Veterans Thread

[usn26]

I echo MT Cicero. I'm still very willing to do a Skype session for free with any Vet who has completed the free diagnostic June 2007 LSAT and has questions about how to proceed from there. I'm no longer going to post here, though. I will be moving along elsewhere with MT Cicero. If you need to contact me, please pm me there as that's apparently no longer an option here.

This goes for me as well.

[Deltagirl1913]

Checking In, Chaos 6 on the net! Active Duty, African American, Female, Army Lieutenant Colonel, due to retire this summer after 22 years of service. Horrible undergrad grades (too much partying and sorority life), but two Masters degrees with 4.0 GPAs. Four full deployments to Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq. Mediocre LSAT but I have GI Bill/Yellow Ribbon and retirement pay so I don't need scholly money. My softs are amazing and my letters of recommendations legendary, I am what bloggers would call a Unicorn. I've been admitted to a handful of tier four schools but my first choice is Syracuse, Go Orange or Go Home!

Welcome! I think with a good application you should have a decent shot at Syracuse; they are incredibly veteran friendly. Case in point: I went to Syracuse University through the Military Motion Media Program in 2015-2016. It was like a year-long vacation while still being on active duty. I was very lucky.

Syracuse has a robust Student Veteran Organization. They may be able to advocate for your admission. They will also provide you with a solid idea of what your student life would be like at Syracuse. Good luck to you!

Got my acceptance to SUCOL today! Couldnt be more excited! Now off to house hunt.

[usn26]

Got my acceptance to SUCOL today! Couldnt be more excited! Now off to house hunt.

Congrats! SU is a great place for vets. Enjoy the lake-effect!

[huddy59]

Cicero,
can you please send me the spreadsheet you have built? The link provided does not work

[huddy59]

Welcome to the TLS Veterans Thread!

First off, here is the spreadsheet I update annually, which shows how much the Post 9/11 + Yellow Ribbon covers at the top ~100 law schools (all public are now free for 100%-eligible Post-9/11 vets):

2017-18 GI Bill + Yellow Ribbon

Additionally:

1. Thanks for all your service.
2. Keep it civil and chill. No shitty inter-branch rivalry chat, but cheekiness and self-deprecation are always welcome!
3. Post 9/11 (if you're at 100%) covers the entire cost of public grad schools now.

Successful military fee waiver requests for the 2017-18 cycle
Berkeley
Colorado
Denver
GULC
Hawaii
NYU
Penn
UCLA
Vandy

Fee waivers for anyone this cycle: ASU, Baylor, George Mason, GW, Liberty

Schools that have waived application fees for veterans in the past (not all inclusive):
Lewis and Clark
ASU
Buffalo
Cincinnati
Colorado
Denver
UCONN
FIU
Hawaii
Notre Dame
Tulane
Richmond
Widener
William and Mary
UVA
NYU
Chicago
Georgetown
University of Washington
Berkeley
George Washington
Emory
Vanderbilt
Wyoming
Montana
Penn State
UMASS

No Waiver:
Columbia
Michigan
Cornell
Harvard
Yale
Stanford
Duke

*Requested shoutout to http://www.service2school.org, which is a nonprofit by vets for vets that specializes in getting fellow vets into law school, and hopefully helping them "punch above their weight" from a pure numbers standpoint. They help with test prep, personal statement, resumes, interview prep, etc (pretty much everything). And they don't charge anything.

Please send me the spreadsheet you had posted. it doesn't work anymore huddy59@yahoo.com

[MT Cicero]

Don't know what happened to that link, and now I can't go back in and alter it. You can try this link to the spreadsheet and see if it works.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

[LuckyDevilCat]

Hi all. Posting here as well as the Veterans C/O 2021 Thread. In at Georgetown yesterday via Admitted Students Website. 3.33/168. ~12 years Air Force. Really excited! If there are any other veterans going to Georgetown this fall, especially the part-time program, it would be great to meet you.

Also, SOCO! (you know who you are)...email me at theluckydevilcat@gmail.com. You'll remember me from law school discussions ~5-6 years ago.

[happygogo]

Hello,

I served in the military for only 2 years, unfortunately. Although honorably discharged, I wasn't able to fulfill my full contract because I was medically retired.

