Applying to business school on a military timeline (Part 1 of 3)

The following is an incredible guide produced by one of MtB newest consultants, who recently graduated from HBS where he served as the Armed Forces Alumni Association (AFAA) Co-President, and previously as the Club's VP for Admissions. Eric volunteered his time to write a comprehensive long term application strategy for those of you thinking of applying to business school this year, or in the years to come.

The guide is broken into parts:

Part 1: Long Term Planning (6-18 months before applying)

Part 2: Application Prep (< 6 months before applying)
Part 3: Execution Mode (Making it all happen)

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PART 1: Long Term Planning (12+ months before applying)

Let’s assume that you’ll be starting school in September 2015.  This is not to say that it’s impossible to start now if you hope to begin school in September 2014—rather, this should serve as an idealtimeline for your process. 

These recommendations are subject to your own operational tempo requirements, so if you know you’ll be deploying soon then you’ll have to visit schools whenever you get a chance.  As for the GMAT, keep in mind that scores are valid for five years so you may prefer to devote a few months to studying and get the GMAT out of the way now even if you don’t plan to start school until 2016 or 2017.

While a few of these notes are HBS-specific (i.e. Analytics), most of them will apply in some form to any school you choose to attend.

Due to the wide variations in requirements to leave active duty, I did not include anything about ensuring that you handle your career obligations in a timely manner.  It goes without saying that you need to submit your resignation letter in time to begin school in the fall of 2015.

I also did not include any information about factors regarding reserve affiliation during business school—that subject is beyond the scope of this blog post and is covered in detail here.

May-July 2013: The 30,000-Foot View

Think really hard about why you want to go to business school and what you’d like to do afterwards.  Hopefully you’ve got a better answer than “because it’s only two years compared to three years for law school” or “because I want to make a lot of money.”  No one expects active duty military to have a strong understanding of the business world and all the opportunities in it, but you need to make an effort to educate yourself about companies, industries, and areas of interest.

If you haven’t already, start keeping a journal where you write notes as you recall experiences that would make for good application essays.

Start saving leave and money.  Assuming you go to business school, you will want to have at least a month or two of terminal leave to decompress and get back in an academic mindset before school starts.  And you need to be fully prepared for the day when DFAS stops putting money into your checking account.  While I don’t recommend living an extravagant lifestyle during business school, you don’t want to let financial considerations force you to decline every amazing opportunity that arises.

June-August 2013: Identify Target Schools

Don’t go solely by “expert” rankings.  Most are biased if not thoroughly flawed, and keep in mind that (like any other article) they exist to sell magazines or generate web traffic.  Rankings are really only useful in a general way—i.e. most publications are in rough agreement on what schools fall in the top 5/10/20, and a top-5 or top-10 school is probably going to give you a better education, more career options, and a stronger network than a top-50 school.  But distinctions between schools in the same general class are much more qualitative.  If you want to do investment banking in New York, then HBS or Wharton are probably better choices than Stanford.  If you’re interested in tech entrepreneurship and want to live on the west coast during school and after graduation, then it wouldn’t make much sense to target Columbia over Haas just because Magazine XYZ has Columbia ranked slightly higher.

A good rule of thumb is that you should apply to one or two “reach” schools, one or two “in zone” schools, and one or two “safety” schools.  Determining where a school falls for you is a very subjective matter, but you can get a rough idea based on the class profiles published on a school’s website.  There you will be able to view the mean/median GPA and GMAT for incoming students at a particular MBA program, and you may also be able to view what undergraduate schools tend to place students at that given program.  Obviously there are plenty of other factors that matter beyond grades and test scores—being a Brigade Commander/First Captain at a service academy, receiving a Silver Star, doing extensive charity work, or having an otherwise exceptional personal story can make you competitive at a school where your numbers alone appear to be below the norms. This blog post and this one may also be helpful for determining your chances of admission.

That recommendation concerning school choices will vary somewhat based on your career situation—if you’re not sure you want to get out of the military, you should be less willing to consider a “safety” school than if you have already dropped your resignation letter.  On a related note, do not apply to begin school in fall 2015 if your service obligation runs until 2016 or beyond.  Schools typically grant one year deferments to active duty members who are involuntarily extended, but you are unlikely to receive the same consideration if apply for a particular year knowing that you will not be able to attend.  Such a decision on your part may also harm your chances of admission if you reapply the following year.  

In no particular order, here are some of the factors I would consider when selecting target schools:

General ranking (see above).  In general, a top-5 school will give you more and better options than a top-10 school, which will give you better options than a top-20 school.  But again, take rankings with a grain of salt.

What the school is “known” for and whether that focus fits your goals.  Similar to my point about rankings, it wouldn’t make sense to target several finance-heavy schools if your interests lie in marketing or startups or general management.

Job placement statistics. These are available on the school’s website and will tell you (among other things) what percentage of students have jobs at graduation, their average starting salary, and companies/locations where they’ll be working.  If you’re dead-set on working for one of a handful of companies, you’ll want to make sure they actually recruit on campus.  Many schools will also make internship data available.

