Mr. Military Vet

Darden is a great place for military vets and given your goals to be surrounded by people and competition that is smart, thoughtful, and ambitious, I think you would love being part of the Darden culture. More importantly, they would love you. Good choice. So what are your chances? Coming from the U.S. Naval Academy is a real plus in addition to your quant background with your undergraduate degree in systems engineering. Your 680 GMAT is more than 30 points below the latest class average at Darden of 713, while your GPA of 3.5 is right on the mark. So the question is this: Can everything else in your profile offset your below-average GMAT for an admit at the school. I think it can, though it would give me and you more comfort if you were applying with at least a 700. The acceptance rate at Darden is higher than normal right now at 36%, partly because the extremeist rally of a few years ago that scared off more internationals. So that is an advantage for you, frankly. That’s why I think your odds are closer to 50% for Darden, 14 points above the admit rate. Good luck. By the way, I think the odds are your other choices are much higher and anyone of them would be a great place to get your MBA. I’m rooting for a Darden admit for you!

Hi Mr. Military Vet, Julie-Anne Heafey here at mbaMission. Darden goes out of its way to appreciate and support vets in its community, and the military network is strong there. I’ve worked with multiple military (and other) applicants there…the key things to show are your fit for the program/school, your leadership skills, and your sincere interest in Darden. Your good GPA in a tough major at the Naval Academy will speak volumes, and you seem like someone with focus and determination. I also think your open minded perspective is a really good fit for the school, and I’m sure you would love the global opportunities that every Darden student gets from the Batten Institute. Your GMAT is a little low for Darden- not enough to eliminate you, but I know that they got a pretty high yield in early rounds this year, and get many military applicants, especially since the cost is so low there for vets. If you’ve already applied, this competitiveness may make it harder to get through in later rounds. If you haven’t applied yet, I encourage you to apply in the early action round, and take advantage of the open interview to show your enthusiasm for Darden! Although I love what I see so far, since I’m not sure on your timing, I’ll put your odds at just about double the normal acceptance rate…Do leverage the military vet club there, and think about adding some other great vet-friendly programs to your list like Duke…