For those with CFA & MBA

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bapswarrior

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Quick question for those who have both a CFA and MBA/MS - How did you go about choosing your MBA program? Did you guys diversify into other concentrations eg accounting, management since you already know that you want to be a CFA? What is a good way to appoach making a MBA decision and getting the most value out of it?
I am contemplating to get my MBA, i am a L2 candidate and the main reason for doing this is so that i can get a JOB! Do you guys have any suggestion as to whether i should just do general MBA or MS in Finance?
For those in the Philly region or have head of schools in and around the area comment on these: Drexel (lebow) Temple (Fox) Penn (smeal) , Nova. So far i have heard decent things about temple and thought i would get more people to share their thoughts. But again the big picture is to get a JOB!
 
MBA programs add value through recruitment, not academic knowledge. Choose the school which will give you the best career placement.
 
I do think that MBA programs add more value through branding and recruitment and alumni networking opportunities than through knowledge, but that doesn’t mean that the knowledge is useless.
Good MBA programs help you figure out how to communicate effectively in a business organization, get projects done on time, budget more realistically, divide up tasks among teams, think strategically about marketing, and make sensible financial business decisions (and possibly investment decisions too).
Most of these things aren’t intrinsically difficult, but bad things happen when you don’t consider them systematically or don’t do them right.
 
I agree with both of you (bchadwick and ohai) But how can one find out which schools have good recruitment programs? Do you by any chance know or any unbiased sources? I have check rankings but i feel they are biased. Really appreciate your help.
Thanks.
 
I agree with both of you (bchadwick and ohai) But how can one find out which schools have good recruitment programs? Do you by any chance know or any unbiased sources? I have check rankings but i feel they are biased. Really appreciate your help.
Thanks.
 
The rankings are imperfect, but I believe that they correspond reasonably closely to the quality of recruiting opportunities that graduates will experience.
If you attend Fordham or Thunderbird for your MBA, you’re not going to have anything like the recruiting opportunities (in terms of prestige, salary, etc) avaiable to students attending, say, Chicago or MIT’s MBA programs.
 
Generally, the most selective school you get into will have the best career placement. As an applicant, you should focus on schools which are at the upper limit of your quality. Obviously, if you get into several comparable business schools, you will need to think about more things.
 
If you’re doing the CFA and getting by without issue, I’d go MBA instead of MS Finance. Get into the most respected program you can. I’d agree with Ohai that you should go to the upper limit of what you can get into. Look at schools that are solid in finance - there are good options out there. You might check like a top 20-50 program that’s well respected for MBA’s.
Good luck guy.
 
bapswarrior wrote:
For those in the Philly region or have head of schools in and around the area comment on these: Drexel (lebow) Temple (Fox) Penn (smeal) , Nova. So far i have heard decent things about temple and thought i would get more people to share their thoughts. But again the big picture is to get a JOB!
Click to expand...

I would rank Philly area schools (excluding Penn): Smeal (not really Philly area though, NYC is actually closer), Lebow, Fox, Nova.
 
I’m not in industry, so feel free to discount anything I say, but if you’re serious about finance the MBA is not going to get you anywhere near the level of a specialized degree. As others have said, the MBA doesn’t add value through knowledge, where an MSF likely will, especially if almost all your credits are finance classes. I know nothing about the Philadelphia area, but when I was still applying to grad schools I looked into Rochester’s MSF. Not sure where you’re at academically, and it was my safety, but it’s worth looking into.
 
if you’re out of work right now i’m not so sure an mba from those schools you listed is going to help much. you’re set back 2 years and in the hole up to 100k or more. i have the cfa and i’m a second year at a M7 program right now and finding a job has not been a slam dunk, but i am selective recruiting for buyside opps. i chose my program because it was the best school i got into. at this point, i’m not certain i made the right decision, hopefully in 10 years it will pay off.
bapswarrior wrote:
Quick question for those who have both a CFA and MBA/MS - How did you go about choosing your MBA program? Did you guys diversify into other concentrations eg accounting, management since you already know that you want to be a CFA? What is a good way to appoach making a MBA decision and getting the most value out of it?
I am contemplating to get my MBA, i am a L2 candidate and the main reason for doing this is so that i can get a JOB! Do you guys have any suggestion as to whether i should just do general MBA or MS in Finance?
For those in the Philly region or have head of schools in and around the area comment on these: Drexel (lebow) Temple (Fox) Penn (smeal) , Nova. So far i have heard decent things about temple and thought i would get more people to share their thoughts. But again the big picture is to get a JOB!
Click to expand...
 
Consider an applied MBA program. I just accepted admission at the University of Wisconsin’s Applied Security Analysis Program. The program is 100% applied with a pure focus on actual money management skills and finding a job after graduating. It is a very small program (about 15 students per year). The current students I have spoked to and heard about are extremely well accomplished, many already having the CFA exams completed or already charterholders. Some actually quit their buyside jobs just to have access to a network of opprotunities post graduation.
Tailor your MBA to suite your goals, don’t settle for generalized crap. Good chance you will need to search out of your area to find what you’re looking for.
 
fred, are you just being selective or are you still getting offers? I can’t imagine you can’t land any old job out of a M7 school.
 
In the future, I will take the GMAT and apply to part time MBA programs in the East Coast. I live in NY by the way. How difficult is it to get accepted into part time MBA say for NYU or Northwestern (I know it’s not in NY)? And how is 700 GMAT compared to say some of the levels of the CFA exam?
 
part time MBA is easier to get into. 700 GMAT will get you in, that’s like the minimum cutoff for good school’s
 
Thanks iteracom….. What is it like to get 700? I have no idea… Is it comparable the CFA exams in terms of study time and intensity to get the 700 mark?
 
700 GMAT is probably like getting 1400 (?) in your SATs.
 
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