Best MBA Books - overview, recommendations, and comments

One of the members asked me to update this old discussion with new books and to my surprised very little has been done in the last 3 years in terms of publishing new books and new guides. I am thrilled to see Admissionado releasing a new Essay Guide in 2019! This list does recommend some recent and some older (and very economical) books but be assured - they still work.


MBA Admissions Strategy: From profile building to essay writing
Published May 1, 2017 | 232 Pages

Pros:
- excellent overview of all speps of the admission process
- it's important Avi starts with description of tools and techniques to extract your own stories, goals, value, failures etc - all the valuable material needed for high-quality essays. Follow these steps and don't skip them. 1 hour of data mining = 5 hours saved in essay writing.
- great breakdown of typical essay questions, their true meaning and traps

Cons:
- too few practical examples! Sometimes it's hard to understand what Avi means or how to implement his ideas in practice
- the book is all about profile building and essays. There is not that much info about recommendations, interviews etc.
Value for money: 4.5/5



The Admissionado Guide to Elite MBA Admission
Updated: July 2019 | 92 Pages
Pros:
- very practical. There are no filling words in the guide, all text is there for a reason
- live and funny language, yet intelligent and smart. I truly enjoyed reading it!
- precise, actionable advices (step 1-2...5 instead of vague 'get to know your goals' you can find in many other sources)
- fresh material. There are no references to topics that were popular in Clinton's times.
- authors' advices closely follow examples they included into the book, there is no mismatch.

Cons:
- the books feels too thin..
- Chapter 5 - Major essay types - contains too few examples

Grading: 4.5/5
Great value for little money. Adding extra examples (into Chapter 5) would make the book one of the best essay guides on the market.
Preview of the 92 Page Guide





50 Essays That Worked - 4th Volume
Published Feb 2019 | 304 Pages

Pros:
- You get to see the first draft and the final draft, understanding what was improved
- The guide also provides the tips and feedback that the applicant received for the follow up draft
- Then you see their final draft (this is fast forward as I don't think it is draft #2). There are some tips and notes about what goal the essay attempted to achieve.
- Schools & Essays Covered:

- Stanford
- HBS
- Career Essays
- Why This School Essays
- Personal Essays
- Achievement Essays
- Teamwork Essays
- Optional Essays
- Fancy Essays
- EMBA Essays
- Waitlist Essays

P.S. This is what it is - it is an essay collection so don't expect a whole lot of strategy, etc





ApplicantLab - "Robo Admissions Consulting"

Pros:
- Step-by-step guidance through the application process
- 100's of videos sharing admissions consulting advice and tips, mimicking a live consultant
- Single place to store all brainstorming notes, essays, applications, resumes, etc
- School-specific tailored help for each program
- $269 for 1-year access and unlimited schools. Very affordable compared to traditional admissions consulting

82 Reviews: ranking 5/5 by verified GMAT Club members & moderators including Souvik (at Ross) and Rohit6 (at Kellogg)

SPECIALTY BOOKS
A Military Veteran's Guide to Maximizing Your MBA	Admitted! Diane & Chad's Excellent (MBA) Adventure	Your MBA Game Plan Published: 2011
Great book for veterans transitioning to the civilian life and looking to enter one of the Top MBA programs. This guide breaks the transition into three phases teaching you how to: Convince Yourself; Assess your strengths to highlight the transferable skills you have that matter for your next career and Select Programs.	A great guide (done very much in a style of a comic book, and takes on more of a European flair, such as the Valerian. It is definitely a different book; not a typical guide...	This is probably the longest-running and most popular MBA Admissions book - 3rd edition was released in 2011 and it's long overdue for an update but that has not happened yet. Nevertheless, still I'd like to recommend this oldie to anyone interested in a self-admissions consulting strategy.

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The first post has been updated.
I have been waiting for the Veritas Prep Your MBA Game Plan to come out and I think it was worth the wait. It boils things down in the application process and provides quite ab it of de-mystification. Highly recommend it along with Paul Bodine's Great Applications, which is currently on sale for $7.91
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Hi BB,
I have a question. I am following Guide to Business School Application, compiled by Rhyme, which appears to address most of the critical issues related to one's application.
Which book would you suggest to read along with Rhyme's awesome guide?

Thanks for the list bb. Pretty excited to get started on the applications!

I have Montauk and Great Applications for Business schools...are those comprehensive enough, or I should I pick up another?

Thanks folks!

Thank you for this suggestion. How can I purchase these books?

I'm considering using multiple mba books. The Best Business School Admissions Secrets for making sure I have a solid brand I can focus my application around. How to Apply for an MBA to make sure I clarify any issues as to make sure I strengthen various areas of my application. I just want to make sure I won't get dinged when I could have done something about it. Lastly, Great Application for Business Schools for everything else.

I'm not looking to apply until next year so I have plenty of time. I've already finished the first book, started the second book, and will consider buying Bodine's book soon as well. It seems like every book has its pros and cons and I just want to really make sure I am looking at it from multiple points of view.

Anyone have any thoughts on why I should or should not take this approach?

Posted from my mobile device

Can somebody give a review on 'The MBA Application Roadmap' by Stacy Blackman?

http://www.amazon.com/The-MBA-Applicati ... 0912301899

I have so far been intrigued only by the 'Your MBA Game plan' book mentioned first up in the initial post of this thread, however since one of the cons mentioned is 'good for someone who has 9 months to apply', I clearly don't fit that slot.

So I'm looking for an alternative.

Thanks

Hi, I made a comprehensive list of the 5 best MBA admission essay books that will help you get into a "Top Ten" school. You can check out the list here: https://mbaivyleague.wordpress.com/2015 ... e-top-ten/

All excellent books!

[I'm a former Harvard admissions interviewer and a Harvard grad, and currently run the MBA admissions firm, http://www.MBAIvyLeague.com out of New York. Feel free to contact me to request more information, and get into the school of your dreams! MBAIvyLeagueInfo@gmail.com ]
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Hi friends,
For preparing MBA application at top schools, I bought almost best books on the market - carefully selected and all books recommended by BB too . I would like to sell them out with so cheap prices to support you. Please email me if you are interested ( my contact is in the file). Books which are no sale- i might give away. I expect to collect few USD- i collect amazon gift card for convenience, except from Harbus essays book for Harvard ( which was bought with 70 usd ).
Thank you!!!
Ps : if this sale is illegal, i will remove it

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Aah! Thank you so much bb! This is exactly what I wanted!

Lots of Love all the way from India <3

Hi! Great thread!

Any recent recommendations?

Just a quick note that this thread has been updated with the latest MBA Essay and Strategy Guides.

Thanks!
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Hello from the GMAT Club MBAbot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

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