"Best" admission consulting companies? : The B-School Applications

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bagdbmba

Retired Moderator

Joined: 27 Aug 2012

Posts: 1015

"Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

Updated on: 08 May 2018, 13:01

6

Kudos

19

Bookmarks

See REAL & VERIFIED Reviews, by GMAT Club Members:
Reviews submitted to GMAT Club's Review Section require GMAT test report and/or school email addresses for validation. This is the highest review validation in the industry to ensure you're seeing credible information. The posts on the forum below don't require any validation; so we encourage you to view the GMAT Club's Review Section.

Best Admissions Consulting Companies - reviews and opinions by real GMAT Club Members.

:arrow: THIS DISCUSSION IS LOCKED. PLEASE SEE HERE 2014 DISCUSSION

We welcome any feedback from the members including constructive criticism/suggestions for improvement as well as positive comments. Take both positive and negative comments with a grain of salt. Please also read:

Reviews by Company

Accepted.com

Positive experience with Natalie

All Reviews

Admissionado (formerly Precision Essay)

All Reviews

Amerasia

All Reviews

Aringo

All Reviews

Clear Admit
MBA Admit

All Reviews

MBA Apply

Positive by Insead (Singapore) admit

MBA Exchange

Initial Feedback (not a client)

mbaMission

All Reviews

MBA Prep School

All Reviews

myEssayReview

All Reviews

Prep MBA

All Reviews

Sandy (HBS Guru)

Stacy Blackman

All Reviews

Veritas Prep

All Reviews

Multiple Consultant Reviews

Amerasia vs MBA Apply vs Sandy
MBA Mission vs Stacy Blackman
Amerasia vs MBA Mission - initial consultation impression
Precision Essay vs Amerasia and a reply to that review

Suggestions for your posts:

1. Search for existing discussions before asking; you questions may have been answered a few times already
2. If you are posting a review/feedback, please post it in the format of (pros/cons/bottom line) or something along those lines
3. If you have used a consultant, please answer these 2 questions:

What elements should one consider when selecting and Admissions Consultnat
What worked for you and what did not?

Rules:

Having watched this thread over the last year, I would like to add some rules, which in reality is really just one rule:
1. Please do not rant!
2. Please be constructive whether you praise or you criticize and build your case - this will help others make better decisions and do a better research
3. Please put your rating on the performance of the consultant (out of 5)
4. Please indicate if you have actually used a consultant for your applications or you have only gone through an initial consultation or if you have had no contact at all

P.S. If you have any challenges with admissions consultants represented on the GMAT Club: Amerasia, Admissionado, Stacy Blackman, mbaMission, Accepted.com, Veritas Prep, Stratus Prep, Manhattan Review, MBA Prep School, MBA Admit, Aringo, myEssayReview, or Prep MBA please do let me know - we try to partner with the best and I will be happy to help resolve any miscommunication or disagreement that may have come up.

Originally posted by bagdbmba on 19 Apr 2010, 10:40.
Last edited by kirstik on 08 May 2018, 13:01, edited 77 times in total.

Updated

Class2012

Current Student

Joined: 18 Jun 2009

Posts: 367

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

20 Apr 2010, 04:24

Check out editavenue.com.They are affordable.Both MBAExchange and MBA Mission are good but costly.Heard good things about Alex@mbaapply.com

rao

Senior Manager

Joined: 20 Sep 2006

Posts: 477

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

20 Apr 2010, 05:16

Class2012 wrote:

Heard good things about Alex@mbaapply.com

yeah but I think one major problem is time. He has too many clients and you end up in compromising the quality of your essay.

AlexMBAApply

MBA Admissions Consultant

Joined: 26 Dec 2008

Posts: 2457

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

20 Apr 2010, 10:00

4

Kudos

rao wrote:

Class2012 wrote:

Heard good things about Alex@mbaapply.com

yeah but I think one major problem is time. He has too many clients and you end up in compromising the quality of your essay.

Rao,

I don't have so many clients to know that you weren't a client of mine. I only know of one client who applied to Tepper, but he had a different GMAT score than you and was a repeat client.

I usually get back to clients with thorough feedback within 24-48 hours, and if it will take longer (which happens once in a while - but no more than 72 hours at most), I let them know in advance. And the feedback is thorough - perhaps a bit too thorough and blunt, which can be hard for some people.

Again, some people don't like my feedback - they may not agree with it, or they may not like to hear it (I can be blunt), so I understand if that can turn into resentment towards me.

You have no idea how many clients I have, nor are you in a position to judge my workload.

If you don't agree with my advice or opinions - say so. But to make unfounded statements about how I do business is unfair and insulting - as every year I turn away potential clients well before I've reached capacity. And even more - I've convinced potential clients NOT to apply at all if its in their best interest. Yes, I run a business as I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my own heart, but I run a "consulting firm" and not a "sales organization" if you know what I mean.

