Veterans Day: More MBAs With Military Backgrounds Find Their Place At Stanford GSB

USMC veterans, left to right, David Laszcz (MBA 2021); Skip Nordhoff, Colonel (USMCR, Ret.), HBS Director, International Strategy & Principal Gifts; Phillip Jones and Ian Epperson (MBA 2021) participate in the Marine birthday cake-cutting tradition at Harvard Business School. Courtesy

B-SCHOOLS AND MILITARY VETERANS: A COURTSHIP

It’s no secret that graduate business schools like to court military talent. In the top 25 programs in P&Q’s most recent rankings, veterans generally make up between 5 to 10% of the incoming MBA cohorts. 

At the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, 5.9% of its current MBA cohort are veterans, and the number of MBA students with military backgrounds enrolled has increased nearly 300% since 2006, according to the school’s 2023 class profile. Military representation at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School has ranged between 5% to 8% the previous five class years, and it reached 11% for the 2023 cohort. And, at Harvard Business School, veterans have averaged 5% of MBA cohorts the last five years, Mark Cautela, HBS director of communications, tells Poets&Quants. Veterans come from all branches of the U.S. military as well as from foreign militaries.

“Veterans bring a variety of unique and valuable skills to the HBS community. This is especially important when it comes to our case method pedagogy which requires diversity in the classroom to ensure a robust discussion of business challenges the students will face when they graduate,” Cautela says. “That diversity includes the backgrounds of each student, and veterans bring a unique perspective from their time in the service.”

The Armed Forces Alumni Association’s Veterans Day celebration is an annual event to celebrate, support, and appreciate service members, who make up more than 5% of the MBA cohort. Here, Zeita Merchant, USCG, HKS 2020 National Security Fellow (at left), poses with Laura Weimer, US Army LTC, HBS Doctoral Student. Courtesy

Many of the top schools waive MBA application fees to veteran candidates, offer scholarships and fellowships to ease the financial burden, and have robust and active veterans associations to help attract military talent. Further, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Post 9/11 GI Bill offers up to 36 months of tuition and fees, housing, and other funds for qualifying veterans while the Yellow Ribbon Program provides out-of-state grants for the difference in in-state tuition, matched dollar-for-dollar of participating schools’ contributions. 

Harvard is a Yellow Ribbon Program School that doesn’t limit how many participants are enrolled, awarding up to $20,000 for each eligible student matched by the federal Veterans Affairs. About $1.5 million need-based aid was awarded to HBS student veterans in 2020-21, Cautela says. Harvard also has an active, student-led Armed Forces Alumni Association (AFAA) to assist military veterans in professional development and job searches, promote camaraderie, and raise awareness and support for the military on campus. This week, AFAA and MBA Admissions are hosting a Military Virtual Visit through Nov. 12 to help military applicants engage with the school’s veteran community. AFAA also helps prospective veteran candidates with the strenuous application process, compiling their top ten application tips for members of the military.

Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University is also a Yellow Ribbon school which supports all eligible veterans across its full-time, evening and weekend, and executive MBA programs. The school has had nine of its students selected as senior fellows by the U.S. Army’s Chief of Staff to help advise the Army on emerging opportunities and challenges, cultivating relationships and fostering a greater understanding of the Army, says Christine Mayer, Director of Full-time Admissions at Kellogg.

“Veterans bring deep leadership experience and perspective to the classroom and community, as well as a profound ability to collaborate and work effectively in teams, which is essential to the Kellogg student experience,” Mayer tells P&Q. “Through explorative curriculum pathways, a plethora of industry-focused clubs, experiential classes and more, veterans can consider Kellogg a safe-space for identifying and exploring career switches.”

Read more: In honor of Veterans Day, Poets&Quants reached out to MBAs with military backgrounds at several top B-schools. See them here.