Hi there -
Congrats on getting started early! Without much work experience or a GMAT score, I can't give you too much direction on your profile at this point. However, I do like your goals! Below are some answers to the questions you asked - hope this helps and best of luck!
- Based on my motivation for MBA, what would you advise/suggest (provide feedback) should be my focus during my MBA? Currently, i am thinking about specializing in Technology Management/Operations Management or General Management or Strategy. [This is a much larger question; but any that you listed would work.I would say to focus on strategy and management in general as these are the areas that you likely did not get during your previous master's program. As you'll find out, for many top schools "focus areas" are kind of a moot point. I had 8 of them at Kellogg
]
- Granted i have not started preparing for GMAT, let alone taken it; do you think i stand a shot at the MIT LGO program and the top 5 MBA programs based on my profile and if so, what would you say my target GMAT score should be and if not, which programs should i be aiming for? [See above - without real leadership, career progression stories, even if you did have a GMAT score there isn't a lot I can tell you at this point. Those schools are very competitive and you need a way to stand out...]
- Can you also provide me some information as to which MBA programs provide the best funding and whether it is realistic to think about the possibility of getting this funding for my profile? What other ways can i fund myself through business school? [I specialize in advising on your applications, including scholarship essays and such, but school financial aid is a whole other profession. Unfortunately, I wouldn't feel comfortable advising on funding. It changes every year and my recommendation would be to speak with each school to understand their current outlook].
- Will my strong research and engineering background work for me or against me during applications? And also given my work experience is very engineering oriented, how would this impact my chances and lastly what would you recommend the duration of my WE be? [So many engineers apply that this doesn't make you stand out very much. You'll really need to have some good leadership stories to differentiate your application. If you scroll through some of these profile evaluation requests, you'll see that many are Indian engineers with very strong stats. So, my advice to you is to consider another angle that you can promote to help yourself stand out.]