Good luck at Tepper.

milias

Current Student

Joined: 26 May 2009

Posts: 685

Schools:Ross 2012

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

20 Apr 2010, 10:38

1

Bookmarks

I have not used Alex's services, but based on my interaction with him on BW forums, he's pretty solid. As for bluntness, I know of one other consultant person on BW forums who's far more blunt, although people seem to appreciate his bluntness.

prakashNW

Intern

Joined: 21 Apr 2010

Posts: 1

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

21 Apr 2010, 11:48

rao wrote:

Class2012 wrote:

Heard good things about Alex@mbaapplycom

yeah but I think one major problem is time. He has too many clients and you end up in compromising the quality of your essay.

I have been a long time lurker on this form and today i thought I should contribute sth back.. esp if it helps clarify any doubts.

Rao - I dont know where you got your feedback or if you have ever used Alex's service on not. But I used Alex for one of my target school. He is Terrific!!! He knows what he is doing. He helped me come up with some great essays. I was running out of time so I only used him for one school and I wish I could have used him for more schools.

shaselai - The question that you have posted is very generic ... if you do some search on this form you will find some great threads that talk about these services. I have only used Alex so if you want a detailed feedback I would be happy to give you one .. feel free to pm me.

sd338

Intern

Joined: 09 May 2009

Posts: 19

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

22 Apr 2010, 14:32

1

Kudos

I have experience with Sandy and ClearAdmit. If any of you need feedback on my experiences, please contact me directly. You can see my profile on some of my other posts.
I'm done with my B-school journey and would love to help other potentials.

nobodyimportant

Intern

Joined: 23 Apr 2010

Posts: 1

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

23 Apr 2010, 07:02

1

Kudos

AlexMBAApply does great work and Alex is a funny dude (Check out the stuff in his sub-forum, I guarantee you will not only become a better MBA applicant by reading it but also at least have a few laughters). Yes he is very blunt and he basically told me my app material was a big pile of crap but I read over his criticisms and used it to really figure out what exact I needed to do. You asked for opinions and if you don't like what you are going to hear then why ask in the first place? I only used him for his hourly services but that was all I needed based on my circumstances.

Precisionessay also does great work. Jon and Raj are 2 of nicest and smartest professionals I have come across. They can work over your entire set of essays for one school in a very efficient (both time and money wise) way. Depend on whether you need just a couple passes on your essays or you need some really intense brain-stormings for your essays, I guarantee they will find a way to work with you. They even threw in some great insights on interviews when I informed them of my upcoming invites.

abysince1984

Intern

Joined: 07 Mar 2010

Posts: 2

Location: India

Schools:Harvard, Kellogg, INSEAD, Ross, Fuqua, Mccombs, Anderson

WE 1: 5 years at Matriculation - Entrepreneurial

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

30 Apr 2010, 09:07

1

Kudos

I have worked with Sameer of MBACrystalBall dot com. If one is at the beginning of his/her MBA journey, then the MBA Crystal Ball report is really cool cost effective tool to build a basic framework of the plan. Sameer is very clinical and prompt. My relationship with Sameer just did not stop after he sent the report to me. We have been in touch very regularly. I ve got more than my money's worth. An MBA from one of the leading institutions in the world, Sameer is a been-there-done-that kinda guy who can give you a really good perspective and analysis . And I can say one thing for sure, this guy is passionate about what he does. I hope our relationship grows onto become more than just a client-consultant's. Cheers !!!

transatlantiker

Intern

Joined: 29 Jan 2007

Posts: 15

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

02 May 2010, 18:01

Has anyone of you worked with Alex, MBA Exchange, ClearAdmit or MBA Mission and could give me some feedback (via PM if you don't want to post here)?

My background is IB and I'm targetting some of the Top 10 schools (R1). Have already done quite a lot of work on my own but want to maximise my chances of getting into a top program.

Thanks a lot.

HankScorpio

Current Student

Joined: 05 Apr 2010

Posts: 99

Schools:<strong>INSEAD (Starting Jan 2011)</strong>

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

Updated on: 09 Nov 2010, 20:12

2

Kudos

transatlantiker wrote:

Has anyone of you worked with Alex, MBA Exchange, ClearAdmit or MBA Mission and could give me some feedback (via PM if you don't want to post here)?

My background is IB and I'm targetting some of the Top 10 schools (R1). Have already done quite a lot of work on my own but want to maximise my chances of getting into a top program.

Thanks a lot.

As I didn't have someone with top b-school experience to have review my essays, I hired Alex to be my essay reviewer. His turnaround time and commentary have been exemplary. I have interviews currently lined up with INSEAD, which was the only school I applied to. But I know that based on what I had written previously, I wouldn't have made it this far. He had to snap me out of a rut and he was good at that and knew exactly what the school was looking for and how I fit in to their profile. One thing on top of that was, aside from grammar and structure, the writing was entirely mine. All my ideas and thoughts - which are extremely key when it comes to the interview later because they need to be a coherent story. He had to jolt me a few times and there were several painful wholesale rewrites, but they were very important in developing my story, and he coached me through the whole process. Good luck with your applications!

Originally posted by HankScorpio on 03 May 2010, 16:13.
Last edited by HankScorpio on 09 Nov 2010, 20:12, edited 1 time in total.

