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kryzak
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Which UE/E schools favor young applicants? 31 Mar 2008, 19:46
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I don't think Haas has any intentions of trending towards younger folks. If anything, with Stanford rejecting old people like me, Haas will probably get even more older people.

That doesn't mean 3 years WE is too little, you just have to show that you're ready, and your "why now" essay has to be very convincing. :)
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Which UE/E schools favor young applicants? 31 Mar 2008, 20:35
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Save for H/S, I don't believe that any of the schools are actively trending towards younger applicants. The average age at most top-10 schools has remained pretty much the same: hovering around 27 - 28. If you take a look at the people on these forums too, you will see that *most* of the admits to these schools are within the same age range. Yes, there definitely are outliers (and I am example of one of them - 24 with 3 years of work experience), but I don't believe that schools are *actively* looking to fill up their class with people like us. And quite honestly, I am happy about that. Most young applicants to B-schools are no doubt accomplished and on a fast track career, but I also value the wisdom that experience brings. The classroom experience is most valuable when you have a mix of both -the young and the old(er).

If I were you, I wouldn't apply to schools that are just "trending younger", or rather, give the impression that they are "trending younger". Rather as some of the others have suggested, I would look to apply to schools:
a) which are strong in the area that I am interested in (and)
b) where I believe I will enjoy myself for those two very important years of my life.
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IHateTheGMAT
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Which UE/E schools favor young applicants? 31 Mar 2008, 22:33
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I have noticed that there is always an important piece of information missing when I see these discussions about MBA programs "trending younger". The assumption is always that the schools want to do this. However, I think this stat is telling:

2002: Percentage of GMAT test takers under 24 - under 15%
2006: Percentage of GMAT test takers under 24 - over 22%

The fact is that the applicant pool is trending younger - I believe that many schools have to take in younger candidates if they don't want to weaken the quality of their incoming class (acceptance rates among 24+ would be way to high if schools automatically dinged all the under 24 applicants that make up a quarter of their applicant pool)
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Which UE/E schools favor young applicants? 31 Mar 2008, 23:38
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I believe that all school are now looking very attentively at young applicants (age: 23-25, work experience: 1- 3 years). It especially relates to top schools - H/S/W, Chicago, Columbia etc. As for Harvard, I have heard besides the youth jihad (2x2 program) that 25 year olds are the gold there.

Young graduates can be more agressive, energetic and thus can boost a school's name and reputation.

Just my 2 cents.
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Which UE/E schools favor young applicants? 01 Apr 2008, 00:17
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IHateTheGMAT
I have noticed that there is always an important piece of information missing when I see these discussions about MBA programs "trending younger". The assumption is always that the schools want to do this. However, I think this stat is telling:

2002: Percentage of GMAT test takers under 24 - under 15%
2006: Percentage of GMAT test takers under 24 - over 22%

The fact is that the applicant pool is trending younger - I believe that many schools have to take in younger candidates if they don't want to weaken the quality of their incoming class (acceptance rates among 24+ would be way to high if schools automatically dinged all the under 24 applicants that make up a quarter of their applicant pool)
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good point, but how does that compare with the increase in total GMAT takers? Because if the new increase in GMAT takers all come from the under 24 demographics, that means the b-schools still have the same pool of "older" people to select from. Even if it's an equal increase in each age group, the b-schools will still get more older folks to pick from, just because of sheer numbers. Remember, getting into top b-schools is not just about GMAT and GPA. I have a hard time believing that all the new under 24 GMAT takers and applicants can have the same work experience, extracurriculars, and other factors that generally lead to an admit into a top school. That's not to say there aren't qualified <24 year old applicants, but the increase in enrollment should not be so dramatic as we see in H/S.
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Which UE/E schools favor young applicants? 01 Apr 2008, 00:33
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it will lead to a downward trend to >24 GMAT takers if it continues, because those who take it younger are less likely to retake it when older. This means that there will be less > 24y/o takers when those currently under 24 age a few years.
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Which UE/E schools favor young applicants? 01 Apr 2008, 06:54
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I believe there were 0 admits at Wharton last year for people with no work-ex. Collegesenior got dinged this year without an interview. Having attended the admit weekends I can speak about Darden and Duke. With 4 years of work experience, I definitely found myself to be amongst the older admits.

I think that most of the schools are headed in the younger direction, some of them conspicuously, some subtly. Well, at-least none of them are shifting towards older applicants. And with people graduating, preparing for MBA, and gaining leadership experiences early, the trend is definitely for the youth but it does stop somewhere. I am sure they are trying to find the right balance between getting the best class, more energetic/moldable future alums and sharper contenders for the job market. I feel that IIM’s and US schools currently stand on opposite sides of the spectrum.

Msday, while your argument is based on the assumption that only younger applicants have experienced leadership/student management roles in school, I feel that how a person has learned, developed and gone strength to strength from those experiences is what matters. I have no doubt that a candidate with student leadership experiences that you have talked about followed by 4-5 years of good work experience where he has made the most out of opportunities will contribute a lot more to an MBA program than a candidate with great student leadership experience and minimal work experience. Plus, having seen your side and the flip side that ncprasad was talking about; he would have more complete and well-formed experiences and reflections.

Just my 2c.
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Which UE/E schools favor young applicants? 08 Apr 2008, 14:51
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nick_sun
I believe that all school are now looking very attentively at young applicants (age: 23-25, work experience: 1- 3 years). It especially relates to top schools - H/S/W, Chicago, Columbia etc. As for Harvard, I have heard besides the youth jihad (2x2 program) that 25 year olds are the gold there.

Young graduates can be more agressive, energetic and thus can boost a school's name and reputation.

Just my 2 cents.
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I had to re-read this post a couple times to make sure I hadn't misread.

I know of Harvard's 2x2 early entrance MBA program, but how exactly does that relate to "youth jihad"?
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Which UE/E schools favor young applicants? 09 Apr 2008, 11:20
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20 or so places are reserved for youngsters. Hence, there is some good probability that 20 or so places are taken from elder applicants. But given the size of HBS' class, it is, of course, a drop of water in the swimming pool. But anyway...

loom
nick_sun
I believe that all school are now looking very attentively at young applicants (age: 23-25, work experience: 1- 3 years). It especially relates to top schools - H/S/W, Chicago, Columbia etc. As for Harvard, I have heard besides the youth jihad (2x2 program) that 25 year olds are the gold there.

Young graduates can be more agressive, energetic and thus can boost a school's name and reputation.

Just my 2 cents.
I had to re-read this post a couple times to make sure I hadn't misread.

I know of Harvard's 2x2 early entrance MBA program, but how exactly does that relate to "youth jihad"?
Show more
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