I used mbamission last year's application cycle. Although I do not fully blame the consultant for the poor result, one aspect I felt missing was the insider tip into the essay (what bschool adcom's are really looking for). The consultant focused too heavily on creating a polished essay instead of hearing my experiences and picking out what stories would be better suited.

This time around, I was lucky to work in an office full of mba grads. The general consensus was "this is very well written but schools wouldn't care..."

In retrospect, I should have reached out to my network at first, gain feedback on topics, then perhaps hire a writer to help me nail the structure of the essay. Overall, it would be much cheaper and probably more successful.

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I'll be honest, I wasn't particularly pleased with my experience with MBAapply (Alex). I know you don't have him up there but I thought I'd mention it anyway. He is a cool dude and had some good advices along the way but I just didn't feel like I got my money's worth.

My main gripe is that he wasn't proactive. He essentially made himself a resource, but I didn't feel that he was actively engaged in helping me figure out how to work through the process.

I guess I sort of expected someone to jump in and guide me through, and help me stay organized. It wasn't quite like that. After I paid him I expected him to lay out a plan or a timeline, or at least suggest how we begin, but I didn't hear anything from him until I reached out to ask how we should get started. At that point he suggested we begin with my resume, and he sent over some templates and tips. Once the resume was finished, I again had to ask what next, and we moved onto the essays. My gripe here is that he didn't really help me form my story, he just acted more as an editor, correcting grammar, rewording a few things and the likes. Later, the topic of LOR's only came up when I specifically asked for suggestions on them. Anyway, it went on like that.

He helped me with some apps for rd 1, and since submitting I haven't heard anything from him. I didn't even bother to tell him that I was dinged by all but my safety school (I was a shoe in anyway), and he never followed up to ask.

There are positives too, he was a good editor, he helped refine my essays and they turned out cleaner than they likely would have otherwise. He was also quick to respond to my e-mails - generally a day or two max. The tips, templates, and suggestions that he would send me we're usually interesting, funny, and had good info. Anyone who has read his stuff here knows he is a good writer and gives good advice.

My point is that for the thousands I paid, I pictured working with somebody who was personally involved and actively interested in getting me into b-school. What I got was somebody who acted as a sounding board, and an editor. Who knows, maybe it's my own fault for assuming that's how it would be.