Mr. Military

My first piece of advice to you is to apply to a broader range of schools. If your desire is to work in Texas, I would put near the top of my list UT-Austin and Rice as well as SMU, UT-Dallas and Texas A&M. It’s generally a bad idea in MBA admissions to put all your eggs in one basket, especially when your core stats fall below a highly selective school’s GMAT and GPA averages. Your service is admirable and may allow you to overcome a GMAT that is 54 points below the latest class average and a GPA that at 3.1 is below the 3.49 for the newest class at Fuqua. Truth is, Fuqua has a reputation for walking the common MBA admissions talk of looking at candidates in a more holistic way. The school does not overindex GMAT scores and that could be in your favor. But you need to remember that Duke accepts only 22.9% of its applicants so it’s a very selective school. Good luck to you!

Hi Mr. Military! This is Kate Richardson, Senior Admissions Consultant here. Thanks for sharing your profile and personal win, and I’m glad you were able to achieve that goal and gave college another try. It sounds like you’ve grown a lot personally and are eager to grow your career to a new level. I think an MBA would be great for you to do so. I also think Fuqua is an excellent program, especially for veterans, as I’ve had many military clients end up there. That said, I’m concerned that your GPA and GMAT stats are just not high enough for how selective Fuqua is. Your work experience, long tenure with the Army, and international exposure are all great though. It could be worth investing more time (perhaps investing in some tutoring sessions) to try to raise your GMAT. As the other experts mentioned, I would also widen your range of target schools. Definitely add some schools in Texas! Good luck!

Hi Mr. Military! This is Kate Richardson, Senior Admissions Consultant here. Thanks for sharing your profile and personal win, and I’m glad you were able to achieve that goal and gave college another try. It sounds like you’ve grown a lot personally and are eager to grow your career to a new level. I think an MBA would be great for you to do so. I also think Fuqua is an excellent program, especially for veterans, as I’ve had many military clients end up there. That said, I’m concerned that your GPA and GMAT stats are just not high enough for how selective Fuqua is. Your work experience, long tenure with the Army, and international exposure are all great though. It could be worth investing more time (perhaps investing in some tutoring sessions) to try to raise your GMAT. As the other experts mentioned, I would also widen your range of target schools. Definitely add some schools in Texas! Good luck!

Mr. Military – Susan Cera, Director of MBA Admissions here.

First, thank you for your service! Having spent nearly a decade with admissions committee at Duke Fuqua, I know they truly value candidates who bring the experiences one can only get in the military.

Based on the limited information available, I do have several concerns about your candidacy. First, both your GPA and GMAT are well below the Fuqua averages. While it is okay for one to be low, you need to demonstrate that you are ready for the academic rigor of a top MBA. Second, your 10+ years of work experience puts you outside of the 80% range for years of work experience. This may put you at a disadvantage when looking for your first post-MBA role.

I suspect that you are just getting started with your MBA application journey. It is important for you to do some deep introspection and self reflection to clarify your short and long-term goals. Think about how you can leverage your logistics expertise and leadership know-how in a ‘second career.’ Perhaps it would be a role in supply chain or in transportation. Once you have an idea of where you want to go, you need to determine what additional skills and knowledge you need beyond your current experience in order to achieve your goals. Duke Fuqua may or may not have the resources that you need to ensure that you are well positioned to succeed. Take the time to research programs so you understand their values and how your experience can add to the community both in the classroom and beyond.

Since you want to end up in Texas, you may want to look at programs IN Texas. There are great options both for full-time programs as well as for part-time programs which could be a good option for you.

With the information I have now, I would put you at ~20% chance for Duke Fuqua Daytime. This could be higher if you address some of the areas I suggested and/or look at the WEMBA or GEMBA programs.

All the best!