{"id":57339,"date":"2023-03-09T16:05:21","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T23:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2023\/03\/should-i-hire-an-mba-admissions-consultant-three-non-obvious-reasons-the-answer-may-be-yes\/"},"modified":"2023-03-09T16:05:21","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T23:05:21","slug":"should-i-hire-an-mba-admissions-consultant-three-non-obvious-reasons-the-answer-may-be-yes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/should-i-hire-an-mba-admissions-consultant-three-non-obvious-reasons-the-answer-may-be-yes\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I Hire an MBA Admissions Consultant? Three Non-Obvious Reasons the Answer May Be Yes"},"content":{"rendered":"

In past articles, we\u2019ve discussed how MBA admissions consultants charge for their services<\/a> and the questions to ask when you\u2019re interviewing MBA admissions consultants<\/a>. It dawned on us, however, that we\u2019ve never really shared our perspective on why<\/em> you should hire an MBA admissions consultant in the first place. So, if you\u2019re pondering the question, \u2018should I hire an MBA admissions consultant?\u2019, this article is for you.<\/p>\n

You might guess that our answer to \u2018should I hire an MBA admissions consultant?\u2019 would be yes, given that it is our business. You\u2019re correct that we do wholeheartedly believe in the value proposition of the services we offer. However, the reasons why extend beyond the obvious. Yes, data shows that our clients increase their chances of success with the MBA application process. And, yes, it\u2019s nice to have a knowledgeable sounding board for all your application-related questions. But we think some of the most compelling reasons investing in the services of a boutique admissions consulting firm like ours are more nuanced.<\/p>\n

#1 \u2013 Looking Good on Paper Isn\u2019t Enough<\/h4>\n

It may be counterintuitive, but some of the most challenging \u2018cases\u2019 we encounter are clients who have \u2018MBA feeder\u2019 employers on their resumes and exceed the average statistics (GMAT\/GRE and GPA) for their target programs.<\/p>\n

The reasons why are twofold. The first has to do with competition \u2013 while it\u2019s fierce for all applicants, it\u2019s even fiercer for those from overrepresented sectors like banking, consulting, etc. \u00a0To stand out from equally talented and ambitious peers, these candidates must differentiate themselves in a meaningful way and that\u2019s TOUGH.<\/p>\n

The second reason is a generalization but often true, in our experience. Sometimes applicants from \u2018feeder\u2019 industries have always just assumed that going back to business school is in their plans so haven\u2019t fully reflected on why<\/em> the degree makes sense for them. As you can probably guess from the many places this question shows up, having a compelling answer to \u2018why MBA\u2019 is so critical to a successful application. We find that not having passion-led, realistic yet ambitious career goals that require an MBA can be a blind spot for otherwise incredibly marketable applicants. \u00a0<\/p>\n

A good MBA admissions consultant has had a lot of practice drawing out the uniqueness in each applicant (even if that applicant swears up and down that they aren\u2019t all that interesting!) and helping them develop career goals that will resonate with admissions committees.<\/p>\n

#2 \u2013 The Scholarship Game is Real<\/h4>\n

In recent years, we\u2019ve observed a material increase in the amount of scholarship dollars top MBA programs are offering to admits. In most cases, they are doing this to increase the chances that the highest caliber applicants will choose to attend their program.<\/p>\n

As our founder Melody Jones shared here<\/a>, two of the keys to attracting these scholarship offers is showing your leadership potential and presenting a nuanced argument as to why \u2018program X\u2019 is a great fit for you (and vice versa). Schools don\u2019t want to waste their scholarship offers on candidates who don\u2019t appear genuinely interested in their program. \u00a0They save these precious dollars for people who are likely to enroll and who are poised to make the greatest impact on their program.<\/p>\n

So how does the topic at hand, \u2018should I hire an MBA admissions consultant?\u2019, factor into this discussion? A good consultant can help you highlight the aspects of your profile that not only appeal to schools when it comes to admissions decisions but also when it comes to scholarship decisions. While we don\u2019t have the data to accurately assess whether working with an admissions consultant increases your chances of a scholarship, we do feel it\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n

#3 \u2013 An Admissions Consultant\u2019s Value Can Extend Beyond Matriculation\u00a0<\/h4>\n

We mentioned earlier that a good consultant can help you develop post-MBA career goals that will resonate with the admissions committees. Not only is this true, but we would argue that giving appropriate reflection to this part of your application upfront will pay dividends beyond gaining admission to your target programs.<\/p>\n

Part of the work we do with clients is to help them really think about what matters to them in a career, what they are passionate about and why, and where they dream of ending up at the pinnacle of their working life. This makes for a unique and authentic \u2018story\u2019 in applications but it also provides purpose and direction once you get to campus. Many people are shocked to find out how soon into their first year of business school internship recruiting begins \u2013 if you land on campus with no idea what industries and functions you want to explore, you will end up either super stressed out or having missed out on some great opportunities.<\/p>\n

A Few Closing Thoughts\u2026<\/h4>\n

At the end of the day, when you\u2019re considering \u2018should I hire an MBA admissions consultant?\u2019 and perhaps having sticker shock at the cost of doing so, we would encourage you to put into context a) the cost of an MBA, b) the salary increase you’ll enjoy after graduation, c) the professional options that open up to you via the MBA and d) what it costs you if you wing it and don’t end up getting into your dream school. When combined with the reasons outlined above, we hope you\u2019ll agree that working with an MBA admissions consultant is a valuable investment. If you\u2019d like to learn more about how we work with clients and see whether we\u2019re a fit for you, click here<\/a> to request an initial consultation.<\/p>\n

The post Should I Hire an MBA Admissions Consultant? Three Non-Obvious Reasons the Answer May Be Yes<\/a> appeared first on Vantage Point MBA<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In past articles, we\u2019ve discussed how MBA admissions consultants charge for their services and the questions to ask when you\u2019re interviewing MBA admissions consultants. It dawned on us, however, that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1955,775,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-vantage-point-mba","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/167"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57339\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}