Profile Evaluation: PhD w/ 760 GMAT

[natalidr]

Hi! I'm a female student from South America and I'm trying to see what range of US schools I should target. These are my qualifications:
- Undergrad in science from South American school (best in the country). Highest GPA in my graduating class.
- PhD in science from US state school (mid-range). 4.0 GPA, competitive fellowships awarded, good publication record.
- 760 GMAT
- Work experience is my weaker point. I'm not sure if the research and teaching experience during my PhD counts or not.
What do you think? Should I aim for top b-schools?
Thanks!

[Dozie@VeritasPrep]

Thanks for sharing your profile. You have an impressive background and have some great accomplishments in academia. Business schools do pride themselves on work experience but you have a different type of work experience that may prove interesting to the right program. I think you can compete for a spot from the top schools given your accomplishments but you must be clear on why you are pursuing an MBA after all of your years of schooling and coming from a non-business background. That will be the first question anyone looking at your background can have. If you have a clear and compelling reason for pursuing an MBA you should be in good shape to compete at the top schools.

Hope this helps!