Hiring Admission Consultant Comprehensive Package - How Many Schools?

Question

I have a question regarding the comprehensive packages from admissions consultants. I am not sure if there is currently another forum with this information, so if there is, any direction would be greatly appreciated.

I am in the process of speaking with different admission consulting firms, and am looking to sign up for the comprehensive package, but am unsure as to how many schools I should sign up for. Let's say I signed up for a 3 school package, but wanted to apply to 5-6 schools. How easy is it to apply to those schools in which I did not work with my consultant on? After working on one school's application with a consultant, is it easy to adjust my profile to another school for their application? Or would it be better to work with the consultant for every school I want to apply to?

I haven't been able to find much information on this topic, so wanted to post this question.

Thanks.

ARLeeConsulting · Answer

Hi  PhillyKid ,

that's a very good question.

I understand hiring an admissions consultant for 5-6 schools can become pricey. I always tell my clients that, if they want to work on some other applications on their own, they can apply what they have learned by working together with me. So yes, it is possible to adjust your other applications after working on a few with an admissions consultant if you are able to learn from him/her.

That being said, it is recommended to work with a consultant to all schools you are applying to. You will see that your consultant will get to know you really well, so he/she will be able to add great value to all your applications. Furthermore, the rates per school decreases with the number of schools, so your 2-3 additional schools won't be that pricey.

Some consultants will even allow you to add more schools as you go keeping the initial negotiated rate.

I would advice you to keep shopping around and see what options there are out there and how flexible they are.

I hope this helps.

Thank you, and good luck
Alex

StratusDonna · Answer

IvyGroupeCEO · Answer

Hi PhillyKid , It's really up to you. Because of their budget, some people only work with a consultant on a few schools and then leverage that work for the other applications, while others work on all of the schools with their consultant. If you don't want to commit to all of your schools upfront, most consultants will let you add schools as you are immersed in the process, so that is typically not a problem. The most important thing, though, is for you to be comfortable with the consultant you are working with. I work directly with all of my clients, so if you would like to have a conversation with respect to how I can help you, feel free to reach out. You can learn more about my company here and contact us here: https://www.ivygroupe.com/contact. Best, Shaifali

SiaAdmissions · Answer

Hi  PhillyKid ,

Thank you for your post. We get this question often - what is the right number of schools for which to employ a consultant? The answer to that question must come from evaluating your budget and evaluating the amount of help you foresee needing with each application. Sometimes, clients are happy with the strategy we employ for two or three schools, and then they use the same method to apply to the other schools on their list; other times, clients want help from beginning to end on each school, implementing strategies and holding them to our internal deadlines, making sure they do not submit a less than stellar application to each school come round deadline. Therefore, there is no magic number; It really depends on you, and how must much help your foresee needing.

Admissions consultants are here to help their clients. I recommend you communicate with your consultant and leave an open door for the option to add schools at a later date.

I hope this helps.

mbaMissionKrista · Answer

Hey  PhillyKid 
Thanks for posting. With many firms (including mbaMission), you don't have to purchase all the schools upfront (although there may be a discount in doing so). Hiring a consultant is expensive so one option is just to purchase a few schools to get started and then see how that goes and add more as you go on. 
Another thing I like to do with clients is look at the full universe of schools that they are applying to and see where there is traction/leverage. Some schools might have similar essays so maybe you work with your consultant on School A's 500 word goal essay, and then do School B's very similar 500 word goal essay on your own. I also like to consider the other parts of the application like interviews. The HBS and Wharton interviews are very unique, for example, so by default, you may want to work with a consultant on those two schools so that if you do get an interview, you can prepare effectively. Video interviews are also becoming more popular these days so perhaps you do a school like Kellogg with your consultant and then do Yale on your own (or vice versa -- although remember the essays for these programs are completely different). Then there's just the sheer volume of work involved in an app...IMHO, CBS and Booth have historically been pretty labor intensive apps, so they are fairly high ROI apps for clients. 
So...lots of ways to look at this and we haven't even discussed budget, which is also an important factor. In short though, a good consultant should be able to advise on which schools it makes the most sense to work on together. 
Hope that helps!
Krista

TheIvyLeagueEdge · Answer

Great question...PhillyKid
I give my clients one of two options to choose from:
1) One School
2) Five schools

It really works, and till date has not only given the clients the best ROI (confirmed admissions, WITH high scholarships) as also chances at their dream schools.
Here is why:
1) A Good BARE MINIMUM list to attempt is 2 safety schools, 2 Target schools and 1 dream school (5 Schools). Once you are done with 5 (different caliber schools), you are ready to articulate your story with tiny resettings here and there. 
2) Actually, I encourage my clients to apply to 2 more schools in parallel, and am happy to provide my views on their final work for no additional money.
3) That said, for the client, it is difficult to trust someone with all the preparation (as also so much of money) until s/he have worked with the consultant for at least one school. That makes sense for the single school package. 
The charges for the single school however are very high since one school alone requires a huge amount of investment in terms of time and brainstorming for the consultant.

Happy to add any of my clients who came on as a single school applicant have each converted to a 5 school applicant with us, and have been very successful.

What does this mean for you?
If you sign up for one school alone, the consultant has a very high investment to make, and is usually not able to understand the entire story in order to guide you to the best results. 
I would therefore suggest the best strategy is to sign up for 5 schools, ALTHOUGH you should do extensive & intensive research before you sign up.

Mapshooter10 · Answer

PhillyKid,

Current Bschool student at Fuqua, worked with Scott from Personal MBA Coach when applying about a year and a half ago. I originally bought a one school package thinking I would take what I learned and apply to the 4 other schools I was applying to in R1. Big mistake on my part! I ended up upgrading to a 3 school package and buying hours for essays for 2 of my schools, but in hindsight I would have done a 5 school package.

IMO its the most bang for your bucks, and those schools should consists of 2 reach, 2 target, and 1 (or 2) safety. While its doable, transferring from one school to another is not recommended, as you really want to personalize/customize for each of the schools programs. They want to see that you have done your research, especially for Duke.

Here's my best advice - you only have one chance to get this right, don't risk it to try and save a few thousand dollars when the payoff is potentially massive. I still say now that the money I spent on my consultant was the best investment I ever made, and finishing Y1 of school, it couldn't have been truer. Any other questions let me know or send me a message, happy to help!

Accepted.com · Answer

Great question, And the answer varies by client. Some clients will work with us on one school or just a few schools to start on a  package , flat-fee basis. Then they either purchase additional packages,  time , or proceed on their own. Those options are all available at Accepted. Others want to work on all their applications without being concerned about hourly fees. They purchase packages for all their applications upfront, which gets them a discount. However, at  Accepted  you have flexibility in terms of how you proceed, and we provide the flexibility because clients have different needs.

Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Hiring Admission Consultant Comprehensive Package - How Many Schools?

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