Veterans Thread Forum

[senafront]

I don't want to be the bringer of bad news, but if you're really concerned about saving money, you might want to be more realistic about what schools you're applying to in the first place. I'm not one to tell someone what to do, but facts and hard evidence support the reality that with your numbers, Harvard and Columbia are not within reach and you'd be throwing your money away. I understand it's just for fun, but you're also taking up those administrators time and spending money that could go towards other realistic applications.

On a separate note, I was in Ramadi in '05 as well so glad to see another vet on here that made it out of that shit hole!

Best of luck.

Thanks, obviously I am concerned about application fees, but I have fee waivers to all those schools except Harvard, and my dad just really wants me to apply there. I am much more concerned about what scholarships I can get. I appreciate the feedback.

Were you on the east or west of Ramadi? My unit was in Junction City, but I was at Corregidor doing electrical most of the time I was there.

[navykev]

What a great thread! Learned a lot!

Here is an old salt's stats:

- E9 - Navy Command Master Chief (currently the top enlisted guy at a F-18 squadron)
- Retiring after 20 years, 4 months and 15 days in March 2015 (plan on attending law school 2015)
- Degree GPA 4.0 (from a crappy online school - hey at least it's accredited)
- LSDAS GPA 3.75
- Taking LSAT June 2014 (Update: 161 on June LSAT)

Soft that might get me some points: 6 combat deployments covering Kosovo, OIF, OEF (including boots on ground with Army and Marines in Iraq) - NOTE: Number of combat deployments was edited after doing DD 214 (one I thought I got credit for -- I didn't -- they rolled my time up into one deployment even though we left for a considerable amount of time and came back -- so I have 6 combat deployments vice 7 as I originally posted).

If there are any other military retirees that have gone to law school out there -- I'd be interested in hearing about your experience. I am also curious how a retired senior enlisted person gets viewed in the law school admission process.

Anyway, going to law school and becoming a lawyer has been a goal of mine for a while now -- really looking forward to embarking on this adventure! Thanks for all the great advice for vets on this board.

Kevin

[Decimus]

What a great thread! Learned a lot!

Here is an old salt's stats:

- E9 - Navy Command Master Chief (currently the top enlisted guy at a F-18 squadron)
- Retiring after 21 years March 2015 (plan on attending law school 2015)
- GPA 4.0 (from a crappy online school - hey at least it's accredited)
- LSDAS GPA will probably be around 3.7 once transcripts from past schools are factored in
- Taking LSAT June 2014

Some softs I think law schools might find interesting:

- 7 combat deployments covering Kosovo, OIF, OEF (including boots on ground with Army and Marines in Iraq)
- Former Navy bootcamp Recruit Division Commander (Drill Instructor/Sergeant for those not familiar with Navy terminology)

If there are any other military retirees that have gone to law school out there -- I'd be interested in hearing about your experience. I am also curious how a retired senior enlisted person gets viewed in the law school admission process.

Anyway, going to law school and becoming a lawyer has been a goal of mine for a while now -- really looking forward to embarking on this adventure! Thanks for all the great advice for vets on this board.

Kevin

Fair winds, CMC!

[SemperLegal]

What a great thread! Learned a lot!

Here is an old salt's stats:

- E9 - Navy Command Master Chief (currently the top enlisted guy at a F-18 squadron)
- Retiring after 21 years March 2015 (plan on attending law school 2015)
- GPA 4.0 (from a crappy online school - hey at least it's accredited)
- LSDAS GPA will probably be around 3.7 once transcripts from past schools are factored in
- Taking LSAT June 2014

Some softs I think law schools might find interesting:

- 7 combat deployments covering Kosovo, OIF, OEF (including boots on ground with Army and Marines in Iraq)
- Former Navy bootcamp Recruit Division Commander (Drill Instructor/Sergeant for those not familiar with Navy terminology)

If there are any other military retirees that have gone to law school out there -- I'd be interested in hearing about your experience. I am also curious how a retired senior enlisted person gets viewed in the law school admission process.

