What would the average CFA charterholder score on GMAT math? If you can go 3/3 does this imply that you could crush GMAT math (assuming you studied 100-150 hours for it)? Anybody out there who has passed L1 and L2 or all 3 and has also taken the GMAT? I’m just curious…
The only correlation between the two (in my opinion) is that your are reasonably intelligent if doing cfa and doing gmat, but the actual questions have close to nothing in common. True, both tests require only high school math, but i wouldn’t look to derive any reasonable relationship.
It’s a trick question. Before you take either test you have to get permission from Chuck Norris.
what do you mean by average CFA holder:)? CFA institute doesnt provide rankings or percentiles of your score on the CFA exams. Besides, to imply a causation between the two (GMAT score and CFA charter) is simply ludicrous. Choose a meaningful data to study- Do Asians score higher on GMAT than Europe or North America, for instance. You"ll find meaningful stats there.
I don’t know about the “average CFA charterholder”, but here’s my take based on GMAT topic areas and some example questions: http://questionbank.4gmat.com/ Algebra, mean/median/mode/deviation, number systems, percentages, P&L, ratio/proportion/variance, simple and compound interest, are all in some way shape or form needed to pass the CFA curriculum, so I would assume most CFA charterholders would perform almost flawlessly on those sections. Progressions, inequalities, geometry, measurements, probability, quadratic equations, set theory, speed/time/distance, and work are all sections that anybody smart enough to do the CFA should be able to master in a couple of hours each, IMO. Memorize a few things and you should be fine. Data sufficiency is the only thing I could imagine any significant % of charterholders struggling with, because it has so much to do with the way your brain is wired to think. Regardless, most charterholders I know would do extremely well at this stuff after an average amount of studying.
Minimal correlation. First off, the key to CFA is effort - not brains. You don’t have to be smart to pass this thing - you got to log time. I’d bet a 550 GMAT who works his tail off will outperform a 750 GMAT who slacks off. Also, there’s probably a slightly higher (though statistically insignicant) correlation between the Verbal GMAT and the CFA - the CFA is a QUALITATIVE program, after all. .
Has anyone here done the GMAT? I have to deal with that once the CFA exam is over with next month. How much time needs to be spent in preparation and how do you prepare for it? As you can see I don’t have the slightest clue where to start
took it last fall. I logged in some solid time, but it’s nothing like CFA
I took GMAT and got 99th percentile on math. CFA quant related stuff is very different. Even the most quantitative section requires more concept understanding than actual computation.
Took it in January. I read GMAC’s Official Guide and Princeton Review Verbal Review. I would recommend them both. I only studied for 2-3 weeks since I had to write my essays in the 2-3 weeks after the test. My score wasn’t great but it was good enough for what I want to do. The GMAT math section is different from CFA math. GMAT math is algebra and other stuff you studied in jr/sr high. I’m convinved I would’ve scored much higher if I took in high school.
jk86- I’ve got the same plan… we should get in touch post June 7 +~2 weeks (I’m trying to avoid distractions at this point) but here’s my (mostly assumption based) opinion… I would think that someone capable of passing one or two levels of the CFA on first try should start with an edge up on the average GMAT sitter base on the fact that CFA success demonstrates (IMHO) a minimum level of general intelligence + a serious and dedicated study ethic. I would venture to say that I one were to dedicate themselves equally to the GMAT- they’d definately be capable of scoring in the top quintile. that’s my hope.
jk86: I had the luxury of having ample time to take it. First time, I prepared for about a week or two (used the Official Guide) and got a 660 (low quant/high verbal). Then, I got some supplemental material (Manhattan MBA Guide for Verbal and Kaplan for Quant), and I did about a month and a half of serious preparation. I also read some threads on gmatclub to give more insight on how to approach certain problems. I ended up getting a 710 (I think I read somewhere that, on average, retakers score apprx 40 points better) I think it’s very important to get comfortable with the kinds of problems that you’ll be asked and get used to working under time stress. For someone who hadn’t taken a standardized test in several years, I just needed to get used to answering questions quickly and relearning some algebra, geometry, etc. rules that I’d forgotten.
This is a stupid question
DirtyZ Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What would the average CFA charterholder score on > GMAT math? If you can go 3/3 does this imply that > you could crush GMAT math (assuming you studied > 100-150 hours for it)? > 150 hrs studying for the GMAT is a pretty generous donation of valuable time. just curious how many people actually put in that much into it. if i recall right, i had invested about 50 hours, so thats one data point.
Took GMAT twice - first time: 690 (97 V / low 60’s M) second time: 690 (72 M / 93 V). 690 is top 10%. If I pass LIII next month, I’ll finish 3/3 - something only 10% or so of test takers do. I’m contemplating taking it again, to see if I can match my best V/M, which would put me at 710 or so.
Nice! How much time did you spend prepping for the exam?
took a GMAT prep course to brush up on high school math and develop question strategies… 6 sessions of 90 minutes. Did hundreds of questions. After my first try, I worked 4 90-minute sessions with a math tutor. I forget how much time it took (nothing near the 225 I did for CFA), but I pretty much did every practice question I could find. STill, on test day, they broke out stuff I’d never seen before. There’s a limit to how much you get from practicing / studying. Anything more than 80 hours is just spinning your wheels.
joemontana is right, CFA is effort and memorization while GMAT is more about understanding the process. That said, 150 hours for GMAT is way too much imo. I wrote without studying (didn’t know what I was thinking, I actually believed their propaganda that you couldn’t study for it) got 660, studied for 10-20 hours and got 700. Studied another 10-20 hours and got 720, I felt I could do better but it was high enough. I think 50 hours is more than enough to get a score close to your potential. All said, I seriously doubt that an “average” person on the IQ scale could score 780+ on GMAT. You can read every GMAT book out there but you are still going to have to think on your feet and not regurgitate formulas and facts (like CFA). Don’t get me wrong though, GMAT is really easy compared to CFA as long as you don’t mind a mediocre score.
The GMAT showed me how horribly dependent I am on calculators/excel. 
I did get 95th percentile on verbal though …
I didn’t phrase my question that well…I was just trying to get a sense of how well a CFA charterholder could expect to fair on the GMAT with some study effort. Thanks for the feedback.