Pl rate my chances / 740 GMAT -- Should I retake exam?

[shantanukul]

Hello All,

Would really appreciate your feedback on my chances and my profile.

Profile --
Male / 34 / Indian
Work Experience -- 10 years.
* IT professional for a major univ in Southern USA for past 5 years. (2003- Present)
* Worked as a consultant in USA (2001 -- 2003)
* Started and managed my own businesses in India. (1996 - 1999)

Education :
B.S. Economics (USA Univ) 3.8 GPA, 2008
M.S. Software Enggg. (USA Univ) 3.3 GPA, 2001
B.S. Electronics Engg. (Indian Univ), 2.9 GPA, 1998

Gmat :
740 (97%) --> 41 Verbal (92%) / 49 Quant (88%)

My target schools are : (in order of preference) --
1. Kennedy School of Govt. (Harvard) -- MPP
2. John Hopkins -- SAIS
3. Wharton MBA.
4. Yale MBA.
5. MIT Sloan MBA.

Would you pl rate my chances in any of these schools. I understand that I am at a severe dis advantage due to my age and experience in Public sector.
Also, will re-taking the GMAT help? I can probably score around 770-780 next time.

Thanks.

[bmcelroy]

Hi shantanukul-

I've moved your post to our 'Ask An Admissions Consultant' area, as they'll be better able to answer your questions.

Best,
Briehan Truesdell
Student Services Associate
800-576-4628
studentservices@manhattangmat.com
http://www.manhattangmat.com

[MBAApply]

Your GMAT is fine as it is. Retaking it yet again no matter what you score will send a message to the adcom that you don't get it. It's not about your GMAT beyond a certain threshhold - it's about your overall candidacy which is a concern.

Judging from your school selection, the biggest concern is potential lack of focus - you're applying to some MBA programs, and some public policy programs -- and you already have two masters degrees (you're applying for your 3rd one). And you're an IT dude. Also, given your age, the adcoms will hold you to a much higher standard in terms of people/leadership experience -- you have to be that much more well-rounded than an engineer/IT guy in his 20s. If your strengths are primarily analytical and numerical, you will have a rough time with admissions because the adcoms would rather take the younger engineer.

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

[shantanukul]

Thanks Alex for your reply.

[JonathanSchneider]

:)