Does the CFA® help you get into Business School?

Does having all 3 levels of the CFA® exam make someone more attractive for an MBA program? I've passed the first 2 exams and thinking about applying to MBA's if I pass the 3rd next year and earn the charter.

Some background on myself:

  • Passed Level 1 and Level 2 on first try, taking Level 3 next summer.
  • 3.3 finance undergrad GPA at non-target
  • Work experience: - Back office Tech/Ops (2yrs at a major pension fund), Semi-Pro soccer, (Australian 2nd division, Sydney, <1yr) Prop Trading (<1yr), Jr. Sales Trader (~1yr), Market Risk at JP Morgan now (1.5yr)
    -If I go around 640-680 on the GMAT could I expect to have a shot at the 10-20 range of US News MBA ranked schools? (UCLA, Darden, UNC Chapel Hill, Cornell, Georgetown, UT Austin, UND Mendoza?
 

The MBA is a generalist degree that is meant to draw people from all kinds of professional backgrounds. It's not a finance degree nor is it intended to steer people toward or away from finance careers post-MBA (it's just one of many kinds of industries).

Secondly, the programs are designed to be highly collaborative, and they're hoping to train people to be future managers regardless of industry (i.e. bosses, people who manage other people such as execs, partners, etc). As such, they're looking for people with good to strong communication skills, ability to work in teams, and leadership potential -- essentially how well you are able to impact other human beings. The CFA has nothing to do with this.

Finally, when it comes to analytical and academic ability, they look at your GMAT and GPA. The CFA isn't really a substitute because GMAT and GPA averages are factored into the published rankings (FT, US News, etc) whereas the CFA is not, and the GMAT in particular is important for this. Whether the CFA is harder to do compared to the GMAT is not really the point.

Your CFA may be relevant for investment management positions, but not for MBA admissions.

Alex Chu www.mbaapply.com
 
Best Response

I don't think this captures the full picture.

When admissions committees are looking at candidates, they not only want the academic ability box checked (which can be done via GPA and GMAT, but would also be reinforced by the CFA), they're also looking for people with realistic post-MBA career goals.

It is in the latter regard that the the CFA is most valuable, but ONLY in the case that it ties into an MBA candidate's employment goals. For example if OP is looking to break into investment management post-MBA, then it's well understood that the CFA is required in that field. This would make OP a very attractive candidate to his target firms, and ultimately a good statistic for his school in MBA rankings.

The big criticism in OP's profile is applying with a GMAT in the 640-680 range. It's a ho-hum score that doesn't add any differentiation to an overly saturated pool of pre-MBA finance applicants. Unless OP is a diversity candidate, he'll need a 700+ GMAT to be competitive, especially without top-tier work experience. The Morgan Stanley name is good, but it's a MO/BO position so not the same as FO.

Finally, providing that all of the above is addressed, OP still needs to figure out the "why MBA" question and crush the essays with a story. This is an easily-overlooked component of the applications. OP needs to start figuring out what the post-MBA goal is, how target MBA programs will help him get there, and also do some introspection in terms of what they'll bring to each school.

"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw
 

sadsoul90 Why do you want an MBA? If you go down that path, fix your gmat score and get an admissions consultant. 700+ is minimum. Soccer is a terribly boring, hyper feminine, low skill, communist friendly sport :) However, being a pro athlete is respectable and will help your app. Like everyone has said, CFA doesn't help with grad school but it will on the Street. Also make Top 5 or don't go. You're going to network with smart people and get a prestigious credential . Don't expect to learn anything meaningful.

 

The way I see it is, the CFA will make you a somewhat more attractive candidate but it won't sway the decision regarding your admission. The reason being as others mentioned, the requirements that are common to all candidates are the GMAT and GPA. Those will be the focus of determining your academic profile. The CFA is only relevant of a designation for AM/ ER type roles (for the most part). As such, when evaluating you in the pool of finance candidates, the CFA charter might give you an edge against candidates with a very similar profile to you. The CFA or CPA etc are great to have as they do emphasize hardwork and commitment and adcoms will take notice but that will likely be the extent of it's value.

 

It certainly won't hurt. You still need to be a well rounded candidate with the requisite GMAT/GPA/WE profile.

Not sure how much it's weighed or whether there's a substantive correlation, but you'll find a fair number of CFAs in any program, and it's certainly a plus for Asset Management recruitment at these schools. So TCR would be: depends on how attractive you are everywhere else.

 

As far as I've heard CFA can compensate for poor GPA (shows that you are able to succeed in class) and in general shows that you are comitted to financial industry (may help career changers). But I doubt it has any extra value apart from that, I don't consider it to be something really outstanding, I mean I have a 3rd lvl cfa dude in my msc now (the dude is not really sucessfull lol).

 

baconhater93 First of all who on earth hates bacon? haha

Secondly, to answer your question, I went to a small engineering school (Stevens Institute of Technology) with almost no reputation or alum network in finance. I want the MBA to gain an awesome network in the industry and improve my chances of moving into a FO role at JPM, either in IM, WM, or S&T.

 

It may interest you that the CFA is well recognized at some schools and if you are a Charterholder, you may actually be exempt from some of their finance and accounting classes and even be exempt from the GMAT. More information can be found on the CFA Institute website.

I'm in the same boat as you are. I am going to take Level 3 in June and I'm thinking about taking my GMAT this coming December. If I get into University of Chicago's MBA program, I'll take out the loans. But if I don't get into a top tier school, I don't see the point of taking the risk of becoming in debt and the risk of not ending up making a ton of money. Good luck with everything.

