Best MBA Books : The B-School Applications

Rux10

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

30 Aug 2010, 20:46

Just ordered Bodine's book! Thanks for the review.

L

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

01 Sep 2010, 01:23

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Rux10 wrote:

Just ordered Bodine's book! Thanks for the review.

Let us know your thoughts when you get it!

klughing

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

05 Sep 2010, 21:34

Have you ever read "Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance" by Bodine?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007159 ... 0071598200

Is it good?

L

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

05 Sep 2010, 23:53

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klughing wrote:

Have you ever read "Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance" by Bodine?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007159 ... 0071598200

Is it good?

I've had it for a few months now but I have not read/reviewed it. :oops:

(not home this weekend, so can't do it)
If you are interested in using the book and would not mind posting a review, I can ship you a copy, just PM your shipping address...

klughing

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

06 Sep 2010, 00:42

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bb wrote:

klughing wrote:

Have you ever read "Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance" by Bodine?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007159 ... 0071598200

Is it good?

I've had it for a few months now but I have not read/reviewed it. :oops:

(not home this weekend, so can't do it)
If you are interested in using the book and would not mind posting a review, I can ship you a copy, just PM your shipping address...

I don't think I'm qualified to give a review because I'm still in the process of getting into an MBA school. I don't know what advice in what books are good.

I did skim through it a little bit in the bookstore and I found it to be good. It kinda give you an idea of how the sentences are written, assuming those are real sentences used in accepted applicant essays.

I don't think there's a lot of book that talks about actual sentences like this out there so I don't know if it's actually positive or negative to read something to this detail.

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

06 Sep 2010, 11:06

planettelex wrote:

I found Avi Gordon’s MBA Admissions Strategy to be very useful. It clearly explains the need to have a theme/message underlying all aspects of your application, and it categorises the pool of possible essay titles well. Good emphasis was also put on the planning process which helps you understand your own profile and makes essay writing much smoother. I guess none of that is groundbreaking, but I liked his style nonetheless. Without it, my app would have been a mish mash of unrelated anecdotes.

hmm...just clicked on the Amazon link and something is fishy with the reviews. Does anyone else have a review of this book?

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

06 Sep 2010, 13:48

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marymary wrote:

planettelex wrote:

I found Avi Gordon’s MBA Admissions Strategy to be very useful. It clearly explains the need to have a theme/message underlying all aspects of your application, and it categorises the pool of possible essay titles well. Good emphasis was also put on the planning process which helps you understand your own profile and makes essay writing much smoother. I guess none of that is groundbreaking, but I liked his style nonetheless. Without it, my app would have been a mish mash of unrelated anecdotes.

hmm...just clicked on the Amazon link and something is fishy with the reviews. Does anyone else have a review of this book?

I have the book and actually spent about 2-3 hrs reading/browsing through it. I usually like to go through a book twice before I publish my comments, since sometimes I get the wrong impression the first time, but here are my thoughts after the first go. It definitely has some interesting sections/insights. The 19 reviews flawless 5 out of 5 stars are a bit on the positive side but I don't think they are too far off:

Consists of 4 parts:
1. Admissions strategy (approx 45 pages)
2. Profile building tools and techniques (approx approx 30 pages)
3. Essays reviewed and recommendations given for each question type (why mba, why now, how will this program help you, how to tie all of them together, approx 50 pages)
4. Writing and style guide (grammar, style, etc) (approx 35 pages)

The Good & Valuable:
1. Overview of the reward system of AdCom's (what are their key drivers)
2. Applicant Attributes that satisfy/excite/appeal to AdComs
3. Some of the diagrams that show how to overlay the multiple dimensions/attributes/rewards/etc

* Section for international applicants
* Section about the fit
* Section on what happens after the application is submitted
* Suggestions to either pursue a theme application (everything hindges on one theme) or a Profile build-up essay (you build up your profile essay by essay)
* Some good writing tips (useful for some)

Some Food for Thought:
- I felt it was a bit too technical and tried to categorize everything. For example, the whole book is built on lists: 4 attribute dimensions, 22 applicant attributes AdComs are looking for, reward system for admissions officer, etc and this is only in the first 15 pages of the book

- 10 Question archetypes: (it is a list again

) the book attempts to give a mini-strategy for each question type and how to address them. It is a bit simplistic but not bad at all. The book does not just leave you there, however, it shows you how to tie it all together and write a coherent story (emphasize 2 of the 22 attributes in one, 3 in the other, etc to paint a complete picture)

I did not find the bio of Mr. Gordon in the book and not sure about his background, but the book felt a bit as though written by an engineer or a person with a technical background who tried to define/categorize/simplify every element of MBA admissions. I think there is quite a bit of value in that yet at the same time it may feel that the author has gone a bit too far in creating a step-by-step manual of admissions essay writing. If you are confused by other books - this may be the exact thing you need.

