CFA Level 1 as a primer for MBA?

Ok ladies and gents,

So the two-year program I am likely to select to do my MBA at (offer is on the table, just waiting to hear from another school first) is setup such that all the “core” courses are completed during your first year. Then it’s all electives/specialization for the second year.

I have until next August to save money and get prepared. I am leaning towards consulting but realize it’s competitive so I have, broadly-speaking, finance/banking as my back-up.

I’m thinking I’ll enroll in the CFA level one program not only because it will help the finance path (should I choose to take it) but also it appears, from the curriculum, to have significant overlap in the what the “core” courses will cover in the first year of my MBA (stats, financial analysis, financial stmt analysis, economics, capital markets, etc). It’ll be a great primer and should help me shoulder the workload and excel in the in my classes – as I plan to, for the first time in my life, be on the honor-roll.

My question is, for the consulting route – how can I prepare myself in a way similar to the CFA/Finance route? Are there designations or courses I can pursue? Something I can do and get credit for (ie. Can put on my resume) would be awesome. I heard consultants are excel-fiends so I thought about taking an accredited course in excel and becoming a jedi in it. I know they also do lots of presenting, so should I take some courses on public speaking or join an improv class or something to get better at presenting infront of large groups?

Any other thoughts or ideas? Any ideas on pre-MBA warm-ups and/or primers in general?

Thanks.

-TheSituation