Where Should You Apply? You’ve decided that you are going to apply to b-school. Now you need to ask yourself the next critical question: WHERE? Where should you spend your next few years? Which city? Which country? And last but not least, WHICH PROGRAM? Accepted.com has designed a handy infographic, the Accepted Positioning System , that will help you answer the important questions in a way that will lead you to your ideal MBA program. Here I’ll highlight some of the questions that you’ll encounter during your journey. The answers you provide will guide you on the most effective route to your goal: 1. What is your post-MBA goal? a. What job function do you see yourself doing? b. Which industry do you want to work in? c. Where (which country/city/environment) do you want to live? 2. Which schools support your goals? a. Are the companies you would like to work for recruiting for the functions/industries you would like to pursue at your target school? b. Do your target schools offer clubs and extra-curricular activities in your desired field (and if not, is it possible for you to start your own club)? c. Does the school’s curriculum offer a major, concentration, or adequate coverage for your particular interests and goals? d. Are there professors who have done or are currently doing research in your area of interest or in a field where you want to acquire expertise? 3. What are your qualifications? a. Are you academically competitive? (Take a look at your GMAT/GRE score, transcript, additional courses, etc.) b. Do you have impressive work experience, qualitatively and quantitatively? c. Do your community service activities show additional skills and character traits (like initiative, leadership, responsibility, and teamwork)? 4. Choose your 4-8 schools to apply to The schools that support your goals and at which you are competitive are the ones you should apply to. If there are lots of schools in that category, you’re in luck! Apply to the ones that simply appeal to you most for whatever reasons. If no school meets those two criteria, then you either need to improve your qualifications or adjust your goal. These questions are clear, but how do the answers guide you? Here are a few prototypical applicants so you can see at least on a superficial level how I would use this information. Joe 1) Wants to go into Management Consulting at elite strat consulting firm 2) Schools to consider: HBS, Stanford, Kellogg, Tuck, Darden, Chicago, Wharton, MIT, Columbia, Haas, NYU Stern, Ross 3) Qualifications a. 740 GMAT b. 3.7 GPA from Princeton. Majored in econ and graduated in 2009. c. Interned for boutique consulting firm in college. d. Captain of tennis team at Princeton. e. President of fraternity. f. Joined army and served as an officer in combat. Should be discharged this June. 4) Where should he apply? HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, and Tuck. Will apply to Darden, Haas, and Ross R2 if not accepted anywhere R1. Jane 1. Wants to go into marketing with focus on digital marketing and then maybe start her own company. Prefers to live in South Eastern US. 2. Schools to consider: Kellogg, Cornell, Haas, Duke, UNC, Ross, UCLA, Emory, UT, MIT, CMU Tepper 3. Qualifications a. 680 GMAT with 65% on Quant. Highest score after 3 attempts. Taking MBAMath and several quant classes at local college to boost math skills, counteract low quant score, and prepare for quant demands of b-school. b. 3.4 GPA from public ivy. Majored in econ and history. Graduated in 2007 c. Works as law firm manager in 20-lawyer office. Has been in charge of publicity and social media for firm which has seen tremendous growth from that channel. Started as a clerk after college and worked her way up. d. Married has one child. Husband can work from anywhere. e. Active in church and alumni association. Runs 5 and 10K races. In college was officer in sorority. f. Wants to apply R1 for 2014. 4. Where should she apply? Duke, UNC, Darden and Kellogg for R1. Kellogg is a stretch, but she really likes its strength in marketing and collegial culture. Will include as a stretch. Will apply to UT and Emory round 2 if not accepted anywhere R1. Ajay 1. Has high tech product ideas and wants to start own business, if not immediately after MBA, then within five years after MBA. Attracted to design thinking. 2. Schools to consider: MIT, Haas, Stanford, CMU Tepper, UT Austin, UCLA, USC Marshall, Duke, Ross, Cornell Johnson, UNC, Babson, Rotman 3. Qualifications a. 700 GMAT (51 quant; struggles with verbal). Took previously and had 660 and 680. Doesn’t want to retake again. b. Has 7.2/10 CGPA from IIT Madras. B. Tech. Graduated in 2008 c. Has been working for Tata Consulting on software consulting projects for last 3 years in the UK and Europe. Previously worked for Infosys as a programmer for two years in India. Can show increasing responsibility at work. d. Was active in college, but hasn’t done much since outside of work. Likes to play guitar and cricket. e. Wants to apply in 2013-14 4. Where should he apply? Will apply to Darden, UCLA, UT Austin, and Duke R1. Will apply to UNC, USC Marshall, Babson, and Rotman if not accepted R1. Also considering Ross’ MS in Entrepreneurship. Jack 1. Wants to go into R/E development/ finance and grow family business. Really prefers East Coast. 2. Schools to consider Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Haas, Kellogg, Duke, Cornell, Rochester, Georgetown, UNC, UCLA, USC, LBS 3. Qualifications a. 730 GMAT, balanced. b. 2.9 from Georgetown. Class of ‘09 (Immature freshman year; Illness sophomore year; upward trend in last two years; dean’s list as a senior) Majored in math; minored in Asian history. Has passed all 3 levels of CFA. Took a few business classes (accounting, stats for business, finance) online and got straight A’s c. Financial analyst program for 2 years. Then joined family property management business (outside NYC) for two years. Handled 2 8-figure property acquisitions. d. Had been active in Romney campaign and in local Republican politics. e. Wants to apply in 2013-14 4. Where should he apply? Will apply to Columbia, NYU Stern, Wharton, and Duke R1. If not accepted, will try for Chicago, UNC, UCLA, and Georgetown round 2. May substitute LBS for one of the last four. Follow these steps to map out the route to the best MBA program for you. For more details, grab your copy of Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One. What do you think of the Accepted Positioning System ? Are there other steps you would take or have taken in reaching your list of target MBA programs? What are they? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and answer any questions you may have!

