Alex,

My GPA is outside the 80% range of most of the schools I am targeting, so I decided to take a Macro class at my local community college, I received an A-. During undergrad, (Finance major) I took Statistics 2, and also received an A-. Will the two A- grades prove my GPA is not representative of my true abilities to the admissions committees?

-Thanks

Alex,

If I can jump in on this as well, I have a similar question. I have a 3.2/4.0 in history and geophysics from a top 30 school. Not a show stopper by any means but a bit below average for most top schools that I am targeting. I recently decided to augment a few courses as I am about two years out from applying.

Here's the rub: I am an active duty Navy SEAL headed out on a deployment during which I will have intermittent internet connectivity at best. The location is expected to be austere. Excelsior Online University offers a great program called MBA Boot Camp for finance, accounting, and statistics. These classes are "teacher facilitated" which means I could complete them at my pace which is ideal because of the circumstances on deployment. The problem is that the courses are not credited towards a degree. This is part of Excelsior's Professional Development program and there is no formal transcript that is furnished upon completion. I spoke with Excelsior however and they are more than happy to produce a formal letter head with a transcript providing an actual GPA and grades based on my progress. Nonetheless, it is less than a formal transcript. The program is very affordable and they offer excellent support to military personnel.

The classes and the pace is ideal for my situation. It is about all I can do. Should I pursue these courses even though they are not part of a formal degree program?

Thanks!!!
Duff

Alex,

Another question. I will be sending it GRE scores, not GMAT. I am also eying several Military Fellowships and Scholarships and two of which only accept the GRE. I only mention that to assure you it is not because the test is considered by some as "easier." Regardless, I have mulled this over extensively and I decided on the GRE for which I am now prepared. I have spoken to a few admissions reps and they assure me it is equally weighed. What's your take on that given the other aspects of a my profile? Thanks!!

Duff

Thats the best advice I've heard yet. Thanks Alex

Duff,

To be honest, I don't think you need to go beyond the top 16.

As a SEAL (or any officer in the US special forces units), you will be competitive for *any* top 16 school, including H/S/W. In short, don't screw up your application, and you'll have a decent shot of getting in. B-schools have had great experiences with US military vets and particularly special forces guys (they tend to do well in b-school, and employers also covet them), so adcoms will have a pretty favorable impression of you just by virtue of who you are. You probably already know this and you may be trying to be hyper aware about not being over confident, but I don't think that should be an issue.

The key thing is being able to show that you understand what aspects of your military leadership experience is applicable, relevant and transferable to a civilian (and in particular a business/corporate) environment, and which aspects of your military experience isn't as relevant. And this goes beyond just some of the surface level obvious stuff (i.e. combat). It's really about showing that you understand the differences in group dynamics between a military unit and a civilian one. In most military units, there's a kind of fraternal bond and a sense of purpose beyond the individual that simply doesn't exist to the same degree in the civilian (business) world - the collective values of each individual are not the same as in the military. This goes into another discussion, but those who talk about how fulfilling, rewarding and life changing their leadership experiences are tend to come from the military, sports, etc. It's less common hearing that in a business context - because managing people in a corporate context generally is a pain in the a** -- you're either dealing with people who don't care as much as you want them to care, or you're dealing with primadonnas who resent your position (but will be nice to you to your face), or people who are trying to undermine you -- and unlike the military there is generally less incentive to stick together as its easier to break it apart (i.e. far easier to "leave" a company or get fired, than it is to desert your military unit, and when that is an immediate reality, it affects how you manage people). In short, expect the group dynamics even in the healthiest companies to be more dysfunctional than it might be in a high performance military unit: what separates one company from the next isn't how "healthy" the culture is, but how dysfunctional it is. Again not everything about management sucks (and I'm certain there are folks out there who do enjoy it, find it fulfilling, or even love it), but just don't expect the leadership experience in a business context to be as fulfilling as what you did in the military (maybe even nowhere near what you felt in the military with the people you led). The flipside is that business/corporate pays better haha

Finally, the GRE is fine.
_________________

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
http://www.mbaapply.com
Follow me on Facebook

Ha! Jaded - probably. But it's not far from the reality of what you'll find in corporate life. Simply put, employees don't care to the same degree about their group/company as a military unit does for its own men. And while certain aspects of your leadership experiences are transferable, it still requires a different kind of leadership.
_________________

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
http://www.mbaapply.com
Follow me on Facebook