Profile evaluation for top 20 US business schools

I would definitely recommend retaking the GMAT if you'd like to target top 20, especially given the low GPA. Ideally with a strong GPA (~3.5+) you would want to land a 700 GMAT in order to target top 20 schools. Generally speaking schools in the top 10 have average GMAT scores of 720+ & schools in the 11-20 range tend to have an average of 700+. When your GMAT is on the lower end it's that much more important to hit or ideally exceed the average GMAT score at your target schools. The fact that you are not currently working is also going to be a significant challenge unfortunately. The adcom really likes to see applicants who are currently employed & career gaps do make things more difficult. It gives you less recent experience to contribute to class discussions & also means your LORs are less recent. They will want to know why you left your job (and you'll want to make it clear that you left on good terms & were not fired) & why you chose to come to the US even though it meant you couldn't work (and why you chose to not at least spend your time volunteering).

In terms of whether or not to use the optional essay to explain your GPA, the accident would be worth mentioning & that will make the adcom more willing to overlook your performance that semester. Depending on how low your GPA is the other semesters you may want to address it, but it will all depend on what you would say to explain what went wrong there. If you'd like to chat & give us a bit more background we can definitely give some suggestions for whether to address it & how. Likewise with the current career gap.

A lot is also going to depend on the strength of your work experience. The adcom wants to see applicants who have made big impact in their careers (i.e. driving increases in revenue or decreases in cost, launching profitable new products or campaigns, etc). Ideally you'll have some leadership experience to show as well, either at work or in your extracurriculars -- although generally speaking the adcom doesn't place that much weight on extracurriculars from college since it was so long ago. They prefer to see recent experience.

Having traveled isn't going to differentiate you unfortunately. Many applicants are very well traveled. But unless you are applying to schools like Duke or INSEAD it's definitely not a deal breaker if you don't have international work experience. Many applicants get into top schools without it.

Your post-MBA goals will be critical as well. The adcom wants to know exactly what you plan to do in the ST & LT (target title & 203 target firms), what you hope to accomplish in that role & WHY this is your impact. Top schools are looking for applicants who will really make a difference in their respective industries. In other words, they want someone who is going to change the world in some way, not just get a "job."

All of these factors will determine how competitive you are for top 20 schools, and like I said, retaking the GMAT would definitely be a good first step.

If you'd like to chat more about how to overcome some of the challenges in your candidacy (while leveraging your strengths), definitely reach out to us. If you email Claudia at claudia@admissionado.com she can set you up with a free consultation with one of our MBA consultants who can take a look at your resume & give you some more detailed thoughts!