JoeB

Intern

Joined: 29 Mar 2010

Posts: 19

Location: Boston Area

Schools:Wharton $$$, MIT , Booth $$, Duke $$

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

04 May 2010, 12:50

What about taking a writing class in a community college? I would take a one term writing class and make my Business School essays to be my final project. A community college class can go for 500 to 1000 dollars, but hopefully you will come out knowing how to fish.

transatlantiker

Intern

Joined: 29 Jan 2007

Posts: 15

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

04 May 2010, 12:57

1

Kudos

Spoke to Dan an MBA Exchange today and definitely had a good first impression. Obviously, any consultant will tell you what you want to hear in that situation but their resources sound impressive and I got a better impression from speaking to him than from initial conversations with some of the other big consulting firms.

ngbrian85

Intern

Joined: 08 Apr 2010

Posts: 2

Location: United States

Concentration: General Management

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

13 May 2010, 06:34

1

Kudos

Spoke with Paul Lanzillotti from Amerasia Consulting. He did a complimentary 1 hour assessment on my profile. Our conversation was recorded and he sent it via e-mail as an mp3 file. I was very happy with this. Paul also sent me a bunch of documents and a to-do list to read over prior to doing the GMAT and applying to B-schools. From our initial conversation, Paul is easy to work with, and puts a lot of time in each of his clients. Each e-mail he sends is tailored to my needs, extremely detailed and easy to follow. I look forward to working with Paul after I finish the GMAT next year!

wolver123456

Intern

Joined: 29 Apr 2010

Posts: 5

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

18 May 2010, 07:43

I had a 1-hour complimentary review with Paul Lanzilotti as well. He is great - allayed my fears about MBA applications, specifically concerning reapplications. More importantly, he is very knowledgeable about the process, very methodical in his approach (he even sent me MBA related essays, documents, readings, etc tailored to my situation and needs!) and friendly on the phone. I have no doubt that he would be a great resource for any potential MBA applicant.

krzysztof

Intern

Joined: 25 Jan 2010

Posts: 8

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

24 May 2010, 07:09

1

Kudos

Does anyone know something about the quality of Manhattan Review admission consulting services? They have a pretty competitive prices ($1900 for one school). Also, please do let me know if someone worked with Tom Kania and what was your impression.

B

PaulLanzillotti

MBA Admissions Consultant

Joined: 25 Jan 2010

Status:Admissions Expert

Affiliations: Founder, Amerasia Consulting Group

Posts: 1081

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

26 May 2010, 00:41

Expert Reply

Thanks Brian and "Wolver." I appreciate the kind comments.

The approach I take is to get on the phone with any prospective clients to give them a lay of the application process. Each consultation takes about an hour and afterwards, I email both a recorded mp3 of our call and 6 to 8 documents describing the varying parts of the application process as well as prior examples of my work.

I believe that this approach allows the client to make an informed decision on not only what firm to choose but also whether or not they even need a consultant.

Again, if anyone is looking for services, I encourage them to PM me to set up a one-hour conversation around their candidacy.

Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti
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zisis

Manager

Joined: 16 Feb 2010

Posts: 122

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

03 Jun 2010, 15:01

obv there some good consultants out there but for a weird reason I am a face to face fan.....

as i m currently based in london, any recommendations?

B

PaulLanzillotti

MBA Admissions Consultant

Joined: 25 Jan 2010

Status:Admissions Expert

Affiliations: Founder, Amerasia Consulting Group

Posts: 1081

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

06 Jun 2010, 12:56

1

Kudos

Expert Reply

Hi zisis:
To be honest, the incremental benefit gained from being face-to-face usually does not outweigh the benefits gained from finding the right fit with a consultanat - whether in London or Los Angeles.

Most the work is going to be conducted over the phone and email because it needs to be done this way. Editing is a tracking process and revisions need to be handled on an incremental basis where hand-offs and changes need to documented to maximize efficiency.

For example, I have had several clients meet me face to face in LA. After the first few sessions, they realize it is not a beneficial as they expected. I like to record my sessions via phone and they miss that. Additionally, I like to pull up information on schools via the web and that is often missing, if we meet at the client site. Additionally, when documenting notes during our call, I open up my laptop and edit, but most who meet in person seem to want to review print outs and physically highlight with a magic marker. While it is the client's preference, it is old school and slows the process down. This is why most elect to abandon the face-to-face, after a few sessions.

I hope this helps shed some light on the situation.

Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti

zisis wrote:

obv there some good consultants out there but for a weird reason I am a face to face fan.....

as i m currently based in london, any recommendations?

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pinktyke

Intern

Joined: 20 Aug 2009

Posts: 4

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

02 Jul 2010, 17:45

Hi everyone,

I am interested in hearing more about Amerasia Consulting from applicants who used their services. They seem to care much about their work, and are willing to invest an hour with potential clients. It would be helpful to get the perspective of those who actually subscribed to their services.

Thanks!

gmatclubot

Re: "Best" admission consulting companies? [#permalink]

02 Jul 2010, 17:45

"Best" admission consulting companies?

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