Hello, future wall street legend, (hopefully anyways)

Hey guys!
Im 21, starting my last year of a non-target school in September, majoring in Economics:Finance( GPA not so good.. no really its pretty "f ing" bad, Im serious). By the time I turned 21 I got my Series 7 (first shot) and 63. ( worked as a broker for your typical boutique investment firm, nothing special) decided to drop it and finish up school faster. expected to graduate june 2014. By the time I was 18 I took part in a business plan, I devised the financial part ( balance sheet, P&L, cash flow, projections and analysis)

My goals: go for the CFA 1 in June2014- Hopefully score a high gmat score between now and 06/2014- get into a business school-Then rock the world in Equity Research or Investment banking or Wealth management. ( preference in that order)

Looking for advice and any edge I can get.

22 Comments
 

Thanks! Series 7 exam was pretty brutal got some helpful online material I can share with you to help pass, studied 3 months for it, I breathed ate and lived that exam. one shot for the series 7, series 63 took me 2 tries. the 63 was very tricky

 
NYRussian21

Thanks! Series 7 exam was pretty brutal got some helpful online material I can share with you to help pass, studied 3 months for it, I breathed ate and lived that exam. one shot for the series 7, series 63 took me 2 tries. the 63 was very tricky

If you took 3 months to study for the Series 7, I would not even bother with the CFA.

 
subrosa NYRussian21:

Thanks! Series 7 exam was pretty brutal got some helpful online material I can share with you to help pass, studied 3 months for it, I breathed ate and lived that exam. one shot for the series 7, series 63 took me 2 tries. the 63 was very tricky

If you took 3 months to study for the Series 7, I would not even bother with the CFA.

How come?

 
Best Response
NYRussian21 subrosa:

NYRussian21:
Thanks! Series 7 exam was pretty brutal got some helpful online material I can share with you to help pass, studied 3 months for it, I breathed ate and lived that exam. one shot for the series 7, series 63 took me 2 tries. the 63 was very tricky

If you took 3 months to study for the Series 7, I would not even bother with the CFA.

How come?

Because you won't pass. The Series 7 should take you a week or so to study for, even with no background in the financial field. The CFA is much more comprehensive.
 

ouch, first time I heard that, but considering I had no previous knowledge of anything regarding investments/finance before and working 2 jobs while studying for it, and got a 93 on the exam, I think I got a good shot for the first level

 
NYRussian21

ouch, first time I heard that, but considering I had no previous knowledge of anything regarding investments/finance before and working 2 jobs while studying for it, and got a 93 on the exam, I think I got a good shot for the first level

cool story bro.

read what you said above - spoiler: "I breathed ate and lived that exam"

 
animalz NYRussian21:

ouch, first time I heard that, but considering I had no previous knowledge of anything regarding investments/finance before and working 2 jobs while studying for it, and got a 93 on the exam, I think I got a good shot for the first level

cool story bro.

read what you said above - spoiler: "I breathed ate and lived that exam"

haha that's exactly what I did when I wasn't working

 
NYRussian21

ouch, first time I heard that, but considering I had no previous knowledge of anything regarding investments/finance before and working 2 jobs while studying for it, and got a 93 on the exam, I think I got a good shot for the first level

You'll find out that no one cares about those scores. I know a lot of people who got close to perfect scores and have been working in ops for the last 5 years. If the test was difficult that would be one thing, but since it's not difficult and it's a pass/fail no one cares if you get a 73 or 93. I wish you all the best, but it's unlikely you would make it through all three exams any time soon. You're young, so I would just hold off for now and try to kill the GMAT. An MBA seems more logical for you at this point. Maybe go for the CFA at some point down the road.

 
subrosa NYRussian21:

ouch, first time I heard that, but considering I had no previous knowledge of anything regarding investments/finance before and working 2 jobs while studying for it, and got a 93 on the exam, I think I got a good shot for the first level

You'll find out that no one cares about those scores. I know a lot of people who got close to perfect scores and have been working in ops for the last 5 years. If the test was difficult that would be one thing, but since it's not difficult and it's a pass/fail no one cares if you get a 73 or 93. I wish you all the best, but it's unlikely you would make it through all three exams any time soon. You're young, so I would just hold off for now and try to kill the GMAT. An MBA seems more logical for you at this point. Maybe go for the CFA at some point down the road.

sounds like a solid plan, Thanks for the advice

What would you say would be a solid score on the GMAT to get into at least a decent business school?

 

If you have crappy grades from a non-target, you probably need to score bare minimum 700. Ideally, 720-730 and up. Also, depends what you think a decent b-school is.

 

I don't see you rocking anything. You sound like a 6 year old girl.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

OP, it sounds like your plan is to get an MBA straight out of undergrad? That would probably be a very bad idea since any decent MBA should require at least a couple years of solid work experience.

 

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