Advice to choose B-schools

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I have not researched much about B-schools .I need help in finding out which B-schools should I apply to.

I plan to take my GMAT in August.

Nationality : Indian
Graduation : Electrical Engineering from one of top 5 engineering colleges with GPA as 2.5 ( actually it is 75% , but according to mba.com the GPA would be around 2.5 , Ranked 9th in class of 70 students)

Experience : 7 years in IT consultancy ; out of which 3 yrs international experience in US ;Leading a team of 5 ;Apart from IT consultancy , involved in analyzing financial aspects of my projects and increasing sales .

Extracurricular activities : None.

Voluntary Service : Worked with 3-4 organisations in US. Lead one of the Volunteer activities .

Looking to work in Finance or consulting after my MBA.

Please help me out with B-schools that I should target.

Thanks

[essaysnark]

EssaySnark says, a GPA of 2.5 is low; EssaySnark doubts that the conversion was done correctly if you ranked high in your class.

The GMAT is also going to dictate what schools are open to you, to an extent.

The top schools have average GPA around 3.5. If your GPA really is under 3.0 -- and especially if it really is 2.5 -- you're really not going to have much luck at the best schools.

Pretty much any school can prepare you for finance or consulting. These are both very different, too. You need to do more introspection to determine what you want to do and why you need an MBA. That process is what will then nominate schools for you to consider.

Other angles:

7 years of work exp means that a school like Wharton or Haas, who prefer more extensive work experience, might like your profle. However, HBS tends to prefer younger candidates.

Career change from IT is common. Regardless of whether you target finance or consulting, you're up against a lot of other Indian IT candidates, so you'll need to do a lot to differentiate yourself.

Schools like Harvard and Kellogg, with strong general management programs, tend to feed a lot of consulting firms. Schools like Wharton and Booth tend to feed a lot of finance firms. You'd want to determine what type of finance (buy side or sell side etc) is your interest.

Geography might be a factor for you. Do you want to be in a large city? This might rule out schools like Darden or Tuck.

Culture might be a factor for you. Do you want a smaller class size? Do you want a school that emphasizes teamwork? Different schools have different styles. Some schools - and some industries - are more competitive. Others emphasize collaboration more.

These are just a few considerations. You need to do your own research to make these decisions. There are too many variables and nobody on a public forum like this knows you enough to suggest anything that will be of real use to you. Everyone's got opinions and they can also lead you astray. Once you have a better sense of your goals and know your stats, then others can help you evaluate whether a particular school might be a feasible target or not. Best strategy is to get out there and visit schools, participate in online chats, attend info sessions, reach out to adcoms, network with alumni. Firsthand research is irreplaceable, in EssaySnark's opinion. You have plenty of time to do this before R1 deadlines.

Good luck with it!

[[email protected]]

Thanks for detailed response.

How should I calculate my GPA? Should I contact any global credentialing service for this caculation? Can you suggest which evaluator should I contact ?

Do we have to mention our GPA on the test day before starting the test ?

If I contact any global credentialing service , will schools accept that calculation?

Thanks

[essaysnark]

How should I calculate my GPA? Should I contact any global credentialing service for this caculation? Can you suggest which evaluator should I contact ?

EssaySnark says, try Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_grading_in_India You probably do not need to use an official grade conversion service and EssaySnark doesn't even know if all schools would accept that (and EssaySnark generally does not recommend companies). The adcoms are well versed in interpreting transcripts from different institutions around the world, particularly from India. Check with the admissions office at your target school if you have questions on their specific requirements.

Do we have to mention our GPA on the test day before starting the test ?

If EssaySnark remembers correctly, it is optional to include this information before taking the GMAT. If the candidate does report this data, then it gets sent to the schools, too.

Good luck with it!