Veterans Thread Forum

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MT Cicero

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Veterans Thread

Post by MT Cicero » Sat Oct 29, 2011 7:00 pm

Welcome to the TLS Veterans Thread!

First off, here is the spreadsheet I update annually, which shows how much the Post 9/11 + Yellow Ribbon covers at the top ~100 law schools (all public are now free for 100%-eligible Post-9/11 vets):

2017-18 GI Bill + Yellow Ribbon

Additionally:

1. Thanks for all your service.
2. Keep it civil and chill. No shitty inter-branch rivalry chat, but cheekiness and self-deprecation are always welcome!
3. Post 9/11 (if you're at 100%) covers the entire cost of public grad schools now.

Successful military fee waiver requests for the 2017-18 cycle
Berkeley
Colorado
Denver
GULC
Hawaii
NYU
Penn
UCLA
Vandy

Fee waivers for anyone this cycle: ASU, Baylor, George Mason, GW, Liberty

Schools that have waived application fees for veterans in the past (not all inclusive):
Lewis and Clark
ASU
Buffalo
Cincinnati
Colorado
Denver
UCONN
FIU
Hawaii
Notre Dame
Tulane
Richmond
Widener
William and Mary
UVA
NYU
Chicago
Georgetown
University of Washington
Berkeley
George Washington
Emory
Vanderbilt
Wyoming
Montana
Penn State
UMASS

No Waiver:
Columbia
Michigan
Cornell
Harvard
Yale
Stanford
Duke

*Requested shoutout to http://www.service2school.org, which is a nonprofit by vets for vets that specializes in getting fellow vets into law school, and hopefully helping them "punch above their weight" from a pure numbers standpoint. They help with test prep, personal statement, resumes, interview prep, etc (pretty much everything). And they don't charge anything.
Last edited by MT Cicero on Wed Oct 04, 2017 6:23 pm, edited 22 times in total.

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ThomasMN

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by ThomasMN » Sat Oct 29, 2011 7:06 pm

.
Last edited by ThomasMN on Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

EMZE

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by EMZE » Sat Oct 29, 2011 9:49 pm

ThomasMN wrote:Looks like you beat me to it. I just bumped your thread, but I'll post up my info regardless.

I was an infantry staff sergeant in the Active Army for about seven years.
Deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and spent quite a bit of time in various parts of Europe.
I was with A co. 2/502 101st ABN and 1/4 INF out of Hohenfels, Germany.
Finishing up my degree in history at the moment - I will be done in 6 weeks.
I was accepted ED to UVA about a month ago.

I have been thinking about putting together a spreadsheet for future veteran LS applicants to help them with the admissions process. I always see veterans asking where their softs will go over best, so I think there is certainly an audience for the information.

Agreed. From everything I have heard from others experiences, combat vet makes for an unpredictable cycle. It would really be great to see the admissions trends for veterans at the top schools.

Now the rest of you vets, get to posting!

If you are a veteran and already made it through your cycle and are attending LS now, or have graduated for that manner, please post your acceptances/denials/numbers/schools so we can make a good resource for future vets. If you don't feel comfortable posting in the forum, by all means, PM ThomasMN or myself. ThomasMN, you can be the NCOIC...

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Redclh

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by Redclh » Sat Oct 29, 2011 11:21 pm

I think this thread is a great idea, so I'll join in.

E5 in the Navy, 4 years active duty, now in the reserves.
Job was logistics related.
Deployed to Iraq, Japan, CVN's Eisenhower and Washington, det's throughout Middle East.
Was stationed in Whidbey Island, WA, now in Florida.
Finishing degree in spring in Poly-Sci (wish I had gone hard science...).
Similar to EMZE, I thought I was a lifer, ended up getting mil-to-mil married but after my chance to negotiate orders, so I got out and now she's a lifer.

Apps in to Chicago through USC minus Texas, also ND, Minn, W&M, BU, and U of Washington.

