I gave GMAT yesterday and got a 690. This was my second attempt at GMAT with the first score of 640. I have a B.E.(Electronics Engg) bachelors degree with 5+ years of experience in the top-notch Indian IT company.
I am interested in doing MBA from American Universities. Please suggest the Universities where there is a likelihood that my profile will be selected for the admission. I am aiming for the top 25-30 Universities. Please guide me on this at the earliset. Thanks in advance.!!!

These schools perhaps:
Cornell University: Johnson
University of North Carolina: Kenan-Flagler
University of Virginia: Darden
Duke University: Fuqua
Carnegie Mellon: Tepper
University of Notre Dame: Mendoza

Thanks Duncan for the valuable inputs. Is it possible for me to look out for Booth, NY or a IE (spain)

Hi there. Well, IE should be easily within your grasp, but be careful if you don't speak Spanish: their high rankings reflect the exceptional placements of their Latin American students.

I think the other schools might be a slight stretch. In terms of GMAT averages, NYU and Chicago are closer to 720.

Hi Duncan... in order to aim for the world top 20... should i need to give another try and get something around 730.... Is 690 ( Q-49, V-35) not good enough for the top colleges??

Well, there are a lot of Indian engineers with experience in IT trying to get into MBAs: there are some business schools filled almost totally with ex-IT Indian engineers, like Cardfiff. But your background itself that doesn't make you an especially notable candidate because you might not add much to the diverse experiences in the class: perhaps you're involved in people management in especially interesting projects, or perhaps your life outside work is very notable?

At the top ten US schools the average GMAT is around 720, and in the top 20 [US schools ranked by the Financial Times] it's only Emory, Georgetown and Maryland who bring in many students with GMATs around or below your level. However, in order to make up for a relatively weak GMAT you would need a relatively strong application.

So do you recommend I should take GMAT again and aim to score in the 740 range?.... Need to improve upon the verbals though...What do you suggest, Duncan?..

Well, I don't know much about you or what your reasons are for wanting to do an MBA. If you wanted to get into a MBA, then I would think about whether or not you out a lot of time into preparing for the GMAT; if you did, then perhaps you will not improve your score much. On the other hand it might be better to use that time instead to learn more about your career objectives' viability, or to do some great voluntary work.

I generally agree with Duncan's advice. Your IT background puts you in a very competitive group of people, many of whom score very high on the GMAT.

That's not to say that your score is a dealbreaker: even if, for example, your score is below average for the Booth program, it still is competitive within the middle 80% range of admitted applicants there.

You should ask yourself a couple questions. Mainly, do you think you could score substantially better on the GMAT if you retook it? If so, I'd recommend targeting your weaknesses and even finding a tutor or other test prep help to help you through them.

If you don't think you could score substantially higher, then you should spend a good deal of time thinking about your application holistically. What sets you apart from all the other IT candidates? Did you overcome substantial obstacles to get to where you are now? Do you work at a food bank in your spare time? Admissions people today are willing to overlook low GMAT scores or GPAs if they think a candidate is otherwise uniquely qualified or has interests that set him apart from other, similar applicants.

Ezra, you are doing a much better job than me of motivating this person, but I think it's misleading to say the candidate's GMAT score is in the competitive range for Booth when you put it in the context of their work experience. The admitted students at Booth in the lowest quartile for GMAT scores will be in the highest quartile for many other things. In that group will be over-represented: women, people who did not do their higher education in English, people with lots of work experience, people with great public sector and non-profit experience, people with non-traditional backgrounds, totally fascinating people etc...

Good point, Duncan. I meant to prompt the OP to go through his background to see if there's anything there that could make him competitive - because ideally, he could draw on something that could give him an edge in this ultra-competitive field.

By the way, this is a useful page to compare Emory, Georgetown and Maryland: http://business-schools.findthebest.com/compare/25-376-428/Emory-University-Goizueta-GA-vs-Georgetown-University-McDonough-DC-vs-University-of-Maryland-College-Park-Smith-MD

Our data at JK suggest modestly higher average GMAT scores, but perhaps that's because we have means and that page shows medians. I think these would be good schools to target, especially because of the Southern climate.

Those three are good choices - the OP should also consider more programs around that range - UT/Austin and Rice for example.

There's also sense in balancing out applications - maybe apply to three that you know you'll get in to based on your stats (safety schools) - and then one or two "stretch" schools that would be pushing it.

Also, last year, the number of MBA applications were way down overall - if this trend continues it could make some programs less competitive in terms of things like GMAT scores. Just something to be aware of.

Hi, i also have a 690 with the same distribution as the other guy, however, i am from Spain and i studied business administration. According to your answers, do i have a different chance to go to a top MBA program? That doesn´t seem very fair, right?

Well, the question is fundamentally to whom is that fair? In the opinion of the schools it is fair to candidates and employers. The purpose of the MBA is to train business administrators. That means selecting students with the capacity to lead and the capacity to be hired. 690 is not a great GMAT score so neither of you can expect to get into a top business school unless you have some other qualities. Business needs those other qualities because if everyone is the same you get groupthink. So there have to be space made consciously for those who are less well represented than employers and students want. More diverse classrooms make a difference.

But the fact is that. In Spain, employers want Spanish and Catalan speakers. There is enough demand for the top schools there to to fill most of their seats with Indians who do not speak Spanish or Catalan. But after the first two or three Indians they do not add extra diversity. And they are taking on big debts in the EU where they stand little hope of finding work. No-one is really helped by accepting those applications. Instead, they should be at language schools.

In a US business school there will always be good Indian applicants but there may not be good Spanish ones. By accepting a Spaniard rather than an equally good Indian they add more to the class.

Sir,I agree with idea of B-Schools having diversified students.I've my Graduation in Automobile Engineering and I'm currently into Marketing (light commercial Vehicle). Will my profile be different from other applicants?.
My GPA is 3.85 and GRE score is 690.
Kindly help me with your expertize review.

Have you taken the GMAT? How many years of work experience do you have? Where are you from?

dear shreehari, your gmat score is good enough to apply to booth or even columbia, dont worry and just be yourself, just do it, yes you can do it, be positive.

Sir,I'm from India.I've just completed my Automobile Engineering and joined LCV (Light Commercial Vehicle) manufacturing company.I'm into marketing.I'm planning to Take GRE after a year or so.Kindly help me with your Rich experience.
Regards,
Paritosh Bhatt

MBA programs ask for the GMAT normally.