Veterans Thread Forum

[SemperLegal]

Hey all, I heard from quite a few of you over in the 'What are my Chances?' thread, but I found this one and figure I'll be living here most of the time through next cycle.

Navy O-2 with 3.5 years AD
LSAT: 169
LSDAS: 3.26 B.S. in Finance from strong, private undergrad business school.

I'm 100% GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon eligible. I will be practicing at a family firm (small law), after graduation.

Top Schools:

Michigan - I'm a Michigan resident and will definitely be practicing in Michigan after graduation. I most likely plan on applying ED. GI Bill would pay 100%, no YRP apps req'd. I don't feel entirely confident about getting in, which is why I want to use my ED here to try and give me a boost, hoping my residency will also help.

Northwestern - This is a close 2nd to Michigan due to family ties to the law school. I also really like the fact that their accepted students tend to have more WE and thus make for a more mature class. There have been days where I consider applying ED to NU instead. I would have to apply for YRP here though. I feel better about getting in here than U of M because of their preference for work experience, but by no means consider myself a guarantee.

Also Applying:

Cornell
GULC
UCLA
WUSTL
ND

UVA and Berkeley. Have to apply to all the top public law schools and get that free tuition.

[J-e-L-L-o]

Hey all, I heard from quite a few of you over in the 'What are my Chances?' thread, but I found this one and figure I'll be living here most of the time through next cycle.

Navy O-2 with 3.5 years AD
LSAT: 169
LSDAS: 3.26 B.S. in Finance from strong, private undergrad business school.

I'm 100% GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon eligible. I will be practicing at a family firm (small law), after graduation.

Top Schools:

Michigan - I'm a Michigan resident and will definitely be practicing in Michigan after graduation. I most likely plan on applying ED. GI Bill would pay 100%, no YRP apps req'd. I don't feel entirely confident about getting in, which is why I want to use my ED here to try and give me a boost, hoping my residency will also help.

Northwestern - This is a close 2nd to Michigan due to family ties to the law school. I also really like the fact that their accepted students tend to have more WE and thus make for a more mature class. There have been days where I consider applying ED to NU instead. I would have to apply for YRP here though. I feel better about getting in here than U of M because of their preference for work experience, but by no means consider myself a guarantee.

Also Applying:

Cornell
GULC
UCLA
WUSTL
ND

UVA and Berkeley. Have to apply to all the top public law schools and get that free tuition.

If you apply to UCLA, might as well USC also. They have YRP and if you get in to both, they are peers, so you can negotiate more scholly money.

[tfinndogm]

I stressed myself out big time over this for a couple months, but then I realized it's not really a big deal. I have a big overall heading for ARMY(basically) then under that I have a heading for each unit I've been in with a couple bullet points of things I did in each unit. Just avoid acronyms and militaryspeak and you'll be fine. Don't worry about tying to "translate" what you did and just write what you did, basically the same way you'd say it to a civilian. Don't try to over-explain yourself, just keep it simple.

Yeah I was hoping for a resume building/writing course in my TAP class I'm forced to go through when I get medically removed, but that's the one thing they don't do here. I'll certainly use your advice!

[TheSpanishMain]

Anyone know if participating in the Yellow Ribbon can make schools withdraw/downgrade scholarships?

[MT Cicero]

Anyone know if participating in the Yellow Ribbon can make schools withdraw/downgrade scholarships?

Some schools (I know two TT schools for sure) have a policy whereby vet's benefits replace any scholarship amount on a dollar-for-dollar basis. I asked about possibly moving to get a $30+k scholly into at least some stipend and was denied. GI + YR left about $5-6K to pay, and the scholarship basically evaporated after that amount.

The VA would probably like school money to come first and then pay. And the school would like just the opposite. So, standard answer is...it depends.

[tjsmms061906]

My first Q though - (this could be answered in the 48 pages of the thread) What is the best way to translate my mil experience/instruction into a civilian resume/transcript? Thanks!

http://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/skills-translator/

http://www.onetonline.org/crosswalk/MOC/

[underwear]

Anyone know if participating in the Yellow Ribbon can make schools withdraw/downgrade scholarships?

