Hi All,

I gave my GMAT today and scored a 560(Q38 V28)
Which schools can I apply for, in the US?

a bit of my background check:

Nationality: Indian
Pursued Bachelor of Management Studies, specialized in Marketing (GPA 3.0)
Did Master's in Commerce, Specialized in Management
Have close to 3.5 years of experience in Sales/Marketing
Did a certification course from Wharton School for Marketing
Have taken active roles in Clubs for Social work

Now, that my profile eats, sleeps and breathes Marketing, I intend to pursue a full time MBA in Marketing only. Which schools, in this US can i apply for?

It would be great if anybody could help me give some insights based on my current profile.

P.S: Please don't tell me to give GMAT again. Completely exhausted with it!

Thanks and Regards,
Vikram Sanghavi

Try: Shortcut to find the best US MBA www.find-mba.com/board/36065

With that GMAT score, your options are very limited. You're around 100 points under the average at even Northeastern, which isn't a top tier school but good for marketing, apparently:

http://find-mba.com/lists/top-business-school-by-speciality/top-business-schools-for-marketing

Your GMAT score would put you the range of schools like Howard University, SJSU, LaSalle... None of these schools will have particular strengths in marketing or provide much career support, but would provide a solid education.

Thank You, Duncan and Maury for your replies. I know that it would be tough to get in Northeastern with my current score but I'm looking to barge in any school within the top 50-100 bracket in the US. Schools which have an Average GMAT of around close to 600. There are Schools which have their 25th-75th Percentile of GMAT in the late 500s. What are my chances of converting in such colleges considering my past, Present and Future is only Marketing. Will Schools consider me for an interview?
Further, The colleges I shortlisted are:
SUNY at Buffalo (Avg GMAT 614 but GMAT 560 is in their 25th-75th Percentile)
University of Utah(Avg GMAT of 605 but GMAT 560 is in their 25th-75th Percentile)
Thunderbird School of Global Management(Avg GMAT 605 but GMAT 560 is in their 25th-75th Percentile)
Would like to have some insights on this.
Thank You.

The candidates who get the admissions with lower than average GMAT generally have some aspect of their profile that stands out. Given to the fact that you are an Indian applicant , it already puts you on the backseat there. Also doing MBA from tier 3/4 school will have limited returns. Retaking the GMAT and beating the average score of the schools you have mentioned would be best bet in this case. Just my two cents.

@Vikramsanghavi,

Vikram,

You can get admit with 560 GMAT score into a US School. However, that's about it. Don't expect career progression, career support, livid class discussions, quality of students, scholarships, financial aid or a "Brand name" on your resume.

Assuming you know the risk of studying in such school. Feel Free to look around following
1) Williamette University
2) American University (Kogod)
3) Howard University
4) Hofstra
5) Pepperdine
6) Drucker (maybe)
7) Rollins (Crummer)

These may not be the best in marketing, but that's the most you can do at your score. I hope you realize that you'll need to be very realistic of your marketing career in US. Functions like Marketing, Sales and HR require deep knowledge of American culture and context. Usually International students do not easy entry into such field. Also while filing your i129 for H1B, It is hard for companies to categorically prove that such Marketing job requires special skillset not available in Domestic workforce.

My suggestion would be to learn skills in Marketing analytics and tools like Eloqua, Salesforce etc. This would improve your chances of getting hired and getting H1B sponsorship. If you dream of working in Brand Management, then perhaps do a reality check.

For SUNY Buffalo, Uni of Utah etc. You can always apply, they'll certainly welcome you paying full tuition fees. Thunderbird offers MGM not MBA, I would stay away from T-Bird after its merger with ASU.

Good Luck - you would need it.
Hope it helps,
Ayon

Thank You, Aditya and Ayon for your replies. Marketing itself has many aspects. Branding or consumer behavior are fields that one should have a minimum of 7 years of experience in that particular country to understand the market and I don't intend to pursue or specialize in branding. However, I've come across few Indian people (via linkedin) who have secured jobs under branding roles in top firms in NYC from colleges such as Pace University, City college of New York (Zicklin), etc! Is Pace University a feasible option for me to apply to? As I meet all their criteria for a Scholarship + Graduate Assisstance!

P.S: In my earlier post, I had stated that my GPA is 3.0 which is incorrect. My GPA stands out to be 3.5. So for SUNY at Buffalo, The only glitch is the GMAT score. Otherwise, I exceed my numbers in terms of GPA and Work Ex! (As my profile is stated above) What are my chances of converting there?

Vikram,

Honestly, its too hard for me to tell about your chances at lower ranked schools such as Pace, CUNY etc. Meeting the criteria does not increase admission chances. Most applicants meet Harvard's criteria both in GMAT and GPA however getting an admit is whole new ball game.

It's good that you have used LinkedIn to find people graduated from those schools working in Marketing. Try contacting them and know what worked for them? how much did the school's resources helped? and so on.

