I had my essays reviewed.

Positives first:
+ Quick turnaround. Usually 24 hours.

Not positives:
- Correcter's corrections were just so so. They provided some good comments but overall just mediocre. I expected something much more for the 700 or so dollars that I paid. Also the correcting person missed some obvious errors. I caught them after the final review. Because I did not feel comfortable with their corrections I worked with another consultant afterwards.
- The correcting person does not hold an MBA

Verdict:
- If you are short on time and have no other choice I recommend working with them as it is quick and easy. However, I think it is better to work with someone who holds an MBA degree and is a good writer.

I first knew about Admissionado (precision essay formerly) when I submitted a candidacy assessment on the beatthegmat forums almost a year ago. Jon's response was candid and honest. Others gave me gibberish consulting jargon (which I am full aware of as I am a consultant myself) or basically told me I got no realistic shot at my target school. I was not buying it.

I believed I got the qualifications for the schools I was targeting and I could get in them. But, I decided to enlist an admission consultant's help because:
1) I have an atypical experience/background (I like to think!) for the programs I was targeting.
2) I had way to much work on my plate that I knew I would push the admissions essays to the last minute.
3) I knew the program I wanted to get into, and I wanted to do everything that I could do to make that happen. Go big or go home.

I wanted the admission consultants will help get the best of out of my background into a strong application, push me to get the work done early, and, well, give me strong guidance through out the process.

Admissionado was the first that I talked to. Though, to ensure I have the right man for the job, I talked to 2-3 of the bigger-names admission consulting firms but they all seemed inflexible to me, or even discouraged my chances for the schools I want to apply to. I didn't feel comfortable with any of them. I was about to spend a lot of money from my savings to work with someone over few months, I wanted to make sure I feel comfortable with them.

Through the initial conversations, despite the over-use of the word 'dudes' or may be because of it, Admissionado really seemed flexible, understanding, and, well, real people. Furthermore, they gave me a good deal in understanding of my situation; I had recently taken a 70% pay-cut when I moved abroad to work with a start-up.

Then, I started working with Dave Harelick who, as his profile describes him, ".. oozes MIT…" and he truly does.

They start with a general detailed assessment or questionnaire. When I first looked at the initial profile questionnaire I was a skeptic. I didn't understand why I needed to do that, but I did it. After a phone discussion with Dave about them, he helped me by drafting an "action plan." Basically, the essentials of my story. And, it was then clear why I needed that. It simply helped me clear out my vision and story; throw away the garbage, the clutter, and the unnecessary. Now, that I am preparing for the interviews, that action plan is a gold-mine.

We then talked about my list of schools. I knew my top school - but honestly had no clear idea about other programs. Beyond my top choice, they all seemed the same more or less. So - he helped me shuffle through my list and helped me eliminate many schools that I was considering for the wrong reasons or were definitely not aligned w/ my goals. (examples of not convincing reasons: INSEAD: "well, it is nice to live in France for a while." Harvard: "well - I gotta apply to Harvard. Gotta give it a shot!")

And, then the drafting begun. I soon realized that .. nope, this process is not saving me time. I was working waayyy too much on this. But Dave's feedback was warranted - I could see the significant improvement of the essays. So, yes, I worked on the essays A LOT. As you can read in other reviews, the feedback you get is not simply "this is not good." Dave really gave me detailed (and sometimes lengthy) feedback about the story. And, he was honest and clear about it (but not rude!). If it was too corny, he would say so. If he thought it is not strong, he would say so. Not only that, he will exactly, and in details, tell you what you need to do with it to take it to the next step. Also, you would hear him say "SHOW ME" and don't "tell me" so many times, you would think he's directing a play. But, really it works. Adcoms read hundreds if not thousands of self-praising applications - only if you show them how this self praise is warranted does your application stand out.

Now I can say that the content is all mine. Yes, the essays have been fleshed out, edited, chopped up, put-together, and re-written several times. But, they are mine, and they are pretty epic (if I may say!)

And here is my biggest advice to any person working through this process: you have to work hard to convey your story - at least to your consultant. Your consultant does not know your life, was not there when the story took place. If you feel he's not getting your story - then email him about it in layman words. If that is not working, call him up. And, with Dave, or Admissionado, this is simple - they are responsive and all ears. They just need to really understand what the story is, and then they can help you phrase it and write it.

I have not gotten any admits, yet. But I have just received my interview invitation at the LGO program at MIT. For y'all out there who're thinking about Sloan or the LGO, you would understand that getting the interview for Sloan and/or the LGO is them asking you to come out and seal the deal - getting the interview is more than half the battle. Consultants are a rare breed at the LGO program. Nonetheless, I have 4 years of pure consulting. In-fact, I went from tech consulting to strategy/management consulting over the last year. Further more, I realized that I had a missing period and a missing word that I inflicted on the essays in last minute changes after Dave's last polish, I still got the interview - which means my essays were strong enough that missing words and punctuations didn't matter (still- don't miss too much with your essay after a consultant worked on it!) Now that I am preparing for the interviews, I had a first call with Dave to give me general outlines about the interview process - and we have mock-up interview lined up this week.

