MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 2457
Given Kudos: 2
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Re: Is age a big hindrance at Harvard/Stanford/Wharton?
[#permalink]
07 Mar 2010, 20:52
With your current score, it's not going to make a difference if you score higher. In fact, by retaking it given your already high score, it can actually tell the adcom that you don't have your priorities straight and/or you don't understand the admissions process (or, you are simply neurotically obsessed with academic scores which can trigger concerns about your social skills and street smarts).
As for schools, focus on schools outside of H/S/W. They have a lot of highly accomplished folks under 27 applying now that unless you come from a non-traditional career path (i.e. school teacher, military officer, filmmaker, clergy, nonprofit professional, etc) your chances are very slim. Wharton has traditionally had more older folks, but in the last 2 years or so it also has gone younger -- partly due to the adcom's desire (they did mention it explicitly that they were hoping for more younger candidates) and also due to the fact that there is a spillover effect from HBS/Stanford applicants (the young kids that apply to either HBS or Stanford or both tend to apply to Wharton as well -- especially those who apply to HBS -- as such, you're going to get more younger folks in the applicant pool that will crowd out the older applicants). You're best off focusing on schools such as Kellogg, Chicago, Columbia, Sloan, and others where you'll end up pursuing many of the same career opportunities anyhow.