below 4000h don't bother...
You guys have to understand one thing: the "recruitment officer" in the office dealing with your application has no authority to decide anything. Though your application might be good while still being below the magic number! In the ME they don't allow employees to think creatively and to use common sense...
When I submitted my EK application the first time (the limit then was 2500h), I had 2470h. Since I was constantly flying, I assumed that the recruitment officer would be so smart to figure out that at the time of the interview I'd be over 2500...they never figured that out and I had to apply later again.
So your first wannabe lesson for the ME is:
Don't expect any kind of decision making, common sense and creativity from anybody!