For many veterans, transitioning from military service to business school can feel like navigating unfamiliar terrain. While military experience provides valuable leadership, discipline, and problem-solving skills, many prospective MBA applicants have questions about how their background translates into the admissions process.

To shed light on this, we conducted a matriculation survey that gathered 252 responses from veterans across 31 MBA programs. Our goal was to analyze these responses and extract insights to help veteran applicants better understand their positioning within the competitive MBA admissions landscape.

Using the results of this survey, I aim to answer—or at least add clarity to—the following common questions:

Do veterans have an advantage when applying to business school?
GMAT vs. GRE: Which should I take? Do schools view them differently?
Does my specific MOS matter in admissions decisions?
How important is my undergraduate GPA?
Am I too old to pursue an MBA?
What are my odds of getting into a top program?

Important Caveats and Limitations

Before diving into the data, it’s important to recognize a few key caveats that may influence the interpretation of these insights:

MBA applications are viewed holistically: While I will present general trends based on survey responses, each application is unique. MBA admissions committees evaluate candidates holistically, meaning that individual qualities, leadership experiences, and personal stories can outweigh pure numerical factors. Some applicants with lower-than-average statistics are admitted, while others with higher-than-average statistics may not receive offers. Numbers matter a lot, but they don’t tell the whole story.
Survey limitations & potential bias: The data in this report reflects responses from those who chose to participate, which may not fully represent the broader veteran applicant pool. Additionally, 54% of respondents matriculated to M7 schools, meaning that the dataset is skewed toward highly competitive programs. As a result, this survey should not be used to determine an exact “likelihood of admission.” Instead, it should serve as a directional guide for understanding general trends.
School categorization: For clarity, I have grouped schools into the following categories:

HBS & GSB: Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business. These two schools tend to have significantly higher average test scores and GPAs, which would otherwise skew M7 data used for certain charts.
Rest of M7: MIT Sloan, Wharton, Chicago Booth, Northwestern Kellogg, and Columbia Business School.
S10: Dartmouth Tuck, Michigan Ross, Yale SOM, Duke Fuqua, Berkeley Haas, NYU Stern, Cornell Johnson, Virginia Darden, UCLA Anderson, and Carnegie Mellon Tepper.
Other: All remaining MBA programs outside the above categories.

GMAT score reporting: The survey data reflects classic GMAT scoring, not GMAT Focus scores. The new GMAT Focus has a different scoring system and a data insights section that’s included in the total score. The new additions to the test may lead to different matriculation trends in the future. For applicants considering the GMAT Focus, here is a link to an official conversion chart to convert the GMAT scores in this post into GMAT Focus scores.

Quick overview of the MBA admissions process

It’s helpful to take a step back and understand the MBA admissions process at a high level. Once we establish this foundation, we can explore the nuances that may be particularly relevant to veterans transitioning into business school.

Broadly speaking, MBA admissions committees (Adcoms) assess applications based on seven main categories:

Academic Readiness: Adcoms evaluate your undergraduate GPA and standardized test scores (GMAT, GRE, or, in some cases, EA). This is often considered the most objective metric because it provides a direct, quantifiable comparison between applicants. A strong academic record reassures schools that you can handle the coursework of an MBA program.
Work Experience: Admissions committees define strong work experience as a combination of career progression (promotions, increased responsibility) and measurable impact on your organization. Military careers naturally involve structured promotions, which demonstrate career growth. The responsibilities of military officers—leading teams, managing operations, and executing high-stakes missions—often translate well into the leadership and impact that Adcoms look for.
Goals and Purpose: Adcoms want to see well-defined career goals and a clear rationale for pursuing an MBA. Your application should answer three key questions:

Why an MBA? What skills, knowledge, or network do you need that an MBA will provide?
Why now? Why is this the right time in your career to make this transition?
Why this school? What specific programs, resources, or cultural aspects of this MBA program align with your goals?
Military applicants have a built-in answer for “Why an MBA?” and “Why now?”—the transition out of the military. However, it’s crucial to clearly articulate your post-MBA goals in a way that makes sense to Adcoms. Avoid being vague; instead, be specific about industries, roles, and why they interest you.

