking to.

KATIE DELSANDRO: Yeah. And going to how do you get yourself ready for an interview? What should you be thinking about in an interview? In terms of preparation, I'm finding this cycle in particular that there is a fine line. Right. You should be prepared. You should be thinking through and ready to answer questions like, why do you want to go to law school?

What you should not do is write out a soliloquy and then read it to me.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: Or memorize it.

KATIE DELSANDRO: Or memorize it, because that's not giving me an opportunity to really engage with you as a person. Right. It's OK if your answer is not ready to be the State of the Union. If you're backtracking on yourself, if you're repetitive a little bit, that's OK.

I would rather you be doing that and be your authentic self than have a pre-written statement for me. That being said, again, make sure you think through the answers to those types of questions, because I'm certainly going to be asking them. And Rosanne, I think, is as well.

In terms of your demeanor, we are looking for a professional demeanor here. This should be a serious interview. You should be dressed for an interview. You should be looking at your camera, again, not reading. And just showing us that you're taking this seriously and that are trying to put your best foot forward.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: I will say this is a process where the small details also matter. That starts off in the very beginning with our communication and when we ask for interview invites. I know Katie and I have different ways of doing it.

But I also think in this process, we try to be thoughtful about everyone's schedules, but we expect that back from candidates. I've gotten a lot of people who are like, I'm only available at these wildly inconvenient times. And it is really hard to process that in moments where I literally have done interviews with people on carriers in the middle of the ocean and deployed to the Middle East.

And Katie's done interviews with someone escaping from Israel who make time for this process. And that's not to say that you can't have conflicts. But more that one of the UVA things we look for are people who are very considerate and professional in their communication with others. And that starts you off on the right foot.

NATALIE BLAZER: Well, right, you're applying to law school. Right. We didn't come find you and say, make this 30 minute block work. I mean, you have to know that interviews are going to be part of the process. And we work business hours, and we will work with you. But yeah. They should be within normal business hours.

I interviewed someone who's a current three all. She was at a very demanding job, very demanding job. And she took the interview from her car, from the phone. And that's OK. Right. The phone is not ideal, but you make it work. You make it work if it's important to you.

And when you aren't flexible, and you aren't accommodating, or you take a long time to reply to the interview request, that just tells us that this isn't that important to you. And that's OK. But that will be a data point that we have on you.

KATIE DELSANDRO: And I don't want to scare anybody. If you have a legitimate conflict, that's a different thing. Right. Just let us know what's going on. Right. I have interviewed people who by virtue of their current employment in national security or whatever, they're in a black box all day long. And so they are not available until 4:30 or 5:00 PM to talk to me, because they don't have a cell phone during that time.

Or hey, Katie. I'm really, really excited about UVA. The days you suggested are days I'm taking finals. Is there any way we could do this next week? Of course, we can. Thank you for letting me know. I'm not intending to make this stressful for you. But those are kind of specific situations as opposed to I work a 9:00 to 5:00 job. And therefore, I'm only available on the weekends. That's what we're avoiding here. Right.

NATALIE BLAZER: Of course, tell us what's going on. We can tell by responses. The details do matter like Rosanne said. Professionalism, enthusiasm, all of those things are being taken into account. And knowing that we're not interviewing anybody that we're not already excited about, and we're not hoping to admit.

Come into it with preparation. Come into it with a healthy dose of nerves. Come into it with the anticipation in a positive way.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: I think at the same time, information is out there that's like, oh, my gosh. This is the conversion rate of a UVA interview. And it's nice if it gives you a confidence boost, but it really shouldn't give you the expectation that even though this is what we want, and we want to admit you if your interview goes well that there's no entitlement to it. I think I have kind of felt those vibes at the same time.

NATALIE BLAZER: Absolutely. I mean, the whole point of interviewing is to make sure we're getting the right people. So while you should be excited, definitely don't be entitled. Definitely still do your homework. Be professional, so think about your responses.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: But it also is a fit situation too. I mean, part of this process is making sure that we also get the students that makes the most sense for us and that you would be happy and successful here. So sometimes when an interview doesn't convert, it's not because you're not a great candidate. It's not because you're not going to be an amazing lawyer. It just might be that there's a better place for you than here.

