Does Age Matter? + Profile Evaluation

[rajat.arora]

Hi

I have gone through various forum posts and blogs regarding right age to enter b schools. However, most of them I noticed focus on "Am I too young"!! I am 31 years old with an engineering and MBA (finance) degree and 6.5 years of work exp. By the time I enter a B school (if I manage to do it), I would be 32 years old, with 33 in vicinity. So, with such age, do I still stand a chance for top 5s - my primary targets are LBS/ INSEAD (Paris). Further, since I have already done MBA (technically the name of degree is MMS - Masters in Management Studies), is it something that schools would be averse to?

FYI, my work exp has been around 2 years each in core industry (pre MBA), Consulting (post MBA) and Private Equity (post MBA). One major weakness that I find in my profile is a 2 year gap between my high school and under grad degree. Plus my acads have been very average and I havent really been involved in any social activities.

I would really appreciate an evaluation of my profile and a reply to my specific query regarding the age factor.

Thanks and Regards

Rajat

[mbamission]

Hi Rajat,

Thanks for writing in. mbaMission does have a post on "older" candidates, here it is:

http://www.mbamission.com/blog/2009/12/ ... m-too-old/

Typically European schools are more open to older candidates so those could be good choices. Some schools will not allow candidates with an MBA to apply to their programs -- you'll want to check with those programs to make sure that's OK. If it is, you'll need to address why you are seeking another MBA. What are you looking for that you can' achieve now?

My reaction is that you may be at a disadvantage with these schools not because of age, but because you mention gaps in your resume and average academics/extracurriculars. These are still very competitive programs and you'll need to show why you would be a good member of the class. With the limited information I have I would rate these programs as "reach" schools for you.

Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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[rajat.arora]

Thanks for the prompt reply Daniel!!

Though I browsed through the websites of respective schools that I mentioned in my previous post, I could not find specific information on whether an MBA degree would stop any candidate from applying. I would be grateful if you could shed some light on this.

Further, though I was active in not extra curricular activities during my school/ college, I have been involved in community service through a trust owned by my organisation. I hope that would help. Also, can a good GMAT score compensate for average academics?? If yes, what score should I target?

Regarding the gap in my education, I guess thats something I have to live with :(.

Some of my queries might sound petty, but would be great if you could give some insights.

Regards

Rajat

[mbamission]

Hi again Rajat,

Schools have different policies on how they view applicants with existing MBAs -- if a school web site does not offer good information, a simple call or email to the admissions office should clear things up. They're there to help!

Community service work through your company would certainly count, especially if you had a true commitment to it (regular monthly work). And yes a good GMAT can help counter a weaker GPA. There's no magic GMAT number, but I think with a 700+ you can make the argument that you are academically strong, despite your transcript.

Good luck!

[rajat.arora]

Hi Daniel!

Thanks again for your reply!!

Well what I intended to ask was that do B schools generally follow in spirit, the fact that they should not admit applicants who already have completed MBA. Eg. Tuck clearly mentions on website that people already having an MBA degree cannot apply. But I know of a lot of guys who have enrolled for Tuck MBA, though they have an MBA, which technically is called Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management. So it is clear that Tuck follows the policy in letter but not in spirit. So based on your experience, have you noticed a pettern when it comes to European schools like INSEAD or LBS??

Thanks in advance for your help.

Regards

Rajat

[mbamission]

Hi Rajat,

Unfortunately I have no further specifics on this issue beyond what I shared before -- it's interesting that you know some exceptions to the rule at Tuck. It sounds like there's some semantics at play in the name of the degree, which could work in your favor.

Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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[rajat.arora]

Hi Daniel!!

Appeared for gmat tdy and scored 700.. Wanted your advice on whether it is good enough for schools like insead/ h/w/s or it would be wise to reappear and apply in round 2..

Thanks and Regards

Rajat

[mbamission]

Hi Rajat,

I think your question is do I think you can apply to those schools for Round 1 still? It would be very aggressive to apply to all 3 of them in R1 at this stage -- perhaps you can target 1 for R1 and begin the others afterward with the intent of applying in R2?

Overall, you're better off submitting a great application in R2 than a mediocre one in R1.

Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

Read the mbaMission Insider's Guides (14 individual school titles)

Visit the mbaMission Blog

Follow mbaMission on Twitter