Does getting a CFA count towards "making up for your GPA"?

Question

Hi guys,

I'm in that all too common boat of not having done as well as I could in college. The number one advice I see for this is to take some extra (quant-heavy) classes and do well in them. Does getting a CFA count towards this?

Thanks!

VeritasPrepEdison · Answer

Thanks for posting.

Aside from doing well on the GMAT so prioritize this as this would help your admissions chances, completing a CFA also helps address potential concerns about academic potential.

Wish you all the best!

PersonalMBACoach · Answer

The CFA will help your application as admissions committee members know the difficulty involved. That said, the best thing you can do is to get a high GMAT score. This is more important than anything extra you do, so make sure to first ace that before spending energy on other things. Once you do, extra classes will certainly help but only once you ace the GMAT. Good luck and reach out if you want any additional support. Scott@personalmbacoach.com Best, Scott

VanessaGilMBA · Answer

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

Anonymous · Answer

Hi there! The good news is that I often find the GPA to be one of the easiest things to mitigate for most people. The adcom wants to see that you can handle the coursework, so your undergrad GPA is a great proxy for them because it shows how you did the last time you were in a classroom. That said, there are two things to consider. First, the CFA tends to be a fantastic way to show that you can handle the quant coursework (eg. if you can pass an exam with that low of an initial pass rate, then clearly you can handle an accounting class). The same goes for taking quant classes online etc. But the other thing you want to demonstrate is that you are able to prioritize, manage your time effectively etc (eg. be self reflective). Yes - this can be assumed if you were able to balance studying for the CFA or taking online classes etc; but if you're taking the time to write anything, why not just directly address? Oftentimes my clients have a reason for why their GPAs were lower in certain semesters - family illness etc. So if that's the case, definitely discuss that. But even if you can't point to something concrete, I recommend that you just be honest and admit how you've grown since undergrad and how your success since undergrad is a better proxy for how you'll do in the classroom re: the dimensions of not just quant skills but also time management etc.

Best of luck! Happy to chat further if you like.

Best of luck! Happy to chat further if you like.

Does getting a CFA count towards "making up for your GPA"?

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