690/Profile Eval+ Schools ?

[D1981_India]

Hi
I scored 690(88%) in my GMAT(Q 49(88%), V35(74%)). Perhaps if I retake it, it could reach 720-730. Honestly speaking, I am not targeting any of the top 15 schools with this score of mine as I belong to the Indian IT Male pool. I would really really appreciate if you could advice(brutally honest!) me whether I should focus on my applications(essays, recos etc) now or should I try to retake the GMAT.
I would prefer not to exhaust myself on my application if my chances with my current score are bleak.
I am thinking of applying to Olin, UT-Austin, Boston, NUS and ISB, India. Please suggest me any other schools too which I can consider sweet spots.
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Age: 27 years

GPA: 9.44/10.0 from IT-BHU, one of the top 10 engg colleges in India

Professional: 5+ years (2+ years of International Consulting for an Investment Bank in the US) of exp in a wide range of software-related fields including product development, software services and software consulting.

EC: Committee Head of Cyber Cell in organizing cultural festival at college, Taught in a school for blind kids during college days

Also ventured into starting an e-commerce business, with limited success. I have shut it down for the time being.

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[MBAApply]

I think you're choosing the right range of schools - if you put in a strong application, you should be able to get some admits.

You may also want to shoot for one "stretch" school -- maybe a school in the bottom of the top15 such as Yale, Cornell or UCLA. Or you can shoot for schools like Georgetown, USC, UNC or Indiana - which are of the same tier as UT-Austin. It all comes down to your personal preferences and where you want to live post-MBA (i.e. go to a school in a region where you'll likely remain post-MBA).

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com

[D1981_India]

Many thanks Alex!