profile eval thanks

[jxia]

I am planning to apply the following MBA in 2010: Darden, Stern, Cornell, and Tepper.

Here are my stats:

gmat: 690 (v 34, q 49)
gpa: 3.14 from Cornell Engineering majored in Operation Research
work experience: 4 years. I have worked for IBM about 1.2 year and a Fixed income hedge fund about 1.5 year and now I am with an automated trading firm. I am doing mostly programming/finance operation work.
extracurricular activities: My partner and I own a real estate investment that is worth about $720,000. I am responsible for negotiate rent contract, obtain mortgage, and maintenance of the property. My other extracurricular activity is to help sale and promote New Tang Dynasty Gala. Falungong organizes a yearly Chinese new year and I am involved with the promotion of the show. I am also a CFA level 2 candidate.
Career goal: I hope to make switch from IT/Operation to more finance related role. After MBA I plan to work in Asset Management and eventually become a Portfolio manager.

[Paxton Helms - Kaplan]

Hi--

I think you have a good shot at those schools but also have a handful of concerns:

- Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) is, as far as I know, very quant and operations focused. That would probably be a good place for you in the sense that you are very quant focused but I wonder if it is sending the right message in terms of your desire to move from programming / finance operation work. It seems like the broader perspective of a more traditional MBA is a more logical path for you.

This is not to knock CM (on the contrary!!) but it is to say: think carefully about what you want out of your business school experience and what message you want to be sending to future employers.

- I think it is useful and interesting that you are doing the real estate stuff (something in which I have a bit of exposure myself) but I really want to make sure that you don't dilute your message. So...while getting the mortgage lined up and getting the tenant, etc., are interesting and great....they aren't going to get you in anywhere. That's not to say that you can't include it in your application or even write about it in your essays...but, just be sure that you dont' give it equal weight when discussing your work experience. I don't want to make too too much of this but just a heads-up.

- Along these lines. if you are doing mainly programming and finance operations work, how does the CFA fit in? Is it relevant to your work? Just trying to get a handle on all of the pieces (as will an admissions committee).

It sounds like you have an interesting background and should be a solid candidate...just remember that top schools always have a lottery element so be sure to hedge your bets at schools that are not super-elite.

Cheers and Good Luck--

Paxton