Veterans Thread Forum

[Cobretti]

How are the veteran cycles going thus far? I've been accepted at UCLA, Vandy, Northwestern, GULC, WUSTL, and UF. Waitlisted at UPenn, UVA, and Mich. Still waiting on Harvard, NYU, and Cornell. So far I'd say my cycle is in line with numbers, although I got a veterans-only scholarship at Vandy so there was one perk to veteran status.

So far not out performing numbers at all. Still waiting to hear back from NYU and Penn though, and an acceptance at either of those would definitely be considered outperforming my #s... We'll see, not too optimistic at this point

[MapsMapsMaps]

Any idea when the new GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon amounts are published?

Bump. Got buried on previous page.

[Ling520]

Someone please tell me whether my thought process is off here: I'm wondering whether Yellow Ribbon eligibility could realistically hurt one's chances of getting admitted to certain law schools. As YRP constitutes oftentimes substantial financial assistance not tied to either merit (in terms of GPA/LSAT) or financial need, it got me thinking about how it could negatively impact one's chances towards getting an offer for admission.

With the downturn in applications, schools are obviously trying to keep their numbers up (for rankings) and at the same time bring as much money in the door as possible to keep the ship going. So...I could see a scenario where you have a YRP candidate whose numbers would be "just good enough" to gain admittance paying sticker, but when the admission folks infer YRP eligibility (and realize that they might have to automatically disburse a substantial YRP scholarship), they might be be much more inclined to take a pass on that candidate and ensure that $$$ gets offered to a candidate with more stratospheric numbers.

Obviously a few assumptions above (esp. focused on individual school policies related to YRP), but just wondering what others think...

If they don't admit you because you are YRP eligible, they are also turning away your regular chapter 33 $$ and the 50% of YRP that would come from VA. Seems like cutting off their nose to spite their face, if you ask me.

Plus, if they didn't want to give the YRP money, they could just reduce the amount available, reduce the number of slots available, or eliminate the YRP participation altogether.

Thanks for the reply. Just a few follow-up points:

With the "identical" (as it relates to numbers) YRP applicant, you're seeing an automatic scholarship (perhaps very sizable) going out the door to someone who might not otherwise not get any financial aid from the school...except due to the YRP eligibility.

I don't think a single YRP is going to be "sizable" enough to tip an admissions decision. Most schools, even schools with very big endowments (I'm looking at you Yale), only offer a 3-5K YRP contribution. Even if a school completely covers the gap between the gibill and tuition, the YRP is not that sizable, e.g., with 45K tuition, after the gibill and the VA matching, it is only around 13K for the school. And then, schools give out need based aid; so, in most cases they won't know how much the non-YRP applicant is going to cost before they admit them.

Where YRP/veteran status could be a disadvantage is in a case where you apply late to a school that has already admitted a higher than usual number of veterans. I could, then, see a school looking at the amount of scholarship funds being allocated to YRP applicants and deciding to slow down on the number of vets they admit so that they can be sure to have enough merit scholarship money available for other admits. But for this scenario to play out, there would have to be a pretty big increase in vets applying this year.

[Tier2Allstar]

In my own case (dealing with a state school and a private school) the YR was funded by the University and not the law school. So the law school actually benefited because the aid didn't come out of their scholarship budget, but the University's Yellow Ribbon fund. Depending on the institution I could see YR being viewed as mutually advantageous for both parties by the school.

[pruufreadr]

I certainly think this line of thinking is worth a phone call or LOCI. I'll let you guys know if they tell me that worrying about admissions and the YRP is crazy talk or not.

Not that any of you were holding your breath for an answer or anything, but my application went into review shortly after I made the prior post. I'm planning to leave those lovely people alone while they make their decision.

[Rotor]

Also, if I have full yellow ribbon eligibility and receive merit aid from a school, can I pocket that merit aid?

Depends on how the merit aid is characterized. If it is for tuition and fees, no. VA is the last payer for those times and so your merit aid gets used up first. If it is for living expenses [and I believe even if it is only partially for living expenses] there is no offset, so you will be able to pocket some.

I was never lucky enough to have both, so I'm not exactly sure how it works in practice, though.

[MT Cicero]

Just saw the WSJ article about YRP increases at Stanford, Columbia, NYU, Duke and NW. While it stated that the first 3 have gone to 100% coverage of any remaining tuition through YRP; it mentioned Duke and NW had increased either number of allowed participants, match amount or both.

Anybody have SA on what their contributions are going to?

I'm applying next cycle, so the trends interest me more than the 2013-14 amounts. And it seems to me that some very elite schools are trending very pro-veteran. This I like!

Also, I'll post a spreadsheet (just like the first post of page 18 of this thread) for the 2013-14 school year after all the YRP numbers drop (supposed to be May-ish). I'll throw the 2013 BAH in there for the top 30-40 or so as well.

[GWMBA13]

Hey everyone! 13 year (still active) US Navy Corpsman here. It's great to see so many veterans interested in law school. I'm not taking the LSAT until December, but I have been lurking around these forums for the past month or so. I'm targeting U of Texas and SMU really. I've used up much of my GI Bill getting my MBA, so since I'm from Texas, I could go to UT free of charge with the Hazelwood Act. I think I saw someone on here that was targeting SMU, any luck there?