KATIE DELSANDRO: And also to the point of fit, I mean an interview is your chance to get to know us a little bit too. What questions do you have for me? Right. The question portion at the end of the interview is not just come up with any question just because you think it's appropriate to have a question at the end of the interview.

Really think it through. You should have questions for me. You should want to know stuff about the law school, about Charlottesville, about what you are getting into. So make sure you're planning for that as well when you're coming in.

NATALIE BLAZER: This is a huge decision. So not having questions at the end, I think, is-- I don't know. You can always come up with something I feel like that will help you get to know our school a little bit better, and by virtue of whatever question it is will help us get to you better as well.

OK. So I think we covered interviews. Let's talk a little bit about applicants that we meet in person. Have you two noticed anything that's different this cycle, like in terms of applicant behavior either on the road or in visits from previous cycles? Or is it kind of the same?

KATIE DELSANDRO: I think for me, the biggest thing is-- and we hit on this at the beginning of the session, but I don't think we can say it too much-- people who are responding to the Supreme Court decision with a question in their mind, should I even bother applying?

I have had multiple people come up to me in forums and fairs and things like that and just kind of in a professional but tentative way essentially asking that question, is there going to be a place for me? Should I even bother? Please apply.

Please seek whatever guidance we can give you or wherever you can get it, pre-law advisors, your community. But give us the opportunity to consider your application.

ROSANNE IBANEZ: I will echo that too. I think this is one of the best parts about being on the road is I've gotten feedback from people who are like, you know what? I really wasn't considering UVA before I got to chat with you. And that's sometimes for a variety of reasons. But part of it is you can do your own research, but it's also different to really hear about a place from a person who has the knowledge and background and awareness of the resources.

And so going to quote Wayne Gretzky via D2 The Mighty Ducks, but "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take." And we still want people to be thoughtful about the process. We know it's expensive. We know it's time consuming. But at the end of the day, it also is a really big investment.

And part of the reason I do this job is I know what this law degree from this institution can do for people. And again, echoing Katie, we want to consider your materials.

NATALIE BLAZER: I can't emphasize enough, we're rooting for you. Even if you don't end up at UVA, we are rooting for you. So just know that the more that you can highlight your own strengths and achievements, that's what we like to see. All right. So anything else before we wrap up that you want to make sure people know?

ROSANNE IBANEZ: We just can't wait to read even more. I mean, I think a lot of apps are going to come in after the holidays. Everyone's going to be a little bit more refreshed I think. And we're going to get a good feel for the pool, so we can't wait.

NATALIE BLAZER: And we've made, I would say, maybe right around a quarter, right around a quarter of offers. So that's slow, a quarter of offers at the halfway point of the cycle. So just know if you're waiting, we are getting to your file. It's hard to be patient I know, but it's just going to be a little bit slower.

We might have wait list activity. We haven't had a lot. We will definitely update you all on that in the second half of the cycle. But for now, I think, we're just getting started. We're just getting started. We've made a lot of offers, and we're super excited about the ones we've made, but there's still a lot to come.

KATIE DELSANDRO: Yeah. I'm just looking forward to seeing what you guys have out there.

NATALIE BLAZER: Yeah. Well, Katie and Rosanne, thank you so much for being here. I know we see each other every single day and talk all day, everyday. But I love to go deep with you two any chance I get. So thank you for coming on the show.

KATIE DELSANDRO: Thank you. It's a blast.

NATALIE BLAZER: This has been Admissible with me Dean Natalie Blazer at the University of Virginia School of Law. My guests today were Directors of Admission Katie Delsandro and Rosanne Ibanez. For more information about applying to UVA Law, please visit law.virginia.edu. The next episode of Admissible will be out soon. And in the meantime, you can follow the show on Instagram at Admissible Podcast. Thanks so much for listening, and please remember to rate the show wherever you listen to podcasts.