Hi Linda, It was 60% What was your grade percentage at Pune? Linda ]

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Where should I apply? (with case studies)

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nnishmin

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02 Sep 2015, 03:14

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I am a 29 year old with 3.68 GPA from Colby in Economics and International Studies.
Almost 7 years of full time experience in the NGO and development sector of Bangladesh. Now serve as manager of the maize and fertiliser sectors at a very large argicultural, pro poor development project.
Bangladesh, Muslim, female.
730 GMAT (48 quant, 42 verbal, 8 IR, 5.5 Essay)
Where should I apply to?
My target school is Stanford.

lavnads

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Schools: Darden '20 (A)

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Updated on: 24 Feb 2017, 16:52

Originally posted by lavnads on 17 Oct 2016, 05:28.
Last edited by lavnads on 24 Feb 2017, 16:52, edited 1 time in total.

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21 Oct 2016, 10:07

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lavnads

Hi

Below is my profile:
Indian female
UG from IIT, 7.1/10 GPA
GMAT score 750 (Q49/V42)
Have over 3 years of work ex as of now, 1 yr in market research and consulting, 2 yrs in a top indian ecommerce company.

Interested in pursuing a career in Ops strategy and process optimization OR Consulting

What are my chances for Harvard, Stanford and Wharton? Which other schools would be a good fit for me?

Thanks in advance

lavnads,

You have a competitive profile for your target schools. Also consider Haas, MIT Sloan, UCLA, Ross, and CMU Tepper.

mananbhandari

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28 Nov 2016, 01:17

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Hi,

My current profile looks like this :

1) CGPA : 3.1 (B.E. in Information Technology 2009, University of Pune, INDIA)
2) GMAT : 750 (Quant : 51, Verbal : 40)
3) Was exploring my opportunities, possibilities and limits rather than joining a regular IT engineer job profile for a little over 2 years
4) Co-founded a company (and was working primarily as a CTO) in 2012 which got acquired in 2015. It was a location based restaurant-dish finding service in US & India
5) Have been working with the acquiring company for little over an year now

I want to pursue an MBA to enable my journey from a CTO to a CEO. Understand and gain knowledge about business administration and increase my business acumen. I'd like to gain exposure by working for sometime after my MBA to test out my abilities before setting on a new path.

