CFA Level 1 or GMAT retake?

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CFA Level 1 or GMAT retake?

by maker2015 » Mon Dec 09, 2013 7:32 pm
This is my profile :-

- Indian Citizen, Male
- GPA: 3.53/4.00 - B.S. Computer Engineering from Big Ten University (Top 10 program according to US News; also did great in Math courses)
- GMAT : 710 (48Q/40V)
- 3 years experience at a Financial Data and Analytics firm in New York working in different teams (2 yrs as an ABS modeller, 1 year as a software dev)


I am really interested in exploring a career in Finance post MBA and would love to pursue CFA at some point of time. (Hopefully, the Level I CFA before I start MBA)

My Question is: I have till June 2014 till the application essays come out to work/rework on other aspects of the application. I would like to get some feedback about which of the following options might help my application more

a. Retaking the GMAT. I am fairly confident that I would be able to get a higher Quant score and want to work towards getting a higher Verbal score. I am targeting a 740+ score

b. Attempting CFA Level I in June 2014. - Will this help build my profile as I am definitely planning to follow a Finance Track in any MBA program.? Do MBA adcoms consider a CFA level I to be an asset going into the MBA program or something which shows that I would be ready for Core courses in B-school?

Thanks for taking out time and reading this post!!!

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by Stacy Blackman » Thu Dec 26, 2013 7:57 pm
Hi maker2015,

Thanks for your post. In regards to which will help more for your MBA application, I would recommend retaking your GMAT exam. It's important to remember that your highest GMAT score is self-reported on your application, so admissions teams will focus on your best score.

If you'd like, we provide free GMAT advice here: https://www.stacyblackman.com/test-prep-hub/

I hope the above is of help.

Cheers,
Conrad and the Stacy Blackman Team
Interested in a free 30 minute consultation with the Stacy Blackman Team? Sign up here: https://stacyblackman.com/contact
S T A C Y B L A C K M A N Consulting
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