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Meet AdComs and explore top Master’s programs - MiM, MiF, MSc, MSBA and more. - Application Fee Waivers - Free 1-Week of GMAT Club Tests: - Master's Application Toolkit - Grand Prize Giveaway
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.
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
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
Attachment:
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
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 | ||
 | |  |
| 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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27 Aug 2010, 23:11
Kudos
Bookmarks
I have finally reviewed Paul's book, Great Application Essays for Business School and it is by far the best I have seen so far out there. Fantastic!!!
I have moved Montauk's book to the end of the list
(Funny story, I was reading it on a LAX - SEA flight and ended up meeting a guy in his 50's. He turned out to be a Partner at Deloitte and his son was applying to HBS this year. This book was the conversation starter - small and funny world. Very interesting and smart guy. He went to non-Ivy school for undergrad and his MBA, and it is interesting that he really wanted his son to go to a top school. (Undergrad was Wharton). We talked for 1.5 hours about everything until the point when both of us had to pull out laptops and start catching up on email.
I have moved Montauk's book to the end of the list
(Funny story, I was reading it on a LAX - SEA flight and ended up meeting a guy in his 50's. He turned out to be a Partner at Deloitte and his son was applying to HBS this year. This book was the conversation starter - small and funny world. Very interesting and smart guy. He went to non-Ivy school for undergrad and his MBA, and it is interesting that he really wanted his son to go to a top school. (Undergrad was Wharton). We talked for 1.5 hours about everything until the point when both of us had to pull out laptops and start catching up on email.
30 Aug 2010, 20:07
Kudos
Bookmarks
Great post!
Posted from my mobile device
Posted from my mobile device
(not home this weekend, so can't do it)
