Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29337 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 672 pages

Customer Reviews

Somehow disappointing.
This book is now outdated (written in 1995) and there has been a lot of changes in the MBA application process over the last years. I would even say that this book can be misleading! Be cautious. Also, do not expect any specific advice targeted for European applicants since this book has been written for an American audience. It is a bit frustrating..

Finally! Honest help with the essays!
Most authors of "how to get into B-school" books have the same old advice, but Montauk goes the extra step to illustrate how it's done with dozens upon dozens of real-world examples. Where this book shines above its competition is in how it handles the one thing applicants to top business schools can *really* do something about: Their essays.

GPA and GMAT speak for themselves and when it comes time to fill out the applications and write the essays, there are only so many ways to spin those numbers. They are cold hard numbers, and that's the point: You can't spin numbers without whining.

The single best piece of advice Montauk offers is to emphasize the strengths in your background that are not-so-obvious. After reading this book, an electrical engineer with a 99%ile score on the quantitative section of the GMAT would understand that he doesn't need to do a thing to convince the admissions committee at Columbia of his ability to handle the quantitative nature of the program. Instead, he would spend most of the essays emphasizing his experience with softer skills -- those things that are not readily noticed from a look at his education and work experience.

Many books in this class have a too-general perspective, but Montauk provides a method, especially with the essays, that helps the applicant through a thorough self-evaluation which can be translated into an intelligent, honest, and effective strategy.

This book has totally revamped my notion of what a great application should be. Look elsewhere for information on choosing the schools to which you apply, but get this book -- dare say it's essential -- to figure out how to get in!

Excellent, but you should be aware of brutal competition
This guidebook on how to approach all aspects of the MBA application process is very helpful, and I strongly recommend it. However, one must be realistic when applying to the top MBA programs, and this aspect needs to be emphasized more. Interested in studying finance, I was fortunate enough to get into one of my top choices (Univ. of Chicago), but failed to get into a number of other programs that are equally or less competitive. This surprised me since I have substantial international work experience with excellent grades and a high GMAT score, and I devoted a great deal of time and effort to my essays. I know that my letters of recommendation were also very strong. Because of the sheer volume of highly qualified applicants, even if you follow all of the recommendations in this book, you may not get in. Unless you have a 3.7+ GPA and a 730+ GMAT and incredible work experience, I would recommend that you apply to more schools than Montauk suggests: go for at least 8 if you can manage it.

Also, some of the overly detailed recommendations by Montauk are questionable. For example, when you dress for the evaluative interview, he says that your shirt should be professionally cleaned, pressed, and starched. That's a bit over-the-top. If I'm going to be evaluated negatively for wearing a self-ironed shirt, then the interviewer and the school can go to hell. Let's get real. Nevertheless, most of the recommendations are insightful and helpful.

If you are applying to a top MBA program, good luck! It's an exhausting process, but hopefully you will be rewarded in the end with an acceptance letter. If so, I know you will agree that it's definitely worth the effort!