MBA after 30 in India: I left my job in USA & got into IIM Ahmedabad at 33 years of age

Many leave their stable 9-to-5 jobs to start their own business in India. Others do it for higher education in USA and across the world.

But is an MBA after 30 in India a practical reason to leave a high-paying job and a comfortable life in America?

At the age of 33, should one even dream about getting into the famed Indian Institutes of Management?

Sai Chaitanya Madiraju’s answer to both the questions is an emphatic ‘Yes’. If you are planning to get into IIM after 30 years, his journey will give you loads to be think about.
 

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MBA after 30 in India

How I got into IIM Ahmedabad at the age of 33

by Sai Chaitanya Madiraju

 

I had started my journey with an Indian IT behemoth – Infosys, in my case – in 2008 after graduating from a regular engineering college in Hyderabad. I quickly moved to IBM where I was going to spend the bulk of my working career.

In 2012, I moved to the US. I loved exploring new places so much so that I travelled to 25 states in the US in the first 6 years! Playing team sports and hanging around with buddies were my go-to hobbies.

Work-wise, life had its balance with periods of chaos and recess in equity. But even on tough days, I had time for myself after 5 PM. I guess I can never say that working here from India. 😊

Why I left a a comfortable life and job in USA

At 33, I thought life was going well. In an alternate reality, if I had continued with that life, I would still be happy. Already a father of a soon to be two-year-old, I had another one on the way.

I was pretty much settled down in Atlanta, my home for the last 8 years. US gave me a quite and comfortable life which many of us get so used that it becomes difficult to move back to India.

What we missed the most was to be able to live close to our parents, and more importantly we felt our children are going to miss the wonderful time with their grandparents.

In my opinion, such experiences should be met at the right time and as parents (and children), we did not want to do injustice to our kids and parents for some comforts. And one fine day, in November 2019, we decided to move back to India.

Why MBA in India after 30

To be honest, I wanted to get an MBA ever since I was pursuing my bachelors. Why? Because everyone else wanted to. I truly didn’t understand the purpose at that time.

Hence, it showed in my preparation for CAT (and a few years later in GMAT as well) which resulted in abysmal scores.

As life progressed, whenever I interacted with leaders in my (or my client’s) organization, I always felt that somehow, I did not have a perspective that they shared and I felt I was lacking the business acumen to look at things holistically.

I also realized that most of the leaders were MBAs from a decent to good college. Add to that that I wanted to move back to India now, I felt it was important to get an MBA to launch the next phase of my career, and that too from India where I can focus my career closer to my family and home.

From my profile standpoint, following points were stacking the odds against me –

• a moderate undergrad college
• oversized pool of applicants from IT services
• fairly over-the-average intake age

Preparing for GMAT at the age of 33 isn’t easy!

GMAT prep was a hard grind considering my situation. What helped my self-prep was strict adherence to my timetable, perseverance, and some notes that I had made back in 2014.

Yes! I saved my notes and GMAT courseware from 2014. I had taken GMAT twice – couple of years apart each time – before 2020 with a highest score of 660.

I figured that my years of international experience, if I could achieve anything above 700, I had a fair chance. I targeted 750 and got 700, precisely.

Time to find a good MBA admissions consultant

I felt I needed advice on how to approach my MBA applications. I didn’t want to fall short on any effort as I felt this will be my final attempt.

If I was not going to make it, I didn’t want to live rest of my life knowing that I could have made it only if I had preserved a bit more.

And being in my age group and away from India for a long time now, I lacked access to mentorship and guidance. I wanted to bridge that gap using some professional help and in that search, I came across MBA Crystal Ball over the internet.

From the reviews and blogs, I was aware that they had the expertise and extensive experience of helping mature applicants over 30 (like me) get into the best MBA in India and abroad.

My first interaction was with Manish Gupta aka MG from MCB over the email.

I knew I had come to the right place when MG first vetted me even before he shared MCB’s services details.

He was like “Alright! Let’s see if you are really serious about this!”.

MG came across as being very polite and to-the-point – a rare breed in today’s age.

I took the 4 school MBA application review package and started working with my MBA consultant, Avinash who got into IIM Ahmedabad after 35. Given his personal experience and his understanding of mature MBA applicants, I couldn’t have asked for a better mentor.

The best thing about this entire exercise was that it went beyond the mechanical application filling process.

It was a journey about self-realization and exercising my mind to open up to tackle the challenges I was about to come across.

I didn’t want to settle for anything less than the best in India and hence went for IIMA, IIMB, IIMC & ISB.

I went into an overdrive to gather information. I combed through their websites, videos, blogs, social media to gather as much information as I can.

It was then I realized that every school was so different from the other in every aspect. Every alum I spoke with, had some unique insight to share.

MBA interview invites

I got shortlisted to IIMC and IIMA.

IIMC was my first interview. I fancied my chances in IIMC rather than IIMA and I had high hopes. I was extremely nervous. My interviewers were polite and I had some good conversations throughout the interview.

