Research MBA Programs

Can someone please tell me what is good acceptance rate to look for while selecting schools in the 20-40 rank range? To me 35% seems a good acceptance range

More important is the match between your aspiration to the school's competency. If that matches then look forward to your profile attributes and see if they match last class's attributes or not.

On an average, colleges ranking 20-40 have an acceptance range between 20% and 45%. Taken alone, acceptance rate does not mean much. Consider these factors as well:

"¢ College Ranking: Higher rank may not always mean higher selectivity. E.g., McCombs School of Business, UT, ranked 19 with an acceptance rate of 29%, while Yale SOM ranked 21 with a 21% acceptance.
"¢ Program Cost: Consideration is necessary to calculate ROI post MBA. Average program cost is about $95,000, with exceptions like the Georgia Institute of Technology (rank 23) costing $55,328.
"¢ Placement/Offer Percentage: 90-95% is the average placement with some like Emory University (rank 22, acceptance 34%) having 99% placement.
"¢ Average Salary Post MBA: Average salary ranges from $90,000 to $105000.
"¢ Industry: What is your chosen industry? See which college offers you the best experience in this.
"¢ Geography: This could be personal criterion.

Once you have your GMAT score in place, form a table with the above given factors to make an informed decision.