"Best" Admissions Consulting Companies - 2020 intake Season

Question

See REAL & VERIFIED Reviews, by GMAT Club Members:

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Best Admissions Consulting Companies

IMPORTANT: We will only allow reviews posted in this thread from members who have  at least 30 posts .  If your profile is new - you are welcome to post questions or engage in a discussion but please do not post reviews as they will be deleted or hidden. If you don't meet the 30 post minimum, but had a great experience with your admissions consultants, post it in the  Verified Reviews Area  instead.

Congrats to all those who got into their desired schools this year. It's time to start a thread for members to share reviews/opinions of their admission consultants.

Suggestions for your posts: 
 1. Search for existing discussions before asking; your questions may have been answered a few times already
2. If you are posting a review/feedback, please post it in the format of (pros/cons/bottom line) or something along those lines
3. If you have used a consultant, please answer these 2 questions:
   What elements should one consider when selecting and Admissions Consultant
   What worked for you and what did not?

Rules: 
 1. Please do not rant!
2. Please be constructive whether you praise or you criticize and build your case - this will help others make better decisions and do better research
3. Please put your rating on the performance of the consultant (out of 5)
4. Please indicate if you have actually used a consultant for your applications or you have only gone through an initial consultation or if you have had no contact at all

We welcome any feedback from the members including constructive criticism/suggestions for improvement as well as positive comments. Take both positive and negative comments with a grain of salt.

You may also consider reading: 
   What to select an MBA admissions consultant  
   Tips for working with a consultant  
   Suggestions from a "veteran" 9/9/2011  
  For more reviews see  Admissions Consulting Reviews

https://gmatclub.com/forum/download/file.php?mode=view&id=34550

Damion123 · Answer

Review for Fortuna Admissions.

After having unsuccessful admission Round 2 in 2018, I reached out to Fortuna Admissions for help to apply in R1 to top 15 US B Schools. They connected me with Catherine as they thought that we would be a good fit and she can be great guide considering my profile. Today I can say that they can't be more sure.

She was very systematic in her approach and knew what the applicantsâ€™ strengths were and how to leverage them. She was always ready to talk to on any aspect of application and that is what I was looking for. I wanted to work with consultant who believed in more personal interaction/attention and did not want communication just over mail. And Catherine was exactly like that.

We started working on Resume and she made sure that every bullet point highlighted my key strengths and impact I had at work and in community involvement. After Resume we started working on essays. What I really liked about her was that she ensured that every word in essay was making sense and answered the question that was asked in essay. Further she was very punctual and quick in giving feedback. She always submitted the feedback on each aspect within 36-48 hrs at max. This allowed me to make as many changes as possible and do more and more research on my goals possible. This was game changer as from my experience of two admission round I feel that having a good research on ST/LT goals, Why MBA and Why particular B school allowed me to weave "watertight" stories and finally helped me to secure admit to top B school.

Further she helped me in structuring my essays and we were able to highlight the right aspects of my background and tell a meaningful and authentic story. After going through one unsuccessful and one successful application process I can say that it is because of her meticulous and committed efforts I could get admit from Duke Fuqua and Ross - my top choices and Interview Invite from CBS. While working with her I felt that I was working with a professional consultant but more than that it felt more like a friend and guide who really wanted me to secure admit to top schools. I would encourage prospective applicant who is looking for not just a MBA consultant but a guide, mentor and most importantly friend to work with Catherine. I am glad to have her on my side.

I also thank entire team of Fortuna Admission for their back end support.

CupOfWater · Answer

Review for Menlo Coaching.

My time working with Yaron could not have been more enjoyable! I took my GMAT on July 1st with the goal of applying R1 to Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton, and knew I needed to quickly turn my attention to my applications.

I have a relatively overrepresented professional background and was concerned about how I could stand out from the many with identical work experience. I knew I wanted to engage a consultant and knew I needed someone who (1) could dedicate the time to truly understand what makes me ME, (2) keep up with my rapid pace of iterations, and (3) had a diverse client base such that he or she wasnâ€™t giving the exact same, cookie-cutter advice to dozens of other applicants struggling with the same issue. Further, I knew that my working style would require a lot of consultation, discussions, and experimenting with ideas, thus I knew I needed an â€œall-you-can-eatâ€ model (vs an hourly model).