I had been handling clients US Banking clients with no sweat but here I was sweating on being interviewed by a few professors.

Anyway, I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t make it thru IIMC as I knew I hadn’t answered well enough. But it was a great hands-on experience that prepped me for my next and only interview – IIMA.

Since I was still in the US, my interviews were in the middle of the night. My IIMA interview was at around 2 AM in the night. I was tired from my prep, and of course a little drowsy.

My interviewers were sympathetic and started off my conversation with wanting to understand why MBA at this age! (It wasn’t just MG who grilled me on this, huh?!).

My conversation on this subject went for 30 mins and I thought this is it, that’s all they might be interested to know. Alas, how wrong was I!

After they were satisfied with my conviction to move to India and pursue an MBA (for 30 minutes), my actual interview began. And it went on for another 30-40 minutes.

But this time, I felt good.

I knew it was not like how it went earlier with IIMC. I felt good and confident about answering this time around so much so that I was just all smiles throughout the process.

By the end of the interview, the last few months flashed in my head. I was extremely happy with the efforts, I had put in. I could live in peace now even if I hadn’t made it.

But destiny had something else in mind. It was October 9^th, 2020. It was 7 AM in the morning when I checked my phone half asleep. I saw an email from the IIM Ahmedabad PGPX office. My heart skipped a beat and I quickly read the email.

“Dear Sai! Congratulations! …” it read. I couldn’t believe it. I had done it!

I had never felt this elated my entire life! (of course, not counting when my kids were born!). I screeched in happiness and woke my wife up scared & perplexed.

Student life at IIM Ahmedabad

The entire IIM Ahmedabad student experience exceeded my expectations!

From the moment I started attending the classes, I realized just how much I didn’t know about running a business. This one-year program opened my eyes to new avenues, methods, and perspectives in the business world.

One of the highlights was the constant brainstorming sessions with my accomplished peer group. It not only stimulated my thinking but also contributed to the overall high-class experience.

It truly was the best learning opportunity I could have asked for.

However, I want to be honest and acknowledge that pursuing an MBA wasn’t without its challenges. It was, in fact, one of the toughest years of my life.

There were times when things didn’t go my way, and aspects that I didn’t particularly enjoy or prefer.

But it’s all part of the journey. Overcoming these challenges required me to trust in my abilities and work hard towards my goals.

One unexpected life lesson I gained from this experience was the importance of time management.

With classes six days a week and countless submissions to complete, I quickly learned the value of efficient time management.

It felt like I needed a ‘Time Turner’ from Harry Potter or simply had to improve my time management skills to stay on top of everything.

Overall, despite the challenges, the program was a fantastic experience that broadened my horizons and equipped me with invaluable knowledge and skills for the business world.

Recruitment at IIM

Recruitment is all about holding your nerve and preparing yourself as much as you can. Everyone in your cohort has high expectations. It is important otherwise you wouldn’t have reached the place you have.

But it is also important to have realistic expectations because you start to panic the moment you can’t manage your expectations.

Also, it is important to not plan your goals looking at your peers. You would be surprised but even at institutes like the IIMs, herd mentality kicks in.

Luck is also a big part of the recruitment. Don’t lose heart just because you weren’t shortlisted or didn’t get the final call. Reflect on your interview quickly and be honest to yourself to figure out what might have gone wrong.

If you need to make a course-correction, make subtle changes than trying to undo your prep completely.

Also, you have to be patient. Don’t let you peers make you nervous. Maybe its your positivity that will shine as a glimmer of hope to the rest.

RoI and Career Impact

Did I get the RoI and career impact I had hoped for? Absolutely!

Pursuing an MBA has provided me with the opportunity to carefully consider various career prospects and focus on the changes I am truly interested in.

While I didn’t intend to shift industries, the program allowed me to accelerate my vertical growth within a path that aligns better with my aspirations.

Once you’re in a new role, you can always take on additional responsibilities that pique your interest and contribute to building your unique expertise.

In terms of compensation, it’s true that my initial return percentage may not be as high as that of my peers with 4-8 years of experience. However, I have no complaints whatsoever.

In my current role, I have the privilege of playing a strategic role, and I genuinely believe I’m on the right trajectory to achieve my goals. I’m confident that the financial rewards will follow sooner rather than later.

It’s about focusing on the long-term picture and recognizing that the right opportunities will present themselves along the way.

Looking back

To be honest, I wouldn’t have done anything differently in my application process.

My differentiators

• Honesty in my application. It’s important to take pride in your work, and present stuff as it is.
• My years of experience + international exposure
• Extra-curriculars – From playing lot of team sports at different levels to organizing events

Learnings

• The entire experience of applying for MBA, and going through the MBA itself, has increased my respect for process & perseverance.
• Life pays to be analytical. Make it a habit.
• Do not shy from dreaming big as long as you can break it into smaller goals and achieve them relentlessly.

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Also read:
– IIM vs Foreign MBA: Which is better?
– IIM after Bachelor of Arts: How I got in
– MBA from IIM, ISB or abroad after 8 years of work experience