41 Years having 18 years experience

I have GMAT score of 690 and 16 years experience in transportation (mass transit) sector in India.
Is experience of 16 years suitable for full-time MBA program?

I have the same profile too with 18 years of IT experience. Looking to give GMAT this year. I just started my prep.

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Hi soubhagya2906,

at age 41 and 18 years of work experience, getting accepted to a Full-Time MBA program is going to be challenging, since it is common for b-schools to encourage applicants with 10+ years of work experience to apply to their EMBA programs instead.

If an EMBA is not an option and a regular MBA program is an absolute must for you, you could try applying to IMD, a 1-year program in Lausanne, Switzerland. The average age is around 31, and the typical range for years of work experience is between 4 and 9. Experience managing teams is highly valued by IMD and a high percentage of their students have led teams of 10+ members before their MBA. The average GMAT score is 680. As you may know, as an Indian applicant, it is always recommended to score at least 20-30 points above the school's average. In the case of IMD, this means 700-710. However, given your age and years of work experience, it would be very important to add at least 10-20 points on top of that.

Another option would be to apply to Sloan Fellows programs at MIT, Stanford or LBS.

I hope this helps.

Warm regards
Alex

Hello,

Thanks for your question.

It is true that most MBA programs ( especially the top 10) are not welcoming to older candidates. European MBA programs especially LBS, Oxford, and IMD are more accepting of older candidates. Also, EMBA programs and global EMBA programs are designed for older and more experienced professionals. One year PGP program at IIM –A is also designed for experienced professionals.

If you are confident that in order to fulfill your career goals, you must pursue a full-time MBA, you will need to write a compelling and convincing story about your goals, accomplishments, and contribution to the program. You must also explain your reasons for the delayed MBA that convinces the AD Com.

Do your research and decide for yourself which programs in which country will best meet your needs.

We have worked with older candidates for full-time MBA programs. One of them (38 years old) was accepted into UNC Kennan Flagler, and the other one ( 30 years old) was accepted into both ISB and Oxford. You may click at the following link to read /watch the interview of Oxford and ISB admit

https://myessayreview.com/student-inter ... xford-isb/

You may also check out the following blog for helpful advice to older candidates

https://myessayreview.com/mba-topics/he ... pplicants/

I hope it helped.

Best,

Poonam,

Hello soubhagya2906,

Thanks for your query.

Getting through a full-time MBA is definitely going to be very challenging with your years of experience. You'd rather go ahead with EMBA programs. However, if you are absolutely keen on a full-time MBA, you must write to some of the European programs, requesting a profile evaluation. Needless to say, please aim for as high a GMAT score as you can.

All the best!

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