Schools I'm considering : GSB, HBS, HAAS, STERN, SLOAN, TUCK, BOOTH & Columbia

Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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01 Dec 2016, 23:47

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mananbhandari

What was your grade percentage at Pune?

Linda

mananbhandari

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01 Dec 2016, 23:51

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Hi Linda,
It was 60%
[
Hi,

My current profile looks like this :

1) CGPA : 3.1 (B.E. in Information Technology 2009, University of Pune, INDIA)
2) GMAT : 750 (Quant : 51, Verbal : 40)
3) Was exploring my opportunities, possibilities and limits rather than joining a regular IT engineer job profile for a little over 2 years
4) Co-founded a company (and was working primarily as a CTO) in 2012 which got acquired in 2015. It was a location based restaurant-dish finding service in US & India
5) Have been working with the acquiring company for little over an year now

I want to pursue an MBA to enable my journey from a CTO to a CEO. Understand and gain knowledge about business administration and increase my business acumen. I'd like to gain exposure by working for sometime after my MBA to test out my abilities before setting on a new path.

Schools I'm considering : GSB, HBS, HAAS, STERN, SLOAN, TUCK, BOOTH & Columbia

Any suggestions/advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.[/quote]

What was your grade percentage at Pune?

Linda
]

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02 Dec 2016, 09:55

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mananbhandari

What was your grade percentage at Pune?

Linda
][/quote]

I'm saw your grade percentage.

Your GMAT certainly is impressive. Your experience could be impressive. Your grades are below average for your target programs. Your post MBA goal should be a little sharper.

My sense is that you are stretching by aiming for those programs, with the possible exception of Stern. I suggest you apply to let's say 4 of the schools on your list and perhaps another two where you are more likely to get accepted and where you can obtain a strong general management education. look into UNC, Ross, Duke Fuqua and Darden.

Best,
Linda

SSG21

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12 May 2018, 23:36

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Hi Linda/ Jon,

I write to you for MBA profile evaluation.

Briefly,
- I am a 26 year old Indian female
- Education qualifications - Bachlor in Commerce from a leading university in India scoring 83% (graduated in 2012)
- Completed a 3 year specialisation degree in 2013 - Chartered Accountant (similar to US CPA)
- Have been working with a Big4 accounting firm since 2010 (3 years of internship and 5 years of qualified experience)
- Work profile includes M&A consultancy from a tax and regulatory stand point
- Current position manager (received accelerated promotions and consistently a high rater in bell curve evaluation)
- I am a trained classical dancer and have also completed 4 (of 7) national level examinations for achieving the highest level of merit in classical dance in India.
- GMAT score 680 (Q50, V32). Have received a V33 in a previous GMAT attempt.

Why am I pursuing a GMAT - after having worked by 5 years in an M&A profile, I wish to provide my career with the impetus where I can be in a position to front end deals, more specifically, I look for an Investment Banking and ultimately a private equity profile.

I believe that given my objective and preference of undergoing an MBA from United States, I should apply to schools in the East coast, near the New York financial hub. I understand that Columbia and NYU Stern are unattainable given my low GMAT score, and hence I would request you to suggest which schools I should apply to?

Also, it is important for me to achieve financial aid for my MBA program. I understand a financial aid/ scholarship at this GMAT score may be far-fetched, which is why I am contemplating to re-take the GMAT in the next few weeks.

Your insights and feedback on way forward would be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
SSG21

Karmesh

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07 Oct 2019, 05:17

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Hey Linda,

Thanks in advance for doing this

Here's my brief profile

1. GMAT : 720
2. CG - 7.3 (automobile engg)
3. Entrepreneur - Co-founded 2 companies, working with the 2nd one currently.
1st was an EV startup, 2nd a social enterprise. Combined exp 4.5 years
4. Featured(along with my team) in the Entrepreneur India Mag.
The startup has been featured in countless publications.
5. Started India Largest student Go-karting championship.
I also mentor and do consultancy for a few startups along with a couple of things here and there...

