Has anyone used MBA Ivy League for admissions consulting?

I hired Jillian for the 3-school package ($2,000) without doing much due diligence as I was quite frenetic approaching Round 2 deadlines. This was definitely the most expensive ripoff/scam of my life and made my application process extremely stressful.

For her credentials, she is a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School and has never interviewed for Harvard admissions for both undergrad and graduate school. The Divinity School doesn't have an interview component and she would never tell me what she interviewed for, nor provide any references. Overall, she never provided references for anything including clients, so I'm wondering if I'm the only victim. I called Harvard to verify all of this so you can cross reference that way. I even paid $33 to check on the degree because I thought she lied about that too. All I can find of her professional experience is that she was a west coast installation artist in 2012.

In her resume review for me, she literally changed one word and told me to add numbers.

For general strategy, she basically advised me that I would get in because I worked at a bulge-bracket firm and told me to write about professional accomplishments in all the essays. As one of my schools was Haas, literally every student I spoke to advised against this. Her rebuttal was to not solicit advice from others as this was 'too many cooks in the kitchen' but most schools really do advise you speak to their alumni! For anyone applying to Berkeley or other schools, the general advice is to demonstrate how you live the school's mission/defining principles. I would have expected a top school consultant to know this.

She never knew my role at my firm so when she edited my essays, she added that my firm relocated me from NYC to London (which wasn't the narrative at all). So even on the limited places she actually did work, they were wrong because she never bothered to understand my role. To this day, she doesn't know my GMAT score or what I do at work. I always expected an MBA consultant to look for the strongest areas in your professional life and craft areas around them, then address weaknesses. We never talked about any of this so it was basically expensive copy editing.

We only did essays for two schools because I didn't think paying someone $2k to change one word in my resume and insert inaccurate facts into my essays were worthwhile but she refused a partial or full refund.

We had a dispute about the interviewing, I wasn't really interested in more "advice" rather than actual practice. Then once I looked up all her background, I felt she would be an unqualified interviewer given her credentials and lack of knowledge about my industry/experience, so asked for a refund which she refused because she "blocked out time" for me. If I had so much time reserved for me, I have no idea why email replies for all of this took so long.

I lost the dispute with Paypal so since then, I haven't used Paypal or any consulting services. I would definitely stay away from Jillian for consulting or if you actually get references from her, please send it to me! Also, a heads up that if you pay Paypal from your bank account balance, there is no protection from Bank of America (they consider it ACH) and you're at the mercy of Paypal who sides with the vendor. Their customer service wait time was 2 hours and they didn't let me upload documents. It's worth paying the $50 or whatever for putting it on your credit card just in case.

I ended up doing the apps myself anyway so here are some resources that were more helpful:
-current students (I found organizations I wanted to join at the schools and asked members about their experience, this was extremely helpful)
-MBAs at your company (I'm interested in PM and emailed MDs I never thought would answer me, and they are still involved in my app process)
-Poets&Quants articles, ClearAdmit LiveWire, GMATClub, general googling interviews from admissions officers for high level strategies

The most important lesson is that if you do end up using a consultant, definitely get their references, write up a contract for expected services (she refused to mock interview me, just "give advice"), delivery times (she always answered days later and was always sick), and make sure they have a clear understand of your industry, the school's needs, your role, and your future goals beyond just getting in so you can articulate a strong story. I still want my 2k back..

When I started the MBA application process, I realized right away that I wanted some assistance. After some research and a few phone calls to different consultants, I selected MBA Ivy League. To begin, MBA Ivy League was a substantially better bargain than the other companies. Beyond that, she called me back (this in itself was actually rare -- none of the other consultants called me back in a timely manner, if they returned my call at all) and listened carefully to my story (and asked for further details she needed), discussed strategies, programs, etc. From there we delved into the application, first with my resume, and then with the essays. It was a great process in that the essays never deviated from my actual ideas and basic write-up, but was edited and tweaked to better get the point across and make it more effective and targeted; not to mention, it was all done incredibly quickly and efficiently. I could definitely see how much stronger the essays were after our exchanges, and I was able to submit my applications with confidence. When the time came, we prepped for the interviews, and I felt ready going in. It all worked, I'm in. In your search for a consultant, definitely give her a call. I'm glad I selected MBA Ivy League.

If anyone would like any of my marked up materials- resume (with the one-word edit), essays, or anything else, please feel free to PM me. It has a clear audit trail obviously and can be a useful work sample.

I was never given the opportunity to upload any written materials so I can't confirm or deny the materials review. Everytime I tried to call them to provide those exact materials, Paypal had a 3-4 hour wait which I couldn't really manage during a workday and MBA apps. To be clear, she did perform services- they were just very poor quality which is why I wanted a refund. Am happy to share if this can help others.

I don't have anything against Jillian and don't care to defame anybody, I just expect some quality of service for $2,000 and a fair refund if we terminate because the quality is sub-par. This is the risk of contracting I wasn't aware of.

Also, if you do use any contractor services, I would recommend paying the extra fees for CC funding because bank account has poor purchase protection.

When I decided to pursue an MBA, I felt disadvantaged by the process. I came from a non-targeted school, had decent credentials, but lousy test scores. What annoyed me the most, was every consultant I spoke with promised "insight" and a "leg up" on the admission process. I interviewed about four different firms (not including my GMAT tutor who also promised the same).

Eventually I decided to hire Jillian for a one school package. My goal was to attend Columbia.

I'm not going to tell you hiring any consultant is a free ticket to your MBA program of choice and if you approach it that way, you are likely to walk away with an vendetta similar to the negative rating on this page.

All I can share you is what Jillian did for me during our contract. It's straightforward, and importantly (as you'll see) filled an important void in my decision making progress.


