<p>Im graduating from Texas A&M in May with a bachelors in finance. I have a few companies Im waiting to hear back from, but if I dont have a job upon graduation, Im considering getting an MS in Finance from UTD. Would it be worth the extra time and money though, or is my bachelors degree enough and I should just keep job hunting? </p>
<p>Another thing is, my family lives in Dallas. My EFC for undergrad has been 0 the last couple years, but after paying my rent in college station, I usually end up taking out some loans near the end of the semester to get by. If I got an EFC of 0 again and lived at home, it seems like I'd be able to keep a pretty fair sum of money for other expenses. is there any rule against this?</p>
<p>Id love to get a CFA, yeah. I dont think my undergrad degree has quite prepared me for level I yet. I read that it takes about 250 hours of study. That’s one thing that interest me about UTD. One of their concentrations is “CFA track”. What I’d like to ascertain though is if thats just clever marketing on their part and I’ll spend a bunch of time repeating the same investment theory classes I took in undergrad, or if they’ll have me practicing real old exam questions, and I’ll be ready to rock level 1 as soon as I graduate.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you are still pursuing the MS in Finance or if you already accepted a job. Most business courses at UTD are at night so even if you are working you can take a few classes. They run about $1500 per course for an in-state resident.
When you begin graduate studies there will be some overlap from undergrad. Most likely you will not have had the depth at the graduate level in your previous courses.</p>
<p>Making assumptions about your career interests, I can tell you need to have a Master’s degree. The more certifications you have such as CPA, CFA, CTP, etc. the better.</p>
<p>Will a MS in Finance help you pass the CFA? Here is the recommended course load for Investment Management not including the core:
Investment Management Concentration (24 hours):</p>
<pre><code>AIM 6344 Financial Statement Analysis
FIN 6310 Investment Management
FIN 6311 Valuation Models and Practices
FIN 6314 Fixed Income Securities and Derivatives
FIN 6320 Financial Markets and Institutions, or FIN 6330 Behavioral Finance
FIN 6350 Advanced Financial Management
FIN 6360 Options and Futures Markets
FIN 6364 Advanced Investment Management, or FIN 6380 Practicum in Finance
</code></pre>
<p>You will still need to study for the exam as not everything is taught in academic courses. You probably need to take Intermediate Accounting as well.</p>