Dear Jon,

I really enjoy ur posts, fun to read and very useful Thanks in advance for the evaluation.

GMAT Score: 690 (Q49V35)

Education:
Born and brought up in New Delhi , India.
undergrad - B.tech in computer sciences from Kurukshetra University 4yrs - 69% - among top 25% in class
Certificate Program in Six Sigma

Work Experience:
Working at Top Indian IT company . I have about 8 yrs of experience out of which i have spent close to 5 years in US.
Job profile - Project management - 2 US fortune 500 companies etc.
I have served as Board member for US railroads for approx 1 year for a Project
Also I have worked extensively in multi cultural work env with people from different backgrounds and geographies.


Achievement and Volunteer work.
• Played Chess at National level. Won several tournaments in Chess
• Coach Chess to school kids and at my apartment Complex
• Active CRY (Child rights and you) member since 2007. CRY is Indian NGO working for underprivileged children.

LT/ST Goals:
My professional objective is to make a career in IT consulting as solution architect with firms like Amazon and Google. I believe my experience in technology, management and good international exposure shall help me to make such move.

Weakness:
Already over 30. I definitely want to do an MBA however i think this is the last year i have for that.
Not so good GMAT
Indian IT male

Target Schools:
I want to be very practical while i apply to US/Canada MBA Schools. Please could you suggest a few safe and few target schools for me?


Best Regards
Ami

Well my first question to you would be whether an MBA is the right degree for you, given the goals that you have stated. I'm not sure that an MBA is the right degree for a Solutions Architect for Amazon, and actually there may be some technical Masters that might be more appropriate. The BEST thing for you to do would be to look some actual Amazon Solutions Architects on linkedin (or better yet SPEAK with some) to see whether this is the right path (as they will know better than I)

What are your thoughts?

Thanks Jon. Below is further clarification.

Why Mba: I work in the area of It implementation. I manage projects within my IT domain. However, i wish to make move towards business aspects of IT. I wish to work as project advisor/solution architect in IT companies.
To make such move from IT technolgy to IT consulting, I believe i need an MBA.

Why now: Since i like my IT area, the realization of doing an Mba couldn't have come without prior experience.

Schools: With my high level research, i selected following schools. Could you pls suggest if i shouls add/remove some schools based on my goals and my extra experience.
Tepper, Kenan Flagler, Foster, Mccombs, Georgia Tech

Dear Ami,
Good to hear YOUR explanation. Actually your goals make sense, but I think you possibly could also arrive at them through other directions, although I totally understand your desire to do an MBA. I really like your school list (bravo on your research). I think that for your profile and your goals they are spot-on, and I would likely have recommended these schools to you as well. Actually, you might also consider adding Anderson on to the list (even if it will be a bit tough, along with Tepper - there are a lot of younger Indian IT folks with higher GMATs applying to these schools... but maybe with your experience and your stories you can make up for these things). I think you could also add one or two more schools as "Safe schools" to your list, as I think given your age and goals, you really want to do an MBA this year, and adding safe schools is the best way to ensure that this happens.

Hope this helps!

Jon,
Thanks for keeping the spirits high.

Could you please suggest me some safe schools, considering my experience, goals and GMAT.

Thanks in advance. Your advise is invaluable.

- Ami

Sure! Try and add one more school which appeals to you in the rankings about 30-50 (or two). Schools like Smith, Broad, Babcock. Since these schools tend to be more regional than the top schools, it's always a good idea to look at who recruits at the school, and where they are located, because even if you do compromise on your schools, you do still want to make sure you reach your goals.