please suggest schools

[entrepreneur]

Dear SB consultants,

I am looking forward to make my fall 2009 applications and currently looking for some feedback on my profile and suggestions on the schools I can/should target. I’m glad to have found this helpful forum. I would be pleased if I can get some feedback on the following:

1. Please comment on my profile and which 1 yr and 2 yr mba schools can I target?
2. Should I retake my GMAT? I believe I can improve my verbal part, but would be interested to know whether I should rather concentrate on my application.
3. Please comment on my Quans and verbal disparity in my GMAT score. Should it affect my chances?
4. Any other suggestions you may like to add.

Expectation from MBA:

Entrepreneurship/Strategic management focus
I would like to functionalize a business plan during my MBA
International brand and scholarships availability (low fee would be great)

My profile:

GMAT: 680 (Q-49/V-32/AWA-6)
Masters degree in Eng. from Europe (approximate conversion is 3.2 -3.5 GPA)
Bachelors in Eng. from India (approximate conversion 3.2-3.5 GPA)
Close to 5 yrs of living, studying and working experience in WE
16 months full time student experience in 3 different IT/Telecom companies
2 years full time experience (3 yrs in fall 2009) in WE
1 yr family business and a failed start up experience
Three spoken languages
avg. extra curricular
no specific awards

I’m looking forward for your feedback. Many thanks in advance.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear entrepreneur,

I highly encourage you to visit our sticky on school selection for tips on evaluating programs. You do have the foundation for a competitive application to many schools in the global top 50. Whether you do a one-year versus a two-year program depends on what you want from your MBA experience. If you wish to do an internship, then you will want a two-year program. Likewise, some schools only offer scholarships for the traditional two-year program, so that might be an item to research if scholarships are important to your decision.

The disparity between your quantitative and verbal score does not concern me as that is not uncommon for engineers. If you want to shoot for a top 20 program, which you might based on your desire for a strong brand, then you should probably retake your GMAT and aim for a score in the 720-800 range. Your background is quite common in the applicant pool and you need to find a way to distinguish yourself from the other engineers from India. If you prefer to not retake, then I do think there are some great programs that would offer you a scholarship package with your current profile. These programs just might be in the middle or towards the bottom of the top 50. You will find that many of these programs can provide you what you are looking for in terms of curriculum and career opportunities.

Regardless of where you apply, you will want to spend considerable effort on your application to effectively distinguish yourself in the applicant pool. Your family business and start up experience are interesting, so you might consider using an example (or two) from those experiences in your essays.

Good luck,
Lisa