<p>Especially for business? Like HYS, Columbia, Chicago, Northwestern, Notre Dame, etc...? </p>
<p>I'm thinking about making my career the military, but I'd still like to pursue a MBA or law degree and I know that some branches will pay for you to go to grad or law school, and pay all of your bills, so I'd be interested in that.</p>
<p>What about being an officer for like 20+ years, retire. Will top schools want you? Depends on undergrad too, right? Would going to a state school hurt me? They probably don't want 45 year olds do they though? Would only serving until I'm about 30 help my chances.</p>
<p>What if I don't have much business work experience? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>You would be considerably older than nearly all of your peers. I've known military officers who have gotten an MBA while still serving (may have even been getting paid to go to school...not certain) and then returned to military service (using the MBA to gain knowledge in order to transition to the real world when their service commitment is over.</p>
<p>I know my dad had a 2.7 at Duke undergrad, was in the Navy for 5 years, and got into Columbia Business. This was in 1992 though.. I think it would help though, it means you have leadership experience.</p>
<p>As a military veteran, your amazing leadership experience gives you an edge in adapting to our intense, collaborative academic environment.</p>
<p>From being in Army ROTC, I have heard a stat that a significant portion of the CEOs of fortune 500 have done sometime in the military. With leadership experience like that, you undoubtedly will be very marketable in the future.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm thinking about doing Navy or AF ROTC or the Coast Guard's CSPI program, serve get out and go to grad school, or stay in longer and go to grad school while they pay me and pay my bills for grad school!</p>
<p>Would being active duty help my admissions at all? Would it hurt anywhere? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>
[quote]
As a military veteran, your amazing leadership experience gives you an edge in adapting to our intense, collaborative academic environment.
[/quote]
Being a vet certainly does provide that opportunity -- but military experience doesn't guarantee you an edge. Like any other job, you have to perform.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Would being active duty help my admissions at all?
[/quote]
Obviously, 100% of all vets at the top b-schools that were admitted straight from the military were previously on active duty. If you were to include those who also had civilian work experience, I'd bet that easily 95%+ served on active duty.<br>
Look, military experience alone is not going to give you an edge -- and it shouldn't. If you're a vet applying to the top schools, you must have done great things relative to your peers from the military. All the vets that I know from b-school came from elite undergrads, have served in combat (and/or combat arms), AND had some pretty amazing achievements.</p>
<p>if you managed to put a cap into Bin Laden, that would be a great highlight on your application.</p>
<p>No, calicartel, I'm talking about while I'm in, like still in active duty, go to B-school. The military will pay for everything and even pay you your regular salary, you just have to go to class. But they add a couple of years to your commitment, but I'd be fine with that. </p>
<p>But it looks like it won't give me a huge edge, but it would help financially. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>
[quote]
No, calicartel, I'm talking about while I'm in, like still in active duty, go to B-school. The military will pay for everything and even pay you your regular salary, you just have to go to class. But they add a couple of years to your commitment, but I'd be fine with that.
[/quote]
I'm aware of that program. No, being in that status will not give you an edge in admissions.</p>
<p>Ok, didn't really think so. Thanks</p>
<p>Ok, now say I do my undergrad at a pretty good university paying for it through AF or NROTC, at say, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Chicago, Michigan and Miami. 4 really good schools for undergrad and one pretty good one. </p>
<p>So I'm in the Navy for two years, and I want to start to think about getting my MBA. I can prep for the GMAT and take it multiple times, and they will take the highest score, right? So I can keep practicing and taking the test until I get the score I basically want with a lot of prep?</p>
<p>Would having a Masters degree in something help? Would it have to be business related to help? I'm thinking of going to school on my own time, maybe online(but with a reputable, known, probably state school). The military will reimburse you I think, but you have do it on your time.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Masters degree would mean little to nothing. It would be much better if you spent that extra time working to be an outstanding military officer.</p>
<p>As other posters have already mentioned, it's all about outperforming your peers, at least those who will also be applying. With that said, I'm willing to bet that I higher proportion of ex-military are accepted vs the average candidate. So the acceptance rate for military might be 20% vs 12% for the general population. In my experience, there is a pretty big variance in the ability and educational backround of officers. It's not terribly competative to get a commission. Most officers don't come from the Ivy's. In fact, many come from really crappy schools. The minimum GPA to be an officer is low (2.5-3.0). Try getting into I/Banking/Consulting with those stats. Getting a good corporate job with those stats would be challenging. I think that the military leadership model probably makes up for the general lack of academic credentials. If you do intend to apply to top MBA after some time in the military, I would think long and hard about how your going to differentiate yourself from your peers. This can be very difficult to do in an organization with such structure.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The minimum GPA to be an officer is low (2.5-3.0).
[/quote]
It's 2.0.</p>
<p>
[quote]
In my experience, there is a pretty big variance in the ability and educational backround of officers. It's not terribly competative to get a commission. Most officers don't come from the Ivy's. In fact, many come from really crappy schools.
[/quote]
Exactly. Unfortunately, those from the "crappy" schools will not be the competition for the top schools. The competition consists of the small minority who attended a service academy (and did pretty well) or a top-tier university/LAC, earned a commission via ROTC or OCS -- and further excelled while in the military.</p>
<p>Why would you want to join the Navy.... Go Army. Beat Navy.</p>
<p>I'd rather be on a ship, so I'm thinking Coast Guard too. I'd like to fly too, and it would cool to fly search and rescue for the Coast Guard. But I'll see where life takes me; If I fly I probably won't go back and get my MBA, even if I am a good candidate for a good school.</p>
<p>Ok, I've been doing some thinking and I may go South to a big SEC school because of the scholarships. I'm talking about Alabama and LSU. At both I can get full tuition scholarships, and at LSU I may be able to get a full ride, but I'm not counting on it. How much would this hurt me for a top MBA school? Will I just have to have a higher GPA and be an even more exceptional officer and stand out more? </p>
<p>I'd like to use some of my AP/CLEP/CC credits to double major in PoliSci/Econ in 4 years and that would be easier at one of those places due to it being easier to get CLEP and CC credits, I'm more likely to finish in 4 years, though it will be tough. </p>
<p>And I'd really rather be in the Coast Guard rather than the Navy, which is why I'm hesitant in going through NROTC...though it will be hard for me to pass up Notre Dame tuition free if things work out. </p>
<p>Thanks</p>