Calling all US Military Fall 2013 Applicants!

Personally I would say you should go to the best school you can get into. Your lifetime earnings potential from a Top 10 MBA program will make the $50-70k difference in tuition costs seem like nothing. If it comes down to a top tier school with no Yellow Ribbon match vs a school out of the top 20 with a full GI Bill I would still take the better school. Now if it came down to two different schools with a similar calibre of program and alumni network then the equation is a little different.

Thanks for the replies. I mistakenly wrote in my post about applying to only private schools when I meant public. The schools I'm looking at have 20 spots or so. I would just hate to get in and expect to get 20K in yellow ribbon payments and end up having to pay out of pocket when a similar caliber school would have been free. I'll try and get into contact with the veteran associations at the school.

One more question for those that have BTDT. What is your opinion on rank vs location of where you would like to live? I really like what Darden has to offer and, assuming I could get in, would be grateful to attend there. But, I'm from Hawaii and my wife is from Califonia and I plan on living in SOCAL. Would I be setting myself up for failure attending a school on the opposite coast?

Your example is the situation I was bringing up. I don't think I'll cut a top 10 school so I'm trying for schools in the 10 - 20 range. Some are free since they're public and some have better networks but I would have to pay (USC for example would cost 17k/year, which is minor). My wife only has 25K in loans and I have none so I think I may be making a bigger deal out of the situation than I should.

Yes in that case I can see how the money would play a bigger role. Will you be coming off Active Duty directly into the MBA program? One interesting piece of info is that the state of Virginia will allow you to declare residency in Virginia to attend school when you leave AD. Which means you can get Darden for a free ride even without the Yellow Ribbon program. That is a pretty good deal if you think you are competitive there. I would encourage you to not sell yourself short either. I have a 3.03 GPA in engineering from a state school and got into Columbia despite that being well below their average GPA and "pedigree" for undergrad institution. The military experience gives you some great leadership so if you have the time it never hurts to throw in a hail mary school or two. Here is a good right up of where your GI Bill will get you at some top programs:

https://militarytobusiness.blogspot.com/ ... chool.html

Wow, that's great you got into Columbia.

I'm going to try and time it right and leave Active Duty straight into a program but I'm not sure if I'll be able to swing it. I may have to push the process back a year and try and find a job. Semper Gumby.

I have a 3.36 in Finance from University of Hawaii's Shidler College of Business. I got a 4.0 in all my business classes. I even managed to swing 4 A+'s in some of my finance classes because I enjoyed them so much. But, UH Manoa isn't a top tier school so who knows how the Adcoms will look at that. I also got a D+ in freshmen philosophy when I was a wild 18 year old that made some poor academic choices. Feelsbadman. I'm part Filipino, not sure if that helps or hurts me.

I'm have a few schools planned out. My dream school and no.1 choice would be UCLA but I'm not sure if I'll make the cut. Going to try my best though.

If you know you want to be in SoCal, I'd say you'd be better off going to UCLA or Haas (or possibly USC) than a Darden/Duke level school. You mentioned you're targeting schools in the 10-20 range, which tend to be more regional in their job placement. Not to say it's impossible to get a west coast job out of Darden/Duke (or an NYC investment banking job out of UCLA) but you'd have to do a lot more legwork and traveling to make it happen. Proximity is a big advantage, which I've seen with plenty of my classmates trying to get into the Silicon Valley tech/startup scene. A Stanford or Haas student who can drive 30 minutes up the road for networking events has an easier time finding those kinds of internships or jobs, just like a Stern or Columbia student can easily attend those types of events with NYC banks and PE shops.

What did you score on the GMAT? A 3.36 isn't prohibitive to get in to UCLA, especially if you've got a solid mid-700s GMAT to go with it.

Not necessarily. IMHO, it's easier to go from an east coast school to a west coast job than vice versa. Sure UCLA is your top choice as you'll be covered under the GI Bill and be in SOCAL, but here are some other schools to consider that recruit surprisingly well on the west coast, are covered under the yellow ribbon, and are in that 10-20 range:

Darden (unlimited yellow ribbon participants):
13% placed in the west region (3rd behind Northeast - 35% and Mid-Atlantic - 18%)
https://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/MBA/Career/Employment-Reports/

Ross (unlimited yellow ribbon participants)
23.8% placed in the west (though only 1.9% in LA - 2nd behind mid-west 34.3%)
https://www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/MBA/Careers.htm

Duke (40 yellow ribbon slots - I don't think they even have 40 enrolled at a time)
https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/mba_recruiting/recruiting_duke/employment_statistics/
17% placed in the west region (3rd behind Northeast at 29% and South at 20%)

Granted those numbers don't blow you away, but by comparison, here's UCLA's employment report:
An astounding 71.1% in California, with 47.5% of the class staying in socal. The next largest region is the Northeast at 7.4%.
https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x37212.xml

As you can see, schools in the east and mid-west tend to place people all over the place with a more even distribution, whereas UCLA's California placement dwarfs the rest of the regions combined. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just the reality.