I did an intro call with Yaron and quickly gained comfort around my couple of key criteria. I was attracted to the fact that he only takes on ~10-15 clients (vs 50+ elsewhere) and that he repeatedly told me we could chat on the phone as much or as little as I wanted. He also emphasized that he not only had worked with a number of people with my same profile, but also many people with very diverse profiles, which gave me confidence he had good context for what I bring to the table as well as a good barometer for how that would look when compared to other candidates.

Once we started working together, I was extremely impressed by Yaronâ€™s commitment to my application push. He spent hours on the phone with my drawing out every detail of my childhood up through my current job, taking detailed notes and spit balling some potential essay topics. Yaron was also willing to speak with my parents for a few hours and used that conversation to fill in some of the detail around my younger years. What I was most impressed by, however, was the pace at which Yaron turned things around â€“ I would send him multiple full essay drafts almost every night before I went to sleep (~between 12am and 3am) and would get back thoughtful comments on each draft the very next morning (even on weekends!). Yaronâ€™s geographic location (Europe) allowed for this dynamic, and it was clear to me that he was reviewing my essays for hours starting from the moment he woke up.

I was incredibly proud of how my applications turned out and I attribute a great deal of my success to Yaronâ€™s hands-on, white-glove approach to the process. I got the sense that he really cared about getting to know me and helping me reach my goals, which made the whole process that much more enjoyable and productive.

I have enthusiastically recommended Yaron and Menlo to all my coworkers and friends and hope my excitement has come through here. With Yaronâ€™s help, I ultimately earned acceptances at Stanford GSB and Wharton (along with a deferral at Harvard that is still pending at time of writing). Thank you again, Yaron!

Arro44 · Answer

Review for Avanti Prep.

I received a 4 hour scholarship as a GmatClub school moderator.

To kick off I had a half hour call with Greg, which he offered free of charge. Talking to him, you immediately notice that he is super knowledgeable and he had some great pointers despite the fact that I though I had already put a lot of time into school research.

After developing our method of attack I send Greg a couple of essays for one of the B-Schools I was targeting.
He came back really fast with very thorough reviews that pointed out the various parts of my essays that needed work.

Due to a very turbulent period in my work/private life I was not able to make full use of the scholarship.
However, if you are looking for an expert who can offer you great insight and guidance into the process of Bschool applications I can highly recommend Gerg.

His essay reviews do not sugarcoat but offer great pointers on what to improve!

dbsheta · Answer

Review for Experts' Global.

I got in touch with the team at Experts' Global after my first attempt at GMAT. They gave a very honest assessment of my career goals and helped me realize how I can strengthen my profile by helping me connect the dots. I appreciate their honesty at each and every step and that helped me gauge myself and work towards strengthening my weak links. I appeared for GMAT again as per their advice and hit the score that I needed for my target schools.

The team was always available over email and call to help me with any query related to my essays or school selection. And finally, the interview preparation. I was very nervous at the beginning as everyone is. But the mock interview sessions helped me calm my nerves and gain confidence at tackling tricky questions. The post-mock feedback helped me focus on areas which I needed to fortify. The whole process also helped me become more disciplined!

Overall, you can't go wrong with Experts' Global, be it school selection, essay reviews or interview prep. I applied to 9 schools and had full ride from 4, more than 50% scholarship at 3 and waitlisted at 2 (hope to get admits from them as well!). I believe this was a result of my hard work complimented by the valuable mentoring from EG Team.

All the best!

aghosh54 · Answer

Review for Experts' Global Admissions Consulting.

After getting done with the GMAT came the frustrating and tedious part of admission process. I was at sea when I started researching about the admission process. The task seem daunting and I was in utter confusion how to select schools. Luckily I had been in touch with Experts' Global as I prepared for GMAT with them. I came to know about their comprehensive admission consulting program. I would like to describe my experience with EG.

When I enrolled in their admission consulting program I was told by them that I would definitely get interview invites from selected schools and hopefully convert few of them.

The reason they were so confident was that they have worked with so many students so they know what they are promising.

They have first analysed my profile and provided me with a set of schools which I would be able to convert. Their approach is very pragmatic and they provide a list of schools which matches the profile and provides a high chance of conversion.

They are extremely professional but at the same time they really understand the needs of a student. So they are very flexible as well. All the members of the team are easily accessible.

The process they follow from understanding the student profile to assisting the student with essays is very systematic. They provide a time frame and if a student follow the time frame there will not be any last minute worry before the deadline.