We began our initial discussions in early Sept. During that time she reviewed my resume, we discussed goals and which programs made sense given my needs/abilities. In the following weeks, I brainstormed essay topics, we discussed them, and I eventually penned three drafts. Between late Sept and early Nov, Jillian and I exchanged three rewrites until we were both satisfied with the product.

Now during this time, my progress ran into a snag: my GMAT stunk. I was panicked and seriously thought about cutting my losses. Jillian though suggested I take the GRE instead, given the areas on the GMAT where I was deficient. Clearly something I would have never considered.

Once my application was in and scores submitted, Columbia invited me for an interview. Jillian and I hosted an hour call to discuss likely questions and topics I should prepare for.

After 73 emails, four calls and a lot of handholding, I was accepted into the Columbia 2018 class.

I get why there are a lot of false profits out there and predatory promising. I also completely understand how frustrating this process is, esp given the cost.

Jillian was effective.

If you are in a similar situation to me, you owe it to yourself to at least interview her.

The college application process is a well documented hodge-podge of stress, suffering, and waiting, with bated breath, for inevitable disappointment. Such negative feelings are only magnified when the prospective high school student dreams of acceptance into colleges of high prestige in the United States, whether they be the Ivies, Stanford, or some other college with slowly dwindling acceptance rate, like a Northwestern or University of Chicago. Though I myself was lucky enough to gain acceptance into my top choice school with Jillian’s help, I also saw with my own eyes the weighted disappointment of my friends when they read over rejection or deferral letters from schools ruthless in their pursual of an ever more selective admissions process.
Therefore, bitterness is to be expected in the face of denial. It is all too easy to blame others, blame anything else when faced with it. By the same coin, success breeds positivity, and perhaps the willingness to overlook certain flaws.
Additionally, one must be cognizant of the fact that there such an overwhelming desire (speaking strictly of the high-school to college process), to get into these prestigious schools that an entire industry has grown up around it, spouting encyclopedias of contrasting advice and offering successful college application essays and the like, claiming to hold the secrets to claiming college acceptance...
The truth is Jillian’s services, in my case at least, only cover one facet of the application process. Though this one facet is of the utmost importance, as essays give the advisers unique personal insight into your frame of mind, they will not cover gaping holes in other areas, such as GPA or extracurricular activities. She cannot magically grant you acceptance into top schools. She does not hold the secret to acceptance because the harsh truth is that there is no secret, only a conflux of factors, and a good helping of luck, will grant you a beneficial result.
But, she is effective, professional, and timely in the work she does for her clients. College application is a stressful time for high school students, one that screams out for endless procrastination, but her deadlines helped me stay on task despite the overwhelming urge to put off the work for later. Every essay or short answer prompt response that I sent to her was returned promptly, with edits and comments scrawled across the words, with her longer thoughts spelled out at the bottom of every paper. Jillian will not pull punches with you, either. If she believes an essay has no potential, she will advise that you scrap the entire work, and start afresh. Though we at times disagreed, as in the subject matter of my Common Application essay, such friction is to be expected in any client to employer relationship. Additionally, because of her credentials, I felt secure in taking any advice she had to offer, when I at times thought I was drowning beneath the suggestions of so many others. But, above all, I feel her greatest benefit was imposing a structure upon a chaotic and unnerving time in the life of a wayward teenager.
If you believe that the results speak for themselves, then, with my case as proof, you should hire her. There is no sugarcoating the cost, but she helped a student with high (3.8 unweighted, 2290 SATS), but not stellar GPA, and standardized test scores, gain entry to Stanford University, one of the most selective universities in the world, when none from his school had ever been taken before.

I recognize this is an older post but felt the need to provide my experience with Jillian so others can avoid the issues I have encountered. I hired Jillian after an initial phone conversation to discuss my application progress for executive MBA programs. I was looking to work with someone that could provide feedback namely on resume and essays. I did not need help deciding what school to apply to as I had done my research and I only intended to apply to one school. I was clear on the deadline for that school. I was also clear on my expectations in that she would be available for phone calls as needed to discuss my application and would provide comments on my resume/essays as required. I was thoroughly underwhelmed by the little work that she did. Her comments on my resume were limited to formatting (literally what font to use and placement of locations I've worked). The few comments I received on one of the two essays I submitted (she simply ignored the second), after days of chasing, were minimal and demonstrated she did not really understand what the school I was applying to (which she claimed to have experience with) was actually looking for despite my efforts to educate her on this point. I had to send multiple follow-ups and she either took days to respond or simply has ignored me.

I have filed a dispute to get back my fee. I cannot say that she treats all of her clients like this but there are plenty of advisers out there and this certainly felt like a scam. She did not deliver the services she claimed to be able to provide and was very unprofessional. A massive waste of time and money.

I have never contracted a consultant, nor do I know much about their services, but just lurking around these forums ?.

The three 'positive' experiences posted after the initial complaint were all posted written by 1-post users and within a relatively short time span. I would consider the language they use to be far from colloquial, too. Not trying to stir the pot, but they seem like fake reviews to me.

Posted from my mobile device

It would probably be the best idea to check here!
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The above is simply untrue and concocted information, from a woman who filed both a Paypal and chargeback claim against me and lost. I am happy to provide proof of my Harvard University credentials to anyone who asks. Paypal ruled 100% in my MBA admission firm's favor, after being presented with all evidence from the work I did with this woman. Paypal does not take claims lightly, and found this woman was fraudulently trying to secure a refund and vindictively damage my reputation, after they examined all materials, including her MBA essays, resume, emails, phone log and the paper trail of our uploaded communication, and ruled 100% in my company's favor.

We continue to be one of the top-rated MBA & EMBA admissions firms in the U.S.