Will the military pay for law school? Forum

[SethD2767]

Are there any programs whereby the military agrees to sponsor a person's legal education in exchange for 7 yrs of military service afterwards? When I say military service, I am not speaking exclusively about JAG; military service might include fighting with the infranty etc.

[maritimeonly]

Not that I have seen if you are not previously enlisted.

All the programs I have investigated (USCG, Navy, Air Force) are after the fact. You have to pay for law school and then attempt to get into a direct commissioning program.

If you are currently enlisted then I believe there are some highly competitive programs that would allow you to attend law school on the military's dime.

[SethD2767]

Not that I have seen if you are not previously enlisted.

All the programs I have investigated (USCG, Navy, Air Force) are after the fact. You have to pay for law school and then attempt to get into a direct commissioning program.

If you are currently enlisted then I believe there are some highly competitive programs that would allow you to attend law school on the military's dime.

Do you think it would be possible to enlist in the months before attending law school and then apply for funding by the military? I'm guessing that I would be allowed to complete law school before my service requirement is satisfied, with the understanding that I would resume service after graduating (?).

[snuffleupagus]

Unless you are active, the only way to get the military to start financing your degree from year one is the Army (from what I know). You can get two years full tuition plus book allowance and living stipend for joining ROTC during law school. Commitment is four years active or eight years reserve/NG.

Air Force, Navy, and Marines have different programs. I think most of them you foot the bill for your degree and they help you out later. Or Navy has a student program I think where you pay for the first year then they pay for the last two years (assuming you get into the program, which is tough).

I'm going the ROTC route, so I'm fairly knowledgeable on the how that process works if you have questions.

[SethD2767]

Unless you are active, the only way to get the military to start financing your degree from year one is the Army (from what I know). You can get two years full tuition plus book allowance and living stipend for joining ROTC during law school. Commitment is four years active or eight years reserve/NG.

Air Force, Navy, and Marines have different programs. I think most of them you foot the bill for your degree and they help you out later. Or Navy has a student program I think where you pay for the first year then they pay for the last two years (assuming you get into the program, which is tough).

I'm going the ROTC route, so I'm fairly knowledgeable on the how that process works if you have questions.

Do you know what the nature of the service requirement would be, beyond the lengh of the commitment? I mean: would we be exclusively doing legal work for the army? Or would we be fighting in Iraq? Not that I have much objection to either; I was just curious.

[snuffleupagus]

Deployment somewhere is almost certain if you go active. Can't really be sure where it would be at this point. They would determine where they needed you based on your MOS.

I know "combative" troops or whatever are supposed to be withdrawn from Iraq, but I'm sure the Army will be a good portion of whatever is left over there. You can apply for the JAG Corps, which would be your MOS, but if you don't get in then you still have to serve. You can look on the website for the other officer positions.

I'm not really sure what you mean by the nature of service requirement beyond the length of the commitment.... requirement = commitment so you could get out of the Army and do whatever or stay in the Army?

[SethD2767]

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[SethD2767]

Deployment somewhere is almost certain if you go active. Can't really be sure where it would be at this point. They would determine where they needed you based on your MOS.

I know "combative" troops or whatever are supposed to be withdrawn from Iraq, but I'm sure the Army will be a good portion of whatever is left over there. You can apply for the JAG Corps, which would be your MOS, but if you don't get in then you still have to serve. You can look on the website for the other officer positions.

I'm not really sure what you mean by the nature of service requirement beyond the length of the commitment.... requirement = commitment so you could get out of the Army and do whatever or stay in the Army?

I was just trying to avoid using the same term "requirement" in the same sentence; so I substituted requirement with commitment the second time around. So, now try reading it.

Just to follow up, you mention looking on the website for more officer positions. I assume that by "officer" you meant positions above that of a "private." Does graduating from law school make one eligible for positions with higher responsibility, like leading troops etc.? I know that coming in as a JAG, one is elevated to the rank of colonel (I think); but is this true of anyone who joins the army afer graduating from law school, regardless of whether one goes into the JAG or not?

Sorry for asking these inane questions. But I'm just starting to look into this.

[RedlegChang]

Deployment somewhere is almost certain if you go active. Can't really be sure where it would be at this point. They would determine where they needed you based on your MOS.