Anyway, going to law school and becoming a lawyer has been a goal of mine for a while now -- really looking forward to embarking on this adventure! Thanks for all the great advice for vets on this board.

Kevin

Your not even the first retired Naval Air law school applicant on these boards. I think adcomms are going to highly value your experiences. Post-grad, your career path will probably be very different from the rest of us, however.

Can't wait to have you aboard 1stCivDiv, shipmate.

[JazzyMac]

What a great thread! Learned a lot!

Here is an old salt's stats:

- E9 - Navy Command Master Chief (currently the top enlisted guy at a F-18 squadron)
- Retiring after 21 years March 2015 (plan on attending law school 2015)
- GPA 4.0 (from a crappy online school - hey at least it's accredited)
- LSDAS GPA will probably be around 3.7 once transcripts from past schools are factored in
- Taking LSAT June 2014

Some softs I think law schools might find interesting:

- 7 combat deployments covering Kosovo, OIF, OEF (including boots on ground with Army and Marines in Iraq)
- Former Navy bootcamp Recruit Division Commander (Drill Instructor/Sergeant for those not familiar with Navy terminology)

If there are any other military retirees that have gone to law school out there -- I'd be interested in hearing about your experience. I am also curious how a retired senior enlisted person gets viewed in the law school admission process.

Anyway, going to law school and becoming a lawyer has been a goal of mine for a while now -- really looking forward to embarking on this adventure! Thanks for all the great advice for vets on this board.

Kevin

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement! I will also be retiring after 20 years and plan on attending law school as well. My diagnostic pre-test didn't go so well, but still I plan on taking the test as soon as possible just to get it out of the way.

Congratulations on your achievements!

[navykev]

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement! I will also be retiring after 20 years and plan on attending law school as well. My diagnostic pre-test didn't go so well, but still I plan on taking the test as soon as possible just to get it out of the way.

Congratulations on your achievements!

Thanks! Really interested in following your journey as well! I am using the Powerscore bibles and also the free online LSAT course on Casebriefs website and my score is climbing steadily week to week. I highly recommend both those resources for LSAT study!

[navykev]

Your not even the first retired Naval Air law school applicant on these boards. I think adcomms are going to highly value your experiences. Post-grad, your career path will probably be very different from the rest of us, however.

Can't wait to have you aboard 1stCivDiv, shipmate.

Thanks! Really looking forward to joining that division! Not so worried about post-grad -- I'll figure out something! Been smart with my money over the years - so job satisfaction will really be my career driver.

[navykev]

Fair winds, CMC!

Thanks!

[capt_slow]

What a great thread! Learned a lot!

Here is an old salt's stats:

- E9 - Navy Command Master Chief (currently the top enlisted guy at a F-18 squadron)
- Retiring after 21 years March 2015 (plan on attending law school 2015)
- GPA 4.0 (from a crappy online school - hey at least it's accredited)
- LSDAS GPA will probably be around 3.7 once transcripts from past schools are factored in
- Taking LSAT June 2014

Some softs I think law schools might find interesting:

- 7 combat deployments covering Kosovo, OIF, OEF (including boots on ground with Army and Marines in Iraq)
- Former Navy bootcamp Recruit Division Commander (Drill Instructor/Sergeant for those not familiar with Navy terminology)

If there are any other military retirees that have gone to law school out there -- I'd be interested in hearing about your experience. I am also curious how a retired senior enlisted person gets viewed in the law school admission process.

Anyway, going to law school and becoming a lawyer has been a goal of mine for a while now -- really looking forward to embarking on this adventure! Thanks for all the great advice for vets on this board.

Kevin

Good luck Master Chief... Feels like we have to be on our best behavior now in this thread...

[underwear]

Today is my last day in uniform!

Anyone else have an itch to go back in? I'm in talks with a recruiter for going 11B in the guard/reserve.

Soco Law: I just got around to your PS (been busy hunting down prof's for LORs). Awesome story; gave me a battle-boner. I tried going TACP and trained my ass off this past year, but there's a new policy about a mandatory 1-year AD after you finish training. No bueno w/ law school.

