Matt Johnson ⋅ Chicago, IL EY-Parthenon ⋅ 10 years experience

The best schools for veterans are the best schools. Period. Plenty of schools will take your money, but only a few will provide a good return on investment. At a minimum, the schools you consider should have an Employment Report so you can see what jobs their graduates are landing and what they're being paid. Graduates of the M7 schools are getting $150,000 base for roles finance and consulting.

Here's the rankings for business schools according to Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2019/09/18/americas-best-business-schools-2019-chicago-booth-ranks-on-top/#27861ef1269f

Here's the rankings according to the Economist:
https://www.economist.com/whichmba/full-time-mba-ranking

Here's the US News rankings:
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/mba-rankings

I agree with Robert that geography matters since certain brands carry more weight in certain parts of the country. The more levers you have to pull (change of location, change of function, change of industry), the more difficult recruiting can be - and as a vet, you're likely already pulling two.

From my own network, I can tell you that top-ranked schools with strong veterans clubs are Chicago (Booth), Northwestern (Kellogg), Penn (Wharton), Michigan (Ross), UC-Berkeley (Haas), Duke (Fuqua), Virginia (Darden), and Texas (McCombs). Contact the vet club at each of your target schools to learn more about the culture, recruiting, and how well their placement is in your desired industry.

Also be sure to look into Service2School - they're another non-profit that can hook you up with discounts on GMAT/GRE study materials as well as application support from current MBA candidates and alumni.

Mario Rodriquez ⋅ Tampa, FL CareerSource Tampa Bay ⋅ 10 years experience

The University of South Florida is highly rated for their Veterans Services department and their business school is also highly rated nationally. If you want a school that treats Veterans right, then look into the USF Bulls!

Jennifer Polhemus ⋅ Santa Monica, CA Precision Research (self-employed) ⋅ 25 years experience

Check out University of Southern California's top-ranked B-school here:

https://www.marshall.usc.edu/career-services/graduate-career-services/who-we-serve/veterans

(Disclaimer: this is my alma mater :))

Robert Rahni ⋅ White Plains, NY Fordham University ⋅ 13 years experience

Hi Ryan,

Thank you for your service and for having posed this question. Are you leaning toward one particular geographic area of the country over another or are you completely wide open at this point?

If the latter, my initial thoughts is to target larger cities that have a business hub (i.e. New York, Boston, Chicago, etc.) or an emerging business presence (i.e. Nashville, Charlotte/Raleigh).

I spent six years assisting military service members, veterans and their families at a mid-size 4-year non-profit institution of higher learning in NYC, make the seamless, at times challenging transition from combat to classroom and from classroom to career. I'd love to provide some additional information and even offer some specific schools who currently have strong veteran program infrastructures in place.

Bear in mind depending on the business tier of the school, the GMAT minimum score may vary. Looking forward to hearing from you if you would like some additional information.

Best,
Robert

Bob Molluro ⋅ Wilmington, DE Benchmark Consulting Services ltd. ⋅ 30 years experience

St. Joseph's in Philadelphia has a program where Vet Business Owners come once a year to a fully paid week long program that helps them to build their business.

William Munroe ⋅ Dunstable, MA Nominet, CyGlass ⋅ 20 years experience

Hi Ryan,
When I left the Navy as a Lieutenant some 20 years ago, I went right into a full-time MBA program at Babson College. In a class of 60, there were three ex-military students. I found that to be a big advantage ( I was better prepared for the workload and teamwork required). I looked at Georgetown - excellent school with a big military network there, and William and Mary - also an excellent school with a fairly large military network. I would recommend looking beyond just schools where ex-military folks go. Your skills from the Navy will give you a leg up on civilians, and you will be differentiated.

I would also get your GMAT done first. Your score will have a lot to do with what schools will look at you. There are a lot of MBA programs you will certainly find one, But there are only about 100 really good programs, and you want to get into one of those so after graduation you land a job and a good paycheck.

Different schools have different specialties like international business, entrepreneurship, finance, etc. So think about the type of job you want after you complete your MBA and match that to your school specialty.

US News has as good a list and research as any. Start there.
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/mba-rankings

For me, Babson was the best school for entrepreneurship, and I have been doing startups ever since. It has been both a successful and rewarding career.

If you want more info, you can email me at will.munroe63@gmail.com

Best of Luck
Will