Veterans Thread

[MT Cicero]

EDIT: This is now the link for 2014-15 with only the Top ~50 schools.

For those with GI Bill (at 100%) who want an all-in-one financial look (including yellow ribbon) at the top 100 law schools, I recently created a spreadsheet here: 2014-15 GI Bill + Yellow Ribbon

Please realize the following:

1. This is based on not being a state resident for tuition purposes. If you are an in-state student and you go to a public institution in that state, the GI Bill alone should cover it.

2. This is based on my recent look at the numbers for 2012-2013 school year.

3. The yellow ribbon amount is only what the school would contribute (meaning you'd get that amount x 2 due to the VA match). Any amount that has $99,999.00 as the match is really unlimited (I just wanted my excel formula to be a bit easier).

4. The "# of yellow ribbon students" is the amount of people that the school will authorize for the yellow ribbon benefits. Some of these numbers are strictly for the law school while others are for the student body at large. Reference the VA website to check for yourself if you're curious what that number refers to.

I'm hoping to start law school in 2014 (due to my current Air Force commitment running through that year). Once I got started looking into it, I figured I'd get a look at the financial cost. I was surprised to see so many schools participating in the yellow ribbon program.

If you have any questions, shoot me a pm. I'm brand new to the site, but I think I can work my way around!

[The Duck]

For those with GI Bill (at 100%) who want an all-in-one financial look (including yellow ribbon) at the top 100 law schools, I recently created a spreadsheet here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/110379065

Please realize the following:

1. This is based on not being a state resident for tuition purposes. If you are an in-state student and you go to a public institution in that state, the GI Bill alone should cover it.

2. This is based on my recent look at the numbers for 2012-2013 school year.

3. The yellow ribbon amount is only what the school would contribute (meaning you'd get that amount x 2 due to the VA match). Any amount that has $99,999.00 as the match is really unlimited (I just wanted my excel formula to be a bit easier).

4. The "# of yellow ribbon students" is the amount of people that the school will authorize for the yellow ribbon benefits. Some of these numbers are strictly for the law school while others are for the student body at large. Reference the VA website to check for yourself if you're curious what that number refers to.

I'm hoping to start law school in 2014 (due to my current Air Force commitment running through that year). Once I got started looking into it, I figured I'd get a look at the financial cost. I was surprised to see so many schools participating in the yellow ribbon program.

If you have any questions, shoot me a pm. I'm brand new to the site, but I think I can work my way around!

You should also track scholarship eligibility. At Michigan, if you get a Dean's scholarship it refunds to help defray your living expenses. This is only permissible under the latest amendment to the Post 9/11 if the scholarship is classified a certain way.

[MT Cicero]

You should also track scholarship eligibility. At Michigan, if you get a Dean's scholarship it refunds to help defray your living expenses. This is only permissible under the latest amendment to the Post 9/11 if the scholarship is classified a certain way.

I literally just put this together in about 2.5 hours last week. I'm TDY down at Tyndall AFB testing missiles and got quasi-motivated for a bit. That's another good one though. If other folks know of schools that have military financial benefits outside of GI and YR, feel free to list them!

There are other factors as well that I'll eventually throw into my spreadsheet (like the various BAH rates for the schools' locations).

[JCFindley]

Any fellow vets willing to critique my PS?

I am but behind on Hawgs right now. Short memo time so it will be next week before I would get to it....

[JCFindley]

You should also track scholarship eligibility. At Michigan, if you get a Dean's scholarship it refunds to help defray your living expenses. This is only permissible under the latest amendment to the Post 9/11 if the scholarship is classified a certain way.

I literally just put this together in about 2.5 hours last week. I'm TDY down at Tyndall AFB testing missiles and got quasi-motivated for a bit. That's another good one though. If other folks know of schools that have military financial benefits outside of GI and YR, feel free to list them!

There are other factors as well that I'll eventually throw into my spreadsheet (like the various BAH rates for the schools' locations).

Thanks for doing that Craigsan

[MT Cicero]

Thanks for doing that Craigsan

Not a problem. I'm beyond impressed with the forums here (which I discovered mere days ago), and I'm already grinding my way to the December LSAT with many of the tips on here. Since I'll be out of town for about 9 months next year starting in January, I had to get a jump start on admissions for 2014 while still here in the CONUS. Figured I'd throw something out there to help, since I'll be eliciting the help of many of the folks on here in the next 12 months!

