<p>I think if you are going to be an engineer, you want to put your best academic foot forward and destroy the GMAT. If you are able to get into a management role after a couple of years (my brother-in-law did this), your grades will likely matter slightly less.</p>
<p>I also know an engineer who went to a marginal academic school and was an EE major with near perfect grades. He got a 760 on the GMAT and had 5 years of work experience as an engineer. He got into Texas and Northwestern but was rejected at Harvard, Stanford, MIT and Chicago. Hope that example helps.</p>