Since I am planning to take the GMAT this summer I am wondering which of the GMAT preparation books are actually worth my time and money. (Are the courses offered for 1000$+ worth it?)

Are there other usefull books regarding the whole applications process and the writing of essays?

I would really appreciate some feedback! Thank you!

I took Manhattan GMAT and really liked it. Improved my score from 620 to 720 (how much of it was simply studying harder and how much class instructions, i cant really tell you though). If you dont want to shell out $1,500 on the course itself, you can just buy their books on the their website or Ebay. There're actually helpful - especially the math part.

You will need to combine MGMAT books with official test examples from GMAC. I used both the "big" book and also Verbal and Math supplements.

Here's what I did: Bought the Official Guide for GMAT Review Book - 11th edition. Worked through EVERY single problem (timed) and downloaded the electronic tests too. Then after I finished the book, I went to Barnes and Noble regularly and worked on sample problems from other books Kaplan, Princeton, etc (without buying them) to work on my weaker areas. I only BOUGHT one book, took no classes, just practiced - a lot. Result 760 GMAT first try...

Make sure you download the practice tests from mba.com. They are the best for simulating the actual testing environment.

As for essays, there ARE books out there. I used "How to Get into the Top MBA Programs" by Montauk. I don't know if I would say it's overly useful. You can glean a lot of the same information by reading the threads of the various admissions consultants on this form, or through sites like ClearAdmit.

Hi everyone,
I was originaly considering getting an MBA, but I did some research on the MPA and found the course of study to be a bit more interesting. What does everyone think of the MPA? I know the degree is designed for people who want to work in government and at non-profits, but what kind of respect does it get in the private sector? Is it a waste, or is it considered comparable to an MBA?

Thanks!

May be usefull in private business for government/NGO consulting or for work at large corporations where policy analysis and the political scene plays an important role.

I think you need to differentiate between academic interest and what are your career goals. If public admin truly is your passion maybe you should question your desire to get into the private space though.

If you're under 27, go for both. You can apply for a joint degree at Harvard, a joint degree Sloan/kennedy, Berkeley has a good MPP/MBA with Haas, UCLA has a dual degree, and I believe Columbia and NYU have one. In any case, opting for both would make sense only if they each degree is independently top tier. If not, I would just aim for the higher ranking program at the school and do that well.

thanks for the great advice. I currently don't have any work experience, so I was considering an MPA since most MPA programs seem to be more liberal when it comes to WE than MBA programs. Also, I am not really good in math and know nothing about accounting, so I was reluctant to get an MBA for that reason.

do the MBA. My boss is an MBA and bosses MPA's around all day.

I'm a dual MBA/MPP at Michigan, and I can tell you that your Public Administration classes will be just as quant heavy, if not more, than your MBA courses (well, at least at Michigan -- the MBA curriculum takes on a general management feel while the Ford School is known for being extremely analytical). Keep in mind that the MPA is going to throw a lot at you for one year, and I actually know a lot of people transitioning to an MPP simply because they're not able to take all the courses in which they're interested in eight months.

Yes, an MPA will be more flexible with work experience, but as a result the level of exposure to corporate strategy functions, financial analysis, etc. will be less than you would get at business school. Mainly, MPAs will focus on econometrics, public management, program evaluation, and perhaps some level of trade policy -- all interesting work if you prefer to stay in the public sector.

I applied to both MBA and MPA programs, and now, a few months later, I am only interested in attending the MBA programs. My thinking has evolved quite a bit over the past few months.

I work at a nonprofit, and I am committed to staying at a nonprofit/public organization in the future. However, my boss put it this way: "Although you're committed to this now, you never know what may happen in your life. Getting an MPA will make it a LOT harder to go to the private sector. It may not close all doors, but it will create obstacles for you. Getting an MBA will never close those doors for you, and will be equally if not more respected in the public sector."

Now, my boss is just one guy, so take it or leave it...but I have come to agree with him. Everyone I know (5 or 6 people) that has an MPA has told me I'll be better off if I get an MBA.

That said, if you have no work experience, it will probably be easier to get into an MPA program than an MBA program.

Lots of MBA programs have very interesting classes in nonprofit or public management topics, and some even have programs where you can serve on a local nonprofit's board for a year to gain experience that way. I think it would be easy to get an MBA with a solid grounding in MPA-type knowledge. On the other hand, of the MPA programs I looked at (and I did not by any means look at all of them!), I did not find the ability to get a rigorous grounding in business.

Clearly, I am an enthusiastic convert to the MBA -- so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. If you want to talk more about my experience, or the specific schools I looked at, feel free to email me - I don't want to get too specific on the boards.

This is a really great response -- well said.

