Research MBA Programs

Hi.

I am an Indian Female. Age -25. 3.5yrs of IT experience. Decent acads. Decent Extra-curricular.

I initially thought of going for MBA during 2014 intake. But, due to some change in plans I am targeting 2013 intake and planning to apply in R3.
I am planning to apply for Kellogg,Tuck, Cornell, INSEAD etc
Will there be any disadvantages in applying in R3 for the above universities.
Please throw some light on comparision of R3 with respect to R1R2.

Also, I am yet to give my GMAT Will I be in safe position to apply in R3 if I give my GMAT in 2nd week of Jan. If not, let me know by when I should give my GMAT to be in safe place

You really should not apply R3 as an international candidate for a couple of reasons. 1) You probably won't have time to get a visa, which means some schools will not even consider your application. 2) You are from a highly saturated pool of applicants, which means most schools will have all the IT Indians for an entire class.

R1 and R2 are highly preferable. Not only are you more likely to get admitted, but you are also way more likely to receive scholarships and aid. Either shoot for R2 or wait until next year. Sorry if that doesn't go with your plans, but you are an international applicant with only "Decent" academics and extra-curricular. R3 admits are exceptional and non-traditional.

Thanks for the information provided. It helps.
Could you please let me know the B-School from below list for which I can easily make in with my profile for 2014 intake.
Wharton, Cornell, Tuck, Ross, Kellogg, UCLA, Chicago Booth, INSEAD, Duke, Carneige Mellon, University of Texas.

Also, my profile falls in to the regular Indian IT pool. Could you please suggest on what to work so that I can improve my profile further for 2014 intake.

Also, on what factor does the scholarship or aid depends. How is scholarship different for different universities. Could you please refer me to some useful stuff regarding scholarships.