One of the age-old questions in the Bloomberg Businessweek Business Schools Forums is how old is too old for an MBA program? Recently, forum participant Zone explained that he or she applied to University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School (Wharton Full-Time MBA Profile) and University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business (Booth Full-Time MBA Profile) as a re-applicant, only to get rejected again. Zone will be 32 years old by the time the next application reaches the desks of Wharton and Booth adcomm, and he or she wonders if the chances of getting in to either program will be further diminished.
Frankly, the responses – there are 15 messages in total – run the gamut from ‘forget about these schools that have already rejected you,’ to ‘32 is old for the MBA,’ to ‘keep at it because age is just a number’. Still, Zone wants Wharton or Booth to give the green light and seems to determined to end up in one of those programs.
The discussion brings up a few interesting questions. First, does age really matter to admissions committees? If so, where do they draw the line? Second, should one reapply to business school more than once? Third, does your occupation play a role in getting into business school (Zone is currently working at a quant equity trading desk at a small hedge fund, which some participants see as a negative)?
What do you think? Offer your advice and opinion to Zone and fellow forum participants at the “Too old for Wharton and Booth?” discussion thread.
–by Francesca Di Meglio
Editor’s Note: This blog post is part of a series about discussions taking place in the Bloomberg Businessweek Business Schools Forums, where prospective B-school applicants, current students, and recent alumni trade admissions tips, job-hunting advice, and the occasional barbed comment. We invite you to join these discussions or start one of your own.
Read the full article: ForumWatch: Are You Too Old To Get An MBA?