CFA and MBA admission

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CorvetteMan

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Anyone have any idea what percentage of top school mba applicants are charterholders and if it is a significant addition to your application? thanks
 
I doubt it's a significant %. I'm sure actually having the charter helps. I've heard level one doesn't do a lot for you. Can someone post a link to those Wharton resumes? As I recall, a few had the charter but many more were at various stages of candidacy.
 
From what I've heard from applicants to top schools (i.e. don't give it too much weight) is that if you are going to include pursuit of the CFA Charter or attainment of the same you MUST show how it relates to your current and future career goals.

For example, if you work in IT as a systems consultant and say that you are a CFA level 1 candidate because you want to transition to private equity, that would probably be a negative point on you application as it shows that you haven't done your homework about the industry that you are trying to break into.

However, it would probably support your application if you said that you were a research analyst and charterholder and said that you are pursuing an MBA in order to set up your own research boutique that provides real value added independent research to investors in emerging markets. Then you go on to explain that had become a charterholder to gain the skills that have made you a successful analyst and that in the pursuit of the charter you developed skills. You know, like nunchuck skills, bow-hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Business schools only want applicants who have great skills.
 
I've heard it can help with your overall profile because some of the material from level 1 is a good foundation for some of your first year of core classes at school. So if your academics are weaker (undergrad gpa and gmat), it can help to offset it a little bit. Obviously it isn't going to get you into a top 5 school if you've passed level 1 and have a 2.9 from podunk U and a 650 gmat, but it will help a little on the margins.

Also, as said above, if it fits into your "story" and overall message (ie..want to become a PM) then OK. If you tell them you want to work for Bain and your pursuing the charter you would have some explaining to do.
 
Now I remembered the quintessential 80s movie, where Tom Cruise as Joel Goodson, tries to get into Princeton and in the meantime he throws his father's 928 Porsche in Michigan lake!
Just tell them that you deal in human fullfilment and that you gross $30K in a night.
 
actually i do run an escort service on the side, but it isnt my foremost career goal. thanks for the input people.
 
Imp, why do you think it would be a negative point if someone wants to break into PE with a CFA charter? I think it only helps with FSA knowledge and asset valuation skills..
 
DLMD,

I think that it would "probably" been seen as a negative if you didn't make it clear why you were pursuing the charter and how it fits in with your transition.

PE firms tend to recruit from leveraged finance/M&A/financial sponsors groups at investment banks or from other PE firms. If you were a systems consultant and the only thing that you have done to pursue a career in PE was study for CFA exams then the admissions committees would probably think that you had unrealistic/unachievable goals and an unclear idea of what you want to do post MBA.

However, if through your essays, application and interview you showed that you were pursuing the charter in order to pick up some relevant technical skills, and then went on to explain your post MBA career plans it could make sense. e.g. using the IT consultant example, post MBA transition to an IB to work on firms in the technology sector and after you have built a solid network/skill set move to investing in technology companies in the long term, you might seem like a more credible candidate.

Take all of this with a grain of salt. I haven�t been through the B-School application process. This is just what I�ve gathered from reading up on the subject. I'm not sure how specific one would need to be.
 
Imp,

I totally agree. A CFA charter will be a good addition but not the deciding factor.
 
I am a graduate of the MBA program at NYU Stern and used to work part-time in their admissions office (but I did only administrative work and had no say in admissions decisions).

First off, I can say that few of my classmates were actually CFA charterholders, so definitely having the "CFA" letters can be a differentiating factor. Having said that, many more students did pass one or more levels without having received the charter, as was I when entering Stern.

Like others have said, you need to create a viable story that admissions officers can buy into. Thus, pursuing the CFA designation is a worthy goal but should not be the emphasis of your application essays. In fact, if you overemphasize it, then the B-school AdComs are going to wonder why you need to attend business school in the first place.

I would use CFA participation in two ways to enhance your application:
(1) Academic Capability: If your GPA and GMAT scores are below average, then passing one or more levels of the CFA exam can demonstrate your competence in certain subject areas. It is helpful to explain the specific topics that are covered in the exam as they relate to a typical first-year MBA curriculum (such as Economics, Statistics, etc.)
(2) Career Focus: This will help to show that you are dedicated to the area you are going into. However, you need to make sure you don't contradict yourself. Admissions directors are not dumb and know that going into Investment Banking or Sales and Trading does not require a CFA designation. Thus, if you are going to mention CFA program participation, you should mention that your career goals are along the lines of equity/credit research or portfolio management. This makes your story focused, credible, and most importantly answers the "Why MBA?" question directly.

Good Luck.
 
Hi SickofStudying -- I enjoyed reading your insightful reply. I have a couple of things that I'd like to follow up on -- is there a way I can contact you? Alternatively you can also reach me at porcupines AT gmail DOT com. Thanks much.
 
SickofStudying, thanks for the insight, would you also drop me a mail at [email protected]? I want to follow up on several things too. Thanks..
 
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