Which b schools should I look at considering my profile?

[gk_shan]

I'm an Indian female engineering graduate, currently working as a Data Analyst (Digital Marketing) in a reputed IT products company in Chennai. I'm 29 months into this job, right after my under grad. I'm also into my NGO/NPO which is a registered one, for the past 4 years. I'm the Founder and President of it. We've done quite some commendable programs over the years. I also have some decent extra curricular that I did well during college. Coming to my acads part of my profile, it's not bright enough I must say. 85.6, 78.25 & 69.4 in 10th, 12th and under grad respectively.

My last attempt in CAT (MBA entrance test in India) was a serious one (CAT 2017) but I failed miserably compared to my mock tests and scores. I'm getting calls from the New IIMs, just like last year (for CAT 2016) when I cracked the interviews and got admits to all of them.
But prep wise I did well this time and cracked questions in critical and logical aspects. Yet the test day was totally not mine for some abstract reasons that I cannot justify. With all this said, it will take roughly a month or two for a good shot at GMAT for me.

I'm looking at countries like the Nordics, Germany, France, Netherlands and Canada, when it comes to GMAT.

So what should be my target score, strategy, plan, timeline, realistic options and the like?

TIA.

[OfficialGMAT]

Hello!

When you contact your hopeful universities, they will let you know what they are looking for when it comes to their candidates and the GMAT Exam. This site might be able to help you out some: https://www.mba.com/us/the-gmat-exam/pr ... eline.aspx.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Regards,
Leah

[Donna@Stratus]

I'm an Indian female engineering graduate, currently working as a Data Analyst (Digital Marketing) in a reputed IT products company in Chennai. I'm 29 months into this job, right after my under grad. I'm also into my NGO/NPO which is a registered one, for the past 4 years. I'm the Founder and President of it. We've done quite some commendable programs over the years. I also have some decent extra curricular that I did well during college. Coming to my acads part of my profile, it's not bright enough I must say. 85.6, 78.25 & 69.4 in 10th, 12th and under grad respectively.

My last attempt in CAT (MBA entrance test in India) was a serious one (CAT 2017) but I failed miserably compared to my mock tests and scores. I'm getting calls from the New IIMs, just like last year (for CAT 2016) when I cracked the interviews and got admits to all of them.
But prep wise I did well this time and cracked questions in critical and logical aspects. Yet the test day was totally not mine for some abstract reasons that I cannot justify. With all this said, it will take roughly a month or two for a good shot at GMAT for me.

I'm looking at countries like the Nordics, Germany, France, Netherlands and Canada, when it comes to GMAT.

So what should be my target score, strategy, plan, timeline, realistic options and the like?
Here are some tips for Indian women in approaching MBA programs:
TIA.

https://stratusadmissionscounseling.com ... a-program/
Generally speaking look for schools with lower females-- as they may be looking to increase that-- and you can help--- and also look at schools where your GMAT avg is 20-30 points over the state avg. Also research programs well enough to know how they can help you reach your career goals-- and also how you can help them.

[MargaretStrother]

It would be helpful to know your post-MBA goals, since different b-schools specialize in different areas, both geographically and industry-wise; this would be a significant factor in your choice of schools. In general the European schools will require a GMAT of above 700, so that's a pretty good target for you. It sounds like you have a strong professional and community profile, so getting that GMAT up to a competitive level would be your first priority. If you are looking at fall 2018 applications, your timeline should have you getting the GMAT out of the way by the end of May, so that you can concentrate on the applications themselves.

Many of the European schools have complex and unique application processes, and you want to leave time to research each program and produce a competitive application that is specific to the school in question, rather than producing generalized application essays and trying to fit them into different applications. In my experience, that's the biggest mistake applicants make: mass-producing applications to too-many schools, rather than picking a handful of perfect-fit target schools and getting to know absolutely everything about each of them.

Hope this helps, for a start! Good luck

Margaret Strother