Veterans Thread Forum

[ScottRiqui]

Congrats, Soco! Agree w/TSM; get started on the post-separation beard. I'm about two months into my retirement beard, and it's great.

[Cobretti]

Well, yesterday was my final flight in the Air Force. Farewell Strike Eagle. Only a few admin days remain and I'll be on terminal leave. Looking forward to moving to Chicago in 7 weeks!

Dondarrion: $513 for the LSAT? Wow. Although the cost will be more than offset if you beat it into submission...

grats man, beers on me when you get here

[MT Cicero]

Well, yesterday was my final flight in the Air Force. Farewell Strike Eagle. Only a few admin days remain and I'll be on terminal leave. Looking forward to moving to Chicago in 7 weeks!

Dondarrion: $513 for the LSAT? Wow. Although the cost will be more than offset if you beat it into submission...

grats man, beers on me when you get here

Sounds good man! Moving in the morning of the 22nd. Orientation on the 25th. Hope you put a good beat down on OCI man...

[JazzyMac]

Will I find a huge difference between the 2010 PowerScore logical reasoning bible and the 2014 version? Besides the $40 difference?

I'm not sure. I have the January 2013, purchased in January 2014, and finally just put book covers on all my study material (weird like that). I saw that they released 2014 versions for the Bibles. It doesn't note any changes, and I haven't seen anything in the other forums.

[JazzyMac]

Due to a TDY I have been forced to reschedule my LSAT until September. No big deal, however now this messes with my early decision application plans. I had planned on applying ED to UVA...waiting the 15 days to find out, and if not picked up applying to UT Austin ED. Now it seems like I will most likely only get one shot at EDing to a school. Assuming I score well enough on the LSAT...

Does UVA give me a better shot at Texas big law compared to UT Austin? (Texas would be my number one destination, close enough to home but far enough away that the in-laws still have to call. Not to mention the cost of living...)

I'm a AA male, 3 years TIS, family of four, 100% GI Bill eligible.

The only difference in financials would be that UT would pay a 10k annual housing stipend. (Assuming neither school offers me a scholarship that I can negotiate them to class for housing.)

Does this $10K stipend include the BAH received with YRP?

Also, how does the Hazlewood Act play into all of this? I've done research over the years, but the stipend is news to me, so wondering how it would factor in my decisions (if I were to get accepted to UT).

[JazzyMac]

Looks like the Yellow Ribbon Program amounts are out for 2014-15. I'll be updating the spreadsheet this weekend and will post a link to it (and a cheater) in the thread. Quick news: All T14 are free except Yale, Northwestern & Georgetown. And NU is pretty darn close. Penn & Chicago made the jump this year.

Looking nice for 100% GI Bill vets at the top law schools these days!

Thanks a lot for keeping these charts updated! I refer to it regularly.

[golfenstate]

Hello all,

I have 14 months + 20 days of the GI Bill remaining. Someone mentioned that partial months can carry onto the next semester. That being said, I'm cutting it real close... Will I be able to carry this over to 2L Spring semester?

(1L Fall+Spring)
Classes begin date - End of exams date: Aug. 18 - May 7
8 months, 20 days (including holidays)

(2L Fall)
Classes begin date - End of exams date: Aug. 18 - Dec 17
4 months (including holidays)

(2L Spring) ????

However, all of this might be moot considering I'm not sure exactly when the VA decides to cut-off the GI Bill for the "end of the semester" (end of exams? right before the next semester?). Best case scenario, I'll have 2 months remaining and be able to use it to cover me during the entire 2L Spring.

Anyone have any experience with this? I'm only eligible for a percentage of the GI Bill having just been on one deployment as a reservist, so having that extra semester included would help me tremendously.

[ScottRiqui]

The only difference in financials would be that UT would pay a 10k annual housing stipend. (Assuming neither school offers me a scholarship that I can negotiate them to class for housing.)

Does this $10K stipend include the BAH received with YRP?

Also, how does the Hazlewood Act play into all of this? I've done research over the years, but the stipend is news to me, so wondering how it would factor in my decisions (if I were to get accepted to UT).

The $10k housing stipend you get for being accepted to UT under the Early Decision program is separate from the housing allowance you get through the G.I. Bill (which is about $15k for Austin).

The YRP doesn't come into play with Austin. Any veteran attending under the G.I. Bill automatically gets in-state tuition and fees at Texas, and since the G.I. Bill pays 100% of in-state tuition and fees, there's no shortfall for the YRP to cover.

The Hazlewood Act is for veterans (and in some cases, their spouse/children) who entered the service in Texas, listed Texas as their Home of Record, or were Texas residents when they began their military service. The HA will pay for up to 150 hours of tuition and most fees at any public Texas university. You can't use it until you've exhausted your G.I. Bill benefits, though.

[JazzyMac]

The only difference in financials would be that UT would pay a 10k annual housing stipend. (Assuming neither school offers me a scholarship that I can negotiate them to class for housing.)

Does this $10K stipend include the BAH received with YRP?

Also, how does the Hazlewood Act play into all of this? I've done research over the years, but the stipend is news to me, so wondering how it would factor in my decisions (if I were to get accepted to UT).

