Has anyone tried ApplicantLab.com?

First of all I would say a huge round of applause for the marvelous tool created by Maria - Applicant Lab
Well I was very confused in the beginning of my application process as I had low work experience and my GMAT not being in ideal 700s range. So I started talking to people, friends and MBA Consultants. I took many free consultation both with the US and Indian ones. But was either discouraged to apply for colleges before 60th ranking in US and Europe or ended up being very expensive to afford. But when I came across the Applicant Lab portal I immediately wanted to try it. So I wrote to Maria about it and she was kind enough to set up a free consultation as well before I actually went ahead and bought the entire thing.

I would not speak in a flowery language to persuade you guys to go ahead and buy in the portal rather I would tell you the facts. I applied to 8 colleges through out the Europe and US and was shortlisted by 6 of them viz. George Washington University, McGill, Copenhagen Business School, WHU, Mannheim and Frankfurt. And also received scholarships in couple of them. I finally choose to come to George Washington School of Business where I received $40,000 worth of scholarship and I would say the entire credit goes to Maria and the Applicant Lab. Her expertise in essay drafting, telling your most convincing story in Interview and the over all feel of confidence she instills in you while working with her is phenomenal. I have also recommended my friends to work with her and I would say she is bridging the most valuable gap in the industry by providing such a tool along with her expertise at such inexpensive rates. Making it a fair game for everyone fighting for that seat in prestigious business schools

Thank you so much Maria for all your support and confidence in me.

I'm sorry I made another authentic account as that account was hacked so I'm posting the review here again. Feel free to contact me if you have any doubts.

First of all I would say a huge round of applause for the marvelous tool created by Maria - Applicant Lab
Well I was very confused in the beginning of my application process as I had low work experience and my GMAT not being in ideal 700s range. So I started talking to people, friends and MBA Consultants. I took many free consultation both with the US and Indian ones. But was either discouraged to apply for colleges before 60th ranking in US and Europe or ended up being very expensive to afford. But when I came across the Applicant Lab portal I immediately wanted to try it. So I wrote to Maria about it and she was kind enough to set up a free consultation as well before I actually went ahead and bought the entire thing.

I would not speak in a flowery language to persuade you guys to go ahead and buy in the portal rather I would tell you the facts. I applied to 8 colleges through out the Europe and US and was shortlisted by 6 of them viz. George Washington University, McGill, Copenhagen Business School, WHU, Mannheim and Frankfurt. And also received scholarships in couple of them. I finally choose to come to George Washington School of Business where I received $40,000 worth of scholarship and I would say the entire credit goes to Maria and the Applicant Lab. Her expertise in essay drafting, telling your most convincing story in Interview and the over all feel of confidence she instills in you while working with her is phenomenal. I have also recommended my friends to work with her and I would say she is bridging the most valuable gap in the industry by providing such a tool along with her expertise at such inexpensive rates. Making it a fair game for everyone fighting for that seat in prestigious business schools

Thank you so much Maria for all your support and confidence in me.

Applicant Lab is awesome!! It's so cheap too - the online portal had tons and tons of advice and structure to help me organize my thoughts and draw out the most high-impact stories from essays, to recommender prep, to interviews. Amongst all the consultancies out there, Applicant Lab stood out for how affordable and tailored it was. Coming from a nonprofit background, Applicant Lab helped me tell my story in a way that would be compelling to adcom by managing all the different components of my application to make sure my "brand" was really popping. I honestly don't know what I would've done without it.

and a plus (but super important) - Maria is AMAZINGLY accessible if you need her. It's honestly a win-win, and I'm so glad something like this exists.

ApplicantLab is a wonderful tool for essays and recommendations. It helps to get clarity on which strengths (and weaknesses) to focus on in the essays and which stories to highlight.

The best part of the tool was step-by-step build-up of ideas. Initially you start with your strengths and weaknesses. Then you move on your career vision and Why MBA? This helps to organize ideas and leads to better build up of stories.

Then you jot down all the stories which you feel will add value to your application. These will highlight relevant personality traits which are mapped as per essays of your chosen colleges. For example, if an essay asks you about leadership, you can just include 2-3 relevant stories with an introduction and conclusion to the essay and your job is done!

The suggestions are tailor-made for every college and each essay of those colleges.

For interviews, you can buy hours through the tool. Maria Wich-Vila (founder of ApplicantLab) is extremely helpful. She covers almost all the questions which could be asked in the actual interview. This will keep you prepared and avoid any curveballs.

Overall it is a great product, probably the best MBA consultation service. At the least give the free version of the product a try. That's what convinced me to buy the full version!

So I'll preface this post by saying that what ApplicantLab has created is really an incredible, easy to use tool, at a fraction of the cost of other Admissions Consultants.

I was getting ready to apply for Business School and I knew that the prestigious Consortium Fellowship would be my only chance to pay for a good business school. I went on a message board, posted my profile "stats", and asked others my chances at winning the Fellowship, and was flat-out told by "experts" on the thread that not only would I never get the Fellowship, but that I probably would not even get accepted to these programs. Here are two of the comments I received.

"If you applied to all of the listed schools, I imagine you'd get into one or two. "

"Consulting firms probably won't interview you....As far as scholarships, normally I'd say no shot...and I don't know much about the consortium."

I was really disappointed after receiving that feedback from my post. Getting an MBA was a lifelong dream and I knew I needed help but I couldn't afford an admissions consultant -- they charge so much! Thankfully, I found ApplicantLab. I applied to 7 full-time programs and was accepted into all of them; including two full-tuition scholarships and the prestigious Consortium Fellowship! I really owe it all to the easy to use and very reasonably priced ApplicantLab, especially considering the huge ROI I received! ($300 Investment ; $100,000+ return)

The Lab's amazing interactive platform took me from feeling hopeless to feeling empowered. I felt like every step of the way, I knew exactly what to do. There were videos and useful interactive exercises for every question I had along the way! I most thoroughly enjoyed the Strategy and Preparation, Essay Writing and Interview Prep!

ApplicantLab had instructions on how to approach each essay question, which stories to focus on, and even detailed preparation materials for the interview. I am 5 and a half years removed from my Undergrad, so needless to say it had been a long while since I had written any sort of essay. ApplicantLab was absolute God-send! The strategy and planning sections helped me organize my thoughts and made me think about my career and how I could show AdComs just how much value I could add to an MBA program. It looks like it worked! The interview prep was also very helpful; ApplicantLab has various questions that lets you know what to expect from your interview. Without this section, I know I would not have gotten into all of the schools I applied.

I highly recommend using ApplicantLab! The tool is truly a great value for anybody who wants to get into a top MBA program!

So, did you use the tool? If you did, what are your reviews?

Used it. Loved it. I had 0/9 invites last year. I have a couple top 5 and a few top 10-12 invites this round. I will, of course, post a much more detailed debrief and my experiences in December.

*fingers crossed*

Hi friend,
I was about to buy the Applicant Lab package but just wanted to understand if I should buy it now or later. I will be taking GMAT in March, 2018, i.e. planning to join the classes in 2019 if all goes well. I understand that I should take it now itself as the subscription/account doesn't expire. What do you suggest?

Bulleride, the subscription does not expire, I suggest you to start as soon as you can.
I found it really helpful, it was the only "admissions consultant" I used, and it had all the material I needed to get approved to my #1 choice school (Wharton).

How long the initial process on ApplicantLab takes to churn out a couple of essays for the first bschool I would be applying to?

Can the applicant lab tool be used for any number of applications ? How can it be used to develop different narratives for different colleges ?