Will I have to explain in an attachment with my resume why I only served for 2 years? Will they have a hunch of why I only served for 2 years (since typical first term contracts last 3-4 years)? I don't want to mention my disability as much as possible in case of any biases or discrimination (which should not happen anyways, I would assume). I am looking into applying to the top law schools, so I need to increase any boosters I may have and decrease any negatives I may have.

[navykev]

Hello,

I served in the military for only 2 years, unfortunately. Although honorably discharged, I wasn't able to fulfill my full contract because I was medically retired.

Will I have to explain in an attachment with my resume why I only served for 2 years? Will they have a hunch of why I only served for 2 years (since typical first term contracts last 3-4 years)? I don't want to mention my disability as much as possible in case of any biases or discrimination (which should not happen anyways, I would assume). I am looking into applying to the top law schools, so I need to increase any boosters I may have and decrease any negatives I may have.

I don't think you need to explain anything. Most law school admission's folks don't have a clue about military service -- the fact that you served and were honorably discharged is all they'll notice most likely.

[NoMalice]

Hello,

I served in the military for only 2 years, unfortunately. Although honorably discharged, I wasn't able to fulfill my full contract because I was medically retired.

Will I have to explain in an attachment with my resume why I only served for 2 years? Will they have a hunch of why I only served for 2 years (since typical first term contracts last 3-4 years)? I don't want to mention my disability as much as possible in case of any biases or discrimination (which should not happen anyways, I would assume). I am looking into applying to the top law schools, so I need to increase any boosters I may have and decrease any negatives I may have.

My active duty contract was shorter than normal. No one in any admissions office seemed to care (although I didn't get in everywhere, I was admitted to several of my top choices).

[sean0128]

Prior AD enlisted Air Force for 7 years, got out last year February. Took the LSAT 2 years ago and got a 170 but at the time I had a 2.75 GPA and wasn't separation eligible, so I decided to hold off. When I separated I decided to take classes to bring GPA up as much as I possibly could and retake the LSAT. Taking the LSAT on January 26th. Been studying for the last year and PTing for the last month in prep for it. Scores range from 172-174 with 5 sections. GPA is now 2.82... not much of an improvement but grades were all A's and better than it was. Currently, I live in NJ just outside of NYC. 100% GI Bill. What are my options if score holds up and is there anything I should be lining up now? Not sure if I can ED without the score I plan on using. Ideally, I would love to go T14, but with my GPA it might not be possible. Any guidance would be really appreciated!

[AdieuCali]

Prior AD enlisted Air Force for 7 years, got out last year February. Took the LSAT 2 years ago and got a 170 but at the time I had a 2.75 GPA and wasn't separation eligible, so I decided to hold off. When I separated I decided to take classes to bring GPA up as much as I possibly could and retake the LSAT. Taking the LSAT on January 26th. Been studying for the last year and PTing for the last month in prep for it. Scores range from 172-174 with 5 sections. GPA is now 2.82... not much of an improvement but grades were all A's and better than it was. Currently, I live in NJ just outside of NYC. 100% GI Bill. What are my options if score holds up and is there anything I should be lining up now? Not sure if I can ED without the score I plan on using. Ideally, I would love to go T14, but with my GPA it might not be possible. Any guidance would be really appreciated!

Could you please clarify: Have you graduated undergrad yet? How much eligibility will you have left on your GI Bill at the start of law school? Forever/9-11 GI Bill or MGIB?

If you haven't graduated yet, keep trying to get that GPA up. The upward trend helps, and a GPA addendum with your apps might help as well. I don't think increasing your LSAT will improve your outcomes that much but I think it would give you a little insurance on the schools that you would be competitive for anyway.

Me: 169/sub-3.0 (ROTC)/8years AD - admitted to UVA, GULC, and Penn (the latter off w/l). I know several vets with similar stats/outcomes. I don't think the T13 is out of reach for you at all, but nothing is guaranteed. ED doesn't really make much sense unless you want to take a long-shot at NYU or Columbia (only do this if 100% GIB). Apply at the start of the cycle to Columbia and below. Definitely Fordham too if you're interested in NYC. Ask for fee waivers. Finally, something you can do now is show interest/visit these schools. Another vet with almost identical stats to mine got into Penn regular admission during my cycle and I couldn't figure out why. Turns out he had visited for their veterans' open-house in Nov. So I visited in May and got off the w/l within 2 weeks.