I feel that the flexibility of Admissionado gives every candidate the ability to tailor the service to exactly what they need within the Deluxe package - but you have to also set the expectations right and talk to your consultant about what you are finding hardest to put together.

If you want to get in Sloan - you won't find any one more knowledgeable or helpful consultant than Dave. Despite the endless hours I spent online researching the school and the program, he always managed to send me a link or two about Sloan that left me thinking "well - this is awesome. how did I miss it?!" He's still very active within the Alum network and up-to-date on the happenings of Sloan. He's always responsive to his email, and has no problem getting on the phone on short notices (given it is reasonable requests!) Even more, he did go a couple of times beyond the 'four drafts' of the process to edit further revisions. Other consultants had told me that they won't put in more than a set amount of hours in the total process - and that included phone calls. Oh - one more thing - turn around was always very good and as promised.

Again, if your dream school is MIT and you are curious whether to enlist an admission consultant or not, I advice you to talk to Dave - you will immediately see clear the immense value that Dave will add to your application in any capacity you decide to work with him on the application.

And, if you are looking for an admission consultants to actually work with you rather than try to fit you in one of the molds they created, then talk to Admissionado - you will be happy.

I was lucky enough to work with Mark Lellouch at Admissionado. I spoke to over 10 different admission consulting services before I spoke to Mark (I was checking who was genuine) and after the initial 1 hr talk I knew that he was different.

From the 1st second he probed me on why I did what I did in my career and on why I chose certain career goals. He forced me to think of certain moments in my life that shaped who I am today and this really allowed me to realize what I truly wanted to do. My essays benefited from this and evolved over the time that I worked with him.

My resume was flawless (I never would have got it to this level without him). I applied to 3 top 5 schools and was interviewed at all 3.

When preparing for interviews he once again showed me the way and at this point I felt as though I was meeting a friend. He really is that good of a guy.

Marks dedication is superb- It almost seemed as though he was applying to the schools himself. He goes the extra mile and it is something that you will not get from most places. I know of people who paid what I paid and got half the level of commitment (from other consulting services). Mark was never late for an appointment and the turnaround time for every single part of my application was immediate (mostly 1 day - maximum 2 days).

If you are serious about getting into your dream school trust Admissionado and if you are lucky enough to get Mark you are in for a LIFE CHANGING experience.

They say - "It is the first step which is the most difficult one!"
After five straight dings from top B-schools and being doomed into the net of oversubscribed pool of Indian IT male aspirants, I was demotivated to the core and had absolutely no ideas of how to take that first step.

I was not only looking for support related to essay-editing process but also for the direction to come up with a strategy to differentiate myself in this competitive pool.

Right from the beginning, Mark helped me to come up with strategy to overcome this challenge. He scheduled initial brainstorming sessions constantly asking questions about whats/hows/whys of the different stories of my personal and professional life. After several iterations we came up with an action plan for tackling all the different types of essay questions. Mark's probing abilities to dig out different stories from both personal and professional facets proved instrumental during the strategy-building process.

Secondly, team admissionado really did a good job for me during school selection process. Their approach is ambitious yet realistic at the same time. This means that you are always concentrating your resources(time, money) on your top choice of schools while also concentrating on your some realistic targets.

Next came the essays!!!

My initial drafts were verbose and lacked details. From reducing word counts(almost 40-50%) to substantiate a particular thought with examples, Mark left no stone unturned during this entire process. The difference between my first draft and my final fourth draft of essays was incredible. I literally fell in love with my final version of essays.

Overall, the entire admission consulting was a great learning experience in itself. While I am still waiting to hear the final results from my schools, I feel that Mark and Team Admissionado did a terrific job in nailing down the curious case of this Indian IT re-applicant.

I would highly recommend future aspirants to check out the services of Team Admissionado.

Last year, I applied to only one school - M7 BSchool. I did not use any consultant then and managed to get an interview with school. However, I could not find a place in the program. After reading forums and talking to some MBA friends, I realized some mistakes in my application but even so, I was decently happy with my performance, considering I had no guidance except Paul Bodine's book.

This year, I took Admissionado's two bootcamp classes ($199 each or so) just before R1. After the two classes, I thought that I would apply to 1 school (ranked 8th-13th) myself and 4 schools (M7 schools) through Admissionado. And I jumped after they offered a 15% discount on the JrD package.

Over the next 2.5 months I worked with the consultant who an ex-M7 MBA. He was a really nice guy overall and very approachable.

