As other readers of this thread go grab their popcorn, I will just address your main points as respectfully as possible.
sneakonr wrote:
1. I haven't discredited you - I merely brought up the coincidence that there were positive reviews from users with few posts and recent join dates after I posted my negative review. Could these reviews be fake? I don't know. How hard is it for someone to create a fake profile and write a good review? Business owners do it all the time.
it's pretty clear that by introducing doubt (without any actual evidence) specifically aimed at my credibility and the veracity of statements about me - that you are trying to discredit me. It's apparent when you state that you are not trying to do something, and then do it in the immediately following sentence. I'm just trying to make sense of why you personally targeted me,
when I have never worked with you. This is why I wanted to speak with you one-on-one - not because I have anything to hide, but because it's more personable, and because its harder to defame someone gratuitously when speaking with them (as opposed to a faceless forum ID.)
sneakonr wrote:
2. I never deleted any of my posts and I stand by every word I wrote. I still think that review is fake. GMATClub can't determine whether or not a review is real or fake.
this is the post that you deleted:
best-admission-consulting-companies-92923-380.html#p1166735. The actual entry remains, but you scrubbed all content from post - hence, deleting it. In the post the follows (
best-admission-consulting-companies-92923-380.html#p1166738) you can see that MNC86 replied to you calling him out as a shill by telling you that his GMAT Club review was being verified (which it was.)
Again, if you proclaim that MNC86's post is fake, then you trying to discredit me (which I can deal with) and my clients (which is absolutely not acceptable to me - hence, the time and effort I am spending here.)
one more point - GMAT Club does verify that reviews posted to each consultant's forum is accurate and true. They do this by asking both the client and the company to verify the details of the business relationship. They will also ask for receipts/contracts, correspondence, and acceptance letters/emails. It's not a conspiracy, it's transparency.
sneakonr wrote:
3. I have nothing to say to you or anybody at AmeriAsia on the phone that can't be posted here. I have nothing to hide in private and believe others would benefit from my experiences.
this puts me in a tough position, and I wished we could have handled this specific part away from the gaze of other forum members, and any admissions representatives that may be here. But since you want to discuss this publicly, I will oblige your wishes. In addition to the reasons I listed above, I wanted to speak with you in private because I wanted to urge you to take immediate steps to remove your public profiles, very personal information, and other questionable online content that you are posting under your actual name and username. The adcom can put 2 and 2 together, and they do comb through LinkedIn and other public sites. If you Google your full name or your forum name, any adcom member will see the pictures, comments, and habits that are not part of the picture you want to paint for your b-school candidacy. My advice to you is to immediately take those down. If we spoke offline, I would have emailed you the links that you should not be in public view because they discuss matters that fewer really needs to know. This includes links to dating and steroid websites. please - it makes no sense to have this discussion in public view. Although you encourage full transparency, you do have things to hide and I will refrain from posting these links.
sneakonr wrote:
4. Bottom line is - I believe the consulting services I received were quite poor. How could a company that claims the be one of the best advise a client to put down on his career goal essay that he is shifting from one field to another (in my case from engineering to marketing) without providing a clear transition? That was my case with AmeriAsia and I strongly believe it cost me admission into my top school choice (Columbia).
My interviewer at Columbia asked me questions such as "What have you been doing to prepare yourself for a career change?" and "Have you been reaching out to people in the marketing industry?" These are things that you would expect your Consultant to prepare you for, which in this case AmeriAsia didn't. If I were a consultant this would be one of the first things I tell my client!
When interviewing at Cornell (my alma mater and safety choice), I asked my interviewer what she would suggest to be the best way for me to prepare for business school and she told me that my drastic career change choice worried her. I had the numbers to back myself up (760 GMAT, 3.43 undergrad GPA, 3.30 grad GPA, both in mechanical engineering) but her biggest concern was that someone with the career goals that I stated in my essay would have trouble finding a job in this economy. I ended up getting waitlisted.
So a note to all those reading this - if your sole goal is to get into business school and you have no idea what your career goals are, make sure you tie them into your work experience and background. Unfortunately I learned this the hard way, even after shelling out close to $3000 to AmeriAsia for their comprehensive package and following their advice.
I understand you are upset and are venting. I would urge you to put aside emotion and take a step back, please.
It does NOT make me feel good to hear that you were not accepted to CBS or that you were waitlisted at Cornell. However, I believe you are misguided in your actions and anger. This is why - you are attacking me (I did not work directly with you) and my client's (not fine). Additionally, you did not even use
Amerasia for your Cornell application - this is an important point. If you review this post -
best-admission-consulting-companies-92923-360.html#p1150445 - you clearly state that you used a former Cornell admissions committee member (and not Adam) for your Cornell application. Yet, according to you, you still had the same critical flaw with Cornell that you did with CBS - your goals and your explanation of career switch. You blame Adam for it, then you proceed to attack my credibility, and that of my clients. Again, I know you are upset, but that does not give anyone the right to shift blame by (clearly) fabricating facts (such as removing your post or
Amerasia's influence on your Cornell app). Adam and I have had lengthy discussions regarding your profile and I have reviewed all email correspondence between him and you. I did see the emails you sent him describing the alumni interview, how you "stammered" and the very straightforward feedback that the alumni told you point blank (regarding your answers) during the interview. At no point
then did you blame Adam for that misstep.
we should have had this conversation offline. While this may serve as entertainment value for others on the forum, this whole episode make me genuinely sad to be a part of. Please, let's set up some time to speak over the phone, mono e mono.
Respectfully,
Paul Lanzillotti
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