Veterans Applying to Law school

Damion A

Hello everyone!

First off, thank you for making the discussion forums extremely beneficial and realistic, the investment in 7Sage has been for it for that alone! I am writing this forum with the intentions of it becoming an extremely useful resource for veterans applying to law school, as well as motivation for those who are pushing through the LSAT. Good luck to everyone!

I am a United States Marine currently serving overseas on my last deployment. I am expected to return home in the October time frame and am expecting to take the December LSAT. I have intentions to apply to Harvard, Penn, Duke, Vanderbilt, and University of Alabama (safety school, but still a Tier 2 Law School). Harvard is my top pick and recently discovered they essentially offer a free law education when using the Post 9/11 GI Bill complimented with the Yellow Ribbon Program. During my 1L, I am also intending to take the GMAT and apply to business school to become a JD/MBA student. I graduate with my undergraduate degree in Entrepreneurship this coming April, all while using tuition assistance, PELL grant, and credit cards. I will have finished my undergrad in three years with two deployments under my belt. So if any of you have any friends or family thinking about joining the military, it is possible to graduate with your bachelor’s degree before you EAS and acquire the magical DD214.

I recently took a diagnostic PT and scored in the mid 140’s. I am not sure if this is an accurate depiction as to where I am in my LSAT journey due to the distractions that come with being deployed. I will state that after the test, I was mentally drained and the Blind Review was painful. My goal score is a 170+.

Questions / Comments:

I am currently studying 3-5 hours daily, but am going slow to ensure I have proper and thorough understanding of the core curriculum prior to PT drilling. Is this enough time to hit my target score of 170+?

I recently watched an interview with a Harvard Law School student where he discussed the importance of having diversity statements. Should we create a diversity statement being a veteran? Also, I come from an extremely poor background where I was the first to graduate high school and attend college. Should I create two separate diversity statements, one diversity statement with both mentioned, or none and just include it in my personal statement?

How much weight does being a veteran actually hold during the admissions process? I just want to ensure I have a realistic expectation.

Say the absolute worst happens and I bomb the December LSAT, is the February LSAT too late to be considered competitive at T14 schools?

Do you have any suggested books for admission and law school as a whole?

What are some of the job opportunities for JD/MBA students post grad school?

Lastly, there is an amazing program for veterans called Service 2 School (www.Service2School.org). After you submit a package and are accepted, they pair you with a mentor who has been admitted to a school similarly to your goals. They also have PDF guides for JD and MBAs that is extremely beneficial.

DumbHollywoodActor

@Pacifico is your man.

Alex

@"Damion A"

Hello and welcome! I am glad you seem to like this forum as much as I do. It is my favorite part of being a 7Sager. Thank you for your bravery, service and keeping our country safe

So to answer some of your questions. Is from now to – December enough to go from the 140s to the 170s? I’ll be honest, I don’t think it is. A 30 point jump is going to take some serious hard work and time to achieve. It is totally doable, as others right here on this forum have done it, but generally, they studied for close to a year, if not longer.

I think there is a common misconception that 3-4 months of study is enough. This is an idea perpetuated by the prep courses to maximize their profits. And many of us willingly believe it because it is hard to admit to ourselves that this may take longer than expected. I know it was very hard for me to put my ego down and accept that this test wasn’t an aptitude test, self-worth test, or IQ test. Just a test that rewards those who prepare and punishes those that rush to take it. I quickly traded in my hubris for a 7Sage Starter course.

My advice is to keep your 170 goal and let that be the barometer of your readiness or when to take the exam. I have the same goal and have decided that when I am getting close and PT’ing right around there, then and only then am In going to sign up for an LSAT administration. My tentative goal in June 2017. That means I’ll have been studying for a year!
Being that we have the same goals (170+ & Harvard Law School) I would ask yourself “how much is it worth it?” What is an extra year in the scheme of things if it ensures you can achieve your dream? This test gives you one great gift we often forget: You can take it whenever you are ready. If I could have done that in College, I would have been way less stressed and had over a 4.0. ;D

Diversity Statements: I think you should write one and find a way to fit your story into it. But I do think you should write one. After all, You are diverse!