The only glitch in your profile (as per you) is your GMAT score. But let me tell you that its a big glitch. I had a 630 GMAT and was turned down by Michigan State, Purdue, SMU Cox, UT Dallas, Georgia - Terry. I applied in several more from 2008-2012. These schools average GMAT hovered around 630/40, but no one really cared to even offer an interview call.

So apply, and updated here, and we all will know how it goes.
Good Luck!

Given that the average GMAT score for CUNY tends to be in the 630 range, I'd say that this school is still a reach for you. It would be one thing if you had more than the average work experience of admitted students there (4.5 years), but since you don't there would most likely have to be something else that's really interesting about your profile to appeal to the adcomm there.

If I have some certifications in my kitty, will that help?
I've done:
'Introduction to Marketing' from the Wharton School
'Marketing Analytics' from the University of Virginia
'Digital Marketing' from University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
'Google AdSense'

I'm having a keen eye on SUNY at Buffalo. Though their average gmat is 614, their 25th 75th Percentile range hovers around my score. And i don't mind paying full tuition coz it's one of the cheapest compared to other schools (Close to 50k). Even if I have issues with my H1B (If i get into SUNY and bag a job), I could as well migrate to Canada for a job as SUNY is pretty well known in that country

Vikram,

Your certifications might help you give an edge over similar profiles having similar GMAT scores, however no one can predict for sure.

What I tried telling you through my example in previous comment is that I was rejected by schools even when my score was at their GMAT average or 10/20 points below. Your score is a good 50 points below, hence you can conclude yourself. That being said, it never hurts to apply. I had an admit from University of California at Irvine with my 630 GMAT score in 2012 when their average GMAT score was 680. Clearly GMAT is not the only criteria, but it's a major criteria.

Many lower ranked schools have target from their Dean / Sponsors to break into top 30, top 50, top 75 rankings. GMAT is heavily weighted in some of the rankings and hence schools want students with higher GMAT scores. Of course schools say that there is strong correlation with GMAT score and the Academic performance in MBA. I had a 630 GMAT, but ended up with a 3.7 GPA.

You must apply to SUNY Buffalo if that's what you want to do.

Your next statement has too many ifs. If you have issues with H1B, if you bad a job, if you migrate to Canada. I would advise you to not assume too many things at once, as it will build up lot of risk.

1) Studying Marketing/HR in US, Europe etc. may not convert into a desired job - simply because most students don't have the cultural context, language, use of idioms, analogies etc. In my opinion, It's very hard to build all that in 2 years time.
Just to illustrate, one of the prof. at my school said "Punt at 3rd down". Americans understood what it meant, because I follow American football I understood what he meant. But my other Indian classmates (who are speaking English since birth) and other international students did not understood.

2) Marketing jobs does not require "Special Skill" that cannot be found in US workforce, hence most International students who want to get into marketing, end up accepting jobs in Marketing Analytics.

3) I talked with Ann Richards (Senior Associate Director of Admissions & Director of Financial Aid) from Cornell University back in 2010. She told me that only 1 Indian student in that year (Class of 2009 - maybe) could successfully translate his career into Brand Management - Marketing. She told me that student was a rockstar throughout with 770 GMAT - and even without GMAT he was a rockstar in Marketing, yet, he too faced those challenges.

4) There are various exceptions to the rule. I know two W&M Alumni landed jobs in Reckitt Benckiser. They had prior work experience in Marketing, and could successfully convince recruiters why they should hire him over equally qualified US Nationals?
Focus on your skills and value add to the company that you can add through your skills and experience.

5) Even if SUNY is pretty well known in Canada, why would a Canadian company hire you over students graduating from Canadian schools? Indians are plenty in numbers graduating from Schulich, Ivey, Queens etc. (Look at their view books) who want to get into Marketing.
I had an admit from Schulich India MBA, but did not join it. My friends who joined the program, accepted jobs in places like Calgary, Edmonton in Alberta. Why? Because Canadian nationals prefer working in cities like Vancouver, Greater Toronto Area,and Montreal. They don't like spending time in -40 temperature in Alberta.

These are of course over generalization. Maybe your path will be exceptional and not follow the rule. We would only know once you apply.

Apply to the schools you want to apply. Once you get admit, then take a call from there.

Good Luck
Ayon

Success to me isn't about a GMAT score, but unfortunately a lot of top MBA schools will not find your score competitive. I do give you the credit for having the balls to ask people about your chances. I would suggest try the test again and I am sure you will score much better. If you want to get an awesome MBA education at a local state school, then your score is good enough. Again, being successful in this world and in business has nothing to do with your GMAT score - however, top schools do have to filter 1000s of applications and use this as a measure to get the best and brightest.

Hi,

As Abhikroy said local schools for MBA education in GMAT score is enough (560). Ofcourse education is better than abroads. Like Don Bosco Group of Institutions in Banglore giving great apportunities. But, I think you joined in US. Anyway All The Best