I opted to apply to 4 MBA programs with their help. With their assistance I was able to draft my admission essays well before deadline. I submitted application to 2 schools Imperial and Boston Carroll. To my utter delight I got interview invite from both of them. That is 100% success rate in getting an interview invite. Finally I got into Boston Carroll with $30k scholarship.

If you really want to get into a good MBA program then I recommend you to work with Experts' Global. They will definitely get you interview invites and hopefully you will convert few of them like I did.

My wisdom- Consultants can do for you so much but you have to be proactive during the process. They can not spoon feed you everything. They will help you with the drafting of the essays and interview prep. You have to make sure that you do what they tell you to do. You need to connect with current students of the MBA programs that you are applying to get a good insight about the program which would help you during the interview.

I know it's a bit long review but I hope this helps future applicants.

Arro44 · Answer

Review for ApplicantLab.

ApplicantLab is an amazing tool to make sure you tick all the boxes of your application.
The amount of material and guidance is pretty breathtaking considering the reasonable price tag.

The tips offered for a large range of b-school are very specific, recent and most importantly unique. (e.g. very different guidance for Columbia as opposed to Tuck).

As a note of caution;

ApplicantLab does not do the work for you. To fully utilize the potential AL offers, you do have to put in quite some time, however, the investment will certainly be worth it.

I used the tool to apply to both Cambridge Judge and MIT Sloan and got into both schools.

BingingOnNetflix · Answer

Review for mbaMission.

Krista Nannery helped me gain admission to a T10 MBA program by helping me truly understand my career goals; helping me write strong, impactful, and memorable essays; and helping me prepare effectively for behavioral interviews and group interview activities. Moreover, I feel like Krista really cares about helping me reach my career goals, and over the past 6 months, I feel like she has grown into a friend rather than a consultant.

If you read nothing further than this, please read this:
She will absolutely strengthen your candidacy for your MBA program of choice. I went from settling for a T35-T50 school with a median salary outcome of $100k to a school with a median salary outcome of $145k. Just considering this, my ROI IS OVER 300%. If you consider scholarships and intangibles like experiences and network, my ROI is significantly higher.

Before Krista: planning to apply to T35-T50 schools

After Krista: Applied to 7 schools
Admitted to 2 T10 (one with a small scholarship)
Admitted to 2 T15-T20 (both with half scholarships)
Dinged WITH interview from 1 M7 school
Waitlisted with interview from 2 T15

Here are some highlights on what Krista helped me with:

1. Brainstorm. She helped me brainstorm potential essay topics by thinking about my personal, undergraduate, and work experiences. This was SO important because ALL of us have valuable experiences to share with admissions committees, but we sometimes discount those memories. As an experienced admissions insider, Krista helped me understand my unique experiences and how I could showcase them on my applications.

2. School selection. After considering my career goals and family needs), she helped me select schools that would be a good fit for me. Again, there is SO MUCH MISINFORMATION and stereotypes on the internet about MBA programs, so Iâ€™m glad that I had someone as knowledgeable as Krista on which schools could help me achieve my goals. She helped me pick 7 schools to apply in Round 1 since I wanted to be finished by early 2020. Krista was REALISTIC with me about my chances at certain schools, something I really appreciate after this humbling process.

3. Essays. Kristaâ€™s help in this area likely helped me get a scholarship from a T10 school. Krista helped me plan and put together top-notch essays. I tend to ramble (can you tell?) and Krista helped me refine my essays to the most important topics. In some cases, she helped me restructure my essays to make a stronger, more impactful statement. To be clear, she did not write my essays, but she did make my essays 100% better. If youâ€™re a regular person like me, I promise you, your essays will be so much better after working with Krista

4. Recommenders. Krista helped me manage my letters of recommendation very effectively. First of all, she gave strict timelines that I used in order to get my applications in on time. This was very important since one of my recommenders took FOREVER to get back to me. When one of my recommenders gave me bland feedback, Krista helped me put together conversation points that helped me speak with that recommender. He ended up writing a fantastic letter of recommendation that included specific examples. Krista really saved the day here.

5. Interview prep. This was HUGE. MBAmission provides free interview guides for top programs. These guides include actual questions and what to expect. Krista took this a step further and conducted mock interviews with me. This gave me a significant advantage over other applicants since I had an idea of the pressure that I would feel answering real interview questions. Krista asked actual behavioral questions that sometimes caught me off guard, but this helped me during the real interview. In one scenario, 100% of the questions during my T10 interview were asked either in our mock interview or in the Interview guide. HUGE ADVANTAGE!!!

