Customer Reviews

Great Application Essays for Business School (Great Application for Business School)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is by far the best B-schools application guides on the market. Paul has done a fabulous job of providing great tips for writing application essays. His "inline" analysis of sample essays helps you analyze your essays critically.

The best part about this book is the process that the author walks you to through to help you think about "your stories" and how do you best present them. His second chapter on "goals essays" is worth alone the price of the book. I only wish this book was published earlier.

Highly recommended.

My essays were awful before I got this book. I was basically extrapolating my resume into essay form, which didn't make for a very persuasive or compelling story.

But this book really helped me write a solid "goals" essay, which is the most important essay. Mr. Bodine shows you how to tie your conclusion into your introduction, for a nice snappy finish. He gets you to focus on "why's" in your life, not the "what's". And he really helps with the structure of the essay, which was the most challenging part for me.

Bottom line: This book is really a must-have if you're applying to business school. Many of my buddies and coworkers are applying now, and I'm almost reluctant to recommend this book to them because I know how much it will help them (and thus make it harder for me to get in!)

I got started on my essays very late in the game after having spent the majority of my time taking (and retaking) the GMAT. As a result I was considering blowing $2,000 on an admissions consultant and essay service...

Then I found this book. Most of the other books are full of *other* people's essays. This one will walk you through creating *your* essays and uses the examples as a teaching aid rather than just compiling essays that worked (not useful to me).

To make a long story short, this book helped me construct my key essays including finding your story for constructing the basic 'why mba,' creating a 'packet' for recommenders that is specific and reinforces your story with credibility, and, especially for me, putting the *optional* essay to good use. I was especially concerned about the optional essay because of a sub-par gpa.

This past year I applied to 5 schools, am yet to get my first 'ding,' and have a scholarship offer from a top 10 school. I like the fact that the book is relatively short/focused (not inches thick), annotates the sample essays, and uses real feedback from adcom readers. This is essentially the same service I was about to spend a lot of money on.

This book was very important during my graduate school admissions process. With excellent real-world examples and insightful writing on what it takes to get into some of the best business schools in the nation, I was very impressed. With help from this book, I was admitted to my first choice school!

Great Career-Goals Essay Section.Does not have school specific data though.
Can be very well complemented by 'Proven Strategies for Top Business schools '
Good comments on all the essays . The essays are much better than those in montauk -'which covers only super -great profiles'.



Do Buy this book , and use it before you draft your first essay!.

"Great Application Essays for Business School" by Paul Bodine is a Bible for anyone who is seriously interested in getting into the top MBA programs from the top B-schools.

This book has it all:
- the writing prompt exercises will help you get thoughts on paper and find the themes you will put in your essays
- the 22 actual essays show you what top B-schools expect from you
- the "what NOT to do" parts give you the most common mistakes to avoid

This book reveals all the secrets about admission decisions. It tells you what admission commitees are looking for while giving you the way to be yourself and be honest in your essays.

The chapter 5 gives you everything there is to know about letters of recommendation: how to approach recommenders and how to guide them in order to receive the best letter possible (which is also in compliance with your essays).

What else can I say? Oh yeah ... this book is cheap too! $12!! That's nothing compared to the price of other books that are not as good and 3 times the price.

I've read many books about MBA essays and this one blew my mind, it's an amazing tool, don't miss out on this opportunity!

This book is a must for everybody thinking of applying to b-schools. Paul covers a wide array of circumstances, situations, dos and don'ts.

I am the founder of GMAT Club, a massive online MBA community, representing 10% of the incoming class at top business schools this year. Here are my thoughts about the book:

This is by far the best book on MBA Essays I have reviewed. It is motivating to read and contains nuggets of value on every page. Even the obvious points in the "what not to do" section are strong

PROS
+ Great self-diagnostic/reflection methodology
+ Real essays and real examples
+ What not-to-do section with every chapter
+ Practical - it is not a bunch of tricks or gimmicks but solid value
+ Numerous quotes from admissions officers
+ Section on Letters of Recommendation (LOR)

CONS
- Essays are getting a bit dated in this edition, so awaiting the second edition
- None really


Bottom line: taking into consideration that an Admissions consultant could cost $2-4K per school, this is a great guide. I wish this book was out when I was applying.

Let me know if any questions about this book, I respond to comments and own/reviewed most of other MBA Admissions/GMAT books
Best Regards,
BB, MBA, GMAT 750
Founder of GMAT Club

Of the essay books, this does rank among the best in most categories. The advice is well thought out and gives you not only samples of prose but things to consider from the school's point of view. Items like word choice and essay style are also considered in detail.

As one of the other reviewers mentioned, most essays are unfortunately rediculous in length. If the essays could be infinite in length (as they are for basically only one top-25 school I can think of), these essays and the detail provided in them would be dead on. Once you begin writing however, you will realize that some of the detailed advice given and the rubrics to follow will quickly consume the 1-2 page limit and you'll need to start over and refine or completely rewrite. Use the essays for guidelines but be careful of all the prosaic fluff that the author recommends you put into your essay to create good "stories", sometimes using several double spaced pages just to set up a backstory in an essay-useless when you have only 2 pages to answer 3 subquestions!

The author spends alot of time saying, "Do X" and then within the same few pages or within the book will say, "Be careful of X," constraining you into an impossible writing situation. He will also do the opposite where he will scare you into the need to write too much by saying things like, "Make sure you talk about this aspect of your career. But don't forget this. And don't forget this. Oh yeah, and don't forget..." Again, if you have the common sense to get into business school, this book should be an inspirational outline more than the be-all-end-all of essay writing. The author should take care to give more examples of shorter essays which most top 25 schools want.

My advice: If you are looking to study multiple books, put this one on your list. If you are looking for one really great book, this may not be it (though I strongly advise you against using only one book.)

A real page turner! This book reads like a mystery novel, you can't put it down because you want to find out what's next! Bodine provides valuable insight into the mentality of admissions committees, guiding the reader on how to market oneself effectively, and how to create a compelling profile that differentiates you from the sea of applicants. I particularly enjoy the process of "data mining" my life -- part of which involves reflecting on my work experience and linking past achievements to future goals. This book made me realize that most people focus only on the GMAT, but B-schools are still looking for individuals, not scores. A compelling essay that connects with the admissions officer will go a long way in setting you apart and significantly improving your chances of getting in. A must-read for anyone looking to get accepted by a top school. And as another reviewer pointed out, a real steal at $12.