Naval Academy, Wharton MBA, McKinsey

Age is Just a Number: How I beat the odds, got into Wharton, and landed a job at McKinsey

One of the most frequently asked questions I get from fellow vets is: am I too old for an MBA? I'm writing to tell you that you are not. My story is not typical, but it is a testament to the fact that there is no set age when someone, especially a vet, has to get an MBA. Instead, the degree is a step in your journey that you must take when you are ready. That being said, there are several critical pieces of advice you should take to maximize your chances of success if you come from a less traditional background.

My story: I am a Naval Academy graduate who had a less than stellar, sub 3.0 GPA as a liberal arts major. At the time, I was not focused on excelling academically and mainly aimed to stay "sat" (off academic probation). I focused more on leadership and my extra-curricular activities, which included club sports and community service. I underperformed without question. However, I had a high SAT score, which gave got me the green-light to interview for the elite nuclear submarine community. I worked my tail off, made it through the battery of exams, year-and-a-half of nuclear engineering school, and completed a tour as a division officer on a fast-attack submarine. I had a follow-on assignment in the Middle East, where I learned basic Arabic and saw the region's power struggle firsthand. After seven-and-a-half years on Active Duty, I hung up my uniform and headed to New York City, where I sought to make it in the world of broadcast journalism.

My time in New York was complete 180 from anything I did in the military. I had no dependable source of income or routine but had freedom and autonomy over my life. I hustled day to day and was able to land a short-term, behind the scenes role at The Daily Show as part of a veterans' immersion program, and even acted in some fellow veterans' short films. However, after half-a-year, I had depleted my savings and saw no long-term career prospects materialize. Therefore, I decided to put my ambition to be the next Jon Stewart on hold and pursue a "real job." I went to several placement firms but had the best success with the Service Academy Career Conference (SACC). I highly advise any academy graduate who is close to separating to attend. I secured a public sector consulting job through a contact I made at the SACC, moved to D.C., and started my career inside the beltway.

After a year, I grew bored with the work and signed up to mobilize overseas as a Naval Reservist. I deployed to the Middle East, where I served as a mission planner for a Special Forces team. This experience led my firm to select me to serve as a defense consultant for a Middle Eastern country when I returned from my deployment. The opportunity seemed exciting, so, I jumped on it.

Several years later, I was thirty-four, living in a beautiful home, on a promising track with my firm's Middle Eastern office. It seemed that I had made it, right? However, I asked myself: "Is this the direction I want my life to go?" I had either served in the military or worked in the defense industry for almost all of my adult life. I wanted a change, but my background and experience were so specific, it made pivoting difficult. The best solution was simple: get an MBA from a top program. However, I was over thirty, had thirteen years of work experience, and had a less than stellar undergraduate GPA. Hardly an ideal candidate. So, how did I beat the odds and get into Wharton?

1. I beat the GMAT. If you have a weak undergraduate GPA, you can make up for it by crushing the GMAT. People often target 700 as their goal. That’s fine if you have a good (3.5+) undergraduate GPA. But, if you are in the low 3.0/high 2.0 range, you should shoot to score over 730 to compensate for your GPA. Getting this score takes a lot of work. In my case, I spent about 200 hours over four months of studying. I did over 1,000 practice problems from the Official GMAT Guide and completed eight practice tests before I took the exam. My hard work paid off, and I scored well above the average for every business school in the country. My score went a long way to removing doubts adcoms had about my academic capabilities, given my sub-par GPA.

2. I developed clear answers to the questions, "Why an MBA? Why now?" If you have significant work experience, as I did, adcoms are bound to wonder what you hope to gain from the program. In my case, I hoped to use the lessons I learned serving and working overseas to find economic methods to drive social change. I sought to leverage my experience and combine it with the resources of a top MBA program to pivot to the next phase of my career. Before you start your applications, I advise you to sit down and write a concise one to two sentence answer to the question: why do I want an MBA?

