Q) Should I apply for the Full-time MBA program at Harvard Business School? I am a 45-year old UK-based doctor will 13+ years of experience. With an MBA, I would like to switch careers from medical practice to hospital administration with an eye on taking a C-Level position in the next couple of years. I am not interested in part-time or Online MBA programs.
Age is a big factor when it comes to Business Schools. The oldest candidates in Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and other top schools for Full-time MBA programs are in the 37-38 year age group. They are in the minority. Maybe 1 or 2. Getting a Harvard brand associated with your profile can create wonders, but applicants rarely make it to top MBA programs when they look at the admission process with “How to get into HBS.” It should be what you can offer and what you can learn from your peers. You can offer a lot given your 13+ years of experience, but your peers in a full-time class won’t be able to offer you much in terms of perspective.
Case study method depends on that daily interaction and peer-to-peer learning. Another bigger factor is that the Harvard MBA brand depends on how they can keep the Employers happy. The largest chunk of employment is in Consulting. The big 3Cs don’t like older candidates. I am talking about 35+ year olds. One reason is that when you are older, the motivation to put in 90+ hour work week is low. You would most likely have a family and traveling won’t be as exciting as it was in your 20s or early 30s. So you have to think from the Employer’s point of view.
All Top MBA programs are screening machines for some of the best Employers in the world.
They won’t be able to get you offers comparable to your pre-MBA levels. The Salary increase is a big criterion in ranking publications. Harvard won’t risk their ranking and accept older applicants. So the likelihood of admitting 40+ year old to Harvard Full-time MBA program is low.
The MBA Admission process is long with a year of your life invested in getting into a top MBA program. Widen your search to other top Executive MBA programs where a larger chunk of the learning time is allocated on the residential option. Unfortunately, executive MBA programs don’t have a complete residential option where you can take a break for 6 months or 1 year and do an MBA.
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About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
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