What are my odds of getting into a top school with only 2.5 years of work experience. I want to aim at Wharton, Booth, Harvard, Stanford, and maybe Columbia or NYU.

- do I have any chance at all?
- what kind of GMAT score would I need for my best chances?
- is there anything I can do to help my odds besides applying early?

Without going too far into the details, it's a really good time for me professionally to go for my MBA next year. I would like to wait another year or two but at that point I doubt things will line up.

Your odds are very slim unless you are a one in ten-thousand sort of applicant. If there is a building on campus with your family name, if you have competed at the Olympics, made a major change in the world... then you have something to offer. But the school will want to be convinced that the school's corporate partners will be more likely to hire you now than in three years' time, or that your huge family business has a major role waiting for you.

Ha, no, no buildings on any of these campuses with my family's name (at least as far as I know!)

So now my question is are there other schools out there that might recruit people who are at earlier points in their careers?

Of course there are. Just not in the top ten. Take a look at Shortcut to find the best US MBA www.find-mba.com/board/36065

I would say pick one or two of those schools, the ones that you really really want to get into, and use them as reach schools. Assuming you're employed now, you'll have 3.5 years of experience by intake, which isn't completely out of range (average at NYU is 4.5 years, with a 0-14 year range...) Average GMAT there is 720, so scoring in the 750+ range would be ideal.

Otherwise, yes, you'll probably want to find schools where the average work experience is more along the lines of what you have. Something like Katz, Northeastern, Georgia State (Robinson), maybe even Tippie depending on what your GMAT score is.

I just (earlier this week) submitted my apps for both Columbia and NYU. Did you end up applying? I have a bit more work experience than you (almost 4 years) but I still feel like that's my weak point for those schools. But then again I've heard stories of people with less work experience getting in so it really depends.