Opinions and Feedback

MA Oakley. As long as he transitions after he receives his MBA, he will not be in dire need of career services. The move out of the military will be a career transition in itself with companies coming after him. Of course having career services opportunity available would only be better.

He can use TA which would atually incur additional 2 years after graduation or use GI Bill. Unless he has an undergrad business degree, learning about business wont do him much good coming out of the military as he transitions to F500 corporations.

Id say do UNC, they have a great program.

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Thank you for the reply.

Unfortunately, I do have to complete an online MBA. I am moving to frequently for a reasonable part-time or EMBA program. At 37 years old, it would be very challenging for me to go back to a full-time program. I am the primary source of income for my family and my wife is moving into a new field which will not be enough to provide for our family for a few years. If I wait too long, I run the risk of not being able to capitalize on the MBA over time, as I would likely be 45 or so upon completion. This makes the online MBA the best option. If I were younger, I think I would be targeting a full-time top-20 program.

I agree that a large portion of the value of a MBA is the network and services offered through the program. There is a lot of truth to the fact that I can gain the same knowledge for free, but sometimes you need that "piece of paper" in order to capitalize. I am seeking a MBA for a few different reasons. The primary reason is that I want to further my business education. I have a BBA and I feel like I could use a bit of a refresher but also push my knowledge to a higher level. I know that most MBA programs don't look for much more than a basic knowledge of certain business topics, but I am hoping that I can deep-dive a few subjects to really expand. Another reason is that there are many positions and programs that I am looking at in my transition which require a MBA or where a MBA would be helpful.

For my transition, I am overcoming the issue of not having the in-person MBA experience by using a JMO recruiter (Bradley Morris specifically) and I am also engaging my network for advice and mentorship. While this may not be as efficient as some MBA programs' career services, it is a method which will work well from me and is more efficient than going at this blind. There are many companies out there who are very motivated to work with JMOs. I may not get the same salary or options as those from a top MBA program, but I can still set myself up well and if I perform well, I can likely catch those coming out of full-time programs.

For UNC, my GI Bill will cover the tuition 100%. Any state school will be covered 100% provided that they either charge one tuition rate or will offer me in-state tuition. Private schools are capped, but many offer grants and scholarships to cover the difference. This is an amazing benefit and it definitely will help. I am speaking with UNC this week. My biggest concern is my transition timeline compared to the program timeline and the two required residencies. So far, one of them is no issues, I am just a little concerned about transitioning and not being able to make it to a second one within the required timeframe. That is something that I will have to keep in mind.

I greatly appreciate your (and everyone else's feedback). I am definitely taking any advice I can get right now. This is a big step for my family and I have to be as responsible as possible, even if that means that I have to refuse certain opportunities.

Given this info, and the other circumstances you mentioned in your post, UNC would be the runaway winner IMO, and sounds like a great option.

Best of luck!