I would be curious if anyone else had any feedback. As I said, I went through the book only once so far.

Juvend

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

06 Oct 2010, 22:22

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Hi bb.
There is a newer edition of "Great Applications for Business School"
Check this out: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007174 ... 0071746552

[Out Of Topic] Anyway.. I'm still confused, should I get into MBA school or not? Would you like to give me some advice on my 1st thread? Any thoughts will be highly appreciated!

Thanks,
-Juvend

L

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

06 Oct 2010, 22:59

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Juvend wrote:

Hi bb.
There is a newer edition of "Great Applications for Business School"
Check this out: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007174 ... 0071746552

[Out Of Topic] Anyway.. I'm still confused, should I get into MBA school or not? Would you like to give me some advice on my 1st thread? Any thoughts will be highly appreciated!

Thanks,
-Juvend

Thank you - yes, there is but not yet for sale.

L

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

30 Dec 2010, 09:09

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By the way, Paul Bodine's Great Applications for Business School Book just came out - I got one of the first copies from Amazon. Will review soon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/007174 ... 0071746552

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

30 Dec 2010, 10:12

Paul Bodine's "Perfect Phrases" book is also excellent, and it has helped me the most. It shows you structure and what to address. The organization of the book is top-notch. Each of the typical essays is broken down into its parts (intro, why mba1, why us, why now, etc), and commentary/numerous examples are provided for each section.

Honorable mention is Alex Chu's book...solid advice which covers everything from application strategy to post-mba careers. It is from a point of hindsight. It covers what you would figure out 10 years after getting your MBA.

Richard Montuak(sp?) is ok and a good starting point. It is outdated though.

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

30 Dec 2010, 16:37

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Just finished going through Paul Bodine's 2nd edition of Great Applications for Business Schools and the new edition is even better than the first one!

it includes 22 new essays (fresh), plus updated figures and stats, new essay questions, and also a section on Waitlisting (how to get out of it that is) and Interviewing. The WL covers the WL strategy and also provides a case study following 2 applicants (Ross and Booth).

The whole book has been updated and still is the best out there.
Questions and comments welcome!

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

15 Feb 2011, 23:28

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I think the sample essays can actually harm your application. Once you read a successful essay there is a certain urge to just do the same thing. But you do not have the whole story and maybe they got in in spite of something written in an essay, not because of it. I find the books that are just full of essays distracting and know that they can be misleading. If you use them, use with caution.

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

06 Apr 2011, 04:24

I just completed my GMAT journed and, while preparing for TOEFL, also doing school research.

I found Alex Chu's book 'MBA Field Guide' to be very practical and useful, indeed the field guide to the school selection and application and !Important! after graduation process.

The books comes as PDF, which is another plus for crazy travellers like me (I simply cannot afford travelling with 10 kg of paper books or printed materials)

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

27 May 2011, 03:39

2 cents about Avi Gordon's 'MBA admission strategy' book
PRO
- excellent overview of the admission process
- it's important he 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
- great breakdown of typical essay questions, their true meaning and traps

CON
- too few practical examples! Sometimes it's hard to understand what Avi means or how to implement his idea in practice

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

29 May 2011, 12:29

Well, since this thread is not particularly about books dealing with MBA applications, I wanted to know if anyone has had a chance to go through the book titled "Case Studies and Cocktails" by Carrie Shuchart and Chris Ryan? I got a reference for this book from the recently held webinar (on GC) which was hosted by the authors...

Although the amazon reviews are decent, just wanted to cross-check if anyone on GC has any feedback on this particular book...

L

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

24 Aug 2011, 11:37

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scorpionz wrote:

Well, since this thread is not particularly about books dealing with MBA applications, I wanted to know if anyone has had a chance to go through the book titled "Case Studies and Cocktails" by Carrie Shuchart and Chris Ryan? I got a reference for this book from the recently held webinar (on GC) which was hosted by the authors...

Although the amazon reviews are decent, just wanted to cross-check if anyone on GC has any feedback on this particular book...

See my review on Amazon - I think it is a steal for the price!
https://www.amazon.com/review/R2Z7BIXW54 ... ive=390957

S

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Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

25 Aug 2011, 10:12

bb wrote:

The Precision Essay Guide to Elite MBA Admissions
:
- the books feels too thin..

I'd agree with that review. On the point about the book being thin, I conveyed the same to the Precision Essay team after reading it when it was just released. But I think what it lacks in volume, it more than makes up for it, by providing high quality, specific and actionable advice. For readers of their blog, the style and approach will sound familiar and appealing.

Excellent resource!

gmatclubot

Re: Best MBA Books [#permalink]

25 Aug 2011, 10:12

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.