deepti387 wrote:Hi,

I am an Indian, female, currently working in a software major. My work experience so far is 2 yrs. Will be 3 years by the the time of joining a school. My projected GMAT scores are around 700. I have 89% in my high school and 83% in my 11th and 12th. My undergraduate gpa is 7.3 on a scale of 10. I am a part of the Corporate Social Responsibilites group in my company and have been a regular at all the charity events organised as an active volunteer. I am avid reader. Have actively participated in many extracurricular activities like : debating, skits, eloqution, poem recitals. Have also been on the editorial team of school and college magazines. I am looking to apply to schools in the US and ISB in India. As for MBA I want to specialize in HR or Marketing (more preference to HR). As of now all I know are the schools that are listed in the top 20-30 lists. And based on my practice tests I am getting 700. I dont know where to start my research. Any help from someone who is aware would be useful I would basically like a sample list of 5 universities( based on my profile info so far i.e gmat 700 and work ex 2 yrs) that I can atleast start researching on. Hope you can help. Thanks

Hi Deepti,

You have a strong profile and a lot will depand on your GMAT score.Are you interested in 1 yr or 2 yr MBA? Most of the programs in US offer 2 yr MBA only.

If you are interested in marketing,I can help you as I am also looking out for a marketing program and have researched about them.

Best Marketing colleges in US are:

Kellogg
HASS
ULCA

In case you are interested in 1 yr MBA,you can apply to ISB and INSEAD.

Hope it helped.

Hello deepti387, thanks for your question.

Your projected GMAT should be fine, especially if you can score 80% or higher on both quantitative and verbal. Your undergraduate GPA is on the low side.

Assuming you get a 700 on the GMAT, your competitiveness will really depend on your work and extracurricular experiences. Working in corporate social responsibility certainly differentiates you, but, more importantly, have you been able to demonstrate leadership, drive results, and take the initiative at your company? You sound like a well-rounded individual outside of work, but have you exhibited leadership since university? You mention organizing some charity events as an active volunteer; if these experiences highlight the aforementioned attributes, then call them out. It depends on how you can back up the word "active"! Moreover, university activities typically do not factor in as much; experience from the most recent 3 years is more impactful.

One last point: how do your post-MBA goals tie to your past and present experience? The more cohesive a path you can describe, the better your chances. And, of course, the more your future trajectory requires an MBA, the more compelling your story will be to admissions committees.

I hesitate to make detailed recommendations not really knowing the details I ask for, but if you were to score a 700+ on the GMAT, I think you could be competitive at programs like Michigan and Duke. As I wrote, it depends on the quality of your experience.

Best of luck,
Brian