Air Force Enlisted to Investment Banking/Corporate Finance

A lot of banks have programs for vets, JP has a program called Veteran Jobs Mission which you might want to look into, the tough part is enlisted to IB/High finance the tendency for this is usually officer to those types of roles. GS has Goldman Sachs Veterans Integration Program. Most banks will have something.

What's your background in AF?

AllDay is right in that it is going to be an uphill battle into those schools without being an officer. My advice: 1. Thank you for your service. You will forever be part of a brotherhood (and sisterhood) that answered the call. 2. GMAT should be your first priority before you start looking at schools. As DOD your first shot is paid for as well as GRE. Use it wisely, take the free tests and drop some money on Manhattan Prep or Veritas Prep, they both give heavy discounts to Vets and AD (I think VP gives 50% off to IAVA members) 3. Once you figure out where you fall out with GMAT take a hard look at your options. Most of the schools on your list are going to need at least a 740+ due to your undergrad. Take a look at some other top 50 schools, a lot of which love military and accept lower stats for Vets. Namely Darden (UVA), Johnson (Cornell), Georgetown...I know some friends who got into these schools with stats well below their averages. 4. Every BSchool has a Veterans Club that will help you out, some have Vet Counselors on Admissions and most schools have Veteran-only events. Once you got a short list, reach out to the club's admissions VP and Vet Admissions Counselor and ask for advice, it will help tremendously. Also do what you can to visit during their Vet event, they remember that stuff. 5. You said you were in Africa and also Afghanistan. BSchools love global experience, make sure you emphasize that you have worked abroad and while you are over there still, write down some memories, especially when dealing with locals. The adcomm will eat it up. 6. Best of luck and PM me if you have any questions.

Thank you so much for the replies! I will focus on the GMAT the upcoming 4 months and try to score 750+. I will update the post once I have completed alll the requirements and I am ready to apply to b schools. Thank you again for the advice.

Agree with the above, very important that you nail the GMAT w your "no-name" undergrad school and decent GPA. Will be important that you have a tightly wound story as well as to why b-school, etc. For now though, work on the GMAT, going from 700 to 750 is no small feat, best of luck!

It's good to know I'm not the only one taking this route. I'm transitioning out of the Marines (enlisted) after 8 years this October, and would like to get into IB initially. I've been taking classes through Penn State online, and plan to apply to many of the same business schools you have listed. Everything I've been told up to this point is that your vet experience with school admission should serve you very well as long as you can articulate your operational experience/involvement in a way that demonstrates an understanding of your role and the impact you made. As for your (our) enlisted experience impacting recruiting in the IB world, that is for the other users to answer. That being said, something almost every person in PE or IB that I've talked to has told me is knowing the right people will help you greatly (no shit, right?). So, network it up.

Don't rule out Stanford. I know a hand full of guys admitted there who attribute that to their veteran status, and the school's friendliness to the community. I'll stay in touch...maybe we can provide each other some useful insight along the way.

-Andrew