Over the Hill?

August 30, 2010 :: Admissionado Team

We get this question a lot: “Am I too old?”

And it’s a good one. Technically speaking, there is no such thing as too old, and there are of course exceptions to every case, but it is definitely something you should consider when applying to Business Schools. Make it a part of your strategy. Harvard is trending younger (mean age – 26), the ripe old age of thirty-three doesn’t mean you wont get in, but it DOES mean that you cannot ignore the issue. 33 and Harvard may be a real stretch. (Military folk, different story.)

So step one when considering schools is to check out the average age of their intake. Fold this into your strategy. Overall, European schools are more ambivalent about age than American schools.

There are other considerations as well. A thirty-two year old Software Engineer with 12 years of experience in coding will look far less attractive than a thirty-two year old who did two years of mandatory military service before attending medical school.

Thirdly, consider Executive MBA programs. If you have a good leadership background, this might be a better choice for you anyway. You could reasonably cover in one year what would take someone less experienced two full years.