<p>Hello everyone, </p>
<p>As some of you may or may not know, Wesleyan U has joined a program through the Posse Foundation to select veterans to attend school in the fall of 2014. I am currently an active duty soldier scheduled to be honorably discharged in February. I have been shopping for colleges to attend and heard about this program and decided I would go ahead and apply...</p>
<p>Now I have been offered a position to be one of 20 finalists for 10 spots at Wesleyan through the posse program out of maybe thousands of veterans from around the country who applied. I have to decide soon if I am going to accept the spot as a finalist and by doing so, I am agreeing to participate in the program for 4 years if selected for one of those 10 spots.</p>
<p>So here is my Question...</p>
<p>Should I do it? </p>
<p>Originally I was looking at schools that had strong business schools and that are preferably military friendly. I was looking to study Finance and go into banking or some related field and some of the schools I was looking at were U Mich Ann Arbor, WUSTL, Cornell, Georgetown, UNC, and maybe some others.</p>
<p>I currently have a 3.97 GPA and almost have an Associates Degree but I am at a community college which a lot of these schools may look down on. Also my HS grades are pretty poor. Also I am 29 yrs old and haven't taken the SAT in over 10 years. As far as EC's go, I don't really have time for much since I am in the military and have a family. Worst of all, I am white so no diversity hook. </p>
<p>Therefore a lot of these schools I am looking at may be wishful thinking but I am hoping my GPA and the fact that I am a vet will help. I know Wesleyan is a fantastic school but I wasn't really looking at LAC's since business is more my focus. </p>
<p>I know a lot of people would be incredibly excited to be guaranteed admission especially with the support of the Posse Foundation but I don't know if this is the best route for what my career goals are. I am grateful for the offer but I am having a real hard time deciding. I am getting old and don't want to make any more mistakes. I could study economics and graduating from Wesleyan might help in getting into an MBA program but I just don't know. </p>
<p>I still have all of my GI Bill so I do have the means to attend another university with a B school but I have to decide soon and I have no idea that I will even get in to any of the schools I am applying to. </p>
<p>If anyone has any thoughts on the best course of action, I would greatly appreciate it.</p>
<p>SpecOpsRigger, I think the only question here is whether your service to your country qualifies as the kind of work experience many MBA programs look for before they like to see you apply. My hunch is that it does, or that they would at the very least take it into consideration.</p>
<p>Otherwise, there’s nothing unusual about majoring in Economics and scoring interviews with banks, management consulting firms, and investment banks. If you already have a working knowledge of Accounting, so much the better.</p>
<p>I agree that economics is not a bad major if you want to go into banking or consulting, etc but what I am wondering is how a degree from a LAC would look rather than a degree from a traditional business school. I can’t imagine that banks send very many if any recruiters to any LAC’s like they do to schools like Wharton, Kellog, HBS, and so on. </p>
<p>If I get selected for this veterans posse program I would be guaranteed admission but I am wondering if I am better off taking a chance and applying to other schools that have reputable B-schools. I don’t think I can get in to Harvard, UPenn, or MIT, but I might be able to get in to UMich Ann Arbor, UVA, maybe Cornell or Georgetown.</p>
<p>Thanks for the good info I think I will accept the offer as a finalist and if its meant to be then I guess I will be starting in the fall…</p>
<p>This article offers some perspective on the pitiful response of the overwhelming majority of our nation’s best universities in seeking, recruiting and granting admission to military veterans:[Number</a> of veterans enrolled at elite colleges … drops? (essay) | Inside Higher Ed](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/11/11/number-veterans-enrolled-elite-colleges-drops-essay]Number”>Number of veterans enrolled at elite colleges ... drops? (essay))</p>
<p>Not much to add, just to say I hope your decision – wherever you study – allows you the support you deserve. </p>
<p>Business with a Wesleyan degree is certainly a viable option, as your grad degree can build upon other majors (economics was a good suggestion). You have probably heard that LACs like Wesleyan are among the top feeders for grad schools.</p>
<p>And…sounds like you are being given an opportunity which makes business sense!</p>
<p>Great article circuitrider, thanks for posting it. I knew the numbers were abysmal but I didn’t realize they are that bad. The argument that veterans aren’t interested in top colleges is totally bogus and there are plenty of qualified candidates. Attitude of the schools is a major factor.</p>
<p>As an example I was going to apply to UNC Chapel Hill as a safe option until I went to the school and met with an admissions counselor. The lady I spoke with wasn’t overtly rude, but was trying to get me out of her office as quickly as possible and kept making it sound like my chances were slim even though I have a 3.97 GPA at an NC Community College that UNC has an articulation agreement with. She also told me that I probably won’t get in-state tuition even though I have lived in NC for 5 years and own a house. I thought this was really amazing considering that NC has one of the highest military populations in the country.</p>
<p>Even though most people say they support the troops I think there is a stigma out there that we are all a bunch of knuckle-dragging idiots. I don’t think its limited to schools either a lot of employers have a similar attitude. </p>
<p>Props to Wesleyan though for taking the lead in recruiting veterans. There are some other schools too that have been making more of an effort in recent years but clearly more needs to be done.</p>
<p>Update: I did decide to accept the offer to be in the Posse Program for Wesleyan but I still have to be selected by the school during an interview in December. There are 20 finalists of which I am one. They are looking for only 10 but if picked I am committed to the school and the program.</p>
<p>Based on my own research, even though I am pursuing a career in the world of Finance, starting at a LAC is not a bad idea and its actually looked upon favorably by a lot of elite business schools. </p>
<p>If I get picked in the final round, I will post another update.</p>