Veterans Thread Forum

[UnicornHunter]

How do people deal with different duty stations and jobs on a 1/2L resume. The military is still a big enough part of my recent past that I want to give it center stage, but I don't want it to turn into infinite sub-categories.

[navykev]

How do people deal with different duty stations and jobs on a 1/2L resume. The military is still a big enough part of my recent past that I want to give it center stage, but I don't want it to turn into infinite sub-categories.

Im just a 0L so take it for what it's worth -- but while I was in TGPS (TAP) a few weeks ago -- I did my 1L resume instead of the normal job resume. I was in for 20 years so I had a lot to say. I found a bunch of sample resumes on Harvard's website for folks that had previous work experience and tailored them to my military stuff. If you still have access to your VMET at https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/tgps/ --- it does a pretty good job at translating what you did in the military into short blurbs that civilians understand.

I'd be interested in hearing from those who have actually done OCIs and gotten jobs though -- on how they constructed their resumes.

[TripTrip]

I'd be interested in hearing from those who have actually done OCIs and gotten jobs though -- on how they constructed their resumes.

Current National Guard NCO; did OCI and got a job AMA.

Resume construction will depend on how prominent the military has been in your past ~10 years of life/work experience. Most OCI resumes start with education even if that's not the most important thing on there because firms really care about which law school you went to.

[DrSpaceman]

Do people tend to see a "veteran's bump" more consistently with regard to acceptances or scholarships? How are people's cycles going so far this year?

[bjsesq]

Do people tend to see a "veteran's bump" more consistently with regard to acceptances or scholarships? How are people's cycles going so far this year?

I was class of 2013, so this is dated as fuck, but: no bump at all for acceptances, decent bump for scholarships.

[navykev]

Do people tend to see a "veteran's bump" more consistently with regard to acceptances or scholarships? How are people's cycles going so far this year?

No question I got a huge "veteran's bump" for acceptances - I served 20 years though -- so might be looked at a little differently. If you want more details -- let me know.

[TripTrip]

Do people tend to see a "veteran's bump" more consistently with regard to acceptances or scholarships? How are people's cycles going so far this year?

I saw a bump for acceptances and for job interviews. (HLS, so scholarship is N/A.) It's rare enough at top schools to be something people want to talk about.

[navykev]

Do people tend to see a "veteran's bump" more consistently with regard to acceptances or scholarships? How are people's cycles going so far this year?

I saw a bump for acceptances and for job interviews. (HLS, so scholarship is N/A.) It's rare enough at top schools to be something people want to talk about.

On a side note -- very cool to see a NCO at Harvard.

[SemperLegal]

How do people deal with different duty stations and jobs on a 1/2L resume. The military is still a big enough part of my recent past that I want to give it center stage, but I don't want it to turn into infinite sub-categories.

Im just a 0L so take it for what it's worth -- but while I was in TGPS (TAP) a few weeks ago -- I did my 1L resume instead of the normal job resume. I was in for 20 years so I had a lot to say. I found a bunch of sample resumes on Harvard's website for folks that had previous work experience and tailored them to my military stuff. If you still have access to your VMET at https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/tgps/ --- it does a pretty good job at translating what you did in the military into short blurbs that civilians understand.

I'd be interested in hearing from those who have actually done OCIs and gotten jobs though -- on how they constructed their resumes.

3L, OCI, multiple offers. My resume was filled with military teasers that just begged for follow up questions that I used in interviews. Broke down each of my major Deployments by subheading and then listed most intrestig thing.

Example

United States Marine Corps, Rank 2xxx-20xx
Every Clime and Place (jk, I put "Various Locations")
-T/O Billet (i.e. Squad Leader)
In charge of xx Marines and budget of $x mil.
-Operation ____ Freedom
Embedded with XXX as subject matter expert and liason
-Specialized Command
Deployed in small, unsupported teams in order to equip and train friendly nation forces.
. . .

