Which UE/E schools favor young applicants?

Question

See topic. I am wondering which UE/E schools favor young applicants. In my opinion, this means applicants with 2-3 years of work experience. I am not speaking of direct from undergrad admits or special programs.

So far I know of:

-HBS
-Stanford
-UCLA Anderson
-Chicago GSB

Does anyone else have others to add to the list?

So far I know of:

-HBS
-Stanford
-UCLA Anderson
-Chicago GSB

Does anyone else have others to add to the list?

kryzak · Answer

I'm pretty sure of Harvard and Stanford. In fact, in BW forums, someone has a "30+ years old" thread, and Sandy the consultant posted something that said 0% of his '01 undergrad graduates got into HBS this year... And H/S both have "no work experience needed" programs to take students directly from undergrad. I think it's a horrible move (and another reason why I'm glad Stanford dinged me), but they believe it's good for the school.

Not sure about UCLA. I did meet a lot of younger folks there, but you may have to ask socalconsult for that one.

I always thought Chicago GSB was about average in terms of age.

Not sure about UCLA. I did meet a lot of younger folks there, but you may have to ask socalconsult for that one.

I always thought Chicago GSB was about average in terms of age.

djhouse81 · Answer

I just met up with a Columbia '10 classmate of mine last night for Happy Hour...he's 21.

agold · Answer

What about Wharton? How do younger applicants fare there?

riverripper · Answer

Younger as in 2 years or less experience is pretty much HBS, they might offer admissions with deferral. The rest are very tough, only a couple percent a year and some have zero folks with NO experience.

Darden2010 · Answer

I think Ross is also young applicant friendly

I got in Ross at 24 with less than 2 yrs of work experience

Audio · Answer

I really can't see what somebody with 0 experience would bring to an MBA, but then again I might be mistaken.

ncp · Answer

I can't either. But these students, bright but with no experience, are great picks for Investment Banking and Consulting companies. Make them slog 80 hour weeks, pay them good money and they will be very happy to live the jet-setting life(atleast most of them will be). A 30-year old with a wife/kids has other things more important to him than work and will not be as flexible as the young'uns.

Audio

I really can't see what somebody with 0 experience would bring to an MBA, but then again I might be mistaken.

terry12 · Answer

There were a few zero-experience admits at Stanford's Admit Weekend... HYPS undergrads with really impressive undergrad internships/entrepreneurial experiences. As probably the second-oldest person at the Admit Weekend (I think there was one older military dude), I actually thought it was pretty cool. The whippersnappers bring in a different perspective and I'm all for encountering as many viewpoints as I can during B-school.

Wharton historically has been an older-applicant-friendly school, though by report they may be changing and heading in a younger direction. I got the impression that there were many more folks in their upper 20s at Wharton's Winter Welcome than I did at Stanford's Admit Weekend, for whatever that's worth.

agold · Answer

I agree with you. Additionally, the business world today is chock full of older folks who report to a manager who is younger than them. Many traditionally minded people cannot handle this, but I think it is important going forward to be able to form your opinion of a person regardless of age and experience. This is more true than ever at Stanford and Silicon Valley.

terry12 · Answer

Hey, if I end up heading into MC or IB out of B-school, I'll almost certainly report to someone younger than me :-D

msday · Answer

I (very respectfully) disagree. I've been working full-time for a little less than a year now (engineer), and the leadership/management challenges I faced as student gov't president in college, trying to lead 50 over-worked, under-rested students who had a billion other things on their mind, taught me so much more than anything I'm currently doing. That year of concentrated management and high-level organizational leadership experience is something that not many MBA students will have (unless I am seriously mistaken).

I DO believe that the working world is different from the undergrad world - I have certainly seen as much. But, to make a simplistic argument, it is much easier to tell someone to do something when they are earning a paycheck from you than when they are purely volunteering to serve your organization.

Granted, not all college students have significant leadership experiences, but I think most that are admitted to top program do, PLUS outstanding intellectual accomplishments (grades, academic awards, etc.)

agold · Answer

I was hoping coming out of Stanford you were going to be the next Mark Zuckerberg's right hand man (COO/CFO)

ncp · Answer

msday, I am not questioning in the absolute sense whether a new graduate can contribute to the MBA experience. I am sure a lot of them bring exceptional talent with them. But, it is difficult to justify, on the basis of what an admitted student brings to the table, the trend we are seeing with B-school admissions. Where, schools are publicly declaring that they are moving towards a younger pool. I see no evidence that points to bringing in more younger candidates because they add more to the class. I cant help but think that such a move is motivated by demands in the two predominant post-MBA career destinations : IB and MC.

msday, while what you say is true: that when someone is paid to do something, they are bound to listen to you. But flip that statement and you will see that when you are leading a team of employees, their failure could end your career and make you jobless quickly. That is not a risk associated with leading students in a volunteering endeavor.

All said, I personally dont grudge younger candidates getting in at top schools and dont want anyone to think that. I think it is a great challenge for us oldies to show that we retain the drive and enthusiasm to outperform Gen-Y. :-D

terry12 · Answer

Gotta have a fallback :-D

msday · Answer

Definitely agree with you about IB/MC driving at least some of the desire for younger applicants. Your point about career failure when your subordinates fail is a really good one - I did not consider that, but now I see that flip side.

Ronnie22 · Answer

This is pretty interesting. In India, one predominantly finds students with 1 years or less of work experience in B-schools. In fact, it is accepted if one attends B-schools coming right out of UG. And this has been a huge point of contention. Recently when the list of top global B-schools was released, only one Indian school made it to that list....ISB. It was a surprise when some of the older schools like IIM-Ahmedabad and IIM-Bangalore did not make it. In the 'soul-searching" that followed, ppl put it down to the negligible and irrelevant R&D that B-schools undertake and closely followed by the quaility of class-discussions due to low/non-existent WE of the students.

Now while Indian B-schools are striving to move towards greater work-experience of students, it is the opposite in US schools. I guess each is trying to find that fine balancing line.

Now while Indian B-schools are striving to move towards greater work-experience of students, it is the opposite in US schools. I guess each is trying to find that fine balancing line.

togafoot · Answer

it's a question of balance.

trying to find the quality of student and student experience/interaction and ensuring that what the school is producing is desired by recruiters.

The trend lower will probably result in a trend higher when demand changes and companies find that the youngsters are burning out quickly. Afterall, doing an MBA after a few years work experience is a good 'career' break. If there is no career break, particularly in a high stress, long hours industry, how will people cope? I suppose we will find out....

agold · Answer

Does anyone know whether Duke Fuqua or Berkeley Haas are trending towards younger applicants? I am certainly interested in these schools but they seem to have a higher average number years of work experience/age than I am used to. Would I be competitive at Duke or Berkeley with 3 years of experience, considering it's good experience and the rest of my profile adds up?

ncp · Answer

In general it is good to have 3 to 4 years experience before applying to B-school because this allows you to gain good experience and also provides enough room to demonstrate above average career growth. Once you decide to apply to the top schools, you wouldnt be able to game your chances of admission by picking schools based on their demographic info. You will ultimately need to demonstrate fit by showing how the school will help you achieve your goals, not by demonstrating that you will fit into a statistical trend. My advice will be to forget about what schools have what trend and start researching school offerings by reaching out to current students and alumni.

terp06

Does anyone know whether Duke Fuqua or Berkeley Haas are trending towards younger applicants? I am certainly interested in these schools but they seem to have a higher average number years of work experience/age than I am used to. Would I be competitive at Duke or Berkeley with 3 years of experience, considering it's good experience and the rest of my profile adds up?

Which UE/E schools favor young applicants?

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