Frédéric

My name is Frederic and I worked as an F-16 Fighter Pilot and Flight and Academic Instructor from June 2002 to June 2011 for the Belgian Defence Forces. In the meantime, I got my Airline Transport Pilot License from the BAFA Flight Academy, A certification in Project Management- Marketing and Logistics, from the Management Competence Centre -FOREM Belgium, and a BA in Political Sciences from the Universite Saint-Louis - Bruxelles.

After 9 years of serving the country, I retired and realized that I had two options going forward- one, I could work as a commercial pilot for an European airline, which would have been easy to acquire given my rank and achievements, or second I could do something completely different, start from scratch and make a new path in a completely new field. I chose the second option and realized that if I wanted to do that, meaning get into the business, I would need to gain the knowledge, the credibility and the network necessary that I would need in the field. Hence I decided to go for an MBA which would help me in all these sectors.

As someone pretty fluent in the English language and also good with maths, the GMAT was not that difficult for me. However, the rest of the application was no easy ride. The whole process of where to apply, when to apply, what to say, how to market my experiences, etc, turned out to be the toughest part of the process. An army has little room for self-expression, and as a former defenseman, I wasn’t used to talking about myself. This made the process a tad tricky for me. I knew that I wanted to do an MBA. But choosing the program, gaining the confidence to do something different, talking about myself, these were all very difficult for me.

Life at Tuck is very fruitful, both academically and recreationally. World-class facilities, well-renowned academics, great curriculum, international and diverse body of students, all form a part of the college. There are a lot of clubs and activities that students can join to be a part of the college life. Students of Tuck also have access to all of Dartmouth’s campus facilities, events, theatre, music etc. We also have exceptional recreational opportunities such as our own ski area, golf course, equestrian center, etc.

During my time at Tuck, I also volunteered as a Teaching Assistant, mentoring and helping Tuck Bridge Program participants reach full understanding of core courses during an intense eight-week fast track career-focused program.

The first advice I would give to a person thinking to apply to an MBA program would be to gain confidence in yourself. Getting an MBA from a top ten program is not impossible and I am proof of that. I studied on the job and had no formal education before that. But I had belief in myself. MBA Center was helpful to me in this process. They saw me as a valid candidate for an MBA, someone interesting and good enough for a top ten program, and they helped me put together the application that got me accepted into the program. I am deeply grateful to MBA Center and I recommend future MBA applicant to use their services.