6. Advice and Friendship. I feel like Krista really cared about me, my family, and my helping me reach my goals. At no point did I ever feel like we had a transactional relationship. During this entire process, I feel like Krista has grown into a family friend, someone that I can trust for real, honest career advice. I think we all need someone like that in our corner.

Damion123 · Answer

Review for ApplicantLab.

To be honest, initially, I was quite skeptical about any online tool for the MBA application especially because I was new to the process and had a very limited network of those who had gone through the process. So I wanted more of personal attention to know what works and what does not in the MBA application.

After having some research and connecting with those who had used it, I decided to purchase the subscription and compared to other consulting companies it costs very less so I thought why not. But today I cannot be surer that I would have gotten to the top 10 US MBA program if it had not been ApplicantLab and Maria.

She has given too much thought into building this tool. It covers everything which is required to project the best version of yourself to adcom members of top MBA programs. The tool covers everything from scratch i.e. school selection, identifying strengths and weaknesses, Why MBA, Career Vision, etc. However, the most useful thing I found about the tool and Maria was advice on each school essays. Her videos are very insightful and help one to build the right story/hook for the essay. Guide videos help one to identify which personality traits to highlights and what is best to do so.

Additionally, the tool is equally good for Interview prep and Resume writing. So I would say it is a complete package at a very very reasonable rate. However, words of caution â€“ ApplicantLab can only help you if you are self-motivated and ready to introspect about your REAL achievements, REAL values, and REAL future goals. It pushed me to think about my aspirations and values.

My results: I ended up getting accepted to Ross and Duke Fuqua my top choices. Thank You, Maria, for creating such a great product and helping me make my dreams a reality!

variantguy · Answer

Review for Avanti Prep.

My background:

Indian male, 30 years old, first-time applicant
Undergrad: Engineering from an IIT (top 10 in India)
Postgrad: PGDM in Marketing and Communications from a Top 20 Indian school
5.5 years of work experience in advertising, branding, and product marketing roles
GMAT: 750

When I decided to apply to business schools, my profile had a few obstacles that usually end up crushing most applicantsâ€™ dreams - a highly competitive demographic pool, age, no blue-chip employers on the resume, lot of job switches, and what some schools would consider a second MBA situation as well. Still, I knew that this was my â€˜one and doneâ€™ shot at business schools, and so, I decided to give it my everything. I targeted one M7, three top 10, and one top 15 school in R1.

Things I worked on with Greg:

I had the opportunity to work with Greg through the GMATClub moderator scholarship. At that time, I had already finished interviewing with the M7 school, had been denied by one T10 school, and was waiting for interview invite results from the other two T10 schools and the T15 school.

Greg offered to set up a free 30-minute consultation call to understand my profile and goals better. Even though this is somewhat standard practice with admissions consultants, what really stood out for me was that Greg offered the same level of support to a â€˜non-payingâ€™ (scholarship) client like me as he would have to a paying client. For me, this spoke highly about the level of support I could expect from him going forward. By the end of the call, I felt that he had a great understanding of where I was in the application process and accordingly suggested the service that would benefit me the most.

Shortly after, I received interview invites from all the remaining schools that I was waiting on, and Greg and I decided to work on interview prep for the two T10 schools. We decided to do two full-length Interview Prep sessions, each of which included a 1-hour school-specific mock interview session followed by a 1.5-hour question-by-question analysis and feedback session, which in reality lasted longer than that (at no extra cost).
Besides this, Greg also went above and beyond and offered free advice and tips for my T15 interview.

Based on my positive experience of working with Greg and the results (see below), I also additionally took an hour of Gregâ€™s service for scholarship negotiations, and was not disappointed there as well!

My results:

I got into one of the T10 schools with a 40k scholarship, and the T15 school with a 50k scholarship!

(Even though I did not get into the other T10 school that we did the interview prep for, itâ€™s worth mentioning that that school is one of the most selective ones and was a stretch school, to begin with. I definitely felt much more confident going into the interview with Gregâ€™s insightful help and preparation than I would have otherwise.)