How much weight does being a Vet carry?
Quite a bit actually. It is an incredibly powerful soft to have on your resume. The admission committees will assume you are responsible, smart, hardworking, and ready for the arduous task of law school.

JD/MBA: PM me I have some good articles on this.

Book recommendations:
https://www.amazon.com/Ivey-Guide-Law-School-Admissions/dp/0156029790

https://www.amazon.com/Law-School-Admission-Game-Expert/dp/0983845336/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470147062&sr=1-1&keywords=law+school+admission

https://www.amazon.com/Successful-Harvard-School-Application-Essays/dp/0312366116/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470147062&sr=1-4&keywords=law+school+admission

I own Ivey’s Guide….. and it seems very informative thus far. I plan on getting the others as I approach my application cycle.

Hope some of this helps!

Damion A

Hey @"Alex Divine" ! I shot you a PM. Thank you for the books and advice! How do you compare Iven's book to Montauk's? (https://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Into-Top-Schools/dp/0735204578/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ZWY1D6DFXAEPFMF000XA)

I am working my way through it currently and post my review once finished. I am also working my way through "Don't go to law school (Unless)", which so far is extremely depressing. Looking forward to see how this forum develops.

Pacifico

Being a veteran does not provide a major boost in admissions, the real boost comes in employment. It's another feather on the scale but I would say it's not even worth an LSAT point so don't rely on it getting you somewhere.

Make sure to file for your certificate of eligibility for your GI Bill after you hit your 100% eligible marker so you'll be good to go for YRP.

As stated above, do not take the LSAT until you're ready, especially given your goals. If that means you go to school a year later, so be it. The calculus changes a bit for those of us going to law school for free but if you have a Harvard GPA then don't waste that by rushing and getting a Cooley LSAT.

Also, if you think you'll get some disability I would highly recommend exploring the Voc Rehab program before the GI Bill because you get way better benefits though the program is a pain in the ass to secure.

First generation college and severe poverty are both good DS topics. Your resume is already going to tell your military story and I think a lot of veterans make the mistake of just beating their military service to death by addressing it in their PS, DS, resume and elsewhere on the application. It's an important part of who we are but it is not everything we are, so take the opportunities to make yourself stand out as more unique than the average veteran.

Lastly, I know it is a bit early in the game but I would call Mike Spivey for a free consult. He will point you in the right direction and be totally honest about whether or not you would need their help. I had several unique issues with my applications that I found no precedent for, but Mike was able to solve all the issues and helped me get into law school when I previously thought I wouldn't be able to pull it off. I've heard mixed reviews about S2S from mediocre to awesome so it sounds like it is just luck of the draw depending on who you get assigned to.

There aren't a ton of active veterans on 7Sage and the structure of the forums don't really lend themselves to permanent resources, so I would highly recommend checking out the veterans thread on TLS. It is by far the most supportive community I have found on TLS and they do really great work.

Also, if you're at a 140 now I would say your best bet is to plan for next June with September and December to fall back on. Plus that would give you extra time to take the GMAT while law apps are rolling and you wouldn't have to do that during law school.

I'm about to start school in a couple weeks so I don't have too much free time anymore but feel free to hit me up if you ever have any questions. Good luck!

Burt Macklin

In on this too. In the process of transitioning out of the military, with a ETS mid next year. Contemplating taking the LSAT SEP, but may push back to DEC depending on coming PT scores. Started studying early JAN this year, first PT under timed conditions was ~145/150. After going through Mike Kim's LSAT Trainer, I hit ~160 in mid JUN. Started the 7Sage course around that time and am about 65% done ATT, hoping to start PTs next week.

@Pacifico Care to expound on who/what Mike Spivey is?

Also, @"Damion A", don't forget that there is a webinar / free consulting session being put on tonight.