Beat The GMAT

Axeman33 · Mon Oct 26, 2009 12:24 pm

Just took the GMAT for the first time and earned a 760. I am on the older side of the class profiles (30), married and I have two beautiful children. I am aiming for the top schools but am not sure how they are going to view my age and family situation...and whether I should even mention that I have children.
A quick evaluation would be much appreciated.
A few items to consider:
- CFA Charterholder (since 2006)
- Research Analyst at a small alternative investment shop...only analyst at the firm, multiple funds
- 3.0 GPA small liberal arts college where I played Football and Lacrosse (yes, I was a huge slacker back in the day, and a meathead to boot)
- devilishly handsome (per wife and mother)

Right now, Sloan is probably my first choice but I am also considering Harvard, Booth, Columbia and Wharton.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Back to top

Jessica Shklar · Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:28 pm

Hi, and thanks for your inquiry. Congratulations on a terrific GMAT score.

While your age may be a factor for some schools, I think whether you have kids is pretty much irrelevant (to them! Not, of course, to you!!). I hate to say it but your devilish good looks probably won't help much either!

Seriously - the schools will ask whether you have kids on your application, but you don't need or not need to mention them in an essay. If it comes up organically, as in as part of a personal story about challenges, leadership, etc. that's fine. But just to put in that you have 2 kids isn't what they're looking for. You will not be the only applicant or, if successful, student with kids.

I can't really give a complete profile. Your grades are on the low side but the more recent GMAT obviously is not. Can you describe what you do outside of work, and your scope of responsibilities, leadership, growth, initiative, etc. at work?

Thanks.

Back to top

mr big · Tue Oct 27, 2009 2:18 pm

Is 37 too old to start an MBA program?

Back to top

Axeman33 · Tue Oct 27, 2009 2:22 pm

Thanks for the response...it is much appreciated.
At work, I am the only analyst and have been involved in both successes and failures. I am the analyst for our small fund of funds business (both private equity and hedge fund of funds) and I help run the analytics and product development for our hedge fund business. We have launched several small funds over the last few years and closed almost as many. There have also been many funds that we worked to develop that never got off the ground. It's been interesting for sure and I plan on coming back to the same firm or joining a similar firm after b-school. We have fewer than 10 people at the firm.
I don't do much outside of work besides hang out with my family and occasionally some friends (often other young dads who also need a break). Tried Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for awhile (loved it!) but had to stop due to constant injury...picked up squash instead. Years ago I did a lot (coach youth lacrosse, organize Alumni lacrosse games, reunion chair, etc.)...but that is over 5 yrs ago.

Back to top

Jessica Shklar · Tue Oct 27, 2009 2:23 pm

Most MBA programs' mean age for entering students is 27, give or take a year or two. So for every year above that, it gets harder to get accepted. MBAs are designed for people starting out in their career, and at 37 the school may not view you in that category.

However, for part-time programs or executive MBAs, age is much less of a factor.

Back to top

Jessica Shklar · Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:04 pm

Thanks for the follow up. Five years is probably too long ago to include as more than a passing reference in an essay. But schools do want to see more than just the work side of you, so if you can't supplement that with community involvement, be sure to examine your personal story. Have you made an impact in someone's life, even informally? Overcome an obstacle? Found a creative solution to a problem? These can all be fodder for good essays.

Your list of schools is ambitious so whether you add to it depends on your goals. If you absolutely want to be in business school next year, I would probably suggest adding some excellent but lower ranked schools to increase your odds. If you only want to attend a top 5-7 school, then focus hard on your essays. You can't undo the undergrad GPA or lack of community involvement, but your GMAT will help and your work experience is solid. Rounding that out with a personal story to show another facet of you is important, and you'll want your essays to show initiative, leadership, personal strength, creativity, etc.

Good luck.

Back to top

Axeman33 · Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:33 am

Thank you...I really appreciate the advice.

Back to top

dragoljubce · Wed Oct 28, 2009 8:55 pm

I am constantly surprised by the blatant ageism prophesied by MBA “consultants”. As a mother who is pushing 40, I am so very disappointed by this discrimination. How in the world is someone who is only 30 years old considered OLD? Everyone else in the world age, maturity and life experience is considered an asset; everywhere but on this forum. People chose to pursue MBA for different reasons, including full-time MBA at what you all consider “OLD” age and it really should not be yours to judge.

Back to top

Jessica Shklar · Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:06 pm

I appreciate your voicing your concerns, and, personally, share your perspective. But I do believe that your frustration is mis-directed. MBA consultants make no independent decisions regarding admission and we are merely sharing our experience and wisdom concerning what we have seen the schools look for. The schools all publish median and mean ages, and it is simply a fact that at U.S. schools, those numbers are roughly in the mid-20s. Some are as "high" as 28, but most hover in the 26-27 range. As a mean and median, that certainly does indicate that older candidates get in, but if you search statistics or for chats by admissions officers themselves, you'll see that they discuss the challenges of "older" students being accepted. Are there 35 year old students at the schools? Yes. But the simple fact is that there are not many of them, and the challenge of acceptance gets far harder after 30. (This is less the case at European schools, part-time programs or of course executive programs).

Again, thank you for raising an important point.

Back to top

dragoljubce · Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:15 pm

In my F2F discussions with directors of admissions from 3 different schools, I have never heard anything about age discrimination, only on this forum. Yes, I know statistics, but I also do not know of many people in late 30s that will wont to go back to expensive school either, so that factors in too at the low number of “OLDER” students.

Back to top

pink_08 · Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:55 pm

Based on the statistics, Business schools craft their class with more people in their later 20;s than in their 30's. But not everyone will fit in the ideal curve for applying to B-schools in their 20's. There may be a lot of external factors like financial liabilities, family concerns etc.. I think if these things are brought out in the essays , they will have some impact. Any logical ad-com would/should consider these scenarios.
I am a woman in later 20's planning to apply for 2010 R1. Frankly, I was very passionate to apply to schools from the age of 24. But my family circumstances would not allow. Yes,top school MBA's prefer to nurture relatively younger applicants. But if the personal essays of relatively higher age group applicants don't make a difference , then the essays do not play a role that they are supposed to.

Back to top

ebakeev · Fri Oct 30, 2009 7:16 am

I won't consider age as a problem for studying, but finding a job after graduation. It is more difficult to have a career change for an older student than for a younger. As I see from statistics, majority of MBA students change their jobs, and often career, after doing MBA. Will the age not cause serious problem for the job hunting especially if you studied among much younger students?
I suspect if a University is catered for younger MBAs, then the companies that come to recruit there want to find younger people because it suits their business process. So, if you are an old student in such a school, are you "not swimming in a wrong pond"? Getting help to find a job should also be considered during selection of the course.

Back to top

Beat The GMAT

Advice - Father of two with 760 GMAT

Free GMAT Prep Resources

GMAT Prep Discounts

Free Upcoming GMAT Events

Latest GMAT Articles

Latest GMAT Videos

Popular Resources