maguirmj wrote:
Gentlemen, good to see so many successful former military transistion to so many prestigious MBA programs...gives me a lot of hope. I'm currently an AD Marine Officer planning on EAS'ing later this year. I'm taking the GMAT in about 6 weeks and will be applying for fall 2012 (my EAS date doesn't support getting out for 2011)...made the great decision to extend for a deployment... Anyway, I was just curious are any of you, or do you plan to, continue to serve in a reserve status while in a Full Time MBA program? Just curious if anyone has any experience doing Reserves while studying full time. Also, has anyone ever used any of the military placement firms that alway send mail, email etc like Orion, Lucas group, Cameron Brooks etc. Just wondering if anyone has any experience working with them and if they yielded any decent results.... Anyway, thanks for all the great info!
Reserves and education are doable, but don't mix well. This was my experience during undergrad (served Enlisted Marine while getting my bachelor's degree). Many a drill nights studying for Monday morning midterms or finals in a cold 2-man hooch with headlamps/flashlights (not to mention humping out 15 miles with 2 or 3 add'l textbooks... hey, those things aren't light!). Maybe you can pull some officer strings and avoid s**t like that.
I also got deployed during my junior year of college -- something you have to consider. Less of an issue during undergrad, but I imagine it breaks up the rhythm/pace of an intense 2yr MBA program. If you can drop to the reserves and somehow remain non-deployable status, it probably won't be a big deal. Just a pain. Also, drill obligations can/will interfere with internship opportunities as well as trips/treks various groups within the program might sponsor.
Just my $.02 - good luck and Semper Fi.