I’m trying to get a gameplan going to build my chances of getting accepted to a top-MBA program. I’m in Chicago so I’m aiming for Northwestern or UChicago. I’ve passed Level I and, instead of attempting Level II, opted to find a job. I started my job in April and they seem to have good ties to the top programs here since the company is headquartered in Chicago. I would appreciate some advice on what to get started on if I plan to apply in the next 2 years. Volunteering? Extra Currics/Leadership Roles (what kind?)…Should I start focusing on GMAT now or take on Level II next June and then worry about GMAT…I was a semester away from graduating with a health degree and changed my major to finance. I have a slightly interesting story since I had to complete the business program (unfortunately from a state school) within about a year and a half. My story doesn’t compare to those crazy people traveling abroad and creating a business in a poor country, but I guess it’s better than nothing!
I don’t think b-schools really care about CFA. However, you’ll have to take your GMAT. You don’t need a crazy story to get into business school. Just do what you love and demonstrate leadership along the way. People often ask what types of “leadership” experiences they should pursue, and I think that if you do you what you love, the leadership will come naturally…that is, if you really have leadership potential. Don’t worry too much about all the travel / work abroad stuff. All the top programs claim to be “global” – and they are – but you certainly don’t need international experience of any kind (I didn’t have any). It all comes down to the story that you tell.
I went to an info session and someone asked about the CFA. They said they will believe that you can handle the quantitative side of things in their program if you have a CFA but won’t really give you any specific advantage over another candidate. So probably similar to the effect of having a strong quant score on your GMAT although not nearly as important to having a strong GMAT.
In the other thread you asked for books about MBA’s, but seeing this question you havent started with that yet. If you read the book i recommended you would have the answer… But go give some pointers: - don’t go volunteering just to be a more attractive MBA candidate (they will see through that and think you are window dressing; which you are if you are not sincere about your efforts) - do the GMAT asap so you have time to redo it when results are not as expected (besides, starting for LII already will be waaaaay too early, start in Dec/Jan with studying for LII) - try to get some leadership experience. Dont think this means you need to supervise other people; you can also help others in their development (coaching), come with new ideas and sell it to your bosses, be the person to go to for certain things, etc. The most important here is that you have an impact and learn something from it (about yourself). - buy the damn book and read how to create a “brand” for yourself that you will sell when applying for the MBA. Cheers
I actually just picked up the book you recommended yesterday ERIC. Thanks for the recommendation because I was originally leaning toward the Montauk book. Does anyone have any experience in volunteering at colleges or high schools to help students decide where they can take their careers? I enjoy reading over and helping with resumes and helping with job searches.
ChickenTikka Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I went to an info session and someone asked about > the CFA. They said they will believe that you can > handle the quantitative side of things in their > program if you have a CFA but won’t really give > you any specific advantage over another candidate. > So probably similar to the effect of having a > strong quant score on your GMAT although not > nearly as important to having a strong GMAT. TIL some people think the CFA is quantitative. Huh.
I agree with eric468 – you did ask for book recommendations this weekend and you had 10+ responses on that thread. The books referenced in that thread have some good answers to the questions you have asked. Therefore, one other piece of advice I will offer – and I see this with top business school students – is that many of them are pretty good about action/execution (rather than just “strategy”), and doing a lot of legwork on their own (especially when it comes to finding the answers to basic questions). If you look for activities that you’re passionate about, things like volunteering and leadership will work themselves out.
I would recommend pulling all of this year’s essay questions from the schools you want to attend and thinking about how you would answer each one. If you struggle with a particular question (say one about leadership), then you can work on addressing that issue. I think the CFA doesn’t count for much in the admissions process, but it is helpful once you’re in school. You mihgt be able to get waivers from some of the core accounting and finance, and in general those finance/investing classes should be a breeze.
Natural Light is right about the waivers. Columbia told me they will let you test out of their core curriculum classes on accounting and what not.
are these waivers only allowed if you’ve obtained the charter or is similar to the waiver for one of the series ## waivers where you only have to pass level II
Columbia wants to test you on them. I don’t think anyone will necessarily say, CFA means you dont have to do XYZ. Most b schools seem to have a few core courses for the poets and oil painters they let in that introduce them to all the stuff we would already know.
naturallight Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I think the CFA doesn’t count for much in the > admissions process, but it is helpful once you’re > in school. You mihgt be able to get waivers from > some of the core accounting and finance, and in > general those finance/investing classes should be > a breeze. Not every school will let you out of core classes. I had CPA’s in my core accounting class.
robber07 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I would appreciate some > advice on what to get started on if I plan to > apply in the next 2 years. When you say that you plan to apply in the next 2 years, do you mean that you’d like to start attending MBA school in September 2013? September 2014? September 2015? If it’s the former, then you don’t have too much time to dawdle… ideally you should start the process (eg. studying for the GMAT) 18 to 24 months before the program start date.
- Wendy is right. It takes an intensive one year to prepare for application process: GMAT (and repeat it if not good enough), (TOEFL if you are a foreigner), writing the essay, getting the recommendations, scheduling interviews, learning about the schools, finding the money, submitting the forms before the deadlines… so if you have not done any of this, you are too late. Not sure, you want to do this at the same time as your CFA program. 2. Agree with eric. If you have not done a lot of those extracir/volunteering before, it is not a good time to start now, given the time constraints and the school can see it as a desperate effort to apply, not a genuine desire/reflection of leadership talent. Try to focus on why the school should choose you, out of all the other applicants, to make the school experience richer for other students (ref my posting on the other thread). 3. Passing the waiver test is really easy. I brushed up my books for a week and passed 3 of them (if I remember correctly). It is however not always wise to do so. The first year is normally known as the hell year. The school purposely tries to destroy you by overloading you with reading. They know all the incoming students have achieved a lot before coming to the program, so their confidence/cockiness must be humiliated before learning/teamwork can take place. They use the second year to rebuild the confidence so that the students graduating with their confidence fortified. NB: This is not sth I speculate, this is a conscious effort that they talk about in the OB (Organizational Behavior) class. Therefore, a lot of business undergrad/CPA purposely NOT take the waiver so that they can coast a few classes and gain some breathing room (wisely). If you succeed the waiver you have to take second year selectives which can be very demanding on time.
ChickenTikka Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Natural Light is right about the waivers. > > Columbia told me they will let you test out of > their core curriculum classes on accounting and > what not. that’s correct. i know people that exempted out of the vast majority of the core and were able to take electives. if you have a cfa charter, you should have enough knowledge to place out of corporate finance, accounting and statistics. it might not be wise to place out of everything though because you won’t get to know your section or learning teammates as well.
naturallight Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I would recommend pulling all of this year’s essay > questions from the schools you want to attend and > thinking about how you would answer each one. If > you struggle with a particular question (say one > about leadership), then you can work on addressing > that issue. > > I think the CFA doesn’t count for much in the > admissions process, but it is helpful once you’re > in school. You mihgt be able to get waivers from > some of the core accounting and finance, and in > general those finance/investing classes should be > a breeze. having the charter as opposed to just passing one or two levels may have some value if your grades and/or scores are borderline as it is one more indicator of your ability to handle the mba courseload. i think it can also be helpful in the recruiting process as it’s one way to differentiate yourself especially for finance jobs.