Intern
Joined: 10 Mar 2014
Status:Admissions Consultant
Posts: 11
WE:Consulting (Education)
Re: Does getting a CFA count towards "making up for your GPA"?
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19 May 2016, 20:01
Hi! Thanks for your question. It’s important to think critically as you consider any of the conventional wisdom on what I like to call “Admissions Metrics”.
WHY are grades so important to Admissions Committee members?
Are they just trying to be cruel, or to SHAME people who wanted to enjoy their college years rather than be stuck in a library?
Not at all.
AdCom’s are looking for CLUES about you that indicate what kind of student they’re admitting. Why? Because they want to admit the smartest, most innovative business leaders of our generation into the incoming class.
It’s said that “The best predictor of FUTURE behavior is PAST behavior…” a bit of wisdom that you will likely put into practice when you are in a top leadership position and hiring employees.
Grades are an indication of a person’s ability to demonstrate SUSTAINED effort and commitment to a challenging milestone. As you know, high performers are people who put their responsibilities and their goals ahead of temporary distractions (read: fun), disappointments and other outside events. They are uber-determined, and even when life gets tough, somehow, these folks find a way to appear in the top ranks of their academic class.
People who are “just” SMART don’t always do that.
If an applicant has achieved a HIGH GPA over four years, this indicates that we’re looking at a guy or gal who doesn’t get deterred easily by hardship. Sure, they’re smart, but also they go WAY ABOVE AND BEYOND, no matter what the task, subject matter, coursework, or challenges they face. And they have the habit of doing that AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN, in spite of extraneous demands on their time.
Isn’t that the kind of person you want to be the CEO of your company, or leading your team? People who, in spite of market downturns, company missteps, competitive challenges and strategy errors that may occur, find a way to succeed?
Of course.
So that’s why an AdCom would want to invite the kind of student who is not just INTELLIGENT, but also DETERMINED, and who shows SUSTAINED EFFORT…year over year.
That said, passing three levels of the CFA is impressive (your post was not clear as to whether you have done this yet or not). Each level of the CFA is certainly a major accomplishment, requiring approximately 300 hours of study per level (and 900 hours for all three levels). Most AdCom’s will see this as a laudable, but a less powerful indicator, compared with a very high GPA sustained over four years of undergraduate study (and perhaps other graduate study).
Of course, the CFA DOES count toward showing your mettle as a student and as a person. It means you have strong quantitative abilities, you can set and reach goals, etc. Unfortunately, it’s just not as much of a “bang for your buck” as a platinum-level GPA in the eyes of the AdCom. (Another thing to consider is that the AdCom knows that you passed the CFA, but not whether you BARELY passed, or passed within the top of the range of that test-taking peer group that year, or took the test 15 times before passing. Most university students cannot repeat a course 15 times before attaining an A or A+ grade.)
IN SUM: There ARE application strategies you can employ to mitigate a lower GPA on your applications, and tactical maneuvers we can utilize to showcase HOW your other, more recent accomplishments demonstrate the key qualities and potential that will get you that “YES!” from the Admissions Committee of your dream MBA PROGRAM or programs. Happy Applying!
Wishing you all the best,
Vanessa, Arbitrage Admissions Advantage