Hey USNavy13:
I responded to your question in the Ask Paul Lanzillotti thread as well. There I cover many of the points I do here as well.
Let's see if I can do your profile a solid! Here goes ...
Bottom line assessment – from what I've seen in the past - personally - you should be aiming a bit higher than you are now. And yes, I know you have a 2.92 GPA. At first glance, you may appear to be a long shot. Totally understandable. But, my Spidey sense tells me something might be tingling.
[*]With all due respect to the Lou and Wash U, you could (probably) show up to Owen and waltz right in. Out of all the schools you listed, common sense tells me Owen is your backup school, and it's definitely a solid one. Right now, I don't think you'll get to the point where you will actually need that lifeline.
[*]Based on my prior experience with military candidates - who have been mostly of the oceangoing variety - you will not have a problem at Darden, McCombs, or Cornell Johnson. The last sailor I worked with ended up on the good ship Dartmouth Tuck.
[*]Basically, they're not looking to you for some monster GMAT score or even a 3.999999999 GPA. You fill out their incoming MBA class by checking all the leadership boxes. Additionally (and most likely), you'll have international work experience with other partner organizations – whether managing coordinated training operations as an EOD tech or NATO attaché, or being stationed somewhere overseas and having to deal with locals as a contracting officer.
[*]You'll have responsibility for men and machines on a level that others won't be able to match. Of course, this includes significant mentorship and coaching opportunities for those just getting their sea legs. That bodes well for your leadership stories and any other essay that requires you to describe how you overcame an obstacle to achieve a result. There will be an essay that asks about your personal motivations and convictions, you should be able to knock that one out of the park as well. Schools like HBS and Stanford tend to ask these types of "introspective" essay questions. Simply put, you joined the Navy out of a sense of selflessness AKA "serving your country." Of course, there's probably a few other reasons perhaps. Maybe, you needed the money for college or maybe you just like white uniforms. But when you strip away all the bells and whistles, it all boils down to putting your money where your mouth is. You believed in something so much that you were willing to pursue it as a "career." Very few people can say that. Frankly, that's what I've seen separate the groupies from the rock stars. And just like all dogs go to heaven, quite a few rock stars end up at HBS and Stanford.
[*]I bet you're thinking, "Is this bozo (me) actually telling me (you) to apply to HBS or Stanford GSB?" Maybe. Okay, so I definitely think you should shoot a bit higher by applying to a school like Northwestern or even Wharton. But should you have a very compelling personal story about overcoming obstacles and perhaps learning about how they are in fact opportunities to push beyond your comfort zone, I do think you should apply to HBS or Stanford. Correct me if I am wrong, but Middlebury does
not seem like a traditional feeder school into any one of the US military services. Was this the game plan - to join ROTC or its equivalent - when you got to campus? What did the family say about this? A few years back, I had a Marine officer who went to another small liberal arts school in the Northeast and well, his family wanted him to be an accountant. So when he joined the Marines, they weren't as gung ho. In fact, they flipped their ****. Regardless, it ended up establishing a pattern where he constantly went against the grain – which is not something you would expect from someone signing up to be part of a regimented military machine. That's the beauty of the story. It's much harder to be the voice of dissent when tradition and everyone else around you tells you to march in a specific direction. This individual ended up going to HBS. Does this type of story resonate with anything you've experienced?
[*]The other aspects of your background – the sheer number of officers you managed, NCAA athlete, your political campaigning – reinforce your "theme." Basically, from what I tell right now, this provides evidence that equates to "icing on the cake." It's a deal sealer.
[*]Before I go any further, don't think you're off the hook with respect to that low GPA. You will have to use some real estate – i.e. Optional Essay - to explain. Do not waste the reader's time giving them any lame excuse, nor would you beat around the bush. Just jump right into it. If it was a maturity issue, then state so. Just get through the reason why quickly so you can get to the important part - i.e. how you improved your grades and what you learned about yourself. Lessons learned could include things like – in order of complexity - 1) better prioritization for all your heavy workload in and out of class 2) greater interest in more complicated subjects that lay within your major 3) greater commitment to what really matters – contributing to campus as an athlete, scholar and leader 4) ultimately, realizing that you could and would leave campus better than you found through some sort of contribution 5) ultimately, you could say you learn something like challenges forced to grow up and made you a more mature, responsible person across all aspects of your life. And you have carried this forward with you as a professional and military officer.
[*]You'll do well when recruiting at any of the top consulting firms. with respect to the "story", you could talk about joining a top strategy firm and eventually focusing on operations. And then you could bring that operating experience back to your family's PE firm. That must be nice by the way. Ha. I'm sure there's a few stories floating around about managing the dynamics of a fund, as well as the intricacies of a family-owned operation!
[*]Finally, and to answer your initial question about school selection – give Harvard BS and Stanford GSB a shot, especially HBS, but also look at schools like Columbia and NYU Stern. I would also give Kellogg a closer look. It's a great school for management consulting, and it doesn't get the credit it's finance program deserves in my opinion. Michigan Ross is also another school you need to check out as well. BTW, the next thing you should do is take a look at each one of these school's career center employment report. That's where you will find out what firms are hiring what flavor of pleb. You can tailor your goals (within mgmt consulting) to what you see. For example, if McKinsey, Bain, and BCG don't come to campus to recruit, then move onto a new school or find a firm that does recruit at the school in question. You can also get on LinkedIn and check to what consulting firms hired military from MBA program XYZ or ABC and for what industries/roles. You gotta kick the tires on this one because you are a "career switcher" and the admissions committee needs to know you know what the hell you're getting into.
Let me know what other questions you may have.
Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti
USNavy13 wrote:
I'm hoping you all can assist. I'm currently 29 and a LT in the USN. I plan on applying during Round 1 this upcoming fall, but don't have a set of target schools selected yet. Given the limited info below, would you be able to provide 2-3 reach, match, and safety schools each?
GMAT: 710
Undergraduate - Middlebury
-2.92 GPA (Government and Legal Studies)
-Varsity Athlete
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
_________________
Paul Lanzillotti | Founder|
About | mba@amerasiaconsulting.com | 877.866.9251
Schedule a Consultation |
Twitter |
BlogDownload "How To Apply" Guides |
INSEAD |
Columbia |
Harvard |
Wharton
close
29 May 2018, 10:33