[tyler.durden]

For those with GI Bill (at 100%) who want an all-in-one financial look (including yellow ribbon) at the top 100 law schools, I recently created a spreadsheet here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/110379065

Please realize the following:

1. This is based on not being a state resident for tuition purposes. If you are an in-state student and you go to a public institution in that state, the GI Bill alone should cover it.

2. This is based on my recent look at the numbers for 2012-2013 school year.

3. The yellow ribbon amount is only what the school would contribute (meaning you'd get that amount x 2 due to the VA match). Any amount that has $99,999.00 as the match is really unlimited (I just wanted my excel formula to be a bit easier).

4. The "# of yellow ribbon students" is the amount of people that the school will authorize for the yellow ribbon benefits. Some of these numbers are strictly for the law school while others are for the student body at large. Reference the VA website to check for yourself if you're curious what that number refers to.

I'm hoping to start law school in 2014 (due to my current Air Force commitment running through that year). Once I got started looking into it, I figured I'd get a look at the financial cost. I was surprised to see so many schools participating in the yellow ribbon program.

If you have any questions, shoot me a pm. I'm brand new to the site, but I think I can work my way around!

So I've been kind of tracking this information for the schools I'm interested in as well. The thing I'm not 100% clear on is how the Restoring Fairness in the GI Bill Act effects us starting law school now. For example, this spreadsheet has NYC schools listed as rating only $12,293 in GI Bill funds, which is the amount that is authorized in fees under Restoring Fairness... however, reading through this http://www.gibill.va.gov/documents/factsheets/PL1383_Q&A.pdf makes me think that the $12,293 does not in fact apply to those of us who are matriculating now and in the future... the whole point of the Restoring Fairness deal seems to be to allow HIGHER payments to those students who would have been screwed by the $17,500 cap and instead allowing, then current, NY students up to $12,293 in fees and $1k/credit tuition. The Restoring Fairness literature that I can find states that to be "grandfathered" (and thus fall under the other payment scale) you have to have been enrolled "in the same college or university since January 4, 2011." Which obviously makes me think that would not apply to us now...

TL:DR - Any vets with 100% eligibility in a NY school that can speak to whether the GI Bill pays out $12,293 or the currently offered $18,077???

[JCFindley]

For those with GI Bill (at 100%) who want an all-in-one financial look (including yellow ribbon) at the top 100 law schools, I recently created a spreadsheet here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/110379065

Please realize the following:

1. This is based on not being a state resident for tuition purposes. If you are an in-state student and you go to a public institution in that state, the GI Bill alone should cover it.

2. This is based on my recent look at the numbers for 2012-2013 school year.

3. The yellow ribbon amount is only what the school would contribute (meaning you'd get that amount x 2 due to the VA match). Any amount that has $99,999.00 as the match is really unlimited (I just wanted my excel formula to be a bit easier).

4. The "# of yellow ribbon students" is the amount of people that the school will authorize for the yellow ribbon benefits. Some of these numbers are strictly for the law school while others are for the student body at large. Reference the VA website to check for yourself if you're curious what that number refers to.

I'm hoping to start law school in 2014 (due to my current Air Force commitment running through that year). Once I got started looking into it, I figured I'd get a look at the financial cost. I was surprised to see so many schools participating in the yellow ribbon program.

If you have any questions, shoot me a pm. I'm brand new to the site, but I think I can work my way around!

So I've been kind of tracking this information for the schools I'm interested in as well. The thing I'm not 100% clear on is how the Restoring Fairness in the GI Bill Act effects us starting law school now. For example, this spreadsheet has NYC schools listed as rating only $12,293 in GI Bill funds, which is the amount that is authorized in fees under Restoring Fairness... however, reading through this http://www.gibill.va.gov/documents/factsheets/PL1383_Q&A.pdf makes me think that the $12,293 does not in fact apply to those of us who are matriculating now and in the future... the whole point of the Restoring Fairness deal seems to be to allow HIGHER payments to those students who would have been screwed by the $17,500 cap and instead allowing, then current, NY students up to $12,293 in fees and $1k/credit tuition. The Restoring Fairness literature that I can find states that to be "grandfathered" (and thus fall under the other payment scale) you have to have been enrolled "in the same college or university since January 4, 2011." Which obviously makes me think that would not apply to us now...

