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From Active Duty to Active Law License

Getting a law degree can unlock countless career opportunities. Whether you’re interested in practicing a specific kind of law, pursuing a role in government, criminal justice, or even a corporate job—having a J.D. after your name can pave the way to a great future. But how can you use your military education benefits to make this dream a reality?

While the Post-9/11 GI Bill offers excellent support to those who are eligible, more often than not, it isn’t enough to cover the full cost of both an undergraduate degree and law school, especially within 36 months.

But what if you could leverage your tuition assistance (TA) benefits to save some of that GI Bill? With some creativity and careful planning (lots of planning), you could potentially use Tuition Assistance (TA) to make significant progress toward your law degree—even covering some graduate-level courses under the right circumstances.

Prepare to Use Your Tuition Assistance (TA) – The Basics

If you’re still serving or are getting ready to, you have a great resource in your pocket – tuition assistance (TA). Taking advantage of TA can help you earn credits while you are still serving, permitting you to work towards the undergraduate you’ll need before pursuing a law degree – thus saving some or all of your Post-9/11 GI Bill for law school.

For example, leaving the military with even a 2-year degree could save 18 months or 2 academic years toward that law degree. To get started:

• Research the eligibility requirements for your type of service and service branch. Guard and Reserve members may have their own qualifiers
• Review the time-of-service qualifications. In some cases, you may not be able to access TA until after a year (or more) of service and be in good standing
• Know the annual maximum amount and number of credits covered
• Check to ensure any school you are considering is regionally accredited and that the program you are considering is covered
• Be prepared to demonstrate that your academic pursuits will not interfere with your duties or military readiness.

Steps to Apply

Go to the portal for your service branch and create an account:

• Army: GoArmyEd (ArmyIgnitED)
• Navy: NED (Navy Education Dashboard)
• Air Force: Air Force Virtual Education Center (AFVEC)
• Marine Corps: MarineNet

Input your Information, including

• Details about the school you are considering
• Course title
• Cost of Credit Hours and Tuition
• Other Fees

Receive your Approval and Begin

Other Education Benefits

The Post-9/11 GI Bill

For this conversation, we aim to maximize your Post-9/11 GI Bill toward your law degree. While you can certainly use it to supplement your TA to lower costs, doing so is often inefficient and can deplete it unnecessarily. However, if you are getting ready to separate or have already done so, the Post-9/11 GI Bill is a great option.

We’ve often addressed eligibility for the Post-9/11 GI Bill, so we’ll skip the qualifiers. However, you can always refresh your knowledge of the application steps on the VA Education Benefits Page.

Montgomery GI Bill

While less common, the Montgomery GI Bill could also provide funding assistance for your law degree. But like the Post-9/11 GI Bill, you may be able to use it to supplement TA, but if you can, saving this benefit can come in handy to fund your law school education. For more information on other education benefits you can use, go to the VA Education Benefits Page.

The Supreme Court Expanded GI Bill Benefits

Under certain circumstances, you may now be eligible for an additional academic year of GI Bill benefits or more, depending on circumstances, for a maximum of 48 months of GI Bill entitlement.

Just be aware that not everyone is eligible (although it’s estimated that over 1 million are), and you may or may not need to apply. To learn more about this change and how it can affect you, go to the VA’s page on the decision and our article here.

Resources to Help You Plan 

As you build your strategy to optimize your education benefits toward your law degree, you will benefit by consulting with both assets on base and at the schools you are considering. Let’s take a look at a few of them:

1. On-Base Education Office (Education Services Office or ESO): The ESO is your primary resource for comprehensive assistance with your earned educational benefits. The counselors at the ESO are specially trained to help you navigate eligibility requirements, the application process, credentialing options, deadlines, and information about specific schools. Most importantly, ESO can assist you in creating an individualized degree plan that aligns with your objectives while maximizing all available financial resources. They are uniquely equipped to help you map out your road to that law degree while keeping out-of-pocket costs to a minimum.
2. Your Chain of Command: Your unit’s education office or its equivalent can help fill any gaps between your eligibility and any education programming specific to your branch and is critical to advocating for your approvals and compliance.
3. The School’s Veterans or Financial Aid Office: The available dedicated staff for veterans can vary among schools, but all have financial aid offices. In either case, you should be able to gain school-specific information to optimize your education benefits.

Getting the Most out of Your Tuition Assistance (TA)

• General Education Credits: Depending on your academic path, the school you plan to attend may require general education credits. If possible, you can often complete these credits at two-year institutions using Tuition Assistance (TA) at a lower per-credit cost, which may permit you to earn even more credits within the annual maximum.

• Maximize Credit for Prior Learning: Yes, we’re back to this again. Get that JST and see what credits your prospective school might take for military or other training. Check directly with the schools you are considering for further guidance.

• Ask about Transfer Agreements: It’s common for two-year and four-year public schools to have agreements to accept credits from one another. Even some private schools may participate in these. In some states, there is even a requirement. However, how these credits are applied can vary widely, so you will want to discuss the specifics with the school’s veteran’s office (or academic advising) to know for sure. Whatever you do, don’t assume. Know the facts before you commit. 

• Research Schools that TA Fully covers: If you are interested in one of the schools on this list, you are in luck. Just be sure to check directly with the school as they determine eligibility. Some fall below the per-credit limit, so you could earn even more credits and stay under the annual maximum.
• College Level Examination Program (CLEP): Another way you may save money and earn credits is to pursue CLEP exams. By taking and passing these, you may be able to reduce class requirements, including business, foreign language, literature, math, history, and science. Over 2,900 schools accept CLEP and are offered year-round at various testing locations, including some military installations. Learn more about CLEP for the military here.
• Pre-Law Programs: Some schools offer options to accelerate your pathway to law school tailored for non-traditional students with online or evening classes. To see a select list of them, check out our earlier article here,

Other Financial Resources

• Yellow Ribbon Program: Schools that participate agree to contribute to the gap between the amount of tuition they charge and the maximum the GI Bill will cover. Some of these are limited to specific programs and the number of participants. To review a select list of schools participating in Yellow Ribbon, please refer to our earlier article here.

Scholarships

Some colleges and universities offer scholarships geared explicitly for veterans going into law. Here are a few:

• University of Virginia Law (UVA): UVA’s program is primarily merit-based, and all applicants are considered. If a student is approved in their first year of attendance, they may continue to receive it for the second and third years of law school, provided they maintain a predetermined GPA. The amount varies but can be as much as the entire tuition.
• Widener Commonwealth Law School: Widener is home to the Captain Shane Mahaffee Scholarship for Excellence and the General Carl E. Mundy Jr., USMC (Ret.) and Linda Sloan Mundy Marine Scholarship. Both assist selected active-duty, Reserve, and retired law students.
• Colonel Archer B. Battista Veterans Scholarship: Active-duty or veterans attending school in New England may qualify for support based on merit and financial need. Applications are accepted twice yearly, and awards are “no less than $1,000.”
• Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD Law School Scholarship for Veterans: Veterans of any service branch enrolled in an accredited law school may be eligible for $1500. This merit-based scholarship requires a 3.0 GPA and an essay to be considered
• Barnett, Howard, and Williams Military Veterans Law Scholarship: This is a $500 stipend program for expenses related to law school. It is provided to select student veterans with at least a 2.5 GPA. A cover letter is required.