Further, I used Gregâ€™s help to negotiate scholarships at both the schools where I was admitted. For this, I took one hour of service with him, which involved one strategy discussion call and one review of negotiation emails for each school. It was heartwarming to see that Greg didnâ€™t just stop at helping me secure admits but wanted me to get the best possible outcome in terms of scholarship as well, and he ended up spending more than 1.5 hours providing thoughtful feedback and edits.

And while the T10 school refused to negotiate (which I came to know was the response that many other admitted students received as well), the T15 school came back and offered 10k more!! That is a 40x ROI and even that doesnâ€™t speak enough of Gregâ€™s expertise!

What made working with Greg awesome:

Right from our first interaction, I felt that Greg was really invested in my success, even though we hadnâ€™t worked on my applications from the start and I was essentially availing his Interview Prep services for free. Having heard stories of how controlling and money-minded some admissions consultants can be, it was refreshing to see Gregâ€™s commitment to ensure that I achieved the best possible outcome.

His Interview Prep sessions were extremely thorough and tailored to the specific school in question. For both the Prep sessions, not only did Greg conduct a one-hour mock interview, but he also followed it up with well-researched and comprehensive guides of questions for each school. Beyond that, his experience and knowledge of what specific schools and AdComs are looking for immensely helped my response preparation.

During the feedback sessions, Gregâ€™s attention to detail really stood out. He was able to provide laser-sharp feedback which helped me work on specific areas in my responses. Again, during all this, I felt there were many times when Greg went above and beyond our official engagement - whether it was spending 3 hours instead of the originally committed 2.5, or accommodating Interview Prep in his schedule on short notices as soon as I received interview invites, or even taking the time to provide detailed responses to my questions over email as soon as he could.

Similarly, I credit his communication expertise and meticulous feedback on my negotiation emails with the 10k bump that I received from the T15 school.

Overall, I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Greg and achieve two great admits with scholarships! I would wholeheartedly recommend Greg for his thorough professionalism, personalized coaching, attention to detail, and an unmatched level of dedication and commitment to the applicantâ€™s success.

jk94 · Answer

Review for Experts' Global.

I enjoyed my journey with the team, which started off with a very exhaustive profiling survey. The carefully curated videos for different steps across the process really helped me understand things and get a grasp of the process in my own stead. Furthermore, the consulting is not dependent on just one resource/person as is the case with few other consulting services. The interview prep videos are really good and essentially cover all the curve balls that might be put forth in a real time interview.
Their focus on resume prep also needs appreciation. Additionally, there were certain situations where the team would voice their opinion as a counter to that of mine. The honesty in effort is appreciated.

I would surely recommend this service to people looking for cost-effective and streamlined guidance.

mbaprep101 · Answer

Review for mbaMission.

Harold has been an indispensable resource for my application journey to HBS. The time and care that Harold spent to understand my candidacy was above and beyond my expectations and was instrumental in providing tailored advice that took my application to the next level. His holistic understanding of the MBA application process, his unparalleled knowledge of each program and the time spent knowing my strengths and weaknesses were crucial for my success. I would have not been accepted to HBS without his counseling, guidance and overall direction. A must if you are serious about applying to business school or even if you want career advice!

sj24 · Answer

Review for mbaMission.

Indian - Male - IT - Average GMAT score. Deadly combo.

I purchased hourly services with Michael. We started working on the CV, to begin with, and he helped me completely transform my CV. With his help and nuanced opinions, I could tell a story in my CV and could project the impact I created with my work. Thereafter, he provided his feedback and edits on essays and helped me write my goals and story in a coherent and concise way.

I also had a mock interview session with him before facing my first ever b-school interview and I could convert that interview because of the practice I did with him. This practice proved seminal in my subsequent interviews with other schools.

Overall, Michael & I worked on essays of four different schools apart from CV and a mock interview. Michael is extremely proficient and easy to work with. If you send him a draft, you can definitely expect to receive the response within the stipulated timeframe.

I received multiple admits, each with a decent scholarship amount. I am extremely grateful to him for this collaboration. I wholeheartedly recommend Michael to anyone who is looking to get help with the b-school application process.

fitzpratik · Answer

Review for ApplicantLab.

ApplicantLab is a very interesting take on MBA admissions consulting.
Pros:
1. It is a very well structured and well thought out service.

2. It saves a lot of time for candidates as it does the basic school research for you, you need not waste your time going through obscure school details for your essays
3. Maria is super helpful if you think the website cannot help you
4. You have readymade comparisons of gmat scores, gpa and Acceptance rates.