Took LSAT cold with no prep (terrible idea, I know), so I might end up taking a year off if I don't like my options and retake.

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SemperLegal

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by SemperLegal » Sat Oct 29, 2011 11:28 pm

E-4 USMC grunt with deployments to OIF and OEF.


Edited: Never count your chickens, even if you are in midhatching
Last edited by SemperLegal on Fri Aug 31, 2012 3:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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EMZE

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by EMZE » Sun Oct 30, 2011 12:56 am

SemperLegal wrote:E-4 USMC grunt with deployments to OIF and OEF.

Damn. USMC E4 with a 169/3.8...

Not to self hate, but I don't think we have many joe's that smart in the Army.

Tell us more about yourself always legal

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californihuh

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by californihuh » Sun Oct 30, 2011 2:09 am

Just picked up my stripes.
Army. 5 1/2 years (drilling status), one deployment OIF.
Public Affairs. (Love me, hate me, but someone's gotta do it)
Graduated '11 in poli-sci.
P.O.S LSDAS GPA: 3.21 (Cumulative's a bit higher)

Took diagnostic PT's and got killed. Needing all the help I can get. Signed up for BluePrint online. Hoping to kill the June LSAT and getting into 20-30's range of schools. Hopefully I'll be the turning that around big time.

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Cavgirl

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by Cavgirl » Sun Oct 30, 2011 3:59 am

Captain, Army, Cav helo pilot
2003/4 OIF vet
Poli Sci major
Thought I was a lifer until I got hurt in Iraq
Blanketed the T-14 plus a few safeties

03121202698008

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by 03121202698008 » Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:48 am

As a fellow vet, I encourage all of you to apply to Michigan and write a DS about your maturity and experiences. The school is super supportive of vets, we are public so the go bill covers 100%, and they reclassified our schollys so we get them to help defray living expenses contrary to congres's intent. I'd guesstimate we average 3-5 vets per year. Most vets seem to get an automatic $10K a year.

Some advice: figure out how to translate your experience to civilian. You can apply with a 2-page resume but a 1-page is the absolute maximum for jobs so start thinking about what to cut now. Your resume need not be a chronology of your life. It should paint a picture of you. Every acronym should be spelled out and I suggest modifying job titles to their civilian equivalent if possible. Like an EPR, focus on the impact you had and not just the responsibility.

Being a vet is a strong safety but it won't compensate for more than a point on the LSAT. (In reality, this is a huge boost compared to other softs.) Employers love it though. All I talked about during OCI.
Last edited by 03121202698008 on Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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EMZE

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by EMZE » Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:09 pm

Blowhard, I would really love to hear more about how your cycle went. Admittedly, I have stalked a ton of your posts, but would like to hear more about where you applied, what schools you got into, where you were admitted, WL then accept, WL then ding, and then where you were straight dinged. If you don't want to post it publicly, would you mind PM'ing me about your cycle? The end result for this information is that I hope to consolidate other veterans experiences and create a high speed product (using the army's favorite programs, ppt or excel), so that future veteran applicants have an idea of what to expect.

If you wouldn't mind posting or sending me that consolidated info, I would really appreciate it. And the product I create at the end of this cycle will be anonymous, listing just the background info of each veterans service, their softs, numbers, and ultimately their results.

Thanks

EMZE

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by EMZE » Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:11 pm

Cavgirl, I have seen you in other threads and understand that this is not your first cycle, and on your first one before you got sick, you did very well even considering your good numbers. Would you mind sharing more about how your first cycle went, as far as what schools you applied to, were admitted to, etc?

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by lemonlyman » Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:34 pm

Quick plug for Columbia. We've got a great group of vets at Columbia Law (10 in the JD program and 2 in the LLM program) and if you, or any other vets you know have any questions about Columbia please let us know. Our website/contact info is here:

http://www.law.columbia.edu/military-as ... on/contact

Columbia is very supportive of vets and provides great resources, especially when dealing with the VA. If any vets are going to be in NYC make sure they get in contact with us -- free lunch and/or drinks. Best of luck all!