Leadership: Adcoms will evaluate this primarily through:
- Your resume: Clearly highlight instances where you led teams, managed projects, or influenced outcomes.
- Your essays: If there is a leadership-focused essay, use it to tell a compelling story about a time you made a significant impact.
  While military service inherently involves leadership, don’t assume Adcoms will automatically understand the depth of your experience. Translate your stories into terms they’ll understand and emphasize strategic thinking, adaptability, and problem-solving.
Community Involvement: Adcoms seek applicants who will contribute to the school community beyond academics. They assess this through multiple parts of the application:
- Resume: In the Education section, include leadership roles or extracurricular activities from undergrad. In the Additional section, highlight involvement in activities outside of work, such as volunteer work, mentoring, or other organizations.
- Essays: Many essays ask about personal experiences or values—use this opportunity to showcase what drives you and how you’ll contribute to the MBA community.
- Activities Section: Some applications include a dedicated section for extracurricular activities. If you don’t list anything, it may signal a lack of engagement outside of work.
  A common pitfall that some veterans do is they’ll focus their applications exclusively on their military career and neglect to demonstrate broader community involvement. Even if your work schedule was demanding, find ways to highlight engagement beyond your job.
Letters of Recommendation (LORs): LORs are one of the more subjective elements of the application. Since most recommendations are positive, Adcoms don’t weigh them as heavily as other components, but a weak or lukewarm recommendation can raise concerns.
Interview performance: Interviews are used to assess your interpersonal and communication skills, test your self-awareness and emotional intelligence, and learn more about your goals and your desire to go to that school. Interviews are just another data point to be holistically included with your application—doing great on an interview does not mean you’ll get admitted and doing poorly does not mean you’ll get denied.

Do veterans have an advantage when applying to business school?

As a veteran, your leadership experience and work history stand out in a business school application. Admissions committees highly value the leadership experiences and decision-making responsibilities gained during military service. This gives veterans a natural advantage over applicants who lack strong leadership or professional experience.

However, when competing at top business schools, most applicants have substantial professional accomplishments and leadership exposure. While veterans bring a unique perspective, they are evaluated alongside other high-caliber applicants, including veterans with similarly impressive records.

Data from our survey underscores this point. Veteran applicants’ test scores closely align with the overall class averages at leading MBA programs. If veterans had significantly lower scores and were still admitted at similar rates, it would suggest a unique admissions advantage. Instead, the alignment suggests veterans are held to comparable academic and professional standards as other applicants.

Ultimately, while your military background helps demonstrate leadership and teamwork, excelling in areas like test performance and crafting a compelling narrative are vital.

GMAT vs. GRE: Which should I take? Do schools view them differently?

This is one of the most debated questions among MBA applicants: Should you take the GMAT or GRE? Admissions committees advertise that they view the tests equally; however, general perceptions amongst the veteran community suggest that the GRE is "easier" and the GMAT has more potential to boost your application—what does the data say?

From our survey, a clear trend emerges: there’s a strong, positive correlation between GMAT scores and school outcomes. Applicants with higher GMAT scores consistently gain admission to higher-ranked programs while applicants with lower GMAT scores do not. The picture for GRE scores, however, is less clear. Applicants with comparatively lower GRE scores still frequently secure spots at top schools.

Why does a low GRE seem less damaging than a low GMAT? Here are some potential reasons:

GRE scoring is less transparent: The GRE doesn’t officially combine its Quantitative and Verbal scores into a single number, nor does it provide a combined percentile. This makes interpreting GRE scores less straightforward. For example, what’s the meaningful difference between a 320 and a 323? Or between a 165 Quant/160 Verbal split versus a 161 Quant/163 Verbal? There’s no clear answer. This vagueness could be the reason admissions committees tend to be more forgiving when evaluating applicants with lower GRE scores, especially compared to those with low GMAT scores.
Admissions committees might care more about their average GMAT score: GMAT averages (or medians) are prominently displayed on the class profiles of MBA programs and are often used as a benchmark to compare a program’s competitiveness against its peers. Schools want to maintain or improve their reported average GMAT score, making them more sensitive to outliers at the lower end of the GMAT range.
Classic GMAT scoring and the impact of lower scores: The classic GMAT scoring format makes lower scores more detrimental to a school’s average, making it harder for admissions committees to offset weaker test performances. What do I mean by this? Suppose a school targets an average GMAT score of 730. If an applicant submits a 650, that score is significantly below the target, and the school would need to admit multiple high-scoring applicants (e.g., three applicants with 760s) to maintain its average. This dynamic makes lower GMAT scores particularly problematic. In contrast, the GRE’s scoring system allows for easier compensation. If a school aims for an average GRE of 324, an applicant with a 315 can be offset by admitting just one candidate with a 333. This smoother balancing effect might be one reason behind the shift from the classic GMAT scoring system to the GMAT Focus Edition. That said, we will need a couple years of GMAT Focus data to fully analyze how these changes impact admissions and whether they lead to meaningful shifts in school averages and score ranges.

Bottom Line: GMAT or GRE?

If you’re confident in your ability to excel on the GMAT, it can make your application stand out. However, if standardized tests aren’t your strong suit, the GRE may offer a safer option, as admissions committees appear to weigh lower GRE scores less harshly.

