Being selected for the In-Service Procurement Program (IPP) was a tremendous honor, and to this day I don’t take the opportunity for granted. I had an extremely supportive network of leaders, friends, and family throughout the entire process, to all of whom I am extremely grateful.
The first semester of law school has been a whirlwind, but it’s been a really amazing experience so far, and I’m looking forward for what's to come.
Looking back on when I enlisted in 2017, I really had no idea what I wanted out of the Navy, let alone how much it had to offer me. I’ve always wanted to practice law, but attending college, much less law school, always seemed like a bit of a pipe dream. As I began pursuing my degree in my second year, I started to really gravitate towards the idea of the IPP program. From there, every undergrad class I took and everything I did in the Navy was really geared toward building my IPP package and making myself a competitive candidate.
As I got closer to finishing my degree, I started to really outline my plan and how to attack the IPP package. For me, the most tedious aspect was, by far, the law school application process. Being a full-time student, living overseas, and working regular full-time hours was definitely a challenge. I spent about six months studying for the LSAT—a period that, in reality, could have been even longer. I primarily studied on my own, using 7Sage to drill practice questions for what seemed like thousands of hours. If I could do things differently, I would recommend investing in a prep course to better understand and discuss the more challenging aspects of the test. Also, I would highly recommend sending out law school applications when the cycle opens, this really helped me receive admissions results in time to include them with my IPP package.
Proper planning and timelines were really critical for me in this entire process. The law school admissions process can be really stressful, between getting the LSAT score you want, the letters of recommendation needed for each application, personal statements, resume, etc., it can all seem a bit daunting at times. It helped me to organize things with checklists, and calendar reminders, as well as just block periods of time off in my day where I would focus on one item at a time. I’d really recommend letting your chain of command, both past and present, know well in advance about your intentions as well. This will really help when it comes time to request a letter of recommendation or a commanding officer’s endorsement. Lastly, reaching out to previous IPP selectees was the greatest thing I could have done. Everyone I spoke with was a tremendous help and was genuinely happy to help throughout the entire process.
Established in 2013, IPP competitively selects fleet Sailors for a funded law degree and a JAG Corps commissioning path similar to what the longstanding Law Education Program (LEP) provides for line officers.
The application deadline for this cycle is December 15, 2023. For more details about IPP, eligibility criteria, and application procedures, please visit www.jag.navy.mil.