Grad School Credibility of the CFA

Does having your CFA or even a level or two passed count for much when applying to grad schools?

I think you could spin it to say that you are always interested in improving yourself and always craving a new challenge and looking to learn as much as possible.

Yeah it would help but but won’t be the defining factor.

This topic has been discussed extensively on the GMAT club forums. The short answer is “nope”

it gets you street cred

$tarving_Banker Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This topic has been discussed extensively on the > GMAT club forums. > > The short answer is “nope” Unfortunately this is mostly true. It really depends on the adcoms who are looking over your application & resume. That being said, you can only hope that if you’re applying to a respectable program they would have the decency of recognizing our pain and suffering.

I just dont buy the “it wont help you argument” If you have two very similar candidates, yet one is an l3 or CFA, who do you think admissions is gonna pick? It wont make up for a lousy GMAT but it gives you the extra push at the wire.

nuppal Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I just dont buy the “it wont help you argument” > > If you have two very similar candidates, yet one > is an l3 or CFA, who do you think admissions is > gonna pick? It wont make up for a lousy GMAT but > it gives you the extra push at the wire. Absolutely, especially if you are applying to a school that is dominated by its finance program. The truth of the matter is that the CFA, while highly respected amongst industry peers as the gold standard for asset management, ER, etc…, is not that well known outside of finance. Unfortunately it’s just the reality of the situation and we accept it. How many people have we told the C is for Chartered not Certified and the A is for Analyst not Advisor. One of these days I’ll apply to bschool and they better damn well know what the CFA Charter is and how difficult it is to obtain.

^ Exactly, its maddening how overlooked the CFA is, especially compared to CPA and other designations. I was at thankgsgiving and someone there was talking about GRE and how hard it was blah blah blah, I then said that I was sitting for level 1 in two weeks. They basically said that the CFA wasn’t that hard, and that “becoming an Advisor” wasn’t a hard job. It’s so frustrating that people are so ignorant to the make up of this exam series. Yet, at the same time, I find my self not really wanting too many people to know about it, it’s like a hidden gem and I don’t want it to become cloudy and over used.

nuppal Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ^ > > Exactly, its maddening how overlooked the CFA is, > especially compared to CPA and other designations. Being compared to CPA is nothing. Here are some of the real life responses I’ve gotten when I told people I am a CFA L3 candidate. “O great. I am not familar with CFC but I am sure it is good to have.” “Cool. Is that like the 7. I am studying for my 7 and that $hit is intense bro” “I once had a chance to become a CFP but I decided not to. I think all those certifications are just bull$hit.” Here is the best “CFA? what is that and why are you doing it? You should be doing an MBA becuase it is boarder and more recognized. I don’t know what the hell CFA is and I doubt tons of people do” Last one still pisses me off when I think about it. It just doesn’t get ruder and more ignorant than this. (Plus the guy doesnt even have a “REAL” MBA, he got his from some Mumblefvck State Univ) Such is life. You just have to get used it.

Then it is our responsibility to create value for the CFA right? Especially if we ever are in a position where we can hire people…:smiley:

nuppal Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I just dont buy the “it wont help you argument” > It’s not that it won’t help. Being in the CFA program may give you an edge, depends how you present it and tie it to the rest of your application package. You can certainly use it to discuss your career goals and maybe demonstrate your ability to handel a full time job and study. But CFA, by itself, don’t mean jack. It’s a 3 letter word and I bet half of the adcom you encounter wont know CFA from their a$$es.

Thanks all for your comments… I know how you all feel w/regards to nobody understanding our pain! I took the L1 test last week and when I got back to the bank I work for in Montana, everyone was asking how the 7 went. I even had one officer ask why I took the week before the test off…“when I took the series 7, I only needed a week total to study…you’ve been at it for a few months??” he said haha. Adding to the feeling of a lack of understanding, the days off were unpaid so this years Christmas presents may be a little weak haha sorry Mom and Pops

Maybe people should think as to why some of the best universities/ B-schools around the world are partnering with CFA institute. http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/university/asia_pacific.html http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/university/europe.html http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprog/university/latinamerica.html

$tarving_Banker Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > nuppal Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I just dont buy the “it wont help you argument” > > > > > It’s not that it won’t help. Being in the CFA > program may give you an edge, depends how you > present it and tie it to the rest of your > application package. You can certainly use it to > discuss your career goals and maybe demonstrate > your ability to handel a full time job and study. > > > But CFA, by itself, don’t mean jack. It’s a 3 > letter word and I bet half of the adcom you > encounter wont know CFA from their a$$es. I guess this is what I was trying to get at all along. You’re right, alone the CFA doesnt hold much weight in academic, especially if your AO is new in the field or doesnt have much financial back ground (which is almost criminal if they are working at MBA level).

Chuckrox8 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > nuppal Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I just dont buy the “it wont help you argument” > > > > If you have two very similar candidates, yet > one > > is an l3 or CFA, who do you think admissions is > > gonna pick? It wont make up for a lousy GMAT > but > > it gives you the extra push at the wire. > > Absolutely, especially if you are applying to a > school that is dominated by its finance program. > The truth of the matter is that the CFA, while > highly respected amongst industry peers as the > gold standard for asset management, ER, etc…, is > not that well known outside of finance. > Unfortunately it’s just the reality of the > situation and we accept it. How many people have > we told the C is for Chartered not Certified and > the A is for Analyst not Advisor. One of these > days I’ll apply to bschool and they better damn > well know what the CFA Charter is and how > difficult it is to obtain. I am as passionate as you are about getting the CFA before B-School. However, I have alternative perspective for you. One of my mentors is am Equity Research Analyst at Janus and graduated with an MBA from Chicago’s Booth. He said out of the whole program (Accounting /Finance) one-two people had the CFA. The people reading your application and essays are not as educated in credentials as you would hope. However, any feather in your cap at >10% unemployment is a feather. There is not as much traction in the USA B-Schools with CFA marketability that you would hope for. Nonetheless when you graduate you will have one-step up in recruiting sessions.

Pampas demagogues would not be impressed if you touted passing CFA L1/2…all they care about is if you’re willing to bend over and laude them for 2 or 3 years!

I think the problem here is that people are trying to assign a binary rule (CFA matters/CFA does not matter) to this argument. Of course the CFA designation is not worthless. It’s just in most fields, it only matters a little bit, and in most cases, this is less than what CFA candidates would like to think it matters.

There is no question that the CFA matters. It clearly does not hurt to have one nor will recruiters ding you if you claim to be pursuing it. The issue is whether doors will swing wide open for you once you have those 3 letters after your name. A headhunter I knew dinged a candidate for an Strategic Planning role just because she did not have the letters, CFA.

jackofalltrades Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > There is no question that the CFA matters. It > clearly does not hurt to have one nor will > recruiters ding you if you claim to be pursuing > it. This. /Thread