Tech entrep considering MBA - please could you see if I am a good fit?

Question

Hi Greg,

I would like to ask if you believe I am a good fit for an MBA program. I am looking to apply to do an MBA in one of the following: Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard or MIT. The reason I like these is because they are all located in areas with deep connections with hard sciences + tech startups.

AvantiPrep · Answer

Thank you for your note, and congratulations on your many accomplishments!

To be honest (and unknown GMAT score aside), the main challenges for you are how far removed from undergrad you are and how much work experience you have. HBS and Stanford -- which should be considered significant reaches by almost every candidate -- carry work experience averages of 4.4 and 4.0 years, respectively, with average ages around 27. Haas and Sloan average around 5 years of work experience and an average age of 28. You can Google "applying to a full-time MBA program when you're 30 or older" and see how challenging of a picture the results paint. If you're 8+ years removed from undergrad, you're pretty deep into the front tail of the age bell curve, and these can be tall orders.

Historically, Haas has been known to have a little more of an open mind regarding extended work experience and different paths, but even then, it's a small program, you'd be competing to be one of a handful or two of candidates to enroll a decent ways into your 30s, and all of these programs are going have serious questions about why you want a full-time MBA at this juncture of your career. You can take a flier on it with a unique entrepreneurial angle, but overall I'd say you're more in evening-and-weekend, special program, or (starting to get into) Executive MBA territory.

On top of that, if you're already the Founder and CEO of a successful (and exponentially growing) company, then why leave to pursue a full-time MBA? Many people enter these programs with a goal of starting a company as ostensibly successful as yours. That's a personal question (why leave for an MBA?), and it will be an adcom question (why does he or she want to leave for an MBA?). These factors also lend themselves to part-time or executive programs.

Thanks!
Greg

techfounder · Answer

Thank you Greg for your thoughful reply.

The reason for my motivation is quite simple - my company was acquired and then second company is running and growing nicely and I have set up a great management team. I am now looking for new challenges and new perspectives i.e. new tech startups to launch.

What would you say is the main reason I have a disadvantage as a candidate? I was hoping the people I meet there will challenge my perspectives and I can do the same for them in and outside the class. Is there some disadvantage or other perspective that I am not seeing / considering? Also an average age is just an 'average'. It is interesting to know whether the average age is low because less older people apply or whether truly they face a higher rejection rate. Would love to understand this better before I embark on this journey which indeed is a big commitment.

Thank you in advance for your kind attention and thoughtful reply

AvantiPrep · Answer

Thank you again, and congrats on the acquisition.

The main challenges I observe are (a) the aforementioned work experience scenario, (b) your unknown GMAT score, (c) the extreme difficulty of the schools you've mentioned, and (d) how late you're engaging with this process. Who knows what you'll get on the GMAT? What if your first take underwhelms? You only want to look at four of the most difficult schools to get into. There's only two months to go before deadlines, and you haven't even taken the exam.

Yes those are averages, but you can extrapolate. I know Columbia isn't on your list, but their class profile reports that 80% of their class is between 25 and 31 years old and has between 3 and 8 years of work experience. (As noted, HBS and Stanford trend slightly lower.) Those ranges don't mathematically / necessarily mean that acceptance rates are lower when you're outside them, but trust that they are. You can peruse GMAT Club and the MBA blogosphere for various posts and discussions on the matter. MBA Data Guru also has some unofficial age acceptance rate data based on self reports (2012-16):

https://www.mbadataguru.com/blog/mba/bes ... pplicants/

None of this means that you shouldn't apply. They are just the facts and context within which you would be applying. Your story appears to be unique and interesting, so if you want to take a flier given your entrepreneurial background, the point in your career at which you've arrived, and why a full-time MBA makes sense for you now, then I encourage you to follow your instincts (just research them first, as you're doing with these posts!).

If we were working together, I would strongly encourage you to be extremely proactive and specific about your path, why MBA, why now, why at this juncture of your career, why a full-time MBA specifically, etc. -- on top of the typically high degree of explanation and specificity that comes along with these applications. If there's not space for it, then it's probably worth some explanation in the optional essay areas.

And if you're serious about the process, get to know these programs extremely well -- especially Haas and Sloan -- visits (if possible), info sessions, conversations with current students and alumni, etc. You're going to need to know them all down to the specific courses, clubs, extracurriculars, and specific elements of their cultures, communities, and career opportunities. (You'll have to have a clear, coherent, and specific career plan, too!)

Best Regards,
Greg

Tech entrep considering MBA - please could you see if I am a good fit?

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