"Best" Admissions Consulting Companies - 2022 intake Season

Question

See REAL & VERIFIED Reviews, by GMAT Club Members: Reviews submitted to GMAT Club's Review Section require GMAT test report and/or school email addresses for validation. This is the highest review validation in the industry to ensure you're seeing credible information. The posts on the forum below don't require any validation; so we encourage you to view the GMAT Club's Review Section . Best Admissions Consulting Companies 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: Posts from users with no reputation will be DELETED!

. Yes, no SPAM. You must have reputation to post here - a minimum of 30 posts Please do not rant! Please be constructive whether you praise or you criticize and build your case - this will help others make better decisions and do better research Please put your rating on the performance of the consultant (out of 5) 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

SASHANVI · Answer

Review for Stacy Blackman Consulting.

Before starting my MBA application, I spoke to at least 10 admission consultants. Stacy Blackman stood out to me because of consistently good reviews and also because I felt they were very straightforward while analyzing my profile.

I worked with Dawn Clare, who is one of their senior consultants. Dawn has a very high admit record for whoever works with her on a 4 school package.

My experience with her was extremely positive. I felt so comfortable discussing all my personal stories with her. Dawn has a strategic bent of mind to use the stories and help form strong narrative for the essays. She helped me distinguish my profile which was specially important given I come from an overcrowded background (Finance / India). Her way of working with the candidates is very interesting. She makes the process so smooth - I was able to work on my essays in a very stress free manner compared to my colleagues who used other consultants and were overwhelmed with the process most of the times.

I would STRONGLY suggest anyone to work with her. For me, it was a completely worthwhile investment.

I would be going to Columbia Business School next fall - thanks to Dawn!!

satireQ · Answer

Review for MBA and Beyond.

I had the best time working with Shantanu and the MBA & Beyond team. I come from a demographic that is overrepresented, and I was looking for someone who could help me stand out. Shantanu and his team have done an outstanding job of assisting me throughout the process. Shantanu is a very positive person to be around. Throughout this arduous application process, he was constantly motivating and pushing me to do my best. MBA and Beyond has a very structured process for understanding my profile and how to best project my strengths. The team reached out to my peers and friends to learn more about me from a third-person perspective, and they assisted in developing myÂ brand that helped me stand out amongst a sea of applicants. We used to have a call every other day and have a detailed timeline in place for each application. His insights and suggestions had improved my overall application tremendously. I strongly believe I wouldn't have made it to Fuqua and Darden without MBA and Beyond's assistance. I received interviews from 5/7 colleges I had applied. I cannot recommend MBA and Beyond enough

donaldmcdonald · Answer

Review for Personal MBA Coach.

Iâ€™ve known Scott and MJ through Personal MBA Coachâ€™s TBD mock interview prep. Iâ€™ve joined a couple of mocks with other candidates before. However, I wasnâ€™t sure about whether my performance was good enough for the real interview. Iâ€™ve connected with Scott at the Personal MBA Coach and he introduced me to MJ for a mock session, which was awesome. After the session, we held an amazing feedback session in which she touched on my personal and technical performance. Even after our conversation, she sent a very detailed written feedback for me. It was my first time getting a feedback from a professional for an interview prep and clearly it was a game changer.

I thank MJ for conducting a great mock session, her kind approach, and her amazing feedback. I also thank Scott for the entire process. He has a good heart and is a great professional. I recommend the Personal MBA Coach team to everyone with utmost pleasure.

mehro023 · Answer

Review for MBAPrepSchool.

Working with Santosh was an absolute pleasure. He is extremely organized, prompt with his feedback, and a perfect counselor to work with for anyone who is passionate about their applications and is working towards R1 applications. He is always available to answer any questions. Working with him helped me secure my admission at INSEAD. The overall process was smooth, stress-free, and overall enjoyable. I would look forward to his feedback on my essays and his feedbacks were so important in order to draft my perfect story and explain why a certain program would be a fit for me.

Thank you so much, Santosh! I would be happy to discuss him in greater detail with anyone who would be interested.

rbostanian · Answer

Review for mbaMission.

My experience with Kim Hoey at mbamission was amazing! When I was stressed about my past, Kim always encouraged me to look at the positives. With her innovation and experience, she was able to refine my story into a clear and concise narrative. She was always meeting my deadlines and always checking in on me. One thing to point out especially when you are applying to 4 or more schools is that from brainstorming to drafting essays, before you know it, the deadlines are approaching. Kim took the time to create a detailed schedule for me to stay on track. She has a special quality of empathy. I would recommend her to anyone considering an admissions consultant. Last but not least, mbamission is a rockstar firm with many great resources for its clients. Jeremy Shinewald is leading the best team in the industry.

dranfoz · Answer

Review for MBAPrepSchool.

