Choosing a law school for vets 101 Forum

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JCFindley

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Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by JCFindley » Sat Jun 23, 2012 9:36 am

There is a veteran’s thread on here but I wanted to create one specifically on selecting a law school and share what I have learned and provide a place for others to share what they have learned and for vets to ask questions.

First off, I am going to assume you have at least some of your post 9/11 GI Bill and how that affects your choices. If you already know all you need to know about the GIB/YRP skip to part 2.

The GIB will cover up to full in state tuition for a public institution. If you are a resident of the state where you want to attend LS, congrats, you can go for free. You will also get E-5 BAH while you are in school. (Keep in mind it is ONLY while you are in school so you need to budget for things like semester breaks and the two summers where you will not be in school.) If you aren’t a resident of the state where you want to attend LS then look into how you can attain it. Schools vary widely in what is required. For instance, Rutgers Newark simply requires that you show them a 1 year apartment lease before class starts and poof, you are a resident of NJ. Other schools require you to live in the state for a year so you could qualify as in state for 2L and 3L. Yet other states will keep you in the same status that you are when you start. So, if you are out of state for 1L you will be for all three years. Understanding this and using it to your advantage can save you tens of thousands in loans to cover the difference…….

Let’s talk about private institutions. In general the GI Bill will cover up to 17.5/year for tuition. (There are some exceptions to this in some states.) So, if you want to go to Harvard you will have at least 17.5/year covered……

Both private schools and public schools with out of state tuition can still get VERY costly using just the GIB but that is where the Yellow Ribbon Program steps in. The YRP is a VA program where they work with specific schools to help cover the difference between the GIB and the cost of tuition. It is voluntary for schools to participate and both the amount they offer and the number of slots they allow varies widely from school to school. The school pays X amount and the VA matches that amount. For instance, Harvard Law allows 50 slots and will pay up to 20K and the VA will match that thus up to 50 vets can attend HLS without paying a dime towards tuition. On the flip side BC allows 35 YRP slots at 5K for ALL of the students….. While it is likely you could be one of only 50 vets attending HLS it is unlikely that there will be only 35 vets in ALL of BC including undergrad and other grad schools. Plus, while HLS will be covered in full the 5K offered by BC means you will still be paying some tuition. Here’s the math. 17.5 + 5 (from the VA) + 5 (from BC) = 27.5 and that is only IF you are one of the first 35 students to apply……

Here is a link for the current cycles. Not all schools participating have been added to the list yet.

http://gibill.va.gov/gi_bill_info/ch33/ ... t_2012.htm

Part Two:

Just because the school is free does not mean it is a good deal. You should choose a LS based on your own personal goals. Usually, that goal is to find a job as an attorney. The way LS hiring works was a whole new world to me when I started looking to attending. I cannot overstate this, where you go to LS directly affects what kind of legal job you can reasonably expect and where that job will be. Some schools have national reach and some are regional. For the sake of argument I will say the T-14 have national reach. There are exceptions of course but for the most part attending a T-14 school can get you a job in a lot more locations than attending a lower ranked school. As shown above with the HLS example there are T-14s that you can attend free of additional cost. Michigan and UVA come to mind as well but there may be others. You can’t get into a T-14 or just don’t want to? No biggie as there are plenty of regional schools that can offer you an excellent chance of getting a JD job but the key is to choose wisely. Take a look at this thread when you get a chance and it will explain choosing a regional school. http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=178938 The big thing here is choosing a school that places well in the area you want to live and work. BTW, it will be very helpful if you have ties to that region/state/city. For instance, if you were born and raised in Nebraska and you want to live there the rest of your life, NE is not a bad choice at all. The legal market may not be great there but NE gives you as good a shot of getting a job as any other school. On the flip side let’s say you are from Philly and were accepted at Drexel. While LS would be free you will be placing yourself at a disadvantage by attending Drexel. Drexel will feed the Philly market and ONLY the Philly market. When you graduate you will be competing against kids from the T14 including Penn which is right there. You also have Temple, Rutgers Camden, Penn State and even Pitt which are all ranked higher and more established in the Philly market. I am not saying you cannot get a job after attending Drexel but you are putting yourself at a serious disadvantage.

