Amerasia Consultants - Great Guidance For B-school Apps

When I was applying to business school I was completely overwhelmed by how competitive the entire process was and also by contrasting opinions on what the best way to go about an application was. I found there was a lot of advice, but none of it applied entirely to me. I knew my time was limited (as I was really busy with my job) so I wanted a consultant to guide me through the process, I just didn't know which one.

Lucky for me, my husband had applied to b-school a year earlier, so I had seen him go through the process and more or less knew what to expect. My husband had enlisted the help of Amerasia Consultants and had been successful into getting into Columbia and University of Chicago. While his profile was certainly strong (perfect gpa, perfect job, tons of extracurriculars, high gmat, etc etc) – so is everyone else’s. Applying to b-school is all about telling a compelling story and about highlighting your strengths and the characteristics that make you unique as an applicant. It’s also about appealing to the specific things each school is looking for. My husband strongly believes that had he not had the guidance, he would not have had the success he had.

To figure out if Amerasia Consultants was a good fit for me, I scheduled a call with Adam (the founder) and we talked for about an hour. I was applying to Columbia, so we talked about the school and Adam quickly gave me a very realistic assessment of my chances of getting in and what I'd need to do to highlight my strengths in my application to make up for my weaknesses (for me, the gmat...bleh). I liked how straight-forward Adam was and appreciated the honesty. He didn’t give me false expectations, instead really told me how it was – which is so important. Needless to say, I decided to work with him for my applications.

The very first thing Adam has you do is a career assessment so that he truly understands what you want to convey in your application-- and to make sure that everything you want to say in your application is coherent and tells a solid story. Once you do that, he breaks down the DNA of each school and caters his strategy for your applications accordingly. Before writing your essays, you fully understand what each school is looking for, and know what to highlight and what points to hit. In addition to the application itself, once you get an interview, Adam helps with in-depth interview prep (which most consultants don't do). Long story short, I applied to Columbia early decision, and got in. I can honestly say that the guidance I got was invaluable.

I would highly recommend Adam to anyone applying to a top school. What I liked the most is that you get Adam's attention directly, not someone else's. He takes on a few clients at a time, which is great because you have his full attention. He also works via email, and is really responsive, especially as deadlines approach. All in all, I had a great experience. While it's definitely expensive, it's totally worth it. You will undoubtedly have the strongest strategy applying and peace of mind as all concerns are addressed along the way. While there's no guarantee of getting in, there are definitely ways of increasing your chances and being strategic, and hiring Amerasia Consultants was definitely the best thing I did.