Prep MBA Admissions Consulting Reviews

As a candidate with an extremely low undergrad GPA (below 2.3; yes, that’s not a typo) trying to get into a top 20 MBA program, I knew I had my work cut out for me and needed the appropriate guidance. I performed a search for an admissions consulting firm and went through almost 10 intro calls with different consultants. My intro call with Alex Leventhal (www.prepmba.com) really stood out to me because I could instantly tell that he was not looking to make another quick sale of his services and was very honest and upfront with me about my chances at my target schools and what I would need to do to maximize those chances. He made no promises but vowed to help me give it my best shot. I also appreciated the fact that I was able to speak directly to the person that was going to help me through the process – someone with a Harvard MBA and over 9 years of experience in admissions consulting that was running his own successful admissions consulting firm.

My experience working with Alex was great. He was very flexible with his schedule and was willing and able to accommodate my timeline for submitting applications. He was very responsive and always provided a time frame for when I could expect to hear back from him regarding the many questions I had or essays I submitted to him for review. He was also able to provide amazing feedback to me regarding my “story” in my applications and how I could best position myself to business schools. Through his guidance, I was able to create a much more cohesive story that really fit my background and my passions.

I would highly recommend Alex to those thinking about and looking at admissions consulting services, and plan on doing so to my friends applying this next admissions cycle. His support and guidance through the admissions process was exactly what I was looking for. I did a two school package with Alex and am extremely happy to say that out of those two top 20 business schools that I applied to, I was accepted with merit scholarship to one and waitlisted to the other with the potential of getting accepted at a later date. I was successfully able to overcome an enormous weakness in my application and Alex was a key reason for that!

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I was initially referred to Alex Leventhal of prepmba.com by a college classmate. Even though she had been accepted at her top choice, HBS, I was skeptical of admissions consultants in general. After an introductory discussion with Alex and receiving the detailed biosheet that Alex uses as a foundation for getting to know clients, I quickly warmed to the idea of working with Alex on my applications. As time progressed it became more and more clear that this decision was the right one.

Working with Alex on everything from selecting references and writing essays to prepping for interviews really gave my application a cohesive feel. Crafting a unique story for yourself is definitely a key advantage in the admissions process and Alex really helps draw that out by getting to know you beyond just the bullet points on your resume. The admissions process for top MBA schools is so competitive that attention to small details in your application can ultimately be the deciding factor in landing at your top choice. Alex ensures that each final application product is perfectly polished to guarantee the maximum chance of success.

Even though prepmba.com is a one-man-shop, I always felt that Alex was easily accessible and was very thoughtful and helpful in answering my questions and providing feedback. Even when I thought essays were “good enough”, Alex pushed me that extra step to make sure that my essays were the best they possibly could be. There was never any limit on the amount of time that Alex would spend in helping me get to that next level.

Since working with Alex, I’ve recommended three friends to him and each of them got into their top choice schools (Stanford GSB, Stanford GSB, and Yale SOM) and had similar glowing things to say about his service. I’ve heard very few, if any, similarly positive experiences from friends who have worked with other admissions consultants. I’d suggest Alex to anyone who is truly serious about the MBA admissions process.

- Wharton 2014

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Alex Leventhal at prepmba.com came highly recommended by several of my college classmates. They felt Alex had “significant value-add” and noted that they would “fully recommend him without any hesitation.” Now I feel the same. With Alex’s help I was admitted to my top choice school – Wharton!

After first reaching out to Alex, I received an immediate response. He set up an introductory phone call to get to know more about me – my background, my interests, and my aspirations. He had me complete a several page biography, filled with numerous, detailed questions. Unlike other services I considered using, Alex sincerely wanted to get to know and establish a meaningful relationship with me.

Once I made the decision to move forward with Alex, we selected my target schools. He was extremely knowledgeable about the requirements of the various programs, and his advice during my selection process was very realistic.

After talking through my interests and narrowing down my target schools, we proceeded to develop my narrative. Alex made an effort to learn about and understand my past experience in order to help me create a cohesive narrative. He had significant value-add in essay brainstorming and even had numerous sample essays to share with me for reference points during the brainstorming process. Alex has been in the advising business for a while, so he had a sense of what would work and conversely, what mistakes to avoid. His expertise made it easy to trust him. Alex was critical and provided honest and constructive feedback.

When I reached the interview stage of the application process, Alex supported me with extremely helpful and accommodating mock sessions. Specifically for Wharton, the ability to practice the unique group interview was very important and he organized mock group sessions. The ability to experience the interview setting in advance of the real event gave me much greater comfort and confidence than I would have had otherwise.

Alex’s deep knowledge about the programs and the application process as well as his structured work plan made him a wonderful and hugely successful MBA consultant. Alex proved to be an effective and reliable resource throughout the application process. I had great success using his services and would recommend Alex to anyone that is beginning the application process!

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