Advice on Admissions

Narrowing down your list of target schools depends on many factors, but perhaps the most important one deals with what you want to do AFTER business school, not what you did before. Remember that the whole point of going to b-school is to get that job of your dreams afterwards, and then to leverage your education in your new career track, or at least reinvigorate your old career track. You mentioned consulting and marketing, but have you targeted any specific industries or firms for your post MBA employment? If so, do some research on where those companies find favor with recruiting at specific schools. Your network after b-school will be important as well and some schools will fare better for you if you plan to work in the region surrounding the school. Of course the higher up the rankings list you target, the less regional the influence of the school and the more international impact it can have on your network. Schools in the top ten, for example, can pretty much land you a good job and tight network anywhere in the world. With your stellar GMAT score and seemingly good background and preparation, you should be a decent candidate for a top ten school assuming you can assemble a persuasive, impactful application package. In this very competitive environment, I would target five or six schools in the top ten and then throw out another couple for safety in the top twenty, especially if you are committed to going to school next year for sure. Hope this helps.

thanks bryant