Scholarship converted to Living Stipend Forum

[MichiganHoosier]

The audience for this question may be limited, but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask. My law school will be funded through the Post 9/11 GI Bill and YRP. I have heard that some schools will still award merit scholarships on top of that. Now I understand most scholarships are tuition scholarships, but I have heard of perspective students getting the law school to change it to a sort of living stipend, so they can pocket it and use it for....living. Does anyone have any experience with this? If so, which schools worked with you and which didn't?

Thanks.

[Nachoo2019]

I don't have any experience from the GI bill side, but there are plenty of people who get full tuition scholarships plus living stipends from school so I don't see why they wouldn't be able to give you a living stipend on top of the GI bill? The only thing I know they won't do is give you more than the COA.

also, now that I think of it schools apply scholarships to tuition first. So that means your scholarship would cover part or all of tuition and the GI bill would remain in your pocket for living.


Edit: also it would never hurt to ask the financial aid departments of the school you're applying to how all of this would work

[MichiganHoosier]

Thanks for the quick response! I'm still a little bit out from applying so I'm in the process of narrowing down my options and budgeting accordingly. And the Scholarships are applied before the GI Bill, so the GI Bill will only pay what is left if you don't need full entitlements. I just heard that some people worked with schools about awarding scholarships after the VA pays the bill, and then the scholarship is applied and issued as a refund to the student. I just wanted to know what schools this has been successful with and what the best course of action is in regards to approaching this conundrum with the financial aid office.

[lymenheimer]

There may be a list somewhere (you might search around for the military thread), but some schools explicitly say on their website re: yellow-ribbon and GI Bill about whether or not you can still qualify for scholarships, etc.

[Longsx3]

You can find info here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=170257

[CenterFringe]

You can find info here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=170257

Page 97 is where it's talked about. Essentially, the answer is "it depends", so ask.

I know you know this, but for other people who are confused, the GI Bill is ALWAYS the last paid scholarship, no matter what any other scholarship tries to stipulate. The GI Bill covers only tuition and mandatory fees, so if another scholarship is applied to tuition, you will get less from the GI Bill. Legally colleges can't choose to to offer you less scholarship because they know you'll receive the GI Bill; however, they can choose to apply that scholarship anyway they see fit. OP is asking for the school to cut him a check (and call it a living stipend) instead of applying it to his tuition. According to the Veteren's Thread, some schools will do this, and others will not. It also depends on who you're talking to, and what kind of mood they're in that day.

[Longsx3]

If a scholarship states that it can be used for purposes other than tuition that will change the order of payment, the school is no longer obligated to apply the scholarship first. Some Law Schools will re-write their scholarships so that it can be used for living expenses, others will not. My daughter had success in Undergrad with her University rewriting her scholarship, she did not have the same success with her Law School. This is where outside scholarships can also be an issue, many can only be used for tuition.