Some schools (I know two TT schools for sure) have a policy whereby vet's benefits replace any scholarship amount on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

I was wondering about this myself, but that seems like a lot of investigating on the school's part. Unless it's a cut & dry program like the YRP, how would they go about determining how much to give? Is there something like a 1040 statement for your education benefits?

[Cobretti]

Anyone know if participating in the Yellow Ribbon can make schools withdraw/downgrade scholarships?

NU kind of does this. Basically I got a 20k/year merit scholarship, but instead of that stacking with the school's YRP contribution I get the 15k YRP contribution + 5k.

[paul554]

Anyone know if participating in the Yellow Ribbon can make schools withdraw/downgrade scholarships?

Some schools (I know two TT schools for sure) have a policy whereby vet's benefits replace any scholarship amount on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

I was wondering about this myself, but that seems like a lot of investigating on the school's part. Unless it's a cut & dry program like the YRP, how would they go about determining how much to give? Is there something like a 1040 statement for your education benefits?

Some schools will re-codify their scholarships so you get them cashed out. Ask the school if they do this and ask any vets if possible. Generally, if the school says their unsure or they don't know, chances are they will NOT do it.

[underwear]

Is everyone using some "eBenefits" site?

It's been 5 years since I last tapped into the Post 9/11 and have no idea how to get it started up again. This sure as hell wasn't the same website either. Just saw an advert for "Get a Premium Account" on the website and felt like something was fishy.

[SemperLegal]

Is everyone using some "eBenefits" site?

It's been 5 years since I last tapped into the Post 9/11 and have no idea how to get it started up again. This sure as hell wasn't the same website either. Just saw an advert for "Get a Premium Account" on the website and felt like something was fishy.

It's legit, website still sucks, but it's a step up from WAVE.

It's a botch to set up, but one it's verified it's easier to confirm amounts and get eligibility letters

[underwear]

It's legit, website still sucks, but it's a step up from WAVE.

"Post-9/11 GI Bill Enrollment Status: The Education Enrollment Status feature is currently not available"

Of course. I expected too much.

[Mourinho349]

It's legit, website still sucks, but it's a step up from WAVE.

"Post-9/11 GI Bill Enrollment Status: The Education Enrollment Status feature is currently not available"

Of course. I expected too much.

I had that happen to me too. VONAPP is where you really apply for benefits. Do some googling for that and it should point you in the right direction. Also, make sure you're using IE and not some other browser, I've never been able to get a DoD website to fully function in anything other than Explorer.

[tjsmms061906]

VONAPP is where you really apply for benefits.

+1 to VONAPP for GI Bill.

[tjsmms061906]

Since there is no traffic on this thread lately, I felt that receiving my ETS Orders, DD 214, and award deserves a WOOOOOOOOT that would bump this threat up.

[SemperLegal]

Since there is no traffic on this thread lately, I felt that receiving my ETS Orders, DD 214, and award deserves a WOOOOOOOOT that would bump this threat up.

FUCK YAH!

[MT Cicero]

Since there is no traffic on this thread lately, I felt that receiving my ETS Orders, DD 214, and award deserves a WOOOOOOOOT that would bump this threat up.

Excellent! Terminal 2nd week of July. Actual DOS/DD214 on 17 Aug. Getting oh so close!

*In other good news, I have it on good authority that UChi is now going UNLIMITED/UNLIMITED for Yellow Ribbon slots. It should be up on their site next week. That makes 9 of the T14 that are completely free for 100% GI Bill veterans!

[UnicornHunter]

Since there is no traffic on this thread lately, I felt that receiving my ETS Orders, DD 214, and award deserves a WOOOOOOOOT that would bump this threat up.

Excellent! Terminal 2nd week of July. Actual DOS/DD214 on 17 Aug. Getting oh so close!

*In other good news, I have it on good authority that UChi is now going UNLIMITED/UNLIMITED for Yellow Ribbon slots. It should be up on their site next week. That makes 9 of the T14 that are completely free for 100% GI Bill veterans!

That would be...phenomenal...news.

[MT Cicero]

Since there is no traffic on this thread lately, I felt that receiving my ETS Orders, DD 214, and award deserves a WOOOOOOOOT that would bump this threat up.

Excellent! Terminal 2nd week of July. Actual DOS/DD214 on 17 Aug. Getting oh so close!