Go to any military job fair and count the number of booth displays from colleges/universities. Keep in mind schools are a business and especially so when they are private institutions. They know you have that GI Bill $. Some of the schools represented at these fairs offer genuine opportunity. Others are really there just to get your money and keep their staff employed. Seriously, think about that for a minute. The line between genuine opportunity and a complete rip-off is a wide and fuzzy grey area. I appreciate the fact that HLS offers the opportunity for Vets. I appreciate the opportunity Fordham has given me. Now, is it still an “opportunity” if you spend your money at OK City U or Texas Southern University? The thing is it “could” be depending on your situation. A friend of mine wanted a JD so he could move back to Ohio and take over his father’s law practice. In that situation he could go anywhere and meet his goals. If your goal is to use that JD to go on a job hunt then some of these lower ranked schools start moving more towards the rip off side of the equation. There is no right answer as a whole but there IS a right answer for you……..

Also keep in mind military service IS a soft factor that can actually help you perform above your numbers so don’t limit yourself in where you apply but I would recommend only applying to schools you would actually attend if accepted.

Any other vets with additional info please feel free to add it on.

JC

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by humbugger » Sat Jun 23, 2012 1:28 pm

Thanks for this post JCF.

One thing I would like to add is that it really makes a big difference to talk to people, and military vets have a natural "bond," especially those from the same service. I'm applying for a job at a firm (not as a lawyer ofc) right now that I learned about just from asking the law schools I was accepted to for a private sector contact. Said contact forwarded me an email from a placement service, which led to a phone interview...

So call up the law school and ask if there are any military vets that graduated from their school. Talking to a practicing professional can change your perspective a lot. Just keep in mind that the legal market isn't what it used to be.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by Nova » Sat Jun 23, 2012 2:42 pm

*applause*

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by JCFindley » Wed Jun 27, 2012 9:06 am

Nova wrote:*applause*

Thanks Nova.

And thanks for the additional input Hum.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by Burne182 » Mon Jul 02, 2012 1:43 pm

Thanks for this post!

As a service academy grad, my first 5 years of AD do not count for any GI Bill eligibility. I will have 1 year past commitment when I start law school, so I can use 60% of the GI Bill funds. Still a great deal, but the YRP is only available to students eligible for 100% of GI bill benefits. Just something to remember if you're in the same boat.

Also, since the GI Bill is a "last payer", the scholarship I received for tuition and fees will be used first and then whatever is left (again, up to 60% of in-state tuition) will be covered by the VA. However, if the scholarship wording can be such that it does not JUST cover tuition and fees, the VA will pay the full 60% and the leftover scholarship funds will go into a cost of living fund for me. (I got this info from only 2 schools, so I cannot say whether all schools will do this.) That's pretty fantastic, I must say!

One last thing-- some states offer in-state tuition to vets regardless of home of record/current location. I know Ohio and Kentucky both do that, not sure where else. It's something to look into, though!

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by yarch » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:58 am

Awesome OP.

Quick question - is there any sort of cap on the total amount of GI Bill money you can receive across the 36 months at a public school, or will it pay out full in-state tuition regardless of the cost? I called the VA to ask, and the rep told me there's an $85k limit, but he also seemed a bit confused. Nothing on the VA website indicates a cap.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by TTTehehe » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:06 am

yarch wrote:Awesome OP.

Quick question - is there any sort of cap on the total amount of GI Bill money you can receive across the 36 months at a public school, or will it pay out full in-state tuition regardless of the cost? I called the VA to ask, and the rep told me there's an $85k limit, but he also seemed a bit confused. Nothing on the VA website indicates a cap.
Very strange number. I originally thought maybe that's 17.5k over 4 academic years, but it comes out to 70k. I would call the VA and ask for clarification; the last thing you want is the VA demanding...taking money from you.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by JCFindley » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:13 am

yarch wrote:Awesome OP.

Quick question - is there any sort of cap on the total amount of GI Bill money you can receive across the 36 months at a public school, or will it pay out full in-state tuition regardless of the cost? I called the VA to ask, and the rep told me there's an $85k limit, but he also seemed a bit confused. Nothing on the VA website indicates a cap.
I have not read anything anywhere that states a cap on the in state tuition myself but will see if I can find an answer in writing somewhere.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by Rotor » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:32 am

JCFindley wrote:
yarch wrote:Awesome OP.

Quick question - is there any sort of cap on the total amount of GI Bill money you can receive across the 36 months at a public school, or will it pay out full in-state tuition regardless of the cost? I called the VA to ask, and the rep told me there's an $85k limit, but he also seemed a bit confused. Nothing on the VA website indicates a cap.
I have not read anything anywhere that states a cap on the in state tuition myself but will see if I can find an answer in writing somewhere.
Unless there is a cap specified outside of Ch. 33 there is no limit to the funding available.

