I would like to apply to a MIM in Europe but have a spedific problem with my profile.

I had a life threatening disease in high school which delayed my graduation by two years. So I will already be 25 years old when I finish my bachelors degree. I am from Germany where you generally gradutate a little bit later compared to the US, but 25 is still pretty late. Some of the MIM programs I looked at like NOVA SBE for example explicitly state that they prefer young applicants. In that case they even set 25 years of age as an official limit.

In a perfectly fair world getting life threateningly ill would count as an "excuse" and I would thus be treated as if I were 23 years old. However I dont know if admissions officers would see it that way.

I am not even sure if I should tell them that I had health problems. I was advised by friends to keep this as secret as possible in the business world because I might be perceived as weak or less resielient. I dont know though if this would also be true for B-School. If I dont have to keep it a secreat I could just openly ask how my case would be treated in the admissions process.

I would relly prefer to apply not for the fall intake in September but rather for the spring intake in February. This would allow me to enter the admissions proces with a much better profile. I have another good internship coming up, I can get better LORs and I could add a good GMAT. However for the Spring Intake I will be 26 years old which is over their official age limit.

Do you have any advice how to deal with this situation. There seems to be no help on the internet for cases like this.

Best wishes and thanks in advance,

Max

Hi Max/Frusciantenated:

I am so sorry to hear that you experienced this terrible situation, but pleased to learn you have endured!

There are few things to consider:

One, this idea that you might look weak or less resilient is absurd. In fact, it's the exact opposite. You survived and are enduring. Isn't that the definition of resiliency?

Two, you may want to reach out to the admissions office for the program to see if they make exceptions for truly unusual circumstances such as your own. My guess is they do, but it's best hearing it from the horse's mouth.

Three, if you do speak to the admissions office and find out that 25 is a hard limit regardless of your circumstances, you should absolutely pursue the fall intake. Any profile enhancements would be rendered irrelevant!

I strongly suggest you reach out to us at Admissionado if you need consulting services around strategy and/or the application itself. This type of unique set of issues can best be dealt if we et to know you better and can assist you in an iterative fashion along the way.

https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/

Have faith and keep pushing,
Seth

Hey Seth,
first of all thank you very much for your encouraging words. I really appreciate that!

I wrote an email and they said that I should just hand in my CV and they will evaluate my eligibility.


I know there is a difference in the US between a Resume (just the most important aspects, usaually on one page) and a CV (everything you ever did, usually reqired for academic programs like a P.hd). However I have heard that the words are also used interchangeably sometimes and that usually for B-School e.g for an MBA you apply with a resume. Im my home country there are only CVs and leaving something out ("a gap") is considered really problematic. I am now unsure which one will be correct.

What would be your guess what I best hand in?

The required documentation section for the MIM asks for a CV.


I have thought about it and really think that a consultation might be helpful in my case. I will first see if they generally consider me eligible. If they dont even consider my application due to my age no admissions consultant will be able to change that. So I will first talk to them about my CV/Resume and find out if they consider my application before I pay for consulting.

Thank you very much for your kind help so far,

Max

Frusciantenated:

For the purpose of evaluating your eligibility, I would hand in whatever resume/CV you have that is most ready right now. From the context you have provided, it appears that the admissions office wants to understand your background before giving you a preliminary decision on whether you qualify to apply.

For the application itself, my guess is you can submit a refreshed and polished version. You are right, the definition is subjective depending on the program and the geographic location of the school. We can double check with the admissions office to determine whether the elongated CV or the abbreviated resume would be appropriate. Have you seen any more specific guidance on the program's admissions website? That might give you a clearer sense of their expectations.

Please keep me posted on what happens with eligibility. If you are good to go, please reach out for a consultation. I would be happy to talk with you about how we can make this work in your favor.

Kindly,
Seth

Hey Seth,
I have gotten the feedback that my admission will be considered despite my age. I am now thinking about getting help by a consultant, but I am not sure yet.

I have seen on your website that you charge upwards of 2000$ for a single school. Considering that the program I am applying to only costs around 12.000 and that I am not in the easiest financial situation right now that would be a bit too much for me at this point. Do you have a smaller package e.g. that only includes some kind of help with the essay (which I think is the hardest part for me) or something like that?

I am also curious if you have experience with european schools in general and Nova SBE in particular?

Thank you very much for your help,

Max

Frusciantenated:

That's great to hear!

We most definitely have smaller, essay-focused packages that are less expensive. We also have hourly services if you need help with brainstorming/structuring ideas or high-level reviews. In short, we can likely find some set of essay-focused services that fits your budget.

Yes, I do have experience with European schools.

The best thing you can do right now is schedule a free consultation with our staff. If you'd like to work with me - great - just note that in the questionnaire. If not, there are countless top notch consultants who can step in and help.

https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/

If you have any issues or questions, please don't hesitate to reach back out. Otherwise, we look forward to hearing from you.

Best,
Seth

Awesome, I will book a call immediately.

One more quick question: This application round apparently ends by the end of february. Is it realistic to still apply in this round? I can allocate a lot of time towards the application, so that probably wouldn't be the limiting factor. How long does it typically take until consulting begins after I have requested a call?

Frusciantenated:

We can move fairly immediately. Truth to be told, you don't even have to do a consultation if you like the pricing and program we offer. We can get you signed up and started ASAP.

The end of February will be tight but it can absolutely be achieved particularly if you have time to go full force on your essays and follow our guidance closely. We have a guaranteed 72 hour turnaround on call materials but often times can get things back to you sooner since this is our 'quiet' season.

Rose and Claudia can walk you through how all this works. Feel free to message me again if you have any other questions.

-Seth

sorry to ask a quite similar question
I work for real estate industry for 4-5 years and is nearly 30 years old, I also suffer from some illness at my early 20 thus delay my bachelor degree, that said, when I obtain, is already 28, I plan to apply for graduate school in NYC the place I was born in the future years, and I estimate it maybe need 1 year or more for me to prepare since I still have my current job to do, usually I need to work for 10-12 hours a day, are there somebody on the forum who also apply for MBA accounting could offer me recommendation that will my age be too old to obtain the degree as I know MBA is more fitted to students older than 30? Taiwan R.O.C is the place I grew up, English isn’t my native language, my major is business and management in bachelor and I focus on finance and accounting for my graduate school study, now I worked in a relatively small company, it’s independent branch from a big corporation located in Taiwan and owned by Taiwanese, I’m eager to change my career to oversea firms such as Citibank Mckinsey that have more international insight ….however, when the time I got my MBA degree is there still chance for me to get into the S&P500 organization such as those I mention ?

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