What best programs can someone with my background/age apply for?

I would agree with Namita here on the Fellows programs firsttimer2. The efficacy of EMBAs is always a suspect; read here.

You may also find some of these profiles who've gone there useful to read about here and here.

MBB very rarely hire laterally and even rarely so at the level that will be commensurate with your age/experience. If you make a really strong case out of bschool, they may consider you but it is not something that happens in most years. You'd have better prospects at the consulting firms beyond the top 3 that have specific verticals where you can leverage your experience.

Hope this helps some,

I think a lateral transition will be tough for you at your age and level and I think it would be tough to make a strong case for entry in a 2Y MBA. An EMBA makes much more sense for you at this stage, I know you mentioned MBB but what is driving your motivation to pursue that route at this stage in your career?

driving force is a general desire to do better than what i'm doing rightnow. I'm at at a no-name (though large) tech company where i don't see a path forward fro growth and if i continue doing what i do i'll remain a software engineer, which isn't good. MBB would expose to new opportunities and new paths for growth I believe. I guess I need new opportunities that only a FT program can open, though at this age I'm not sure how I can get those.

Isn't Sloan/Stanford Fellows program highly selective? Would I qualify for that?

I'm not sure why they'd consider me as I don't have any superhot brand-name companies on resume even tho I've worked in Silicon Valley and have a top UG degree.

During my last application round many years ago I had a tough time getting recommenders lined up (as SW engineers don't know how to write the kind of recommendations MBA schools seek). At that time I got interview request at Wharton (2 yr FT MBA program) but didn't make the final cut possibly due to recs being the weak point.

Any way to remedy that?

It sounds like you would have a great profile for an Executive MBA. The benefit of an EMBA is that you would learn from other classmates in a similar place in their career, thus the networking is actually much more powerful than that of a full-time program. See below for more thoughts on the differences and reach out if you want to discuss further.

https://www.personalmbacoach.com/single ... dering-one

Best,
Scott

Hi there,
If you are worried about your age, I suggest you take a look at this article: https://aringo.com/mba-over-30/
At the bottom you can find a list of programs suitable for older candidates. Good luck!

I don't know if you're suggesting a FT mba through this post, or may be you didn't carefully read the OP and simply cut-pasted your article. this post isn't helpful at all.

Not all numbers above 30 are the same and age 31 may be ok for FT mba but much higher may be not.

Hi Firsttimer,

Yes, the Sloan Fellowship programs are selective. At the same time, you will never know whether you will get in until you apply.

Cater to what these programs look for in applicants: significant leadership qualities. Give them the confidence that you will be the next CEO and will do their programs proud. Your Silicon Valley experience should help. For the rest of your profile, I can comment once I see your resume.

There is another program- iBear (USC Marshall) which is not as competitive as the Sloan Fellowships but runs in the Bay area - look into that as well.

Regarding recommenders, you can ask clients as well to recommend you. Moreover, you would have grown your network quite a bit in the past 9 years since your Wharton application to know more professional who can recommend you.