Wow. You have amazing stats and equally amazing profile. You are very accomplished! But the 14 years of experience will make AdCom wonder if their MBA will give you what you are looking for and if their career services team can actually help you get a job that would make you happy. Recruiting for consulting, you will be applying for the same job as 27-year-olds with just four or five years of work experience. You will also be surrounded by 27-year-olds as that is the average age in most business schools.

However, having a law degree may be a very helpful side in your profile. In the US that takes 3 years and so MBA lawyers tend to be few and older…. And I think you have a lot to add and bring to business schools so I think they’ll appreciate your application.

I have known a few older folks who went to Booth in their 30’s. I wouldn’t count on HBS or Stanford just because they are extremely competitive but that’s never a reason not to apply.

PS. You never know how the applications will stack and fall and if you are looking for a consulting career, Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton I’m not the best schools. You will be just as successful going to Kellogg or booth or Sloan or talk or Fuqua or Ross or Yale. They place a ton of people into consulting roles, Columbia as well obviously.

I think as you are reaching a sensitive work experience threshold for a full-time program, and therefore risk is high and you don’t want to wait another year, I would expand the number of applications unless it all put a significant burden. This is not because I don’t believe in your profile but rather risk mitigation and also shopping for scholarships… 🤜

@Sarkari:
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Hello, I hope you are well. I agree with BB on most things. But there is no denying that B-schools love applicants who bring in extra pizzaz aka brand names and top level associations. Working on the apex bodies of one of the largest economies would make you a good catch. And I can see why you would not want to compromise by adding slightly lower ranked schools to your target list.

My recommendation: go all out and reflect on the grassroots changes you have brought about through your work. I am sure you will have plenty of examples to back this up. And get some very good letters of recommendation. Now is the time to ask for passionately worded letters of recommendation (strong advocacy) from people who matter most (high level managers/bureaucrats you have worked with). Be pragmatic about your goals strategy and show flexibility. Life is a journey. You may have to take a more progressive path toward your dream career and not achieve it on day one after you graduate.

If you want to be an HBS graduate, you should start thinking like one and plan your application accordingly

Aanchal Sahni (INSEAD alum, former INSEAD admissions interviewer)
MBAGuideConsulting
LinkedIn |WEBSITE: https://mbaguideconsulting.com/ | Message: +91 9971200927| email- mbaguideconsulting@gmail.com

Hi,

I see you have not applied to any of the Sloan Fellows programs. You have an amazing profile and I think you have a great shot at these if you already have a GMAT score. The median experience for these programs is around 12-15 years.

The programs are offered at Stanford (MSx), MIT (Sloan Fellows MBA), and LBS (Sloan Fellows MBA). Please check these out if you haven't.