Awards: (Two best sounding awards, which were not even my highest).

Special Skills: . . . Clearance . . .

[navykev]

3L, OCI, multiple offers. My resume was filled with military teasers that just begged for follow up questions that I used in interviews. Broke down each of my major Deployments by subheading and then listed most intrestig thing.

Example

United States Marine Corps, Rank 2xxx-20xx
Every Clime and Place (jk, I put "Various Locations")
-T/O Billet (i.e. Squad Leader)
In charge of xx Marines and budget of $x mil.
-Operation ____ Freedom
Embedded with XXX as subject matter expert and liason
-Specialized Command
Deployed in small, unsupported teams in order to equip and train friendly nation forces.
. . .

Awards: (Two best sounding awards, which were not even my highest).

Special Skills: . . . Clearance . . .

That's good stuff -- thanks brother!

[uorbulldog]

Looking to see what others would say about the following situation-

Quick background- Marine Captain, intelligence and civil affairs MOSs and combat deployments.. 6 years active, now additional 3 in the reserves. I've also been a police officer in a large city department for the last 2 and will be continuing there after this mobilization.

I'm looking to apply to schools next year and start in 2016 (I can take a leave of absence from my civilian law enforcement job), however, in 2015, I'm deploying in the spring, and returning in the fall. I would probably give it a 50/50 shot that I'd be able to travel to take an LSAT during the time; and or more or less the same chances that I'd actually have to time to study properly while deployed. (I work in a MAGTF command element ops section as a operations planner, so at times can be task heavy) With that being said, it looks like my options are either take the LSAT in February, or wait until next year. I just started really studying hard in the past week, so basically I have a month and a half to prepare. I'm looking at around a 155-160 right now after a short amount of prep time (strong RC, weak on logic games), and would hopefully aim for upper 160's. I have a 3.0 undergrad (non-LSAC yet), and I would like to apply to some of the accelerated JD programs, i.e. Pepperdine, ASU, Kansas, Northwestern, and a few others. I would also like to concentrate on international law as it is a closely related functional specialty of civil affairs, and what I do and will be doing in the future; and to law enforcement administration to a certain degree.

Anyway, just trying to gauge whether I am better off cramming for a month and getting the LSAT done in the states in February; or try to see if I can study more and/or take it while deployed or when I get back in the fall. I know I'd have to get pretty high splitter status to get into Northwestern but the others I think I may be able to hit their 75th percentile for LSAT score in February; so right now I'm leaning towards taking it in February.. was wondering what others would say

[navykev]

2015 housing calculator for those interested in seeing what the new rates are.

http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm

I believe those rates don't impact those going to school now until August 2015.

[navykev]

Looking to see what others would say about the following situation-

Quick background- Marine Captain, intelligence and civil affairs MOSs and combat deployments.. 6 years active, now additional 3 in the reserves. I've also been a police officer in a large city department for the last 2 and will be continuing there after this mobilization.

I'm looking to apply to schools next year and start in 2016 (I can take a leave of absence from my civilian law enforcement job), however, in 2015, I'm deploying in the spring, and returning in the fall. I would probably give it a 50/50 shot that I'd be able to travel to take an LSAT during the time; and or more or less the same chances that I'd actually have to time to study properly while deployed. (I work in a MAGTF command element ops section as a operations planner, so at times can be task heavy) With that being said, it looks like my options are either take the LSAT in February, or wait until next year. I just started really studying hard in the past week, so basically I have a month and a half to prepare. I'm looking at around a 155-160 right now after a short amount of prep time (strong RC, weak on logic games), and would hopefully aim for upper 160's. I have a 3.0 undergrad (non-LSAC yet), and I would like to apply to some of the accelerated JD programs, i.e. Pepperdine, ASU, Kansas, Northwestern, and a few others. I would also like to concentrate on international law as it is a closely related functional specialty of civil affairs, and what I do and will be doing in the future; and to law enforcement administration to a certain degree.