Location.  This factor applies to your two years in school as well as your first post-MBA job.  Schools will generally place more graduates in their respective regions than in other regions.  That’s not to say that it’s impossible to go to, say, UCLA and get a job in NYC—the difference is that you would just have to do much more legwork to get there, and you likely won’t have the benefit of a big NYC network like your counterparts at Stern or Wharton or HBS will have.  If you’re bringing a partner with you, you’ll want to consider his/her ability to continue employment or education in a particular location during the two years you’re in school.  In addition to region, consider the setting.  If you hate the thought of big-city life, then you’re much more likely to enjoy a school like Ross/Tuck as opposed to Stern/Columbia.

Network.  This one is a little hard to judge prior to actually attending a school, but it never hurts to do some homework on where the network is concentrated and what industries and functions they tend to migrate towards.  You can get a bit of a feel for the strength of the network based on your interactions with current students—do they return your emails promptly and helpfully?  Do they offer to answer any questions you have and connect you with other classmates or alums who may be able to help you?  Do they help arrange class visits or informal meetings when you visit campus?  What do current students have to say about their ability to reach out to alums?

Class size.  Do you prefer a larger program or a smaller one?  Do you want to attend class with EMBAs or strictly MBA students?  Class size is a bit of a tradeoff: a smaller class means that you’re likely to have close relationships with a large proportion of your class, but a larger class typically means more elective courses, clubs, social events, recruiting events, and potential business partners.  In the case of HBS, for instance, the overall class is huge but the dynamics of section life (particularly during the first year) tend to make the class feel smaller and more tight-knit.

Academics.  Do you prefer case method or standard lectures?  How important is access to big-name professors?  Do you want complete freedom to pick all your courses or are you ok with having a year of required courses?  What options do you want for field-based learning or independent study?  Do you hope to found a company while you’re still in school?  Are you hoping to complete a joint degree such as a JD/MBA, MBA/MPH, or MBA/MPP?  Do you want to be able to cross-register for classes at other graduate schools within the university?  All of this information should be readily available on schools’ websites.

Clubs and ECAs.  Club information is available on schools’ websites and should include any conferences, guest speakers, or trips sponsored by the club during the year.  You can also get a feel for future employment by speaking with club members; for instance, if you want to be a consultant, then a school’s consulting club can tell you how many members received consulting internships or full-time offers, and which firms and cities they were in.  

Culture and fit.  You will get more out of your MBA if you are comfortable in your surroundings and with the type of people attracted by that school.  The best way to evaluate this aspect is by visiting the school, attending a few classes, and meeting students and alums.

Once you’ve identified your target schools (ideally about 4-6 schools) begin learning everything you can about them.  Study their websites, follow all their Twitter accounts, and contact students and alums.  

Decide which round you will apply to each particular school.  All things being equal, apply as early as possible—though trying to complete more than three applications in a single round is not advisable.  That recommendation comes with the caveat that you should not rush things simply to apply early.  A great application submitted in R2 is better than a good application submitted in R1.  Like everything else in life, practice makes perfect—you’re likely to find that your R2 applications are better than your R1 applications even though they do not seem as difficult.  And if you’re confident that you could boost your GMAT by 30-40 points with a few more months of study, you may elect to postpone your dream schools until R2.  This blog post gives some more good advice on the subject.

It is not advisable to apply in R3 unless you have an exceptional set of circumstances.  Most schools admit 80-90% of their class during R1 and R2, so there simply are not many seats remaining by the time they get to R3.  Applying in R3 also puts you at a disadvantage for financial aid and housing, and gives you limited time to plan your transition out of the military.   

September 2013-March 2014: Visit Target Schools

Work through the each school’s admissions website to sign up for any Q&A sessions, tours, and class visits they may offer.  Do not show up on campus without checking with someone beforehand—some schools do not hold classes every day of the week, and you also do not want to schedule a visit during a heavy exam or recruiting period.  If you cannot schedule an official class visit, ask current students (particularly veterans) if they can get you into class for an informal visit.  If you cannot visit a school due to operational or financial considerations, see if their admissions department sponsors any informational sessions in your area—most adcoms travel quite a bit prior to the application season.  Most schools also offer podcasts, webinars, or Skype sessions these days, all of which can be helpful if you’re deployed or stationed overseas.

January-May 2014: GMAT Prep

These few months will likely be the most painful of your application process.  However, if you do them correctly and rigorously, you’ll only have to go through them once.  Start with the full-length practice exam available at MBA.com to help you assess your current level of preparedness.  Unless you’ve been doing a lot of math and academic reading since finishing undergrad, you’ll probably find that you need to do quite a bit of studying.  Three to five hours a week for a few months should be enough for most people, but your mileage may vary.  There are plenty of good self-study programs out there (Manhattan, Princeton Review, etc.) or you can sign up for an intensive, in-person course if that route is a better fit for your learning style.  Make sure to take at least one or two full-length tests under realistic testing conditions before your actual test date.  Give this blog post a read for another perspective on the GMAT.

We'll be releasing parts 2 and 3 shortly...

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Written by Eric (eric@MilitaryToBusiness.com), a former Marine Infantry Officer from the HBS Class of 2013.