The $10k housing stipend you get for being accepted to UT under the Early Decision program is separate from the housing allowance you get through the G.I. Bill (which is about $15k for Austin).

The YRP doesn't come into play with Austin. Any veteran attending under the G.I. Bill automatically gets in-state tuition and fees at Texas, and since the G.I. Bill pays 100% of in-state tuition and fees, there's no shortfall for the YRP to cover.

The Hazlewood Act is for veterans (and in some cases, their spouse/children) who entered the service in Texas, listed Texas as their Home of Record, or were Texas residents when they began their military service. The HA will pay for up to 150 hours of tuition and most fees at any public Texas university. You can't use it until you've exhausted your G.I. Bill benefits, though.

Okay, great. Thanks a lot for the info. The highlighted red part I didn't know at all, and the blue part I've been confusing myself. I've always been eligible for the HA, and I knew I had to exhaust GI Bill benefits first, but this was all before 9/11 + YRP even came into play. So what you said all makes sense, and I'm sure once I sit down and do more research on TX, I will see the same.

At one point, when I first decided to go to law school, I assumed that TX would be my only option due to the GI Bill/9-11. That's when I started researching and realized the many opportunities for veterans with the YRP.

What would be funny if after all this research, I end up going to TX anyway.

[ScottRiqui]

The housing stipend is new, since this admission cycle (2013-2014) is the first time Texas has had a binding ED option. And the YRP has seen changes at a lot of schools over the past few years, as more and more state schools are granting in-state tuition to non-resident veterans. In fact, I don't think that the graduate programs at UT are even participating in YRP any longer, and I suspect that their undergrad programs will stop participating at some point as well; there's just no need for it any more.

[Cobretti]

Hello all,

I have 14 months + 20 days of the GI Bill remaining. Someone mentioned that partial months can carry onto the next semester. That being said, I'm cutting it real close... Will I be able to carry this over to 2L Spring semester?

(1L Fall+Spring)
Classes begin date - End of exams date: Aug. 18 - May 7
8 months, 20 days (including holidays)

(2L Fall)
Classes begin date - End of exams date: Aug. 18 - Dec 17
4 months (including holidays)

(2L Spring) ????

However, all of this might be moot considering I'm not sure exactly when the VA decides to cut-off the GI Bill for the "end of the semester" (end of exams? right before the next semester?). Best case scenario, I'll have 2 months remaining and be able to use it to cover me during the entire 2L Spring.

Anyone have any experience with this? I'm only eligible for a percentage of the GI Bill having just been on one deployment as a reservist, so having that extra semester included would help me tremendously.

Remember that breaks are not counted towards your time, so winter and spring break need to be taken out. You're probably looking at 7.5months per academic year, as that is what I think just about every school works out to. If that's the case you might actually manage to just barely bleed over into Fall 3L and get that semester covered too. Look at the school's academic calendar to figure out exactly what the time is though.

ETA: also just to be clear incase you aren't familiar, you also will not receive BAH during breaks. So for instance if you have 2 weeks off in march for spring break you'll only receive half your normal BAH that month.

[golfenstate]

Remember that breaks are not counted towards your time, so winter and spring break need to be taken out. You're probably looking at 7.5months per academic year, as that is what I think just about every school works out to. If that's the case you might actually manage to just barely bleed over into Fall 3L and get that semester covered too. Look at the school's academic calendar to figure out exactly what the time is though.

ETA: also just to be clear incase you aren't familiar, you also will not receive BAH during breaks. So for instance if you have 2 weeks off in march for spring break you'll only receive half your normal BAH that month.

Thanks for that info. It's been a while since I tapped into the Post 9/11 so I'm a little bit dusty on the procedure. After taking a look at the academic calendar and taking out holidays and breaks, it looks like I'll be covered for 2L Spring (it came out to about 4-out-of-5 months of coverage anyways), but ~30 days shy of eligibility for bleeding over to 3L Fall. Can't complain too much.

I might forgo tapping into the GI Bill though and wait until 2L, just in case I end up transferring to a (more expensive) T1 and the percent of coverage I'll be receiving there will have a greater effect. Then again, that means I'll have to take out a bigger loan during 1L and start paying a higher interest rate immediately. Hm...

[paul554]

ETA: also just to be clear incase you aren't familiar, you also will not receive BAH during breaks. So for instance if you have 2 weeks off in march for spring break you'll only receive half your normal BAH that month.

That's incorrect. The break pay only counts for breaks between academic terms. A good example is the usual three week Christmas break between fall and spring terms. You will not be paid for, or charged, for this break. Breaks during the academic term are different though. I have always received full pay for the entire month irregardless of spring break or other days off during the normal academic term.

ETA: Also if your within a year or so if graduating look into applying for vocrehab. Ou can use a total of 48 months of benefits, sometimes more, when combined with the gi bill. So if you use your full 36 months of the post 9/11 you could still have 12 months of vocrehab left over. The trick though is to apply early since they can take a whole, and if they deny you it may be necessary for you to appeal the decision.