5. CHEAP - at $269 (Cheaper with a gmatclub code) it is definitely a bargain.

CONS:
1. You have to be incredibly self-motivated to turn up everyday to update the application

redskull1 · Answer

Review for August Academy.

I remember to signing up with an email for a call back from Karthik sometime in March 2019. Karthik was recommended to me by a classmate of mine who went to SAID-Oxford. I liked how professional he was on the first call itself. We spoke for an hour, I remember, where we discussed everything from career goals to likely schools to aim for, to how I can build my profile up in the 6-7 month period I had. Karthik, from day 1 I felt was a thorough professional, always sticking to his deadlines. His school suggestion and the schools I had in mind after considerable research almost matched barring 1 school. I liked his services so much that after I had worked with him for 5 schools, I ended up extending it to an 8 school package. I was able to remain confident and calm in the entire application season, knowing well that Karthik had my back.

Karthik, I have to say, came across as a little conservative initially, though in hindsight it was clear that I was the person who overestimated. Karthik told me that Booth, the college I was aiming for, is going to be a little tough. I was fixated on applying to Booth. He also gave me not so flattering reviews about my writing style. I felt bad, at that time, I have to say now. But not anymore I think given that I got into Fuqua, one of my dream schools, with a substantial scholarship. What I realised in the entire process was that Karthik was strict just to ensure that we as applicants are disciplined and focussed in the entire high pressure application process. In hindsight, it was clear that Karthik being strict initially was him keeping the best interests of me in mind and nothing else.

A few other things about Karthik are also really commendable. He is a thorough professional. I applied to Booth just because it was an M7 and I wanted to apply to one M7 at least and test the waters. Karthik probably knew that given my background and achievements, Booth was going to be very difficult. He mentioned so. But we still went ahead just because I had forced. I have to say the most time on an application Karthik had spent was on my Booth application. We spent around a month and a half on an application Karthik knew was going to be somewhat difficult just because I had insisted. I did not end up converting Booth but I was floored by his professionalism.

Karthik is also actually flexible too though he might claim otherwise. If he knows there is a deadline approaching fast, he will take up more work than is needed from his part. The Fuqua deadline was fast approaching in my case and Karthik took up multiple tasks a single day, for eg : he used to see my resume, my essay, my goals all in a single day, without cribbing as to why I am putting him under so much burden all of a sudden.

Karthik's interview preparations are amazing. The Fuqua interview was the first interview I was giving after a gap of 5 years. That I was able to convert it was because Karthik had done his best to calm me down and give me the necessary confidence to do well in the interview. Even during his school specific brainstorming calls, he does not just stick to the agenda and discuss about only the school. Like a true friend, he enquires about everything going on in the application cycle, anything that is lagging behind in the process, etc. In short Karthik is flexible to the extent possible for him. Karthik helps with scholarship reconsideration prep as well. I was able to increase my scholarship from negligible to substantial, at one of the schools mentioned below, because of his astute guidance.

I have admits from Fuqua, UNC, Rice jones all with substantial scholarships thanks to Karthik Palaniapan and his unbelievable guidance. I have found a mentor and most importantly a friend, in him!!!

Kurtosis · Answer

Review for Avanti Prep.

Profile:

- Indian Male with Engineering background
- GMAT â€“ 660 (Q50, V29); GRE â€“ 315 (Q166, V149); GPA â€“ 9/10
- 7 years work experience in Data Science and Advanced Analytics with exposure to several impactful projects; Fortune 25 firm
- Domain knowledge in Retail and Healthcare

- Acquired knowledge in Finance through reading books and attending conferences

A step backward on my own:

I had my scores by the end of June and started out to apply for various business schools in Asia, US and Europe to meet the Round 1 deadlines. As I navigated through the application process by drafting my own essays and resume, I received reviews from my friends that the essays lacked punch and subsequently realized that I had wasted more than a month of precious time to create a below par application. It was at this instance that my friends directed me to seek the help of Avanti Prep and I decided to opt Greg as my admission consultant by initially leveraging GMAT Clubâ€™s moderator benefits, and then signing up for additional services beyond that.

Nature of our work together:

We began working together in November and Greg scheduled a free call to understand my interests and also explained me about how we would work during the course of my application. I decided to opt for his Hourly Services and we worked together for 17 hours encompassing a range of topics including School Selection (1 hour), Story Development (1 hour), Resume Reviews (4 hours), Essay Brainstorming (1 hour), Essay Reviews (5 hours), Recommender Strategy (1 hour) and Interview Prep (2.5 hours). Additionally, I also opted for Gregâ€™s Scholarship Strategy (1.5 hours) to increase my scholarship amount in schools that I did not secure a full scholarship.

