Military to MBA - Advice from MIT Sloan

Moving from military to the MBA? It's nearly a natural fit.

That's what Assistant Director of Admissions at the MIT Sloan School of Management -- Barry Reckley -- says of military personnel who go for their MBA. "With the qualifications and with the inbred basic leadership capabilities that folks have when they're coming out of the military, it's almost a natural fit."

Reckley says it's not an issue if an applicant doesn't have a financial or business background. "In many ways, it's more beneficial, because they bring a different tool set into the mix. (Although) that applicant may have to go back and maybe take a course in accounting or microeconomics, or something to that effect."

If you're military, applying to MIT Sloan, he advises you to stay clear of using what he calls alphabet soup. You might want to run your application past a military alum to be sure you're communicating clearly for non-military.

Sloan has a veterans association. Sloan waives the application fee. And, he says Sloan works with the VA, so there are financial advantages available. All the details are in our upcoming show on MBA Podcaster, with a dozen more experts speaking out. We'll let you know when it's posted.

Best Business Schools: Whose graduates have the most debt? The least?

We all know US News & World Report just issued their 2010 rankings for business schools but did you know they also measured the average debt load of the graduates from top schools around the country?

This shouldn't make or a break a decision about where you go for your MBA but it is interesting to see the differences in debt, especially among the top 10 schools. One cause of significant differences in debt load has to do with how many TA'ships they offer or other jobs on campus that help pay for tuition. You should add the question of average debt load and how the school helps alleviate debt by offering teaching positions to MBA students to the list of questions you have for the schools you're considering attending, if you're in the lucky position of deciding between schools.

Top 10 With Highest Debt:
1. University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
Philadelphia, PA
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $98,668

2. Yale University
New Haven, CT
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $91,800

3. Dartmouth College (Tuck)
Hanover, NH
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $90,654

4. Vanderbilt University (Owen)
Nashville, TN
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $85,780

5. University of Chicago (Booth)
Chicago, IL
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $85,614

6. Duke University (Fuqua)
Durham, NC
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $82,353

7. Harvard University
Boston, MA
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $80,525

8. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross)
Ann Arbor, MI
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $79,593

9. Cornell University (Johnson)
Ithaca, NY
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $78,000

10. Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)
Pittsburgh, PA
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $75,240


Top 10 with Lowest Debt Load:
10. Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, KY
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $6,386

9. Seton Hall University (Stillman)
South Orange, NJ
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $6,200

8. Wright State University (Soin)
Dayton, OH
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $6,000

7. Texas Southern University (Jones)
Houston, TX
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $4,000

6. University of Vermont
Burlington, VT
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $3,900

5. Fayetteville State University
Fayetteville, NC
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $3,615

4. New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, NM
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $3,500

3. East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $3,000

2. University of Nevada--Reno
Reno, NV
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $2,000

1. Cleveland State University (Nance)
Cleveland, OH
Average indebtedness of 2008 graduating class $0


Find the full list here:
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/debt