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How much will my age hurt me?

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mooze
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How much will my age hurt me? [#permalink] New post   30 Apr 2011, 14:14
I plan on applying this fall. I'm 29 yrs old, turning 30 in October. Here's the deal though, I only have 4.5 years work experience because I had to interrupt my undergrad for financial reasons, work for 2 years, then finish up my credits. So on my resume I actually graduated December 2006. Began working on my career track in earnest since beginning of 07'.

I'm worried that my age will ding me pretty badly. My work experience is so-so, I worked as an Analyst at a REIT (real estate investment trust) underwriting deals for a couple of years (got great experience managing projects because it was a small firm), then I worked within real estate finance/asset management for one of the largest banks in the world for another 2, I just recently moved once again to a position again in the real estate finance realm, with another known institution.

I should also mention that I'm a URM (black),....I don't know how much of an impact that has on applications. My GPA is 3.1 so I'm sure that will hurt pretty badly.

I'm also interested in opening my own shop providing integrated asset management support applications for certain niche property managers. This stems from my experience in 2 different jobs on systems enhancements and conversions. I'd love to go to a top10 school, might be a long shot but i'll try.
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bakfed
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Re: How much will my age hurt me? [#permalink] New post   01 May 2011, 17:29
I don't think your age will be particularly that bad, but perhaps more hurtful at those schools who focus on younger applicants (Harvard and Stanford). Your ethnicity will certainly give you an edge during the admission process. In reading what you wrote, there's really nothing too wrong about your profile and your GPA, while a bit low in comparison to the average GPA of top 10 b-schools, is not insurmountable. I don't think you disclosed your GMAT score and without that, it'll be merely impossible to gauge your chance. But given your profile, as long as you have a 700+, I'd shoot for the stars. Perhaps a few in the top 10, and then add a few more from the top 10-20 if you're able to wiggle your room a bit.
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StacyBlackman
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Re: How much will my age hurt me? [#permalink] New post   01 May 2011, 20:15
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Hi Mooze,

For your application, you should not be worried that you have hit some imaginary cut-off age.

Older candidates will face challenges because they need to prove that it makes sense to return to school at this stage of their career. You should demonstrate progression, tangible contributions, and a high level of self-awareness, confidence, and maturity. A 35-year-old applicant who has spent 15 years in the same position without showing significant growth or progression will have a hard time being admitted to a top school. But this is not because they are 35 or because of the 15 years of experience. Rather, it is because they may have not demonstrated growth during that time.

If you can show that business school is the right decision, you can have a good shot at getting into a program that is right for you.

Hope this was of help.

Cheers,

Conrad and the Stacy Blackman Team
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mooze
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Re: How much will my age hurt me? [#permalink] New post   10 May 2011, 11:28
Thank you so much for your reply. If you don't mind, can you comment on how my entreprenurial aspirations might effect my application to MIT (if i'm fortunate enough to get a high enough gmat score) to study in their entrepreneurship track. Also, how much of a boost will my real estate finance experience give me with Wharton, which has a real estate concentration? Thanks.

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Re: How much will my age hurt me? [#permalink]
10 May 2011, 11:28

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