I'm looking for some advice /biz/
I'm getting my bachelors degree in business administration this year and I'm applying for my master now. I contacted a uni in London where I would like to do a finance master. They require me to have at least an upper second and CFA1 OR a gmat score in the 600-800 range.
The first condition is easy, I'll get a first or upper second from the Uni of Westminister so that should be fine. CFA looked more interesting than GMAT so I applied for the test in June a few days ago(meme deadline).
My question really boils down to, is it possible to actually pass that test if I start studying now. I've had some mentor figures of me tell me that it is a very hard test, considering my somewhat limited finance knowledge and that the percentage of people that passes is only like 40%. I am willing to work hard though and I'm pretty smart, so is this shit doable?
Are most people who take this test retarded or don't they try? How can 60% possibly fail. Continue or hedge by also preparing a GMAT?
>How can 60% possibly fail.
Because it's based on relative, not absolute performance. 60% by definition fail and 40% pass, no matter the scores.
There are plenty of stupid Chinese/Indians that apply while barely speaking English, which is an advantage for you. 240 questions, multiple choice out of 3, but time is extremely limited and the wording is sometimes weird; this should be enough to confuse the non-English speakers.
Now, OP, I actually recommend dropping the CFA and doing the GMAT. It's high-school level Maths (requires a lot of reasoning), reading comprehension, grammar correction and writing an essay. As a native speaker, you will have a bigger edge there.
Book the GMAT for June, cancel the CFA, you will get the results by the end of the month. A score of 600 is not that difficult (assuming you have a conditional offer based on that, and not competing for admissions; if the latter is the case, you might want to look up the average GMAT score intake).
For example, SSE require 600 GMAT score, but the average intake is north of 700.
Once you finish the test, you will have a whole summer ahead of you. I recommend doing the following:
>Finish the free Corporate Finance course on Coursera, it will give you a basic feel.
>Go through: Brealey / Myers: "Principles of Corporate Finance"
>Go through: Sharpe & Alexander & Bailey: "Investments".
Good luck, OP, that's just my 2 cents.
>>1098520
link to book purchase site?
>>1098492
>My question really boils down to, is it possible to actually pass that test if I start studying now.
The CFA exams are not that difficult in my opinion. Level I is especially easy. It's about 3000 pages of material, which sounds daunting but is quite manageable if you put in the time and effort. Regarding the math on the CFA exams, you won't encounter anything more difficult than basic algebra, though a basic understanding of calculus helps at times.
It might be more difficult for you if you have limited financial knowledge. I have a bachelors in economics and already had knowledge of much of the quantitative methods, corporate finance, equity, fixed income, alternative investments, derivatives, and of course economics sections before I even began studying. In all I probably studied ~200 hours for Level I and easily passed.
Level II is a little trickier but not by much. I'm studying for Level III now.
>>1098520
>enforced exclusivity
For what purpose
>>1098492
It's time consuming and ultimately a waste of time that's nothing more than dick waving.
>>1098520
This guy gets it. I just finished my MBA in finance and this is 100% accurate. Getting a 600 if you're even decently intelligent is easy. I studied a week for mine (got screwed on the timeline) and scored just under 700.
Don't underestimate the courses though. Go do that coursera for sure.
