I am just past 40and made a career change 3.5 years ago to public accounting. I am wondering what affect this will have on my chances of admission to full time programs, both at top programs and second tier schools.

Thank you for any feedback

Hi,

Thanks for writing! It is definitely much more difficult to get into a full-time program once you are perceived as being an "older" candidate--and unfortunately, that perception starts to intensify at around 30! It's not impossible to get into a full-time program, but it is much more challenging. There's a good article on our web site dealing with exactly this issue--I'd like to direct you there first, then if you still have questions, feel free to come back to me! You'll find the piece here: http://www.accepted.com/mba/older.aspx

You also might want to consider part-time programs--not sure if this is an option for you.

Best of luck,
Sonia

Thank you, Sonia. That is a good article that answers many of my questions.

A part time program is more realistic both for gaining admission and for fitting in with life's obligations. It seems that students will get much more out of a full time program, especially being immersed in the culture and interacting more with the students and faculty full time for two years. Do you know how well part time programs do at placing people, assuming that I would change jobs on completion of the program? I know there must be huge variation by program.

Are there rankings specific to part time programs?

Thanks a lot