Calling all US Military Fall 2012 Applicants!

I will be heading to B school in about two years and leaving behind 8 years as a Navy SEAL. Couple combat tours and I am confident that my experience will help me. I have heard a lot about Special Forces guys heading to B school so I am wondering if Admissions Offices at the top schools are desensitized to it? On one hand, I hear we are considered like any other vet transitioning and on the other, I have heard they will overlook a average GMAT score (650 even) to get a SEAL within the student body.

I'll be looking at HBS, Tuck, Darden, Kellogg. Does anyone know the real deal?? Thanks

Other than the initial "wow" factor I doubt they'd consider a SEAL any differently than any other military applicant. It'll still be all about how you sell yourself in your essays and the rest of the application. As far as I know at HBS there's only one SEAL in my class and another one who's a second-year, along with a handful of Army Rangers and one Air Force PJ. I've got no way of knowing how many SF types apply compared to general population military, so I don't know if that makes them over or underrepresented.

For those of you who've already received fee waivers, I was wondering if you can share your experience. This is what I read on Columbia's application website:

"Applicants requesting a fee waiver should contact the Admissions office PRIOR to submitting your application. Fee waivers are available to individuals for whom paying the application fee would be a financial hardship, including full-time students, currently serving members of the Peace Corps, military persons who have been on active duty within three years of applying, and citizens of developing countries who currently reside in that country. Applicants should fax a fee waiver request letter to 212-662-6754 and should explain their need for a fee waiver. Please allow up to two weeks for a fee waiver approval."

This sounds to me like military applicants do not automatically rate a fee waiver, unless it constitutes financial hardship. Even as an E-5, I can't ethically state that the $250 fee will break my back, so I don't know if I should be writing a request letter saying that "the fee waiver would be nice to have." Any thoughts? I sent an e-mail to them asking for clarification, but my finger is itching to hit that submit button ASAP. Haven't applied to other schools that offer fee waivers yet, but I wonder if they all ask for justification...

Kellogg gives automatic fee waivers, you just email them a scan/copy of your ID card and they update your file for Part I. I was in the same boat as you at Columbia though. I couldn't in good conscience say that $250 was a hardship as an O-2, I also didn't want to lose the time waiting for the fee waiver to be processed. Ultimately $250 isn't really that much.

Thanks for sharing your exerience, mappleby. I just finished submitting my CBS application two minutes after reading your post. You're right, $250 isn't that much. But what really turned me off was that I would need to wait 2-3 weeks for processing it, and then my application would then be considered complete. I didn't want to risk losing my advantage of submitting relatively earlier than others, especially with the rolling admissions system.

I really wish the best of luck for you regarding Kellogg and CBS. I was dinged by HBS too, and I feel the pain.

For those who haven't applied to Columbia yet, I heard back from the office a few days ago. The request letter and explanation are mere formalities, so all they require of you is that you state your active duty status in each. The catch is that you'll need to wait some days for it to process. I've already paid mine and moved on, but hopefully there are others that will find this info useful.

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Anybody interview at Darden yet? I have one in about a week. Looking at the Darden thread it appears as though the interview is a more free-flowing opportunity to talk about your life for 30 minutes. I guess this is how they determine whether you're both concise and articulate enough for the case-study method.

Gryphon - I interviewed at Darden two weeks ago and they are EXTREMELY military friendly. The interview was exactly what you've heard, a 30 discussion about you. The interviewer will not have read your application or resume, which is by design.

It contained only two questions: 1) Tell me about yourself and (after discussing your time in the military/your path to b-school) 2) Why Darden?

As soon as the interviewer found out I was in the Army the entire discussion became very friendly (although it was very low-stress and friendly to begin with). Every person I met during the interview process/school visit thanked me for my service, and went out of their way to communicate how much Darden values us in the military.

Shoot me a message if you have any other questions!

Gryphon, same here. Darden was incredibly military friendly. I met a few professors who were also former military or military brats. You have to expect that, seeing as it is Virginia and in a historically military influenced part of the country. Overall great people, so long as you're honest and have a clear set objective as to why MBA and why Darden, you have no need for panic.

FYI - Veritas Prep is offering 50 scholarships for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans:

https://www.classes2careers.com/vertias- ... -veterans/
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This event won't really apply to this year's applicants, but if any of you (or anyone you know) are planning to apply to HBS next year I'd highly recommend attending our Military Prospective Student Day on March 5. The agenda is still in the works, but should include briefs from AdCom and financial aid in addition to veteran panels, guest speakers, class visits, and a campus tour. The partners club will also be available to answer questions so feel free to bring significant others. Registration will open in mid to late January--links will be posted on HBS's admissions page as well as the Armed Forces Alumni Association page.

This year's applicants are still welcome to come, but the event is geared more towards informing prospective applicants about HBS and helping them prepare for the application process. If you've already applied this year I'd suggest saving your leave/money for a potential trip to Boston for your interview and/or admitted students weekend, but that's up to you.

Also, if you haven't registered under our "Introduce Yourself" page (https://hbs.askadmissions.net/emtintere ... ceyourself) please do so--check the military box and any other areas of interest to receive periodic updates from AdCom as well as a notification when MPSD registration opens.

Just got word that I'm in at Kellogg!! Currently deployed, so no phone call (or email for that matter), my status just changed. Pretty stoked. Now just waiting on HBS to release their decisions, which, by the way is a far more applicant-friendly process if you ask me. Setting a date and time to update your status vs. the waiting game of semi-rolling invites/dings is much more civilized. Good luck to everyone else with upcoming admits.

I've enjoyed my time in the SEAL Teams but I'm definitely ready for the next challenge, especially with kinetic ops winding down! I've been getting some pressure from my OPS and CO to let them know if I am staying in or not...I can finally answer them definitively. Although, in the true bureaucratic/military way, my EP now goes to someone else. It's really a headshot if I wanted to stay in the Reserves or come back in after school, but I don't plan on doing either of those things.

Any SPECOPs guys who have any questions, let me know. I'm not an expert by any means but I definitely put the time in to understand the process. Good luck everyone!

Congratulations! I'm in at Kellogg and applying to HBS in round 2. Maybe we'll run into each other sometime (I assume you won't be able to attend the admitted students' weekend in February at Kellogg).

Yeah, gonna miss the admit weekend unfortunately but I think my wife might come out for it. I'm sure I'll see you around brother, congratulations!

Just got my acceptance from both Tuck and Yale! Good luck to the rest of you guys! I think it was a competitive year for us military applicants. I think the MBA path has really caught on amongst departing JMOs.

Congrats, Trail! I hope to be getting a similar call today.

Congrats!

Are either of those your top choice, or are you doing more apps round 2?

Congrats to all the acceptances so far and happy holidays! Looks like Sandfrog is 2/2.

Just wanted to say congrats to any vets who got in to HBS the other day. I'm still deferred for final decision in R2. Hope I get to join ya'll! Interview invitations at Duke and USC, so overall I'm not feeling too bad.