Harshad Mali Reviews

In my free consultation with Harshad, it was clear that his candid and honest feedback was a match with my personality. Working with Harshad was a fantastic experience. As an American engineer working in industry, Harshad helped me portray my stories in such a way that brought out my character traits and leadership skills, and in such a way that flowed logically and smoothly. Harshad is extremely organized and professional, always editing faster than promised and responsive to questions no matter the day or time. Harshad even went the extra mile when I was unexpectedly laid off from my job a couple of months before applications were due, by serving as a mentor in the process of finding another job that would tie into my application package nicely. Overall, Harshad is a terrific person and consultant. I would 100% recommend him to anyone looking to apply at a top MBA program.

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As a non-traditional applicant, applying to business school was a bit intimidating. When I first met with Harshad, I could tell right away that I wanted to work with him. He is skilled at and passionate about crafting a story that is not only compelling to admissions committees but also speaks to your unique strengths. On top of that, he is very quick to respond to emails and often provides detailed and thoughtful feedback on the same day. With his guidance, I went from being lost and confused to getting into fantastic schools!

If you are applying to business school, do yourself a favor: work with Harshad!

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I remember telling Harshad mid-way during applications that I was very thankful I worked with him irrespective of the outcome. A few weeks later, receiving interview invites from almost all schools I applied to, we had exceeded my expectations. Today, after receiving an admit with scholarship from my dream school, all I can say is I am glad I worked with him.

When I started the application process, I was anxious about applying in R2 as an applicant from the overrepresented pool of Indian consultants with an engineering background. While many admissions consultants either said "round doesn't matter" or "You have no chance", Harshad was honest in his views on the matter - presented facts, nuanced perspectives without judgement. I knew he was the right fit and trusted him as my advisor.

He was not just my consultant, but became a trusted friend in the process. He was always available, gave me his honest feedback, helped me brainstorm, ensured I met all the deadlines, but most of all helped me portray my authentic self, was thoughtful and considerate in bringing out my life experiences through my essays. He understood my background, my passion, and my goals and together, we built my applications. Right from selecting schools, to essays, to choosing and managing recommenders, to additional forms. He mentored me so I understood the application process, presented his nuanced views on various aspects empowering to make decisions in my narrative. He went above and beyond to support my business school endeavors! In addition to all of this, we would have insightful and fun conversations that kept my morale high throughout the process.

You can't go wrong with choosing Harshad for your BSchool applications :) I am more than happy to answer any questions that prospective applicants have about his working style. Feel free to DM on LinkedIn.

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Harshad was an invaluable resource during my MBA application process. His knowledge of what each business school was looking for in particular and how to connect that with my professional experiences and post mba goals in a concise and elegant way, was critical in me being accepted into my 2 of my top schools: Fuqua (with scholarship) and Tuck. He also helped me get an interview with HBS but unfortunately, I didn’t interview well enough to gain admission. Harshad pushed me to write the best essays I possibly could and therefore put my best foot forward.

Since Harshad and I were both engineers prior to business school, he has a personal understanding of the strengths and weaknesses I currently have, how I will add value to business school communities, and what I will gain from business school. He has also been more helpful than anyone else when it comes to developing and refining both my short- and long-term career goals.

Harshad’s feedback style is open, honest, and direct which is a perfect match for me. However, my favorite part about Harshad is that genuinely cares about me, my well-being, and success during business school and beyond. It is challenging to balance the MBA application process with work and everything else in life, so having someone like Harshad to support me was priceless. He went above and beyond his responsibilities on several occasions and was rooting for me the entire time. He was worth the money and then some, my scholarship offer covered the cost by far.

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Finding a top-notch MBA consultant can make a huge difference in your application journey, and my experience with Harshad was exceptional. He was incredibly knowledgeable and insightful, providing tailored advice that truly enhanced my application. The approach was personalized, focusing on my unique strengths and experiences to make my application stand out. I got my desired admit into an M7!

Harshad genuinely cared about my success, offering encouragement and support throughout the process. I highly recommend him to anyone serious about getting into their dream MBA program.

In addition, the prep for the video essay and actual interview was really helpful.

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Harshad was the best possible consultant, mentor and financial investment throughout my MBA application experience. I was debating using an MBA consultant as it is a sizable investment, but it was the most worthwhile money I spent on anything throughout the entire process from tutors to test prep classes to books etc. I ended up only having a month to submit 8 applications and I truly couldn’t have done it without Harshad. When I met with Harshad for the free intro session, he was the perfect balance of complimentary and realistic about my background and business school prospects. I bought a school package and it was invaluable as I leveraged him for everything including guidance on where I should apply, my resume, my essays, random one-off questions about the applications, the interviews and even choosing which offer I should accept. He even helped me learn how to negotiate scholarships, which I would’ve never known was a possibility otherwise and is enough return on investment itself. I would 100% recommend the school package over the hourly because I ended up frequently emailing him with lots of little one off questions and there was so much support for things I hadn’t anticipated.

Professionally, Harshad was always timely (insanely fast at turning around feedback) and provided extremely helpful positive and critical feedback. He is straightforward and doesn’t beat around the bush which I really appreciated. There was one week when I was practically meeting with him every night, sending him materials after our meeting that night, and he would provide feedback by the next day for us to review that evening. He even provided support over the winter holiday season which was extremely helpful given my timeline for R2 submissions.