Anyway, just trying to gauge whether I am better off cramming for a month and getting the LSAT done in the states in February; or try to see if I can study more and/or take it while deployed or when I get back in the fall. I know I'd have to get pretty high splitter status to get into Northwestern but the others I think I may be able to hit their 75th percentile for LSAT score in February; so right now I'm leaning towards taking it in February.. was wondering what others would say

I crammed for mine during a high optempo period (out to sea or on dets during most of my study time) -- was difficult but doable. I took my test the day before departing on a 90 day RIMPAC exercise. You can also talk to your ESO and LSAC -- you might be able to get your LSAT test sent and administered there (I've heard that LSAC can be a big pain in the ass with this kind of stuff though) -- hopefully someone that has done that will chime in on the process. Oh and I'm a dumb, old enlisted guy and games were really hard for me at first but ended up being my strongest section by far -- very learnable -- you'll improve dramatically (7Sage videos were a godsend for me).

During my Northwestern interview I asked about the A-JD program (I start law school at 40 and a 2 year program appealed to me) -- I got the impression that they are very selective and want folks on the higher end of the GPA/LSAT spectrum - or at least that's how they framed it to me. If you want to know more about my experience we can take it to PM -- Im headed to GULC but applied/admitted to many of the schools you listed.

[ScottRiqui]

2015 housing calculator for those interested in seeing what the new rates are.

http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm

I believe those rates don't impact those going to school now until August 2015.

Does anyone know if the housing allowance works like BAH did when we were active, in that if you're already in a particular area and the BAH drops from one year to the next, you keep the old, higher rate? It looks like the BAH for my school's location will drop about $60 for 2015.

[navykev]

2015 housing calculator for those interested in seeing what the new rates are.

http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm

I believe those rates don't impact those going to school now until August 2015.

Does anyone know if the housing allowance works like BAH did when we were active, in that if you're already in a particular area and the BAH drops from one year to the next, you keep the old, higher rate? It looks like the BAH for my school's location will drop about $60 for 2015.

You are grandfathered -- reference: https://gibill.custhelp.com/app/answers ... a_id/1412/

[uorbulldog]

NavyKev - Thanks for the gouge.. I'm going to go through the 7sage videos starting tomorrow, and I'm basically on leave until 5 January so I've got all day everyday for almost 2 weeks.

I'll probably hit you up later about Northwestern.. I'll probably need at least a 172 to have a chance, so we'll see.

[cmac2210]

Do people tend to see a "veteran's bump" more consistently with regard to acceptances or scholarships? How are people's cycles going so far this year?

No question I got a huge "veteran's bump" for acceptances - I served 20 years though -- so might be looked at a little differently. If you want more details -- let me know.

20 years active duty AF, 11 as a paralegal on the jag corps. How do you know you received a benefit from your retired veterans status? Were you getting acceptances at schools outside of you general range (lsat, gpa)? I'm submitting aps now, but I'm still waiting on my lsat. Also, wrt scholarships and YRP... Can you double dip or will the school consider YRP to be your scholarship?

[Wipfelder]

NavyKev - Thanks for the gouge.. I'm going to go through the 7sage videos starting tomorrow, and I'm basically on leave until 5 January so I've got all day everyday for almost 2 weeks.

I'll probably hit you up later about Northwestern.. I'll probably need at least a 172 to have a chance, so we'll see.

Comrade,

I just got into NU with a worse GPA than you, but yea, you'll need to kill the LSAT and have a bomb personal statement (read: really well written) I know dudes on this site don't give it much stock, but I'm pretty sure my PS and R enhanced my softs and just generally made admissions people want to talk to me/admit me. If you want to see my stuff, hit me up via PM. MT Cicero did the same for me, and it was clutch, seriously.