Best of luck with the school search!

Thanks for all the help.

I haven't taken the GMAT yet. I've been putting in 3+ hours per day and will probably take it in the next month or two. I'm probably not going to start applying for schools til next year because I feel like I'm too far behind the power curve right now.

I'll keep doing my research. You guys are a great help.

In case anyone is interested in Brand Management, here's the link to P&G's 2013 summer Brand Camp July 21-26:
https://us.experiencepg.com/home/marketing_mba_summer_camp.html

Seeing as how I'll be on separation leave from May-July 2013, this looks like a more productive way to spend a week instead of watching cartoons in my underwear.

If anyone is planning on applying to Tuck in the January Round (or heck, the November Round if you were impacted by Super Storm Sandy), recommend staying at the Hanover Inn for your interview. They're giving 50% to active duty military.

https://www.hanoverinn.com/hanoversalute.html

Yes, the only parking available is valet, and it'll still be more expensive than if you stay at a hotel in the surrounding area, but walking to Tuck the morning of my
interview and not having to deal with parking shenanigans made it worth it.

edit

I disagree. If you are applying to H/S/W with a 600, best prepare for a disappointment. The vets clubs at these schools have told me the GMAT average among vets is similar to the school's average and not to expect leniency as most vets who ultimately get in have competitive GPAs and GMAT scores.

Can any current students on this forum corroborate this or have things changed in the last year?

Posted from my mobile device

Is it possible to get in with a 600? Sure, just like it's also possible to get shut out with a 750. But your odds of admission increase substantially whenever you boost your GMAT score. I've met a few guys at HBS with 650ish GMATs, but seeing how I haven't met the 650s who didn't get in, there would be quite a bit of selection bias at play if I tried to draw any conclusions from the few low-ish GMATs I've met here.

The difference between a 600 and a 650, or between a 650 and a 700, is huge. If you have time to retake and boost your score but choose not to, you're basically just saying "I'm fine with increasing my degree of difficulty for no good reason."

With the military drawing down over the next few years I predict we'll be seeing a lot more vets applying to top MBA programs, so things are only going to get more competitive.

Something else to consider: Yes you can get in with a sub-700 GMAT, but if you want to go into banking or consulting, it's probably worth re-taking the GMAT for recruiting purposes as companies in these fields actually look for that on a resume.

Hey Guys,

I am a USNA grad ('07) and former Surface Warfare Officer. I am currently in my first year at Ross.

On December 1st, Ross will be hosting a Military Preview Session for interested candidates.

Here are a few items of note regarding Ross and your GI Bill benefits:

Yellow Ribbon - Unlimited for all qualified candidates
Michigan is a state school - If you are not 100% eligible for your GI Bill, you will receive a percentage of the FULL tuition (40% of $55K)

In addition to the GI Bill benefits, Ross is a phenomenal program and very military friendly. Below is the official request from our admissions team.

This is a reminder that the Ross School of Business is holding a special Military Preview Session on December 1, 2012. During the session, you will learn about the transition to business school and post-MBA career paths from the perspective of our military students and alumni. You will also hear from one of our senior leadership faculty, Noel Tichy, and veteran executives from Proctor & Gamble, Ford, and IBM. There will be a short session about the financial aid resources available to military students, and members of the Ross Armed Forces Association will join us for lunch. In the afternoon, there will be an opportunity to take a guided tour of Ross and the University of Michigan campus. We hope you can join us.

You can register for the event here: https://www.bus.umich.edu/Conferences/Mi ... ister.aspx

If you have any questions regarding the event or Ross in general, please feel free to reach out to me.

Really admired you guys can get some financial support from government.
I am a Chinese veteran, lieutenant officer in artillery regiment.
GPA 3.3, GMAT 700,
Hope to meet you guys in the US