Considering Postponing Level II Exam

Within minutes of receiving my passing score on Level 1, I was registering for the Level 2 exam. Although I’m almost halfway through the 4th book, I’m starting to debate whether it makes sense to postpone this until next year. I’m applying for my MBA in the fall, and really sat down to map/plan the admissions process. I still need to study and sit for the GMAT, which will likely dictate to which schools I apply. Thus, I would probably want to start preparing for it soon. If I were to continue with the Level 2 exam in June, I wouldn’t have any free time to devote to the GMAT, applications, essays, or other things I need to do to improve my application until mid June. I suppose that would put me under a pretty heavy time crunch. Not to mention I should probably start helping my fiance plan our October wedding. :slight_smile: It’s poor planning on my part not mapping this out before, but I suppose I became too focused on hammering out these tests. From a career (or MBA application) perspective, I’m not sure what difference it will make if I take Level 2 now or next June. Sure, it’ll suck to have to eat the registration and materials cost, but it seems like the best option. Anyway, I would be curious to hear whether anybody else has reconsidered their choice to take the next level right away. I’m guessing most people (being the L2 forum and all) are pressing forward with their study plans without second thought, but I would still be curious to hear your thoughts.

Postpone= pay twice, this year and next.

Super I Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Postpone= pay twice, this year and next. That is definitely not an easy pill for me to swallow. But, if it helps me get into a better program, I wouldn’t be too upset about it.

What are the disadvantages of putting the MBA off for 1 year?

jabroni Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What are the disadvantages of putting the MBA off > for 1 year? The major disadvantage would be related to starting a family. Personally, I don’t want to have kids until after I’m done with the MBA program. So, waiting another year would mean I’d have to convince my wife we have to put everything on hold (kids, settling down somewhere) for four years after we get married. She’s already making a ton of sacrifices to have one of us go back to being a student, so I want to at least try to be sensitive to that. I know that makes me sound like a girl, but whatever. The other thing I’m a bit concerned about (and this may not necessarily be valid) is my age when applying. I’m going to be 29 when I apply this year, and would be 30 if I pushed it back one year. That would put me past the average application age (which I suspect will drop lower this year).

Tough call. One thing to consider is that a lot of people will be applying this year. I’d say continue with the CFA. Its only 3 months away. Put the peddle to the metal and hammer it out.

thepinkman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Tough call. One thing to consider is that a lot > of people will be applying this year. I’d say > continue with the CFA. Its only 3 months away. > Put the peddle to the metal and hammer it out. Yeah, applications are going to be insane this year. But, if I focus on my applications, I think I can get into a top program regardless of the app volume. Definitely a tough call.

If you can study for the CFA and effectively find time to do some volunteer work or travel to broaden your cultural experiences and strengthen your application profile, do it. Early decision starts in October so even after the CFA you still have more than 4 months to prepare. I say weight your decision by the regret factor of continuing versus abandoning the CFA.

yeah, you can do both!

gz2nyc Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you can study for the CFA and effectively find > time to do some volunteer work or travel to > broaden your cultural experiences and strengthen > your application profile, do it. Early decision > starts in October so even after the CFA you still > have more than 4 months to prepare. I say weight > your decision by the regret factor of continuing > versus abandoning the CFA. But I would need to know what my GMAT score is going to be before I start working on my essays and apps. If I were to wait until June 15th to start studying, I probably wouldn’t be prepared to sit for the exam until late August. That would give me about 1-2 months to do all my applications. It doesn’t seem like a ton of time, unfortunately. I appreciate your suggestions though; definitely agree on the travel and volunteer work suggestions.

honestly you only need about 3-4 weeks to appropriately study for the GMAT if you put in the same intensity as you do for CFA. Maybe even less. I studied with the Kaplan guide for 3 weeks solid and did great.

Maybe you can take a mock GMAT and see if you can land yourself in the 600’s area. If so then a month of intensive studying can definitely bring it to 700+. From experience the GMAT was cake compared to L1. For one, it’s half as long and can be taken at your own convenience. Plus, your GMAT score shouldn’t get to decide what school you apply to - you decide the school and then prep for the GMAT accordingly. Aim for the sky!

women= dream killers

I planned to postpone LI for six months due to a hectic work schedule. I didn’t feel prepared. I wasn’t even going to attempt it (I figured it was a lost cause) but a co-worker talked me into it by telling me it’d look bad if I didn’t even try. I’m glad he did because I passed. So, why not at least take it and maybe you’ll still pass even if you cut back on studying for it?

meddling, apologies if this comes off rude, but what do you plan on getting out of the mba and/or cfa? I ask because I was in a similar boat as you last year…(re: MBA vs CFA) and decided to pursue CFA because a. I like equity research b. I was thinking MBA because I want to change my career (currently in IT) and based on talking to friends with the charter, they told me employees could consider me for an equity gig if I had L2 under my belt Once I heard point B, I pretty much dropped the thought of getting the MBA… So I guess what I’m trying to say is, know your motives for choosing either path and if one of them gets you where you need to go, go for it.

You’ll find that starting a family while pursuing your MBA is far less stressful than starting one during the CFA process. I’ve done both and your MBA studies will seem like vacation compared to the CFA curriculum.

I’d focus on the LII exam, personally I think it will look better on you’re application being an LIII candidate than having a 30 point higher GMAT.

Sorry if this comes off as rude, but what top MBA programs can you still apply for this fall? Considering you still haven’t taken the GMAT you are way behind schedule. Most schools have deadlines around March 15th and that is for the 3rd and last round. I have already been accepted to one program myself. Seems like you haven’t put much thought about MBA till recently, in which case it would probably be better to put it off for 1 year and focus on the level 2. Edit: Oh sorry maybe I read your post wrong. If you are applying for fall 09, I don’t see what the problem is in terms of time. Take the L2 in June and study for GMAT. I took the GMAT on Jan 26th, 3 days after finding out I passed the L1.

For various reasons I’m now aiming for Level II in 2009… it’s not always possible to foresee everything. It’ll suck having to eat the registration and materials cost, but it seems like the best option for me… so if you’re postponing, MeddlingKids, you’re not the only one doing this.

Get the CFA over with. L1 should still be fresh in your mind and have an advantage going for it now vs. in the future. From a family perspective, PASS L2 and get it over with. I have a 6 week old and it’s rough studying with 3-4 hours of sleep per night max. Every morning it feels like an 8 beer, 2 glass of wine, and 3 shot hangover, even though you haven’t touched a drop. After you pass L2 then move on to the GMAT/MBA and you’ll be fine. You’ll save a year of your life getting L2 over with now. Just my thoughts.