EMZE

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by EMZE » Mon Oct 31, 2011 1:54 am

lemonlyman wrote:Quick plug for Columbia. We've got a great group of vets at Columbia Law (10 in the JD program and 2 in the LLM program) and if you, or any other vets you know have any questions about Columbia please let us know. Our website/contact info is here:

http://www.law.columbia.edu/military-as ... on/contact

Columbia is very supportive of vets and provides great resources, especially when dealing with the VA. If any vets are going to be in NYC make sure they get in contact with us -- free lunch and/or drinks. Best of luck all!
Haha. Shameless plug! Way to go and get all of our hopes up. Are you currently a student/faculty member?
Thanks for the contact info, I can only hope that I will need to use it.

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by sheffieldjordan » Mon Oct 31, 2011 7:54 am

Army captain here.

Commissioned Boston University ROTC in 2007.
2.90/165

This LSAT is from October 2011, taken at Bagram Airbase.

Infantry platoon leader in Iraq.
Signal Company Commander in Afghanistan.

Applying to most T1/T2 public schools in the southeast; cast a wide net out west and northeast as well. Inshaallah I will get in somewhere.
Last edited by sheffieldjordan on Wed Nov 02, 2011 1:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

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sky7

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by sky7 » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:00 am

0-3
2.5 GPA from the boat school in computer science stuff, 165 LSAT
Do infosystems in the DC area
Been at GW in the evening program, will graduate this year.

Heading into patent law! Feel free to PM.

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SemperLegal

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by SemperLegal » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:41 am

sheffieldjordan wrote: This LSAT is from October 2011, taken at Bagram Airbase.
Sir, could you elaborate a little on how you did this for our brothers a few cycles behind? I am sure most law applicants can navigate the LSACs rules, but i could never imagine how I could get permission from my chain of command, far enough in advance, to guarantee I would be able to actually attend.

Also +1 to the inshallah, by far the greatest weasel answer in the world

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SemperLegal

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by SemperLegal » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:42 am

sky7 wrote:0-3
2.5 GPA from the boat school in computer science stuff,

Did you join the sailing club or the hunting club?

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unc0mm0n1

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by unc0mm0n1 » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:44 am

Hey fellow vets nice to see so many of you applying to law school. We need more lawyers with military experience. I applied last year and I'm a 1L currently. Anyway here is my info.

LSAT: 165/169
Ethnicity: URM (AA male)
GPA: 3.92
Masters GPA: 4.0
Military experience: Started off as enlisted then became a warrant officer got out as a CW2. Was stationed all over Germany and the Netherlands for the 5 yrs I was in the Army. Deployed twice, once for 15 months (I hate Army deployments). Worked in JAG my entire time in as enlisted and a officer. currently attending Harvard.
Applied: Everywhere, I received a ton of fee waivers and used those application to hone my final applications to the top schools. Not sure if this was the smart thing to do because it caused me to apply to a few schools late but I figured I'd rather have a perfect app than get it in early esp because I was deployed when my cycle began.
Rejected: NYU (I really think this had to do with my late application and them not thinking I would go there). Also waitlisted a few places, most notably U. of Chicago.
Accepted: A wide range of schools from Yale on down. Got into most of the t-14 I applied to and some lower ranked safety schools.
Advice: Your military experience is a nice boost to your application because it helps you to stick out. Accentuate in your personal statement. I know Harvard for one is really pushing to get more military people in the school. I think we have almost doubled our military enrollment over the last year. Also the GI bill is a beautiful thing. Going to law school for free relives a great deal of pressure esp. for people who are used to public service and may go back into that sector when done with law school. Take advantage of all the benefits you have earned and look at which school are better yellow ribbon schools and/or gives higher BAH than their competitors. That was part of the reason I choose Harvard over Yale. Have a great cycle guys and keep up the good work. I'm proud to have served with such an impressive group.
Last edited by unc0mm0n1 on Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:05 am, edited 3 times in total.

