32 yr old former non-traditional undergrad seeking guidance

Hi All,

I've just joined this forum and am very pleased to have come across it. I know this is a question that has been revisited a trillion or so times, but I've never seen it posed by someone in my particular situation so I'll be asking it again. I would like to attend a top 15 or so program and will be 33 years old in the fall of 2014 which is the time in which I hope to be entering business school. I took a sort of exploratory GMAT last month after a couple weeks of cramming and received a 700 Q40 V45. I went to a middle of the road state school (Ball State University) and graduated in 2010 as the "Outstanding Graduating Senior in Information Systems & Operations Management", majoring in Operations Management and minoring in Information Systems with a GPA of 3.91.

So, while my scores and GPA look decent enough, my age is of concern. I did not enter college full-time until I was 25, and graduated when I was 28. Prior to entering college, I was a production supervisor in a television components manufacturing facility for just over 4 years. When that business closed, I entered college in hopes of propelling myself to the next level, but the positions which I have obtained since graduation have not been challenging enough to hold my interest. I just recently finished a 6-month contract position as a Distribution Supervisor for Apple, one which I was lured into with the stated potential that it would go permanent. A couple of months into the contract it was brought to my attention that this particular branch was going to be outsourced! Prior to that, I worked for a company in the steel processing industry in which I alone created and implemented an ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management System into 4 facilities across 3 states in a span of 7 months. Keep in mind, I had absolutely no experience in the field and essentially taught myself everything as no guidance existed in the quality department. I was only placed in the quality department to begin with due to scoring a 43 on the Wonderlic exam the company required all new employees to take.

I may be rambling a bit here, so allow me to refocus. I realize my age is a bit higher than what most of the top programs are looking for. However, I obtained 4+ years of supervisory/management experience before beginning my undergraduate coursework, and I did begin college around 7 years later than most. Since, I have gained some project management experience that I feel is quite valuable and applicable in the sorts of positions I would be seeking after business school. I know part of what admissions officials base age bias on is the fear that older candidates may have higher salary/position expectations and thus could be difficult to place (and possible negatively impact employment statistics), but this simply is not the case with me. I tend to consider myself, career-wise, right about where those 27-29 year old candidates likely are.

Finally, if you've been able to sift through this mess and believe you have an answer for the question that I'm about to pose, know that I would really appreciate insight. Does my age (33 in the fall of 2014), experience, and the somewhat disjointed path I have taken to arrive where I am make getting into a top 15 or so program unlikely? I'm considering taking the GMAT a second time to see if I can improve my 700 by 30 or so points to strengthen my profile. Schools like Tippie and Ohio State have shown some significant interest during my conversations with them, but I am looking more towards programs like Kellogg, Darden, Tuck, Tepper and the like. My heart is currently set on Kellogg, but it looks like the oldest student accepted into the current class is 31.

Please let me know what you think. As a sidenote, an EMBA does not really seem like an appropriate option for me as my experience does not really present me as that type of candidate, so suggestions of that nature will probably not be very helpful. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this if nothing else.