TL:DR - Any vets with 100% eligibility in a NY school that can speak to whether the GI Bill pays out $12,293 or the currently offered $18,077???

I will let you know IF the VA ever pays me....

[tyler.durden]

What are you expecting?

[jgconte]

Any fellow vets willing to critique my PS?

I am but behind on Hawgs right now. Short memo time so it will be next week before I would get to it....

Thanks. I will send it to you this weekend and I appreciate your time.

[Bfalcon]

Country: Canada
Branch: Army
Schools:
Hi folks,
Always enjoyed my time working with you Americans. Shout out to any other Commonwealth pers on here.

[SemperLegal]

Won a VA appeal!

[Rotor]

Won a VA appeal!

Awesome!! Is that the clinic's first win?

[SemperLegal]

Won a VA appeal!

Awesome!! Is that the clinic's first win?

Kind of, I ended up going solo after some of them reassured me that the process was not as scary as civ pro lead me to believe.

[JCFindley]

Country: Canada
Branch: Army/Joint
Rank: Master Corporal (low-level Sgt depending on which branch you're in)
Background: 5 years infantry reserves, last 2 years full-time doing special duties
UG: Double Major, Piano and History, unknown GPA (doing the conversion from Canada right now), 3.5, 3.6ish (maybe a 3.7?)
LSATs: Pending Oct 12 scores (high 160s, low 170s on the PTs)
Schools: NYU, UVA, GULC, Cornell, GW, and Columbia (in that order bar Columbia which is somewhere between 2 and 6). U of Toronto, UOttawa and UBC in Canada

Hi folks,
Always enjoyed my time working with you Americans. Shout out to any other 5 eyes pers on here. I've noticed this thread has a lot of detail on financial benefits to US vets. Looking for more info on general tips for those with a military background, particularly in the admissions process. Heading down to the States will be a bit of a culture shock but I'm looking forward to it. My PS emphasizes my civilian recruiting background as well as my past 2 years of special duties with the CF.

Welcome

[JCFindley]

Won a VA appeal!

Awesome!! Is that the clinic's first win?

Kind of, I ended up going solo after some of them reassured me that the process was not as scary as civ pro lead me to believe.

Sweet!

[NYker]

FYI vets: NYU Law's YRB contributions will go to $20,000 per year beginning Fall 2013. Here's the link: --LinkRemoved--

[MT Cicero]

FYI vets: NYU Law's YRB contributions will go to $20,000 per year beginning Fall 2013. Here's the link: --LinkRemoved--

That's awesome! I'll update my spreadsheet accordingly.

Anyone else out there that comes up with information for other schools, please let me know and I'll update as well. I'll also start including the BAH rates in another column.

[MT Cicero]

FYI vets: NYU Law's YRB contributions will go to $20,000 per year beginning Fall 2013. Here's the link: --LinkRemoved--

That's awesome! I'll update my spreadsheet accordingly.

Anyone else out there that comes up with information for other schools, please let me know and I'll update as well. I'll also start including the BAH rates in another column.

It's updated. Got a few BAH rates thrown in there as well. Will update more when I'm done grinding out a PT (feeling a 172 today)!

[ScottRiqui]

For those with GI Bill (at 100%) who want an all-in-one financial look (including yellow ribbon) at the top 100 law schools, I recently created a spreadsheet here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/110379065

Nice spreadsheet - thanks for putting it together. Could you check on SMU's YR program, though? Their website only mentions 10 YR slots for the law school. For all I know, though, that may be more than they've ever had, so it might be the same thing as "unlimited".

EDIT - Nevermind; I just saw that the VA website lists "unlimited / unlimited" for SMU for the 2012-2013 year, while SMU's site lists "50% / 10" for the 2012-2013 year. I'll just call SMU to confirm.

