Hello everyone,

My name is Anuj, I am from India and I am working as a project manager in accounting function of an IT company. I have 9 years of overall experience in outsourcing/accounting areas in project management and presales.

I am targeting MBA in UK for 2014. I am planning to start GMAT preparations this week and appear for exam in Dec this year (with second attempt in Jan 14, if required).

In order to assess my current level I took the free practice test at Manhattan GMAT and scored 610. My main query is what score should I target for a top 6 to 20 ranked MBA program in UK (leaving out top 5 because of cost)?

This would help me in assessing the effort required and also decide whether the timelines I have set are realistic or not.

Thanks,
Anuj

Take a look at GMAT Tiers - strong schools for your GMAT www.find-mba.com/board/27082

Almost every scores better in the practise tests than in the real tests, so I would suggest that you aim for 650 for the top ten and over 600 for the next ten. Apply early.

If by top five you mean LBS, Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick and Manchester, that leaves with you this for the bottom of the top 10:

Cranfield
Cass
Imperial
Hult
Lancaster

Obviously, Cranfield, Cass and Imperial are the sweet spot here - and for these schools you're looking at an average GMAT score of around 650

It goes progressively down from there - with Hult and Lancaster you stand a running chance with the practice scores you're pulling now.

Duncan and Ezra, thanks for your responses.

Based on the cost of the MBA program, I am targeting following programs from FT and Economist rankings:

University of Bath School of Management - ET rank 25; FT rank 72
Henley Business School - ET rank 42
University of Strathclyde Business School - ET rank 54; FT rank 87
Durham Business School - ET rank 74
Lancaster University Management School - ET rank 80; FT rank 71
Birmingham Business School - ET rank 84
Nottingham University Business School - ET rank 86
Aston Business School - ET rank 88

I saw on some GMAT boards that pre-prep score can be improved by around 50 points so this means I am looking at 650-660 GMAT score. Considering that I dont have anything exceptional about my profile, would this be a good enough score for the programs I have listed above?

I'm sure that some of these schools will over you a place - but apply as soon as you can. You don't say much about your background but it could be the case that you are a weak candidate in other ways than your GMAT. WHile you have a lot of work experience, it would be quite narrow. I am not sure what your leadership and managerial experience is. So, I think Bath and Henley might be stretch schools for you - but they would be good fits. Birmingham and Aston might be especially good as well.

Thanks for your response Duncan.

Though I definitely dont have an exceptional profile (academics/sports/extra curricular etc.), my work experience is pretty decent. I started my career as a fast tracker and got promoted to manager grade within first 5 years. Also, as I have been a project manager for last 5 years, I have responsibilities of managing people, working with cross functional teams, managing risk/ budgets/ other constraints and making decisions within the delegated authority (not of strategic nature) which effect the project and department (not organization). Apart from managing my projects, I have also supported other projects as project assurance and change authority and also conduct occasional project management trainings for non-project management staff.

Just to add, I completed my bachelors in business administration with 75% (UK 2.1 standard).

Hope this provides some basic overview of my profile.

I do suggest you apply as early as possible. Also do try to see if there's anything in your background or life outside work that might give anything more to offer a cohort.

Hi,My name Is Manish. I have an experience of 3+ years in Tata Consultancy Services, India but my GMAT score is very low, 520. Do I stand a chance in any good University in Britain?
Please respond asap.

What do you mean by "good"? What are your goals?