I am interested in seeing what stats qualify people for fellowships/scholarships at different schools. Unlike a general application to a school where stats don't tell the whole story, I *believe* that fellowships/scholarships are awarded based on GMAT scores, undergrad GPA, etc. Would any of you lucky saps with scholarships mind sharing which schools you received scholarships at and what your general stats were?

In addition to the stats, I would also like to hear where the scholllies are from (West, MidEast, West Europe, Africa, etc. ) and male/female?

Dude, no-one who actually got a scholarship is going to post that info...

Schollies are a way to entice a specific category of people to attend a particular university. For demographics that apply in massive numbers (white males, Asians and Indians), more than spectacular stats it is either a very solid work ex and extra curriculars/or a unique background that helps. I know a couple of white males who got scholarship to a top 5 schools. They both had experience in start-ups, sold theirs for a nice chunk of money and had decent. I don't know of any Asian or Indian dude getting a scholarship. Note - it doesn't mean there aren't any of them. Just that I don't know any.

I have been to about 3 admit events (dinners etc). Most people who I came across with some sort of scholarship/partial tuition waiver were women. Almost everyone was a consultant for a mid-tier consulting firm. No M/B/B there. But then again, b-schools have always been explicit in their desire to create a more balanced class (women and minorities). Few other minorities I met also had scholarships. Actually, 3 of them. One worked in the industry. I didn?t ask for stats. The other two had sub 700 GMATs and went to state schools for their undergrad. They both worked for the govt and had a full ride.

Note: I did not read their essays or ask them about their extra curriculars.

Just curious, how does adcom office determine the pool of applicants. Assume the applicant is second generation of Indian heritage,raised, educated and worked in the US Tech industry.

Does the applicant still get into the tough Indian IT guys pool by ethnicity with its stellar GPA and GMAT or

US applicants from tech backgtound by nationality/residence

I believe your belief that the scholarships/fellowships are based on undergraduate GPA and GMAT score is WRONG. I think it is based on the entire package, particularly your work experience, what you bring to the table that is different from others in your class, and how you would add to the class at that particular school. In addition, the school will likely make some determination of your likelihood of getting into another top program (perhaps even better than their program). So they offer you the fellowship/scholarship to entice you to go there over other possible choices.

I was specifically told by Booth they were offering me a merit scholarship to entice me to go there. My stats are strong (710, 3.5 GPA from HYP, and JD from a top 5 school), but they're not out of the ordinary. My work experience, community involvement, EC's, and my future goals, however, are probably very very unique in comparison to the applicant pool.

Jenn said I could borrow her phone, Paolo searched the train schedule for me, and I went to get ready. Then Jenn, Claire, Jay, and Javi took me to Montebelluna on their way to the grocery store. I was traveling alone, something I always prefer not to do, but whatever.

Once I got to Padova, I called Bernardo to tell him I was getting on the next train and would be there soon. The station was packed with 100s of Italy's youth dressed like Halloween on crack and they were all getting on the train to Venice with me. Good times.

I somehow managed to wedge myself into the nearest train car and even found an open seat between 7, 19 year-oldish guys with various fuzzy masks. I sat next to a chicken and across from a bear. They, and everyone else for that matter, were talking and laughing as they were passing around beer bottles. I pretended to be VERY interested in what was out the window. Then,hey started passing around a joint. (PS it's illegal to smoke (anything) in a train) But considering this car was standing room only, I didn't think the security guards would fight their way in here just to bust there guys.

I exited the Santa Lucia train station into the beginnings of a very fun and long night. I called Bernardo to figure out where he wanted to meet. I didn't know my way around this part of the city and I was as far from the Piazza San Marco as possible. Thankfully, Bernardo wanted to meet at the Rialto which wasn't too far away. I walked through the streets taking pictures of costumes and shop windows. It was amazing and I was finally able to exhale and enjoy.

I thought about stopping to get my face painted, but didn't know how my skin would react so thought I should just buy a new mask. A week earlier some of the girls went to Venice, but I had sprained my ankle skiing and couldn't do that much walking, so they bought me a beautiful purple and gold mask with a huge feather. It is fantastic, and I think I'll have to wear it home to get it there in 1 piece.

Then, Bernardo calls. He wants to meet at the Piazza San Marco (about 4 miles from where I started). Fine. I will say I navigated the street pretty well and only got turned around once. I finally got there and called. We wandered toward each other in the center of the Piazza San Marco and were glad to see each other. He had his face painted like a mask and it looked great.

They were setting up for a band, but we didn't know when or who. We went to the information booth and found out the Apple Pies were starting at 8pm, whoever that is. I was in desperate need of refreshment and a mask. We had a hour so we set out on a mask hunt and would get something to eat/drink along the way. I knew I wanted a black mask without a feather for me to destroy. AND THEN WE FOUND IT & passing by a simple t-shirt souvenir shop I spotted a wonderful back and silver mask in the window. I tried it on and Bernardo loved it. We took a picture and I didn't take it off for the rest of the night.