Finding an admissions consultant can be challenging, especially in Latin America. By the time I met Court from MBAPrepSchool, I had already spoken with several coaches and was inclining towards those with the highest "reputation". Court is the last consultant I met. It was a surprise to see how attentive he was, and how eager he seemed to support me in my application journey. For the first time, I felt like the person in the other side of the screen could connect with who I was and what I aspired to do.

At that point, deciding to work with Court felt like a natural next step. From the beginning, Court supported me with discipline and order. We met regularly to deepen into my stories and my goals. Court has an impressive capacity to see you for who you are, but at the same time propose ways to improve the way that you tell your stories and present yourself. I especially appreciated Court's constant feedbacks, always spot-on and valuable.

During the essays editing process, Court is the best partner you can imagine. He will never delve into commenting specifics if he's not comfortable with the overall arch - which to me proved invaluable. Court understands the importance of building coherent, specific and powerful essays, and will go through every step necessary until the materials are outstanding. For the interviews, Court assigns the same level of dedication - delving fully into the role and giving specific and actionable feedback.

Through the journey, Court showed me how unique my stories are, and always made me feel like I deserved to be in these programs. Having this reassurance, as well as some friendly push to think outside the box about my goals, were also key factors for my successful applications. I can't imagine doing having gone through this process with anyone else, and would recommend anyone to meet Court to see for themselves the amazing professional and person that he is.

lemonmelon · Answer

Review for MBAPrepSchool.

Coming into the 2021 application cycle, I realized my profile, while having some solid attributes, also had a couple of â€œweakerâ€ points. Therefore, I wanted to work with a consultant who would help me tell the best story in my applications. Faisal was recommended to me by a friend of mine who had been successful previously in his b-school applications. I talked to him along with four other consultants/agencies and felt more at peace with Faisal. While others focused on raw stats, Faisal was more interested in my story.
After narrowing down the list of schools, he pushed me to reflect and come up with my â€œbrandâ€ narrative. His input on which points were more impactful than others was incredibly helpful. I am not a strong writer and knew that I needed the most help with the essays. Faisal really delivered the bang for the buck here with his impressive storytelling technique while keeping â€œmy voiceâ€. He was always super responsive and got back to me within 2-3 days. It always felt like he was your application â€œpartnerâ€ and he was as excited about the application as you were. I also did a couple of mock interviews with him and received some actionable feedback. I was really excited to have received admits from LBS, Fuqua, and McCombs â€“ all thanks to Faisalâ€™s incredible storytelling inputs, mentorship, and guidance, and a little bit of luck!

karakootildasan · Answer

Review for The Red Pen.

I got in touch with The Red Pen during my Consultants search, having gone through 10+ consultants, TRP managed to make me feel good about my chances while setting the right expectations. Having run through their process which was highly structured, involved multiple reviews and fit well within each timeline realistically, I was increasingly optimistic of my chances.

Since my geography and industry targets were very narrow, TRP made a lot of efforts to pair me up with a consultant who has an MBA from my target schools as well as a post MBA career similar to my target. My lead consultant Ankit and specialist Heather were absolutely terrific throughout the entire process, helping me set the right expectations, encouraging me when I needed it the most. Their quick responses and well-structured thought processes helped me arrive at my final essays within 4 iterations. They were highly flexible to accommodate any requests however late into the process.

I had specific consultants for Resume review and Recommendation crafting. Both Abhishek and Nikhilesh were top notch and helped me craft an impressive resume and guide me through the whole recommendation process.

I have secured admits to Oxford and Cambridge and would recommend The Red Pen for their highly-valued MBA admissions consulting services.

jatin22 · Answer

Review for Experts' Global

Once you decide that you need help with your application and want to choose a consultant, in my opinion, Experts Global are a great admissions consulting company in India.

Consultants are expected to know how to build your professional profile and are aware of the kind of applications that get accepted and the ones that don’t. Please understand that your profile includes your undergraduate GPA, test scores, and your experience. A consultant cannot change these, but they can help you present them in your application so that you get your best chance of an admit. I was referred to EG by a friend who was admitted to ISB with their help. I signed up for the 4-school package and was admitted to 2 of those with generous scholarships and waitlisted at one which I chose not to pursue. If I had to pick the three best qualities I found in the admissions consulting experience with EG, it would be these:

They took the time and effort to get to know me and help build my story. They helped me ask the right questions of myself and dig deep into my experience to articulate my journey so far and identify my goals.
Their process is very systematic, with a step-by-step tracker that keeps you moving forward with tasks within reasonable timelines. It is important to stick to the timelines.
They are honest with you regarding your profile evaluation. They will not mince their words when talking to you about how to best convey your story and will give you realistic chances based on your profile.
If I had to pick a con, I would say that it is slightly on the pricey side, but you get a discount if you also do their GMAT prep course, and it’s better value to sign up for a package with more schools. When I worked with them, they also offered a guarantee package wherein they give you a guarantee of at least one admit out of the schools you apply to with them based on your profile.

"Best" Admissions Consulting Companies - 2022 intake Season

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