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EBM
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Calling all US Military Fall 2018 Applicants! 22 May 2017, 14:41
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This year's application cycle is complete -- time to move on to the military guys/gals who are applying in this coming cycle for matriculation in Fall 2018.

Copied/pasted from last year's thread:

And for my only bit of self-promotion in this thread, if you haven't already, check out the MilitaryToBusiness blog for all kinds of valuable (and free) information geared towards military applicants: https://blog.militarytobusiness.com/

We offer everything from a la carte resume reviews to comprehensive package deals that cover overall application strategy, picking target schools, personal branding, career goals, managing recommenders, essay strategy, resume/essay edits, and interview prep -- and we do so at prices that are very competitive relative to other options out there.


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Filthydelphia
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Calling all US Military Fall 2018 Applicants! 24 Jan 2018, 22:07
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destinyawaits
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White, Male, 25, Engineer Officer Army

3.55 GPA, Political Science

Non-combat missions in Bulgaria (Platoon Leader overseeing 40 Soldiers) and Romania and Poland (Brigade Staff member... staff collectively oversaw approximately 2400 soldiers)

Studying for GMAT using Economist GMAT and gmatclub question banks... shooting for 750

top choice- georgetown, Vanderbilt, top 20-40 schools

looking for any Georgetown acceptance stories from military officers!

At MK and Novo Selo? I was there in 2014-15 with the Marine rotation there.


yea! lol love MK and Novo Selo.

constanta was a blast and so was sunny beach
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Mamaia Beach, I bet. I was in the winter rotation so I only got to enjoy Mamaia once on shore patrol in early September. I had been advon in August but all that meant was I got my ___ pushed in as a 2ndLt camp commandant getting everything ready for the battalion's arrival.

Good times, though. Definitely a great experience all around.
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JD1
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Calling all US Military Fall 2018 Applicants! 14 Jul 2018, 10:13
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Hey guys,

Wanted to see if you guys could see if my expectations are a little aggressive for my stats. I will be applying in 2019 for the class that starts in Fall of 2020.

Stats:
-29 (at application time) White Male.
-Will graduate with an undergrad in Organizational Leadership this December from a no-name school. (3.7-3.9 GPA)
- Completed entire undergrad online while on AD in Navy.
-Starting to prep for GMAT (hoping for a minimum of 700)
-9 years AD all in Navy Special Operations (EOD) Current rank E-6 (should put on E-7 before transition)

-Deployments to Bahrain, South America (ISO Army 7th Special Forces)
-Have every qual you can have an EOD Technician, multiple awards, always promoted first in my year group, worked with multiple different services and nations.
-First in family to go to college

-I started a podcast based on veteran entrepreneurs and their transition stories that I still host.
-Co-founder and Director of Operations for the Navy Special Operations Foundation that my friend and I started last year. It has been a huge success so far and continues to sustain rapid growth.

Target schools:
Stanford
Harvard
UCLA
USC

My main concern is my undergraduate degree coming from a no-name school. My answer to this is that I completed a degree while still on AD and at a deployable command while maintaining extracurricular activities as well.

So what are your guy's thoughts on my profile so far? Do you see any areas that I am able to improve in or things that I can work on in the next year to strengthen my chances come application time?
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EBM
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Calling all US Military Fall 2018 Applicants! 16 Jul 2018, 19:39
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Nice work on getting started early as it will give you time to address current weaknesses in your profile and make you as competitive as possible for your target programs.

Side note: Congrats on the work with NSOF, my company has filled a handful of merch orders for you all since our two co-founders are both former Navy EOD officers.

As you've noted the biggest obstacle you'll face is the fact that your undergrad degree is from an online, no-name (to use your words) program.

For better or worse, top 10ish MBA programs tend to care a lot about the caliber of the undergrad school rather than GPA alone despite the fact that Ivies and public Ivies are notorious for grade inflation.

The two enlisted guys in my HBS class both got undergrad degrees post-EAS -- one from Dartmouth and one from Georgia Tech, and the GT grad actually got a masters in engineering there as well.

Here's how I'd address the undergrad issue since you've got a full year until you'll really get into the thick of your application process:

1. Build an alternative transcript via courses from bigger-name schools on subjects that'll be helpful in business school -- finance, accounting, statistics, high-level math, etc. A few schools like BYU and UCLA and probably several others I'm forgetting offer reputable online courses that MBA programs will usually take into account when judging your readiness

2. Shoot for 730-750ish on the GMAT if at all possible, ideally with a fairly even split between your Q and V percentiles. As a mil applicant who's lacking a heavy quant background from your undergrad major, you'd be better off with a 720 via 90% V and 85% Q than you would with a 740 via 99% V and 75% Q.