Although the official duration of service was 17 hours, the actual value derived from Gregâ€™s reviews and my interaction with him was way more than the mentioned numeral, both in terms of benefit and even in terms of the actual time provided. Given the 17 hours invested, we utilized Questrom as the main focus of the Essay Reviews and Interview Prep, as it became my top choice and gave me the best chance to apply our work together to the other schools that I was applying. Through the process, Greg helped me to show my strengths, communicate detailed career goals and school interest and overcome my low verbal score through my essays and interviews.

Results:

I applied to 9 schools overall and received interview invites from 7 of them. I received admit offers from Questrom (full scholarship for MBA + MSDT), Katz (large scholarship), Cox (large scholarship) and Mason (large scholarship + GA). I was also waitlisted after interview at Simon, Maryland Smith and Krannert. Given my scores, our School Selection process was very meticulous. Using Gregâ€™s direction to research various schools, I started to love Questrom, and we based our future work keeping Questrom in focus. Since I had already secured an admit from the school that I wanted to graduate with full ride, I did not make an effort to convert any of my waitlists.

Experience working with Greg:

The first thing that comes into my mind when I think about Greg is â€˜Above and Beyondâ€™. He did not let my scores be a deterrent for applying to Top 50 U.S. business schools. When he evaluated my profile, he conveyed to me that I have chances of securing an admit to the respective schools that I had shortlisted and began focusing on my strengths. He pushed me hard to bring about the experience that I had gained by working on several different projects and helped me leverage those insights to craft a brilliant resume and an impactful essay. Several weeks of deliberation over my essay with Story Development, Essay Brainstorming, Essay Reviews and tremendous attention to detail transformed my essay from a naive one to a sophisticated one. Looking at my final Questrom essay, I believed I had a chance.

I parallelly used Gregâ€™s offered insights and advice to draft essays for other shortlisted schools and I was able to answer a variety of questions by referring to the time we had spent on Story Development, Essay Brainstorming and Essay Reviews. I am immensely happy to say that I received interview invites from almost every school that I had applied. I was even surprised to receive an interview invite from Cox within 90 minutes of submitting my application.

During the Interview Prep, we did a realistic Questrom mock interview and then a methodical feedback conversation covering every question, ranging from the main questions to the easier questions to the tougher questions. Greg gave me a chance to answer all the questions in a real interview format and then explained me how my answers could be improved. The Story Development and Essay Brainstorming played a crucial role yet again to connect my experience and strengths to answer the diverse questions that could be targeted at me during the interviews. Greg even pointed me to use the skills that I had gained outside of work to improve and diversify my interview responses. This helped me to get accustomed to the variety of questions that could be asked and I felt very confident during my interviews.

Finally, for an Indian applicant, the Hourly Services may seem expensive but Gregâ€™s services are one of the most affordable you can obtain from an International Admission Consultant. The value you derive from Gregâ€™s expertise is unmatched and you will start appreciating your results even before you reach the finish line. When I did reach the finish line, the return on my investment was already worth several multiples as I received a full scholarship to the school I loved the most despite my scores being only around average for that school.

JDF · Answer

Review for mbaMission.

I wasn't a very easy case. I'm 36 with a low GPA from a non-feeder school. Melissa still helped me get into a top 10 school and I made the interview round at one H/S/W program and one other M7 program. I can tell you looking at my first essay drafts to the finished product, I would not have gotten in on my own because I wasn't selling myself the right way at all. Melissa helped me shape and develop ideas for essays and helped me decide how to think about these essays in a way that let me be effective.

Linckon · Answer

Review for Fortuna Admissions.

My MBA journey started with a free consultation call to many international MBA consultants. Being an Indian male engineer with an avg GMAT score, none of the consultants made me feel confident that I could make it to my dream school INSEAD. To many of them, INSEAD was not within reach and I was recommended to have a package for 4-5 schools.

