Transitioning Military with a poor undergrad record

[Mongo1271]

Hello everyone,

First of all thank you all for contributing to this fantastic resource.

Here's my background: I'm an Intelligence Officer in the Marine Corps with nearly 4 years in and am weighing my options between staying in for a few more years or getting out and transitioning back to the civilian world. I'm currently deployed to Afghanistan and will likely do one more deployment before I am eligible to separate from the service.

I had a poor undergraduate record, largely in my first 2 years, at a highly regarded liberal arts school in the south. I had few extracurriculars beyond playing on the football team. I graduated in 2007 with a 2.62 overall GPA with a double major in History (3.0 GPA) and Communications (2.9 GPA). My underperformance in college is my greatest regret. It wasn't a product of any hardship, just plain old lack of hard work and motivation.

After graduating from college I worked for a real estate developer for one year before joining the Marine Corps and earning a commission. My record in the military has been very good. I've finished near the top of my class in all of my schools, to include being the honor graduate from my MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) producing Intelligence Officer course. I've done well in my assignments and could count on several individuals for good recommendations. I've yet to take the GRE but am confident that I can pull off a good score.

For my post-service career I'd probably attempt to stay in the Intelligence Community or the DOD in a policy role. I know I could get a job at an agency or private company doing intelligence work based on my experience but I'd really like to get a Masters degree before or while working.

My questions are:

Is it realistic that my post-grad experience will help me get into a decent school, or is my GPA insurmountable?

What can I do now to improve my chances of acceptance or bolster my resume? I'll be taking the GRE when I get back and I'm set up to take micro/macro economics courses from UC-Berkeley when I get back to help improve my GPA and give me some more recent academic exposure.

Are there any specific programs that anyone would recommend I look into that would fit my goals and or skill sets?

Thanks for all the help!

[DaveE]

Hey man, I'll give this a crack. I served five years active duty as an officer in the Army, so I have an idea of where you're coming from. I applied to three masters programs while deployed to Afghanistan as well - Columbia SIPA, Johns Hopkins SAIS, and Stanford (all for international affairs). I leaned on my military experience heavily for my statements of purpose and sold it as my work experience as well. I was stationed in Germany for most of my time in service, so I used that too. Ultimately, I was accepted at Columbia and Johns Hopkins, but rejected at Stanford (likely because my undergraduate didn't have much economics or political science or anything). I went to a good school for undergrad, and came out with an okay GPA of 3.3.

So, given that, let's look at your questions:

-Is it realistic that my post-grad experience will help me get into a decent school, or is my GPA insurmountable?

I would say yes, it is realistic. I have several other friends as well who were accepted at excellent grad schools (Georgetown, George Washington, etc.), and none of them had stellar undergraduate GPAs. All of us were able to sell our active duty service as work experience that goes beyond the typical summer internship at a think tank or something. Your GPA may raise an eyebrow or two when you apply, but if you have good recommendations from commanders (MAJ/LTC or above work best it seems) and a decent GRE, you should still be able to sway any admissions committee with a strong application.

-What can I do now to improve my chances of acceptance or bolster my resume? I'll be taking the GRE when I get back and I'm set up to take micro/macro economics courses from UC-Berkeley when I get back to help improve my GPA and give me some more recent academic exposure.

I think taking that econ course is probably a good idea, since if you do well it will show that you can still perform academically. Ultimately, your military experience combined with strong letters of recommendation will do a lot for your résumé.

-Are there any specific programs that anyone would recommend I look into that would fit my goals and or skill sets?

Columbia has a number of good intelligence courses and some decent flexibility with their concentrations and specializations. I've seen advertisements for a masters in security studies at Georgetown (I think, it might be GWU), but I don't know much about them. Any of the DC schools are probably good for what you're looking at. Remember though, all of these school are incredibly expensive. Did you receive an ROTC scholarship before commissioning? If not, you may be eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill, which goes a LONG way in helping reduce the cost of attendance.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions, I'm happy to help.

-Dave

Edited August 8, 2012 by DaveE

[LeadTheTurn]

Mongo, thanks for starting this thread. Dave, thanks for your reply.

I am looking to apply for the Fall 2013 semester, and I have a couple questions myself:

1. What are some materials that you think are good to include in your package to describe your career? Did anyone include things like last five OPRs, copy of DG award, printout of your ribbon rack from vMPF, etc? I know that civilians without military experience can sometimes greatly overestimate what something like an OPR bullet is actually meant to signify; is that something to use to your advantage?

2. Has anyone experienced complications using the Post 9/11 GI Bill? I am wondering in particular about enrolling in the program to ensure that funding is available for Fall 2013. Their website mentions a cutoff of May to use the money for the Fall semester, and I will hit the three year beyond my obligation requirement on June 1st. Will this be a problem?

3. Will a previous online Master's degree from American Military University gain any respect from admissions boards at competitive programs? I've heard that a lot of places outside the government do not hold these degrees in high regard.

[DaveE]

1. What are some materials that you think are good to include in your package to describe your career? Did anyone include things like last five OPRs, copy of DG award, printout of your ribbon rack from vMPF, etc? I know that civilians without military experience can sometimes greatly overestimate what something like an OPR bullet is actually meant to signify; is that something to use to your advantage?

Most grad school applications are pretty specific about what to include, and most don't want or care for previous evaluations. It might not hurt to mention awards in an essay or résumé, but they also shouldn't be the foundation.

2. Has anyone experienced complications using the Post 9/11 GI Bill? I am wondering in particular about enrolling in the program to ensure that funding is available for Fall 2013. Their website mentions a cutoff of May to use the money for the Fall semester, and I will hit the three year beyond my obligation requirement on June 1st. Will this be a problem?

I'm just about to start using mine, and it's been fairly smooth so far. Each school likely operates a little differently, but for Columbia, all I needed to do was apply for VA benefits from their website, which basically confirmed my eligibility for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. As long as you hit your 3 years before school starts (and you're no longer on active duty before classes begin), you should be good.

3. Will a previous online Master's degree from American Military University gain any respect from admissions boards at competitive programs? I've heard that a lot of places outside the government do not hold these degrees in high regard.

I have no personal knowledge of this one, but my assumption would be that it can't hurt, though it might not help. Best of luck!