3. I narrowed my focus and leveraged my connections. I chose Wharton as my top school because I had several friends who had graduated from it, and each had an incredible experience. The school has a well-deserved reputation for being very vet friendly. Furthermore, I knew its name would open doors for me professionally. Therefore, I contacted my Wharton friends to get their advice on my application essays and resume. The best part about working with your friends is that they will give you brutal, honest feedback. One of them tore my resume apart and said it was one of the poorest written he had seen. Although that feedback was tough to swallow, it made all the difference as I revised my resume and essays over a dozen times until each was polished to perfection. By narrowing my focus, I ensured that I devoted considerable time to getting my application right. I advise applying to your top one or two schools in Round 1 so you can really focus on those applications. Work on two to four for Round 2 while you are waiting for your decision from your dream schools. If you do not have friends in your top programs, reach out to the school’s veterans’ club (almost every MBA program has one) or contact Service to School to be matched with an adviser who went to that school.

Getting a Job at McKinsey

My hard work paid off when I received the phone call that informed me that I had achieved my goal and been accepted to Wharton. However, I knew that this was only one more important step in my journey. I had to perform at Wharton if I wanted to achieve my career objectives. I set my goal as securing a job at McKinsey after my Wharton graduation. The Firm does numerous pro-bono, social impact projects throughout the world. Whether I stayed for a full career or left after a few years, I knew McKinsey was the best place for me to leverage my experience to achieve my long-term career ambition. However, I had heard numerous rumors that “McKinsey likes its Associates young” and that “Thirty is too old to get a job as a McKinsey Associate.” So, should I have listened to these stories and targeted a different role? Not at all. My story shows just how wrong these rumors are. So, how did I get a job at McKinsey?

1. I put my head down during the first semester and worked my tail off. Most MBA programs have a significant social component with numerous parties and trips. I ignored all of these during my first semester at Wharton. I worked diligently academically to ensure my grades were sufficient to keep me in good academic standing. I then began doing case prep in October, three months before my internship interviews. Of note, gaining an internship places you in an optimal position to receive a full-time offer to return. The most reliable way to earn a full-time offer at a top consulting firm is to intern there after your first year. Many people suffer from FOMO during their MBAs. I urge you all to remember that you will have a second-year where you can party and travel. You will find it much easier to enjoy yourself once you have a job offer in your back pocket and a signing bonus in your bank account.

2. I got to know veterans at McKinsey and found an office where I had strong connections. McKinsey, and most other consulting firms, will host networking events at its offices for veteran groups at top MBA programs. I was agnostic as to the city where I wanted to live in and instead focused on finding one with a tight group of veterans. I hit it off with a few and made it a point to follow up with calls and emails to each of these vets. They were all eager to help me and share their advice on making it through the interview process. You will be surprised how much vets are open to assisting other vets if you just ask for it. I selected an office with a strong vet presence whose work aligned with my particular interests as my top choice. I then worked through several practice cases with the vets in that office during the recruiting period. I am not sure just how much of an edge this experience gave me in the application process, but I ended up receiving an interview invitation for an internship at my first choice of office.

3. I completed fifty practice cases before my interview. Many have completed significantly fewer practice cases and been successful. However, I did not want to leave anything to chance. My interview was in mid-January, so I stayed home and did not travel over Christmas break using the time to practice my cases over and over again. I also went through case math prep and committed several common frameworks to memory. When I went into my interview, I felt confident and ready. My successful result was not due to any extraordinary brilliance on my part, but rather months of focused, dedicated preparation. I received a full-time offer following my internship and enjoyed my second year at Wharton immensely.

Conclusion:

I hope my story has dispelled many myths surrounding MBA applications and the management consulting career field. At whatever career stage you are at, it is never too late to change course and find a fulfilling career. In closing, I would like to leave you with three simple pieces of advice you can use to find professional success:

1. Set a clear, achievable goal
2. Leverage you network to help you achieve it
3. Focus on it and work your tail off to do whatever it takes to achieve it

West Point, Wharton MBA, McKinsey, Private Equity

I got out of the Army in 2015, after a 10-year career split between the Infantry and Special Forces.  I attended my first choice MBA program, the Wharton School, between 2015 and 2017.  Studying for the GMAT was challenging after 10 years of only doing ammo math and counting for monthly inventories.  I totally fell on my face on my first go round and had to do a 30-day rapid reset (including studying in my truck at lunch time outside our SCIF).  I managed to pull out a 700 2 days before the R1 admissions deadline.  

