However, there’s a school of thought that argues that being the “fairer sex,” women are less likely to “stand up for themselves” and therefore, bring the situation mentioned in the post upon themselves. I think this is “blaming the victim.” What do YOU think?

Hiram

If you’re having a difficult time balancing school and work, make sure to talk to your employer and see if you both can come up with an arrangement that meets both your needs.

Hiram

The bottom line in books like this is that a business leader, whether or not they have an MBA, needs to use common sense about what needs to be done instead of blindly relying on a spreadsheet or business model they learned in Grad school.

Hiram

Rodney G. Alsup, D.B.A., CPA, CITP
Professor of Accounting
Founder, MyeEMBA.com

Rating:

There are plenty of books on the market to help you get from “I want to go to B-School” to “I’m in!” but it wasn’t until I recently read The MBA Application Roadmap that I found one I could enthusiastically endorse.

Authors Stacy Blackman and Daniel J. Brookings have put together a concise handbook that gives you a plan and then walks you through the steps required to get there. Blackman is well-known for her admissions consulting service, and her experience is evident throughout the book.

Most striking in the first several chapters of the book is the emphasis on getting started early. Blackman and Brookings encourage you to give yourself several months to research schools, prepare for and take the GMAT, draft essays, and manage recommenders.

The authors start from the very beginning, explaining the various factors that should go into your school selections. In my experience (and in theirs), too many students decide on one or two programs simply because of familiarity or a top ranking. Researching more possibilities will not only expand your options, but will also come in handy when tailoring your essays to each school’s admissions committee.

Nearly half of the book is devoted to application essays, and this is where you’ll find the most valuable advice. By necessity, most of the tips are general in nature, but regardless of your specific situation, you’ll find plenty to help you improve your application package.

I wish I had always been able to point my students to this book, because it answers so many of the questions I’ve been hearing for years, including: How much should your essays be tailored for individual programs? Should you write an optional essay? How can you effectively handle topics such as your biggest weakness or failure? What tone should you strike in the essays?

The MBA Application Roadmap weighs in at well under 300 pages, and reads even faster than that. While it’s very concise, that doesn’t mean it’s not valuable. Many of the strategies the authors share sound simple, but far too many B-School aspirants fail to use them. I don’t want you to make the same mistake.

The book’s content is divided into over fifty brief chapters, making it easy for you to use it as a reference guide. After an initial quick read (I went through it in about two hours), you’ll go back to it many times as you choose target schools, draft essays, and put the finishing touches on your application package.

Still, books of this type are very good reference books if you need a specific tool for a specific problem.

Hiram

Whether or not you actually learned anything along the way is kind of besides the point. The degree earns you the right to at least be heard.

My personal experience is that the real benefit from getting a degree is the person you become as a result of doing all the work.

Hiram