Given my age 30/31 and profile, where do I apply? Plz help

[gogmat2013]

I am looking to move into Business Development in the technology sector post MBA. I work in the Engineering Division as an engineer (programmer) for a well known semiconductor firm. I would like to get a MBA to not only move into the business development groups of technology companies, but also to learn vital leadership skills that will help me manage business development groups in the future and climb up the corporate ladder.

However, at my age I am not sure what programs are good to apply to. I am 30 today and I will be 31 in 3 months. I am a woman and an Indian citizen. I have a 710 on my GMAT. I have about 9 years of experience in engineering as an individual contributor with steady promotions. I completed my undergrad degree in 2004 from UC Berkeley with a 2.88 GPA in 5 years(typical program length is 4 years).

Will part time programs provide me with the leadership skills I need to achieve my career goals? Local programs as I live in San Francisco:
UC Berkeley Hass PT program - How competitive is my profile?
UC Davis PT program - How good is this program??
Wharton Exec MBA - How competitive is my profile?

Other programs I am looking into are 1 year programs:
Cornell 1 year Accelerated MBA

Part-time programs outside the bay area:
Booth Weekend MBA
Kellog Part-time MBA
UCLA Part-time MBA

There are a vast number of programs and I do not know what programs will I be competitive at and what programs will help me achieve my career goals at my age. Will I be competitive at any full-time programs given my age and GPA?

Any help is much appreciated. I feel like I may be a bit too old to be making this transition so I am not sure what programs to consider.

[Jon@Admissionado]

Hey dude,
So I see you are in a bit of a bind as what to do. But maybe let's start with the basics - at your age, you can go to either PT programs, EMBA programs, or full-time programs. Each one has its own structure and advantages and disadvantages. Given your goals (to stay within Industry, but to change function) actually ANY of the above might help you reach your goals, so the first thing I would suggest it to try and make a decision based on the personal and professional factors in your life of what type of program you would like to do. EMBAs MBAs and PT programs are preeeettyy different, and will depend on your ability to move, how your company might support you (in the case of PT MBAs and EMBAs) and so on.

In general, PT programs and EMBA programs tend to be less competitive than full-time programs, but also you get less use of career services and networking...

To evaluate the specific schools you wrote about - I think at UC Davis you should be fine, Haas will be tough (but possible), and Wharton is a stretch. PT programs don't make much sense outside of your area (unless like UCLA you can travel there with quick transport), and I think if you make a "mixed strategy", you should be applying to full-time programs, if you apply outside of your area, because you lose any advantage of being able to keep your job otherwise,

I hope this makes sense... and feel free to share your thoughts with me,
Best,
JF

[gogmat2013]

Hi Jon,

Thank you. Few more Q's
Do you know how reputable UC Davis is? Also, I do not want to just change into business development roles and get stagnated. I want to be able to climb the career ladder, increase my earning potential and manage teams on the business side. Will a Part-time UC Davis provide me with that opportunity?

How competitive will I be at UCLA Part-time? Is it better to try and go there vs UC Davis as it is a better school? Or do you think considering I live in the Bay area and Davis is close, it will have better networking opportunities?

Also, what would make me more competitive at Part-time Haas?

What Full-time programs may I consider.


With best wishes,
Reema

[Jon@Admissionado]

Reema,
You ask good questions. Your first one is a bit tough.. because I am no prophet, and anything can happen anywhere. What I CAN say is that wherever you apply, ultimately when you make your decision about where to go, you simply go to the best school you can get into.

Anyhow, if you feel like PT programs are ideal for you, you apply to ALL that are relevant - Davis, UCLA, Haas, because anyhow you will be geographically limited.

Now once we start discussing full-time programs, there are MANY out there and the possibilities are also many. Probably with your background, schools ranked 25-50 will be about your comfort zone, so you might look in to those schools to see where you would like to go.

[gogmat2013]

Thank you once again Jon. You say that schools ranked 25-50 are within my comfort zone for FT programs. Any reason why a top 25 school is outside my comfort zone? Is it my age of (30/31) or my undergraduate GPA of 2.88 that works against me at a top 25 univ. WIth a 710 GMAT score and 9 years of experience, can I aim for schools that are top 25?
if so, which ones would be in reach?

Are any of the accelerated 1 year MBAs that are very much within reach that I should consider.
1. Emory
2. Cornell
3. Kellog
4. USC Marshall

Thanks a lot once again.

[Jon@Admissionado]

Sure thing!
Well, you could always try of course, but yes, your age + GPA _ your industry do make things tough (your GPA more than your age). Kellogg is probably going to be a far stretch, but again, when you build your overall strategy, I think it's totally okay to have one "dream" school on your list, even if it's not necessarily a "Realistic" goal. Marshall and Emory should be more possible, and Cornell will be on the tough side.