*In other good news, I have it on good authority that UChi is now going UNLIMITED/UNLIMITED for Yellow Ribbon slots. It should be up on their site next week. That makes 9 of the T14 that are completely free for 100% GI Bill veterans!

That would be...phenomenal...news.

Well it is happening. Talked to financial people yesterday. Decision made. Getting official signed forms in order, then posting on website. PM if this factors in your decision making and I can give you contact number and name before deposit deadlines.

[UnicornHunter]

Since there is no traffic on this thread lately, I felt that receiving my ETS Orders, DD 214, and award deserves a WOOOOOOOOT that would bump this threat up.

Excellent! Terminal 2nd week of July. Actual DOS/DD214 on 17 Aug. Getting oh so close!

*In other good news, I have it on good authority that UChi is now going UNLIMITED/UNLIMITED for Yellow Ribbon slots. It should be up on their site next week. That makes 9 of the T14 that are completely free for 100% GI Bill veterans!

That would be...phenomenal...news.

Well it is happening. Talked to financial people yesterday. Decision made. Getting official signed forms in order, then posting on website. PM if this factors in your decision making and I can give you contact number and name before deposit deadlines.

I'm ED Chicago, so I was attending anyway. Just happy to find out I won't have to spend the 30,000 or so I was budgetting. Thank you for sharing.

[MT Cicero]

That's awesome! Congrats!

[Ramius]

Random question for those more experienced with GI bill...if you're not 100% eligible (say 50% for arguments sake), do you get 50% of the full amount for 36 months or do you instead get 50% of the months worth, therefore 18 months full coverage at a state school? Additionally, would it affect your bah similarly? I'm still a couple years out from using it, but I'll probably only be 90% eligible when the bell tolls, and I couldn't find an explanation on it anywhere on the VA website or anywhere else. Any help would be great, thanks!

[SemperLegal]

Random question for those more experienced with GI bill...if you're not 100% eligible (say 50% for arguments sake), do you get 50% of the full amount for 36 months or do you instead get 50% of the months worth, therefore 18 months full coverage at a state school? Additionally, would it affect your bah similarly? I'm still a couple years out from using it, but I'll probably only be 90% eligible when the bell tolls, and I couldn't find an explanation on it anywhere on the VA website or anywhere else. Any help would be great, thanks!

Your school gets a check for 90% of tuition and fees. You get a check for 90% of the book stipend (split over two semesters) and each month you are in school you get 90% of E5 BAH. (Partial months of school, like May, are prorated in both payment and eligibility). At the end of law school, any remaining months of eligibility that you have (about 9 if you didn't use any in UG) remain in your "VA account" until they expire or get a LLM/MBA/M.Acc.

[Ramius]

Random question for those more experienced with GI bill...if you're not 100% eligible (say 50% for arguments sake), do you get 50% of the full amount for 36 months or do you instead get 50% of the months worth, therefore 18 months full coverage at a state school? Additionally, would it affect your bah similarly? I'm still a couple years out from using it, but I'll probably only be 90% eligible when the bell tolls, and I couldn't find an explanation on it anywhere on the VA website or anywhere else. Any help would be great, thanks!

Your school gets a check for 90% of tuition and fees. You get a check for 90% of the book stipend (split over two semesters) and each month you are in school you get 90% of E5 BAH. (Partial months of school, like May, are prorated in both payment and eligibility). At the end of law school, any remaining months of eligibility that you have (about 9 if you didn't use any in UG) remain in your "VA account" until they expire or get a LLM/MBA/M.Acc.

That's what I thought, but wanted to make sure. Thanks semper!

[SemperLegal]

Also, keep in mind that if you are reservist, once you reach 24 months of aggregate active duty time, all your initial training time (boot camp and MOS school) now counts. However, if you don't have an aggregate of 24 months, none of your initial training time counts

Example 1:
LCPL Smukatelli has 22 months of initial training cause he is EOD but has never been activated, he is eligible for 0%. If he is activated for three months, he now has 25 eligible months and jumps up to 60%

Example 2:
LCPL Smukatelli has 3 months of initial training cause he is a grunt and has one 90 day activation, he is eligible for 40%.

Example 3:
LCPL Smukatelli has 30 months of active time, any percentage initial training or an activation, he is eligible for 90%.