Advice Needed

HI everyone, I’m a final year engineering student from National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur. I will be completing my under graduation in June 2011. My tentative plans after this either to: 1) Give the GMAT for Indian Institute…

HI everyone,

I'm a final year engineering student from National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur. I will be completing my under graduation in June 2011.
My tentative plans after this either to:

1) Give the GMAT for Indian Institute of Foreign Trade as there is a quota for NRI's and since my father who is currently working for the Indian Embassy in Singapore makes me eligible for this.

2) Give the GMAT and apply for B-schools outside India.

Now, I have the following queries and I thought this would be the best place to clear them:
1) Should I give my GMAT at the start of 2011. I have already started preparations and a solid 6 months of good preparations should do it.

2) Is it advisable for me to apply for B-schools starting now OR should I work for a couple of years and get some work experience under my belt before working on the application process

3) How long does the application process for B-schools outside India tend to take.

4) To what extend do college scores matter in deciding admissions into B-schools and what is the minimum.


As of now these are my few questions and I would be highly grateful if you guys could help me out here. Thanks