And then I had a call with Matt from Fortuna. We had an hour discussion and within few minutes, he highlighted the skills that I have to secure a place in Fontainebleau. He was so confident in my profile and was so optimistic towards my dream, not for a second he made me feel that INSEAD was not in reach. That confidence I got from the call with Matt changed my outlook and made me so optimistic. It made me realize that MBA is way beyond the GMAT test and I could leverage the strong professional and leadership experience I have and turn that into a sparkling application.
Then, I got lined with Melissa, and I canâ€™t say enough about her as a coach. She is encyclopedia for INSEAD. She knows exactly what the school is looking for. She has focussed only on my strengths throughout the process. Though the stories and achievements were mine, but the way she displayed those in the application made a real difference. She is very honest, and at all times she provided her genuine feedback and support. I was intrigued with her knowledge of INSEAD admission process. She took my mock interview and my actual interview was the replica of the mock. I can say for certain that if INSEAD is your dream school, then Melissa is a no-brainer.

Lastly, I would highly recommend Fortuna Admissions to the prospective applicants if you are looking for a consultant to go in your dream school. Fortuna has all the ingredients to make your dream true! Right from the consultation call to the final review of your application from the director is an amazing journey that one would like to be a part of.

nkin · Answer

Review for mbaMission.

Hiring Melissa was easily the best decision I made during my MBA admissions cycle. She has one of the best backgrounds one could want in an admissions consultant - prev adcom director, MBA from an M7 and real-world industry experience. Pair that background up with superb communication skills, being authentic and unapologetically honest in every interaction, genuine caring for clientsâ€™ success, less than 24 hrs returns on drafts, and just being a really nice person to work with overall - what more could you ask? This deadly combination of traits makes Melissa the absolute no-brainer MBA-consultant choice.

I was late in the process and reached out to mbaMission only after R1 deadlines. Iâ€™m from an over-represented background, with avg GMAT (for my pool) and less than avg work exp. But right from my first call, Melissa was extremely positive about my candidature. I kept doubting my GMAT score multiple times, but while Melissa did suggest some options, she instilled confidence in me that since my score was at or above the avg scores for my target schools, I should focus more on my essays and overall profile strength. I took her advice and did not get a single rejection from the 6 schools I applied to in R2. I also got into both the M7â€™s I applied to and am headed to one of them this fall.

The way Melissa edits essays is just amazing. She didnâ€™t spoon-feed or drastically change the story-content from her side, but rather used the knowledge she had about me from my profile and our brainstorming call, and transformed the essays into a strength for my overall profile. On multiple occasions, she not only nudged me to think harder about choosing a story, but also pushed me to dig deeper into the EQ aspects that one would have not thought about. She even helped me frame my answers succinctly to application form questions and work experience descriptions. When I got interview invites/decisions from all 6 schools, I informed Melissa even before I informed my closest family and friends - that was the level of trust and confidence I had in her. Even though I had 6 interviews lined up, Melissa went through specifically tailored interview prep for each school the week before, explaining what questions to expect, how to position myself for a particular curveball question, and what kind of aspects each school was looking at. This was tremendously helpful. And not to forget, Melissa was extremely flexible with so many reschedule requests - once in the middle of our interview prep call, my boss called for an impromptu meeting and Melissa was really nice to offer to reschedule the prep that weâ€™d already begun that day! She is totally committed to ensuring your success and I do not regret one bit my decision to work with Melissa.

Within a period of 4-5 months, she went from being a complete stranger to being a close friend and advisor to talk to. Getting into my top choice school is a dream come true and I couldnâ€™t have done this without help and guidance from Melissa. I wholeheartedly recommend Melissa as your admissions consultant. Trust me, youâ€™ll thank me later!

ak99 · Answer

Review for Avanti Prep.

I was a second time applicant with a strong GMAT score and reasonable work profile. I had used another consultant in my first year of applications and decided to go with Greg the second time around.
Firstly, Greg is just an amazing person to talk with and share your stress as you go through applications. He never went for a hard sell on using his services but eventually when I decided to go with him, he was fully invested and dedicated, unlike another consultant I had. Greg clearly has an idea of what admissions teams look for as he helped pick out the best stories and finesse them for the goals, essays, and overall application narrative.
I was very invested in the application process and Greg was equally invested which was refreshing given most consultants seem to always be on the clock. Greg helped me with two school applications and also helped brainstorm which two would give me the most diverse and applicable stories for other school applications.
Overall, I was very satisfied with Greg and would recommend his services as I received an admit to 3 top 10 schools (including an M7). I also received scholarships of $50k and $10k to 2 of the 3 schools.

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