I know "combative" troops or whatever are supposed to be withdrawn from Iraq, but I'm sure the Army will be a good portion of whatever is left over there. You can apply for the JAG Corps, which would be your MOS, but if you don't get in then you still have to serve. You can look on the website for the other officer positions.

I'm not really sure what you mean by the nature of service requirement beyond the length of the commitment.... requirement = commitment so you could get out of the Army and do whatever or stay in the Army?

I was just trying to avoid using the same term "requirement" in the same sentence; so I substituted requirement with commitment the second time around. So, now try reading it.

Just to follow up, you mention looking on the website for more officer positions. I assume that by "officer" you meant positions above that of a "private." Does graduating from law school make one eligible for positions with higher responsibility, like leading troops etc.? I know that coming in as a JAG, one is elevated to the rank of colonel (I think); but is this true of anyone who joins the army afer graduating from law school, regardless of whether one goes into the JAG or not?

Sorry for asking these inane questions. But I'm just starting to look into this.

On active duty now (Army), was accepted to FLEP, where the Army will pay for me to go to law school in exchange for service as a JAG. If you're coming in with no military experience (or, come to think about it, even if you were prior enlisted beforehand), you will have to be accepted to JAG, graduate law school, and pass the bar, then you get a commission as a 1LT (not a COL), and pay for it yourself. Also, you will be commissioned as a Judge Advocate, so you technically would be ineligible to hold a command (although, you still might find yourself leading soldiers). Or, you could go the ROTC route, but what you end up getting branched is ultimately up to the needs of the Army.

PM me if you have any more questions (maybe I missed something of yours) or if you want anything clarified.

[law_fun]

any programs whereby

I hope you do not speak that way if you intend on going to the military. Whereby hahaha

[maritimeonly]

Do you think it would be possible to enlist in the months before attending law school and then apply for funding by the military? I'm guessing that I would be allowed to complete law school before my service requirement is satisfied, with the understanding that I would resume service after graduating (?).

From what I've heard, the military usually wants at least one tour of duty before they will consider paying for grad school. So for the USCG, for example, that is a 2 year commitment before you can even apply for the program.

[joehad7]

Don't join the military. For lunch today, I had the Scott AFB DFAC's pork tenderloin. My stomach has been throwing violent protests for the last eight hours.

Unless you enjoy such episodes, as well as horse-size shots of penicillin in the rear and extended vacations to exotic destinations, find another way to finance your legal education.

I do have to admit that, despite all of this, I'm really looking forward to taking advantage of the Ch. 33 Post-9/11 GI Bill. The vast amounts of Alaskan King Crab served in the Kirkuk AB DFAC were pretty good, too.

[Bosque]

I am not really sure why no one has suggested this yet, but your local recruiter is going to know all of this information and then some. That's where I would go for the skinny on all of this.

(Also, Officer does not refer to anything above private. There are NCOs in the enlisted ranks, but "Officers" start at O1.)

[Rsrcht]

The post 9/11 GI bill will pay for some of the degree, depending upon the school and the state. You'd have to be eligible for the program.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 15&t=53547
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 15&t=56968

Depending upon the branch, there are tuition assistance programs, but you'd need several things to happen for this to work - making this method impractical.
You'd need to be in the military at the time.
You'd need to be stationed near a law school that offers part-time programs, and you'd have to be accepted there. You'd have to clear it with your supervisor.
You'd need to extend your orders at the location in order to continue attending there.
You'd have to somehow avoid TDY's to places like IRAQ or Afganistan.
The tuition assistance would only work for some of the expenses. The "top-up" program would cover some of the rest, but for law school, you'd probably still have to pay out of pocket.

http://www.military.com/getting-your-de ... for-school

There are also some scholarships that pay for law school if you sign your life over to the military JAG, but you'd have to ask a branch recruiter about that.

Any way you look at it, you'd have to sign yourself over and do some time if you accept money from the military. Some ways are easier than others to obtain your goal. The military is pretty much a straight road to the litigation side of the law. They do have jobs on the transactional side, but there is no guarantee, even if the recruiter says so. It is all in the contract, and sometimes it isn't.