The Military Appeal: MBA Programs Love Veterans, And The Feeling Is Mutual

Chicago Booth photo

The Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago had one of the highest proportions of military MBAs in this year’s incoming Class of 2022: 8%. It was the highest in school history in the biggest class in school history: 621. That prompted Donna Swinford, Booth’s associate dean for student recruitment and admissions in MBA programs, to suggest that the school make its military population more prominent in this year’s class profile.

“We have more U.S. veterans in our class than we’ve ever had, so when we started looking at our numbers, we decided, ‘Well, why aren’t we publishing this?’ Because it’s actually, I think, a good data point for people to know,” Swinford says. “So we included it this year.”

Eight percent may be a school record, but the Booth School is no stranger to military MBAs, Swinford tells P&Q.

“Every year, we look to shape a diverse class in terms of academic backgrounds, regions, ethnicity, and industry,” she says. “We often find military candidates are grounded in ways that reflect Booth values — bold, resilient, collaborative, selfless, determined, hardworking, leaders by example. Their contributions to the classroom and community are part of what make Booth such an intellectually distinctive place to learn.

“We are seeing an increase in military applicants. My sense of the trend is that a positive feedback loop is being established by the alumni of great MBA programs. As service members hear about the success of their former peers, they develop the confidence to embark on the path to earn an MBA knowing that success is achievable. I’d also say that I think this trend will continue to grow in the coming years. So many military folks either aren’t aware of the opportunities or haven’t historically viewed it as a viable path.”

WHY AN MBA MAKES SENSE FOR VETERANS

Chris Payne. Courtesy photo

Chris Payne, an MBA student in the Booth Class of 2021, was an Army Special Forces officer who spent about a decade in the service. From combat patrols in Afghanistan to deployments in Central and South America, he’s seen it all. When he began thinking of leaving the Army a couple of years go, it was a logical next step to get an MBA.

“In the military, you typically train before you go do the job,” Payne tells P&Q. “It never fully prepares you, but you at least get some of the core competencies down, the skill set, and you’re with your peers in a peer learning environment. And we’re used to that. And so when you’re transitioning from something you know, a domain you understand in the military, to one you don’t in the private sector, that ability to train again and learn from your peers in a peer learning environment is a great way to build towards your next career. And so that’s why an MBA in general makes sense.”

Why Booth? Flexible curriculum, a robust veterans group, and strong financial support were a potent mix, he says.

“Most veterans have somewhere between five and 10 years of service when they come to business school,” Payne says. “And so we want to build a toolkit. Additionally, we haven’t been in an environment where we’re learning the same skills or have the same knowledge and abilities that you’ll see among many of our peers and classmates. And Booth really has this flexible curriculum. You’re able to take whatever you want. If you want to double down on your strengths — cool, you can do that. If you want to really attack your weaknesses, you can do that, too. If you’re super interested in following one path, whether it’s entrepreneurship, finance, or whatever, you can just really curate the curriculum you want. And when you are used to putting together training plans and training big groups of people, putting together a training plan for yourself and building a toolkit that you want coming out of an MBA program is really, really appealing.

“Just one more thing. Simply put, Booth is incredible when it comes to financial support for veterans. And I’ve talked to pretty much all the veterans that apply to Booth, and that’s been a lot this year. So many are surprised to find out that if you have the full 9/11 GI Bill benefit, that Booth is essentially free. And there is incredible financial support for people who don’t have full 9/11 GI Bill, as well. So just simply put, I don’t know if there’s anywhere that can match it, but Booth’s support is just absolutely incredible on that front.”

MANY LEVELS OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT

Donna Swinford. Courtesy photo

About that financial support: Chicago Booth is like most leading B-schools in that it participates in federal and other programs that help former service members. “We are proud to continue offering a substantial portfolio of scholarships and financial assistance to Armed Forces members pursuing their MBA,” Swinford says. “In 2016, alumnus Eric Gleacher, ’67, gave $10 million to fund the Gleacher Veterans Scholars Fund, which helps bridge the gap between government benefits and the remaining costs of getting a degree from Chicago Booth. The following year, we increased our Yellow Ribbon match amount to ensure 100% of tuition and fees would be covered for all eligible students in the Full-Time MBA, Evening MBA, and Weekend MBA Programs. Last year, on Veteran’s Day, it was announced the Harper Family Foundation gifted an additional $10 million to double the support available to veterans at Booth.” The school has several other awards that give preference to military candidates, including the David W. Fox Scholarship, the Stephen J. & Jennifer L. Czech-U.S. Navy SEAL Scholarship, and the Dennis W. and Jane B. Carlton Fellowship for those who served in the Israeli military.

Those with military experience are supported in other ways at Booth, she continues: The University of Chicago’s Office for Military-Affiliated Communities provides overarching programming and community for veterans, while Booth’s Armed Forces Group offers help early in a candidate’s MBA journey with interview preparation, resume workshops, career coaching, and family social activities. “As a sign of our continued commitment to recruiting individuals with military experience, we also offer an application fee waiver to all veterans and active military applicants,” Swinford adds.

“We’ve participated in the Yellow Ribbon program almost since it began in 2008,” she continues. “Back then it was $15,000 or $12,000 a year and we only had seven. And we’ve evolved over time, when we just started realizing the impact of this award and what we can do. Three years ago, we decided to raise the Yellow Ribbon amount to be $30,000 matching per year, guaranteeing that anyone who’s in our full-time or Evening or Weekend program, that they would not have to worry about tuition. And if you come to Chicago, you not only have the GI Bill and you have the Yellow Ribbon match, but you also have housing, you have books. So there’s a lot of financial resources available for those who are 100% eligible for GI Bill.”

SUCCESS STORIES

Like their nonmilitary peers, a majority of veterans at Booth pursue investment banking or management consulting paths — paths that seem almost tailor-made for veterans. Both allow them to leverage their leadership and ability to communicate “while learning about multiple industries and generating optionality long-term,” Swinford says. “We’ve seen incredible success in these two, respectively, with 100% employment rates for veterans who pursued internships in IB and consulting for the Class of 2021.”

Beyond IB and consulting, she says, many veterans pursue paths in corporate roles, tech, startups, venture capital, and private equity. “Overall, every veteran at Booth has the flexibility to chart their own path and the support system from our Group and Booth’s resources to achieve their goals.”

For Chris Payne, the world of consulting awaits. After interning this summer with Boston Consulting’s Group’s Dallas office (remotely from Chicago), he will return to the consulting giant full-time after graduation.

“I think pretty much everyone applies to MBA programs for the same six reasons: brand association, the pursuit of knowledge, the acquisition of skills, access to incredible jobs, developing an outstanding professional network, making lifelong friends, and having fun. For me, and I think most veterans, the pursuit of knowledge and skills along with access to incredible jobs were most important,” Payne says. “I knew what I wanted to learn from my MBA and had a sense of where I wanted to take my career. Though those two weighed heavily, I wanted to maximize all six when choosing my program. Luckily, I’ve been able to do that at Booth — and I was able to find an internship that allowed me to contribute greatly and really feel great about the experience in spite of missing out on some of the traditional things you get to do and get-togethers you get to have with your intern class when you’re in-person. And I’m going back full-time.”

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