Schools Where MBAs Get The Most Jobs

Veterans

Best Business Schools for Veterans

To an outsider, business school should be a perfect fit for a military veteran. In the service, you develop drive, diligence and discipline. You’re exposed to leadership roles, where you gain confidence from learning how to persevere and execute in the most adverse situations. You’ve interacted with a variety of people and cultures, giving you a life experience few can match. Compared to what you’ve faced, a structured and sanitized environment like business school should be a breeze.

But it’s never that easy. In business, you have defections, delays, and disappointments. In school, you have work and family, adjustments and commitments. Transitioning back to civilian life takes time. And going back to a classroom – brick-and-mortar or virtual – takes time, even if you hit the books throughout your service.

And that’s why MilitaryTimes ranks business schools for veterans each year. For some veterans, being in an MBA program is like being the proverbial stranger in a strange land. In fact, MilitaryTimes reports that veterans represent less than 13 percent of the graduate student population at business schools. What’s more, veterans have their own set of needs, ranging from processing military benefits to flexible scheduling to support groups. As a result, they require their own criteria for measuring whether an MBA program is friendly to them.

For the latest rankings, 150 schools completed the “Best for Vets Business School Survey.” Here, schools were evaluated in five categories: school culture, student support, academic quality, academic policies, and cost and financial aid. MilitaryTimes adds that the “value of each section was comparable, but university culture and student support counted the most, and financial aid counted the least.” The survey was supplemented by statistics from the U.S. Department of Education that “track student success and academic quality.”

Last year, the top performers were D’Youville College, Ohio State University and the University of the Incarnate Word. This year, Incarnate Word and Ohio State tumbled to 7th and 14th respectively. And D’Youville didn’t make the list (i.e. it likely didn’t participate). This year’s top program is a newcomer: The University of Nebraska at Omaha. While the school didn’t disclose the number of military personnel in their business school, their program received four stars (the highest score) for both staff and academic support.

The school also provided strong financial support to veterans based on the Post-9/11 GI Bill. For starters, the program is at or below the TA cap, which means the program’s per credit cost did not exceed the military’s tuition assistance cap of $250 per hour in 2013-2014. It also received four stars for its Yellow Ribbon participation, meaning the school either “partially or completely makes up the difference between a school’s tuition rate and the amount covered by the Post-9/11 GI Bill.” While the program doesn’t offer a full-time MBA program, veterans can participate in part-time, executive and dual programs.

Not surprisingly, Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management finished second (up four spots from the previous year). The school offers all types of MBA programs to veterans, including a full-time program. Like Nebraska-Omaha, Whitman scored high on staff and academic support (though its academic support was a shade below Nebraska-Omaha). The school also earned four stars for its Yellow Ribbon program.

Rounding out the top five are Eastern Kentucky (Rising from 7th to 3rd), Northern Arizona (Climbing from 10th to 4th), and Texas A&M (Continues to hold the 5th spot).

To see the top 25 schools, go to the table below.

 

Rank School Military-to-Student Full-Time MBA Part-Time MBA Executive At or Below Cap Charged at or Below Limits Average GMAT
 1  University of Nebraska-Omaha  NA  Y  Y  Y  546
 2  Syracuse University (Whitman)  18:538  Y  Y  Y  601
 3  Eastern Kentucky University  1:56  Y  Y  Y  530
 4  Northern Arizona University (Franke)  1:42  Y  Y  Y  568
 5  Texas A&M University (Mays)  22:156  Y  Y  Y  Y  Y  650
 6  Florida State University  22:478  Y  Y  Y  576
 7  University of the Incarnate World  41:234  Y  Y  Y  NA
 8  Stratford University  20:127  Y  Y  Y  NA
 9  University of Southern California (Marshall)  72:2,187  Y  Y  Y  646
 10  Bellevue University  443:1,988  Y  Y  Y  NA
 11  California State University-San Bernadino  12:346  Y  Y  Y  Y  482
 12  Old Dominion University (Strome)  54:436  Y  Y  Y  523
 13  Texas Tech University (Rawls)  24:900  Y  Y  Y  Y  578
 14  Ohio State University (Fisher)  22: 984  Y  Y  Y  Y  640
 15  Rutgers University (Newark and New Brunswick)  53:1,909  Y  Y  Y  502
 16  Mississippi State University  5:320  Y  Y  566
 17  San Diego State University  21:621  Y  Y  Y  Y  572
 18  Bowling Green State University  2:184  Y  Y  Y  Y  525
 19  California State University-San Marcos  9:8  Y  Y  NA
 20  Saginaw Valley State University  NA  Y  Y  Y  500

Source: Military Times

DON’T MISS: WHITMAN’S NEW MBA FOR MILITARY VETERANS

Source: Military Times

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