Master in Finance, CFA level I vs high GMAT? Need help for my strategy

Hello everyone,

I hold a BSc in international business with few quantative classes (10-15%). I am going to apply to top european schools for my master in finance (September 2018 intake). As you know, recruiters are looking for candidates with strong quant skills. Regarding that, I have few questions if you guys can help me:

I am currently intern in a boutique M&A, I work around 60h a week which give me a ''lot'' of free time to study for my GMAT. I started to study for my GMAT last week and I am studying 15h/week. I don't know when I am going to be ready, but as soon as I reach a good score, I will take the test. (700+)

I took the CFA last year during my bachelor degree but I failed (my average score was 55%, you need at least 70% to pass), I am now wondering if I should take the test again on december 1st.

Question : Do you think a CFA level I passed can help or I should only focus on the GMAT right now? I really need to show them (schools) that I can do the job on the quant part.

One other point is the CFA exam is on December 1st but results are always published at the end of January/beggening of February. At the MBA level, most of top schools see a significant drop off in later rounds. I would like to know if it's the same for master in finance?

thank you guys!

 

You should just focus on your GMAT since a large part of it is a quant score which will help show schools that you can do the quant stuff.

Personally I think showing that you passed L1 wouldn't hurt, but at the same time if you didn't pass it while solely studying for it your chances are going to be worse when trying to balance studying for the GMAT and L1 test.

For your last question about applications I would contact the schools admission council and ask them directly.

 

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