The Application Process

Hello,
I am a 37 year old IT Project Manager - very motivated to get admission only in the top schools.

Do you think age matters in the Application process.

Can you please provide some honest feedback.

Thanks
-Sai

You should ask this question in the "Ask an MBA Admissions Consultant" section - we have one of our MBA admissions folks monitoring that forum. I teach GMAT classes but am by no means an expert in MBA admissions, as I have a master's in accounting, not an MBA.

My guess is that 37 might be getting a little on the older side for top schools, but assuming you application is otherwise strong, I don't think it would be much of an issue.

Good luck!

Age matters of course, in fact everything matters
But as long as you justify some of the important questions like: Why MBA? why us? & why now? I think you can get through,

Your background, achievements, Essays, recos (& of course your GMAT) matters more than other factors. With solid application I think anyone who doesnt fit into middle 80% average of the class can get accepted.

Yes, your age is more than ave. of the class, but you'd as well find some 40+ people in top-b-schools

Over here at Wharton, I definitely have some classmates in their upper 30s.

As the comment above stated, you want to be sure to have a focussed story, as this is the key component of every application. You'll probably want to address why the MBA at this point in your life - your goals and ambitions will likely be different from the 25 yr olds who are applying.

Wharton is a school you might want to focus on - it tends to have a slightly higher age average than some of the other top programs.

Best of luck!

Why not look at an Executive MBA, they are generally more targetted to older students. I'm in my early 30's and doing the Cornell-Queen's program. We have several people in their early 40's in our class.

Kelly

I agree with the previous posters, however - many schools are 'trending' downward in age and experience - particularly Stanford and HBS. That doesn't mean its not possible to get admission, but you are facing an uphill battle.