How many applications is "enough"?

[Puff]

After doing some looking, I haven't seen a lot of profiles like mine around, so I'm curious of others' opinions.

First off, here's how my profile breaks down...

GPA: 3.7 (small, unknown but good private school)
GMAT: 690
Experience: ~10yrs...All at 2 major, well known US companies in same industry
EC: non-profit board member

Applied to:
Stanford, HBS, MIT, Wharton, & UCLA

First off, I have no interest in an exec or part time program. Trying to switch industries & function, and full time seems to be the best way to do that, plus it's just the experience I want. I feel like my essays are solid and my references were very good. I'm not a minority. Because of where I am in my career, pursuing non-top 10 schools doesn't really make sense in terms of my current trajectory. At the same time, I'm afraid of the agism at top schools since I'm over 30. It's unfortunately ironic, because while I had some very impressive accomplishments my first 5 years, I knew they weren't "sexy" enough for the top programs. The next 5 years in strategy fit the MBA "sexy" factor, but now I'm nearing the upper age brackets for schools like Stanford.

Thanks

[Jon@Admissionado]

Well, if your gonna stick to Top 10, the first thing I would say is: Get a higher GMAT. You aren't willing on the schools, which is valid. But if you really want to boost your chances (esp. given your age) a higher GMAT will help. The second thing is: make sure you have a really good Reasoning backing up why you want to do it now, and how useful it will be to you, despite your age.

Finally, as for your title Q: How many schools?
A: As many as you would like to attend.

You are only gonna do this once, buddy, and the best way to increase your chances is to apply to more schools (of course with strong applications in all)