At the end, I got into the school that I applied to myself and to none of the ones I applied through Admissionado. I reapplied to the M7 school I applied the year before, this time through Admissionado. Like last year, I got an interview call and (again) could not find a place in the program. I realize I might have deficiencies, so I'll try to restrict the review to the actual services provided and not just the outcome of my applications.

Positives
+ Biggest positive: That I could bounce off a story to someone without having to spend time writing and polishing it, only to have it rejected. Consultants are great for this (v/s using a busy friend or family member).
+ Consultant was nice and likable.
+ Quality of my apps improved.

Negatives
- Biggest negative: The consultant stuck to 72hr turnaround time clause of the contract. Initially, I had a lot of time so this didn't matter. However, during the crunch time of last 10 days or so before the submission deadline, I expected him to respond more quickly (meaning 36 hrs or less), especially for the smaller edits. Upon asking, he recommended that I pay more $$$ to 'expedite' my reviews. Now I know they are busy people, but it was still a ridiculous ask for something that would take him 10-15 mins to review. Not cool and definitely costed me in the quality of the app at the end.

- Sometimes the consultant would not be clear with what he wants me to change. You'd have to email a few times to get him to commit to the weakness in your essay.

- My expectation was that I would get ideas for great openings or closings for each essay. No such thing. I had to search for ideas there myself and he would just green/red flag them.

Overall:
I'm about 60% satisfied, hence the 3 stars. Since I did not have any MBA friends who had gone through the process and could review my essays, I chose to go with a consultant. If you don't have this handicap, I'd recommend tapping a current MBA student instead of spending money on a consultant.

I shopped around quite a bit and used Admissionado (formerly Precision Essay). I only applied to top 16 schools, and two admits later and one waitlist (including a full ride to Haas) I can vouch for Jon and his team 100%. I did start with ample time to work together and I think this definitely makes a difference - if you are rushing to finish when everybody else is crunching then the result is obvious no matter where you go. In the end, I did end up in a time crunch situation for a few schools, but the response time was amazing - a few times I chatted with Jon at 4AM in the heat of the app season, while stressing out about something in my application. I also talked to him on the phone when he was travelling overseas in china at some crazy local time.
The service isn't for everyone--they make you work HARD to bring out your story and your voice - there were times where I was thinking OH COME ON GUYS, another edit, wasn't that last one good enough? It's one of those processes where you get out what you put in it - no consultant can (nor should they) do all your writing and have a pre-packaged story ready for you. By the way, I haven't heard of half the consultants who post here--new ones seem to pop up every day. The only way to really tell what consultant is right for you is their track record, and to reach out to them and speak to them personally, get a sense of their response times, and see if you match with them personality wise. To me what set them apart was personalized responses that were specific to me, not some cookie cutter "your profile looks good, but theres areas we have to work on" generic email. Feel free to pm me or talk to the guys directly. If you do talk to Jon and his crew at Admissionado, I am sure you'll see how amazing they are.

i decided to check out admissions consultants late in the game for R1 - around the end of september. i really didn't think i would ever get a consultant since they're so expensive, but i was starting to panic with my essays as i was hitting a wall with them.

i contacted a few of the 1 person consultants, but they turned me down because it was so close to R1 deadlines, which definitely worried me. i got a free consultation from stacy blackman, which went ok. she gave me some good tips but i decided not to go with her cause i didn't really feel like we connected and i was a little worried about all the negative reviews of them online. also, i was really only looking for essay help. most consulting companies offer essay services "a la carte" which mainly entails spending an hour on the phone talking about 1 or 2 essays. i wanted to see the edits on paper and didn't want to pay someone by the hour.

once i realized that, i started to focus my search on essay editing companies (and with quick turnaround). most of these companies (including the services that SB offers) only edit for grammar while i wanted someone to edit my content and flow. i received a free essay edit from Admissionado (formerly Precision Essay) and found it very well done and even entertaining. i decided that night that i would get their services (based on their packages and turnaround). i ultimately got edits for 3 schools (2 edits for stanford and berkeley, 1 for kellogg), but used those essays for the other schools i applied to as well.

i found Admissionado to be really helpful and extremely fast in getting back my essays. having a consultant also gave me mini-deadlines which helped a lot. i got A LOT done in a very short time period. i had gone through so many revisions with friends and family (but none with bschool experience) with my essays before getting a consultant, but i ended up changing some of them drastically afterwards. Admissionado really knew how to help me structure my essays, how to better clarify and emphasize aspects, and how to focus them. also, they were always available to answer my questions. my essays really would not have reached the level they did without that help. well maybe if i had time to thoroughly go through those MBA application books, they would have, but i didn't start applying until late in the game.

in summary, if you're only looking for essay help on your apps and want to see your edits on paper and delivered quickly back to you, i would look into Admissionado (ask for a free essay edit or read their thread in the admissions consultants thread). their prices, although high, are worth it because you pay by the school and not by the word count or hour. i personally only really knew 1 person who was familiar with the business school process, so working with a consultant really helped me. as you can see by my profile, i got into 3 of the 6 schools i applied to round 1, including kellogg, one of my top choices and where i'll be going in the fall.

feel free to PM me with more info. i looked into several consulting companies before i settled on Admissionado, everyone from the big companies to the small, cheaper essay editing services.

