hey finmaster,

This might be a late response to this post, but I wanted to share my experience as an Indian applicant with a similar background as yours.

Firstly, what cheetarah, scorpionz and others have told you.. take their words as gospel.

While working on your applications, keep in mind that you not only belong to an over represented pool, but also a homogeneous one. What makes Indian applicant pool even more competitive is the stellar academic records. Having a mediocre academics in Indian subset puts you in a weaker position to begin with.
The key is to differentiate yourself from the lot. Find what makes you unique. Don't be different for the sake being different, but find something that will make you stand out in the crowd. I'm sorry to break your bubble, but 'Consulting, Corporate Finance + Engineering' are NOT unique enough, in fact these are a bit cliche. You'll hear this again in again in gmatclub, be as 'specific' as possible, it shows adcom that you've done your homework in your target industries. Make it 'your' story about 'your aspirations'. I've seen my IITian friends with 780 GMAT not getting in anywhere in top 20 schools as they hoped to get a free pass based only an impressive academic & professional resume. Make your application personal.. own it.

Lastly, do not underestimate this application process. It is extremely introspective as well as exhausting. Focus on the schools that you 'love' first, and then work on others, if you get around to it. I applied to UCLA in R2 because I had a spare week or two. It's the only school, out of my six applications, which didn't invite me for an interview or put me on waitlist. I don't think I deserved it either.
You're early in the process, which will give you time to analyze and streamline your efforts. This forum is full of experienced applicants.. try to learn as much as you can.

All the best!

Wharton:

Wharton is pleased to announce a new partnership with Quorum Federal Credit Union that will provide a non-cosigned loan product for incoming international students. This loan program does not require a U.S. cosigner, and specific information on this program will be made available after students are admitted. Some U.S. banks will also permit international students to borrow through them provided the student has a creditworthy U.S. citizen cosigner.

Please Note (OFAC Sanctions): In accordance with mandatory federal regulatory guidelines, students from the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets (OFAC) sanctioned countries are not eligible for the private education line of credit through Quorum Federal Credit Union. If you are an applicant from these countries, please complete a thorough search of funding opportunities to help with the cost of attendance at Wharton.

http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/admiss ... ograms.cfm

Stanford:


The Stanford University Graduate School of Business has partnered with the Star One Credit Union to provide private educational lines of credit to international Business School students. There may be other private educational loans for international students. However, many private educational loans do not offer the combination of relatively low interest rates with the possibility of not requiring a US co-signer for the loan.

Please Note: Star One Credit Union will not approve a line of credit for international students who are from countries listed on the United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list of programs and countries with Financial Sanctions. The list of countries include Western Balkans (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, FYR of Macedonia), Belarus, Myanmar (Burma), Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cuba, DR Congo, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Zimbabwe.

http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/mba/financi ... loans.html

Harvard:

Harvard University has partnered with the Harvard University Employees Credit Union (HUECU) to provide private educational loans to international students with no co-signer for 2012-2013. There may be other private educational loans for international students, and we urge all students to investigate their home country and/or country-of-residence loan options.

OFAC Sanctions Note: Lenders based in the United States (including HUECU) may not be able or willing to make loans to students from countries on the United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Sanctions; or to individuals identified by name, or related to or connected with anyone on the Specially Designated Nationals List. All applicants from these countries are strongly cautioned to be prepared to make their own financial arrangements to attend HBS

http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/loans ... ional.html

Kellogg:

The option to borrow with a non-US co-signor is there. You can borrow with a co-signor in your home country.

http://www.northwestern.edu/sfs/student ... erest.html

Chicago Booth:

Chicago Booth is committed to providing financing opportunities for all students regardless of their citizenship and has loan programs available for students without U.S. co-signers. More specific information regarding these programs will be made available via the admitted students website upon admission to the program.

http://www.chicagobooth.edu/fulltime/ad ... alaid.aspx

You may also refer to the following thread:

financing-your-mba-international-students-95916.html
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All that matters, comes after the word 'but'.

Did some additional Googling, for:
*Michigan Ross we're on our own, here's a link of banks from our domestic countries Ross' website recommends we approach for loans. For us Indian students, that's going to be hefty Interest rates =S
http://www.bus.umich.edu/pdf/IntlFundin ... tion12.pdf

Private US loans are totally off-limits to those of us without US cosigners:
http://www.bus.umich.edu/admissions/fin ... rivate.htm

*Duke: good news ,they have an option "Coastal Federal Credit Union International Student Loan Fuqua is proud to offer a student loan program for international students through Coastal Federal Credit Union (Coastal). Coastal is a successful and long-standing financial institution and does not require a co-signer. You are applying directly for a line of credit with Coastal. A credit union is a bit different from a traditional bank in that you must become a "member" and establish a small savings account of $25 to utilize their loan services. Coastal offers a very competitive rate of prime plus 5% with no fees. With the current prime rate of 3.25%, the rate would be 8.25%."
http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/financial-aid ... aytime-mba
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How to improve your RC score, pls Kudo if helpful! http://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-improve-my-rc-accuracy-117195.html
Work experience (as of June 2012)
2.5 yrs (Currently employed) - Mckinsey & Co. (US Healthcare Analyst)
2 yrs - Advertising industry (client servicing)

I just mailed CBS, MIT, and TUCK and sought more info from them.

As far as Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, and Booth are concerned, the answer is in the positive.

I suggest you too take a similar approach. What do you care about the schools you're not going to apply to?

BTW, I would not worry too much about a few percentage points on interest here and there. When you look at what an MBA from a top school will give you in the long-term, it doesn't really matter much.
_________________

All that matters, comes after the word 'but'.

I also saw this:

Global Student Loan Corporation (GSLC):

http://www.globalslc.com/
_________________

All that matters, comes after the word 'but'.

Honestly, if I get into a school of my choice, I wouldn't care even if the rate were 15%.

IMHO, an MBA from a top school is the best investment I could ever make. Period.
_________________

All that matters, comes after the word 'but'.