guidance sought

My first post on this Forum.have been a research asociate for the past one year in a project which is getting over next feb.have explored options and have settled for PhD as an option.have browsed the net-more knowledge and somewhat a little of 't…

My first post on this Forum.have been a research asociate for the past one year in a project which is getting over next feb.have explored options and have settled for PhD as an option.have browsed the net-more knowledge and somewhat a little of 'too much info' .if anybody could help with atleast these queries,1)have decided to sit for Gmat & toefl in Nov.will registering one of these days be too late?will soon get hold of my credit card,am waiting for that.kolkata will be the likely centre.2)with two mths prep-what resources should i settle for-princeton,kaplan,bigbook?a cousin of mine has sent me certain links-he says "take printouts,why buy?"i too do not wish to confuse myself with too much materials.3)I have done my MBA,then one year work exp in a pvt bank as a trainee,and thereafter,an RA in a research project.academics-Std X-80%,Std XII-77%,B.com-72% and MBA-75%..however,maths background is sadly lacking.based on preferences for a PhD(Finance),have shortlisted following schools-syracuse,purdue,yale( offers full financial aid,i guess),nanyang,new york univ,minnesota,colorado & insead.any recommendations welcome because i need schools that will offer funding(normally phd programs are fully funded by several universities).i know i have listed some top schools like insead but nanyang and insead do not charge application fees(a good thing 'cos the normal rate is $40-$75 per application).4)obtaining visa requires the statement of resources by the candidate.but if the university does give a letter wherein the funding is specifically mentioned,is it still possible to get a visa?the whole process of applying,sitting for gmat&toefl; is quite expensive,and so this question is really imp....because there's no sense in going through the entire process if the visa requirements need such a mandatory statement irrespective of any fundings offered?thank you.more questions will come depending on the reply to the last question!!!!!!!!!

Thread being moved to the GMAT section, which is more apt for this query.

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All the best.