skozak wrote:
What do you believe is a practical cut-off age to start an MBA (fulltime) and perhaps think about Exec MBA? Judging on the average age I can see on most MBA programs I am a little on the other side of things. Does it make it harder to get in?
My interest is entrepreneurship and general management and I am not looking at it as a pay boost. I do relatively ok already. Its more for me from the point of view of education and meeting amazing and fascinating people like all you guys and girls.
I am 34, so what are your thoughts?
The only schools in which an older candidate has a tough time in admissions are HBS and Stanford. The adcom from HBS can argue a lot that there is no age bias there, but statistics prove the opposite: only around 2% are over 30+ and from that most are military or women.
That being said, even at 34 you have a shot at all other top schools as long as you have a decent GMAT, an interesting but not necessarily "rock star" work experience AND, most important, a compelling story for WHY MBA / WHY NOW.
Note that Exec MBA and Full-time MBA are different things although the education is very similar. If you want to advance in your field and your company is willing to sponsor you, Exec MBA should be the way to go. If want to explore new ideas and feel you, want to change careers and would enjoy spending 1 or 2 years dedicated to it, than the full-time is the best.
See this discussion about age and MBA:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/old-for-an-mba-352223.htmlGood luck !