MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 2457
Given Kudos: 2
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Re: Please comment on my current profile
[#permalink]
11 Apr 2011, 20:44
Shoot higher. Up your expectations.
Keep in mind that a good number of the military candidates applying to the top b-schools don't have one thing that you have: a rigorous quantitative academic background with a decent GPA (and while econ isn't uncommon, econometrics is a bit more hardcore on the math). So that's a plus in distinguishing yourself from other military officers without having to waste even one word of an essay to highlight it (because the facts speak for themselves).
If you get 700+:
Harvard, Stanford, Wharton: slight stretches but within reach that they're worth a serious shot. Choose 2 or all 3.
Kellogg, Sloan, Booth, Columbia, and Tuck: you'll have a reasonable shot. Choose 2 - 3
Duke, Darden, Michigan, Haas, NYU, Yale, Cornell, UCLA: while there aren't any "true" safeties with any US top 16 school for any applicant anymore, you'l have a pretty good shot at any of these. Choose 1-2.
USC, Georgetown, Texas, Tepper, Indiana, Purdue, UNC: safeties. You should be able to get into any of these without a problem. You may or may not want to choose any. If you do, choose 1 at most.
Now, if you get mid-600s to high-600s, then the list goes down a notch (i.e. H/S/W become stretches; Kellogg, Sloan, Booth, CBS, Tuck become slight stretches; Duke, Darden, Michigan, etc. become sweet spots).
What I suggest is to take a look at these top tier schools. If you're interested in mgmt/strat consulting, any of the top 8 schools are great (it wont' really matter which one you go to because they're all priority schools for the consulting firms; for schools outside the top 8, look at Duke, Darden, and Michigan). Contact the veterans' clubs at these schools (most top b-schools have enough military vets to be able to form their own MBA student clubs, and many have websites and contact info for the club leadership; military folks tend to be quite helpful towards one another with the whole b-school thing and will be able to give you the lowdown not only on their own school, but what the other schools are like for military officers like yourself).