My 2 Cents ( My profile : tried all the biggies with GMAt 730, cracked some of the lower 25-30 rankings, stopped myself from getting into that puddle as recession was on...so in a nutshell, for schools like some of you chose, I am a failure. If you've still shown the patience to read this far, then remember failure is the pillar of success, might be your success
and read on...)
HWS is out. period. people may sugercoat it but for even an iota of IIM(hope you know the acronym and hope I am getting your gender right), they need nothing less than a superman which you lack. Save that odd 800 bucks as application fee.
But with a few careful plans you can break your ground in some of the top 15.
Your Pros : 1. Having some Pharma experiene which can work as differentiating factor
2.Get some solid reco from Mckinsey. Solid means not coming from some very big people but written in a lingo that B-Schools want to hear. Dig a li'l more in this forum, you will know what's a good reco is.
3. Time is on your side. In this odd one year , build some 'differentiating' extra curicullar activities. That can be 'a leadership' role in TCS-MAITREE, starting up a business (Even if it fails) whatever but it should not be played cricket, member of drama club type. Integrate this experience in your essays in a big way.
Cons. Your choice of 'so far' realistic schools can not be much more varied. You have MIT to NYU in your kitty. Give it a thought. However they scream "Our B-School gives Holistic education.", nobody goes to Kellogg expecting Finance wizards and to Stern expecting Marketing specialists and vice versa. This was my biggest fault. Learn deeply about other industries for which your target school is famous and please give it a thought that if you can connect your current career with that post-MBA industry with solid validation and then choose your B-Schools wisely.
Remember your biggest weakness is that you belong to a pool where every 1 in 3 is looking for same schools. So start a very well planned strategy from now on. create matrix for each schools. Talk/linkedin with 'Indian IT Male' current students(don't get content seeing international student percentage, you have to pinpoint how many of them are actually from your demography) and compare profiles. Before writing your first essay, you head should have a clear picture of your target audience and your objective.
Hope this will help a little. If I can be of any other help, PM me anytime.
Thanks.