Profile build up for Top MBA colleges in US

[mba.uj]

I am a 20 yr old Indian.
In the final yr of my graduation in Business Management from a top grad colg of India.
I hv very good academic performance in school and average in colg.
Average extra-curricular.
I am targeting a GMAT score of above 720 which I believe is well within my scope of aptitude.
1 drawback I have heard is that I hv 15 yrs of education provided in India as opposed to the requisite 16 yrs demanded by American Institutes. How far is this statement true? How can I take a recourse against this sitation?

My main question is - What route should I take from here on to build up an formidable profile in the next 3-4 yrs for Colleges of the reputation of HBS, Wharton, Stanford and Kellogg?

Also as my grad is ending soon, i hv 2 options in front of me - shud i join some consultancy, or start up a venture on my own? What would count more in ur view?

Thanks a lot in advance. Smile

[VP_MBA_Guru]

Hi MBAUJ,
Thanks for your post. Glad to hear you are thinking about the MBA process early in your career. Doesn't hurt to have a long-range plan of getting into a top MBA program.

Sorry, I cant answer your first question about the number of years of pre-college years? My guess is it doesn't matter as long as you graduated and went on to college. But I would strongly recommend following up with the schools' directly to confirm.

In terms of the next few years... I would encourage you to pick up a MBA Admissions Book (I am a big fan of Montauk or Bouknight's books) and learn more about how AdCom evaluates candidates. This will help you understand what you need to achieve in the next few years (for example, having good extra curr. activities, strong performance in your work, GMAT scores, etc).

Let us know if you have further questions.

Regards,

N