Leaving the Special Forces regiment and the Army more broadly was scary as hell.  Having attended West Point, I'd been in some part of the institution since I was 18 and leaving as a 32 year old man left room for plenty of growing up.  To start at Wharton, we drove from Colorado Springs and rented a 3-bedroom brownstone in Philadelphia.  The rent was more than more mortgage on our starter home in Colorado and I knew I was in for a financial journey over the next 2 years.  

I can't say enough about the Wharton Program or the Veterans Club there.  Both were incredibly welcoming to me and my family (yea - I went to full time business school as the primary breadwinner for my wife and 2 boys).  The pre-work ( basic accounting terminology and math for business) was actually challenging but super helpful as I got going.  Over the next two years, I was able to study a variety of business topics (everything from operations to board relations).  

Wharton uses a 'majors' program to allow students to focus their studies.  I chose business analytics (change to round out that quant side) and entrepreneurial management (the more inspiring side of business).  

Obviously the point of going to business school is to get a job.  A fellow West Pointer had interned at McKinsey & Company and got me really excited about consulting.  After my first semester, I recruited for consulting and secured an internship at Deloitte in their Strategy & Operations practice.  It was a phenomenal experience and as my first real civilian job, helped me discover alot about what I wanted and didn't want in a job.  My second year, I re-recruited and was hired by McKinsey's Operations Practice

I started as an Associate at McKinsey 2 weeks after business school graduation.  Many of my classmates went on round-the-world trips but I had a family to take care of and needed the income.  The VA loan program did allow me to buy a house in a great suburb coming right out of school and was able to land cleanly into the suburbs.  

The next 2.5 years at McKinsey were a whirlwind of interesting business problems, personal growth, and long nights making Excel models / Powerpoint decks.  I'm incredibly grateful for the experience and mentorship that the Firm affords.  I was able to work in industries ranging from chemicals to big tech to aerospace.  I deliberately avoided consumer goods and health care because I don't find them professionally interesting.  

A word about McKinsey Operations and operations more broadly.  This differs greatly from the military and many in the strategy arena may discount this part of consulting.  I felt just the opposite - the chance to be out on the front lines of various businesses where value is actually generated was really exciting to me.  Also, we wore jeans and steel toe boots more often than suits.  Veterans business school grads do extremely well in operations - your ability to bring rapport building, basic analytics, and business acumen to the hard hat environment is a rare commodity.  If this appeals to you, seek out McKinsey Ops - there really isn't a similar capability at any of the other big firms.  

The performance culture at McKinsey and access to resources equates to an ability to drive impact quickly and powerfully with clients.  While this part of the job was amazing, two key shortfalls became quite obvious to me.  (1) Ownership - while I felt ownership of my work stream and later my team, McKinsey studies did not motivate me in the same was as I'd felt when commanding an ODA or an infantry platoon.  Many others at the Firm did not have this problem but it was clearly something I would need to solve for post-MBB.  (2) Travel - Even with connectivity apps, consulting is a primarily face-to-face business.  I had 3 kids and a wife when I left the Firm and being gone 4-5 days a week had gotten old.  The points helped us take some great vacations, but ultimately I wanted to find a job where I worked where I live.  

Ultimately I left McKinsey to pursue a position in a private equity-backed industrial company in the same city where I lived.  I became involved with the purchase sponsor during the diligence phase and pieced things together until we got to closing.  I joined the company as the COO and from day one was able to solve for the two key gaps from consulting.  Not to say things were or are perfect, but my job satisfaction has gone up immensely post-consulting.  That said, I'm incredibly thankful for the business school and consulting experiences as I've been able to bring in modern business practices and analytics to the business.   

West Point, Michigan MBA

I’m glad that I get to have the opportunity to share my transitioning experience because I think it is something that veterans need to do, especially considering all the help I received from others who transitioned before me.  There are many different paths to the civilian side, some obviously better than others, so I hope you take my story and insights to make a better decision for yourself.  I’m not going to answer “why” you should transition, that question should be dealt with personally, but I will try to impart information on “how” I transitioned into my current role in a leadership development program.

A little about myself, I spent 8 years active duty where I did a deployment to Iraq and also did a command.  When my wife and I decided that I should leave the service, I did some research and found that there were 3 possible paths, the JMO recruiter route, apply directly to companies, or get my MBA.  I will post my thoughts on each of these options based off of my own observations and experiences. 