[sean0128]

Prior AD enlisted Air Force for 7 years, got out last year February. Took the LSAT 2 years ago and got a 170 but at the time I had a 2.75 GPA and wasn't separation eligible, so I decided to hold off. When I separated I decided to take classes to bring GPA up as much as I possibly could and retake the LSAT. Taking the LSAT on January 26th. Been studying for the last year and PTing for the last month in prep for it. Scores range from 172-174 with 5 sections. GPA is now 2.82... not much of an improvement but grades were all A's and better than it was. Currently, I live in NJ just outside of NYC. 100% GI Bill. What are my options if score holds up and is there anything I should be lining up now? Not sure if I can ED without the score I plan on using. Ideally, I would love to go T14, but with my GPA it might not be possible. Any guidance would be really appreciated!

Could you please clarify: Have you graduated undergrad yet? How much eligibility will you have left on your GI Bill at the start of law school? Forever/9-11 GI Bill or MGIB?

If you haven't graduated yet, keep trying to get that GPA up. The upward trend helps, and a GPA addendum with your apps might help as well. I don't think increasing your LSAT will improve your outcomes that much but I think it would give you a little insurance on the schools that you would be competitive for anyway.

Me: 169/sub-3.0 (ROTC)/8years AD - admitted to UVA, GULC, and Penn (the latter off w/l). I know several vets with similar stats/outcomes. I don't think the T13 is out of reach for you at all, but nothing is guaranteed. ED doesn't really make much sense unless you want to take a long-shot at NYU or Columbia (only do this if 100% GIB). Apply at the start of the cycle to Columbia and below. Definitely Fordham too if you're interested in NYC. Ask for fee waivers. Finally, something you can do now is show interest/visit these schools. Another vet with almost identical stats to mine got into Penn regular admission during my cycle and I couldn't figure out why. Turns out he had visited for their veterans' open-house in Nov. So I visited in May and got off the w/l within 2 weeks.

Yes, I already graduated. I just decided to take classes to bring up the GPA as much as I could while I was prepping. The classes were law related, figured that it would help my cause..maybe not. Gives me an excuse to write about how taking these classes opened my eyes to "blah blah blah". Also, I do have 100% GI BILL and I have 31 months left. I'll start looking into visiting schools then! Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate it!

[AdieuCali]

Yes, I already graduated. I just decided to take classes to bring up the GPA as much as I could while I was prepping. The classes were law related, figured that it would help my cause..maybe not. Gives me an excuse to write about how taking these classes opened my eyes to "blah blah blah". Also, I do have 100% GI BILL and I have 31 months left. I'll start looking into visiting schools then! Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate it!

I'm almost certain law schools only consider your undergrad GPA at graduation (i.e. the GPA that's on your final transcript). So you might be stuck with that 2.75. In which case, I think that tips the balance towards retaking. You should try to hit at least the 25% LSAT at these schools. 172 will put you >25% at MVPD; 171 >25% at the rest of the lower-T13. CCN are probably out, but you definitely have a shot with MVPD and below. How hard you hustle will be a part of the equation. Definitely don't slip beneath 27 months of GIB eligibility before school.

Are you planning on applying this cycle? If so, it might be worth slipping in an application now and then updating schools with your January LSAT score later. December is the "on-time" phase of the cycle. Anything after is not necessarily late, but you may see your chances decline slightly with every week that passes after Jan 1. I think it's possible you get into lower-T13 and maybe one of MVPD now with your 170.

If you're aren't happy with your outcomes this cycle (if you don't get any T-13 admissions, nor Vandy, nor GULC), then I would definitely sit out this cycle and reapply in Sept/Oct '19. Since scholarships are not a factor for you, you need to maximize your employment opportunities. T13 directly correlates with those opportunities.

[AdieuCali]

...
You should try to hit at least the 25% LSAT at these schools. 172 will put you >25% at MVPD; 171 >25% at the rest of the lower-T13. ...

Correction... >75%, not 25%.

