Calling all US Military Fall 2011 Applicants!

I never got the impression that HBS wasn't supportive of the military--they've always had a respectable military population from what I've gathered, so the whole mess with the Ivy Leagues kicking ROTC off the campus in the late 60s are completely unrelated. The "three M's" have supposedly always had a big representation at HBS--military, McKinsey, and Mormons--and I'd never heard any stories of HBS vets having any problems at Cambridge. It tends to be the undergrads and baby boomer-era faculty who have the strongest anti-military leanings.

I got the same impression even during my visits at Berkeley. That school/town gets a bad rap from what happened in the 60s and the Code Pink nutjobs, but those groups represent the tiny lunatic fringe. I saw a handful of random protests going on around campus as I walked to Haas, but it clearly wasn't Haas students involved in them. A large part of the Berkeley anti-military and leftist crowd isn't even involved with the school in any way, they're just in Berkeley because they think it's the place to be for those type of movements. Everyone I met at Haas, students and staff alike, was receptive of military and almost seemed embarrassed that their vet population was so low. The other Marine who was at the admit weekend with me would say the same thing--we ended up having to tell our story about a million times each because everyone seemed interested in our experiences. From what I can tell Haas (and UCLA as well) are making a strong effort to attract more military for this fall and follow-on years. Hell, the vets club even had their own table at the "diversity pre-reception" with all the other minority groups (Hispanics, Asians, Jewish, women, LGBT, disabled, etc.), at which I took full advantage of drinking their free beer given that it was probably the only time this white Southern male will ever be considered a minority at anything.

I think MBA programs may have had a stretch where they didn't regard military candidates as highly as they should have, but opinions have changed as evidenced by stuff like the Fortune magazine article from last year about how CEOs love hiring junior officers after they EAS. They don't really care that we don't have business-specific knowledge because they figure it's easier to teach us that stuff than it is to teach a finance/accounting whiz how to lead and motivate people in stressful situations without compromising their integrity. Maybe for some reason schools had trouble placing military MBAs in jobs in the past, but now they're seeing we're in high demand in the workforce so that's increased their willingness to give us a chance. I had several people tell me one of the main purposes of the interview for MBA admission is so adcom can answer the question of "will we be able to place this guy in a job two years from now?" Schools care about job placement stats quite a bit so that would make sense to tie military admissions with the likelihood of us being in demand by top firms.

Anybody having trouble chopping there Sloan essays down to 500 words

I haven't started Sloan essays yet, but I imagine 500 words will be tough. I'm struggling with keeping things under 750 for other schools...

Application Fee Waivers:

So far I have had luck with free applications for MIT, Yale, UVA,

No luck with Penn (although their veterans club homepage offers app waiver, this is outdated)
Also no POC info for Georgetown yet.

I am considering applying to some more safeties until I fix this GMAT situation, looking at BU/BC as possibilities.

If anyone else is looking for help with application fee waivers, let's spitball this and find some answers

Kellogg offers waivers for vets as well:

Candidates who qualify for an application fee waiver must
submit a formal request, before submitting Part I, via e-mail to
mbaadmissions@kellogg.northwestern.edu and provide supporting
evidence of their current employment or military status. Military
applicants should submit a copy of a valid military ID card or Form
DD-214 to verify active duty status within three years of applying.

lakai777, best of luck with starting at Darden! To everyone posting here, feel free to reach out if you have questions about the application process in general or specifically Sloan. It's a long journey but well worth it in the end.

Do ex-enlisted members count? I was on active duty before going back to finish my degree. I've been an officer for another governmental organization for the past 3 years or so.

Also, does anyone have any insight into how enlisted experiences, e.g. Combat Arms leadership experiences, play out in the application process and how the relationship is between ex-enlisted and ex-commissioned in the programs?

I read last year's posts and it had some pretty excellent info

I'm a 1stLt, assistant logistics officer, with a reserve unit that has mobilized. I'm waiting for my bird to take me over so I can join the rest of the battalion. I have a little less than a week, so I plan on really using this time to focus on getting my apps ready, and have my products ready so I can show my references. I've chosen so far my direct supervisor (the S-4), the Battalion XO, and the Bn Air Officer (I've worked with him over 3 months during the work up, and have been working with him directly for the past 2-3 weeks).

