The Gunny

First off, much appreciation and a sincere thank you for your service to our country and our people. 16+ years with a record of accomplishment makes me want to salute you! You have a big and important job in managing global sourcing of equipment and personnel for more than 20,000 Marines. I think you would be a tremendous asset to your classmates in an EMBA environment. What’s more, I have no doubt you would greatly benefit from an MBA and allow you to achieve your long-term goal of transitioning to the civilian world in a logistics role for a Fortune 500 company. Acceptance rates in EMBA programs are much higher than they are in traditional two-year MBA programs. Even though your undergraduate degree was online, I get that it had to be that way given the demands of a full-time job. I’d say your odds of getting in are very good and would be better with a higher test score and a degree from a better known institution.

Hey, The Gunny, Julie-Anne Heafey here from mbaMission. I think the P&Q community is a little confused about your score and what it means. I believe that it’s not half of a GRE that you’re reporting here, but the Executive Assessment, a shorter GMAT-like test accepted by many EMBA programs and even a few FT MBA programs now (CBS, NYU). Average score info is pretty hard to come by for many EMBA programs, but from what I’ve heard, mid 150s is a typical Columbia EMBA target, so you seem close. One great thing about EMBA programs is that they often are happy to chat with you and give you a profile assessment, so if you haven’t done that already, I recommend that you do so (though you want to make sure your resume is spiffed up before you do to give them the best picture of your accomplishments). Your undergrad degree is a bit of a wild card for me…it’s certainly understandable given the situation you were in (and kudos to you), but I’m not sure how they’ll evaluate it (it’s a bachelors too right, not just an associate’s degree)…so definitely get some feedback there. I know they really value military candidates, though, and your experience sounds impressive. What’s your employment situation like for the duration of the EMBA program – are you remaining in the military while you do this or are you going to be finishing up and looking for a new job? Since you’re picking some really different geographies here, I’m not sure about the logistics you’re dealing with. For EMBAs, you need letters of support from your employers and you need to consider how you’ll pay and how your time at work vs. time in the program will fit together. If you’re staying in the Marines, how will it work with your service? If transitioning out, have you nailed down your next job yet? More detail would be helpful. I worked with a terrific military EMBA candidate pretty recently who was in a transitional phase and he had to go through a few hoops around the “support” letter. For more info, feel free to sign up for a consultation, or of course you can reach out to your target programs to discuss your options. Best of luck!! I’m rooting for you. Julie-Anne

Hi, this is Melisa from Status Admissions. Having worked with a couple of military logistics guys in different lives, I appreciate the level of coordination and management it takes – and 20,000 marines – wow! For your years of experience, I love that you are targeting EMBA’s. I think you’ll find yourself sitting at the table with others with commensurate experience. From your short term goal, it sounds like you might plan to stay in the military during your MBA tenure, rather than use an MBA as a transition point? Do you have flexibility as to the base you are stationed at while at school? While EMBA programs are designed to work with a professional schedule, you will need to fly in and out and this may be a consideration point for the schools you target. In addition to the letter of commitment mentioned earlier, you will want to think about your recommenders. You ideally will want to use your current reporting officer and then choose someone else that has seen you drive results. If for any reason you can not use your current reporting officer you will want to write an optional essay explaining why. Definitely reach out to programs to talk through your candidacy – some of my EMBA clients have had the opportunity to meet and talk with alumni and current students facilitated by the school. These opportunities really helped them choose the right program for them. Wishing your the best of luck – and thank you for your service.