Need help in selecting schools to apply

[cipher17]

Hi

How many schools should be ideally applied in one round ? I am giving a brief description of my profile. Could you help me in categorizing schools that would fall into the following criteria and also any other tips for the admission process:

- Stretch or dream schools
- Reach schools
- Safe bet schools

Nationality: Indian

Gender: Male

GMAT Score: 760 (v 44/q 49)

Work Ex:
1. 5 years in IBM as an IT consultant, providing technology solutions to my client at&t.
2. Currently a team lead of 7 members.
3. Have almost 2 years of international experience i.e in US.
4. Have won 4 awards in 5 years.

Career Goals: Want to pursue a career in Consulting.

Undergraduate Degree: Mechanical Engineering in NIT Silchar, class of 2006

CPA : 8.5/10 i.e 8.5 in a scale of 10.

Leadership and Extra Curricular Activities:

1. Co founder of organization HOPES to educate underprivileged children during my college days. Unfortunately could not keep the organization alive after college days.

2. Currently a member of a similar organization .viz HELP.

3. Was the prefect in college hostel. Have organized events and provided internet facility in my hostel.

4. Was an NCC cadet.

I understand that I belong to an overrepresented pool of applicants and as such I am trying hard to find key points about my life and future goals which can help me in differentiating from rest of the pool. Any pointers in that regard would be highly appreciated

[Stacey Oyler]

Hi,

Thanks for your post. You have solid work experience and good academics, thus you can consider a wide range of schools. However, you are correct in that you are part of a large applicant pool and thus not only must you select schools that are a good fit for you (for your post MBA goals, socially, environmentally, etc.), but you also must find ways to be creative in your application in order to stand out in the pool.

Given your post MBA goal of consulting you have a wide range of schools to choose from. Any top 15 school will have consulting opportunities, it's a matter of using the criteria I listed above to narrow down your selection. I generally recommend applying to 4-6 schools with a mix of top programs as well as some perhaps a little bit lower in the rankings. This mix will help ensure that you do gain admission to a program for next year.

Applications are generally released in June and July - thus you should plan to get started right away. Don't forget to schedule school visits - this can be especially helpful as you narrow down your school selection as well as provide valuable information for your essays.

Regards,

Stacey

[cipher17]

Stacy

Thanks for your tips. I derive from your reply that I can keep my school search among the top 20 schools with schools ranked more than 15 as the safe bet schools. And then narrow down the search based on different criteria. I have also started visiting couple of schools and that really was a good experience. I will work on factors in my profile that can help me in differentiate myself.

[Stacey Oyler]

Yes, I would agree with your response. Best of luck to you!

Stacey