Kamel

My name is Kamel. I was a part of the IT and telecom industry for most of my career working in France and North America.  I spent six years as an IT Consultant at Capgemini, over seven years at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise and two years at Bull Belux. I was 43 years old when I finally applied to an MBA and started the full-time program at 44, an age when most people apply for Executive MBAs.

I was 40 when I decided to go for an MBA and I realized it then that I was already a bit old for the full-time program. Moreover, I took more time to actually get into the program for two reasons. The first reason was that my father passed away and I had to move to Tunisia to help my mother through this difficult time. The other reason was that I had to save enough to finance my MBA so even though I was supposed to start in 2015, I started in 2016. So my MBA Program was already postponed by four years because of these personal issues.

I chose full time MBA over Executive MBA because I wanted to have a two year education in management and didn’t feel that an Executive MBA with only fourteen weeks of class over a period of two years would be enough for what I wanted, a real life-changing experience in the US and I also did not want to combine work and studies. 

Of course, my experience until the age of 44, when I left for the MBA has always been in IT and telecom, working as project managers in big IT projects and I wanted to switch into entrepreneurship and work in North Africa, which has a lot of potential in IT and telecom. But I felt that my education and experience did not prepare me enough for an entrepreneurial position where I would need to master all the disciplines of management and also be convincing enough to raise the capital for my project.

The GMAT was not too difficult for me and I got the 740 that I needed after six months of class which was a nice surprise because I thought it would be more difficult. But due to the quality of the classes at the MBA Center, it came easily. The most difficult part, however, was to write the application. At the age of 40, I wasn’t sure that I was the right stuff for a full-time MBA Program, especially after visiting Yale where I found that only two or three students out of the entire MBA program were over 38 years old. However, Dr. Hubert Silly of the MBA Center helped me find the right words and be convincing enough for the committee to take me in. I also got offers for interviews at MIT and Stanford apart from Yale. 

As someone who applied for an MBA quite late in life, I found life at Yale relaxing, to say the least. I was surrounded by youngsters from all over the globe. There is dynamic energy running underneath it all. The school, its curriculum, and its facilities are some of the best in the world. There is a lot of competition amongst students to get into Yale. So the level of interest and academic acumen of the students is very high.

Do not wait so long to get an MBA as I have done. In my case even though I met Dr. Hubert Silly in 20043, personal constraints meant that I could only apply for the MBA almost 9 years later. Due to this, I will finish the MBA when I am 46. It would have been much better to have done an MBA at the beginning of my career rather than late.

Having said that, I’d also like to point out that I’m a good example of the saying that everything is possible. MBA Programs are very open-minded about who they will accept into their classes, and they will take many factors into consideration before judging you. The American programs are very open to diverse and motivated people who want to study. So I believe you should go for an MBA if you are really motivated about it.

I have been in contact with Dr. Hubert Silly and MBA Center for over nine years and I really appreciate the patience and support that Dr. Hubert Silly gave me in these nine years and he has now become a friend to me. Having seen the dedication with which he and his team work for an extended period of time I can only recommend his services to all MBA applicants as they head on to their respective journeys.