What GMAT score should I aim for? (Kelly school of Business)

Question

I am considering the Thunderbird & Kelly dual MBA M-GM program and I am set on at a minimum applying to Kelly for their MBA program. I am curious based on my profile below what score should I aim for. I know allot of people say score as high as you can but there becomes a point when scoring more on the GMAT is not worth the investment in time it takes.

My GPA is 3.6 from a mid-tier regional school. I achieved this while working full-time with three kids by going to school at night (I think that is a competitive advantage on my application).
I am a former military combat veteran and I have held leadership roles in both of the middle east conflicts. 
I have 5 years of work experience in the military and 5 years of FT work experience in operations management and sales.
I run a active blog and community around the HVAC and Automated Buildings sectors and I also am in the process of starting a national conference around building automation.
Additionally, I have a learning disability due to complications at birth and have had to overcome many difficulties to get into the military and through college while working.
I work for a fortune 100 company and will receive very strong letters of recommendation from the leaders of my company.

I scored 500 on my practice GMAT and I think if I was able to hit around a 650 GMAT that the rest of my application would be competitive. Do you see this as the case or am I deluded?

Sincerely,

-Phil

westsidah408 · Answer

Hi philz1982, Based on the profile you've posted, that's a competitive profile right there. I would guess that you would be considered a competitive applicant even with a 500 GMAT. THAT SAID, Kelley's average is around 670 (with around 40% of the class scoring 700+). As such, you should try to get at least a 700, so that while your other application segments might be good, this should not hinder you. Good luck

Dbalks · Answer

respectfully disagree with westsidah..

If 40% of the school gets over 700 on its GMAT, then that is to make room for profiles like the one above. By taking almost half its class by 30 points over its average, that leaves half the class with 30 points below the average. Profiles like this one can be 30 points below the average. Shoot for anything over 6 and I would bet on you.

philz1982 · Answer

Thanks to all who replied. I appreciate the words. I will work on laying out a plan to meet the numbers described. Is there any other way I could improve my application?

Sincerely,

-Phil

highwyre237 · Answer

Not really, it seems like you have a strong background, with the only weakness being age (32+?) and gmat. Since you are an older applicant, you'll need to convince adcoms that this is the perfect time for you to obtain an MBA.

I would say, for kelley you'll want to aim for upper 600s, but a 600+ may not keep you out and for thunderbird shoot for a 600+ but even a high 500 may not keep you out.

Good luck!

philz1982 · Answer

High,

I will be 31 when I apply, I am positioning the MBA as three key pillars of my goal based approach to career growth.
1). An MBA will enhance skills in areas that I do not use on a daily basis mainly around finance and statistical modeling.
2). An MBA will help me to think outside the box and the Global perspective of Thunderbird will help to temper my business acumen with a more global perspective. 
3). An MBA will quite frankly help me stand apart from other candidates whom are vying for upper management.

Thank you sincerely for your time and effort to reply. Hopefully my post came out legible and coherent I spent all day presenting to clients in Ohio and spent all night working on proposals so I am quite tired.

Sincerely,

-Phil

machichi · Answer

The answer to this question is always the same: get the highest score that you can get! show the GMAT who's boss!

westsidah408 · Answer

I definitely agree that can be competitive with a 600. I even stated that. My point was just that he would be that much more competitive with a 700. The best advice probably came from machichi: just get as high as you can. You've already got the rest figured out pretty well. Good luck

What GMAT score should I aim for? (Kelly school of Business)

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