After some lengthy research I thought it was a no-brainer that I should get my MBA.  Having come out the other side, I am glad I took that path and have zero regrets.  I left active duty to attend a top 10 MBA program and now I work for a major industrial company as part of their leadership development program. 

JMO Recruiters

What frustrated me most about the JMO recruiters was their lack of transparency.  They essentially wanted me to jump all into their program without letting me know who their partner companies are, where I will end up geographically, how much my compensation will be, or what my career path will be.  I had several friends who went the JMO route only to regret their decision and end up leaving their companies (within a year or two) to get their MBA’s.  When asking why they got out, the general consensus was that they felt that they got pigeon-holed into a role with little upward mobility.  The sole reason for getting their MBA’s were to gain upward mobility.   Also, the compensation pre-MBA versus post-MBA is pretty drastic.  It made no sense to me to do a lateral transition into a civilian role when getting an MBA would have allowed me to do an upward transition.  That was pretty much a no-brain argument for me to skip the JMO route and go directly to get my MBA.

Applying Directly to Companies

One interesting fact is that I had previously applied to my current employer while I was in active duty (pre-MBA) and got denied.  I probably applied to 10 different jobs online, including entry level jobs for recent college graduates, only to get rejected by all of them.  It’s funny to think that at one point my current employer didn’t think I was fit for an entry level job but later on they found me fit to be part of their MBA leadership development program which is a lot more difficult to get into.  I told this story to my coworkers and learned that whenever new roles are created in the company, hiring managers generally know in advance who they want to hire (almost always someone within the company with a good reputation).  Despite this, they are still required to post the job online.  Most likely no one probably even bothered to look at any of the applications that came from online. 

To understand why, you have to look at it from a company’s perspective.  Hiring an outsider is a major risk, including veterans (although this is starting to change).  A lot of things can go wrong with a new hire (i.e. not a cultural fit, unable to perform their role, makes poor decisions, etc.).  All of these variables could have costly ramifications to the company.  Because of this, it is much safer to hire someone who is already in the company, knows the industry, performs well, and has a solid reputation within the company.  This makes it much more important to gain face time with the company to allow them to properly evaluate you, which leads to my next point of discussion, getting an MBA. 

MBA

When applying for an MBA program one thing I noticed is that the name of your MBA program matters and can be an automatic disqualifier if it isn’t “name brand”.  I noticed that the highly reputable companies that held recruiting events at my school only held events in a select list of other schools that seem to reflect the MBA rankings.  To understand why, you have to look at this from a company’s perspective.  If you only had a limited amount of HR resources to scour the country and find the best talent for your company, where would you send them to?  They don’t have the time or money to read through every single online application or visit every MBA program, hence they only concentrate their efforts in the top programs.  General rule of thumb is to attend a top 25 program, although the higher ranked your program the better. 

I witnessed a similar occurrence again in my current job.  When my manager/senior manager were selecting summer interns, they pretty much filtered the 600+ applications by Ivy League schools or schools with strong engineering programs.  I don’t blame them and I would have done the same if I was given the daunting task of going through 600+ applications.

Another added benefit to getting an MBA from a top program is that you get valuable face to face exposure with companies of interest.  As mentioned before, companies spend a lot of money and time sending representatives on campus to get to know their applicants.  This is much more valuable than submitting your application online where little attention is given to your application.  Through these interactions you can actually network with the right people, get your foot in the door, and then work towards getting an offer.

I chose my MBA program because I knew that my dream company (current employer) recruited heavily there as opposed to other top programs.  I was able to network with representatives from my current employer when they came to campus, discuss my ambitions to work for them, and demonstrate that I have the skills and experiences to succeed in their company.  From this, I was able to “get my foot in the door”, obtain an interview opportunity, and eventually get a job offer.  Without getting my MBA, I wouldn’t have been able to have this opportunity.

Leadership Development Roles

When people think of post-business school careers, they mostly think of consulting and investment banking.  Another career path that doesn’t get as much attention, that I took, are leadership development roles.  These are programs that many companies have where you rotate positions every few months/years within the company.  The purpose is to give you a wide variety of experiences so that you not only learn the business, company, and industry but are also prepared to take a manager/senior manager role coming out of the program.  The company essentially decided that you have the raw talents to become a future leader and they are grooming you for future roles of greater responsibility.