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SemperLegal

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by SemperLegal » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:49 am

Double Post
Last edited by SemperLegal on Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

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SemperLegal

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by SemperLegal » Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:49 am

unc0mm0n1 wrote:Hey fellow vets nice to see so many of you applying to law school. We need more lawyers with military experience. I applied last year and I'm a 1L currently. Anyway here is my info.
I recall you from last cycle, I am glad to see things turned out so well

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unc0mm0n1

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by unc0mm0n1 » Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:05 am

SemperLegal wrote:
unc0mm0n1 wrote:Hey fellow vets nice to see so many of you applying to law school. We need more lawyers with military experience. I applied last year and I'm a 1L currently. Anyway here is my info.
I recall you from last cycle, I am glad to see things turned out so well
Thanks man... Now I got to get ready for finals :(.

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sky7

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by sky7 » Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:46 am

SemperLegal wrote:
sky7 wrote:0-3
2.5 GPA from the boat school in computer science stuff,

Did you join the sailing club or the hunting club?


Heh - the sailing club.

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by sheffieldjordan » Mon Oct 31, 2011 10:06 am

SemperLegal wrote:
sheffieldjordan wrote: This LSAT is from October 2011, taken at Bagram Airbase.
Sir, could you elaborate a little on how you did this for our brothers a few cycles behind? I am sure most law applicants can navigate the LSACs rules, but i could never imagine how I could get permission from my chain of command, far enough in advance, to guarantee I would be able to actually attend.

Also +1 to the inshallah, by far the greatest weasel answer in the world
bismallah rahman ar raheem,

I started studying once I deployed last January. Everyone knew I was the guy waking up early studying for some law school test. I took the June 2011 test in Paris on R&R and got a 161.
I figured, because I had 7 months left in theater, I would keep studying and take it again.

In July I e-mailed LSAC and the Army Education Center at Bagram. They were both unsure of the logistics at first, but eventually in September the Ed Center said they would be able to support it. I was a company XO at the time and briefed my commander on the whole thing and he supported it.

Quite unexpectedly, in August I was made a company commander. I then re-explained the whole thing to my battalion commander. He knew I had been studying for months, knew I had already paid, and knew I was serious about it. He agreed to let me take it.

I flew from RC-North to Bagram on September 30th, arrived October 1st, and took the test October 3rd. That afternoon I interviewed with the SJA for FLEP as well. A marine first lieutenant took the test with me.

In my opinion, if your chain of command knows you're serious about it, if they know your timeline for applications, and if you talk to them about it well in advance, they would be supportive.

If you PM me your e-mail address I could forward you the e-mail chain with LSAC and the Ed Center, and I could e-mail you the formal request memo I made for LSAC.

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by WAREAGLE31 » Mon Oct 31, 2011 10:14 am

Great to see this board.

Marine Infanty Officer and 07' Naval Academy Graduate. Still a year away from applying, but looking very hard at law school. Taking the December LSAT. Two deployment to Afghanistan. Interested in applying to UVA, GWU, NW and other DC/VA area schools. Anybody with similar experiences or with advice feel free to message or post.

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sky7

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Re: ITT: Military Veterans

Post by sky7 » Mon Oct 31, 2011 12:28 pm

WAREAGLE31 wrote:Great to see this board.

Marine Infanty Officer and 07' Naval Academy Graduate. Still a year away from applying, but looking very hard at law school. Taking the December LSAT. Two deployment to Afghanistan. Interested in applying to UVA, GWU, NW and other DC/VA area schools. Anybody with similar experiences or with advice feel free to message or post.
I was '06 (21st Co) - and I married into the Auburn Family, so WAR EAGLE!!!!

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