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Kay6
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Kay6
14+ years experienced 36yr old female based in Melbourne, Australia.
Working in IT, currently in a tech lead role (Product Owner promotion in sight)

Experience - 1 year in London, 5 years in India, rest in Australia
GPA - 4/5
Yet to give my GMAT.

Here are my questions-
1. Is it worth doing a 1yr MBA where avg work experience is only 6years?
2, If no to question#1, then are part-time courses better? If so, options please.

So far, I am leaning towards INSEAD for FT option as their programme is for 10months and closer to home.  
For part-time, I was looking at Haas Flex, and UIUC.

Your advice is appreciated.

 
Hi Kay6,

One thing you've got to manage with a part time program is the commute. If you live in Australia, travelling to the US for your inperson course modules may not be a viable option. Also consider the travel/ accomodation costs involved. 
I agree with the first point you have raised. You may find yourself too old among a class of average 6 years experience, where priorities of students are different (possibly more socializing for them, which you may not relate with- you know that "been there, done that" feeling). I have heard this from several of my past older applicants at different b-schools. So you must take this consideration seriously. 
The INSEAD MBA program may also not be the best fit for its younger class and accalerated pace, and they may push you towards an exec MBA. I will suggest that you reach out to the INSEAD admissions team- they do have discussions with prospective applicants, and that will help figure out whether it makes sense for you to apply to the 1-yr MBA. 
There's another set of programs you could look into - iBEar MBA (USC Marshall), Stanford MSx, LBS Sloan fellowship program, Nanyang Fellowship program. All of these are 1 year MBA programs for older MBA aspirants who are at their mid-career. You will find people more within your age/ work exp group and so the overall experience is likely to be more meaningful for you. 
Another thing you should consider is, which geography do you wish to be post MBA? The MBA program you join will have the strongest network within its own region. So if you wish to work in Australia immediately post MBA, then studying in the US may not make that much sense. 
And, my last pointer : for deciding between a full time and a part time MBA- consider which course will allow you to make career changes. While a complete career pivot will not be possible out of both programs given your substantial work exp, the full time format will equip you better towards bigger changes in your career.

Hope that helps. 
Namita Garg,
Founder, MBA Decoder
Email: contact@mbadecoder.com
Reach out to us for a Profile Evaluation
Helping applicants achieve their MBA dreams since 2011

 
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If you are a senior member of your organization, then it may be a good option to consider exec MBA options.

With regards to the part-time programs - are you able to travel frequently to the US?

INSEAD is alright - the only bottleneck could be that you have more experience than average.

You need to crack your GMAT as well.

Feel free to reach out - we can discuss your situation in a bit more detail, and see where open brainstorming takes us: https://bit.ly/GM_AugAcd_Profile_Evaluation

Best,
Karthik
Kay6
14+ years experienced 36yr old female based in Melbourne, Australia.
Working in IT, currently in a tech lead role (Product Owner promotion in sight)

Experience - 1 year in London, 5 years in India, rest in Australia
GPA - 4/5
Yet to give my GMAT.

Here are my questions-
1. Is it worth doing a 1yr MBA where avg work experience is only 6years?
2, If no to question#1, then are part-time courses better? If so, options please.

So far, I am leaning towards INSEAD for FT option as their programme is for 10months and closer to home.  
For part-time, I was looking at Haas Flex, and UIUC.

Your advice is appreciated.

­


 
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Kay6
14+ years experienced 36yr old female based in Melbourne, Australia.
Working in IT, currently in a tech lead role (Product Owner promotion in sight)

Experience - 1 year in London, 5 years in India, rest in Australia
GPA - 4/5
Yet to give my GMAT.

Here are my questions-
1. Is it worth doing a 1yr MBA where avg work experience is only 6years?
2, If no to question#1, then are part-time courses better? If so, options please.

So far, I am leaning towards INSEAD for FT option as their programme is for 10months and closer to home.  
For part-time, I was looking at Haas Flex, and UIUC.

Your advice is appreciated.

 
­Hi Kay6,

Given your interest in INSEAD and part-time programs like Haas Flex and UIUC, I recommend scheduling a free profile evaluation with us here.
This consultation will provide personalized insights into how your experience and goals align with different MBA formats. It will also help clarify whether a full-time or part-time program is better suited to your career aspirations and lifestyle. 

Alternatively, you can reach our team directly by calling +91 7780769732.­
Our team looks forward to helping you make informed decisions about your future academic and professional endeavors.­
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To answer your question on whether or not it would be worth it we would need to know your motivation for doing an MBA.

I am concerned about you being 36 which is six + beyond the average at INSEAD.

I agree looking into Sloan Fellows options is good, they are 1 year programs at either GSB, MIT or LBS with much higher average work experience.

For a longer program I think I might also recommend you look at CBS Jan intake - do the EA if that is easier to make the August deadline. It’s 16 months, you can do in-semester internships, recruit and they are more cool with older students because career services won’t have to worry about you getting a summer internship.

The bulk of J termers are sponsored consulting candidates, entrepreneurs and family biz ppl so that should be a decent upgrade from those with less work experience. Kellogg 1-yr another option with later deadlines.

Try for INSEAD but talk w admissions about your particulars and don’t bet it all on that one app.

Are you planning to stay in Melbourne? A bit curious why MBS isn’t in the mix. Potentially less global prestige but having a high density of fellow alums around you has its benefits.

Contact me if you’re interested in partnering with someone on your apps.

Cheers
Farrell

Kay6
14+ years experienced 36yr old female based in Melbourne, Australia.
Working in IT, currently in a tech lead role (Product Owner promotion in sight)

Experience - 1 year in London, 5 years in India, rest in Australia
GPA - 4/5
Yet to give my GMAT.

Here are my questions-
1. Is it worth doing a 1yr MBA where avg work experience is only 6years?
2, If no to question#1, then are part-time courses better? If so, options please.

So far, I am leaning towards INSEAD for FT option as their programme is for 10months and closer to home.  
For part-time, I was looking at Haas Flex, and UIUC.

Your advice is appreciated.

­

 

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Kay6
14+ years experienced 36yr old female based in Melbourne, Australia.
Working in IT, currently in a tech lead role (Product Owner promotion in sight)

Experience - 1 year in London, 5 years in India, rest in Australia
GPA - 4/5
Yet to give my GMAT.

Here are my questions-
1. Is it worth doing a 1yr MBA where avg work experience is only 6years?
2, If no to question#1, then are part-time courses better? If so, options please.

So far, I am leaning towards INSEAD for FT option as their programme is for 10months and closer to home.  
For part-time, I was looking at Haas Flex, and UIUC.

Your advice is appreciated.
 
@Kay6 ­- some thoughts and queries:

1. What's your motivation for an MBA, and what are your career goals post-MBA? The decision to pursue a full-time or part-time would primarily depend on this, besides the factors you've indicated such as geographic/ financial considerations etc.

2. Talking about closer to home, have you considered the top business schools in Australia? 

3. The GMAT would be a factor, among others, in deciding which programs to target. Broadly, the average age/work-ex of top full-time MBA programs are here and their latest published GMAT averages are here, FYI

Hope this helps some. Feel free to reach out for a deeper chat.

Regards,
Arvind
Founder, admitStreet | Schedule a free chat
W: https://admitstreet.com | E: consultingteam@admitstreet.comLinkedIn ­