Read GMAT Tiers - strong schools for your GMAT www.find-mba.com/board/27082

What are your goals? Specifically: What industry or functional roles do you plan on working in? And do you plan on staying in the US after graduation?

Typically, your profile (Indian engineer) is a very competitive one, and since you want to target top 20 schools, you're probably going to want a stronger GMAT score. Getting it up to where your practice tests have been would be a good start.

Just to give you an idea: NYU Stern has an average GMAT of 720; at Dartmouth it's 717; for a quant-heavy program like Booth it's 745.

Thanks Ralph,

My career goal is to get into management consulting for oil/gas/energy/power sector or lead companies working in this area. I want to learn core skills of finanace and operations. Right now I am thinking to apply to colleges such as MC Combs,Kelly,Purdue,Michigan-Broad,Texas Mays and Urbana-Champaign with the 650 score and wait for their decision meanwhile give my GMAT in November and score more on GMAT probably 700+ and apply in round 2 for the top 15. And yes I want to stay in US after graduation and work there.Please guide whether I am thinking on correct lines.
Can you please share your thoughts on the one year STEM MBA program at purdue-krannert.

Regards,
Anuj

Sounds like a reasonable plan, but some of those schools you're looking at are still reach schools for you.

This list might be helpful, since you are looking at the energy sector:
http://www.find-mba.com/specializations/9/energy-and-natural-resources

Purdue's STEM MBA is new, but the school and its traditional MBA is highly-regarded. However, if you have no experience in the energy sector, you'd be much better off with a two-year MBA program where you could take energy-focused electives, have an internship or consulting project with a company in the sector, etc.

Thanks Ralph , Can you please please tell me which schools should I apply to out of the mentioned ones which are in my reach with a 650 and 8 years work experience.

McCombs is a bit out of reach for you because of your GMAT score, but would be a great fit in terms of your career progression. Mays is tough for international students because the competition is higher due to the relatively low tuition fees.

Maybe a school like SMU - Cox? The school is reasonably strong in energy placements, and the average GMAT is 640.

In general though, I agree with Ralph, a stronger GMAT score would help you out a lot, especially since you plan to stay in the country after graduation. The average GMAT score at Rice - Jones, which is one of the best schools for energy careers in the country, is 680.

I am also from India and have 7 years of work experience and a 650 GMAT score. I guess that top 20 schools are out of the question, but are there any good schools I can apply to on the east coast? Florida or New York, especially.

Yes, the top 20 is most likely out of reach unless you can get your GMAT score up to 700 or in that range.

Otherwise, it depends on what your career goals are, but generally speaking:

Florida State might be a safety school; Warrington is probably a reach.

In New York there's CUNY Zicklin and Fordham to start with. I think you'd be competitive at both.

Thank you for your suggestions. I am considering retaking the GMAT but will explore these schools as well.

By the way, what do you think of Rutgers? Does it have a good reputation? It looks I'm in range of the average GMAT score, and it's not far from New York. Do you think I have a chance?

I think you're probably pretty competitive at Rutgers, but whether it's better for you than Zicklin or Fordham depends on your career goals. It's ranked in Businessweek so it's got that going for it.

I see. I have a lot to think about now, thank you for your help with all of this!

Hello,

I have just finished with my next attempt at GMAT and increased my 650 on GMAT to a 710 this time. As I have already mentioned in the post that I have a 7 years of work experience in operations and maintenance of coal fired thermal power plants with a government firm in India and a GPA of around 3.7~3.8 in my mechanical engineering degree which I completed with honors ( Don't know the exact figure as GPA is not awarded in India ) , I would like to stay in US after completion of my MBA and would to like to enter into operations of firms, working in the energy,oil and gas, and utilities sector or enter into a consulting firm with my relevant work experience and knowledge. Please advise me now which schools should I focus on . I will like to have good amount of scholarships as that will make my MBA financing easier.

Regards,
Anuj

Those schools in Texas, some of which have already have been mentioned in this thread are probably a good place to start: SMU - Cox, Rice - Jones, Texas A&M - Mays, Austin - McCombs, etc. Those have good placements in the energy sector. However, Mays tends to be popular with international students because of its relatively low tuition fees, so expect a lot of competition.

Duke might also be an option, but it's a borderline reach school for you, given your background. This school has solid placements in both the energy and consulting sectors.

In terms of scholarships, ask the schools. If funding is an issue you may apply to a school where your GMAT is substantially higher than the average, but your career will tend to suffer in the long run.

Thanks a lot Ralph, Can you share your thoughts on SMU Cox, Is it a good choice.

It's a solid school. Not ranked in the FT, so grads probably don't see the same career progression as those from Mays or McCombs, but it is ranked in Businessweek, so there's that. It's generally good for energy and especially energy finance.

Hello Ralph,

Can you please help me with some top ten business school in US, which can be a ambitious but a realistic choice for me with a 710 GMAT and 7 years Energy sector experience.

Regards,
Anuj

I would suggest MIT Solan, Chicago - Booth, Haas and Kellogg though a lot depends on the industry and roles you are looking at post your MBA.

Those schools that Mamit mentioned are all good schools, but since your profile is a relatively common one I'd say that these are reach schools for you. If you are looking for something specifically that has good placements in energy -- you haven't mentioned this one way or the other -- look at the schools mentioned previously in this thread, most of which are in Texas: SMU - Cox, Rice - Jones, Texas A&M - Mays, and Austin - McCombs