Hi, my name is Sonny. I'm a Marine Officer looking to apply to several top 25 MBA programs next year. I recently took the GMAT and scored a 700, but I have my retake in two weeks, where I'll hopefully do a little better.

Based on several articles that I've read where analysts estimate the probability of applicants earning admission into top MBA programs, of course I can't help but notice that the "brand name" of an applicant's undergraduate alma mater seems to hold significant weight in his/her MBA application.

I understand that being a graduate of the most prestigious Ivy-caliber universities such as Penn, Princeton, Stanford or UChicago would set an applicant significantly ahead of his/her peers, followed by top Public Ivies such as UC-Berkeley, UCLA, UVA and Michigan.

My question is - how about the University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign (Non-Engineering)?

I understand Illinois most likely would rank behind a Michigan, Berkeley and UVA, but is it looked fairly favorably upon by admissions officers?

Just wondering. Trying to present the most complete and well rounded MBA application possible when I apply next year.

Thanks!

Very Respectfully,

Sonny