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Nitty
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 25 Aug 2007, 15:28
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I disagree about Community College Courses for basic prep courses. I am a serious non-traditional student (Art Major), no math since high school! But it was suggested by Admin that I look into courses and send them a discription of the class so that they can guide me. I think the advance courses are great for engineers or finance students, but if you have never taken Calculus, or Statistics, Community is a great start. I can say that after taking a Inter. Algebra and Trig class and Statistics class, that I am better prepared for the GMAT. I now understand the reasons behind the math. I also sat in a mbamath dot com math class last weekend at MBAdiversity conference in Philly and I understood the math problems he gave us while other students looked confused. If you can not afford the advance courses at private school, don't waste time, get into a community college class and ask your professor for something more challenging. I explained my situation to my professors and they pass me extra worksheets, and book suggestions. They seemed thrilled that someone actually wants to be there!
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 26 Aug 2007, 05:16
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Nitty
I disagree about Community College Courses for basic prep courses. I am a serious non-traditional student (Art Major), no math since high school! But it was suggested by Admin that I look into courses and send them a discription of the class so that they can guide me. I think the advance courses are great for engineers or finance students, but if you have never taken Calculus, or Statistics, Community is a great start. I can say that after taking a Inter. Algebra and Trig class and Statistics class, that I am better prepared for the GMAT. I now understand the reasons behind the math. I also sat in a mbamath dot com math class last weekend at MBAdiversity conference in Philly and I understood the math problems he gave us while other students looked confused. If you can not afford the advance courses at private school, don't waste time, get into a community college class and ask your professor for something more challenging. I explained my situation to my professors and they pass me extra worksheets, and book suggestions. They seemed thrilled that someone actually wants to be there!
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I won't disagree with you. Comm Colleges certainly have a lot to offer, and frankly, lots of larger universities don't even offer algebra or trig. My point is that the schools are less likely to view a comm college class as offering enough rigor to offset any perceived quant deficiencies you may have. I arrived at this viewpoint after talking to admissions people.

An algebra class would have done me wonders for the gmat, no doubt.
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 28 Jan 2009, 11:13
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If you need to quickly brush up on basic accounting and finance, I recommend:

1) Accounting:
The Portable MBA in Finance and Accounting
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/047106 ... 0471061859

2) Finance:
Handbook of Corporate Finance: A Business Companion to Financial Markets, Decisions and Techniques
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/027368 ... 0273688510

However, you need to learn basics of accounting before even opening the finance book (non-investment analysis related finance ONLY)....otherwise, it just wouldn't make any sense.
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 19 Apr 2010, 22:41
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Hi Priyah,

I'm not sure if you are still an active member of GMAT club, but I was curious as to which preparation method you ended up choosing and if you believe it was sufficient.

I have been considering the UC Berkeley courses but it seems that with the 12 assignments and the fact that the professor will only grade 1 a week, unless you plea the professor to grade quicker and that is totally up to the prof.

Whereas, I'm not sure if MBA math is sufficient for someone from a non-quant focused major in college. Thanks and I hope you have enjoyed your MBA experience. Have a good one.

-Curious

Priyah
I was wondering as to what kind of preparation gmatclub members from non-accounting/finance backgrounds are doing?

I am from an engg background, have absolutely no exposure to accounting, finance and any advanced statistics. I was thinking of joining a community college in summer to acquaint myself with them so I dont feel overwhelmed when the program starts in fall.

Has anyone tried the 'MBA survival kit' from mba.com? Will it suffice?
What other options would you recommend?
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 03 May 2010, 09:08
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Time management is probably the most critical thing -- there will be a lot of demands that you will have to balance between school, job search, personal time, etc.

Best of Luck!
Aveek Guha,

Moderator edit: don't use the forums to advertise your products.
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 18 May 2010, 23:53
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So, what about optional courses?

My school is offering this thing called the "Flying Start" week which is 5 days of condensed courses introducing cases, finance. and accounting. I didn't realize it was optional and that it costs $700 extra.

Are these types of things worth it?
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 19 May 2010, 07:32
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If you're going to be taking those courses as part of the MBA core curriculum, it's probably not worth it. Generally speaking the MBA core is designed to be do-able for people without business backgrounds, so taking an accounting course to prepare for your MBA accounting course, etc, is probably a little overkill.
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 23 May 2010, 01:07
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Are we supposed to already have advanced knowledge of accounting and finance when we arrive at business school?

Depends on the school. But in a nutshell, we should be at least somewhat literate in the two. Here is the cheapest possible way to prepare:

1. MBA math.com

2. "The 10 day MBA"

3. The Sloan link mentioned above.

Not having any knowledge of (1) Accounting (2) Stats (3) Micoecon and (4) Finance will REALLY make that first year difficult.

