Is age a critical factor for admission?

[matt.lopz]

I am 31 year engineer working in a highly diversified manufacturing company in US.

I hear from my colleagues that above average age applicants are at a disadvantage in obtaining admits from top schools. The average age of full time applicants at top schools is around 28 years. The top schools rigorously looks for applicants in a particular age group which suits the recruiters at the school. Is age a critical factor for admission? Am I at a disadvantage because I am considerably older (3 years older) than average age applicants?

In my defense, I must say that the career progression in manufacturing industry is very slow as compared to that in Finance or IT industry. It takes about 8 years to become Project Team Leader in my company. Is this trend in manufacturing industry recognized by adcoms? What can I do to help my application?

[mbamission]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for writing in. Age indeed is one of the factors in assessing candidate profiles, and it does seem in recent years that there is a growing emphasis on younger candidates at certain programs. Of course, age is the one thing you have no control over, so if you are indeed looking to get an MBA, the best you can do is move forward and emphasize the pieces you can control -- GMAT, work experience, goals, etc. The best way I can think of to combat the age issue is to make it clear why it's important for you to get your MBA now, why did you wait and how does it feed into your goals?

Best of luck!
Best of luck,

Daniel Richards
http://www.mbamission.com

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[matt.lopz]

Daniel,

Thank you for your reply.

Matt