Recently, Chris Ryan, our GMAT instructor and Vice President of Academics, realized that helping our students through the GMAT just wasn’t enough. “When I had students come up to me and tell me their GMAT score, I was thrilled,” said Chris, “but I wanted to help them more.”

Although Chris considers the two years he spent at Duke Fuqua to be some of the most incredible of his life, he realized that, had he had a leg up when he had arrived, he would have immediately felt more comfortable. Many of his former GMAT students felt the same way.

That’s where Eric Caballero came in. After Chris and his co-writer Carrie Shuchart received great feedback and reviews for their book, Case Studies and Cocktails, Eric wanted to help Chris bring his lessons for pre-MBA students into the classroom.

And so, on Saturday and Sunday, July 23 and 24, Manhattan GMAT will be hosting its first ever pre-MBA Boot Camp. This two-day course will provide enrollees with a refersher of Economics, Statistics, Finance, Pricing and Accounting, all applied in the context of a B-School case study. The course takes place in New York.

In addition, the course will be free if students provide feedback about their experience.

Inetersted? If so, email ecaballero@manhattanprep.com/gmat/ or check out more info here.

This article was originally written for and posted on www.casestudiesandcocktails.com by Chris Ryan

Recently, U.S. News & World Report released its 2012 Business School rankings. The energy and commentary surrounding this perennial event is noteworthy. Stanford GSB muscled HBS out of the top spot, while my alma mater Duke Fuqua rose to No. 12.

While many MBA applicants revere the U.S. News & World Report rankings, others stand apart. The Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell lambasted the criteria used in the rankings, calling the criteria flimsy proxies for educational quality.

No matter whose ranking you prefer, we encourage you to embrace a comprehensive approach to selecting a business school. No doubt your school’s ranking and prestige will affect the potential for cultivating that golden MBA rolodex. However, your ability to execute on said potential will be determined chiefly by your state of mind, which demands a cultural and academic fit.  So once you’ve narrowed down your choices based upon rank, be sure to consider these other factors:

• Location and Social Life: Do you prefer lively urban campuses or smaller college towns, where almost everyone is an outsider and folks band together?
• Cost: Most business schools cost a pretty penny, but keep in mind that tuition and fees are not the only expenses you will be facing.  Be sure to take into account the cost of living in a particular location before making a decision.
• Teaching Methodologies: Harvard Business School uses the case method entirely, but that may not work for everyone.  Sit-in on courses and determine what teaching methods work best for you.
• Alumni Base: When it comes time to apply for that coveted internship or dream job, you’ll need to utilize all your connections. A large alumni base may offer more opportunities, but smaller groups of former grads are often more loyal and more likely to help an MBA from their Alma Mater.

For more advice on choosing a school and preparing for your MBA, check out our article on Poets & Quants. Need something a little more in depth? Part One of Case Studies & Cocktails is all about making the most of your time before B-school.