[usn26]

Me: 169/sub-3.0 (ROTC)/8years AD - admitted to UVA, GULC, and Penn (the latter off w/l). I know several vets with similar stats/outcomes. I don't think the T13 is out of reach for you at all, but nothing is guaranteed. ED doesn't really make much sense unless you want to take a long-shot at NYU or Columbia (only do this if 100% GIB). Apply at the start of the cycle to Columbia and below. Definitely Fordham too if you're interested in NYC. Ask for fee waivers. Finally, something you can do now is show interest/visit these schools. Another vet with almost identical stats to mine got into Penn regular admission during my cycle and I couldn't figure out why. Turns out he had visited for their veterans' open-house in Nov. So I visited in May and got off the w/l within 2 weeks.

Not sure I agree with the bolded. Totally agree about showing interest. Having read a bunch of these applications, I saw a lot of splitters that were borderline, and it's hard to justify admitting without a very strong reason to believe that they'd actually enroll. Of course, for a lot of these my thought was "if this was an ED app, it'd be an easy decision." If (big if) you're 100% GIB eligible and every school you're interested in is full or near-full YRP match and you're not looking to get a full ride somewhere and save the GIB for a rainy day/dependent, I think ED is the best bet. The only downside is financial aid and choice. Financial aid is off the table, and you have to make a choice sometime - might as well make it before the cycle rather than later. (Also, depending on where you end up ranking the schools, you may be able to get a lot of ED apps out. EG NYU fall ED > UVA quick-turnaround ED > GULC quick-ED > Penn spring ED. Idk what the options and deadlines are these days, but when I was applying you could hit 4, maybe 5 if you got priority track at Duke). JMHO.

[AJordan]

I want to echo that previous post and add that I believe the GI Bill is likely underused as leverage in the application process. The T-13 is so-named for a reason; the job outcomes of school 4 vs school 13 are, while not identical, comparable. If a 100% vet is a splitter for those schools it very much makes sense to formulate a strategy of ED leverage. They know they'll get your GI Bill money, increase/protect one USNews number, increase the vet diversity of their class, and get a 100% yield outcome. That's an attractive candidate.

I formulated a strategy on how I planned on leveraging ED (which was given the go-ahead by a reputable admissions consultant) and even though I may have cost myself some comparison in the long-run, I ended up accepted at the first school to which I applied. I was desperate to get a T-13 acceptance and I wouldn't trade the opportunity at the school I'm going to attend next fall for that nebulous 8-month process of potentially riding waitlists and regretting that I didn't use all my leverage to my advantage. Plus my cycle was over in September. There are a lot of benefits to having one's cycle over in September.

[jmorr066]

[quote="AJordan"]I want to echo that previous post and add that I believe the GI Bill is likely underused as leverage in the application process. The T-13 is so-named for a reason; the job outcomes of school 4 vs school 13 are, while not identical, comparable. If a 100% vet is a splitter for those schools it very much makes sense to formulate a strategy of ED leverage. They know they'll get your GI Bill money, increase/protect one USNews number, increase the vet diversity of their class, and get a 100% yield outcome. That's an attractive candidate.

I formulated a strategy on how I planned on leveraging ED (which was given the go-ahead by a reputable admissions consultant) and even though I may have cost myself some comparison in the long-run, I ended up accepted at the first school to which I applied. I was desperate to get a T-13 acceptance and I wouldn't trade the opportunity at the school I'm going to attend next fall for that nebulous 8-month process of potentially riding waitlists and regretting that I didn't use all my leverage to my advantage. Plus my cycle was over in September. There are a lot of benefits to having one's cycle over in September.[/quote

AJordan, I am in a similar situation to you. I have 100% Post 9/11 GI Bill and am a current CPT with 5 years Active Duty experience, 3 years enlisted. I am not doing the FLEP for my branch, so I am desperate to get into a T-13 as well. I have a 165/3.7X and am registered to take the January LSAT. However, I want to apply ED to a school at the beginning of January. I plan on transitioning to the reserves for law school as well. AJordan would you mind reaching out to me via PM (wouldn't let me message you) and giving some advice on what strategy you found helpful. Thanks! Hope everyone has a great cycle and I would love to swap PS to edit.