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

J.D., Richard Montauk (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0735204233 | ISBN-13: 978-0735204232 | Publication Date: August 7, 2007 | Edition: 4

Now updated and revised.

Now with new and expanded information on Executive MBA programs, the most up-to-date school rankings, new interviews with admissions officers, and more detailed advice for younger applicants, Montauk offers an up-close and candid view of what leading MBA programs look for in an applicant.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Richard Montauk, author of How to Get into the Top Law Schools and How to Get into the Top Colleges, is the founder and president of Degree of Difference, a firm specializing in the admissions process for leading professional institutions. He divides his time between Boston and London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Press; 4 edition (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735204233
• ISBN-13: 978-0735204232
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #536,860 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > Business & Investing > Job Hunting & Careers > Business School Guides

More About the Author

Richard Montauk, author of How to Get into the Top Law Schools and How
to Get into the Top Colleges, is the founder and president of Degree of Difference, a firm specializing in the admissions process for leading professional institutions. He divides his time between Boston and London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but nothing new from previous editions, August 31, 2007

By 

Prashanth S. Cherukuri "Music junkie" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How To Get Into the Top MBA Programs, 4th Edition (Paperback)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book but use with care, March 4, 2009

By 

Kanishk Rastogi "Freelenser" (Albany, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How To Get Into the Top MBA Programs, 4th Edition (Paperback)

Written in a complete primer style, good to clear your concepts of MBA admissions. Since almost every applicant has this book, be careful while reading its essays and make sure that yours do NOT have anything remotely similar. Adcom people have read hundreds of essays over the years and are too sharp to identify the patterns and similarities.

Otherwise, the book is good to know the importance of different elements of an application. Good bedtime reading, if you start your planning an year ahead from the app deadlines. Otherwise, depending on your schedule and deadlines, you can use the book per author's guidelines.

Essays: There are a lot of essays in it from different B-Schools and different type of candidates. I found some of them to be too long and sort of boring sometimes. Word-limit is a biggest constraint for some schools and they are strict on it.

Recos: The chapters on Recos was really very useful with Do's and Dont's, how to approach your recommender, sample recos, and their pros and cons.

General App guidelines: generally useful in organizing yourself and your tasks for this process.

MBA: General information on different type of MBAs and how to choose the right one for you. This is very subjective topic though and depends on the individual's career planning and objectives.

Comments from Adcom members: There are lot of comments from adcom members, Deans of different schools in each chapter on almost every topic. Very helpful in customizing your app and essays for those schools

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book helped me get into a top school!, August 26, 2008

By 

sanjos10 (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How To Get Into the Top MBA Programs, 4th Edition (Paperback)

I used the previous edition of the book in 2006 (green cover) and it helped me get into a top 5 business school. In fact I got into both the top 5 schools that I had applied to.

My advice to applicants is to pay special attention to essays and recommendation letters. If the writers are too busy, write one up for them (call it a template) and let them edit it. That way you can get them to say what you want them to say more or less.

Spend a LOT of time on the essays, they can make or break you more than the GMAT. Read them over and over again, read them aloud, have someone read them to you and have them reviewed by someone who got into the school you want to get into. The sample essays in the book were great to know what kind of information the admissions committee would look for. I took as much as 30 days of every day work to get my essays in the form that I was happy with.

Montauk's book guides you through this process and that was the only book I used.