[txtochitown]

Hi everyone I'm new to this! I actually just stumbled upon this site after my professor told me about it! My background is:

E-4 in the Marine Corps
currently doing my UG in Political Science/History 3.3 GPA
took October LSAT
waiting on my scores! (hopefully today)

Hoping to apply in the midwest: All Chicago schools but Northwestern, NYU, Columbia, Harvard, Texas, and Tech

[SemperLegal]

Hi everyone I'm new to this! I actually just stumbled upon this site after my professor told me about it! My background is:

E-4 in the Marine Corps
currently doing my UG in Political Science/History 3.3 GPA
took October LSAT
waiting on my scores! (hopefully today)

Hoping to apply in the midwest: All Chicago schools but Northwestern, NYU, Columbia, Harvard, Texas, and Tech

Welcome!

Same
Samish
Same, but two years ago
1L@B

If you are north of about 169 I think that you are good for NU, if you have a split in schooling (fucked around in UG, then joined the cream corn, then did 3.8+ in UG for the last year, you have a good chance at NYU and Columbia in the 174 range.

[ScottRiqui]

Hi all! Been lurking a lot and posting a little for the past year or so, but expect to be contributing more after New Year's when I start prepping seriously for the June 2013 LSAT.

LCDR (O-4) in the Navy, prior enlisted nuclear reactor operator.
Naval Flight Officer in the E-2C "Hawkeye" aircraft.
18.5 years in so far, retiring in May 2014. Currently an instructor at one of the Joint Staff Colleges.

B.S. Computer Science Engineering (1994) with a lousy GPA (~2.7)
M.S. Applied Physics (2009) - 3.85 GPA

June 2013 will be my first LSAT.

Retiring to the Dallas area, so that's where I'd like to practice. Limiting myself to Texas schools right now - hoping for SMU with enough $ to offset whatever the G.I. Bill doesn't pay, but going to put in an application at UT just in case the stars all decide to align perfectly for me.

[JCFindley]

Hi all! Been lurking a lot and posting a little for the past year or so, but expect to be contributing more after New Year's when I start prepping seriously for the June 2013 LSAT.

LCDR (O-4) in the Navy, prior enlisted nuclear reactor operator.
Naval Flight Officer in the E-2C "Hawkeye" aircraft.
18.5 years in so far, retiring in May 2014. Currently an instructor at one of the Joint Staff Colleges.

B.S. Computer Science Engineering (1994) with a lousy GPA (~2.7)
M.S. Applied Physics (2009) - 3.85 GPA

June 2013 will be my first LSAT.

Retiring to the Dallas area, so that's where I'd like to practice. Limiting myself to Texas schools right now - hoping for SMU with enough $ to offset whatever the G.I. Bill doesn't pay, but going to put in an application at UT just in case the stars all decide to align perfectly for me.

Welcome

SMU is a pretty military friendly school from what I understand. According to Craigsan's chart (link ITT above) you can attend SMU absolutely free if you have the full post 911 GI Bill available.

[JCFindley]

So I've been kind of tracking this information for the schools I'm interested in as well. The thing I'm not 100% clear on is how the Restoring Fairness in the GI Bill Act effects us starting law school now. For example, this spreadsheet has NYC schools listed as rating only $12,293 in GI Bill funds, which is the amount that is authorized in fees under Restoring Fairness... however, reading through this http://www.gibill.va.gov/documents/factsheets/PL1383_Q&A.pdf makes me think that the $12,293 does not in fact apply to those of us who are matriculating now and in the future... the whole point of the Restoring Fairness deal seems to be to allow HIGHER payments to those students who would have been screwed by the $17,500 cap and instead allowing, then current, NY students up to $12,293 in fees and $1k/credit tuition. The Restoring Fairness literature that I can find states that to be "grandfathered" (and thus fall under the other payment scale) you have to have been enrolled "in the same college or university since January 4, 2011." Which obviously makes me think that would not apply to us now...

TL:DR - Any vets with 100% eligibility in a NY school that can speak to whether the GI Bill pays out $12,293 or the currently offered $18,077???

OK, I FINALLY got paid and while I am not at 100% but my percentage is based on the bolded number. I am a 1L at Fordham. (Oh, and the VA paid the school ALL the money this semester so I am guessing that will cause issues next semester.)