I'm planning on applying to Stern, HBS, and Kellogg. I like the fact that 2/3 offer military waivers - more on that after I start asking. Was planning on applying to more (Columbia, USC, Haas) but feel like I don't have the time. Also, I'm torn because I heard of a billet open up with Marine Forces Africa, a 3 year accompanied tour (I have a wife and no children) in Stuttgart Germany. Sounds like an excellent opportunity to live it up in Europe before settling down and having kids, but that is why not sure what I should do. As of right now, I'm planning on applying to the MBA programs and see from there after I get my acceptances/rejections. Any thoughts out there? So far, people have been telling me to get the MBA later and go live in Europe.

Also, I do not qualify 100% for the post 9/11 Gi Bill due to me being a reservist. There is a bill in currently for reforms, and if it gets passed, then I'll qualify 100% immediately. However, the fact that I won't be able to qualify for the YR and tuitions kinda deters me from wanting to go to get my MBA now. Also, the reforms state that my reserve time will count AND all tuition for graduate programs will be paid IN FULL. That's why I'm leaning towards working for 3 years - live in Europe and wait for the new reformed GI Bill. Anyway, both MBA and Europe tour is up in the air, so always keep planning and cast your nets out wide, right?

Anyone out there good with resumes and essays? I've never done a resume, and I am not exactly sure what admission committees are looking for in a resume and essay.

Thanks and look forward to seeing all the input that this thread brings.

@mabin - I can send you my resume i am using, looks like you did some good selection of your recommenders

I think you have some great options out there, it will come down to what you and your wife truly want. I am separating some the Army because I am married now, have been through some serious combat situations, and my wife wants to be closer to home so I am applying to all northeast schools.

Based on your school selections it looks like you guys are up for anything which is cool.

I think als you have to do some opportunity calculation, Germany might be awesome but will you be doing alot in Africa such as doing short deployments or TDY and leaving your wife in another country where you may or may not have made any decent friends yet etc. it is a huge choice.

The GI Bill is really only good for people who go 36 months beyond their initial committment. I went to West Point and I am serving for 3 additional months so I can be covered for 40% GI Bill which will only be helpful for the partial BAH.

I decided the three year, time, and potential death in a job I was no longer happy were not worth the other 60% of the bill. Hundreds of thousands of our peers take out and pay off loans, we will make it back fairly quickly.

Wow, this thread compared to last year's is dead.

Again, I know its a little late, but please use me as a resource for all things B school related. This first year so far has been EXTREMELY educational, and even though I thought I asked a million and half questions and thought I had enough information, I didn't.

But a highlight of things I wish i knew before I came on deck here at Darden:

1) Don't fool yourself. This is a MASTER in business education. Imagine whatever you studied in undergrad, then amped up for a master program. It's at that level. This **** ain't no joke gents. It's fcking tough.

2) No science background? Studied P.E. or english or some other joke of subject? Better get your mind straight, son. Take some accounting classes, finance classes, and all around mathish/business classes. Not to get a good grade, not even to learn how and what they're doing. But to understand the language and the concepts. At least here at Darden, where its 100% case method, the professors DO NOT TEACH YOU how to do ANYTHING. It is up to you to learn. You must utilize your study groups and friends that you create to help fill in the gaps that you aren't getting. And when everyone is stressed for time and trying to figure **** out, it gets tougher and tougher to ask for help as the year progresses. You will not just "go along" and "pick it up". Hours and Hours and Hours are spent doing homework. I spend 100 hours a week on schoolwork and I still don't feel like I'm prepared. The earlier you get ready, the better you non science idiots (like me) will be.

3) Don't go to school for rankings. Got into HBS but you want to work for a badass company that specializes in supply chain or procurement because that gives you a boner? Screw HBS. You want to live and work in the South but you got into Haas? I poop on you Haas. The #1 thing about school, is this is your avenue to the jobs you want to work for. Darden is great, and it deserves to be top 5 in my opinion, but regardless, coming back to the West Coast for a job is extremely difficult. Darden, like other schools, are targeted by firms located in particular geographic areas, and particular industries. Figure out what it is you want to go into, job/geographic/function/whatever, and ask the schools you're applyiing to who targets them. Then go to the companies your interested in and see where THEY say they go to recruit on their websites. You may be saying, "well i don't know what i want to do, that's why I'm going to b-school". That's fine and dandy, but the moment you start school, you will be forced to choose a track in which the career center will help you focus your effort on. You can always change tracks, but its better to start asking yourself honestly what it is you want to Post b-school now, then think like all of a sudden, the heavens will open up while your in school, and you'll know what you want to do. Moral of the story, figure out what/where you want to go post school, and go to the school that will help you get you there.

