25, M, White

University academics & extracurriculars:
-Attended a private university ~#50 on USN&WR and studied economics (B.S., requiring additional math)
-Never got an A- throughout college, received several academic awards
-Very involved in Army ROTC throughout college, including a summer abroad at a foreign military academy and serving as the Cadet Battalion Commander (Student President) my senior year.
-Completed an internship for the local city government
-VP of a club sport

Work experience:
-I’ve spent nearly my entire time in the Army as an Intelligence Officer stationed in Europe (3 years and counting). I’ve held roles heavy on leadership and analysis, including leading a 27-person analysis team. I’ve conducted missions in several European countries, most focused on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Extracurriculars post university:
-Almost all my meaningful extracurriculars/community involvement post-university are through the Army because I’ve lived in a small overseas community. I almost hesitate to list the following activities because in the Army everything you do is viewed as part of your job as a leader, but these are both outside my typical job duties:
-I’m heavily involved in the Army’s sponsorship program, helping soldiers and their families relocate to Europe. I started out being paired with soldiers as an individual sponsor and then became a sponsorship coordinator, where I oversee many sponsors and their inbound soldiers.
-I teach personal finance classes to soldiers and mentor multiple soldiers on financial issues with 1-on-1 counseling sessions.

Why MBA & career goals:
-I’ll be leaving the Army next summer and want to attend a full-time MBA program for the education, career services, and network it provides. For very similar reasons, I want to spend several years working as a management consultant (ideally for MBB) directly afterward, to grow my private-sector experience and connections. If I’m unable to recruit into consulting, my alternate plan is to recruit for an LDP, though I don’t yet know the industry or function I’d be most interested in. My long-term goal is entrepreneurship with social impact, but similarly I don’t yet know the industry I’d target. Since I currently have minimal private sector experience, I’m hoping to refine this goal during and after my MBA.

School Selection:
-Each of these schools has strong consulting placement, and I believe each would be a strong cultural fit for me. Each has unique programs/strengths/values that appeal to me. Additionally, I’m hoping for scholarship offers, which to my understanding are more likely at schools where my stats are higher above the averages. I’d also prefer not to go to school in CA or NYC.

Areas I’d love any feedback on:
1) My current application strategy is quality over quantity: I’m only applying to four schools in round 1 and considering dropping one school to make it three. I’m aware that most people apply to more, but I’ve invested lots of time researching schools and preparing my applications, so I’m optimistic about the admissions results and believe they’d each be a strong cultural fit for me. Do you have any feedback on school selection? Is it unwise for me to only apply to 3-4?
2) I won’t have any G.I. Bill due to the Army paying for my undergraduate degree and not serving beyond my four-year commitment. I’m hoping for scholarship, because I’d prefer to limit my debt as much as I can while still setting myself up for career success. Do I have strong odds of getting a scholarship?
3) Any feedback on my goals/reasons behind my goals? Do I need to develop more specifics on my long-term goal or back-up short-term goal for my application?
4) Since I’m not yet set on any specific industry/function for an LDP, is it worth being a consideration in my school selection? Or, if consulting doesn’t work out, should I just go with the options available on-campus wherever I end up?
5) Will currently having only 3 years of experience (4 at matriculation) hurt my admissions chances? Almost all veterans I’ve seen matriculate to top schools have at least 5-7 years and the G.I. Bill. I’m also curious if schools prefer military candidates with the G.I. Bill since they often don’t need as much/any scholarship to afford the school. Is ability to afford the school (and therefore necessity for scholarship) a consideration in admissions decisions or awarding scholarship?
6) Will it be viewed negatively that my post-university extracurriculars are through my job? Will they be viewed as true extracurriculars?

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