venky_nag wrote:
Hi Paul,
First, I want to thank you for your great essay book, I have been using it to guide me with my essays.
I want to get your opinion on where to apply, and whether part-time is better than full-time for a person of my profile. Any advice in these regards will be greatly appreciated.
My profile:
I am in hi-tech. Indian male 32 years old. Have a Bachelors from IIT Madras (GPA: 3.5/4.0 scale). Have a Masters in EE (4.0). My Gmat score is 770 (50Q,46V,5.5AWA).
I work in a hi-tech start-up in the Bay area. Have 9 years of work-ex, 6 years at the start-up. I have been a project lead for 3 years now. Have been leading a 20 people group for the last 6 months or so. Am also a Senior Architect at the startup.
I can get good recommendations from my boss (Director of Engg) and my CEO.
I don't have too many extra-curricular activities. I have done quite a bit in charity though (funding a school started by my father-in-law etc).
My eventual goal is to either become a VC or start my own company. I applied to Berkeley in R1 for part-time.
Am I too old for a full-time at Stanford, Wharton or Kellog ? What are my chances of getting into any of the top-10 schools? Also, how do I choose between part-time or full-time?
Your advice will help me decide on which way to go. Thanks in advance!
Venky
Venky,
Glad
my bookhas helped you, thanks. The factors relevant to deciding whether you apply for full- or part-time include your willingness to leave your career at this point, the opportunity cost factor, and whether you will need the internship opportunities that full-time programs provide. Though part-time programs have the benefit of being easier to get into, you sound like you are only considering them because you think you're too old for full-time programs. I don't think you are. Though you are at the upper edge of the middle 80% for most B-schools, you are not too old to apply to the top schools, and you have a strong profile. You will need to be rock solid on your goals statement--very focused and knowledgeable and spend a little extra time on the Why Now section (why wasn't 3-4 years ago the right time).
The competition will be fierce at Stanford, Wharton, and Kellogg, so I recommend adding a few non "ultra elite" schools to the mix to up your odds. Haas, Tuck, Duke, Georgetown, and USC all have higher average ages than the typical B-school. See our
advice for older applicants.
Good luck,