4) Know how you learn. Case Method isn't for everyone. Hell, i'm here and i'm not convinced its for me. I wish i knew how difficult case method was before I got here. Take time and figure out how it is you learn, and not just concepts but really how you deeply understand and learn. Dependant on which school you go to, it'll have a different mix of courses that teach in Case. Find out what those are, figure out if that will help or hurt you in your development. And this kinda goes with #3, find the school that really FITS you, rather than just the ranking. That really is crucial. I'm not saying I wouldn't have gone here if I had to do it over again, but I would have asked a lot more questions and thought about the things I'm writing here a lot more carefully, rather than just kinda going, "oh great! I got into Darden."

Again, if you want some more advice, feel free to PM me.

I got to stop procastinating. I'm studying for finals. Good luck gents.

And Happy Belated Birthday to you Leathernecks, you dirty dirty fcknuts.

thanks alot man, i know we still are not that good but maybe we have a chance, i just want to see a good game, i know it must be awesome to be navy right now, but it would be good for both academies to have a tight exciting game

i made some great friends at navy and afa, hopefully we get credit for everything we sacrificed (i.e. college life). looks like you already made it happen, good luck down there

In at Booth with significant scholarship.

Gearing up for the last 2-3 weeks of app writing!

Shooting for Booth, Wharton, Kellogg, and possibly HBS (depending on whether I scrap together the last rec letter)

I really just dont understand the rec letter process - the schools could make a fortune more in fees by sharing letters. Rec letters are all that are limiting me at this point :/

Best of luck to everyone!

I think they don't share recommendations primarily because schools want to create as many barriers to entry as possible to keep the total number of applications down and yield up. Since applicants are so different coming into MBA programs, they want to evaluate the whole application instead of just looking at test scores. I'd have applied to 20 or so programs if the recommendations were shared, which is five times the number to which I actually applied. Assuming most people would apply to more programs, they'd either have to hire more people (which would negate some of the benefits of more applications) or not evaluate the applications as thoroughly, which isn't what an HR professional is going to want to do.

Since yield is one way to measure a program's attractiveness to students, schools want to keep that number as high as possible, especially for the schools in the tier below Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton. With fewer barriers to entry, schools like Ross, Yale, Haas, and UCLA would see a big spike in applications because people like me would apply to all four instead of just one (Ross). Since they aren't as attractive to most students, they'd have to issue more acceptance letters to fill their class, and would see yield go down as a result.

For what it's worth, I think the recommendations are kind of stupid. Everyone should be able to find 2-3 people that like them enough to say really positive things. I'm fortunate enough to have a really good friend of mine for a supervisor, so he showed me everything he did. The schools all asked similar questions, but were looking for totally different formats. Some, like Harvard, had a ton of writing while others basically asked him to fill in a bunch of boxes rating me from amazing to really poor. To do a good job, recommenders can't do 10 recommendations in a short time period.

Congrats on the invite, RD! And good luck with the interview!

Mateo - good luck with finishing up apps. I'm still in that process as well, a couple of rolling admissions schools and applying to one school R2 (due in Jan) and another school R3 (due in Feb).

Got an interview invite to University of Cambridge, will be flying out to Europe next month for that. Will also take the opportunity to tour some other schools out there.

https://www.businessweek.com/bschools/ra ... sloan.html

Apparently pretty good. It looks like 17% of applicants were interviewed and 13% were accepted last year. Quick math says: 76.4%.

There are stats for all the ranked schools.

Posted from my mobile device

Actually most schools do allow deferments in the case of military applicants--that's one of the few circumstances that the admissions pages will make a specific allowance for. Medical hardship is the only other one I'm aware of. Talk to the admissions office and see what they can do for you.