JCF--good post (along with the recent adds) but might I say
there are T-14s that you can attend free of additional cost. Michigan and UVA come to mind as well but there may be others.
is pretty rancid Berkeley trolling. 8)

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by JCFindley » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:39 am

Rotor wrote:
JCFindley wrote:
yarch wrote:Awesome OP.

Quick question - is there any sort of cap on the total amount of GI Bill money you can receive across the 36 months at a public school, or will it pay out full in-state tuition regardless of the cost? I called the VA to ask, and the rep told me there's an $85k limit, but he also seemed a bit confused. Nothing on the VA website indicates a cap.
I have not read anything anywhere that states a cap on the in state tuition myself but will see if I can find an answer in writing somewhere.
Unless there is a cap specified outside of Ch. 33 there is no limit to the funding available.

JCF--good post (along with the recent adds) but might I say
there are T-14s that you can attend free of additional cost. Michigan and UVA come to mind as well but there may be others.
is pretty rancid Berkeley trolling. 8)
I always forget that Berkeley is a state school.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by TTTehehe » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:42 am

Rotor wrote:
JCFindley wrote:
yarch wrote:Awesome OP.

Quick question - is there any sort of cap on the total amount of GI Bill money you can receive across the 36 months at a public school, or will it pay out full in-state tuition regardless of the cost? I called the VA to ask, and the rep told me there's an $85k limit, but he also seemed a bit confused. Nothing on the VA website indicates a cap.
I have not read anything anywhere that states a cap on the in state tuition myself but will see if I can find an answer in writing somewhere.
Unless there is a cap specified outside of Ch. 33 there is no limit to the funding available.

JCF--good post (along with the recent adds) but might I say
there are T-14s that you can attend free of additional cost. Michigan and UVA come to mind as well but there may be others.
is pretty rancid Berkeley trolling. 8)
:shock: Last I checked, Cal is only giving 5k matching to 10 students. That's kind of terrible. Not sure if that's worse than GULC's 2.5k matching to unlimited students.

Anyhow, another T14 that is generous is Cornell.

Edit: Cal tuition is 50k in-state, no?
Last edited by TTTehehe on Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:47 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by Rotor » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:45 am

JCFindley wrote:I always forget that Berkeley is a state school.
I kinda did too during the time between when fees posted and the VA payment dropped! :P

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by JCFindley » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:55 am

TTTehehe wrote:
Rotor wrote:
JCFindley wrote:
yarch wrote:Awesome OP.

Quick question - is there any sort of cap on the total amount of GI Bill money you can receive across the 36 months at a public school, or will it pay out full in-state tuition regardless of the cost? I called the VA to ask, and the rep told me there's an $85k limit, but he also seemed a bit confused. Nothing on the VA website indicates a cap.
I have not read anything anywhere that states a cap on the in state tuition myself but will see if I can find an answer in writing somewhere.
Unless there is a cap specified outside of Ch. 33 there is no limit to the funding available.

JCF--good post (along with the recent adds) but might I say
there are T-14s that you can attend free of additional cost. Michigan and UVA come to mind as well but there may be others.
is pretty rancid Berkeley trolling. 8)
:shock: Last I checked, Cal is only giving 5k matching to 10 students. That's kind of terrible. Not sure if that's worse than GULC's 2.5k matching to unlimited students.

Anyhow, another T14 that is generous is Cornell.

Edit: Cal tuition is 50k in-state, no?
Cornell and Michigan are the two most generous schools in the T-14 when it comes to the YRP if I recall correctly but I believe HLS allows 50 vets to partake and would cover tuition so as long as you are in the first 50 you are good to go. (Michigan is a state school of course but the generous YRP means a vet doesn't have to worry about getting in state tuition.)

Fordham only allowed 40 but that was more than enough to cover ALL the vets starting this year.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by Rotor » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:55 am

TTTehehe wrote: :shock: Last I checked, Cal is only giving 5k matching to 10 students. That's kind of terrible. Not sure if that's worse than GULC's 2.5k matching to unlimited students.

Anyhow, another T14 that is Cornell.
Because it is a state school, tuition is covered 100% for in staters (100% eligibles). Out of staters are only 4k more and that will usually only apply 1L year.

And, the 10 was a good faith estimate developed by admissions, finaid and the veterans group as to how many 100% Ch. 33 eligible out of state students there would be in a given year. To date, they have never even come close to using all the slots.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by JCFindley » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:59 am

Rotor wrote:
TTTehehe wrote: :shock: Last I checked, Cal is only giving 5k matching to 10 students. That's kind of terrible. Not sure if that's worse than GULC's 2.5k matching to unlimited students.

Anyhow, another T14 that is Cornell.
Because it is a state school, tuition is covered 100% for in staters (100% eligibles). Out of staters are only 4k more and that will usually only apply 1L year.

