Profile Evaluation

Question

Hi All

I am planning for a MBA somewhere in 2017. Considering my age and current salary I am wondering if it is worth going for an MBA after all.

A brief bio about me:

1. Male, currently 35 years old and a Canadian Immigrant at present.
2. BE from Bangalore with terrible grades, MSc from UK with average grades.
3. About 9 years of IT experience at present will be about 11 years when I plan to apply.
4. Developer and Team lead experience in Wipro, IBM, Accenture and HCL (in India). Also worked for IBM Canada (onsite) and currently working for a Canadian company.
5. By the time I apply it will be almost 5 years of international experience and 6 year experience in India.

I am planning for the following (in descending importance):

1. Wharton
2. Chicago Booth
3. Stanford GSB

Now the question is on ROI. Though I will be able to take a student loan in Canada to finance the major part of my expenses, this is how they stack up:

$200k MBA expense + $200k (loss of income for these 2 years considering that I earn around $100k/year) = $400k and even if I get the almost highest non-immigrant base salary of $130k it will be almost 3+ years post MBA before I actually start earning.

So I have the following questions:

1. Is it worth taking the plunge at this age (I am enthusiastic though not convinced)?
2. Am I a fit for these B Schools (considering my experience and an average 680-700 ish GMAT score)?

Thanks in Advance

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

Thanks for sharing your profile. I would say you are not a fit with these current schools, as an older candidate your scores are a bit less important but they will still be expecting you to hit some of their average scores. Remember these are the best schools in the world so theres no sneaking in here.

Also, given your age you probably have a better chance at a PTMBA or an EMBA that could address some of your ROI concerns for obvious reasons. This may be the best option to hedge your concerns with the best opportunities.

PinakiRDas · Answer

Thank you so much for your reply. Will a GMAT score of around 730 (which is the Mean for Wharton) offset the age factor by some margin?

Thanks
Pinaki

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

Yes, a 730 will certainly make your profile more competitive as it will help offset your low grades. If you can score that it will open up your possibilites

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