But even more than just the professional guidance, Harshad was a critical emotional support pillar and instilled confidence in myself that I never would’ve had otherwise. Harshad pushed me to apply to schools I never thought I’d have a chance of getting into and I ended up being accepted! I went through a tough relationship break up during the one month I had to write my applications and Harshad called to check on me (extremely kind and supportive) and gave me time to process but also made sure to keep me on track so that I could get in all my applications. He constantly encouraged me and made me feel proud of my accomplishments during a tough time in my life and made sure to tell me I shouldn’t doubt myself. Harshad has a very high EQ and I can fully endorse him as a female client in saying that I would recommend him for any gender or background. I have no engineering background either and it made no difference- I truly think he could help anyone. He even had helpful pointers and tips regarding my application as a female and what my experience in business school could entail as a female. I can not say enough good things about Harshad. I’ve talked about him to all of my family and friends and they are all in agreement that he is essentially a superhero. Definitely work with Harshad if you can!!!

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Thanks to Harshad's masterful guidance in navigating the waters of MBA applications, I achieved successes that truly would not have happened otherwise. His expert grasp of every aspect of the process, from the GMAT to applications, interviews, and beyond, gave me all of the tools and preparation I needed. This allowed me to gain admission to my dream MBA program with the best possible applicant profile I could assemble. Besides being a master of MBA applications, Harshad is also an excellent communicator and conversationalist. He's insightful, a great listener, a candid advisor, and someone who thinks deeply about how best to position you for success. These qualities all really matter when you are spending hundreds of hours together working on something so personal. For someone who is serious about going above and beyond with their MBA applications, Harshad is your man.

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Harshad had been a great support during the application process. He would be forthright in sharing opinions on schools and programs. Harshad’s biggest contribution came in the form of decoding what the essays were asking, and then suggesting structures in which to put together essay responses. That was able to help me put together my stories in most fitting ways.

On occasions of deadlines approaching, Harshad would without fail remain available to edit my essays and get me over the line. His backing was a huge mental support. He motivated me on times when I felt less confident or low in general, including discussing other matters too, that I was struggling with in general. He was diligent and respond on time, despite my being tardy often.

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Choosing to work with Harshad has been a blessing. From the start, he was genuinely interested in my story and believed that I could be admitted into a top school, even though I didn’t have quite the same conviction. He is thoughtful, patient, detail-oriented and direct. Of all his qualities, I most appreciated his respectful directness, as it enabled us to have an open and honest dialogue which increased our efficiency and improved the quality of my application.

Harshad’s belief in my candidacy instilled a sense of confidence I hadn’t previously exhibited. His unique introspective style challenged me to dig deep and create a compelling narrative for my essays, while also helping me realize why I want to truly pursue an MBA. This, coupled with his ability to create a powerful story helped transform my essays and changed the way in which I approach storytelling. He was also able to successfully change my interview style through our mock interviews. These new skills were not only critical in curating a successful application but will be pivotal in my career going forward.

In conclusion, Harshad has been both a consultant and a mentor. Outside of our work on essays, he consistently made time to discuss strategy, give advice and provide guidance on my future. I am certain there are many knowledgeable consultants out there, however very few have the ability to connect personally and share such a genuine interest in their client’s success. Harshad always went above and beyond and helped me get into three great schools – Yale SOM, INSEAD and NYU Stern. These schools would have been quite a reach had I worked alone. The process is undoubtedly pricey, but it has been the best investment I have ever made. I can’t recommend Harshad highly enough!

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Choosing Harshad as my consultant during my MBA application process has been one of the best investments I have made for myself in my life. I started my applications fairly late and I don’t know what I would have done without his help. At the start of the application process, I was a little lost, overwhelmed, and intimidated. I quickly decided that I needed a consultant to deliver the best possible application that reflected who I am. From my first phone call with Harshad, I knew he was the right person to help me get into my dream schools. From the start, he helped me really hone in and focus on my story to show business schools why I was worthy of a place in their programs. With Harshad’s guidance and assistance I was able to deliver honest and polished applications that reflected who I really was to the schools and why I was such a great fit with them. Harshad’s highly structured and organized working process along with his quick turnaround speed allowed us to work at a really fast pace. He would always respond to any concern or question in no time, usually getting back to me polished versions of my essays in under a day’s time. In addition, he was not afraid about being direct and honest about what didn’t work and what did in my application, which was really helpful as it allowed me to really focus my applications on my particular qualities, experiences, and aspirations that business schools would really care about and be looking for in their next batch of students. His help during mock-up interviews was invaluable as well as it helped me be more confident, humble and relaxed on the day of the real thing. Harshad was also very kind and respectful during all our dialogues and he expressed genuine happiness for me when I got the results I hoped for. Although I would recommend to most people they start their applications several months in advance, Harshad helped me successfully deliver applications in under a month and a half to two top schools which is a testament to his expertise, knowledge and dedication. In the end, I ended up getting admits into INSEAD and HEC Paris, two schools I am fairly sure I would not have gotten into without his help. He was a true mentor and guide to me. If you’re looking for an MBA consultant look no further – Harshad is your guy.

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