Calling all US Military Fall 2013 Applicants!

Have you looked at American University or William & Mary?

I second reaching out to all the military associations. We have such a great veterans network overall. I was able to sit in a class at each of the schools I was visiting even though official class visits weren't for another month.

I have reached out to the Veterans group at Fordham, and I have an ROTC classmate who just graduated from McDonough who has been helping me out with the process.

I just got my acceptance from Fordham this evening, so my numbers were at least good enough for them, which is a huge relief!

I'll still finish the applications for McDonough and Smith and see what comes.

All,

1st year Kellogg student here. I definitely echo the earlier posts stating to engage the Veterans' associations at all schools you are visiting/applying to. All 4 Vets' clubs at the schools I applied to were very helpful.

Here is a link to Kellogg's Veterans' Association page. It also has links to many other schools' Vets' clubs (under Useful Links).

I am a 1st year student at Kellogg and would be happy to answer any questions that military applicants have, or to connect you with someone else in our Vets' club. About me: ROTC in college; commissioned into National Guard as a signal officer and deployed to Iraq in '09. Married, with a 1-year old child.

Thanks, and best of luck to all applicants!

I just wanted to take a moment out of my day and thank emont for posting about the HBS Prospective Students' Day. I attended this event yesterday and I must say that it was fantastic. I had a great time, met some friendly people and learned a bunch about the program. Everyone there was very helpful and I never once felt uncomfortable or out of place. My partner felt very much included as well.

If any of you are interested in applying to Harvard Business School, please reach out to this great group. They seem very willing to help.

Thanks again!

Mark

I agree. I also attended and emont and the rest of the AFAA at HBS put on a great event. It was the most comprehensive school event I've experienced so far (military or otherwise). The warm welcome and honesty of the current students were extremely helpful.

Thanks guys!

Just a quick question for those of you already students and using the GI Bill. About how many months of benefits would pursuing an MBA use? I'm looking to do a dual-degree option and wanted to know if I have enough benefits to cover both programs. I'm guessing it's 4.5 months a semester, and it doesn't cover the summer, so about 18 months total. Can anyone chime in?

It's about 18 months for the programs (last week of august to third week of December). If you add in a dual degree program you probably need another 9 months because they generally add a year of schooling. So you should be good with 27 months of benefits.

That's how my benefits were calculated in my undergrad B-school but I went year around to graduate and only use a year of my benefits so I could have a full two years left.

Gents,

2012 Darden Grad here. I used GMAT Club a ton during my work up to taking the GMAT, applying for schools, and following up a bit with other GMAT Club Mil folk.

Feel free to PM me with any questions you guys might have regarding application process, essays, and other general questions. My biggest advice is to reach out to the Veteran community at any school you want to apply to. More than likely, the vets at school will give you the real story, both ugly and pretty, and help you peek past the glossy advertisements the school gives you. In addition, the earlier you create a relationship with vets at school, the more likely they will be willing to endorse you to the application admin folks. I recommended 5 guys to Darden, and all 5 got in. Not that without my endorsement they wouldn't have gotten in, but I was able to provide them with insight as well as key individuals they should speak to to help them create a customized narrative that spoke to why they wanted to attend Darden and why they were a good fit for the institution.

In addition, last year I created a blog specifically for active duty military considering attending an MBA program. It was in partnership with Fidelis Education to see if they wanted to pursue a more active social media presence. It's basically a blog that asks current and alumni MBA students real, no ****, questions and get the straight scoop. https://www.militarymbavoices.com.

I've also attached a transcript that I came across from Stanford GSB regarding getting recommendations. Rule of thumb is Quality over Rank. Go to your superiors who really know who you are, the great, good, bad, and ugly characteristics. The attached transcript revolves around tips and a general talk about how to approach a potential recommender and advice to the person writing the recommendation. it's really great. I personally gave every one of my recommenders a copy of this transcript and the feedback that I've received from all of them has been very positive about its guidance.

Good luck Gents. Again, feel free to PM me with any questions you have. The Military MBA community is pretty small and we pretty much know someone in all the top schools. If I can't help you with a specific question for a specific school, I'm positive I can find someone who can. And again, make sure you use the Vet Clubs at the schools as a primary source for information and support. It's why they exist. So don't be shy. Reach out to them.

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Ouch. What's your branch/what's your relationship like with your branch manager? He'd probably be the best guy to advise you.

Received an invite! Need to get serious about the interview! Any current students out there hire a consultant to assist in interview prep? Necessary?

Posted from my mobile device

All my round 1 applications are in. Commence the waiting game.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJqg_-wXnuU[/youtube]

I'm curious to hear the thoughts of the group on USC Marshall's Masters of Business for Veterans (MBV).

Feel free to Google it, I can't post a link because I'm new here...

Sounds a little too specialized for my taste. Also it's delivery is on the weekends similar to an EMBA.

The reason I'm applying to MBA programs is to make a career switch. The full-time MBA and its on campus recruiting will best facilitate that.

If the MBV can help you meet your goals, go for it.

A misconception is that your Brigade Commander has to approve your ETS. This is simply untrue. He has to counsel you on your options. Other than that, he (legally) doesn't have power over whether you get out or stay in. Stop-loss was ended years ago. Make a lot of noise if you have to because it's your career, your decision.