Chances for admission with average academic

Question

Hi,

I am Male candidate from India looking for MBA in Finance.
I am an undergraduate in Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) from University of Delhi with 3 GPA and High School with 3.5 GPA.
My work experience involves :
3.4 yrs in Fluor Daniel India Pvt Ltd. - Working as Finance analyst & handling project accounting for oil & gas projects in US.
2.3 yrs in Oberoi Hotel Ltd. - Handling Accounts payable for the operations of the Hotel.

I am good in sports i.e. Badminton. represented my Co. in corporate tournaments and participated in several zonal tournaments.

I am looking for a course that can take me to a higher position in Finance.

I am confused about applying for MBA thru GMAT or applying for CFA course (US).

Based on my profile, please advise if I should go for MBA thru GMAT or look for some other course like CFA or CPA.

Thanks in advance !!

MG4MBACrystalBall · Answer

Dear Anuj,

A few thoughts for you to ponder on:
 
  Your work-experience is pretty non-common and likely to catch the adcoms attention provided you can show business impact of your work and not a purely accounting profile. This is an asset worth using well in your applications 
  The question on MBA Vs CFA is a very subjective one. It really depends on what you have in mind when you say 'higher position' in Finance. In general though, it is tougher to achieve a huge profile change though CFA compared to MBA. If however you wish to remain say within the accounting world, a CPA degree may help - though that'll also depend on whether your employer values it. Not many Indian companies still recognize its relevance - more suited for an international career. So think deeper on your goals before you take a call on this.  
  The other fact worth checking would also be your bachelors course. If this was a 3 year course, some schools may automatically be out of consideration. See  here  for more on this.

Hope this adds some perspective

Cheers,

MBADecoder · Answer

Hi Anujsher,

The CFA and the MBA are not mutually exclusive. Many MBA aspirants already have a CFA (it could be level 1, level 2 or level 3). Some b-schools like Cornell also have a partnership with the CFA Institute, wherein you can do a CFA alongside the MBA. Have a look at the link:

https://www.johnson.cornell.edu/Parker- ... artnership

Here's the exhaustive list:
https://www.cfainstitute.org/community/u ... region.pdf

So what you base your decision upon is the skill set you want to acquire for your career ahead. A CFA is a deep dive down the investment/portfolio management concepts, whereas an MBA will give you a broad skill set which will be beneficial as you rise in your organization, towards more managerial responsibilities.

Of course you can do both to build your skills sets in financial concepts as well as gain a business perspective. Business functions are becoming increasing amalgamated and this will help you in the long term.

To add to what MG has pointed out, a CFA level 1 should help you overcome your eligibility criteria at b-schools that require 16 years of education. Do check this out with your target programs though.

All the best!

Chances for admission with average academic

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