Your MBA Game Plan, Third Edition: Proven Strategies for Getting Into the Top Business Schools [Paperback]

The book is based on the 2 main points - to get into an MBA Program of your choice you have to demonstrate that you have a unique profile (differentiation) and that you fit the school. With pontially a 50-70% chance to get into the program of choice if you have these 2 attributes.

~~~ PROS: ~~~
- Fairly concise and can be read/covered pretty quickly (the fact that the book is well written helps)
- I like very much the suggestions for the 4 key dimensions of an applicant (Leadership, innovation, teamwork, and maturity). The book then creates a table with these as column headings and numerous parts of the application as the rows (such as transcript, work experience, resume, LOR, essays, GMAT, extracurricular activities) and allows you to tick off each element that contributes to any of the 4
- Chart of GMAT 80% distribution scores for the top 20 programs and a few other stats/charts
- Applicant profiles - the book splits up the application tips/strategy based on the applicant profiles, such as
Consulting,
o Creative
o Engineers
o Entrepreneurship
o Government
o International (goes in depth to categorize further),
o IB & Finance
o Marketing, Military
o Non profit
o Recent grad
- Typical backgrounds of students at the MBA programs and also their career backgrounds. (Consulting is 25%)
- Interview tips (good but not very exhaustive prep)
- Information about each of the top 30 programs with details on application strategy (what the school focuses on, what they are looking for, who is a good fit, and also some additional unofficial insights that Vertas saw from the years of work with applications to each of the schools)
- Real sample Essay Analysis (34 total essays)
- Sevearal in-depth profile examples
- Sample Resumes (5)

~~~ WEAKNESSES ~~~
- Though laid out fine, I am having a hard time finding information I have read previously. The markers on some of the essays and sections could be identified better or have some standard icons/symbols and Table of contents should be really expanded to include subsections. Right now it is not useful.
- Would be great to see things not to do/disaster stories/examples of poor fit (there are several essays at the back that are not stellar and are illustrations of exactly that) but would love to see more as well as common weaknesses and approaches to address/eliminate
- Add strategies for re-applicants
- Would benefit the most applicants who have 9 months for the entire process

~~~ BOTTOM LINE: ~~~
This has become of my new favorite MBA Application Books

Let me know if any questions - I reply to comments.

Best Regards,
BB, Founder of GMAT Club
GMAT 750

This review is of the Third Edition of a book first published in 2002. My comments are based on three assumptions:

o That you are determined to earn an MBA degree
o That you intend to apply to a business school that offers an MBA degree
o You are convinced that what earning that degree requires is worth it

Obviously, the "terms of engagement" for applying to any of the top business schools have changed since 2002. Even this revised and updated edition cannot be expected to accommodate all of those changes, nor can the co-authors, Omari Bouknight and Scott Shrum, guarantee success if all of their "proven strategies for getting into top schools" are followed. I highly recommend that the Preface to this latest edition be read and re-read. It is refreshingly candid.

As I began to work my way through the narrative, I was again reminded of the fact that anyone who aspires to earn a graduate degree in any field of study (medicine, dentistry, law, humanities, natural science, mathematics, and engineering as well as business) needs a cohesive and comprehensive game plan. For those who aspire to earn an MBA degree, I know of no other single source that offers more and better information, insights, and advice than does this one.

Bouknight and Shrum carefully organize their material within (you guessed it) seven chapters that cover a series of subjects that correlate with the sequence of stages that comprise the application process. In Appendix A, they provide additional admissions essays; in Appendix B, additional résumés.

Obviously, it remains for each reader to determine what is most valuable among the material provided. However, all readers will appreciate Bouknight and Shrum's skillful use of devices that serve two separate but related purposes: they focus attention on what is especially important, and, they facilitate, indeed expedite frequent review of that material. I presume to suggest that each reader highlight that material. The devices include checklists, > points, statistical analyses, graphic illustrations, and FAQ sections in each chapter.

By the time the reader arrives at Chapter 6, she or he is well-prepared to formulate an MBA Game Plan, one that includes 11 components listed on Page 237 and then examined in the material that follows. Then what happens? Bouknight and Shrum respond to that question, then correctly note, "The one person who controls your application's fate more than anyone is you." That is a key point. When completing the application process, the assistance that Omari Bouknight and Scott Shrum offer in their book will be of incalculable value, as will this advice from Oscar Wilde: "Be yourself. Everyone else is taken."

As soon as I started filling out my first business school application I realized that I really had no clue what I was doing. I didn't know what admissions officers were looking for and how to present myself to them as a more competitive candidate. Furthermore, I didn't really know which schools would be the best fit for me, or what factors contribute to the rankings that these schools get from major news sources. Thankfully, my sister recommended that I read Your MBA Game Plan.

This book really gave me all of the information I needed, and I shudder to think of the applications that I might have submitted to some of these schools had I not used it as a resource. Additionally, since it details application strategies for many of the top MBA programs, you can really tailor your applications to account for what the school tends to value in the candidates it ultimately admits, rather than submitting the same generic content to each school.