Thanks for the post! I don't intend to police this thread outside of deleting SPAM and keeping it organized.
Again, there is no value in artificially manufacturing posts.

And, yes, I agree, let's use common sense. There are real and fake reviews and with some, we'll just never know.

P.S. I have updated the rules to be very simple and basically come down to one - be constructive. I appreciate the feedback and by no means want to discourage anyone from posting their experience!
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Thank you K0. This is the case where posting your username would have been very helpful.... but I guess we can somewhat understand. At the same time seeing a super positive post that's so passionate will be suspicious to a number of folks..... esp since there are no negatives or cons.
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Hi MDF,

you raise a good point, I should have been more clear.

Applying for next year. Ideally, I'll submit 5 apps first round.

Yea its early, but its also a huge amount of work. Harvard essays are already out and I assume the others will follow in the next month. Paul has me work on last years essay so that I get practice explaining my story and making sure it flows correctly. Each essay takes several iterations to get right. Once that's done everything has to be tied to my resume and then I write a template for my letters of rec to make sure that fits as well.

In my earlier post I note a time when I needed Paul's help on something right away. Paul suggested that i sign up for a campus event which required an essay. I didn't look at the registration time line until the day it was due...

Last year I helped one of my co-workers do her apps and I realized exactly how much work it can be.

Also, i signed up about 2 months ago because many of the consultants had discounts for people that signed up way in advance.

Its definitely on the early side but my working style has always been to get stuff done as soon as possible.

After a couple of rejections this session, I wanted to build up an app strategy for the next session with the help of an expert and recently worked with Sameer of MBACrystalBall dot com.
After the initial introductory session, he analyzed my profile - both strengths and weaknesses - based on the information from our interaction and my answers to the questionnaire (he'd sent me to fill up).
Sameer came up with a detailed Crystal Ball report which covers all the aspects of my profile and not only that, it also comprises a list of bschools, categorized in 5 different tiers. But the process did not end here - I reviewed the report and finalized a list of 6-7 schools to apply to. Then we had a wrap up call to discuss about the report in details and come to a specific set of conclusions.

Overall experience was very satisfactory because of -
1. In-depth profile analysis and honest feedback.
2. Valuable insider's view from Sameer regarding goals, different schools, programs etc.
3. Great value for money.
4. Sameer is really nice person to interact with and always ready to help.

I wanted to add an endorsement for Adam from Amerasia. I used Adam’s services for my Booth and Wharton applications. I would consider myself a fairly strong candidate to begin with, and I have plenty of resources from friends/family for editing (my roommate is a professional editor, and I have several friends from top MBA programs). So, going into application season, I was skeptical of the value of a consultant.

Adam did a free consultation with me and that really convinced me to use his services. He's very knowledgeable about the top MBA programs and what they're specifically looking for in candidate essays. He gave me great advice about how to position myself as a candidate in the applicant pool and how to apply that positioning to my essays. I was able to use the advice he gave me in the free consultation throughout all of my bschool apps. In particular, I truly believe that some of the tips he gave me about Columbia during the free consultation made the difference for my admittance there. All of my applications benefited from his advice and feedback on my goals essays for both schools.

There is nothing like having the feedback of a professional that works with these schools. Adam helped me firm up my career goals essay in a way that made me really confident in what I was submitting. His feedback was especially useful on the Booth powerpoint and the behavioral essays from both schools. He really pushed me to better refine my “why MBA message” in a way that I don’t think I would have gotten to on my own.

Generally, I found him to be responsive to my emails and he turned around editing requests in about 24 hours most of the time. This was pretty impressive given that I worked right up until the deadline on my essays, when I’m sure he was busy with other clients.

Obviously, using a consultant is no guarantee of admission, particularly at top schools. Adam and I spent a lot of time working on my Wharton application, but I still got dinged. I won’t ever know for sure if using Adam’s services “made the difference” for my admits to Booth, Kellogg and Columbia, but I do think that he helped improve the quality of my applications, and that made engaging him well worth it.
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Do you have more info on EssayCom? I couldn't find any other info on this site and want to hear more. Thanks!

Hi richmba,
Did you buy the comprehensive package, or did you use her services on a hourly basis? I am thinking of hiring her for my application.

Has anybody used the B-school admissions counselling services offered by Stratusprep? (Shawn O'Connor, Vani Krishnamurthy, Samantha Merton, Vanessa Gil). please share your feedback/experience working with them?

Thank you for your reply Gryphon. I am getting curious because they claim highest success rate at top business schools.

Following up on my earlier promise to check out Alex and Sandy... They were pretty much as expected.

Alex was down-to-earth and realistic about what value a consultant could add (mostly reassurance, in my particular case). He did try to push me a little toward a more "comprehensive" service, but it was mostly a soft-sell and he offered a less expensive alternative as well.

Sandy recommended a more "insider" approach, but that ultimately didn't quite work out (not his fault, but it's always a gamble with these things). He did tell me he was "impressed" with my story, which was reassuring.

I found it interesting that Sandy was willing to provide more concrete advice for free - in exchange for information, it seems - while Alex was a little more coy about giving advice without my signing up for a paid service.

In the end, I've decided not to use a consultant and go it alone. The most useful advice I received was from a coworker who had applied to Stanford (and had a Stanford GSB board member write his rec - a personal, thoughtful one too!) but was waitlisted then dinged.

[clarification: yes, I'm referring to Alex Chu]