Guys can someone please tell me where can i find the book Powerscore CR Bible?

Hi All,
I'm an aspirant for an MBA from US for fall 2013. I have been doing my research on colleges and have been convinced to follow the FT Rankings to make a judgement and I'm probably looking at colleges ranking 20 to 40 on the FT rankings. These are the colleges ranked from 20 to 40 on the FT list.

Rice University: Jones
Indiana University: Kelley
Pennsylvania State University: Smeal
University of Rochester: Simon
Texas A & M University: Mays
University of Texas at Austin: McCombs
University of North Carolina: Kenan-Flagler
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Maryland: Smith
Purdue University: Krannert
Washington University: Olin
Vanderbilt University: Owen
University of Southern California: Marshall
Ohio State University: Fisher
Boston College: Carroll
University of Minnesota: Carlson
University of Washington: Foster
Georgia Institute of Technology
Wisconsin School of Business
Michigan State University: Broad
Boston University School of Management

My question is :-
1.) I have been reading a lot about the economy in the US and I'm wondering if its a good idea to be at any of the above colleges ? Now I know that aiming for Top 20 would always be better than 20 to 40, but since I dont have such a great profile Im aiming at these colleges.

2.) Im specifically interested in Finance MBA leading to and 'Equity Analyst' or a Corporate Finance position. Can someone specifically provide me a list or point me towards a link which has the list of Top 30 Finance concentration MBA programs. Im asking for this cuz i know some of the schools iv listed above are good for may be marketing or operations or SCM etc. I dont want to be targeting these schools. I actually used the FT Ranking to sort these colleges, but later realized that a few good finance programs are just not present in the FT ranking (dunno y ). For eg Freeman-Tulane is not present in FT list, whereas i hear its one of the good and generous finance mba programs in US. Now i dont want to be missing applying to these schools. So if someone could please provide me a list of top 30 finance mba programs it would be really good.


2.) Is it completely insane to aim for a placement passing out from these colleges in this tough job market/or may be later when the economy improves.

3.) I had given CFA L1 in June 2011, but i did not pass and rather got band 6/10 dur to lack of preparation due to heavy office workload. I plan to give CFA L1 again later in June 2012. Can you please tell me if it would be a good idea to mention this failed attempt in my application? Pros-shows my interest in finance. Cons - i failed it.

4.) Also do I need to give TOEFL for applying to bschools in US ? My schooling and engineering has been in English Language.

5.) Im planning to give my GMAT on 26th August 2012, considering 1st October to be the R1 deadline for a few colleges I aim to apply for, do I have sufficient time ? I read on mba.com that GMAT guys take about 20 days to report scores to schools. So does that mean that if 1st October is the R1 deadline for a college then I need to ask GMAT to report scores to the college on say 10th Sept, so that the scores reach the college by 1st Oct?

Thanks

Guys, I am a second year MBA student at Boston College. A quick note of advice to you guys, the placements are real bad at the school this year so I would definitely advice that you guys have a re-look at things before making final decision. I notice that most of you guys are looking at changing careers, even for non career changers the placement was horrible this year and the career services office here is no good as well.

I just wanted to post this quick note. Good luck to all of you.

Can you please be a little more descriptive? Bad as in how bad ? Some statistics would be good. Thanks in advance

I remember seeing it in FT but i cant find it now. They had rankings based on specialization like Marketing, SCM, Finance etc.

Bharath

No probs..Thanks a lot Bro

Hi ,

To start with, my profile:-
X - 70%
XII - 70%
B.Tech (C.S) - 67% from an average engineering college (NOT IIT/NIT)

I'm planning to apply for US MBA programs starting Fall 2013.

It would be great if you could answer my following queries:-

1.) I passed out BE in 2008 - then because of recession I waited at home for 1 year for my IT company to give me joining and started working in Oct 2009. I did not work anywhere for this duration of 1 year, but I can get some work ex certificates from my friends business, which would add 1 year of work-ex to my profile which wud otherwise be left blank - Do you suggest I should do this ?

2.) When we apply to US programs, do they consider work ex duration until the time when we are applying for the course OR until the time I will start the course.

3.) Is the formula by which they calculate the GPA publicly available ?

4.) I have the list of top MBA programs is US, but can some one point me towards a list of Top Finance MBA programs in US?

5.) Are X and XII marks considered while admissions ? I mean do we have to mention them anywhere during the App Process?

6.) Is my profile, per se, good enough to earn a scholarship if I get a decent GMAT score? or should i completely forget that with my poor X,XII and Engg scores and also the normal IT exp?

Appreciate any help.

Thanks

Heres a link
Best Finance Programs Top Business Schools US News Best Graduate Schools

Thanks,
Bharath

Thanks a lot Bharath!
This is the US News Ranking. I was wondering if there is a similar Finance specific MBA Ranking from FT also since you mentioned FT earlier.

rohitsaxena00 Says

Thanks a tonne boss !!

Hi bharath - I searched FT. i couldnt find a Finance specific ranking. That was for MS in Finance. Am i missing something here ? Can you point me towards the link for Finance specific MBA Rankings.

Hi Rohit,

There isnt a definite answer to any of your question

1) I do not think that an additional years worth of work-ex will make a difference. You have 3 years and that should be good. They are not going to ask you to explain the gap (if its a tough interview, they might and even if they do you have a good justification)

2) Varies from 1 program to another. some want you to mention the work ex till the time you join while others till a specified date (like end of April)

3) some programs have it in their application website.

4) Check financial times, they have breakup by specialization

5) I have not mentioned them in any of my applications. They just ask for undergraduate marks.

6) I have a GMAT of 650 and i have got great scholarships from every college i got an admit from. So basically it depends on how good you present yourself (in the essays, interviews etc).

Regards,
Bharath

Thanks a tonne boss !!