Ms. Air Force

If you could get that GMAT score up to 650, I would say you have a very good shot at Georgetown. I agree with some of the advice given to you about your post-MBA goals and the need to demonstrate why you think the MBA will help you achieve them. If you are applying now, your chances are considerably better than they will be next year. There’s a lot to like here. I hope you get the chance to show them what you can do.

Hi Ms. Airforce! This is Talon Rindels, Sr. Admissions Consultant for the MBA Exchange. Your story is touching and I adore/admire how you define success! That said, I am having a hard time understanding why you would need an MBA to achieve success as you define it by your Post-MBA goal. Perhaps, you could help us to better understand more specifics on the type of job/career you’d be looking for after your MBA. It almost sounds like you want to be a career coach or something in a related field and if so, I am not so sure that you need an MBA to score your dream job! On top of the questions around your goals, I have given you the 5% odds assessment because of your 610 GMAT score, as it falls 30 points below the middle 80% GMAT score. So, MAYBE they will admit one person a year with a 610 GMAT, but I wouldnt want to place my bets on being that person. If an MBA from a top school is really what you want, I highly encourage you to get some GMAT or GRE test prep support to get that score up. And, an expert could also help you craft your story in a way that’s compelling to adcom. Our firm and many others out there do both of these things. Lastly, thank you for your service, Ms. Airforce!

Hi, Ms. Air Force, this is Julie-Anne Heafey from mbaMission. Thank you for your service.
Hmmm, as I read your profile, I still have some basic questions on your goals and what your timeline is for transitioning out of the military (if that is your plan). Knowing more about those two things would have been very helpful. For any MBA, you’ll need to explain where you’re going and how the degree will help you get there, and your description above is rather fuzzy. You don’t have to be precise on your title and employer, but you’ll need to give the admissions committees a sense that you’ve thought through where you’re going and why you need an MBA to do it. I too wonder whether you need an MBA at all to accomplish your dream! Have you seen people working in a role you want to get to through your current job? How did an MBA prepare them? Or are you not sure yet what you want to do? If you’re not entirely clear about your civilian options (normal for military folks), we have some career guides on our website at mbamission.com, and I encourage you to explore those and search our blog for career posts. As for your GMAT, I agree that the 610 is low for a full time MBA at Georgetown, so work on improving your score if your heart is set on that program. If you’re open to part time (are you in DC? is that why you only listed McDonough?), you’re closer to the average there (655), so it might be doable, but it always helps to have a score closer to the mean. Part time can be good if you’re just advancing where you are or have a longer timeline; for a pivot, full time tends to be better because of the summer internship. Happy researching and best of luck!

Hi Ms. Air Force, Melisa from Stratus Admissions here. Thank you for your service. Your team player attitude will be an asset to your application to Georgetown. Your military service and being a female (Georgetown’s female % has dropped lately, and is close to the lowest in the Top 25) will also be working for you. Unfortunately, you will need to overcome your low GMAT score. If you could re-take (I know it is painful thought, sorry!) you would increase your chances – ideally into the mid 80% range. And I would want to dig deeper into your goals. An MBA is a good launching platform from military service if an MBA will give you skills that will help in your ideal post-MBA career. I’d want to understand more about how you want to help young professionals – are you thinking from an organizational perspective (HR?) or maybe an operations perspective (Ops?) Georgetown will want to know what skills you hope to gain from an MBA that will help you succeed after the program – they want to make sure they can help you get there. Also, I don’t love a 1 school strategy. If you do decide an MBA is the right program, I would suggest widening your search a bit – potentially Notre Dame or Boston College. I am assessing your odds at 15%, but think that would increase with an increase in GMAT and well defined goals.