I have been accepted into NYU Stern's full-time MBA program. I wonder
if I should wait another year to apply into "top 10". What is the
average salary for a person that is 5 year post MBA from NYU ,Wharton
and Columbia? Do you have the comparitive stats? what percentage of
graduates get into Investment Banking or Portfolio Management at top
US companies amoung the three? Do you think my chances of getting a
good job (and salary increase down the road) is substially higher out
of say, Columbia vs.NYU?

Starting Salaries of MBA grads

NYU-$86,744  (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/directory/dir-mba/brief/glanc_01152_brief.php)
Upenn-$92,986  (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/directory/dir-mba/brief/glanc_01194_brief.php)
Columbia-$90,173 (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/directory/dir-mba/brief/glanc_01148_brief.php)

For $15, you can gain access to career prospects for grads of each
school using the link on any of the above pages.

Your grades in college will determine if you should hold out for a year or not.

HI,
It seems that you are assuming that you would be accepted by a "top
ten" B-school if you apply.  ALthough I hope that this is a justified
assumption, it may depend upon what you do in the intervening time.
Maybe someone here knows if schools sort applications in different
piles, admitting a certain number of BA grads in one evaluation review
and then so many applicants who have been working for a year or two. 
If they do anything like this - even inadvertantly - you might end up
in competition with a whole different group.
I don't know, just a thought, but since B-schools look at motivation
and orientation, what you do for the year will be significant.  And it
is now near the end of July, what career-oriented choices do you have
for the coming winter?

What is not very significant are the AVERAGE beginning salary figures.
 For one, they are just averages, for another, the difference is not
so great that delaying a year makes sense.  On lifetime earnings, you
will be ahead by getting on the train now  - on the basis of the
averages.
Good luck, Myoarin