[Cobretti]

ETA: also just to be clear incase you aren't familiar, you also will not receive BAH during breaks. So for instance if you have 2 weeks off in march for spring break you'll only receive half your normal BAH that month.

That's incorrect. The break pay only counts for breaks between academic terms. A good example is the usual three week Christmas break between fall and spring terms. You will not be paid for, or charged, for this break. Breaks during the academic term are different though. I have always received full pay for the entire month irregardless of spring break or other days off during the normal academic term.

ETA: Also if your within a year or so if graduating look into applying for vocrehab. Ou can use a total of 48 months of benefits, sometimes more, when combined with the gi bill. So if you use your full 36 months of the post 9/11 you could still have 12 months of vocrehab left over. The trick though is to apply early since they can take a whole, and if they deny you it may be necessary for you to appeal the decision.

Can anyone else chime in? I got pro-rated during my mid semester spring break this year.

[MT Cicero]

ETA: also just to be clear incase you aren't familiar, you also will not receive BAH during breaks. So for instance if you have 2 weeks off in march for spring break you'll only receive half your normal BAH that month.

That's incorrect. The break pay only counts for breaks between academic terms. A good example is the usual three week Christmas break between fall and spring terms. You will not be paid for, or charged, for this break. Breaks during the academic term are different though. I have always received full pay for the entire month irregardless of spring break or other days off during the normal academic term.

ETA: Also if your within a year or so if graduating look into applying for vocrehab. Ou can use a total of 48 months of benefits, sometimes more, when combined with the gi bill. So if you use your full 36 months of the post 9/11 you could still have 12 months of vocrehab left over. The trick though is to apply early since they can take a whole, and if they deny you it may be necessary for you to appeal the decision.

Can anyone else chime in? I got pro-rated during my mid semester spring break this year.

0L, but I've received my month-by-month breakdown from the financial aid office showing monthly stipend amounts. It's pro-rated only in December and January (for the winter break). I'm showing the full amount for March.

ETA: I see some rules on the G.I. Bill that state the stipend doesn't cover breaks "like winter or spring break." But, I wonder if by spring break they're referring to the break between spring/summer semesters for your standard student taking summer classes.

A quick peek at a random university page shows the following blurb: "BAH is not paid during winter or summer breaks ( spring break counts as enrollment)."

Go get that money back Cobretti!

[paul554]

Depending on how your school certifies you, they may actually not charge for spring break! If that's the case though make sure they did not charge you for those days. It seems a bit to anal retentive for me, I mean at that point are they not counting weekends, what about the weekends before or after your break? It leaves a lot of questions.

[ThisMan]

Has anyone recently gone through or is going through law school while being in the NG/Reserves? How easy was it? And do you have any strategies/tips? I was thinking about going IRR, but I'm not sure how accommodating my command would be about it...

[FairchildFLT]

Has anyone recently gone through or is going through law school while being in the NG/Reserves? How easy was it? And do you have any strategies/tips? I was thinking about going IRR, but I'm not sure how accommodating my command would be about it...

Monitoring this...I plan on palace chasing to pursue law school. I would only owe two years.

[ThisMan]

Bump

[TheSpanishMain]

Can your command bar you from the IRR if you've fulfilled your requirement? I've heard of people being denied OER because they owed time as a drilling reservist, but I've never heard of someone being denied just because.

[Dondarrion]

If I take the December 2014 LSAT, do I still have a shot at getting accepted for the fall semester 2015, or should I just delay everything and try for the next year? I can't move my timeline up at all due to deployment but after looking at several school's deadlines, I will definitely be SOL for ED and I could be at a major disadvantage for regular enrollment.

Thoughts?

[FairchildFLT]

Northwestern has a merit scholarship if you ED...has anyone heard of them reclassing it for housing if you're GI Bill elligilbe? (I'm not expecting $50,000 but any bit helps)

[Cobretti]

Northwestern has a merit scholarship if you ED...has anyone heard of them reclassing it for housing if you're GI Bill elligilbe? (I'm not expecting $50,000 but any bit helps)

merit scholarships at NU are not reclassified, you wind up just losing most of it

[graphia]

Northwestern has a merit scholarship if you ED...has anyone heard of them reclassing it for housing if you're GI Bill elligilbe? (I'm not expecting $50,000 but any bit helps)

merit scholarships at NU are not reclassified, you wind up just losing most of it

It might be worth putting together a list of schools that are willing to reclassify scholarships for housing. I know NYU wasn't willing to either, and I think I remember someone earlier in this thread saying Berkeley reclassified a scholarship to cover COL (but correct me if I'm wrong).

[FairchildFLT]

Northwestern has a merit scholarship if you ED...has anyone heard of them reclassing it for housing if you're GI Bill elligilbe? (I'm not expecting $50,000 but any bit helps)

merit scholarships at NU are not reclassified, you wind up just losing most of it

It might be worth putting together a list of schools that are willing to reclassify scholarships for housing. I know NYU wasn't willing to either, and I think I remember someone earlier in this thread saying Berkeley reclassified a scholarship to cover COL (but correct me if I'm wrong).

I'll start emaling schools as soon as they start firing up again. I contacted NU but they didn't get back to me. I would assume since they're currently on break that would be the norm.