AAR: From the Air Force to NYU Stern: Veteran Spotlight – Matt Yacco
Matt Yacco, a recent NYU Stern alum and former Air Force officer shares his advice with us about winning admission to an elite MBA program. From his experience, he stresses three points: start early, do your research, and figure out your budget before you start. He advises veterans to know what you want to do after business school – plan ahead for your new career. Business school is a place to get things done, not the place to do your soul searching.
Why did you decide to leave the military?
I served four years as a US Air Force officer after commissioning through the ROTC program. My first and only duty station was a small base in Los Angeles, home to the Air Force’s Space & Missiles Systems Center (SMC). During this time, I provided project management support to various satellite development contracts, such as the next generation GPS program. I also did one tour in Iraq attached to an Army logistics unit. I had always planned on separating after my four year commitment mainly because I never fully bought into the military lifestyle. I wanted to get away from the uniforms, ranks, strict hierarchy, and rigid promotion system. I applied to MBA programs while I was deployed and left to attend New York University’s Stern School of Business soon after getting back to the States.
What was your transition timeline like? How far before you left the service did you take the necessary tests and decide on schools
My preparation to attend business school began when I took the GMAT about two years before it was time to apply to programs. I’d advise anyone applying to schools to take the required standardized test (the military will typically pay for it by the way; ask your base’s education office) as early as possible for the following three reasons:
- It’ll help you zero in on target programs well in advance of actually applying based on how well you do.
- It’ll give you plenty of time to retake the test if you want/need to improve your score.
- Getting the test out of the way early on will alleviate a lot of stress and free up significant time to focus on the rest of the application leading up to admission deadlines.
What were the top 3 criteria for deciding on a school?
Ideally you’ll already have a sense of what you want to do with your degree and you’ll apply to schools based on certain program strengths (having done your research, of course). However, not everyone is going to figure this out prior to applying as was the case with me. I targeted well-rounded, well-established programs located near major business districts that I saw as providing the broadest exposure to career opportunities. I believe that I found this at NYU Stern. Plus I fell in love with the idea of living in New York City for at least a couple years! If you’re fortunate enough to win admission letters to multiple programs, the deciding criterion may be personal fit with the school’s culture/community. One good way to judge this is by thinking back to your interviews (if applicable). Which interview did you feel the most confident and relaxed in, but also challenged? Which interviewer did you have the best connection with?
How did you manage finances?
Between their education benefits, the Yellow Ribbon Program, and other military service scholarships, veterans have a lot of financial aid options available to explore. Unfortunately, I didn’t qualify for any of them and had to personally finance my two year program. I paid tuition with student loans and lived for two years off the savings that I was able to accumulate during my time in service. The first thing that I did was make a detailed budget using a spreadsheet, which I recommend for anyone (take the time to do it once and you have an adjustable budget model for life). This will help you get an idea for how much financial aid you’ll need to supplement other sources of financing. Also it’ll help you zero in on bloated areas of your personal finances where sacrifices can be made during your frugal college years.
What advice do you have for transitioning veterans?
My best piece of advice to veterans transitioning to school is to think long and hard what the next step is. Speaking from my MBA experience, you don’t have a lot of time to figure out what career(s) you want to pursue when you arrive at your program and most vets haven’t had as much exposure to private sector career opportunities as their classmates. Therefore to avoid scrambling to figure out all your career options while juggling classes, club involvement, and an active social life, do as much research and soul searching as you can prior to starting a program.
