CFA Level I or GMAT retake?

[maker2015]

Hello,

I am planning to apply to MBA schools for the Fall 2015 intake. 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
July 2010 - July 2012 - Assistant Mortgage Modeller (reverse engineered ABS securities/ developed the cashflow engine)
July 2012 - Now - Software developer working on ABS deal update process. Managed an entire team of offsite contractors for a long term project
By the time I apply for Fall 2015 , I would be havinng 4 years of experience in this field

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!!!

[CriticalSquareMBA]

Hey there,

So the difference between a 740 and a 710 is decent but nothing overly significant. Also, your quant score doesn't need to be better. The raw score is just shy of a perfect score so improvement in the raw score will provide diminishing returns. If you are going to retake the GMAT, focus on your verbal.

That said, I think you should focus on your CFA. It helps your story and shows a definite resolve to pursue that option. Besides, it makes you a stronger candidate during recruiting and if you're planning to go into finance, school's consider your relative strength in getting a job. Besides, you have a strong GPA in a solid major at a fantastic university. Your GMAT is in play and I think you should spend your time studying for Level 1.

If you have any questions or want to talk it through, don't hesitate to reach out!

Bhavik