And, the 10 was a good faith estimate developed by admissions, finaid and the veterans group as to how many 100% Ch. 33 eligible out of state students there would be in a given year. To date, they have never even come close to using all the slots.
Yeah, when it comes to a state school the YRP is not a necessity so long as you can get in state tuition. In the case of Cal the difference isn't horrible anyway so still way worth the cost of admission.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by JCFindley » Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:02 am

What did kind of surprise me is that a lot of state schools in "Red States," which are generally considered pro-military offer no YRP at all so out of state vets would have to make up the difference. Just kind of surprising to me.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by Rotor » Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:04 am

JCFindley wrote:
Rotor wrote:
TTTehehe wrote: :shock: Last I checked, Cal is only giving 5k matching to 10 students. That's kind of terrible. Not sure if that's worse than GULC's 2.5k matching to unlimited students.

Anyhow, another T14 that is Cornell.
Because it is a state school, tuition is covered 100% for in staters (100% eligibles). Out of staters are only 4k more and that will usually only apply 1L year.

And, the 10 was a good faith estimate developed by admissions, finaid and the veterans group as to how many 100% Ch. 33 eligible out of state students there would be in a given year. To date, they have never even come close to using all the slots.
Yeah, when it comes to a state school the YRP is not a necessity so long as you can get in state tuition. In the case of Cal the difference isn't horrible anyway so still way worth the cost of admission.
The point of my post was there is no cost difference if you are YRP eligible.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by TTTehehe » Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:12 am

JCFindley wrote:
Rotor wrote:
TTTehehe wrote: :shock: Last I checked, Cal is only giving 5k matching to 10 students. That's kind of terrible. Not sure if that's worse than GULC's 2.5k matching to unlimited students.

Anyhow, another T14 that is Cornell.
Because it is a state school, tuition is covered 100% for in staters (100% eligibles). Out of staters are only 4k more and that will usually only apply 1L year.

And, the 10 was a good faith estimate developed by admissions, finaid and the veterans group as to how many 100% Ch. 33 eligible out of state students there would be in a given year. To date, they have never even come close to using all the slots.
Yeah, when it comes to a state school the YRP is not a necessity so long as you can get in state tuition. In the case of Cal the difference isn't horrible anyway so still way worth the cost of admission.
I don't really count the in-state aspect into my assessment. I look at the funding issue from an OOS and generosity of the school standpoint. As noted many times by TLSers, Mich and Cornell are hands down the best deals for EVERYONE. And if H is letting 50 people get near full-tuition a year, then they are right behind Mich and Cornell.

If you want to factor in the in-state aspect, obviously Cal and UVA are solid deals in the T14.

I'd still like to see more schools open up to unlimited/unlimited. Even if the quotas will not come close to being filled, as stated by Rotor, it's a nice gesture that goes a long way.

I still stand by my statement that GULC's 'contribution' to vets is a joke. 2.5k matched by the VA will pay for books, some pizza, and transfer applications to more generous schools.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by TTTehehe » Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:22 am

Rotor wrote:
JCFindley wrote:
Rotor wrote:
TTTehehe wrote: :shock: Last I checked, Cal is only giving 5k matching to 10 students. That's kind of terrible. Not sure if that's worse than GULC's 2.5k matching to unlimited students.

Anyhow, another T14 that is Cornell.
Because it is a state school, tuition is covered 100% for in staters (100% eligibles). Out of staters are only 4k more and that will usually only apply 1L year.

And, the 10 was a good faith estimate developed by admissions, finaid and the veterans group as to how many 100% Ch. 33 eligible out of state students there would be in a given year. To date, they have never even come close to using all the slots.
Yeah, when it comes to a state school the YRP is not a necessity so long as you can get in state tuition. In the case of Cal the difference isn't horrible anyway so still way worth the cost of admission.
The point of my post was there is no cost difference if you are YRP eligible.
It may be the crack that I'm smoking, but I'm not sure about your calculation. If a vet is receiving in-state tuition, YRP status doesn't matter because the VA will fork over the 50k to attend. So yes, there is no cost difference in that sense.

If, however, the vet is paying OOS for the first year, and is YRP eligible, they are paying 54k tuition. The VA is paying 17.5k up front, and matching Cal's 5k with another 5k. So total tuition going to Cal will be 27.5k. The OOS vet student will need to pay 26.5k his/her 1L year, and hopefully get in-state the next two years. Unless I'm missing something, that's a noteworthy cost difference.
Last edited by TTTehehe on Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:25 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by JCFindley » Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:24 am

TTTehehe wrote: I still stand by my statement that GULC's 'contribution' to vets is a joke. 2.5k matched by the VA will pay for books, some pizza, and transfer applications to more generous schools.
So long as it isn't to NYU with their 3500. CLS was a bit better but still not to the level of Fordham so for my personal situation Fordham > CLS > NYU.