[Cobretti]

Just saw the WSJ article about YRP increases at Stanford, Columbia, NYU, Duke and NW. While it stated that the first 3 have gone to 100% coverage of any remaining tuition through YRP; it mentioned Duke and NW had increased either number of allowed participants, match amount or both.

Anybody have SA on what their contributions are going to?

I'm applying next cycle, so the trends interest me more than the 2013-14 amounts. And it seems to me that some very elite schools are trending very pro-veteran. This I like!

Also, I'll post a spreadsheet (just like the first post of page 18 of this thread) for the 2013-14 school year after all the YRP numbers drop (supposed to be May-ish). I'll throw the 2013 BAH in there for the top 30-40 or so as well.

NU's finaid office doesn't seem to be aware of any changes. Just got my YRP spot secured, and its still 15k school contribution and 10 spots.

[MT Cicero]

Just saw the WSJ article about YRP increases at Stanford, Columbia, NYU, Duke and NW. While it stated that the first 3 have gone to 100% coverage of any remaining tuition through YRP; it mentioned Duke and NW had increased either number of allowed participants, match amount or both.

Anybody have SA on what their contributions are going to?

I'm applying next cycle, so the trends interest me more than the 2013-14 amounts. And it seems to me that some very elite schools are trending very pro-veteran. This I like!

Also, I'll post a spreadsheet (just like the first post of page 18 of this thread) for the 2013-14 school year after all the YRP numbers drop (supposed to be May-ish). I'll throw the 2013 BAH in there for the top 30-40 or so as well.

NU's finaid office doesn't seem to be aware of any changes. Just got my YRP spot secured, and its still 15k school contribution and 10 spots.

Just out of curiosity, did they use up all 10 spots? It would certainly suck to be the 11th person in the line handing out $30K checks.

[Cobretti]

Just saw the WSJ article about YRP increases at Stanford, Columbia, NYU, Duke and NW. While it stated that the first 3 have gone to 100% coverage of any remaining tuition through YRP; it mentioned Duke and NW had increased either number of allowed participants, match amount or both.

Anybody have SA on what their contributions are going to?

I'm applying next cycle, so the trends interest me more than the 2013-14 amounts. And it seems to me that some very elite schools are trending very pro-veteran. This I like!

Also, I'll post a spreadsheet (just like the first post of page 18 of this thread) for the 2013-14 school year after all the YRP numbers drop (supposed to be May-ish). I'll throw the 2013 BAH in there for the top 30-40 or so as well.

NU's finaid office doesn't seem to be aware of any changes. Just got my YRP spot secured, and its still 15k school contribution and 10 spots.

Just out of curiosity, did they use up all 10 spots? It would certainly suck to be the 11th person in the line handing out $30K checks.

They said I was the 3rd person to sign up (2 before me were apparently the only 2 vets in c/o 2014 and 2015), and they had never used all 10 spots since they started the program.

[PBateman1]

Just saw the WSJ article about YRP increases at Stanford, Columbia, NYU, Duke and NW. While it stated that the first 3 have gone to 100% coverage of any remaining tuition through YRP; it mentioned Duke and NW had increased either number of allowed participants, match amount or both.

Anybody have SA on what their contributions are going to?

I'm applying next cycle, so the trends interest me more than the 2013-14 amounts. And it seems to me that some very elite schools are trending very pro-veteran. This I like!

Also, I'll post a spreadsheet (just like the first post of page 18 of this thread) for the 2013-14 school year after all the YRP numbers drop (supposed to be May-ish). I'll throw the 2013 BAH in there for the top 30-40 or so as well.

NU's finaid office doesn't seem to be aware of any changes. Just got my YRP spot secured, and its still 15k school contribution and 10 spots.

Just out of curiosity, did they use up all 10 spots? It would certainly suck to be the 11th person in the line handing out $30K checks.

They said I was the 3rd person to sign up (2 before me were apparently the only 2 vets in c/o 2014 and 2015), and they had never used all 10 spots since they started the program.

Thanks for the reminder. I need to get my stuff into NU for YRP. It's been a couple years since I did this, what documents do I need to provide?

Edit: Also, does this mean the Veterans org at NU is going to be 4 people next year??

[Cobretti]

Possibly... Executive position resume bullets for all!

Actually there was a marine jd/mba at asw also.

You need to send your certificate of eligibility. If you've already used your benefits, meaning you've been sent updated COEs with your remaining eligibility they might not take it. I worked with them to accept mine though, so they might start accepting them, but if they don't just send your DD214 and you should be good.

[J-e-L-L-o]

Just saw the WSJ article about YRP increases at Stanford, Columbia, NYU, Duke and NW. While it stated that the first 3 have gone to 100% coverage of any remaining tuition through YRP; it mentioned Duke and NW had increased either number of allowed participants, match amount or both.

Anybody have SA on what their contributions are going to?

