Rating: 
Summary: An Indispensable Tool
Review: It really demystifies the admission requirement and give you courage and confidence to complete the long (not to mention painful) application process. This book will help you to understand what school you should apply to since it gives you all the insider information about all top b-schools. Once you are decided, it will take you through all the steps: how to craft powerful essays that are different for each school you apply to (if you write the same essays for all schools, you've got chance), how to ace interviews, how to decide what is the best way to prepare the GMAT, what a good letter of recommendation looks like and more.
Make no mistake, challenge #1 is to stand out from the rest of the extraodinary applicants. For this, you need powerful essays, great letter of reco and a top interview. the authors spent 2 years writing this book, interviewing 150+ succesful applicants, the Admissions Directors of all the major b-schools and the Deans. Reading this should make a big difference.
Rating:
Summary: The best of all MBA books
Review: Looking back, I realize that my MBA application was both difficult and emotionally challenging. First I dared to consider whether an MBA course could be worth the time and investment to me. Then I struggled to identify the best MBA to apply to, the course which best complemented my interests and abilities. Finally I worried which would be the school where I would have the best chances of admission. Having selected a hard-to-enter school, I remember sitting up late at night reading parts of "Getting the MBA Admissions Edge" just to help me believe that, if I kept calm and worked through the problem one step at a time, one day I might win a place.Throughout the process this book was my greatest support. At 650 pages it is incredibly comprehensive. It brims with great data, such as analyses of business school rankings from Business Week, US News, the Financial Times over a 15-year time frame with breakdowns by criteria such as specialty, salary and the biggest recruiters for each school. There are more than 150 samples of essays written by successful applicants with thorough coverage of the major do's and don'ts for each school. There is a step-by-step guide on "how to write essays that stand out from the crowd" the essay is your big opportunity to differentiate yourself from the thousands of other applicants and this guide was written by a former Proctor & Gamble employee who has re-applied powerhouse marketing techniques to the problem. I guess it is because of such hard-hitting content that this book has come to be recommended by most admissions officers (Wharton, Columbia, UCLA, Stanford...), by so many top recruiters (McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, BCG...) and is loved by GMAT teachers as well. Yet now I am enrolled in my dream MBA, I do not think of the valuable in-depth analyses but remember this book as my most supportive friend at a very grueling time a friend to whom I owe this thank you now.
Rating:
Summary: Made the difference
Review: Many schools have suggested application numbers up by over 40% this year, and I was fearful of becoming another reject statistic. After being turned down at HBS and Stanford in the second round (Jan '02) I was recommended this book 'Getting the MBA Admissions Edge' and it has made an incredible difference. With so much school analysis, and advice for your essays including lots of sample essays, the book gives some real insight and structure to your application. I have since heard from a Wharton alum that their school really wants to see how well you have researched their program, and if that understanding is implicit in your essays. Well now I'm set to join Wharton in the Fall (totally psyched) and the book made a huge difference.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book
Review: My thanks and congratulations. You have assembled a great book of information that is invaluable to someone like myself. Though I am not living in Europe, I am originally from Spain and England (long story), however, I have lived in the U.S. for over 10 years. I have been in Investment Banking for close to four years and feel that it is the right time for me to obtain an MBA. Your book has given me so much, it has allowed me to consider aspects of the admission process that I otherwise would have never thought of and the book has also given me some much needed confidence that I can really succeed in such a competitive process.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but be careful
Review: Overall, this is an excellent book for all the reasons past reviewers have given. My only warning is to take the essays with a grain of salt. Some of the essays have a very stilted, dry, writing style. I suspect this might be because the authors were European and their first language may not have been English. Furthermore, I suspect that some succesful applicants were accepted not because they wrote dazzling essays, but essays that were "good enough" in light of some extraordinary experience. I have read essays from friends that have gotten into top business schools, and by far, their essays are vastly superior. To balance this book out, I would recommend Montauk's book (which also contains some essays that are similary stilted).
Rating:
Summary: Good, but be careful
Review: Overall, this is an excellent book for all the reasons past reviewers have given. My only warning is to take the essays with a grain of salt. Some of the essays have a very stilted, dry, writing style. I suspect this might be because the authors were European and their first language may not have been English. Furthermore, I suspect that some succesful applicants were accepted not because they wrote dazzling essays, but essays that were "good enough" in light of some extraordinary experience. I have read essays from friends that have gotten into top business schools, and by far, their essays are vastly superior. To balance this book out, I would recommend Montauk's book (which also contains some essays that are similary stilted).
Rating:
Summary: This book helped me get into Harvard Business School
Review: The book Getting the MBA Admissions Edge is a comprehensive guide to choosing your target schools, learning how to differentiate yourself in the competitive MBA world, and tailoring your unique "value proposition" to the schools of your choice. The advice provided in this book was crucial in enabling me to secure interviews and admissions offers from my 3 target schools - Harvard, Michigan, and IESE in Spain. The book's section on Harvard, along with my other research, enabled me to effectively evaluate the potential "fit" between my educational/career goals and the school's culture and networking opportunities. This book not only helped me to transform myself into a better candidate for Harvard, but it also helped me to choose the right school for me. I also had the fortunate opportunity to hear Matt Symonds speak at an admissions workshop in Paris. His anecdotes and experience show that he is well-connected with the key players in the top MBA programs and is an expert in the process of getting into the best schools around the world. His own personal experience getting into a top MBA program, along with his years of first-hand experience helping countless students succeed in positioning themselves in the MBA world, will be invaluable for all MBA prospects who read this book.
Rating:
Summary: If you don't know where to start, get this book
Review: The book will not only demystify the whole process for you, it will also give you great information on prepping for your interviews and essays. Although a lot of the book is devoted to only ten schools, the advice applies to anyone applying to a top tier b-school. If you do the suggested exercises, you'll see a list of jobs and activities mold themselves into a self-marketing campaign.
Rating:
Summary: great advice for top b-schools
Review: There seems to be no shortage of advice for applying to b-school. This book stands out for a number of reasons:
- in-depth review of the top schools (HBS, Stanford, Wharton etc), which is not ony invaluable in helping to make your selection of schools, but really makes a difference when you then apply. Schools all want to know why you are interested in their program, and The MBA Admissions Edge is the only book that gives such insight.
- clear and helpful advice for essays, interviews, letters of rec. The book provides the perspective from successful applicants at the top 10 schools, which gives a rounded picture of the interview process, or the ideas that lie behind the essays.
- good section on school reputation, explaining the various rankings, specializations.
Rating: 
Summary: Full of approximations
Review: This ABC is full of mistakes, typoes and gross approximations. I would not trust it.
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