I know this is kind of an apples to oranges thing, but how does the difficulty of GMAT compare to CFA exams? Currently a L2 candidate, and I think I’m going to give GMAT a try around September but aren’t sure how much time I should contribute to studying. I’ve seen some posts say you can nail it just by cramming for a few days, other people say go hard for 6 months (ie. level 2 prep). Seems to me that a (very) high 600 is the bare minimum for any decent MBA.
Also on the topic of grad school, do CFA exams possibly help your admission prospects? I’m talking about Ivey or Queens most likely, but maybe Rice or Texas A&M (for O&G focus).
They can’t hurt - least of all because they help you maintain study skills. However, I don’t get the sense these days that progress on the CFA exam is a major consideration in admissions either way. I suppose if you integrate this into your personal essays as showing how you take action and responsibility for your future or continuously improve yourself or somesuch, you can turn it into something relevant, but just listing it as an accomplishment probably won’t have a huge impact.
I wonder if these MBA programs that also prepare people for the CFA exam would look at it differently, and in what way. If they say they prepare you for the CFA and you already have your charter, do they think you won’t benefit as much from the program, or do they think you’re better because this will all be review for you? I don’t know enough to say, but it’s an interesting question.
Nail the gmat in just a few days of studying? Highly doubt it. Did you get that from WSO forums where they talk about a 740 score as being “too low”?
probably have to cross 700 to be a decent MBA. Although here on AF, 700 brings out the hacksaw.
CFA will not help admission prospects. admissions people have literally said it won’t. the time effort for the CFA is not worth it if the only point you do it is to help MBA admissions.
Ahah, as a matter of fact that particular post was WSO. For me CFA was never about MBA, or even job prospects necessarily (just like the material, and boss is paying). But I also think Ivey’s program is a CFA one, never thought about what those implications might be.
^ Ha I knew it. Don’t take most of those people seriously.
The post that really took it over the top for me, was when I saw this one kid start a thread called: what is your number? (probably took it from wall street 2 movie). he was asking what $$ it would take for you to walk away from finance.
Then he goes on to say that if someone offered him 500MM to walk away from finance, he would not do it and then goes on acting all cool.
If someone literally offered you 500MM in cash to leave finance now and you turn it down, you would be a complete moron. Even the top finance guys on wall street would agree. young punks talking all tough. That’s WSO.
i tried to take the GMAT in October after taking L2, unfortunately i have to retake L2 so i stopped studying for the GMAT and i never took the exam. I knew i wouldnt be happy with my GMAT so i took a couple weeks off then started level 2. I dont plan on going to get an MBA right away so it made stopping easier. I’m sure it can be done.
What’s your #: bloomberg edition. Is there a # that you would blow bloomberg on the street in public? If he came up to you and said “I’ll give you 10mm cash”, would you?
If you want an MBA, go to Texas. Texas also has the best school in the nation for accounting for O&G, which makes me think their finance for O&G is also spot-on.
If you want a degree in Petroleum Engineering, go to A&M.
Most of the “good” finance people who work in A&D in the petroleum field don’t have MBA’s or CFA charters–they have degrees in petroleum engineering. If you really want to work in A&D, or in the O&G field, look into petroleum engineering. (Other good degrees are Mechanical Engineering and Geology.)
Yeah, I’ve already done my undergrad and have quickly figured out a pet-e would have done me much more good than finance and economics.
Goal is ER (or maybe PE), and huge perk would be staying in O&G but it’s no dealbreaker. I’ve got a good business analyst job going right now, which (maybe I’m lying to myself) seems to be the next best thing for someone who can’t go back for a 4-yr eng. degree. Work very closely with the engineers, mostly analysing the financial side of all their work and stuff like that.
As far as a graduate degree in engineering, I’d probably rather shoot myself. And in a perfect world I’ll score an ER associate position in my city before the 2015 intake anyway…in a perfect world…