Due to scheduled system maintenance, LSAC customer service representatives will be available only from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 27. We will return to our normal schedule, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, on Friday, March 28.

Michelle Heck

Still Undecided About VeryApt? Richmond’s Michelle Heck Shares Why You’ll Like It and Your Students Will Too

December 12, 2022

The University of Richmond School of Law is a longtime VeryApt client, having distributed the company's housing guides to incoming students for the past six or more years. Last year, when VeryApt began offering an upgraded housing portal service, Richmond quickly subscribed. Michelle Heck, associate dean of admissions at Richmond, shared with LSAC how VeryApt saves time for her staff while providing students with a valuable resource. 

VeryApt’s housing guides help incoming and prospective students explore local neighborhoods and housing options, see what life will be like, create accurate budgets, and get excited about law school. Now, LSAC is collaborating with VeryApt to make its housing guides available through Law School Transparency for schools that wish to participate.  

“It’s a service that provides our incoming students the chance to see different local areas and get an idea about prices,” said Heck. "It brings a lot of value to students but requires very little effort from me or my staff.”  

See the University of Richmond School of Law housing guide (PDF)

Participating law schools have a minimal role in generating the housing guides: Once a year, they will need to email their students a housing survey created by VeryApt. While VeryApt creates, hosts, and analyzes the survey, VeryApt does not ask for student contact information and will never contact students directly. 

There is no charge to schools or students for the housing guides, which are offered as part of LSAC’s expanding commitment to providing tools and information to aspiring law school students. 

Law schools that wish to participate in the housing guide service may contact Gene Williams, president of VeryApt, at GeneW@veryapt.com

In its years working with VeryApt, Richmond has found the company easy to work with. What’s more, students have found the housing guides very helpful. “We’ve had nothing but positive feedback,” Heck said. 

Given this background, it was an easy decision for Richmond to adopt VeryApt’s newest offering, a housing portal that serves as a place for students to interact with one another via a discussion board. There, they can find roommates, ask housing questions, or even buy and sell furniture. 

“We had a gap of trying to help students connect with other students in a space that was not social-media related,” Heck said. “Not just students trying to find roommates, but third-year students who are selling furniture or textbooks — it could be anything, really.” 

While the charge for the portal is $5,000 annually, “it was worth it to us,” Heck said, “to have that service for the entire student body, not just the entering students.”  

Heck estimates that some 75% of first-year students use the VeryApt portal , and that usage will steadily grow as each incoming class becomes aware of and accustomed to using the portal. 

Heck says she is happy to answer questions from law school admission colleagues who have questions about VeryApt. She is available by email at mheck@richmond.edu. 

 

 

 

Related Articles

About the Law School Admission Council

LSAC is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to advance law and justice by promoting access, equity, and fairness in law school admission and supporting the learning journey from prelaw through practice. LSAC provides products and services that support candidates and schools throughout the law school admission process, and innovative solutions to expand and diversify the range of prelaw students, enhance student outcomes in law school, and support legal professionals throughout their careers.