Hello ukhanna, thanks for your questions.
You’ve asked a lot, but I’ll do my best:
- There’s no minimum GMAT score. For top programs, I typically recommend an overall GMAT score of 700+, with verbal and quantitative scores of 80%+. Of course, as you are aware, your 700 would not move the needle as much as it would otherwise, given that you come from a highly competitive demographic in the MBA applicant pool.
- Opinions vary, but I think there’s not a material difference in R1 vs. R2 either way.
- Most of the top programs have strong entrepreneurial programs, but I suggest digging deeper with your research to find a suitable match. A site like US News ranks the programs by specialty:
https://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... a-rankings- For recommendations, you might try old managers from any sphere of your life.
- Prep time for GMAT and essays is too variable a range for me to tell you – it really does depend on your skill and available time! You sound quite busy, so it might take longer than you hope.
- I’m not sure what the adcoms require in terms of proof of business. It might vary by school. I suggest calling the individual programs to find out for sure.
I hope this helps!
Best of luck,
Brian