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SVP
Joined: 01 Nov 2006
Posts: 1855
Schools: The Duke MBA, Class of 2009
Followers: 14
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Cha-Ching! Add it up! [#permalink]
 28 Dec 2006, 18:19
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So, just for fun I've been keeping track of how much I've spent on this whole process. I thought others might be interested in a little show-and-tell. We can one-up each other until the admits come through.
Gmat 1, 250
Gmat 2, 250
PR Book, 19
PR Quant, 36
OG, 30
Montauk, 39
Cornell, 180
NC, 130
Yale, 180
Duke, 185
BM Transcript, 10
Postage, 14
Duke GMAT, 28
Flight: NC, 273
total: $1624
Last edited by aaudetat on 12 Jan 2007, 07:45, edited 2 times in total.
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GMAT Club Legend
Affiliations: HHonors Diamond, BGS Honor Society
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Posts: 5881
Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2009
GMAT 1: 730 Q45 V45
WE: Business Development (Consumer Products)
Followers: 196
Kudos [?]:
1363
[0], given: 7
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Don't feel bad about your costs. Here's my rough total.
Gmat prep, $1800
Gmat exams, $750
gmat score reports and transcript ordering, ~$150
Trip to Cornell: ~$950
Trip to Harvard: ~$1400
Unpaid time off work for trips, gmat exams, interviews, class visits, etc: ~$12,000
New Suit for interviews: $1200
Application Fees: ~$700
Dry Cleaning: At least $50
~ $19,000 true opportunity cost (which is the best measure)
or, if you prefer:
~ $7,000 actual out of pocket
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SVP
Joined: 01 Nov 2006
Posts: 1855
Schools: The Duke MBA, Class of 2009
Followers: 14
Kudos [?]:
176
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as someone who makes her living doing financial counseling and trying to improve the day-to-day economics of low-income folks, it figures that I'd be cheap!
But I am also newer to all of this than you are - let the hotel costs add up as it gets to R2 interviewing season!
Rhyme, don't you get paid time off?
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Director
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Posts: 727
Followers: 1
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$1200 suit... Damn!
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Current Student
Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 5289
Followers: 17
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90
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rhyme wrote: Don't feel bad about your costs. Here's my rough total.
Gmat prep, $1800
Gmat exams, $750
gmat score reports and transcript ordering, ~$150
Trip to Cornell: ~$950
Trip to Harvard: ~$1400
Unpaid time off work for trips, gmat exams, interviews, class visits, etc: ~$12,000
New Suit for interviews: $1200
Application Fees: ~$700
Dry Cleaning: At least $50
~ $19,000 true opportunity cost (which is the best measure)
or, if you prefer:
~ $7,000 actual out of pocket
I've proabaly invested almost $30K so far, and that doesn't include application fees or interviews.
GMAT (x4): $1000
Kaplan: $1200
Books, CDROMs, other online materials: ~$1000
Initial school visits in 2004 and 2005: $5000 (x2)
Lost wages during vists: $15,000
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Current Student
Joined: 12 May 2006
Posts: 139
Followers: 2
Kudos [?]:
2
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rhyme wrote: Don't feel bad about your costs. Here's my rough total.
Gmat prep, $1800
Gmat exams, $750
gmat score reports and transcript ordering, ~$150
Trip to Cornell: ~$950
Trip to Harvard: ~$1400
Unpaid time off work for trips, gmat exams, interviews, class visits, etc: ~$12,000
New Suit for interviews: $1200
Application Fees: ~$700
Dry Cleaning: At least $50
~ $19,000 true opportunity cost (which is the best measure)
or, if you prefer:
~ $7,000 actual out of pocket
$1200 for a suit? Geez, what did you get, Armani? 
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GMAT Club Legend
Affiliations: HHonors Diamond, BGS Honor Society
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Posts: 5881
Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2009
GMAT 1: 730 Q45 V45
WE: Business Development (Consumer Products)
Followers: 196
Kudos [?]:
1363
[0], given: 7
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Xeo78 wrote: rhyme wrote: Don't feel bad about your costs. Here's my rough total.
