Generally work experience

[bln123]

Dear Stacy, dear Lisa,


I have a general question concerning work experience for a top MBA program.

I would have 3 years of work experience at the start of Sep 2010 MBA programs.
The businessweek.com descriptions of the separate programs, for example, set out average work experience and sometimes a range of the median 80%. Most top programs apparently have a median of 5-6 years of work experience and usually at least 3 years.

I am now wondering whether to wait another year with my application to be more competitive.

What do you think of average years of work experience, is it a massive factor for top MBA programs? Would an average profile (see below) with "only" three years work experience be competitive?

To give a short overview of the rest of my profile:
-German citizen
-top 10% GPA from an average school
-GMAT not done yet, let's say 700
-3 years of work experience in a major consulting firm
-no major extra-curricular activities
-studied in Germany, France, Australia
-fluent in German, English and a bit of French

Best regards, Matthias

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Matthias,

It is not the number of years that counts as much as the quality of your experience during your career tenure. If you feel you are ready now, then apply now. The only reason to wait another year would be if you think you will have some professional experience that will broaden and/or deepen your knowledge of your industry. If you feel ready and you are waiting just to wait, then I think you should consider applying now.

Good luck,
Lisa

[bln123]

Thank you