We got back to the square just in time for the band to start playing. The Apple Pies are a Beatles cover band and they were AMAZING. I can't even put the right words together to say how great it was. Better than a jukebox, because it was the experience of the Beatles there live. We picked up some drinks and headed into the crowd to experience the music. In the middle of the crowd at one point, Bernardo looks at me and says "For us to catch the 10pm train, we'll have to leave in 10 mins.... or..." he gave me his little charismatic smile "or we could stay until the 5am train," he finished "Which one do you want to do, because I'll do whatever you want to do." To which I smiled and said " I know which one I want to do!" "Is is the stay all night one?" he asked excitedly "Uh HUH!!!" I nodded like a little kid.

WE WERE GOING TO BE IN VENICE ALL NIGHT AND THIS WAS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE FUNNEST NIGHTS OF MY LIFE!!!

We left after ABBA played for a while. We went in search of food and found the "Jazz Bar" a swanky place where they have pictures of Miles Davis and Billie Holiday on the wall while the ceiling is dripping with bras of all shapes, sizes and colors. They made the best Margarita I've ever had!!! And I met a girl of Alabama in the bathroom.

For what seemed like miles, Bernardo and I walked from bar to bar had a drink, talked to people, ate pizza and loved every minute of this experience. We found a Reggae jam going on on the Rialto Bridge and then another small piazza party after that.

Around 2am we wanted through a an empty, trashed piazza. It was like a ghost town.

We got a flier about a Casino and went in search of it. After 30 mins of walking and talking we stumbled across a massive techno club. We danced and danced and danced for over an hour. We were exhausted and unwilling to give in to it. It was 4am and we were dancing like fools and loving it. Bernardo's face paint started to sweat off a bit. We finally left the club in search of the casino again. We walked and walked until it was almost 5am, and gave up in order to head towards the train station. (The invisible casino has yet to be seen.)

The Santa Lucia train station in Venice looked like ... war! It was awful. There were people sleeping cuddled up everywhere. It was disgusting! And that's why i took pictures.

Bernardo and I got on a train to Padova and then switched to another one to Montebelluna (one of the nearest stations to Asolo). We were struggling to stay awake and not miss our stop.

We got to Montebelluna before 7. Bernardo wanted to wait to call the taxi driver until a decent hour, which was fine with me. We went to a little cafe and ate breakfast. The concerned patrons could tell where we had been and just smiled. We called Renato, the best taxi driver around, just after 7 to come pick us up. He is a sweet and talkative man and doesn't over charge the foreigners.

We walked in to CIMBA door at 8am. We felt like legends! We had survived Carnevale in Venice and had an absolute blast!

Bernardo was concerned Gabriella, the housekeeper, would be cleaning his room when we got back because he just wanted to fall into bed. She was and he waited patiently while i headed to my room. I looked at my bed, briefly contemplated taking a much needed shower, and then decided to go to sleep now and change my sheets later!

I woke up around 5pm, was up until 11pm and went back to sleep! Beautiful! (There are lots of photos, too!)

Given the turmoil on Wall Street and the overall soft job market in the U.S., it's not surprising that many international applicants have decided not to come to the U.S. to pursue an MBA this year. Even more interesting, however, is that apparently many Americans also also now considering earning their MBAs abroad.

An article in last week's Wall Street Journal describes the trend of more and more Americans deciding to go abroad for their MBA programs. Not only do schools such as INSEAD and IMD provide Americans with an opportunity to broaden their international exposure, but they also offer a nice sort of career diversification in that they tend to attract a more diverse array of corporate recruiters than do American business schools. One advantage that many European schools offer is that their programs are shorter than most American schools' programs, which, among other things, means that they can be significantly less expensive. While we tend to discourage applicants from choosing based on costs alone, this often significant difference can be hard for someone to ignore when they're still paying off old student loans and are about to leave their job to take on even more debt.

Also. at some top European schools, only about 20% of the graduating class lands in finance, compared with up to 60% at some U.S. schools. While this has traditionally been a weakness for European schools in attracting top talent that wants to pursue high-paying jobs, in today's climate it's one reason why more American than ever have sought out these programs.

The European programs aren't content to just let Americans beat a path to their doors -- they've made a point of aggressively reaching out to U.S. students in order to capitalize on this trend. As a result of the macro trend and these recruiting efforts, schools such as Oxford's Saïd Business School have interviewed 60% more American applicants this year than last year.

If you're targeting a European MBA program, Veritas Prep's mba admissions experts can help you build the perfect application.