W

[uorbulldog]

Thanks.. I'll hit you up too after the test if I can get in the ballpark

[navykev]

Do people tend to see a "veteran's bump" more consistently with regard to acceptances or scholarships? How are people's cycles going so far this year?

No question I got a huge "veteran's bump" for acceptances - I served 20 years though -- so might be looked at a little differently. If you want more details -- let me know.

20 years active duty AF, 11 as a paralegal on the jag corps. How do you know you received a benefit from your retired veterans status? Were you getting acceptances at schools outside of you general range (lsat, gpa)? I'm submitting aps now, but I'm still waiting on my lsat. Also, wrt scholarships and YRP... Can you double dip or will the school consider YRP to be your scholarship?

Yeah I got into T14s where I was below LSAT 25th - veteran bump 100% exists IMHO. WRT scholarship question -- Ive seen vets on here use GI Bill, YRP and get a scholly. I got full rides to a couple of T50s without having to use any GI Bill or YRP. Many schools are 100% paid for without any scholarship anyway though - best link ever: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwMLcV ... xnOFU/edit

[navykev]

NavyKev - Thanks for the gouge.. I'm going to go through the 7sage videos starting tomorrow, and I'm basically on leave until 5 January so I've got all day everyday for almost 2 weeks.

I'll probably hit you up later about Northwestern.. I'll probably need at least a 172 to have a chance, so we'll see.

There are a few on here that actually go/went to Northwestern (SemperLegal I think) -- they'll probably chime in with some good gouge when they jump back on here after the holiday.

[bjsesq]

Nu alum here

[MT Cicero]

Yeah, there's a decent NU vet TLS presence. BJ above. Cobretti and I are current students.

I also created that spreadsheet above and update it annually. I moved it over to Google (but I think that Scribd one does the trick as well). Here's the new-ish link:

2014-15 GI Bill + Yellow Ribbon

SemperLegal, if you happen upon this post, you may as well throw the spreadsheet in the OP.

Merry Christmas all! (Especially to those downrange right now)

[MT Cicero]

Yeah, there's a decent NU vet TLS presence. BJ above. Cobretti and I are current students.

I also created that spreadsheet above and update it annually. I moved it over to Google (but I think that Scribd one does the trick as well). Here's the new-ish link:

2014-15 GI Bill + Yellow Ribbon

SemperLegal, if you happen upon this post, you may as well throw the spreadsheet in the OP.

Merry Christmas all! (Especially to those downrange right now)

For those starting law school or still attending next year...remember that public schools will now be fully covered by the G.I. Bill. So, I'll be changing the spreadsheet in the spring to reflect private schools only. I'll also go deeper and list all private schools in the top 100-ish since it'll be easier now with just one G.I. Bill payment amount.

[Rotor]

Jumping on the VA loan bandwagon to ask, it looks like I'm going to be in DC for the duration when I move there in September. DC rents are terrible, but do you think they're bad enough to justify buying a place with 0 down? The idea of that terrifies me but some people said purchase prices in DC are way lower than rental rates and you have basically a guaranteed rental income when you're ready to move up and out. Anyone have experience with this, or is it still pretty common to wait and put some money down when you get the VA loan?

I think the answer really depends on where you intend to live when you're here. I went from being a renter to being an owner when I bought the place we were in from our landlord. We pay a shade less in mortgage (including principal, interest and insurance) than rent but it is pretty much a wash.

The VA max for 2015 is $625,500. There are certainly parts of town where you can get a decent sized home for this amount, but it will likely be a transitional neighborhood and a bit further out. If you want to be closer or in a nicer neighborhood, you will likely have to go with a smaller house or condo. NFCU has 100% financing if you want to go above the VA limit and don't have (much) savings.

The District has some of the most tenant friendly laws in the US. You will want to make sure that your property qualifies for a certificate of occupancy. If you don't have that you cannot legally rent the place. Many people do, but you also would not have access to the landlord tenant court should you run into problems.