I was extremely impressed by the professional way Admissionado (formerly Precision Essay) handled my requests and concerns. All the guys at Admissionado are extremely sincere and committed towards making my candidature stronger. I shopped around and must admit that Admissionado is by far the best out there. They are extremely fast in getting back to my responds and I really like their attitude.

I used Admissionado formerly for my essays and the mock interview and was quite late for the Round 2 deadline. Before Admissionado I thought I have some really god essays, but after Admissionado I had stunning essays :-). They are really quick and really helpful. When I think about it, I never had to wait for a reply more than half a day. Lauren, who is the director of Operations, is so quick in responding that I sometimes thought she would never sleep :-).

Moreover Richard, who helped with my essays and interview preparation, is really great. He helped me to transform my essays that highlighted my strengths in terms of my work experience and community service and downplayed my weaknesses. He was extremely personable and easy to work with. What I really value is how reliable and punctual he was and that speaks for the quality of Admissionado. Every time I had an appointment, it was right on time. This shows that they really care and want to help you.

I really appreciated to work with Admissionado and always will recommend their service to anyone who is looking for a strong and reliable consulting service. If I were to do it again, there is no doubt about Admissionado. I actually regret that I did not discover them earlier in the applications process.

The only regret that I have after my experience with Admissionado (formerly Precision Essay) is that I wish that I started working with them earlier in the process.

There are few things that I wanted as badly as admittance to an M7 bschool and originally I was hesitant to rely on anyone other than myself. I am still waiting for decisions, but am confident that Admissionado added tremendous value. They helped me shape my profile, crystallize my goals, and polish my essays. They made the process seamless and as absurd as it sounds, educational. I did a lot of soul-searching, was pushed to think critically and dig deeper, leading to a more genuine and “cleaner” app.

Here’s how we did it:

• They care: My “counselor”, Neel, has been more of a mentor to me than an essay reader. He is sympathetic, knowledgeable, and actually cares about my application. Our first call, which was supposed to be a half-hour info session, lasted closer to an hour. Throughout the whole process I felt as though he is working exclusively with me and that he is personally invested in my success.

• Strategic: We created a roadmap for my candidacy, stuck to it and saw it all the way through. The message that I wanted to convey to the AdCom resonates through all of the essays.

• Demanding: I wanted to craft meaningful, sincere and logical essays. With a constant stream of questions Neel helped me accomplish exactly that.

• Response time: I was traveling in Europe and Asia close to the deadlines; often with limited access to the internet. Quick turnaround wasn’t enough – I needed to receive responses at specific times. Neel could have simply got back to me whenever he pleased, but he did much more than that. He responded at specific times, often close to midnight his time, saving me days and enabling me to complete that extra draft.

• Perceptive + preserve your personality. Neel and the team at Admissionado understand people well. They know how to accentuate strengths and address weaknesses effectively. Pretty much everyone in the adcom consulting industry makes this claim, but these guys really get it done well and they do it while maintaining your ideas and your personal voice. I was concerned that my essays would be pushed through some consulting blackbox and have a manufactured/tell-tale feel of dozens other applicants. None of that happened. I can attest to the fact that nothing was written for me and that my personality, tone, and attitude were preserved.

Regardless of the results I am happy with the process. I am glad that I had a chance to work with and learn from Neel / the team at Admissionado and am confident that I submitted a competitive app.

I worked with Yaron, Admissionado's (formerly Precision Essay) Head Consultant to apply to 3 schools (Kellogg, Tuck and Whaton). It was an absolute pleasure to work with Yaron and compared to some of the other consultants I worked with or spoke to, Yaron was BY FAR the most attentive. I never felt like Yaron has any other clients! He spent a significant amount of time working through my "story", updating my resume and editing each essay to make sure that I was on point and always responded to me in a timely manner. Let me be clear...I paid a lot more money for another admissions consults to help me apply to Harvard and got 10x more service for half the price with Yaron. In addition, Yaron was more successful. He clearly knew what each school wanted to hear... I got into 2 and wait-listed at the 3rd because he was able to help me tailor my story to each school.


I am deeply thankful to Yaron and the Admissionado team for all they did for me in the process. Looking back, I wish I had used Admissionado for all of the schools I applied to and hadn't wasted my money with another consultant who clearly was overburdened with other applicants.