How To Get Into the Top MBA Programs, 4th Edition

Insightful information and good examples of essays and recommendations. I also liked the directors of admission's quotes. It is pretty much the same advices you hear when you go to the School's info sessions but on the book the advices are clearly linked to how you write each part of your application.

Needless to say, this book is now the Bible of MBA applications.

What works:

1. Lots of advice, starting from the basics.
2. Tons of feedback from Admissions Committee Members
3. Essay samples

What doesnt:

1. Essay samples are limited to people who were leaders, consultants, etc etc. I dont believe these form the majority, Instead, I think the majority applicants are engineers, investment bankers and people from Asia. So the examples should have been chosen to fit that demographic too. I am more interested to see how an engineer represented himself well to get into a B-school, rather than read an essay of someone who was in the Army asa Lieutenant. It doesnt help much by publishing essays of people who're inherently different because of a very rare background.

2. Nothing much has really changed over the 2002 edition of the book. So, if you have the old one, I dont think this is worth buying. You could just use the library.

This is a fantastic book. I used it while in the Peace Corps to write my application to a top 5 MBA program. It has great advice on how to organize your application and your thoughts. It is not a 'shortcut' to getting in, but helps you put yourself together and show all of your background and your ambitions in the best light possible. If you're looking at even a top 10 program, this book is required reading. I can safely say probably 80% of us here used it to help us write our apps.

Immediately upon receiving this book, I was shocked at it's sheer size. When I ordered it, I had neglected to notice how many pages it includes, and I assumed it was going to be relatively short since it is not expensive.

Then, I wondered how much there could be to say about the MBA admissions process, and if the book would become too repetitive. Well, as it turns out, the book doesn't repeat itself and Montauk takes advantage of every page to guide you through what it takes to get into a good MBA program.

I am still in the process of applying, but what I have found is that this book has given me a great outline of what I should be doing to prepare myself, and provided detailed steps of how to navigate each step. Studying for the GMAT, getting letters of recommedation, writing the schools' essays, interviewing, it's all covered in great detail.

I continue to use this book as a reference guide as I am going through the application process, and I find that whatever I am confused about, the answer is provided in the book.

This is below par service from Amazon!
I was promised to get the book from 18th June to 26th June.
I have not yet received the book, today being 4th July!!!
Worst part: The IMEX receipt number is also not provided by the customer service representative, Santosh.
Please help!