Hello MBA Team,

Greetings of the day….

You have got a great website both in terms of design + content, quite engaging.

I have got few queries regarding your Two year full time MBA programme and will appreciate if you can help me to find the answers to them.

My objective is to gain global perspective which will equip me to work in the top companies in the field of Retail and Retail Infrastructure in the USA.

Queries:

• My current job require lot of travel within India, so, very difficult to have a focused approach for GMAT preparation. Can you please guide me on the other option wherein the admissions are on the basis of the work profile of the student.
• I’m aware of the benefits and the acceptance level of Two year full time MBA programme in US but in dilemma whether I should do at this juncture of my career (my age is 30 years).
• Since I'll be funding the course on my own and that to on debt/loan, I want to restrict my investment to max. $25000-$30000 for the entire course OR scholarship but I don't know if I will be eligible for that.


Please find below my brief profile:

Working with one of the top retailer in India since 2006 (joined as Management Trainee - Marketing)

Current Profile at a glance:

Designation: AVP – Mall Business
Education: Bachelor in Management Studies from Mumbai University (2001-2004) and PGDBM from CIMR, Mumbai (2004-2006). Specialization: Marketing.

Extra-curricular activities: Visiting faculty in various B Schools - BITS – Pilani, Nirma University - Ahmedabad, Welingkars – Mumbai teaching Retail Management to the final year MBA students.

At the outset, I’m very keen on doing ta full time MBA programme provided it helps me to fulfill my career objective. Kindly advise.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Thanks & Regards
Amit Sharma

Sadly Amit, I don't think you'll be able to find anything accredited for that budget. A school like Buffalo is probably the lowest you'd want to go and even that's over $50k. Also, any school that is worth the investment will probably require you to take the GMAT.

A couple of things:

- At 30, I don't think you're too old for an MBA.
- Some MBA programs will waive the GMAT, but only if you have a lot of high-quality work experience. I think Temple will waive it if you have 10 years of work experience for example. Other business schools, like Portland State, will waive it on a case-by-case basis.
- As Razors Edge points out, budget is the biggest challenge. Some accredited but unranked business schools, like Southeastern Louisiana, or Missouri State, are under $40k, but I'm not sure if these are good choices for international students.