Ultimately, your decision should be guided by your testing strengths and your timeline. If you’ve planned ahead and have plenty of time between starting your test prep and applying to schools, consider beginning with the GMAT. If over time your GMAT performance doesn’t meet your expectations, switch to the GRE. This approach ensures you maximize your chances by providing the flexibility to pivot if needed.

Does my specific MOS matter in admissions decisions?

Short answer: No.

A common misconception among military applicants is that certain MOS—such as Special Operations Forces (SOF), Nuclear Officers (Nukes), or Pilots—have a built-in advantage in the MBA admissions process. The idea is that these roles are perceived as more rigorous or prestigious, giving applicants from these MOSs a leg up in admissions. However, my hypothesis is that it’s not the MOS itself that gives these candidates an edge—it’s their academic performance and test scores. My logic is that Nukes and Pilots, in particular, tend to have higher average undergraduate GPAs and standardized test scores, which naturally improve their chances of getting into top-ranked business schools.

To test this hypothesis, I grouped veterans by MOS category (Nuke, Pilot, SOF / EOD, Infantry / Armor / Field Artillery / Intel, and Other) and compared their GPAs, test scores, and outcomes by school category. Here’s what the data revealed:

Academic Performance, Not MOS, Drives Success

Across different MOS groups, there were no significant outliers in terms of admissions outcomes. Veterans from "Other" or less specialized MOS backgrounds had outcomes comparable to those from SOF, Nukes, or Pilot roles when they achieved similar academic metrics. Veterans with higher GPAs and test scores—whether they were infantry, supply, or pilots—were more likely to secure spots at elite programs.

This makes sense, admissions members aren’t military experts. They’re not qualified, nor do they care to decipher how military jobs are different or more impactful from one another. What truly matters is how well you translate your military experience into leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, as well as your ability to demonstrate academic readiness for an MBA program.

Instead of worrying about whether your MOS gives you an edge, focus on these critical areas:

Strong academic metrics: Prioritize a solid test score and highlight any academic achievements to prove you’re prepared for the academic rigor of an MBA program.
Compelling narrative: Clearly articulate how your military experiences—regardless of your MOS—have equipped you with leadership skills, adaptability, and resilience that will benefit your MBA class.
Career vision: Show how your military background aligns with your post-MBA goals. Admissions committees value applicants with a clear and compelling vision for their future.

How important is my undergraduate GPA?

Short answer: Important… but not as important as your test score.

Your undergraduate GPA is one of the most critical factors in your MBA application. Why? It’s a quantitative and non-subjective measure admissions committees use to directly compare applicants and assess academic capability. Average GPA is also a component in school rankings.

Survey Results

The data reveals a strong correlation between GPA and admission rates. However, the survey also shows that veterans tend to have lower GPAs than school averages by about 0.14 points, while their test scores are generally in line with school averages. I believe this underscores the point that the test score is still more important than undergraduate GPA.

Am I too old to pursue an MBA?

Not at all. What’s important is your ability to tell your story about why you are applying.

What are my odds of getting into a top program?

While there’s no definitive answer—admissions decisions depend on many factors—I’ve cut the data to show where veterans have matriculated based on their GPAs and test scores. This should provide a useful benchmark for setting target test scores and building a balanced school list.

The results also highlight a key difference between the classic GMAT and GRE. Notably, the middle 50% boxes in the GRE chart have a more rectangular shape, indicating a wider range of acceptable GRE scores for a given GPA range compared to the GMAT.

Key Takeaways

MBA admissions is not a pure numbers game, but numbers matter a lot: While gaining admission to a top program isn't purely a numbers game, your test score plays a critical role. The best way to improve your chances is to achieve the highest possible score for you.
Craft a compelling story: Once you’re confident in your test score, focus on building and refining your narrative. Clearly articulate how your military experiences—regardless of your MOS—have equipped you with leadership, adaptability, and resilience that will add value to your MBA class.
Clearly define your career goals: Admissions committees want to see a clear connection between you and your post-MBA aspirations. Show them why business school is the right next step for you.
Apply strategically: Apply to a range of schools that align with your profile, but make sure they are programs where you would genuinely thrive and want to attend. Fit matters more than rankings, don’t waste time applying to schools you’ll never actually want to attend.
Leverage S2S and the vet community for support: You don’t have to go through this process alone. If you’d like free, veteran-specific application guidance and mentorship, sign up for S2S support!

THANK YOU to everyone who completed the survey!

About the author

Alex Dawson commissioned into the U.S. Navy through Officer Candidate School after earning a degree in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences from the University of Michigan. He served as the Operations Intelligence Division Officer on the USS Hopper (Pearl Harbor, Hawaii) and later as the Reactor Electrical Division Officer on the USS George Washington (Newport News, Virginia). After nearly six years of service, Alex returned to the University of Michigan for his MBA and will be joining Bain & Company as a consultant in Chicago.

MBA Admissions Landscape for Veterans