Seems like most, if not all, of the vets here are +165 and grunt badasses.

[SemperLegal]

Today is my last day in uniform!

Anyone else have an itch to go back in? I'm in talks with a recruiter for going 11B in the guard/reserve.

Soco Law: I just got around to your PS (been busy hunting down prof's for LORs). Awesome story; gave me a battle-boner. I tried going TACP and trained my ass off this past year, but there's a new policy about a mandatory 1-year AD after you finish training. No bueno w/ law school.

Seems like most, if not all, of the vets here are +165 and grunt badasses.

Literally, once a week I research getting back in. Then I come to my senses. My guess is I will both miss and hate the military for the rest of my life.

Related. I just finished Sec. Gate's autobiography. It was a very interesting read, but emotionally draining.

[Rotor]

Good luck Master Chief... Feels like we have to be on our best behavior now in this thread...

I was a 21 year Navy guy before I retired in 2009. Even as a Commander I'm feeling the need to shape up too!

Welcome to the board CMC!

I way out-performed my numbers to get into B. Way out-performed my grades at OCI. I chalk that up entirely to being a vet with significant experience.

Being in school was great. Having led/been surrounded by 18-24 year olds my whole life made it an easier transition than many other non-trads. I was worried I'd be the old guy no one asked to go out to bar review. As it was I was welcomed by pretty much everyone and turned down way more invites than I accepted because I am married and chose to spend time with my wife too. And when I did go out, navy training on foreign liberty calls helped me keep up with the kids!

There's always the stress of wanting to do well, but when all your K-JD classmates are freaking out about getting cold-called on a Rule Against Perpetuities hypo in a class where participation counts 0.0000% you will think "what's he going to do if I get it wrong, send me to Helmand?"

[navykev]

Good luck Master Chief... Feels like we have to be on our best behavior now in this thread...

I was a 21 year Navy guy before I retired in 2009. Even as a Commander I'm feeling the need to shape up too!

Welcome to the board CMC!

I way out-performed my numbers to get into B. Way out-performed my grades at OCI. I chalk that up entirely to being a vet with significant experience.

Being in school was great. Having led/been surrounded by 18-24 year olds my whole life made it an easier transition than many other non-trads. I was worried I'd be the old guy no one asked to go out to bar review. As it was I was welcomed by pretty much everyone and turned down way more invites than I accepted because I am married and chose to spend time with my wife too. And when I did go out, navy training on foreign liberty calls helped me keep up with the kids!

There's always the stress of wanting to do well, but when all your K-JD classmates are freaking out about getting cold-called on a Rule Against Perpetuities hypo in a class where participation counts 0.0000% you will think "what's he going to do if I get it wrong, send me to Helmand?"

Commander - great info! Really appreciate it and look forward to chatting with all the vets on this board as I get closer to applying!

[ArcticDeckie]

WL at GW, any vets think they could take a look at my LOCI? Let me know and I'll PM it to you.

My PS was all military, and I'm not sure if reiterating that in a LOCI would be too much. I'm supposed to be getting a departing award, but otherwise I don't have any new or interesting information since submitting my application.

[JazzyMac]

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement! I will also be retiring after 20 years and plan on attending law school as well. My diagnostic pre-test didn't go so well, but still I plan on taking the test as soon as possible just to get it out of the way.

Congratulations on your achievements!

Thanks! Really interested in following your journey as well! I am using the Powerscore bibles and also the free online LSAT course on Casebriefs website and my score is climbing steadily week to week. I highly recommend both those resources for LSAT study!

Here's my list of study material, courtesy of Amazon:

10 LSATs, 19-28
10 LSATs, 29-38
LSATs Deconstructed, 43-45
10 LSATs, 52-61
Individual LSATs, 70, 69, 68, 67, 65, 64, 62
Official LSAT Superprep
LSAT Logic Games Bible
LSAT Logic Games Workbook
LSAT Reading Comprehension Bible
LSAT Logic Reasoning Bible
LSAT Trainer

I pretty much feel that my only "in" is through a perfect LSAT score. So I'm not taking any chances. Based on my research amongst the forum threads, I will go through these and then also check out the Manhattan sources for more drilling if necessary. These are a total of 40 tests.

