Special Operations in top business schools; does it matter?
Does Wharton have a preference for admitting members from elite military units? Or do members of elite military units prefer to go to Wharton?
Similarly, does Harvard have a bias against members from elite Special Operations communities, or is there just a case of statistically insignificant variation?
Upon speaking with several students recently, I learned of the following:
Wharton:
Similarly, does Harvard have a bias against members from elite Special Operations communities, or is there just a case of statistically insignificant variation?
Upon speaking with several students recently, I learned of the following:
Wharton:
- Class of 2014: 3 Navy SEALs and 2 Army Special Forces (out of around 30 veterans)
- Class of 2015: 3 Navy SEALs and 3 Army Special Forces (out of around 30 veterans)
Harvard:
- Class of 2014: 2 Navy SEALs and 2 Army Special Forces (out of 47 veterans)
- Class of 2015: 1 unconfirmed Navy SEAL (out of 53 veterans)
Based on this, 18% of Wharton's veteran class come from elite military units, while only 4-5% of Harvard's military class comes from the most elite military units. Harvard's number of around 4% is consistent with previous classes as well (usually around 2 people per graduating class).
The most elite military units represent less than 1% of the US military, so it's not surprising that there are not a lot more of them in top business schools, but the difference between Harvard and Wharton on this case seems like it may be more than a coincidence.
Do members of the most elite military units, those that have been most heavily screened, assessed, trained, and carefully selected to perform the military's most challenging missions - represent a group of people who will perform better at business school and beyond? The question is actually not so simple to answer. Would a former logistics officer perform better as a consultant at McKinsey than a former Navy SEAL? I do not have data to support either conclusion, but it appears that Wharton and Harvard may be approaching admissions differently for this subset of niche military applicants - whether intentionally or not is completely not clear.

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