Dear entrepreneur,

I highly encourage you to visit our sticky on school selection for tips on evaluating programs. You do have the foundation for a competitive application to many schools in the global top 50. Whether you do a one-year versus a two-year program depends on what you want from your MBA experience. If you wish to do an internship, then you will want a two-year program. Likewise, some schools only offer scholarships for the traditional two-year program, so that might be an item to research if scholarships are important to your decision.

The disparity between your quantitative and verbal score does not concern me as that is not uncommon for engineers. If you want to shoot for a top 20 program, which you might based on your desire for a strong brand, then you should probably retake your GMAT and aim for a score in the 720-800 range. Your background is quite common in the applicant pool and you need to find a way to distinguish yourself from the other engineers from India. If you prefer to not retake, then I do think there are some great programs that would offer you a scholarship package with your current profile. These programs just might be in the middle or towards the bottom of the top 50. You will find that many of these programs can provide you what you are looking for in terms of curriculum and career opportunities.

Regardless of where you apply, you will want to spend considerable effort on your application to effectively distinguish yourself in the applicant pool. Your family business and start up experience are interesting, so you might consider using an example (or two) from those experiences in your essays.

Good luck,
Lisa