My motivation to do an MBA comes from my desire to learn the best business practices, network, get exposure to impactful businesses and solve actual problems on a bigger scale.

I'd like to get into consulting post-MBA. As of now, i think INSEAD is a good fit BUT I've been working on and with startups to date, this means i don't really have any corporate experience. Looking at various class profiles i see most people are from corporate backgrounds. Would this be in any way be a negative?
Also, I'm not sure of the depth the course provides. I'm skeptical that a 10-month course might be too short to gain sufficient knowledge, given the absence of prior corporate exp. (PS- I'm an engineer)

Apart from INSEAD i've been looking at IESE (they have an amazing focus on Entrepreneurship).

Which other schools should i look into?
Please feel free to add any comments and suggestions.

PS : I was shying away from schools in the states due to the LARGE financial commitment, BUT if you think otherwise please let me know.

Looking forward to hearing from you

Cheers!

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Karmesh

Accepted.com
Hey Linda,

Thanks in advance for doing this

Cheers!

INSEAD is fantastic for consulting.

Regarding the length of the program, it is a very intense program. However, I thin you need to decide if you want to save the money by attending a one-year program or if you want the longer immersion of a 2-year program, along with the internship -- but at a higher cost. You an also try for the two-year programs and see if you get enough financial aid to make it worth while.

Best,
Linda

Sanchitdd

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Schools: NTU (M$)

GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V37 Verified score

GPA: 4

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20 Jun 2021, 02:41

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Accepted.com
Hi

I dont know whether this thread is still active but will post just in case some one is still reading new posts.

Thanks in advance for doing this

Here's my brief profile
Gender – Male
Age – 26 yrs
Nationality - Indian

1. GMAT : 710(Q49,V37)- given twice; same total score both times
2. College Score- 87% (top 2 percentile in the batch), Mechanical Engineering from Top 10 college in India
3. Work Exp- 3.5 years at matriculation
Current Responsibilities:
-Prepare Engineering proposals for Steam turbines upon receiving RFQs from Utility companies/EPCs mainly for the North American market(USA/Mexico).
-My job is to carry out engineering tasks, receive internal approval from the Group leader and Engineering head of the company before the proposal is reviewed by the Vice president of a Company.
-Also create the Proposal documents, respond to customer queries and support the customer needs(only engineering tasks for me) if our proposal reaches the negotiation phase.
-As an additional task I was responsible for organizing/arranging engineering data and writing technical descriptions of each product to create a new catalog for our products. The catalog was recently approved for use worldwide.

4. Co-curricular
1. Set up a startup with 2 friends during my internship. The objective of the startup was to develop an application for HSE officers. The app received 25k+ downloads in 6 months with an average rating of 4.4 on the google play store. Around 1 year later Company I had interned at took over the control of the app.
2. Basic NGO/volunteer work.

5. Achievements:
1. Received scholarships of Rs 5000 twice for excellent academic performance during the undergraduate course.
2. Presented Technical Research Paper at IIT-BHU(Top 3 university in India) and won the award for the best research paper at the event.

6. My motivation to do an MBA comes from my desire to the make a switch to operation/supply chain management. New challenges have come up in the field which has been disrupted due to Covid pandemic making this field even more dynamic , opening up many new opportunities. My present work involves collaborating with the operations department to meet customer requirements but I specifically don't do any tasks related to Operation/Supply chain.

Colleges I am targeting- NUS, MICHIGAN ROSS, NTU, OHIO state fisher.

Will my GMAT score be competitive enough for Michigan ross considering my background? If not i am planning to write the GRE with a target of 330.

Looking forward to hearing from you

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24 Aug 2025, 07:56

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