Mr. Military Officer

Hi Mr. Military Officer! This is Kate Richardson, Senior Admissions Consultant. Your leadership experience at the Captain level is going to be highly regarded by business schools. My veteran clients typically bring a level of maturity and poise under pressure, which are qualities that translate well to business schools teams. And with some experience in a Tech Sales role already under your belt, I think business schools will have confidence in your ability to adapt and shift your career. That said, I would be curious to dig further into why you’re interested in entertainment/media, so make sure you’re connecting the dots when you explain your career goals. Your extracurriculars seem very strong too! The main area to focus on, as you probably know, is the GRE. Stern’s average is quite high (166Q, 162V) so hopefully you can achieve a score close to that. It’s especially important for you given your low GPA. Definitely disclose that you were a first generation college student, and use the optional essay to explain any other circumstances that impacted your college grades. It also helps that you’ve been away from college for awhile and have plenty of evidence of succeeding on the job and in demanding environments. I think Stern is a great fit given your goals and they are known for being very welcoming to veterans. Without a final GRE score, I’m putting your odds right around their 26% acceptance rate. I too would consider adding UCLA to your list for the media/entertainment focus. Possibly Duke which is also very veteran friendly. Best of luck!

Hi Mr. Military officer, this is Donna Bauman from Stratus Admissions and it is a pleasure to weigh in on your profile. Thank you for your service! It is great to see that you have made a successful transition from the military to the private sector already. You have some great community involvement so that’s a plus as well. As I am sure you realize, the GPA is not ideal but I have seen some of my clients with a GPA less than yours not only get in to top MBA programs but also get scholarships so never say never. What I would do if you were my client is listen to your story and understand if there was something going on in college that might put your gpa in some context. You say you are first generation college—maybe you had some extra family or work commitments that an admissions committee would want to know about when evaluating your profile. I would also work with you to probe that post MBA goal of marketing strategy in EMT. In this tough job market (that may still exist in 2 yrs) I would want to see how your pre MBA work helps form the foundation of your post MBA goal. It may be that you can make that switch—but if you don’t have any current experience there I would help you at least consider some other first out of the gate roles—or help you to do thorough research so you go to programs with strong entertainment/media ecosystems. You are on the right track with Stern—but I would also encourage you to look at the other coast and Anderson and USC as well. I think Kellogg and CBS are also worth considering. I also encourage you to really study hard for the GRE – consider getting some coaching there as with the 2.88 gpa you want the test score to be as strong as possible. You may also consider Stern part-time if that is an option for you. Best wishes!