MBA and Age
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15 Jan 2005, 19:38
One of the interesting trends in MBA admissions has been the increase in the avg. age of students and the decrease in the percentage of students with coming directly from undergraduate school.
While most people know of these trends, the decline in the percentage might be surprising.
For instance, c. 1979 55% of students at Michigan came directly from undergrad. About 40% of students at both Chicago and Northwestern came directly from college. About 30% of students at both Cornell and Dartmouth came directly from undergrad.
Not surprisingly, the avg age at matriculation at these schools was far lower than it is today. For instance, the avg at Michigan c. 1979 was 24 while today it is about four years higher. Northwester had an avg. of 25 which is about 3 years below the recent average.
Accordingly, it is interesting to hear the criticisms today directed at schools that accept students with relatively low experience when many of the best schools accepted large portions of their classes from undergrad. at one time. Indeed, many of the people who are now in the corner office might have been one of these "MBA youngsters." Perhaps the schools learned from experience that having large numbers of young students was not a good thing but then again perhaps the increases in the work experience requirement in the last decade was more of a fad. After all, these students have probably been quite successful in their careers over the past two and a half decades or so.