Factoring in the cost of the divorce would have negated any benefits of me applying to LS outside of NYC. (Not to mention, since my wife has a good job in NYC even if she didn't divorce me loosing that part of the family income was just not worth it for my situation.)

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by karich » Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:27 am

I have a question and I feel like my situation isn't super common because none of the folks I served with at other schools are handling the GI bill this way.

In undergrad (past few years), my state has a program that caps tuition and fees at public universities at a low amount for combat vets so it actually made more sense to use the old Montgomery GI bill instead of the post 9/11 GI bill for undergrad. I was told that since the MGIB was only 36 months and the post 9/11 was a full 48 months, at the end of the 36 months of MGIB I could switch to the post 9/11 GIB and continue on for an additional year.

My situation is I have about 6 months of MGIB left, can I switch to the post 9/11 when I start law school and have around 18 (6 months left from MGIB and 12 till the end of post 9/11) months left and then have the GI bill for my first two years or is the VA going to find a way to crush my dreams?

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by TTTehehe » Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:31 am

JCFindley wrote:
TTTehehe wrote: I still stand by my statement that GULC's 'contribution' to vets is a joke. 2.5k matched by the VA will pay for books, some pizza, and transfer applications to more generous schools.
So long as it isn't to NYU with their 3500. CLS was a bit better but still not to the level of Fordham so for my personal situation Fordham > CLS > NYU.

Factoring in the cost of the divorce would have negated any benefits of me applying to LS outside of NYC. (Not to mention, since my wife has a good job in NYC even if she didn't divorce me loosing that part of the family income was just not worth it for my situation.)

For a while, it was open season on vets at many of the T14 schools. Back when it was GI Bill 1.0, the VA was paying full-tuition to public and private schools - even if OOS. Back then, everyone 'loved' military service and wanted to diversify the student body. Since the change in rules and GI Bill 2.0, we see which schools stand by their original claims. Not pointing any fingers :roll:

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by Rotor » Sun Jul 08, 2012 4:28 pm

TTTehehe wrote: It may be the crack that I'm smoking, but I'm not sure about your calculation. If a vet is receiving in-state tuition, YRP status doesn't matter because the VA will fork over the 50k to attend. So yes, there is no cost difference in that sense.

If, however, the vet is paying OOS for the first year, and is YRP eligible, they are paying 54k tuition. The VA is paying 17.5k up front, and matching Cal's 5k with another 5k. So total tuition going to Cal will be 27.5k. The OOS vet student will need to pay 26.5k his/her 1L year, and hopefully get in-state the next two years. Unless I'm missing something, that's a noteworthy cost difference.
Nope. Cal is public. Therefore full ride up to in-state for 100% eligibles. There is no 17.5k limit. THAT is why there is little need for YRP.

And as nice as it would be to post "99,999/unlimited" on the GI Bill web site to show support, the state budgeting rules have to take it into account even if it doesn't get used.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by Rotor » Sun Jul 08, 2012 4:33 pm

TTTehehe wrote:
JCFindley wrote:
TTTehehe wrote: I still stand by my statement that GULC's 'contribution' to vets is a joke. 2.5k matched by the VA will pay for books, some pizza, and transfer applications to more generous schools.
So long as it isn't to NYU with their 3500. CLS was a bit better but still not to the level of Fordham so for my personal situation Fordham > CLS > NYU.

Factoring in the cost of the divorce would have negated any benefits of me applying to LS outside of NYC. (Not to mention, since my wife has a good job in NYC even if she didn't divorce me loosing that part of the family income was just not worth it for my situation.)

For a while, it was open season on vets at many of the T14 schools. Back when it was GI Bill 1.0, the VA was paying full-tuition to public and private schools - even if OOS. Back then, everyone 'loved' military service and wanted to diversify the student body. Since the change in rules and GI Bill 2.0, we see which schools stand by their original claims. Not pointing any fingers :roll:
Also, GI Bill 1.0 was not universally a better deal. It varied state by state. While private schools in some states got full rides, Californians--whether at public or private were capped at the very low (relative) undergrad tuition rate.

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Re: Choosing a law school for vets 101

Post by Rotor » Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:12 pm

[Bad edit. See next post]
Last edited by Rotor on Sun Jul 08, 2012 5:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


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