Old dog wants to learn new Strategy. Help needed in targeting schools.

[costrike]

I'm looking for help determining which schools might be a good fit. Please share your thoughts.

Citizenship: US

Undergraduate: B.S Management - State School - 2.3 GPA - I know this hurts. No need to kick me.

Graduate: MBA - Top 25 school (3.3 GPA)
Recently wrote a case study to be used by a strategy professor there.
References coming from 3 recognized professors.

Work Experience:
10+ years IT experience in Finance, Consulting and Construction firms
3 years Project Management
4 years Non-profit Leadership

Research Interests:
Problem formulation, solution optimization and the roles of critical and integrative thinking.
Sustainable Organization Design

Strategy is my primary interest, but I am also keenly interested in OB, Macro, psych and soc.

GMAT: 690 (High Verbal/Lesser Quant)

Preferred Strategy Programs:

Primary: Toronto (Seemingly perfect fit), Washington University, Duke, Berkeley, USC, Cornell

Secondary: Texas, Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, UNC


Questions:
- Any school recommendations beyond my list?
- Is it worth retaking the GMAT?
- Of my preferred programs, which seem most realistic?
-Any recommendations to improve chances would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

[phdhope]

I would recommend retaking the GMAT. While your score is good, combining it with your GPA (either) makes it slightly unattractive. Unfortunately, I am not a strategy guy and can't really comment on the schools.

[alexis]

Another secondary school you might consider adding to your list is Temple. Pretty good b-school, has strategy management specialty within business administration PhD, and I think the average GMAT of accepted students is around 701, which is right around the range of what you scored.

[costrike]

Thanks for the thoughts. I think I'll give the GMAT a 2nd try and will check out Temple.