The Application Process

Thanks in advance.. please suggest...

My profile:

Indian IT aiming for 2011 fall
GMAT - 710 (50,35).. 5 AWA
TOEFL: Expecting some decent score...
Undergraduate from IIT R (among the best colleges in India): 8/10 GPA
Summer Internship in Germany during my udergraduate..

Work Experience: 3 yrs at time of matriculation.. (Verizon Data Services India)

In undergraduate: 1 national and 2 international publications (all technical)...

Extra-curricular:
In UG: Co-Treasurer of Deptt Society, Executive Editor of the Annual magazine of the institute, coordinator of a big event in College tech Festival, and informally lead in charge of Hospitality, Cultural organization Spic Macay College Chapter.

After UG: Last yr I started one web start-up, although it was not a success..
Am editor in my company magazine..
Editor in Chief of a small NGO involving little community service too..

In job, mentoring one guy and expect to have fairly good reco...

Can I aim for top 10 Grad schools? I have been following people getting admits in those schools, but no clear picture I could make, as the profiles/GPAs/scores are very diverse...

I would say absolutely! I have a strong belief that anyone is capable of getting into a top business school provided he puts forth a strong application where he give a very good picture of his personal and professional life, talks about his passions, narrates what he learnt from his achievement and failures and has a clear idea of what his career will be like in 10 years!

Based on the information you provided, I think that your biggest hurdle will be your lack of work experience. You state that you will have 3 years at matriculation, but, this means you will only have 2 years (or slightly over) when you are writing your resume/application and getting recommendations. It is difficult to show a history of promotions and professional accomplishments with only two years of experience. Top schools do admit students with less experience, but, it is much much more difficult. You will need EXCELLENT professional recommendations if you want a good shot. You will also need a compelling story as to why NOW is the best time for you to go back to school (instead of getting another year or two of work experience).

However, your profile does look strong and in another year I think you would have a very good chance for admittance.

Good luck!