If You're Military, MBA Might Be a Good Fit

"Military personnel have the leadership skills, the ethics, drive, and decision-making skills that major corporations want, however, they are often lacking the theoretical business know-how." That's what Ethan Hanabury, Senior Associate Dean for Degree Programs at Columbia Business School observes.
Those unique skills -- and the lack of a few key skills -- lead many military personnel to MBA schools. Dean Hanabury suggests military applying to schools such as Columbia, reach out to military already on campus to get tips to writing strong applications. He also says military should highlight their copious leadership skills which corporations find tremendously attractive. Another suggestion -- chances are it's not easy to address the GMAT while overseas, but practice, take classes, whatever it takes to do well on the test.
Another tip Dean Hanabury has - keep in mind if you're military that your experience may not translate well for admissions officers who perhaps have not had any military experience. So, in the application process, translate that experience to general terms, like leadership, and decision-making.
Columbia is in the Yellow Ribbon Program, and also participates in the GI Bill and the Post 911 GI Bill. Hanabury reminds you to network with veterans for great recommendations.
Hanabury is just one of the more than a dozen guests on our upcoming shows Military MBA: From the Military to Corporate America: Getting In and the second show focuses on Fitting In. We'll let you know when these post.

Going from the Military to the MBA - A Student's Perspective

"Once you combine the leadership and management experience of a military member with the formal business training you get out of an MBA program, that person is a powerful and valuable resource for the corporation. So it's a really great value proposition for the student, as well as for the company, and therefore for the school."
That statement comes from an Air Force veteran who served six years as an intelligence officer. Tremain "Trey" Wheatley is now in his second year at Darden School of Business. Trey is one of more than a dozen interviews I did for the two shows Military MBA: From the Military to Corporate America: Getting In and Fitting In.
Trey told me he was initially drawn to getting his MBA to enhance his skill set to expand his foundation. He had a lot to say to other military about how to make the transition. He says he first reached out to two members of the Darden Military Association -- a strong group on campus. He says since they understand the same language, they know that the new guys and women are going to need to know where to buy suits, how to interview, and how to craft their essays for their application. Trey says the second year MBA students -- who were former military -- are the best resources.
As for choice of MBA school, Trey suggests military look for schools with a military association, and see if those schools waive application fees for military.
He also says Darden appealed to him because it seemed well-suited for the military mind, given its general management focus. Trey likes how everyone in the program is trained to think like a CEO.
We'll let you know when the two Military MBA shows post on MBA Podcaster.

The DOD Weighs in on What Military Should Know When They Go For Their MBA

The federal government offers a strong helping hand to military personnel who decide to further pursue their education. This information came out in a few interviews for our two shows Military MBA: From the Military to Corporate America: Getting In and Fitting In.

I talked to Program Manager Geraldine Hicks, who is the Education Service Specialist at the Army Continuing Education System...to Joe Cothron, the Deptuy Director for Army Education in the Adjutant General's office...and, to Lt Col Mike Moose, the Public Affairs Officer for US Army Human Resources command, who was on active duty, on leave from his civilian career at Radio Shack. Keep in mind that the information will vary for other branches.

You're military? You get to take the GMAT for free -- one time.

There are two programs. One is what Joe is connected with -- the voluntary education program, which is when a soldier comes to the Army Education Center, and states that he or she wants to go back to school. Geraldine says the soldiers receive 100-percent tuition-assistance. But, Joe says if you're in the voluntary program, you'll be paying for your own books.
The second program is if the military has a mission requirement - and then the advanced education is fully-funded.

Mike was on active duty, then got his MBA, and, while working for Radio Shack, got called back to active duty. He says the GI Bill got him to the next level. And, Mike says his MBA not only gave him a career boost in the early Radio Shack years, it also helped him in his army reserve career.

Stay tuned -- we've interviewed more than a dozen experts for these two shows. We'll let you know when they're posted on MBA Podcaster.com. And, I'll be blogging about the rest of the participants.

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.

Military --- Good Fit for Corporate Life

The next generation of CEO's could very well spring from the military. And Melissa Knueven -- the Associate Director at the Global Citizen Initiatives at the Graduate Management Admission Council -- says military are strong young leaders, who have been tested under stressful situations most of us could never even imagine. They are able, she says, to solve problems with imperfect information. Knueven says, add the MBA, and you have a strong leader who now has an operations, accounting, and finance background -- a holistic view of business.

I interviewed Melissa for an upcoming show we call Military MBA: From the Military to Corporate America. There are two shows, actually, one subtitled Getting In, and the other is Fitting In. I'll let you know when they're posted on MBAPodcaster.com. And, while we're explaining things -- Melissa is with the council that owns the GMAT and the Association of Graduate Schools of Business around the world.

If you are military, and, at this point, searching for the right fit to pursue your MBA, Melissa says the best schools will be in close proximity to military installations, offer part-time or flex-time programs, and they'll have strong military networks and alumni base.

She says look for military-friendly schools. GMAC considers schools military-friendly if they do things like waive the application fee, they have financial aid available, and they offer a one-year deferment policy, keeping the spot for MBA students who may be deployed.

We have interviewed more than a dozen people for this show, so keep watching this space. One more comment from Melissa Knueven with GMAC:

"Whether you're transitioning out of the military into corporate life, or staying in, career-military, the MBA combined with that experience just makes these people forces to be reckoned with."