[Decimus]

"what's he going to do if I get it wrong, send me to Helmand?"

+1

Perspective is a powerful existential force!

[ScottRiqui]

"what's he going to do if I get it wrong, send me to Helmand?"

+1

Perspective is a powerful existential force!

Agreed. Remember back in boot camp or OCS, and the DIs could make you believe that a mis-folded t-shirt was a sign that you weren't cut out for the military? I think a lot of young, K-JD 1Ls are in the same boat - thrown together in a group, away from home, in a stressful situation, where no one really knows what the hell's going on. I'm not surprised that being cold-called (or anything else) might seem like the end of the world.

[TheSpanishMain]

Agreed. Not to sound all grandiose or anything, but once you've spent some time in Iraq/Afghanistan, having to tell a professor, "Sorry, I don't know." or do a job interview just really isn't that intimidating.

[uvandy]

I finally drafted my military centric personal statement. I know there's a separate board, but if anyone here is interested in reading and tearing it apart, I would greatly appreciate it. Many TIA.

[JazzyMac]

I finally drafted my military centric personal statement. I know there's a separate board, but if anyone here is interested in reading and tearing it apart, I would greatly appreciate it. Many TIA.

Sure...pm me if you would like.

[agglomeration]

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement! I will also be retiring after 20 years and plan on attending law school as well. My diagnostic pre-test didn't go so well, but still I plan on taking the test as soon as possible just to get it out of the way.

Congratulations on your achievements!

Thanks! Really interested in following your journey as well! I am using the Powerscore bibles and also the free online LSAT course on Casebriefs website and my score is climbing steadily week to week. I highly recommend both those resources for LSAT study!

Here's my list of study material, courtesy of Amazon:

10 LSATs, 19-28
10 LSATs, 29-38
LSATs Deconstructed, 43-45
10 LSATs, 52-61
Individual LSATs, 70, 69, 68, 67, 65, 64, 62
Official LSAT Superprep
LSAT Logic Games Bible
LSAT Logic Games Workbook
LSAT Reading Comprehension Bible
LSAT Logic Reasoning Bible
LSAT Trainer

I pretty much feel that my only "in" is through a perfect LSAT score. So I'm not taking any chances. Based on my research amongst the forum threads, I will go through these and then also check out the Manhattan sources for more drilling if necessary. These are a total of 40 tests.

Not sure if you bought all those books yet. But you can get great deals on cambridgelsat.com which is what i used. They break the first-38 PT's down by question type so you can drill them

[JazzyMac]

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement! I will also be retiring after 20 years and plan on attending law school as well. My diagnostic pre-test didn't go so well, but still I plan on taking the test as soon as possible just to get it out of the way.

Congratulations on your achievements!

Thanks! Really interested in following your journey as well! I am using the Powerscore bibles and also the free online LSAT course on Casebriefs website and my score is climbing steadily week to week. I highly recommend both those resources for LSAT study!

Here's my list of study material, courtesy of Amazon:

10 LSATs, 19-28
10 LSATs, 29-38
LSATs Deconstructed, 43-45
10 LSATs, 52-61
Individual LSATs, 70, 69, 68, 67, 65, 64, 62
Official LSAT Superprep
LSAT Logic Games Bible
LSAT Logic Games Workbook
LSAT Reading Comprehension Bible
LSAT Logic Reasoning Bible
LSAT Trainer

I pretty much feel that my only "in" is through a perfect LSAT score. So I'm not taking any chances. Based on my research amongst the forum threads, I will go through these and then also check out the Manhattan sources for more drilling if necessary. These are a total of 40 tests.

