Profile Evaluation please

[mtt240]

Hi,

I am a 27 year old Asian male who graduated in 2006. I have a BS from NYU Stern in Finance and International Business. I completed my freshman and sophomore years at Pennsylvania State University Park with a 3.68 GPA and transferred to NYU Stern, and had a 3.1 GPA.

I have taken the GMAT twice in the last 2 months and scored a 650 (47Q 33V) and a 680 (47Q and 36V)

I have been working as a proprietary trader in New York City for the past 6 years. I stayed at my first firm for 5 years. I had a short stint as an execution trader for 3 months last summer. I moved to my current firm in December and have been working there since. I have not had leadership positions in any of these roles.

In terms of extracurricular activity, I am an Eagle Scout and I have been a mentor in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of New York for the past year.

I want to go to business school to delve into the fundamentals of company and investment valuation as my primary area of expertise is in technical analysis of stocks. I would ideally like to work in an investment bank or hedge fund as a research analyst after school and possibly move up to portfolio management or investment management. My dream is to be admitted to the Columbia University value investing program. I would also love to go back to NYU Stern or UCLA. I am targeting top 20 b-schools, please let me know if this is reasonable. I also have to decide whether to take the GMAT's again to improve to the 700+ level as well. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

-Michael

[Jon@Admissionado]

Michael,

The important thing for you to do in your profile, is to show how an MBA would benefit you specifically. To stand out. To be heard. To be unique. Cause the "danger" is that you could be perceived as wanting to get an MBA just cause it's the "next thing in the path".. you know, six years as a proprietary trader, and then B-school, and then a job with a bit more money. So we want more MEAT than that. We want to hear your unique story and your unique goals.

I think your school list is a good and logical start. Your Alma Mater plus Columbia and Anderson. Johnson makes sense for you given your profile too.

Do you need to retake the GMAT?> It's up to you. It depends on how easy you can get a higher score,and how much higher a score you can get. And you know that better than me. You do have a wee bit of time though, so if you are confident you can do better, one more retake should leave you with plenty of time to prepare those apps.