Marines

BTU #10 - David Lee: Marines to Stanford Business School

“In terms of the highest tangible ROI, an MBA is hard to beat as a veteran, especially for someone like me coming from a non-technical background." – David Lee

David Lee will be attending the Stanford Graduate School of Business next September after over six years of service in the US Marine Corps. He has served as the Director of MBA and Other Graduate Programs at Service 2 School, a free resource to help veterans get into their dream education program. As a result, he has's got a wealth of knowledge for veterans considering going to school once they get out of the military. A NROTC graduate of the University of Michigan, David was academically #1 of 600 at the Officer Candidate School.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

  • His decision to leave the Marine Corps
  • Analyzing grad school problems, their fit, and potential return
  • How Service 2 School provided free help in his application process
  • Surprises in the grad school admission process
  • Advice to those considering applying to schools once they leave the military
  • And much, much more…

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QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

Show Notes

  • [1:50] Background
  • [3:00] Making the decision to leave the military
  • [4:30] Researching potential options
  • [5:50] Choosing to remain in the Reserves
  • [6:30] Choosing graduate school as a means to shortcut impact
  • [8:30] Service 2 School and how they can help with college & grad school admission
  • [9:54] Surprising in the MBA application process
  • [11:10] Choosing schools for application...and which to accept
  • [11:50] Advice on the application process
  • [13:45] A timeline for applying to business schools
  • [15:00] Resources for GMAT preparation
  • [15:35] Life while applying to grad school
  • [16:30] Extracurricular activities while on active duty
  • [17:45] What he's learned from working at Service 2 School
  • [19:15] Common veteran questions and misconceptions about grad school
  • [22:45] Final words of advice