Hey guys, I know MBA is getting ultra competitive lately, I am not looking to apply yet, but in maybe in a couple years. I am just wondering does having a CFA, or lvl II or lvl III candidacy hurt or help with the MBA app? sorry if this has been done before.
roumancesoiree Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hey guys, > > I know MBA is getting ultra competitive lately, I > am not looking to apply yet, but in maybe in a > couple years. I am just wondering does having a > CFA, or lvl II or lvl III candidacy hurt or help > with the MBA app? sorry if this has been done > before. It did in my opinion. You can craft your essays with some solid direction explaining that portfolio management/ER/etc is your intended career path. The CFA is assisting you in gaining the specific depth, however now you are seeking the breadth of an MBA to cast a wider net on your education in the financial service industry, bla bla bla. You get the idea. I found it helpful to keep a theme running in my essays demonstrating that I’m actively pursuing the CFA concurrent with an MBA to secure a PM/ER position.
I asked the person who interviewed me if it helped me get into bschool and he said “yes”.
i hope CFA can help compensating my low GPAs
ditchdigger2CFA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > roumancesoiree Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Hey guys, > > > > I know MBA is getting ultra competitive lately, > I > > am not looking to apply yet, but in maybe in a > > couple years. I am just wondering does having a > > CFA, or lvl II or lvl III candidacy hurt or > help > > with the MBA app? sorry if this has been done > > before. > > > It did in my opinion. You can craft your essays > with some solid direction explaining that > portfolio management/ER/etc is your intended > career path. The CFA is assisting you in gaining > the specific depth, however now you are seeking > the breadth of an MBA to cast a wider net on your > education in the financial service industry, bla > bla bla. > > You get the idea. I found it helpful to keep a > theme running in my essays demonstrating that I’m > actively pursuing the CFA concurrent with an MBA > to secure a PM/ER position. Yeah thanks for the comment. I think it would make sense, but I was afraid CFA & MBA would have too much overlap making the CFA a negative.
Never a negative. It will help if you craft your essays and interview questions properly. Most schools have a question such as "What are your post MBA goals and what have you done to attain them? It will look good to mention that you spent 800 hours studying in your free time because you are so passionate about your goals. Keep something in mind: many people outside of the financial world haven’t heard of the CFA, or have no idea what it is. The onus is on you to eexplain how much work it takes.
joemontana Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Never a negative. It will help if you craft your > essays and interview questions properly. Most > schools have a question such as "What are your > post MBA goals and what have you done to attain > them? It will look good to mention that you spent > 800 hours studying in your free time because you > are so passionate about your goals. > > Keep something in mind: many people outside of the > financial world haven’t heard of the CFA, or have > no idea what it is. The onus is on you to > eexplain how much work it takes. Thanks Joe, but do you think MBA adcom wouldn’t know the CFA though?
http://gmatclub.com/forum/103-t63245 http://gmatclub.com/forum/103-t68059 These are some very useful posts concerning CFA and MBA… Something I am looking into as well.
according to my research - at the top 15 schools CFA progress can be used to compensate for lower quant scores / lower GPA / not much quant exposure in college. again, its how you craft this reasoning into your essays that will bring out the value of the CFA to YOUR specific story/history.
niraj_a Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > according to my research - at the top 15 schools > CFA progress can be used to compensate for lower > quant scores / lower GPA / not much quant exposure > in college. > > again, its how you craft this reasoning into your > essays that will bring out the value of the CFA to > YOUR specific story/history. I’m presently going throught the MBA app process. Although quant wasn’t an issue for me, my research did indicatre that the Charter or Level X candidate can bolster a lower quant. I also agree with niraj crafting the CFA ‘story’ into your essays can also be very benefical to bolstering your career goals essays & other stories. For example the lst 1.5 years my extracurrucuallars have not been much (work + CFA = not much else) I do explain in a short sentance the time commitment of the CFA. During my Yale and Darden interviews they were very impressed that I was a level III candidate, while on the other hand the Duke interviewer had no idea what the CFA was. When I was talking about the time commitment he seemed rather puzzled
While obviously a CFA is better than nothing, esp if your goals are research or PM, I’m not sure that it helps that much for admissions. MBA is all about teamwork, leadership, and making a difference. CFA is none of these things.
mzwerner Wrote: > During my Yale and Darden interviews > they were very impressed that I was a level III > candidate, while on the other hand the Duke > interviewer had no idea what the CFA was. When I > was talking about the time commitment he seemed > rather puzzled I’ve heard that people outside of finance do not normally know what the CFA is, and that is understandable. But, I find it shocking when I hear that interviewers for b-schools havent. Mostly because they must have interviewed other candidates before, who I’m sure were also pursuing or were CFA’s? It just seems puzzling to me and I almost would not want to go to a school where they didnt know what it was (depending on what the interviewers previous/current occupation is outside of teaching). It’s not exactly some random bizarre designation…
yeah its weird that adcoms don’t know about the CFA, it is probably the biggest designation in all of finance (at least the most well known).
It helped my case.
I wouldn’t think CANDIDACY would help you get into a Top school. You’d need to be someone like me: CFA Charterholder, proven track record of using it and a little be older. What’s funny - I find - is that once you meet this criteria, you’ll probably opt against an MBA. My two cents… Willy
what about just completing level 1 and not pursuing it anymore?
ancientmtk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > what about just completing level 1 and not > pursuing it anymore? I love when I see Level 1 candidate on resumes. I think I am going to put “applied to Stanford” on mine and see where that gets me
Well i PASSED level 1. Just not going to do level 2 just yet. Its a little better fxguy1234 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ancientmtk Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > what about just completing level 1 and not > > pursuing it anymore? > > > I love when I see Level 1 candidate on resumes. I > think I am going to put “applied to Stanford” on > mine and see where that gets me
then put “Completed Level I of the CFA program”…
My resume says Harvard Business School class of 2018.