Mr. Military Intelligence

Hi, Mr. Military Intelligence, this is Julie-Anne Heafey of mbaMission. I think your background is fascinating, and should appeal to many top MBA programs. You bring military experience, a low-income/immigrant story, and great undergraduate academic performance. The challenge I see is that there are a ton of military leaders who apply to HBS, and it can at times be a battle of statistics/prestige, where high GMATs and/or “special” branches win out. Since I don’t have enough detail on the specific experiences that you hint at in your profile, it’s really tough to predict your chances in that mix…if I were you, I’d make sure to highlight your outsize leadership and impact, and think about retaking your GMAT to give it an extra boost, especially if you’re targeting consulting. As for whether it would be better to wait until later, it’s hard to say without knowing what you’d do in the FBI and how it helps your plans. It doesn’t appear to link to your goals, so I’m not sure why you’d do it….but if you do apply now, I’d add a few names to your list of schools given this year’s likely competitive environment — check out Darden and Fuqua! Best of luck!

Hi Mr. Military Intelligence, Melisa here from Stratus Admissions. First, thank you for your service. Business school programs like military applicants. The leadership skills you build in the military can be very transferable to consulting. And congrats on your offer with the FBI – that sounds like an amazing experience. With 3 years of additional experience, you are on the upper end of average work experience. But you would be an extremely unique candidate. At that point I think you’d need to decide if an MBA is still the right next step in your career. And if so, explain why now (in the future) is the right time for YOU to get an MBA. My assessment on your areas of opportunity would be the same in either case. Your GMAT is 30 points below HBS’s average. And not knowing your Q/V balance – you will need to show that you can handle the academic rigor of the program – that can be through your Q score, math classes taken at Brown, an extension course or having a recommender highlight the quant work that you do. I would suggest trying the test another time to see if you can get that score up. We are potentially looking at a very competitive year next year – so getting it up 10-20 points would help. And the second is more for consideration as you are outlining your goals – think about where you want consulting to take you long term? Do you want to be a partner at a firm? Or eventually head back to industry? What do you want to do aspirationally. If consulting is your end goal, I would consider adding Darden to your list – similar case method and the Dean is former McKinsey. Reach out if I can help at all!