Military service and top 10 MBA program

Graduate School Business School - MBA
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<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I currently am a junior at NYU. I have a very high GPA, and am majoring in Econ and History. Over the past 3 summers I have had full time internships, two with well known law firms and one large insurance company. </p>

<p>My ultimate goal is to get into a top MBA program, and I understand a solid 3-4 years of work experience would greatly help my chances. With that said, would joining the Marines or Army under the OCS (Officer Candidate School) and being commissioned for 4 years qualify as that experience? As far as leadership skills are concerned, it cannot be beat. Plus it is a great combination of other valuable skill sets. Then again, it is not the traditional office job that most applicants would be submitting. Also, it would be close to 4.5 years after completing my undergrad degree. Is that too much time? </p>

<p>Sorry for all the questions. It is an important decision in my life, one I have to weigh heavily. I would love to serve my country, but if it means hurting my chances of getting into a top MBA program, then I will have to postpone it.</p>

<p>Thank you in advance.</p>

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<p>Anyone? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.</p>

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<p>Which is more important to you, serving or the MBA?
If it is the MBA, go for that.
If it is serving, go for that.
Joining the military as a stepping stone can work, but a lot of people end up not liking it very much (motivation being elsewhere and expectations not being met).</p>

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<p>Thanks for the reply.</p>

<p>The MBA is more important to me, but I do want to serve my country. If I have to work for 3-4 years before MBA, then I would rather it be for my country than in an office. But if being in the military hurts my chances for the MBA, then I will not do it.</p>

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<p>

Maybe you should try a reserve component?</p>

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<p>Becoming an officer is one of the best ways to get into a top business school; 4.5 years is fine, in fact this is below the average exp at many top schools. </p>

<p>All of that said, don’t join the Marines because you want to go to a top MBA school, do it because you want to serve your country. Your commitment will be tested in extremis before you can become an officer. </p>

<p>Certainly don’t think that the Marines will keep you out of a top B-school, they love former officers for the leadership reasons you mentioned.</p>

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<p>There really isn’t much better work experience than joining the military as an officer. Especially from the perspective of business schools. The only way to top it would be to start a successful start-up or something.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the responses. </p>

<p>I was wondering, how would the Air Force look?</p>

<p>Or for that matter, any of the branches where there is no extensive combat? I assume they would like leadership under the most stressful situations, like front line action. Am I wrong?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

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<p>Everyone who has posted said “millitary” instead of a specific branch for a reason. It really doesn’t matter enough to a business school for it to impact your decision. Any inherent advantage in joining the Marines instead of the Navy would likely be canceled out by you not liking it as much and not putting as much of your heart in it.</p>

<p>It really doesn’t matter for the most part. That being said, the Navy seems to be the main bastion for those with non-military ambitions. They are still actually involved in our wars unlike the Air Force so they don’t suffer from the same stigmas as the Air Force does yet there is still virtually no chance of getting shot.</p>

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<p>

Each branch has its own culture and lifestyle. You should choose the one you think you would enjoy the most. You’ll learn a lot about leadership in ANY branch.</p>

<p>Just remember, at the junior officer ranks, your promotions are nearly automatic. I believe that within 5 years in any branch of service, you’ll reach O-3 as long as you have a pulse and haven’t committed a felony. With that being said, how you are rated and what you have learned and experienced in those years is what matters for b-school admissions.</p>

<p>Personally, I joined the ARNG because I wanted to be part of this organization but I knew that active-duty just wasn’t for me. I wanted to pursue hopes and dreams in the civilian sector and this arrangement allows me to have a chance to do both. But don’t join the military because you think it will look good for b-school admissions. You will end up hating yourself for doing that.</p>

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<p>Why would you want to serve an imperalist country? O</p>

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<p>

Why would you NOT want to serve an imperialist country?</p>

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<p>What stigma is that Will_S? I’m also wondering what you meant by the Air Force not being involved in wars. The USAF produces more of the war machine than any of the other branches. IT’S A FACT. The AF is directly responsible for killing more enemies and delivering more to our forces than all other service branches. I suggest you look into facts before you fire off filth behind the safety of your computer.</p>

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<p>

Let’s keep the branch of service bashing out of this. Each branch of service has a unique mission, but we’re all on the same team.</p>