The big questions that you didn't really address -- why do you want an MBA, and what do you plan to do afterwards? Depending on how unique and memorable you can be with your answers to those questions, you could greatly improve your odds of admission over what they "should" be based on your quantifiable stuff like GMAT and perceived rigor of your undergrad program.

Other stuff to do in the meantime -- research a handful of other schools that might be good fits in terms of location/curriculum/culture/career goals/etc., get in contact with veterans at all of your target schools, get on their adcom email lists so you're informed about their admissions traveling roadshows and webinars and whatnot, and if at all possible visit some of your target schools if you're able to get back to the States on leave while classes are in session.

As for handicapping your odds for those 4 schools it's a little hard to say absent the career goals bit, but as I previously mentioned having an interesting personal story in terms of what you've done thus far and what you plan to do in the future can go a long way.

Whenever asked for an example of how to do that, I point people towards this clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=RuurulTCbZs) which I've heard from a few people is basically a video version of one of the essays that Jake Harriman wrote for Stanford about why he wanted an MBA.

That sort of story will resonate much more than "I want to be a banker/consultant" career goals, or plans that aren't really fleshed out in detail.

On the surface I would say that UCLA and USC (and other schools in the Texas/Michigan/UNC-ish range) are realistic targets given a 700+ GMAT and strong essays/recommendations.

HBS is a stretch but that doesn't mean you can't still apply -- it just means that you don't want to pin your whole future on it.

Stanford? Who knows, their admissions process is very hard to predict -- at first glance I would say the odds are very slim, but if you're able to pull together a credible story like Jake's and get your application in front of the right person on their adcom then you could catch a lucky break.
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Calling all US Military Fall 2018 Applicants! 17 Jul 2018, 12:48
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Thanks for the reply,

I will look into getting into some of those quant-based classes. That seems like the best course to follow along with really shooting for the best GMAT score possible. I hope that if i accomplish those two things the adcom will recognize I can complete MBA coursework.

As far as post-MBA career goals go this is something I am still trying to work out myself. Coming into the Navy straight out of High School it's hard to say what exactly I want to pursue post-Navy. I definitely know what I am interested in and what I DONT want to do. I hope to fine tune these things as I look to work with an MBA consultant and hone in on my personal story.

I appreciate the thoughts and encouragement.

Best,

Josh
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Calling all US Military Fall 2018 Applicants! 10 Sep 2018, 15:31
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White, Male, 24(will be 26 when applying so class of 2021) will have 5 years work experience, Air Force Acquisitions officer took operational spacelift tour for first 3 years

Led team of 300 personnel as the range operations commander in spacelift operations, think SpaceX/Atlas launches. Also worked multiple launches as range control officer before upgrade. Then after space operational tour will finish out my military tour doing space project acquisitions. I understand this is a bit of a niche job. Everyone knows what a platoon leader is, special forces, etc. Would love advice on how to stand out.

2.99 undergrad GPA, Management from United States Air Force Academy, (3.49 majors gpa) I switched from Biochem which is what tanked my GPA--will be submitting an optional essay to explain
GMAT: Took(wait for it) four times so far with my best being a 670 high verbal lower quant, then 670 higher quant lower verbal with the best from each of the days making it a 720 which is beyond frustrating to me.
Currently studying for another GMAT attempt then most likely moving on to other parts of application.

Interests: Investment Banking to learn the technical side then wanting to move on to sustainable venture capital
Bio/additional: From small town in WV, does this help? someone said it does but I don't see how given that I'm a white male and we are all military and a lot of us are from small towns. Founded an investing club at my current base, regular options and stock trader, consult non-profits in free time, avid mountaineer with a few notable summits, sailor

Target schools: pending next GMAT I would like to go to Tuck with a fallback on UCLA(I've attended multiple events) or Darden/Duke/Marshall. Will also most likely apply to a few M7s if I can handle the work of applying.

I was just looking for advice going further, what should be included in applications, what is not relevant even though I think it is? GPA is obviously a huge hurdle but there isn't much I can do at this point and merits an explanation with the majors change.
Again any and all advice is appreciated, thanks guys.
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EBM
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Calling all US Military Fall 2018 Applicants! 20 Nov 2018, 08:07
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Latest Topic - Fall 2020 https://gmatclub.com/forum/calling-all- ... 97022.html



Here's almost 10 years of military client GMAT statistics boiled down to a single blog post by MtB's founder: https://blog.militarytobusiness.com/201 ... t-top.html
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Calling all US Military Fall 2018 Applicants! 17 Jan 2022, 09:20
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Hello from the GMAT Club MBAbot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
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