Yellow Ribbon Program for Veterans

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law participates in the Post-9/11 GI Bill® Yellow Ribbon Program for all Law School programs. The following information applies for all years, including the 2020-21 academic year. 

If a student is eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program, the Law School will award that student a Yellow Ribbon Grant of up to half of the remaining tuition and required fees after the standard Post 9-11 GI Bill payment, and the VA will match this same amount, not to exceed tuition and required fees. Please note that if you apply for financial aid and are awarded a Law School scholarship/fellowship, the Law School Yellow Ribbon Grant will replace the Law School scholarship/fellowship as long as you remain Yellow Ribbon eligible. The maximum award amount is contingent upon the VA’s private school cap published on the VA website and the student’s enrollment status (full vs. part-time).

For students whose Yellow Ribbon benefits expire prior to their third year in the JD program, the Law School will provide the equivalent of one additional year of any Northwestern law school scholarship awarded upon admission when yellow ribbon benefits eligibility had not yet been determined (or an amount where total law school and external scholarship funding equals the prevailing tuition and fees, whichever is less). The additional scholarship will be provided during the school year after Yellow Ribbon benefits expire. Similarly, if a student’s Yellow Ribbon benefits expire with only one semester remaining, the add-on scholarship will be equal to ½ of the student’s annual scholarship amount and will be applied during their final term. If a student’s benefits expire in the middle of a term and would result in law school yellow ribbon funding that is less than the amount of a scholarship Northwestern Law School awarded to the student upon admission, the Law School will maintain its original scholarship obligation during that term and provide the add-on amount as described in either of the above scenarios, depending on if the benefits expire with a full year or one term remaining.

VA regulations state that students must exhaust the full Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit for the academic year before any Yellow Ribbon funding will be paid. The 2020-21 Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition and fee rate is $25,162.14.

Please note that active duty personnel are not eligible to participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program per VA regulation. Additionally, the VA must provide their Yellow Ribbon match in order for a student to be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon funds through the Law School. 

Eligibility for Yellow Ribbon funding cannot be guaranteed by the Law School until a student has officially submitted a tuition deposit. 

Visiting students at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law are not eligible to participate in the Law School's Yellow Ribbon Program. Moreover, Northwestern Law students who are visiting at another university cannot have Yellow Ribbon funding applied while enrolled as a visiting/non-degree student at the other institution. 

Resources

Students are responsible for completing all necessary steps, as directed by the VA, to ensure that Northwestern Law receives the Post-9/11 GI Bill tuition payment and the VA’s portion of the Yellow Ribbon payment. Please refer to your Certificate of Eligibility or call 1-888-GIBILL1 (442-4551) to verify that you have completed all necessary steps.

For information regarding the Post-9/11 GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Program, please refer to the following links on the VA website:

Post-9/11 GI Bill
Yellow Ribbon Program


GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. Government web site at www.benefits.va.gov/gibill