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spowns
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Joined: 29 Oct 2012
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Will my work exp be enough? 29 Oct 2012, 04:03
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Just trying to determine the odds of getting into a top 15 MBA program down the road, so bare with me as I lay out this futurish hypo:

Male
White
25
Poli Sci/History from top public: 3.7gpa
no GMAT yet. Lets assume I get a competitive score.
WE:
Infantry Officer in the National Guard
-Part time Platoon leader while state side
-One year long combat deployment to Afghanistan on a Advisory Team.
-Back to part time role, only now on a Company level.

While this work exp. suffice or do I need something in the civilian sector?

Thank you for your advice.
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ManhattanReview
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Will my work exp be enough? 29 Oct 2012, 06:49
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Absolutely - any military experience is extremely valued in the eyes of MBA admissions officers.
In fact, every military person I have worked with has over-delivered on their final results, with a very high proportion ending up at Top 5 programs.
Thus, not only would I encourage you to apply, I would encourage you to shoot high.
Lastly, do not think your experience is anything less than (extremely) valued and shows great personal and professional experience and potential.

Kimberly Plaga
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Ward2012
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Will my work exp be enough? 29 Oct 2012, 07:27
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Adcoms love stories about leadership and teamwork. I'm sure you will have lots of stories on those topics from your background, so I don't think you need civilian experience to enhance your candidacy.
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spowns
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Will my work exp be enough? 29 Oct 2012, 09:02
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That is very encouraging. But I just want to maybe better elaborate my concerns.

From my limited time spent browsing the forums its seems that most schools want at least 2 year of full time work exp. post UG. In my situation I will only have about 15 months of full time active duty service as a result of the mobilization. Now this The rest of my time in the Guard (about 2-3 years) is going to be made up of part time service and extended periods of training.

Is this something that will hurt me?

I would like to get a full time civilian job now, however the train up, deployment, and follow on schools that I will be doing after the deployment end up greatly fragmenting my time. Finding employment outside of another part time position under these circumstance will be difficult.

I guess I am hoping that the quality of my experience outweighs any issues of time. Which should be the case given the fact that I have a very important role in the mission that is actually completely different from what I trained for and is supposed to be done by someone that is much more senior than me.
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Will my work exp be enough? 29 Oct 2012, 12:28
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You have great experience from your military service. I would not be concerned about your military experience if I were you. However, gaining additional civilian/corporate experience will never hurt your chances.

You are still young and are below the average age for most MBA programs. Gain some of civilian experience and you will be a great MBA candidate. Best of luck.