Michigan Ross EMBA - Los Angeles

[PhrogLoop]

Just got accepted.
http://www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/EMBA/LosAngelesCampus.htm

I was driving with my wife this weekend and joking with her about my AW avatar. For those of you younger than 30, it's the scene from Trading Places where Eddie Murphy is chased by cops around the lounge of a swanky gentlemen's club after being falsely accused of stealing a briefcase. I won't be surprised if the same thing happens to me at the Beverly Wilshire this fall...

If anyone is interested in MBAs, EMBAs, Post 9-11 GI Bill, resumes, etc, I plan to pass along as much gouge as possible so that other bubbas can take advantage. You guys would be surprised how well a military background sells in these circles. I'm truly humbled by this acceptance because I'm sure there were lots of applicants with better GPAs and business credentials than me but somehow they went on a longshot for this guy.

Now I'm left with the implications of a whole new outlook on the college football landscape. Suddenly, I hate Ohio State AND Michigan State. Thankfully, I always hated Notre Dame.

 

[Renegade One]

Just got accepted.

Lookin' good, Billy Ray!

 

[PhrogLoop]

Lookin' good, Billy Ray!

Feelin' good, Louis!

 

[MGoBrew11]

Go Blue!

 

[Renegade One]

Feelin' good, Louis!

Gotta love "common ground"...and cinematic literacy...

 

[UMichfly]

Congrats man. I was just getting ready to be jealous that you'd get to spend a football season or two in Ann Arbor before I realized you're doing the remote campus thing. At least you can still revel in being superior to all the people at that "school" down south. Go Blue!

 

[CUPike11]

Yeah GO BLUE!!! Congrats phrog! Didn't even know they had a remote campus in LA, so any gouge you can give would be awesome. You should try to head down to Dallas for the Michigan vs. Alabama game in September

 

[HooverPilot]

Bullshit. They can't make you hate MSU! Go forth and bleed green & white all over them!

<---- MSU class of '97

 

[PhrogLoop]

Yeah GO BLUE!!! Congrats phrog! Didn't even know they had a remote campus in LA, so any gouge you can give would be awesome. You should try to head down to Dallas for the Michigan vs. Alabama game in September

Now THAT's an idea.

Here's a start for some gouge and I will continue to post here as I get started and move through the program.

RESUME:
-One page, one page, one page. Contact info at the top, Summarize the work you've done (in civilian speak) throughout, and finish up with education, other skills, and extracurriculars/volunteerism.
-I was surprised that my interviewer (the EMBA Director) didn't give a shit about all the bullets I stole from my best FITREPs. Flawlessly directed 5,000 mishap-free flight hours as a MINIBOSS...Not a peep. Organized a diversity/equal opportunity event benefiting NYC high school students and Junior Enlisted Sailors...Wow, tell me more about that!
-Assume that every other applicant was a rockstar financial analyst, consultant, salesperson or whatever and each of them can claim to have been their version of a #1EP. Pad your resume with bullets that set you apart and start a conversation.

INTERVIEW:
-Be ready to discuss your weaknesses and be CANDID. I went right at my most glaring negative, my USNA GPA. I came right out with a mea culpa (I was a young/immature, over extended myself, varsity athlete) and described how I've made up for it since (4.0 in grad school, published writer, brought a business sense to my Navy assignments).
-Prepare for a B-school interview months out by reading business news, watching CNBC, and generally being conversant on topics. I was able to talk about JP Morgan's CEO Jaime Dimon and how important it was that he took responsibility for his investment office's 2B blunder. I related that back to how we are taught in the Navy to be accountable and sometimes suffer the consequences for the misdeeds of our subordinates. She liked that.

PICKING A SCHOOL:
-No offense to anyone in the Navy with a regional or NPS MBA (an academically rigorous program) but make sure that the schools you are looking at will bring a return on your investment in time and money. Also, don't think that a Post 9-11 GIB degree is free because there is an opportunity cost associated with using up that tremendous benefit.
-Peruse the different rankings out there. Don't pay for one, they are free on forbes, business week, and poets&quants. P&Q is nice because it aggregates the other various lists for you.
-MBA and EMBA are 2 different animals. EMBA is for candidates with 10 years of experience and 5+ years of supervisory experience. Think JO vs. Post-DH. That said, MBA programs tend to be more GPA/GMAT conscious than EMBA programs. Some EMBA programs do not require GMAT, but they tend to weigh the quality of your recommendation letters pretty heavily. P&Q also has a worldwide EMBA ranking: http://poetsandquantsforexecs.com/2012/01/12/wharton-tops-our-2012-ranking-of-emba-programs/
-One of the most amusing series of articles I've read was "Do you have what it takes to get into a great school?"
http://poetsandquants.com/2011/08/04/do-you-have-what-it-takes-to-get-into-a-great-school/
There are about 40 of them and they take applicants' basic stats and handicap their odds of making their favorite schools. It was a great learning experience because the writers talked a lot about the schools' personalities and trends in admissions. Lots of military submissions, so you will learn that while the very top schools (Harvard, MIT, Northwestern) like military applicants, you would still need a strong GMAT (710+) and great interview to win a seat.

Last website plug:
http://militarymba.net/
I wrote the director with a question, and he wrote me back right away with a VERY thoughtful and detailed answer that helped me a lot. This site has a great "value school" chart which plots the schools' reputation vs out of pocket costs for military students. Gold Mine.

OK, enough for now. More to come.