Below are some things that I want to highlight being part of a leadership development program.

1.       Instant Recognition.  These leadership development programs are pretty high visibility within companies so whenever you rotate, the reputation of the program follows you.  Most likely a lot of directors, VP’s, and maybe the CEO might have been an alum of the program so being associated with the program instantly puts weight on your name.  Because a lot of high performers have come through the program before you, you will most likely be greeted with open arms wherever you rotate.  The downside to this is that you are automatically expected to perform at the same high level as the people who came in before you.

2.       Network within the Company.  Being part of a select program within a company, you are automatically part of a strong network of those who are either in the program or have graduated from the program.  This is great because of you find a role that interests you, you can leverage your network to pull strings to get that role.  That is how I got my current role and I am having a blast going to work every day.

3.       Overhead Protection.  Another benefit is the added protection you have within the company.  Although I will be rotating in various groups within the company, I am still technically part of the leadership development program in my employer’s HR systems.  This gives me some sort of overhead protection in two ways.  First, if there is a re-org going on and positions get cancelled, I am pretty much covered.  Second, if I end up a role where I am totally unfit to perform in, I am free to rotate to a new position regardless of what my current manager says.  I never had to use these benefits but it’s still good to know that I have this in my back pocket.

4.       Clear Path to Higher Roles.  As I mentioned before, the purpose of these programs is to groom future leaders for the company.  It’s good to know that from the support of the program, I have a clear path to higher levels of responsibility.  It’s sad to see some of my peers, who are not in the program, don’t have a clear path and have to fight their way through a super competitive environment. 

Other Thoughts

I know the jump out of the military is intimidating.  If you are getting your MBA, you are essentially making two jumps into unchartered territory, MBA and corporate life.  Having made the transition, I can honestly say that my experiences in the army well prepared me to succeed in those two areas.  Getting an MBA was a blast, although stressful at times.  My family and I made some great lifelong friends and memories that we will cherish forever.  I felt just as capable as any of my other classmates in all of my classes despite having no business or corporate experience.  Also, my MBA program, and I’m sure many others, had veterans comprise 5% of their student body.  Being a civilian again could get awkward but I’m glad that I had other veteran friends that I could relate to and talk shit with.

Being in a leadership development role, I was intimidated because I frequently have to rotate into roles that I have no experience in.  However, my army experience prepared me to succeed in many ways.  I am perfectly capable of socializing with people on the shop floor and briefing executives.  I am able to work in ambiguous environments, quickly understand the situation, and deliver results.  Despite having limited experiences in the company, I have been able to build a solid reputation and be a consistent top performer, mostly due to experiences I have had in the army.  BLUF, if you are able to be a top performer in the military, I am more than confident that you have the experiences and raw talent to be a top performer in an MBA leadership development program.

West Point, Duke MBA

Like I mentioned in a post before. I’ve had a lot of amazing opportunities not in spite of my military background but because of it. It’s pleasantly surprising for people to hear that I spent 10 years in the Army after graduating West Point and before McKinsey.

I was an international cadet from Colombia while at West Point and graduated with the class of 2011 (shout out to former international cadet turned consultants!). After having served in the Colombian Army before, during and after West Point, I decided to transition out using an MBA as great platform. An MBA is great because a) it’s a soft transition (especially lifestyle wise) b) you meet new people and your mind starts to open up, c) you have a 360 degree view on career choices, d) you gain all the necessary knowledge (thus rendering a post- Army/pre-MBA corporate career unnecessary).
I interned with 20th Century Fox in LA doing internal consulting; my boss said that she loved that I graduated from WP and for her, an army career, was assurance of discipline and commitment to the corporate job; ergo, it was a plus.
I ended up getting a full-time offer at McK during my second year. Again, the differentiating factor and only source of great personal experiences/leadership lessons was my time in the Army. Frankly, had I not been a veteran, I would’ve had it way harder to get into consulting (and even a top-15 MBA program like Duke).

I hope this helps all veterans, albeit humbly, understand that a military background (and hard work) is a great enabler for a successful career.