I'm applying next cycle, so the trends interest me more than the 2013-14 amounts. And it seems to me that some very elite schools are trending very pro-veteran. This I like!

Also, I'll post a spreadsheet (just like the first post of page 18 of this thread) for the 2013-14 school year after all the YRP numbers drop (supposed to be May-ish). I'll throw the 2013 BAH in there for the top 30-40 or so as well.

NU's finaid office doesn't seem to be aware of any changes. Just got my YRP spot secured, and its still 15k school contribution and 10 spots.

Just out of curiosity, did they use up all 10 spots? It would certainly suck to be the 11th person in the line handing out $30K checks.

They said I was the 3rd person to sign up (2 before me were apparently the only 2 vets in c/o 2014 and 2015), and they had never used all 10 spots since they started the program.

wow..that's interesting to know.

[SemperLegal]

They said I was the 3rd person to sign up (2 before me were apparently the only 2 vets in c/o 2014 and 2015), and they had never used all 10 spots since they started the program.

wow..that's interesting to know.

Informally, I have never heard of a veteran getting locked out of YRP at any school.

[J-e-L-L-o]

Neither have I. I think it's more interesting that out of the entire class at NU there aren't more veterans. But then I realized that there are probably more...just not using the GI bill or they have already exhausted it.

[bowser]

Only about half the vets at Columbia (maybe less) are eligible for YRP.

[SemperLegal]

Only about half the vets at Columbia (maybe less) are eligible for YRP.

Sorry, to clarify: Are they ineligible because they don't have 3 years of active duty, or because there were no more funds?

[bowser]

Only about half the vets at Columbia (maybe less) are eligible for YRP.

Sorry, to clarify: Are they ineligible because they don't have 3 years of active duty, or because there were no more funds?

They don't have 3 years active duty, or GI bill was exhausted by undergrad tuition.

I was expecting a flood of vet apps, but it hasn't happened.

[Cobretti]

Has anyone applied for the pat Tillman fund scholly after exhausting their gi bill?

[J-e-L-L-o]

Don't know if anyone here is a serious code-wonk, but considering the page involves both computers and veterans I thought I'd put a plug in for the Google code jam for veterans.

http://code.google.com/codejam/veterans

$2500 prize for the winner.

Thanx for this. Great practice examples.

[tjsmms061906]

Any idea when the new GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon amounts are published?

Bump. Got buried on previous page.

New Yellow Ribbon amounts get posted on June 15, 2013.

[tjsmms061906]

Quick question. Does anyone know which schools offer fee waivers for veterans?

[Burne182]

Quick question. Does anyone know which schools offer fee waivers for veterans?

For me, the only one that specifically noted veteran status as the reason for a waiver was Iowa, but there were a few other waivers that may have been given (unofficially) for the same reason.

Quick GI bill question: I received a full tuition scholarship from the school I will be attending ( ), but it does not include fees. I'm elligible for 60% of GI Bill since my first 5 years were undergrad obligation, so will the GI Bill pay for 100% of fees (since that's WAY less than 60% of in-state tuition) or will they only pay 60% of the fees? I know the difference is not huge, probably near $1k per year, just trying to plan.

[SemperLegal]

Quick question. Does anyone know which schools offer fee waivers for veterans?

For me, the only one that specifically noted veteran status as the reason for a waiver was Iowa, but there were a few other waivers that may have been given (unofficially) for the same reason.

Quick GI bill question: I received a full tuition scholarship from the school I will be attending ( ), but it does not include fees. I'm elligible for 60% of GI Bill since my first 5 years were undergrad obligation, so will the GI Bill pay for 100% of fees (since that's WAY less than 60% of in-state tuition) or will they only pay 60% of the fees? I know the difference is not huge, probably near $1k per year, just trying to plan.

This is going to be a horribly written post, because I am pretending to listen to my girl yell at me on the phone. If its hard to understand, I will revise.

_________________________________________

Its all going to depend on how your law school lists the scholarship. If you can get them to apply it only to the tuition, you will get 60% of the fees. If you have them apply it to the fees first, then the VA normally will pay 60% of the tuition, but no more than 100% of tuition can come from both sources. If you can get them to label it as an award or a stipend, the VA will pay their full amount to the school and then you can a refund of the surplus.

For these examples, Fees are $100, tuition (and scholly) is $1000

Option One, Scholly applied just to tuition:
VA pays no money on tuition, since 100% is already covered/
VA pays $60 against the fees.
You pay $40

Option Two, Scholly applied to fees that to tuition:
VA pays no money on fees, since 100% is already covered
Schools pays $940 on tuition. VA prepares to pay $600 on tuition, but caps it at $60, since the total of 940+60 is 100% of tution.
You pay $0

Option Three, Scholly applied as a stipend/award that disbursed from the university treasurer:
Law school pays the University Cashier $1000.
VA pays the cashier $600 for tuition.
VA pays the cashier $60 for fees.
Law school bills the cashier $1,100.
Cashier applies the $1660 it has to your debt.
You pick up a check for the balance.
Law school pays you $560