 

No one is going to be able to tell you exactly how much it helps or doesn't. My opinion is it's akin to other extra curriculars. So it can be a plus, but it's not necessarily worth the time and effort unless you want to do it for your career after business school. I have heard people say that they think it helps differentiate themselves in recruiting from a lot of the other people recruiting for finance jobs with little to no finance background, though. So from a career sense it can be a plus and obviously if you want to do HF/AM/ER post b school it would be very helpful.

 
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No one is going to be able to tell you exactly how much it helps or doesn't. My opinion is it's akin to other extra curriculars. So it can be a plus, but it's not necessarily worth the time and effort unless you want to do it for your career after business school. I have heard people say that they think it helps differentiate themselves in recruiting from a lot of the other people recruiting for finance jobs with little to no finance background, though. So from a career sense it can be a plus and obviously if you want to do HF/AM/ER post b school it would be very helpful.

I agree. How it helps your app is more specific to you. If you're leveraging from IB or PWM to IM than it may be a resume boost for recruiting; and you'd better believe that the MBA business schools">M7 schools are looking at your employability post MBA. If you're going to consulting, then it probably means next to nothing. I'm a CFA charterholder at an MBA business schools">M7. For me, I had some quant holes in my background and a shaky undergrad record so I thought it would help me overcome that (and I'm sure it played a role). So there are different occasions where I would guess it is a boost.

For recruiting, it is a hit or miss. I'm targeting corporate and consulting roles. I'd say 30% of the people I talk to ask why I finished the CFA and think it's going to pigeonhole me down the line. 70% have commented on how it is impressive and that they don't see a lot of charterholders (since most are targeting IM or even IB); many of this second bucket believe it is more of a boost than a negative. Finally, for me, if I decide to transition from consulting back into finance it isn't going to hurt me when the time comes.

As a fun aside, a lot of your future classmates will be CFA washouts so you'll get a lot of rep. You'll also have a lot of CFA classmates whom you can relate with. It was also a nice boost on the coursework; I'm skimming through a lot of the more basic MBA areas (stats, accounting, econ, etc).

 

Fair point. If you’re asking an MBA admissions person which they think is better, I’m sure you’d receive a barrage of reasons why an MBA is the way to go.

But I’m not presenting a case for the CFA. By applying to b-school, I’m showing that I think it’s important enough for the $100k+ in opportunity costs, and I will be able to speak to the merits of B-school in my application. Aside from the general merits of the CFA, in my particular case it shows that I can perform well at a 50-60 hour per week job while effectively preparing for a test that requires ~15-20 hours/week of studying for 4 or 5 months for each level. If you don’t do banking, how else can you convey performance in an 80 hour work week?

 

You have 4 months until R1 applications and 7 months until R2 applications are due. Forget Level 3 of the CFA for B school-this is an important tangible skill for specific jobs, but not for B school. As an MBA is what you want, spend these months on essay topics, extracurriculars that have an impact and working with your recommenders so that they have enough details on your work product to do right by you in their LOR's. Good news is you are being proactive and thinking about all this stuff now!

Carol Grayson
 

Someone else said it... You can't leverage a CFA at all. Spend the time making your essays the best thing they've ever heard. Your GMAT is quite good and if you do we'll in the interviews too, you can get into great schools.

It is incredibly difficult to get into H/S/W regardless of who you are. The big thing missing is your essays and how you spin your leadership experience. There is no candidate that's a lock. So, if you really want to go there, do you best work Nd cross your fingers... This isn't a question if if it's worth it. It's like everything else in this world worth achieving... If you want it go for it and believe you deserve it instead of wondering is your time worth it.

 

My guess is that the higher the b-school ranking, they less they care about the CFA. I think mine helped offset concerns about my low quant score, but it certainly wasn't a deciding factor.

 

CFA's are in abundance at top programs. That being said, I had a really shitty undergrad GPA and I absolutely believe that completing the program, coupled with a high GMAT, made the GPA a non-factor. I also found it useful in recruiting for consulting, as most of the CFA's were seeking banking or AM roles. I don't think I would have been a solid contender for MBA business schools">M7 without both the GMAT and CFA to overcome the grades issues. It really frames you differently from that background.

You have time to apply this year, but it will depend on how well you do with the GMAT. Might as well get an attempt in. Most people take it more than once, if you crush it you'll be in a good place to app, if you don't at least you have some direction.

 

Yes. Like I've said many times RE is getting more competitive. I really think it could be as competitive as IB within the next 10 years (for some firms it already is). Especially if you're interested in an investment or finance role.

 

It helps, but it's definitely not on par with grades/gmat/work experience. If your gmat quant score is a bit lower, having the cfa could help resolve concerns that you cannot handle an MBA curriculum.

If you want to get into investment management post-MBA, having a CFA can definitely help your case since it shows a high level of dedication. So in that sense, a cfa could make somewhat of a difference in admissions.

 

Hi scielle,

Although admissions teams understand how difficult a CFA can be to attain, it is important to understand that business schools are aiming to cultivate future leaders. For this reason, a CFA certification will be weighed with less emphasis than your work experience. It will also be weighed less than your extra-curriculars and GPA. A CFA will be of help if you are addressing a low quant score, however you should not expect the impact to be significant.

Hope this was of help.

Cheers,

Conrad and the Stacy Blackman Team

www.StacyBlackman.com
 

Hi Mr. Green,

Well, I'm glad you’re not getting the CFA just to boost your MBA admissions chances, because, yes, it’s a fairly common designation and our guess is that most b-school applicants misuse this in their applications.

So, instead of "Admit me because I have a CFA," you will do much better simply mentioning how it fits into your post-MBA career plans and how it will help you gain even more out of your b-school studies.

Sincerly,

David Petersam President AdmissionsConsultants, Inc. [email protected]

www.admissionsconsultants.com/mba/blog.aspx

AdmissionsConsultants

 

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