<p>There are things you can do from the sky that you cannot do nearly as effectively on the ground and vice versa. Going back to the topic at hand, it doesn’t matter which branch of service you come from. Demonstrate your ability to lead and have outstanding evaluations and let the school of your choice decide if you’ll be admitted.</p>

<p>With that being said, there IS, in fact, a chance of the AF getting shot at. They do run convoy operations on the ground in hostile environment albeit on a much smaller scale than the Army or the Marine Corps. In reality, more service members are killed by IEDs than enemy gunfire.</p>

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<p>How do business schools evaluate an officer’s job performance in the military?</p>

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<p>I am a recent grad of a tt mba program. All branches of the military were represented in my class as well as a variety of functional areas (e.g., supply officers, aviators, submariners, special forces/SEALs, etc.) The admissions office is very familiar with the military career path and values the types of leadership experience it can offer prospective students. Many military alumni in my program were either academy graduates or ROTC in college. I assume admissions office will evaluate your performance similar to other pre-mba jobs: were you promoted, what commendations did you receive, what do your superiors say about you, etc. and look at your work experience (leadership, management, functional experience etc.) as they would other candidates. To the extent that you have no accounting/finance and didn’t have a quantitative service field they may want you to supplement before enrollment but this is also similar to how they prep non military candidates.</p>

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<p>Hey man…</p>

<p>So here’s my advice. Don’t do it. Especially in the Marine Corps. We have WAY too many guys joining for the wrong reasons. The MBA is clearly very important to you, and there’s nothing we hate more than someone who is there to “set up” his career. Listen, I appreciate your demonstrated patriotism. But military service in any branch should never be viewed as a stepping stone. It’s service first; and you can’t be and effective Marine if you’re not committed to the job. </p>

<p>My guidance? Go get a job at a bank or a consulting firm, etc. and meet as many people as you can. Work there for 4-5 years and then go to MBA.</p>

<p>I hope this reaches you well, though I’m pretty confident you’ve already begun to execute your plan. But if you have any other clarifying questions I’d be happy to oblige.</p>

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<p>You are clearly joining for the wrong reason. Marine or Army OCS is no joke. Once you are in, you are in for eight years. If you get injured during the training, they will ship you to the enlisted AIT instead of advancing you to the OCS and officer specialization schools. You will not have the chance to get out of it. You will not have the chance to ***** about it. Moreover, you will be putting your life, your soldiers’ lives, and the welfare of countless civilians in jeopardy if you are just joining this to get into a top MBA program. </p>

<p>Moreover, you will get zero combat experience as an officer. Don’t even fancy about it. Unless we invade Iran, nothing is going to happen as far as combat goes, so at best all you will do, if you are lucky, is getting stationed in one of the Forward Operation Bases in Afghanistan. You will be there, everyday, 24/7, doing meaningless paperwork until your brain goes numb. When your brain does go numb, you watch porn and play world of warcraft until the next formation at 0500. </p>

<p>Your daily routine as an army officer (dunno about marine) consists of this: wake up, talk with the sergeants, talk with Captain, formation time, physical training, hanging around, eating breakfast,hanging around, hanging around till lunch, eat, second formation, hanging around, hanging around more, do two hours of paperwork, hanging around, last formation, talk with captain, talk with sergeant. More paperwork, perhaps make a powerpoint or two for friday’s briefings, hanging around and *****ing, sleep. Repeat. </p>

<p>All your soldiers will despise you. You will be known as the powerpoint ranger. </p>

<p>By and by, if you want to get the cool training, say, airborne, they will extend your contract. </p>

<p>Think before you do, because once you are a marine, you don’t think. You do.</p>

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<p>

I can say that the Army OCS is, in fact, a joke.

Not true. Two 2LTs branched IN in my commissioning class were KIA’d in Afghanistan. One served 6 years in the 75th.

Are you even a commissioned officer? This really depends on your duty position. If you are a XO, CO CDR, or BN staff this may be your experience. This most likely wouldn’t be your experience if you are a IN PL.

Not true. You do not have a “contract” as a commissioned officer. Your commission is indefinite until you resign your commission.
What you are talking about is an incentive for re-enlistment but that is for enlisted soldiers and not commissioned officers. That depends upon strength levels, funding, and recruiting command. Most of the time, when you’re talking about ASI schools, the eligibility criteria deals with how much time a soldier has left before they ETS.</p>

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<p>There is a lot of dumbass in this thread.</p>