Applying To MBA Programs Together: One Military Couple’s Journey To Tuck

Applying to MBA programs together as a couple may be one of the boldest moves in graduate education. Andrew Heiny, an Army Green Beret and West Point graduate who earned a Bronze Star leading special operations in Iraq and Syria, and Kayla Hergott, a MedTech industry leader who rose from Project Engineer at Stryker to Senior Technical Product Owner at NuVasive, are members of Dartmouth Tuck’s Class of 2026. Andrew is heading to McKinsey and Kayla to Ajax Health, a PE-backed MedTech firm, where she’ll pursue her long-term goal of running a company. Recently, Emily asked Kayla and Andrew to explain, in their own words, what applying together, choosing Tuck together, and building a life in Hanover really looked like. 

DECIDING TO PURSUE AN MBA TOGETHER 

On deciding to apply together: (Kayla) “It ultimately became a joint decision, but I was the one who first introduced the idea. Andrew was at a pivotal point in his military career that was bringing us back to North Carolina. Then, due to a combination of life circumstances and an injury, Andrew decided to leave the military, which sparked the idea of us applying to MBA programs together. Applying together is stressful! Our initial plan was to apply to the same schools and submit everything in Round 1. Transparently, Andrew was much more organized than I was, so his applications were ready for R1 while I was not satisfied with my GRE score by September. I was also applying to dual-degree programs at several schools, which created different application timelines and deadlines. That said, I would absolutely recommend applying together. I do think some schools value partners applying at the same time, and it also makes the process more exciting because you get to evaluate all your options together. If you apply at different times, there’s still lingering anxiety around the process because it’s hard to fully celebrate and make a final decision until all the results are on the table for both people.” 

(Andrew) “Kayla had previously shown interest in attending an MBA program, and while we were planning out my military career, we had discussed her attending Duke if I remained in the military and returned to Fort Bragg, NC. Following what would become a career-ending injury in March 2022, I began looking at what was next after the military. At that point, we decided to attend an MBA program together after my ETS. There are, of course, natural concerns when planning career changes and life moves of this magnitude. To help with this decision, we took a very deliberate approach, asking ourselves two questions: 1) What are our career goals following graduation? 2) What do we want our next two years to look like? Knowing that we are happiest in smaller cities and around the outdoors, we focused on schools that met that criteria. This focused our approach and minimized concerns.” 

THE SCHOOL SELECTION PROCESS 

On building their school list: (Kayla) “Once we decided we were both going to apply, we built the list together from the beginning. Going through this experience as a couple was a priority for both of us, so we spent a significant amount of time researching programs, talking with current students, and thinking intentionally about what we wanted these two years of our lives to look like. Neither of us are really city people, which quickly eliminated some schools for us, particularly in New York. From there, we focused on programs like the Boston schools and Tuck, along with schools known for strong communities and immersive student experiences. Andrew applied to three schools in Round 1, while I only applied to Tuck in R1, then applied to the dual-degree programs I was interested in during Round 2.  

WHY TUCK

On choosing Tuck and what made it right: (Kayla) “Tuck was always our top choice based on the research we did and the people we spoke with throughout the application process. We felt like it was the strongest cultural fit for us and the place that would push us to grow the most, both professionally and personally. That said, I do not think we fully appreciated how right the decision was until we reflected on it after our first year. We both achieved the career outcomes we were hoping for, but more importantly, we had more fun and more fulfillment than we could have imagined. After moving many times throughout our twenties, finding a strong sense of community was incredibly important to us. Tuck’s smaller class size made it feel possible to truly know people and build lasting relationships over the two years.” 

(Andrew) “Tuck was our number one choice going into the admissions cycle, though the decision was never quite as straightforward as we expected it to be. Kayla was accepted to multiple dual-degree programs, which forced us to seriously think through what life would look like if we attended separate schools. We talked through the logistics, the sacrifices, whether the tradeoff would ultimately be worth it, all of it. In the end, we kept coming back to the same questions we asked ourselves at the very beginning: What do we want our outcome to be, and what do we want our next two years to look like? We realized pretty quickly that we were happiest together, and that no single school has a monopoly on great outcomes. Once we accepted that, the decision became easy, and honestly, we have never second-guessed it. During the application process, we had countless networking calls across different MBA programs, and Tuck consistently stood out. People genuinely wanted to help. Conversations never felt transactional or rehearsed. Students cared about whether Tuck was actually the right fit for us, not just whether we would attend. At the same time, every single person shamelessly sold Hanover and the Tuck experience as if it were the greatest thing on earth, and the hype became contagious. Looking back now, they were right. I often tell prospective students that Tuck is exactly what it says it is: a small, incredibly tight-knit community full of impressive, genuine people who want to see each other succeed.” 