Gmat prep, $1800
Gmat exams, $750
gmat score reports and transcript ordering, ~$150
Trip to Cornell: ~$950
Trip to Harvard: ~$1400
Unpaid time off work for trips, gmat exams, interviews, class visits, etc: ~$12,000
New Suit for interviews: $1200
Application Fees: ~$700
Dry Cleaning: At least $50
~ $19,000 true opportunity cost (which is the best measure)
or, if you prefer:
~ $7,000 actual out of pocket $1200 for a suit? Geez, what did you get, Armani? Embarassing as it is... and its one of my cheaper suits actually.... I tend to buy Loro Piana mostly. Armani tends not to fit well on my frame. I also have a tendency to buy some pretty ridiculously priced shirts. Shoes too, but at least there I can blame my insanely big but insanely narrow feet. There's only two manufacturers that fit me well. Reebok, and Ferragamo. Doesn't leave much in terms of options. Ties are probably my most ridiculous splurge - but I stopped buying them years ago. Hermes mostly.
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Senior Manager
Joined: 03 Jul 2006
Posts: 482
Followers: 1
Kudos [?]:
1
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rhyme wrote: Xeo78 wrote: rhyme wrote: Don't feel bad about your costs. Here's my rough total.
Gmat prep, $1800
Gmat exams, $750
gmat score reports and transcript ordering, ~$150
Trip to Cornell: ~$950
Trip to Harvard: ~$1400
Unpaid time off work for trips, gmat exams, interviews, class visits, etc: ~$12,000
New Suit for interviews: $1200
Application Fees: ~$700
Dry Cleaning: At least $50
~ $19,000 true opportunity cost (which is the best measure)
or, if you prefer:
~ $7,000 actual out of pocket $1200 for a suit? Geez, what did you get, Armani? Embarassing as it is... It was actually $1400, not $1200, I was mistaken... and its one of my cheaper suits actually.... I tend to buy Loro Piana mostly. Armani tends not to fit well on my frame. I also have a tendency to buy some pretty ridiculously priced shirts. Shoes too, but at least there I can blame my insanely big but insanely narrow feet. There's only two manufacturers that fit me well. Reebok, and Ferragamo. Doesn't leave much in terms of options. Ties are probably my most ridiculous splurge - but I stopped buying them years ago. Hermes mostly. straight ballin'
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GMAT Club Legend
Affiliations: HHonors Diamond, BGS Honor Society
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Posts: 5881
Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2009
GMAT 1: 730 Q45 V45
WE: Business Development (Consumer Products)
Followers: 196
Kudos [?]:
1363
[0], given: 7
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Director
Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 572
Followers: 1
Kudos [?]:
3
[0], given: 0
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Quote: Lost wages during vists: $15,000
Wow. Either you make alot of money or you visited every b-school in the world.
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GMAT Club Legend
Affiliations: HHonors Diamond, BGS Honor Society
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Posts: 5881
Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2009
GMAT 1: 730 Q45 V45
WE: Business Development (Consumer Products)
Followers: 196
Kudos [?]:
1363
[0], given: 7
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dukes wrote: Quote: Lost wages during vists: $15,000 Wow. Either you make alot of money or you visited every b-school in the world. I'm also counting the month I took off work to study for my GMAT in that figure. Suppose I should have been clearer. For the record I don't make $300,000 a year 
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Manager
Joined: 04 Jul 2006
Posts: 58
Followers: 0
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Dang...I'm a girl and I think my whole closet isn't worth that much!
I spent in the environs of $5,000 just applying, not counting my deposit.
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Manager
Joined: 26 May 2006
Posts: 55
Followers: 0
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I assume that my opportunity cost is at least a few million, because during the time I spent on apps, I probably would have invented the next big thing or landed a major role in a blockbuster movie. Hopefully bschool is worth it.
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Intern
Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 48
Followers: 0
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I've spent in the range of $3,000. It should have been $4,000, but my GMAT prep course forgot to charge my credit card.
Do any of you know if MBA expenses are tax deductible?
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GMAT Club Legend
Affiliations: HHonors Diamond, BGS Honor Society
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Posts: 5881
Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2009
GMAT 1: 730 Q45 V45
WE: Business Development (Consumer Products)
Followers: 196
Kudos [?]:
1363
[0], given: 7
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philkriger wrote: I've spent in the range of $3,000. It should have been $4,000, but my GMAT prep course forgot to charge my credit card.
