27 definitely isn’t too old for an MBA, but some schools, like Harvard and Stanford, tend to have a lower average age than other schools. I’ve said this before, but the CFA often isn’t super helpful for admissions, because it’s very time consuming, and doesn’t require leadership, teamwork, or community involvement, which are all prized by the adcoms. However, once you’re in school, the CFA is quite helpful, as it will give you a leg up both in the classroom and in the job search.
I’ll be starting business school when I’m about 27, so it better not be too old!
Not to threadjack here, but does anyone know if those “months of work experience” are at the time you apply or at the time you enroll since obviously these could be many months apart.
I am planning on applying in my early 30 's …looks like i’m outta luck …
" I’ll be starting business school when I’m about 27, so it better not be too old!" I always thought you were a little older Numi …you seem to have a lot of experience
i know it isn’t harvard, but i’ll be starting at chicago in the fall three months after i turn 31. by definition, most people don’t have the median stats. it’s simply in the middle. most people have either more or less. also, be definition, as many are above as are below. don’t worry about age. worry about the rest of your application.
ahmadmaghfur Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Whats your view on me applying an mba at harvard > business school? My profile: 27 years, Malaysian, > CFA Level 2 Candidate, currently working as a > Sell-side equity analyst in a local brokerage > firm. Is it worth it? Main goal: fund manager in > 4-5 years. It might just be me, but I think your passing of Level I probably put you over the edge. Do it.
24 years old is the sweet spot? riiiiight
JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Uh, really? What is the GMAT scale? It’s on a scale of 800.
JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Uh, really? What is the GMAT scale? It’s on a scale of 800.
JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Uh, really? What is the GMAT scale? It’s on a scale of 800.
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > actually, that’d be me…and to set the record > straight, i won the nobel peace prize *while* i > was defending my world kickboxing title. they > handed me the prize as i roundhouse kicked my > opponent in the face. The truth is revealed, numi = Chuck Norris On a more serious note, I’ve always remembered that the average age for top MBA programs was 28. I find very few people going into a top MBA program before they are 25 unless they were on a serious fast track out of undergrad (McKinsey/BCG/Bain analyst program).
Rudeboi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > " I’ll be starting business school when I’m about > 27, so it better not be too old!" > > I always thought you were a little older Numi > …you seem to have a lot of experience Hi Rudeboi - I started working in finance straight out of college. I haven’t been in the business as long as a number of the other posters here, but I’ve definitely tried to make the most of my experience so far.
From the limited research I’ve done it seems that there is at least some validity to HBS and Stanford generally going after relatively younger applicants. I don’t know if that has carried over to other top schools, but hopefully it takes a couple years before it does.
HBS is a management school, not a finance school.
Mcalamari is right avg. age is 28. That might actually be median age. 24 is extremly young. Most schools would look at 24 as a negative.
My friend just applied to Chicago and got called out for being 24 during his interview. They asked him to mitigate why he should be let in for being so young/inexperienced.
Some B-schools are definitely trending younger (Stanford and Harvard come to mind). The following link helps explain why this is the case: http://mbaapply.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html
from the link: “And let’s face it. Younger people are easier to exploit and manipulate. It’s easier for a manager to ask a 27-year old single person to go the extra mile, come in on a weekend to do “non-essential but helpful” work. It’s harder to do that to a 33 or 35 year old parent with kids - because he/she won’t fall for that kind of BS, or the manager will feel too guilty to even ask.” all too true. unfortunately i fall into the former category *gah*. vDiddy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Some B-schools are definitely trending younger > (Stanford and Harvard come to mind). The > following link helps explain why this is the > case: > > http://mbaapply.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.ht > ml
Although work experience is still an important component to getting into a top school, I know several people who have been admitted to top programs with just 2 years work experience. That’s not to say the it’s impossible to get into a top MBA program at an older age, but the article does shed some light on why some b-schools are trending younger. By the way, HBS now has a 2+2 program specifically targeted at college seniors. Basically, HBS allows seniors to apply for b-school. If they get in, they work for two years, and then they return to get their MBA. cfaprincess Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > from the link: “And let’s face it. Younger people > are easier to exploit and manipulate. It’s easier > for a manager to ask a 27-year old single person > to go the extra mile, come in on a weekend to do > “non-essential but helpful” work. It’s harder to > do that to a 33 or 35 year old parent with kids - > because he/she won’t fall for that kind of BS, or > the manager will feel too guilty to even ask.” > > all too true. unfortunately i fall into the former > category *gah*. > > vDiddy Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Some B-schools are definitely trending younger > > (Stanford and Harvard come to mind). The > > following link helps explain why this is the > > case: > > > > > http://mbaapply.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.ht > > > ml