Maestro119 wrote:
I just wanted to add my opinions on hiring a consultant and paying several thousand $$ for the service. The following opinions are based on my previous experience with consultants (yes, plural because I used them for my law school app and other school app purposes).
I think the value of hiring a consultant varies with each individual. By no means, consultants are miracle workers. I personally think some of the consultants are editors or writers who charge a significant price for editing your school essays and short answers on the application. Also, I believe using a consultant can even hurt your chances of being accepted at a school of your choice. For instance, what may seem like a minor edits on your application or your essays may end up being a significant one, turning your application into something that was not completed by you and AdCom notices this "issue."
Not sure whether a lot of these consultants out there have some "secret knowledge" of getting accepted to a school of your choice, but I find a lot of useful information and reference materials from sources like GMAT Club and other MBA forums. After reading some MBA application guide books and doing some researches on schools of my choice, I actually had free consultation sessions with those popular MBA consultants. Based on my discussions with them, some of them seemed clueless (i.e. some basic information about HBS, Wharton, etc.).
If you're going to hire a consultant, then I would like to suggest you
1) do your research on each consultant and see if a consultant who you may be working with is the right "fit" for you. A consultant who truly understands your situation and your position when it comes to applying to your school of choices.
2) make sure the consultant you're going to be working with has a proven track record of producing results. A consulting firm, in general, may have a great track record of getting "borderline" applicants into some top business schools, that characteristics may not apply to EVERY consultants employed by that consulting firm - a characteristic of a whole is not indicative of its parts.
3) once you do start working with a consultant, like others have suggested, work as early as you can. A consultant may have other clients who want as much attention as you do. As you approach an application deadline, you may end up getting little to no attention from your consultant (he/she may act like giving you what you paid for, but your consultant may not perform at his/her full potential). Imagine ten applicants with four to five essays each, pestering a consultant to go over the materials in two or three days prior to the deadline.
I agree completely.
I had free consultations with many of the top consultants, and took the opportunity to grill them on (1) basic facts about the schools I was interested in, to verify they actually know about the b-sch application process; and (2) constructive, specific feedback on my app to check if they would actually be helpful.
I was very structured in using my consultant, setting clear time lines so he'd know when to expect my essays. Ultimately, it's up to you to drive the process. Your consultant is incentivized to work with you as little as possible if you've paid upfront!