On Tuck’s military veteran community: (Kayla) “We talked to the vet community at each of the schools; I remember Kathryne Crowley (T’24) was particularly helpful as we thought about Tuck, living in Sachem, and our life these two years. Admissions was also incredibly helpful. Kristen Roth, the vet admissions counselor, was incredibly kind and helpful to me, even though I was not a vet. The school supports students by connecting them with Tuckies who have similar backgrounds or interests; Andrew and I both must have talked to 5+ Tuckies before ever applying.” 

(Andrew) “While Tuck does have a strong military community, it did not play a major role in my decision. Compared to other programs with much larger veteran student bodies, I felt Tuck’s community was perfectly sized. I did not want to attend a program full of veterans because I believed it was important to meet people from all backgrounds and walks of life. The veterans in the program, along with Kristin Roth, Associate Director of Admissions, were great resources throughout the application process.” 

On what surprised them once they arrived: (Andrew) “I think this is probably true at any MBA program, but the pace of life at Tuck surprised me in both good and bad ways. Very quickly, your life becomes a blur of networking calls, coffee chats, recruiting events, late-night homework sessions, and trying to meet as many classmates as possible. Unlike many MBA programs, though, people at Tuck are not spending every weekend traveling or escaping to a major city. Hanover is a unique place. It is remote, tight-knit, and centered entirely around the community you build there. Because of that, weekends in the Upper Valley become about making your own fun, whether that is ski trips, small group dinners, hiking, sports games, or simply hanging out with classmates after a long week. Looking back, those weekends and the friendships formed during them have become some of my favorite memories from business school, and relationships I genuinely hope last a lifetime.” 

 

LIFE AS A COUPLE AT TUCK 

On structuring life in Hanover: (Kayla) “There was definitely a learning curve during the first year. We both came into Tuck wanting to build individual friendships and identities, while also intentionally investing in our marriage by going through this experience together. Truthfully, we did not have a perfect system from day one. During the first couple of quarters, we mostly just said yes to most things: social events, trips, recruiting events, dinners, because we wanted to meet as many people as possible and immerse ourselves in the community. Once things became more settled, we started having more intentional conversations about our priorities and where each of us needed support. We became much better about communicating schedules, protecting time together, and encouraging each other to pursue independent friendships and activities. Over time, we built an incredible core friend group through the partner community while also developing relationships independently, which eventually coalesced into a shared group of friends.” 

(Andrew) “Physically, we structured our lives very deliberately, renting a house in Sachem Village, Tuck’s graduate student housing, and opting for a larger unit so each of us could have space for our own desk setup, studying, interviews, and networking calls. This was a huge asset during our first year at Tuck. Eventually, we started using a shared personal calendar, which helped us find balance among our own commitments while still protecting time together as a couple.” 

On the best and worst parts: (Kayla) “There are two best parts of going through business school with your spouse. The first is especially true during the first year: your partner completely understands what you’re experiencing. First year is a lot from an academic, social, and recruiting perspective, and it can be incredibly taxing. The MBA experience is also unique: how can an experience be so challenging, overstimulating, busy, and so fun all at the same time? Having someone beside you who fully understands the highs, the stress, and the intensity because they are living it too is such a privilege. The second-best part is building a community together. We’ve built friendships, memories, and a community side by side. Coming out of Tuck, we now have lifelong friends who know and value both of us as individuals and as a couple. It’s been an incredible experience. The hardest part is really the flip side of all the positives: you are all in together. If one person is studying, the other person is usually studying too, especially during the first year. We also talk about Tuck constantly because it’s such a central part of both of our lives. We understand exactly what the other person is going through, but sometimes it also feels like we are both completely drowning in Tuck green together.” 

(Andrew) “The worst part of going to school together is definitely Kayla’s friends finding endless entertainment in reporting back every dumb comment I make in class or letting her know when I sneak in late carrying coffee! Tuck’s small community is an incredible advantage in almost every way, but sometimes it feels like there is absolutely nowhere to hide. That said, the best part is having someone who completely understands what you are going through every single day. Whether it was recruiting stress, classes, or just navigating life at Tuck, there was always someone sitting across the dinner table who genuinely got it.” 

RECRUTING & CAREER MANAGEMENT 

On coordinating recruiting timelines and stress: (Kayla) “This was not intentional, but it ended up working well because we had different career interests. Andrew knew he wanted to recruit for consulting, so he was fully immersed in recruiting from September through January. I was taking a more non-traditional route, focusing on startups and sourcing my own internship opportunities. From a practical standpoint, the staggered timelines helped us a lot with balancing day-to-day life, whether that was making dinner, walking the dogs, or simply having one person slightly less stressed at any given time. However, my recommendation is to pursue what genuinely excites you rather than over-optimizing around your partner’s recruiting timeline. The most intense recruiting periods are relatively short in the grand scheme of the MBA experience, and you do not want to compromise on the opportunities or career path you are truly excited about. The first fall is hard and chaotic regardless! Over-communicate, work hard, and know that it is short-lived. Recruiting did not become truly stressful for me until around March of my second year, when I was also completing the MPH portion of my dual degree and taking nearly 2x the credits. Transparently, Andrew carried a lot of the day-to-day responsibilities and kept our lives on track that year. The biggest factor in helping us navigate the experience was communication. Every Sunday, we would sit down together, look ahead at the week, and talk through our priorities and where each person might need extra support.” 

