How To Get Into The Top Mba Programs by Richard Montauk ...

I picked through it a bit and got a couple of very useful things out of it:

1) Helped me orient myself on the essays in terms of what tone admitted students had used, how personal they got about details, etc.
2) Suggested starting with Kellogg (if it's on your list) and working with that text as a base for other schools.

I did Kellogg first on Montauk's suggestion and think it made my life a lot easier on every app but Duke's (which is hard to repurpose other essays for). I skimmed through the rest -- a lot of the info that's in there you can find here, on the blogs, and on other forums.

To be honest, Montauk's book had some useful examples, but most of them were boring. I thought that MBA Game Plan by by Omari Bouknight and Scott Shrum had much better essays that were way more original.

It was helpful. I used it as a reference at the start of the process to get an idea of what it was all about, suggestions on tackling the app, etc.

I thought it was extremely useful, although I agree that the long essay examples were slightly disconcerting.

The way he breaks down each application step was great. I created a checklist for each school's application modeled after his sample checklist which really helped me organize. And I referenced the essay samples and his tips on how to approach various essay topics constantly throughout the writing process.

Agreed 100%. I 've heard Montauk speak live, and his speaking style is only slightly less boring than his writing style.

I thought the book was great as far as its general message of positioning yourself effectively. I really like the essay strategies, but didn't have much use for the actual examples.

The one thing I would throw out there is do not expect your recommenders to write anything like the example put forth in the book.

I am surprised many people think his style is boring. I quite like his book, and enjoyed reading it. It's a must read for anyone wants to apply to b-schools, in my opinion.

I'm with you here. I reckon it's a super useful book about MBA applications: it's very clear and covers everything. Maybe people think it's boring because it's so thourough, but nobody said that applying to an MBA program was easy. As for the essay examples, they are very useful, but it's not the most important part of the book; the most added value of the book comes from the A to Z coverage of each and every step of the MBA process, the pitfalls to avoid, etc.

I would strongly recommend this book to anybody applying for a top MBA program.

It's a very thorough book - I actually found it very interesting.

Lots of messages from senior adcom of the top schools, a thorough section on interviewing with excellent tips, and an interesting section on how to prepare for the start of b-school after being accepted.

Think of it this way - if you had to buy just one book on the subject, this would be it.

I will say that I actually read it in depth. There's a lot of information provided in the book, and because of all of us are OCD, we swallow that type of stuff whole. That's the good part...

Even still, I stand by my opinion on the essays. I think that an applicant's number one goal in each essay should be to cut out every single thing that is boring and then cut some more. I just have to figure that ADCOMs get really tired of reading of essays like Montauk's (i.e. I started at x and worked hard to get to y, developed further in z and you are an excellent choice in a school for me to keep growing because I am uniquely unique). If you can honestly look at his examples and get excited about them, you and I are very different.

The side by side comparison of MBA Game Plan and Montauk really show the two different schools of thought. MBA Game Plan might be a little over the top sometimes on format, but it does a much better job of showing you how each essay can be built. In my opinion, good essays should be filled full of why and how, rather than what.

At the end of the day, I guess everyone leans the way they want and everyone here is finding/found quite a bit of success. Good thing each school is looking for something a little different or only half of us would be getting an MBA.

So I'm inclined to agree and disagree on a couple of points.

Montauk: I actually read this cover to cover and the highlights were two sections: Positioning and Recommendations. The positioning sections provides great insight into the stereotypes you must overcome and how to highlight yourself the best. And, although I'm sure we're all organized people, the Recommendations section provides great guidelines for directing your recommenders towards your goals. Aside from that, the essays were not that useful.

MBA Game Plan: This really just provides great tools for structuring your essays, as others have pointed out.

I believe that the two books combined will give you a complete package, but if you only have the $25 to buy one, go for Montauk.

I felt the essays were on the whole unremarkable, I didn't really understand why they were the model essays, but I followed the models anyway, and I was largely unsuccessful in R1. In R2 I used my own instincts and I am doing much better.

I thought Montauk's writing and the adcom quotes were fantastic. The portion on positioning was very valuable to me, and made me face the fact that I'd need to address my perceived weaknesses head-on. (I was an art major, so I was conscious to show quantitative ability in every possible area outside my transcript). Because of Montauk, one of my main 'themes' was something along the lines of 'I'm a creative thinker with strong analytical abilities.' As Montauk suggests, I used my essays, recs, and GMAT to prove this point. Without Montauk I might have ignored my weak spot and prayed it would go unnoticed (which obviously it wouldn't have).

I agree with those who thought the essays were dull. I could barely read them without falling asleep, and definitely didn't model my own writing, positioning, or examples after them.

If you think that Montauk's book is boring than you probably shouldn't be pursuing an MBA. Perhaps you should start studying for the LSAT, MCAT or GRE and finding a different life path. If you're not excited about reading MBA material I would pull out now. Montauk is well versed and knowledgeable of the MBA world. The essays are a bit elaborate, but they do help to define the applicant pool seen by admissions.

Are any of these books (Richard's and MBA Game plan) recommended if the target is only Indian B-schools (ISB and IIMs)? My concern is these books might be only overseas b-school centric.

Please advise

Cheers !!
Lokesh

Well, boring or not, it is very useful. And has lots of good tips and information. It's a sort of bible of sorts, even if sometimes people find it a bit musty. But it is far from the only source of essays tips and strategies.

I consider it the bible of applying to b-schools. It's now slightly outdated, but still thorough as hell. IMHO, if you had to get one book, this would be the one.

Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti