Ask Clear Admit

Hi,

I'm from India, I have a work ex of almost 5 years and a GMAT score of 650 which expires in 2013.
I will be turning 26 this year in november.

I feel the time is now right for me to go ahead with my plans for an MBA. I am looking to apply for the Fall 2012 session. However, I am a little confused about a few things:-

1) Is my GMAT score enough to qualify for one of the top 25 colleges (as per FT ranking) in the U.S. I know a GMAT score isn't the only thing, but if i'm not wrong it is used as some sort of a qualifying criteria
2) My Overall percentage during my undergrad is just about 60% (An average of all three years). My undergrad specialization was Hotel Management.
3) I started off my career in Hotel operations but realised after a year and a half that this was not the place for me, so I decided to move on from there. i was working in an NGO for a little more than a year, before I joined my current workplace. for almost 2 years now, I have been working in the BTL arm of Grey Group, i.e. G2 Worldwide. I am currently into Account Management, and my company provides BTL solutions like, Brand Activations, Retail & Exhibit Design, Events etc. I am currently working here in a key accounts profile and handle tow of our most important clients who are from the automobile & two wheeler sector

The thing that i need help with is how to shortlist colleges for My MBA and also if you can suggest some colleges to which I can apply to. So far, I am looking at 2 colleges in India to apply to i.e. ISB & Great Lakes. These colleges are a joint venture of various eminent US universities.

Would appreciate if someone could help me out on this or show me as to how to start shortlisting my schools.

I need to be very precise with my selection, as I want to apply to only 10 schools, where 3 would be aspirational schools (dream come true to get in), 4 would be Good schools where I have a realistic chance & 3 safe schools.

Really need some help on this!

Thanks

Hi,

Thanks for your post. While you do have interesting work experience (which takes you out of the large Indian/engineer pool), your academics might be a bit low for top 25 US programs. Given you took the GMAT so long ago, what are your thoughts about retaking it? Perhaps now you could raise your score. You don't share the breakdown of your quant vs. verbal score, but I can tell you that without at least 70% on the quant, it might be difficult for your to gain admission to a top 25 US program. Unless your degree in hotel management had many quant course of which you scored exceptionally high marks, admissions committees may have concerns about your quantitative ability. I suggest looking into retaking the GMAT or perhaps enrolling in some quant courses to help boost your academic profile.

In regard to suggesting schools for you to apply, this is a bit difficult to do given you did not share your reason for seeking an MBA.

Regards,

Stacey