Not sure if you bought all those books yet. But you can get great deals on cambridgelsat.com which is what i used. They break the first-38 PT's down by question type so you can drill them

Yes I bought all of them--then I did more research and saw that they were sold at Manhattan and Cambridge by question type. I'm contemplating sending the prep tests once I receive them, and repurchasing MLSAT or Cambridge. But I'm also thinking, "the more, the merrier". I'll be going through the bibles and taking prep tests, but then later (if needed) I can/will get more prep tests organized by type. I have one goal in this endeavor: Achieving a 180 on the LSAT. So if I have to invest more to get there, I don't mind.

[JazzyMac]

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement! I will also be retiring after 20 years and plan on attending law school as well. My diagnostic pre-test didn't go so well, but still I plan on taking the test as soon as possible just to get it out of the way.

Congratulations on your achievements!

Thanks! Really interested in following your journey as well! I am using the Powerscore bibles and also the free online LSAT course on Casebriefs website and my score is climbing steadily week to week. I highly recommend both those resources for LSAT study!

Here's my list of study material, courtesy of Amazon:

10 LSATs, 19-28
10 LSATs, 29-38
LSATs Deconstructed, 43-45
10 LSATs, 52-61
Individual LSATs, 70, 69, 68, 67, 65, 64, 62
Official LSAT Superprep
LSAT Logic Games Bible
LSAT Logic Games Workbook
LSAT Reading Comprehension Bible
LSAT Logic Reasoning Bible
LSAT Trainer

I pretty much feel that my only "in" is through a perfect LSAT score. So I'm not taking any chances. Based on my research amongst the forum threads, I will go through these and then also check out the Manhattan sources for more drilling if necessary. These are a total of 40 tests.

Not sure if you bought all those books yet. But you can get great deals on cambridgelsat.com which is what i used. They break the first-38 PT's down by question type so you can drill them

When did you test? And if you please, can you share how you did?

[JazzyMac]

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement! I will also be retiring after 20 years and plan on attending law school as well. My diagnostic pre-test didn't go so well, but still I plan on taking the test as soon as possible just to get it out of the way.

Congratulations on your achievements!

Thanks! Really interested in following your journey as well! I am using the Powerscore bibles and also the free online LSAT course on Casebriefs website and my score is climbing steadily week to week. I highly recommend both those resources for LSAT study!

Here's my list of study material, courtesy of Amazon:

10 LSATs, 19-28
10 LSATs, 29-38
LSATs Deconstructed, 43-45
10 LSATs, 52-61
Individual LSATs, 70, 69, 68, 67, 65, 64, 62
Official LSAT Superprep
LSAT Logic Games Bible
LSAT Logic Games Workbook
LSAT Reading Comprehension Bible
LSAT Logic Reasoning Bible
LSAT Trainer
LSAT Logic Games by Type Vol. 2
LSAT Logic Reasoning by Type Vol. 2
*Tentative* LSAT Reading Comprehension by Type Vol. 2

I pretty much feel that my only "in" is through a perfect LSAT score. So I'm not taking any chances. Based on my research amongst the forum threads, I will go through these and then also check out the Manhattan sources for more drilling if necessary. These are a total of 40 tests.

I made an edit to my list after considering the comments and doing my research. This can assist in drills, and also in practicing the same problems during study sessions. Another premium of $100, but once again...pennies in perspective of the big picture. The titles in bright red may be an either/or for its Cambridge counterpart. Still trying to decide what's more important: Drills, or practice tests for 21-40. If I just get the drills, and return the others, I can save a few bucks for packs of 5-hour energy.

[FairchildFLT]

I took my initial "practice test" today and my score correlated to a 150. Not a bad starting point in my opinion for going in fresh. I took the June 2007 test that is published on the LSAC website. I did terrible in the Logical Reasoning sections...12/25 and 13/25. I did the best in Analytical Reasoning...19/25. I got 14/27 in reading comprehension but my motivation was severely waning by this point. I'll be shooting for a 165 to go with my 3.5 GPA so I'll have a shot at CU Boulder or University of Denver. Hopefully being a URM, being prior military and having those stats will give me a pretty good shot! Yay for more studying!