According to a friend at a top 20 b-school, "not having the basic knowledge equates to about 2~3 hours of sleep a night; understanding the basics gets you a couple extra hours of rest."

Seriously, if you have never cracked an accounting text before, I strongly suggest you start now.
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I have a couple of slightly off-topic questions. In undergrad, I took some business courses (business law, marketing, MIS, accounting, management), and I've taken macro-economics at a community college before going to undergrad. However, at college, I took a micro class and I didn't do too hot in it. In order to make myself more appealing to admissions, should I retake micro via extension?
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 03 Jan 2011, 20:18
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CFA Level 1 will give you a very solid grounding in the basics for:

- Ethics
- Quant Methods (Stats and the like)
- Corporate Finance
- Economics
- Equity & Fixed Income Investments
- Alternate Investments
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 21 Jan 2011, 12:21
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MackyCee
CFA Level 1 will give you a very solid grounding in the basics for:

- Ethics
- Quant Methods (Stats and the like)
- Corporate Finance
- Economics
- Equity & Fixed Income Investments
- Alternate Investments
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Has any one tried the GMAT Business Ready Collection from mba dot com ? Is it good/recommended before joining b-school?
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 29 Mar 2011, 21:28
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Hi,

Did anyone read "The Portable MBA in Finance and Accounting "

I am trying to read first chapter and am finding it very confusing. I must have read it atleast 4-5 times. Is the book itself bit confusing or should I try some other light read first?
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit Updated on: 07 Apr 2011, 08:37
Originally posted by accepted on 30 Mar 2011, 13:08.
Last edited by accepted on 07 Apr 2011, 08:37, edited 1 time in total.
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mackd
Hi,

Did anyone read "The Portable MBA in Finance and Accounting "

I am trying to read first chapter and am finding it very confusing. I must have read it atleast 4-5 times. Is the book itself bit confusing or should I try some other light read first?
Show more


It is confusing.. that book is for people who have already crossed the 7 seas of finance/Acctn in their undergrad and in the job's' thereafter.

Try reading the "gmat business ready" from mba dot com. I asked about it in this forum, but no one cared to reply.. so I anyways went ahead and purchased it. its 80 dollars, but worth every penny. I have a non business background (I.T.) and I am finding it very useful. Its builds up concepts gradually and is "very" precise. perfectly suitable for reading in the short period that you have before joining your favorite business school. It also has sample problems (but easy ones) that will boost you confidence after each chapter. and I think that is much better than reading a difficult pro book and loosing confidence before joining your business school..the other cool thing is that its online and can be taken comfortably from anywhere..

you can also try reading the book - https://www.amazon.com/Accounting-Game-B ... 585&sr=8-1
This 2nd book will take you to complex levels of accounting in a story format.. and will familiarize you with all the accounting terms and concepts

- accepted
@ GeorgiaTech College of Management
Class of 2013
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 30 Mar 2011, 18:31
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Thanks a lot accepted.

accepted
mackd
Hi,

Did anyone read "The Portable MBA in Finance and Accounting "

I am trying to read first chapter and am finding it very confusing. I must have read it atleast 4-5 times. Is the book itself bit confusing or should I try some other light read first?


It is confusing.. that book is for people who have already crossed the 7 seas of finance/Acctn in their undergrad and in the job's' thereafter.

Try reading the "gmat business ready" from mba dot com. I asked about it in this forum, but no one cared to reply.. so I anyways went ahead and purchased it. its 80 dollars, but worth every penny. I have a non business background (I.T.) and I am finding it very useful. Its builds up concepts gradually and is "very" precise. perfectly suitable for reading in the short period that you have before joining your favorite business school. It also has sample problems (but easy ones) that will boost you confidence after each chapter. and I think that is much better than reading a difficult pro book and loosing confidence before joining your business school..the other cool thing is that its online and can be taken comfortably from anywhere..

you can also try reading the book - https://www.amazon.com/Accounting-Game-B ... 585&sr=8-1
This 2nd book will take you to complex levels of accounting in a story format.. and will familiarize you with all the accounting terms and concepts

- accepted
@ GeorgiaTech College of Management
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Prerequisites & MBA Survival kit 28 Jul 2011, 08:16
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For poets who are coming to MBA and concerned/scared by quantitative courses I have compiled a pre-MBA reading list for poets -/https://parttimembadegree.com/2011/07/27/pre-mba-reading-list-poets . I have personally experienced every one of the recommended book to various degrees and recommend them wholeheartedly. For accounting specifically I ditto mackd's recommendation on The Accounting Game. Basic Accounting Fresh from the Lemonade Stand. By Mullis and Orloff. It may seem too simplistic, but it will give you heads up on accounting basics, so in school you will not have to waste time on this and spend more effort on more advanced stuff. Just what the doctor prescribed for poets.
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