(Andrew) “Fortunately, consulting recruiting runs on a very structured and well-published timeline at Tuck, which made life significantly easier for both of us. It basically became a running joke that Kayla could predict my schedule better than I could. She knew which nights I would be home for dinner and which nights I would be wearing a suit at some recruiting event, eating the same messy small bites while trying to hold a conversation with a consultant I had just met. The highest levels of stress came from uncertainty around timelines and locations across our different recruiting paths. I applied for several roles in both Colorado and Boston in hopes of giving us flexibility, since Kayla’s internship timeline was about one to two months behind consulting recruiting. Having flexibility, rather than being tied to a single exact location, allowed us to pursue opportunities more freely while still feeling relatively confident we would spend the summer in the same place.” 

THE JOBS AHEAD 

On what comes next: (Kayla) “I am going to be working at a PE MedTech firm called Ajax Health, and I am extremely excited. I came to Tuck, and I am leaving with the long-term goal of running a company. Ajax gives me the opportunity to see how different companies operate while learning from a team with deep experience across the MedTech industry. I pulled a last-minute switch on us and accepted a job in San Francisco, which led us to start our post-MBA chapter in the Bay Area. We’re walking into this next chapter with the mindset that it is a phase of growth and exploration. When I think about what success looks like five years from now, it’s less about a perfectly mapped-out outcome and more about optionality. I hope we’ve learned an immense amount, enough that we have the choice to either stay or transition into opportunities where we can create enormous impact in fields we deeply care about. I also hope we’ve dabbled in, or more realistically been completely humbled by, parenthood and managed to climb, bike, and explore every mountain and trail on the West Coast that’s currently on our list.” 

(Andrew) “Over the summer, I worked for McKinsey in the transformation practice, helping an advanced industries client in the later stages of a major organizational turnaround. I was drawn to transformation work because it would enable me to see more tangible results than shorter-term strategy studies, and I had the opportunity to work with a veteran partner and two other Tuckies at McKinsey. Within the next five years, I hope we have expanded our family beyond our two dogs and finally put down roots somewhere we truly want to call home. MBA life and military life both come with a lot of movement and uncertainty, so the idea of building a real community and stability for our future family means a lot to both of us. Career-wise, I am approaching consulting much the same way I approached the military. I will stay as long as it continues to challenge me, reward me, and remain compatible with the kind of family life we want to build.” 

ADVICE FOR COUPLES CONSIDERING THE SAME PATH 

What they wish someone had told them, and what they’d do differently: (Kayla) “Applying together is stressful; going together is so worth it. It has been my favorite chapter of our relationship thus far. And wherever you choose to go, it is the right choice. My encouragement is to spend the time choosing the location and the life that you want. Looking back, I wish I had submitted all my applications alongside Andrew’s because I think I unintentionally took away some of the excitement and joy of us both getting into Tuck by being so stressed about whether I still wanted to wait on decisions from other schools. When unknown options linger on the table for an extended period, it can make the process feel emotionally unsettled.” 

(Andrew) “Everything will work out the way it is meant to. You can be successful from any program, so choose the one that is right for you as a couple, not just the highest-ranked school in some magazine. Spend time investing in friendships and community outside of the other military veterans you will meet. This is an opportunity to grow, learn, and meet incredible people, so take every opportunity to do so. It is easy to say now with hindsight, but I probably would have spent less time stressing over things that ultimately worked themselves out. Two years sounds long until suddenly you are graduating.” 

A NOTE FROM MILITARY MBA CONSULTING 

Each year at Military MBA Consulting we are privileged to work with couples from military backgrounds, whether both partners are active duty or one has a career outside the military. I’m so grateful to Kayla and Andrew for sharing their story and hope it helps other couples in the military community thinking about an MBA. Congratulations on your graduation from Tuck, Kayla and Andrew! 

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About the Author 

Emily Sawyer Kegerreis is the founder of Military MBA Consulting, a boutique admissions consulting firm dedicated exclusively to military applicants. With nearly 20 years of experience, Emily and her team help veterans understand the role an MBA plays in their transition to the private sector with a unique focus on career exploration and skill building. Military MBA Consulting was ranked the #1 Boutique Admissions Consulting Firm for 2026 and Emily was ranked in the top 15 of admission consultants.  Learn more or contact us

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