Do any of you know if MBA expenses are tax deductible?
I've heard they are not. Any accountants?
http://www.harbus.org/media/storage/pap ... harbus.org
http://www.taxman.com/students.html
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SVP
Joined: 01 Nov 2006
Posts: 1855
Schools: The Duke MBA, Class of 2009
Followers: 14
Kudos [?]:
176
[0], given: 2
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Who needs accountants when you've got a Free Tax Preparation guru on the board?
No, all those preparation costs aren't worth a damned thing on your tax return. (OK, MAYBE we could swing some part of it on the schedule A if your employer required you to get the MBA, or maybe if you're self-employed, but it would be a stretch. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.)
If your spouse moves with you and can claim that the move is related to work (getting a new job), and you move a decent distance, you can claim the moving expense deduction.
You can claim your tuition and some fees paid on the Lifetime Learning Credit (form 8863), as long as you follow three rules:
1. The cost is necessary AND paid to the school (shows up on your tuition statement).
2. Expense is paid by cash or loans. Scholarship/grant/fellowship money won't count, obviously.
3. For those of you who are young enough: whoever claims your personal exemption gets to claim these credits. If your parents claim you, they get the credit, no matter who paid the expenses. If Grandma throws out $100k to pay for you, but you claim yourself on your return, then you get the credit. Sucks to be Grandma. But AWESOME to be you.
Need help with this? PM me after Jan 10.
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GMAT Club Legend
Affiliations: HHonors Diamond, BGS Honor Society
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Posts: 5881
Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2009
GMAT 1: 730 Q45 V45
WE: Business Development (Consumer Products)
Followers: 196
Kudos [?]:
1363
[0], given: 7
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After 2002, the credit amount is equal to 20 percent of the taxpayer's first $10,000 of out-of-pocket qualified tuition and related expenses. Thus, the maximum credit a taxpayer may claim for a taxable year is $1,000 through 2002 and $2,000 thereafter. These amounts are not indexed for inflation.
In other words, I can claim up to $2,000 but no more? That sound mad lame.
Moreover: Income limits increased. The amount of your lifetime learning credit for 2005 is gradually reduced (phased out) if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is between $43,000 and $53,000 ($87,000 and $107,000 if you file a joint return). You cannot claim a credit if your MAGI is $53,000 or more ($107,000 or more if you file a joint return). This is an increase from the 2004 limits of $42,000 and $52,000 ($85,000 and $105,000 if filing a joint return). See Effect of the Amount of Your Income on the Amount of Your Credit, later, for more information.
So in short, if I make more than 50K I cant claim a thing? Lame
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Senior Manager
Joined: 15 Jul 2006
Posts: 383
Followers: 1
Kudos [?]:
0
[0], given: 0
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my 5 application fees (well, one of them was waved), GMATS, 1 flight to NC, and a couple of used GMAT-prep books from Amazon = ~ $1,200
(not counting opportunity cost of time)
LESS THAN RHYME'S SUIT
....I feel cheap
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SVP
Joined: 01 Nov 2006
Posts: 1855
Schools: The Duke MBA, Class of 2009
Followers: 14
Kudos [?]:
176
[0], given: 2
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Rhyme -
I haven't double-checked the exact figures, but you've got the idea.
But don't worry your pretty little head. The Schedule A - and many other aspects of our regressive tax code - will take care of you high rollers.
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GMAT Club Legend
Affiliations: HHonors Diamond, BGS Honor Society
Joined: 05 Apr 2006
Posts: 5881
Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2009
GMAT 1: 730 Q45 V45
WE: Business Development (Consumer Products)
Followers: 196
Kudos [?]:
1363
[0], given: 7
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EconGirl wrote: my 5 application fees (well, one of them was waved), GMATS, 1 flight to NC, and a couple of used GMAT-prep books from Amazon = ~ $1,200 (not counting opportunity cost of time) LESS THAN RHYME'S SUIT ....I feel cheap Whats with the suit thing? Where do you people shop for suits? It's not that much!
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