Soon after my rejection from HBS I posted here explaining why I wanted an MBA, and why I wanted it from HBS. While my root desire to get an MBS from HBS has not changed, other factors mentioned in that post have, enough so that I felt an update was in order.
This post is in response to those people who ask me why I want an MBA when I already own my own business (which actually generates a decent income for me now, unlike three years ago when I applied to HBS) and have a Masters degree. And why I insist on it being from HBS when there are plenty of other good schools, some of which people feel would be a better fit for me? And don’t I know that HBS doesn’t like old guys like me? After all, I’m 34 and only getting older by the day. Some might assume that it’s because I’m egotistical, superficial, and vain, but I assure you, I’ve thought about that long and hard over the past three years and have run some statistical analysis and it’s only 83% true.
Why do I want an MBA from HBS?
I previously answered this question in two parts, but it has become more difficult for me to separate the two acronyms. The short answer is “because of my life/professional plan.” Which is:
2009-2013 – Stay put in Utah, fix the business, grow the business, harvest the business (successfully–not like the last time). Have enough cash on hand to pay for HBS and cover living expenses for two years.
2014-2015 – HBS.
2015-2025 – Transition from my background with small, entrepreneurial companies, to the Fortune 500. Ultimate professional goal in the business world–become successful turnaround CEO, fixing failing businesses.
2025-2045 – Politics.
2045-… – It gets a little hazy after this point, but I’m sure I’ll have plenty of decent options, some of which I hope involve fishing.
My focus is on the years from 2015-2045. During those years I plan on either being in leadership positions, or preparing to be in leadership positions, and it’s my opinion that HBS is the best school when it comes to leadership. In addition, I’m a huge fan of much of the faculty, especially Clayton Christensen. There are specific people I want to work with and learn from at HBS. There are certain doors I think HBS can open for me that might not open as easily otherwise. No other school appeals to me on the same level. No other school’s history, faculty, or brand appeals to me in the same way. Even if HBS lost its ranking and were voted #100 instead of regularly being in the top 5 MBA programs, I would still want to go there. Could something happen to change my mind? Sure. But I’ve been waiting since 1997 and nothing has yet. But feel free to give it your best shot.
you will be 39 by the time you apply in 2013
i believe there are 0 admits for HBS at that age
I have friends who attended HBS in the past few years and said they had people in their classes who were in the 40 age range. Perhaps they’re mistaken and these people merely looked old after 8 years in investment banking, but I’m going to do some research and see if I can find any conclusive data to back that up. If there were zero 40 admits to HBS in the past 10 years that might (might) be enough to get me to give up applying again, but if there were just one I’d still go through the application process at least one more time. Heck, I’ll probably go through it even if it’s zero. But still, it would be interesting to have some data so I’ll search for that.