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How much have you spent on the admissions process? (fees, trips, books, consultants, etc)

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method
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How much $ have you spent on the admissions process? 24 Jan 2012, 07:42
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rgupta83
Luckily this year I was able to work it to get free trips to all my schools :)
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I think this deserves a write up! Was this via work or MBA events?
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rgupta83
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How much $ have you spent on the admissions process? 24 Jan 2012, 07:45
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rgupta83
Luckily this year I was able to work it to get free trips to all my schools :)

I think this deserves a write up! Was this via work or MBA events?
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I travel for work, so I was able to swing my travel to pay for my flights to the various locations. I used my hotel points to stay at hotels for free. Nothing really that crazy special or mysterious.
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WE:Management Consulting (Non-Profit and Government)
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How much $ have you spent on the admissions process? 24 Jan 2012, 07:50
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rgupta83
Luckily this year I was able to work it to get free trips to all my schools :)

I think this deserves a write up! Was this via work or MBA events?

I travel for work, so I was able to swing my travel to pay for my flights to the various locations. I used my hotel points to stay at hotels for free. Nothing really that crazy special or mysterious.
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Ok ok, I hear ya, but this does have me thinking. I wonder if any schools reimbursed travel this year? Last year, I got an airfare/hotel offer from Notre Dame, but nothing like that this year. Free hotel from Tepper and Olin for diversity and preview weekends.
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rgupta83
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GMAT 1: 710 Q49 V37
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How much $ have you spent on the admissions process? 24 Jan 2012, 07:54
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I wonder if any schools reimbursed travel this year? Last year, I got an airfare/hotel offer from Notre Dame, but nothing like that this year. Free hotel from Tepper and Olin for diversity and preview weekends.
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I did not get any offers for reimbursement, but some schools do offer reduced rates at specified hotels. If you are paying for your own hotel, this might not be a bad option. Just FYI.
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sometimesitsnows01
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How much $ have you spent on the admissions process? 24 Jan 2012, 12:37
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rgupta83
method

I wonder if any schools reimbursed travel this year? Last year, I got an airfare/hotel offer from Notre Dame, but nothing like that this year. Free hotel from Tepper and Olin for diversity and preview weekends.

I did not get any offers for reimbursement, but some schools do offer reduced rates at specified hotels. If you are paying for your own hotel, this might not be a bad option. Just FYI.
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Just about all my schools have offered reimbursement for miles and hotels.
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Oskie
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How much $ have you spent on the admissions process? 26 Jan 2012, 11:39
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I remember feeling the expenses of applying, especially being a 3-time applicant spending a little over 10 grand. Definitely not fun but I learned quite a bit and I've been able to give that back to a lot of students. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away.

At the end of the day, you don't need to spend a lot of money to apply to a top business school, or any business school for that matter.

Good luck!
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ibizgirl
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How much $ have you spent on the admissions process? 26 Jan 2012, 21:36
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I underestimated my total because I didn't account for the remaining expenses. I've shelled out about $1750 so far on:

GMAT Prep books; 3 school visits; GMAT x2; and app fees. I got off easy since I only had to pay $210 for my app fees to 3 schools (one school waived their fee this year).

I probably will spend another $800 on:
Second round of visits (mix of class visits/interviews) to all 3 schools
Gifts for recommenders

I asked one recommender at lunch, but he refused to allow me to pay for the lunch as a thank you. The other two I asked by telephone and email since we were in different cities and couldn't schedule a meet while we were in town. So I will have to send them all a gift in the future.
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bartthecartoon
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How much $ have you spent on the admissions process? 28 Jan 2012, 11:35
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Mine is a little different since I'm still finishing up my undergrad (which means I don't have much to spend) and I'm applying to finance programs instead of MBA (due to lack of experience).

I spent $250 on the GMAT, and did all of my prep with an e-book from my school's library. I might prep more and take it again before my MBA applications in a few years, but a 710 is probably good enough for MSF programs.

Then the application fees were around another $100, so I'm only at around $350 for my total expenses.
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