MBA Admission for Smarties - Linda Abraham and Judy Gruen

When I first heard about this book, I was a bit skeptical, that this is going to be yet another meaningless addition to my list of books. But given that it is from accepted.com, I was pretty excited to read the book. I think it is almost half a year since the book got onto my Kindle Reader, finally I could take some time to review it. 

Thank you, accepted.com!

As the title suggests, this is definitely a ‘no nonsense’ guide to MBA Admissions. If writing GMAT and having a decent CGPA is one side of MBA Admissions, applying is another side of the coin. Let me tell you, it is rightly said, ‘If you don’t know where you are going, you might end up somewhere else’.

As a MBA aspirant from India, let me give you a little overview about an Indian’s mindset about MBA. Indians finish their Bachelor’s degree around 20 or 21 years of age, and soon start thinking about MBA. The Indian MBA Schools offer admission even at zero years of experience. They mold you for two years and have ready placements at the end of these 2 years. Except for a few, most of them don’t even know about the career options open to them. On the other hand, some others opt for MBA after a couple of years of work experience. Most of this applicant pool need an MBA because of the fat pay check that they will receive as promised by the institute after their course, right at the start of their career. At least 90% cannot truly answer the question ‘Why MBA?’.

When I started my MBA preparation, I had the same mindset. I should say, after almost 4 months of networking and blogging, I realized that I am still not clear of why I need an MBA or in what area I wanted to specialize. I had my doubts; I was always vague about how I thought about MBA applications. And I felt I really need to find out what can get me an admission into one of the schools of my choice amongst thousands of applicants out there. There were so many areas to clear my mind about, and I didn’t know where to start.

And there came Linda and Judy with their super-awesome guide. When I got the opportunity to read the book, the first thing that stuck me was, I am still not at the point to decide my exact goal or figure out the reason for doing an MBA. I was bound by the traditional Indian mindset. This book made me think – Why MBA? Which area do I want to specialize in? What are my goals –short term and long term? Etc. etc.

What the authors have put forth are questions that every international MBA applicant probably knows in course of his research about schools and applications, but the book sort of puts them together in a specific pattern which would make you think. It helps you map your interests with your future goals and MBA application.

The book made me take a step back and look at the whole picture, analyze, and rethink step-by-step every area of the MBA application process.

Starting from setting our goals post MBA, to researching the available programs that match our career goals, qualifications of the individual with respect to the school, choosing the right school, every aspect of application has been described in detail throwing examples here and there. I could surprisingly relate myself to a lot of scenarios suggested in the book. The book also talks about how to write essays, and resumes and gather awesome letters of recommendation. It also digs into areas of interview preparation.

Neatly organized, this book in my opinion, is a must-read for all MBA applicants. I would specially suggest this for Indian Applicants who get lost in the applicant pool because of the lack of knowledge. Grab the first chapter for free here. Thank You Sarah, for introducing me to this book, or I would have missed a gem in the ocean.

Links to get your copy of the book:
http://www.mbaadmissionforsmarties.com/order/
Indians can get it from the renowned Flipkart site.

Cheers!