Profile Evaluation - Indian Male 3.5 years of WE, GMAT - 740

That is correct, sorry for the typo there.

Marvel,

Thanks for posting! I won't harp too much on the academic or professional accomplishments - you've got great brand names on your resume and solid scores across the board.

I'm focusing more on your goal of Sales & Trading, which many could argue you don't need an MBA to do. Most people are trying to get out of S&T and fixed income to go back to business school and go on to work in IB, consulting, or tech. If I were you, I would focus my application on fintech (or even finance at a tech company) or investment banking, both fields that M7 place well at and that you have a reasonable story for. The same goes for fixed income - not a very popular post-MBA goal but doable (on the west coast especially, a lot of credit shops in LA).

Have you considered expanding your school search beyond those 5? It's difficult to place a % on chances coming from a competitive applicant pool, but I would recommend selecting schools in the 10-20 ranking range as addition targets/safeties, since admission at M7 can be highly subjective. You're also on the younger side, so I also wouldn't be against limiting your application focus and re-applying next year to a broader range if you don't get the result you are looking for. It simply depends on your own personal timeline.

Hope this helps and please let me know if you have any more questions about your candidacy!

Regards,

Personal MBA Coach

www.personalmbacoach.com

PersonalMBACoach

1. I am choosing S&T because that would show transition from my current job. Currently I am building trading platforms for traders and I aspire to be a trader after mba(so, kind of both career progression and career switch). Also, S&T is not very commonly sort-after field for Indians, so going for that less crowded pool.

2. Fintech - This was my second choice after S&T. but again this pool is very overcrowded. I don't want to take a chance.

3. IB core - I don't really know how to connect dots between my work so far and future roles. I don't have financial certifications like CFA.

4. No, I have not really looked schools in the range 10-20. I gave my gmat pretty late (Oct -2018). Currently focussing on 5 schools only for round 2.

Marvel,

I understand what your goals are Post-MBA, what I'm saying is that basing your applications around S&T isnt an ideal path given your background. Your goal is to first get into a school and then explore the opportunities. An Adcom is going to wonder why you need an MBA for a role in S&T, since very few people become traders after their MBA.

With a strong background such as yours, your story works better as fintech and an Adcom will see you as someone who has realistic post-MBA goals and is hirable. Remember, your goal is to maximize your chances of admission, not pidgeonhole yourself into a "category." Does this make sense?

PersonalMBACoach

Thank you for your analysis.
I completely understand your point and it totally makes sense.
I am honestly in bit of dilemma at this point whether to change the goals this late, when deadlines are just few days away.

Could you tell what could be a transition points from tech(IB) to fintech (product management)?

Thank you for the note. This goes a bit beyond the type of advice usually given here but if you would like formal help on your applications, feel free to reach out!

Good luck!

Best,