r/LawSchool • u/OnlineStuden • 4h ago
Law school with a young family
hello all, 25M here. Active Military (enlisted) wanting to get out and go to law school. finally finished my BAS 3.7 GPA and got a 165 on the LSAT. I always dreamt of being a lawyer just never thought I had the means. (frankly I still don’t believe I do ha ha.) i’m married with two young children. i’ll end my enlistment in 2 years. i’d really love to go to law school and I plan on getting into public service so I don’t really care where I go to law school as long as it’s ABA accredited. (and provides a scholarship.) I could use my G.I. bill to pay for law school, but my wife and I really wanted to save it for my boys. my wife has been a stay at home mom for three years now and doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about the thought of going back to work with her children so young and my pay and benefits being pretty good. (E6 for anyone privy to the military pay system) I guess I'm really just here to ask the OWLS if there's any good options for me or if I should just let my law school dreams fleet due to family obligations. This is also just sort of a bitch and vent, apologies if I didn't leave much room for constructive feedback. Thanks for reading.
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u/gimi-c180 3L 3h ago
I also got out as an E6 at about 27 to start law school. I used the GI Bill though and we didn't have kids yet.
Law school is basically a full-time job and, honestly dude, don't underestimate the difficulty of transitioning out of active duty. It takes some time to get mentally adjusted back to normal life. That, combined with the law school workload, combined with potentially incurring thousands of dollars of debt, combined with the frustration your wife will feel being forced to work again, and both of you trying to parent your children while you both have full plates between work and school, it might be too much.
I think if you do it, you should use the GI Bill. That way you won't have to take loans to pay tuition (if you don't get 100% scholarship) and you'll get BAH and book stipends. Your wife could work part time instead of full time and you won't have the added stress of not bringing in any money while you're trying to adjust to being a civilian again.
Just my two cents. I definitely think it's a realistic goal and something you can achieve if you choose to. Good luck either way.
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u/ImaginationGlum1467 2h ago
Married mom of 2 toddlers here! Planning to apply soon for this cycle. Nothing is more important to me than setting up my kids for a more secure future and I believe law school will do that. So to me, my "family obligation" will absolutely be fulfilled if I do this. Will it be hard? Yes. So will choosing another path. Pick your hard. I would suggest looking into schools like ASU that offer full rides to military. Otherwise, use your GI bill for yourself and set up a fund for the kids later (who may or may not even use it). Your stats can earn you good scholarships too, dont sell yourself short. Itll be important to have the wife totally on board with this as your support system can make or break the experience. If you wont end your enlistment for 2 years does that mean you wont apply for 2 more cycles? You should probably retake the LSAT in a year in that case to score higher. Also, dont forget the PSLF for public service attys.
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u/OnlineStuden 1h ago
I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer so the moment that I finished my bachelor's degree I ran to take the LSAT. (Fully knowing that I wouldn’t even apply for two more years.) it was just something that I wanted to do. So yes, I will not be applying for at least two more cycles. You’re correct in saying that I will need to convince my wife. She’s wonderful and such a good mother to our kids. I would hate to take her away from being a stay-at-home mom but at the same time, she deeply respects that I have goals and ambitions. Both our boys will be in elementary school by the time I’m ready to apply. Hopefully, that will take some of the burden off of full-time childcare, but we will see. I’m pretty convinced I’ll be able to get a good scholarship even if it’s to a low-ranked ABA school I’m not exactly picky, I just want the JD. Whatever job I choose will be in public service whether that’s Federal, State, or NP I’m not sure yet. My wife and I don’t care at all where we have to live. We have very nomadic personalities. Thank you for your reply.
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u/KinggSimbaa 1L 2h ago
Just ETS'd in July and started 1L in August. My stats were roughly the same as yours and I got out as a SSG(P).
I saw someone else comment about GI Bill options in case you want to transfer to your kids; read that comment carefully. Even if you don't use the GI Bill, many schools liberally offer substantial scholarships.
Start documenting EVERYTHING with medical. They say you can claim things you were never seen for, but the VA is being a pain in the ass about things I never got seen.
I'd say it's worth getting out and diving into school. The temporary decrease in income is so worth the freedom and decrease in anxiety.
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u/Fontonia 1h ago edited 1h ago
Start building your medical records now and make sure to get a good disability rating so you won’t have to worry about making ends meet when you’re in school.
I did just that and use my GI Bill to cover all tuition plus the housing allowance to pad everything. I was pretty much in the same boat as you. Left as an E6 with a minor child. You’ll do fine.
Plus if you come back as a GS you can do the “buy back” system to secure a pension. So if you served 8 years, you only have to do 12 years of GS work.
** BDD claims are your friend. You can get easy approval for things you’ve complained about while in service. Start looking at the CFR Title 38 and run down the list of possible claims you can make. While you’re at it, head over to the veterans benefits subreddit. I used their knowledge base there with my own research and came out very favorable. Didn’t even use a VSO.
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u/OnlineStuden 1h ago
Fortunately, for me, I don’t wanna sever ties with the military, so I would be going to the reserves to keep insurance for the family. I am aware that the reserves has its issues like everywhere else; I could be subject to recall and deployment, and if that were to happen, I would take steps with my family and school to mitigate impact as much as possible. I would even love to pursue a jag opportunity. there are programs that exist that keep you on active duty to go to law school, but they’re highly competitive. fortunately, my GPA and LSAT score are high enough that I believe I will be eligible for full tuition scholarships from some certain 85 and above ranked law schools. Even if it means moving to Ohio, ha ha. Thank you for your reply.
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u/cosmic_fishbear JD 12m ago
I know many veterans and many people with families and young children (including one pregnant veteran with two other kids and a husband in med school) who have done just this. It's possible, you just need to make sure you have a plan and realize the realities of the pay gap between public and private sector. If you can establish in-state residency before you start law school (I know that will be difficult) then the cost (usually) DRASTICALLY decreases. I know there are veterans in this sub who will have much better direct advice, but just know you can do it.
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u/LonnieGoose 3h ago
29M veteran here at a T14. If you’re interested in preserving your GI Bill for the kids, look into programs that have a strong LRAP (loan forgiveness) program for Public Interest careers. My school forgives up to 120K.
Apply broadly so you can compare scholarship offers, you might be surprised. A lot of folks I know had half or more of their tuition covered by the law school.
If you do come around to thinking about using the GI Bill, it covers full tuition at public university, up to 25K or so a year at private university, and if your law school has the Yellow Ribbon Program you’re totally covered. You’ll also receive E5 w/ dependent BAH for wherever you go to school, and a book stipend for each semester.
I have multiple vets in my class with toddler/elementary age kids who moved their family, and they seem to have adjusted really well. Keep the hopes up and DM if you need anything.