Peer Review Service for Essays

Question

What is this? 
Get your application essays reviewed for a FRACTION of what larger consulting services charge. I will critically review your essays for structure, grammar, flow, and most importantly...STORY. Find out if  someone who does not know you  can ascertain your unique angle from these essays.

Who the heck are you?? 
Nope, I'm not a fancy smancy consulting service. I'm just someone who has successfully tackled the application process to come out with scholarships to Duke, Carnegie Mellon, and Georgetown (full ride). I'll be matriculating at MIT Sloan this fall. I have a 100% acceptance rate - for both undergrad and grad schools. I'm nobody special with a 710 GMAT and non-brand-name work experience. But I have figured out how to still convince adcoms to like me.

All right that's legit, but why should I bother getting a peer review? 
I was fortunate to have friends from my target schools to provide critical, no BS feedback on my essays. This made all the difference for me. They helped me to answer...  am I telling a compelling story?   I learned so much through my own application process, and I want to share this with others. Read all the great advice from posts on various forums, blogs, and services, but there is NOTHING compared to getting actual feedback on YOUR essays.

Why choose you over other review services? 
They have great consultants and will give excellent feedback....at the tune of $250/hour. Some of us just can't afford that. I definitely couldn't. And if you are an international student and/or do not have personal connections with current students to provide advice,  I can help fill that gap .

So, how much does this actually cost? What do I get? 
One essay: $70.
Two essays: $120
Three essays: $175
Four essays: $225
 A complete set of essays is ideal so that I can help evaluate a holistic story.

I will spend at least an hour per essay reading for content, structure, flow, and grammar. I will use track changes to make comments and suggestions. For each essay, I will turn it around within 3 days max (negotiable). Please pay upfront through Paypal.

Important: I will NOT write your essays. That's just wrong.

Sounds good, but can I get some sort of satisfaction guarantee? 
Try me out with just one essay. I will do my best to make your $70 worthwhile. If you are seriously unsatisfied, I'll work with you till things are resolved.

A little bit more about me... 
I graduated magma cum laude from a top 20 university. I've spent the last five years in management consulting for Fortune 500 clients and Federal agencies. At work, I taught business writing workshops for new hires, and I led several winning proposals. I know a bit about writing compelling essays.

That's it! Please feel free to post or send questions.  PM me to get started!  Good luck to those who are starting early for the Class of 2015!

Best,
Bethany

smartguydexter · Answer

Ladies and gentlemen,

I have had some PM conversations with Bethany and feel that she knows her stuff pretty darn well ! She has given me critical insights about the essay writing ordeal and some useful comments about how I can project my profile.

I plan to get my essays reviewed from her and will keep everyone posted.

BranStark · Answer

just posting feedback for Bethany - great insight and edits on my R1 essays! I'm an international re-applicant, and she provided valuable perspective on the content and structure. Highly recommend for others.

Aximili85 · Answer

sounds very compelling, definitely going to try one set of essays here in the coming month..

str1der · Answer

I used Bethany's services for an essay and would like to share my views on the experience I had Disclaimer: Writing the below as a critic, although I myself am no expert

however, want to give it a flavour of a review. Hence, take my 'Areas of Improvement' comments with a pinch of salt, as it is actually me who's gunning for the improvement

Background: I have used editing services for only 1 essay thus far, which was for a reapplication Experience: 1. Extremely good turnaround 2. Very sharp editing - reduced redundancy immensely eg: up to 20% word count reduction while giving me comfort of no loss in meaning 3. Very detailed inputs on why she was cutting something, why she recommended adding something, why something was out of place etc. rather than merely editing it. Ample commentary 4. Very helpful attitude - followed up proactively and remained in touch like a friend would - I am sure she'll be a welcome part of the Sloan fraternity Areas of Improvement Only one area - I felt her comments were more on grammar, prose, style and flow than the quality of what was written. Not to say that there was no focus on the latter, but could be more detailed. Eg: what is HER opinion of my essay as a reader who doesnt know me in person but only through the essay. To be honest, I only did a reapplicant essay with her where there is limited space to put down so much and hence is more 'plane jane' leaving limited room for exhibiting creativity. Or maybe I am just that good?

haha Would I engage her for other essays? Yes. As an applicant, I need a good sounding board and I think Bethany is a good one. For grammar and content, I think she's excellent. I hope to get more qualitative comments from her the next time round and if my experience changes, I will post it here.

pitzzz · Answer

Fellow Gmat Clubbers,

Bethany helped me with one application (3 essays), and I would like to share my experience.

Pros:
- Turnaround time. In less than 24 hours she sent me back my reviewed essays. 
- Superb written English skills. Since I am an international applicant, my essays had some typos. She pointed out each error and suggested new wording options in order to still deliver the message intended. She even explained why I should change some words and sentences (specific grammar rules, sentence fluency, word-count, etc).
- Great overall admissions perspective. She knows what an adcom is looking for in an applicant. Based on your essays she can give you a very honest and valuable opinion on what to mention and what to avoid in your essays.
- She transmits a very positive vibe.

Cons:
- Seriously, none. She completely exceeded my expectations.

If you need someone to thoroughly review your essays, I absolutely recommend you contact Bethany.

SyedSan · Answer

I think I have unique perspective on this issue for I've had my essays reviewed by professional consultant as well as by Bethany.

Anyway, I have showed two sets to her so far. I thought Bethany is incredibly smart, her critical comments are extremely helpful and turnaround time was about 24hrs in both the cases. Further, she is really good at saving words - with all the schools reducing the word limit, this is incredibly helpful.

Finally, I'll have her review my 3rd set very soon, and would highly recommend others to utilize her expertise - she charges only $160 for set of four while the professionals can take as much as $1K.

Having said that, I'd also like to emphasize that if you have not already introspected a lot and came up with selected stories, going to professional consultants would be more helpful than sending essays to Bethany - she is more for review than selecting your stories or assessing your profile. Perhaps most importantly, some of the consultants have FLIGHT TEST that involves somebody who has worked in the AdCom team to look at your resume, transcript, stories and overall profile, and provide you feedback - this is awesomely helpful feature.

Good Luck & Happy New Year!!

Aximili85 · Answer

Bottom line: I would recommend one uses Bethany for particularly tough essays, she decodes them well. If you do 80% of one application with her, it will help as she will get the bigger picture of your app and her suggestions are more in depth.

I asked Bethany (her GMATClub name) to review 4 out of 5 essays for INSEAD. And will request her help with Booth in the coming few days. My story is a bit different, I used Stacy Blackman for my first two essays, was bankrupted after that, and could not afford more schools with them. StacyBlackman was great for overall story building, short-term/longterm goals. I already had a good idea of my short term, but SB helped me firm up the longterm goals section. Anyway, that's relevant for the following reasons mentioned:

Pros for Bethany:
1) Turn around time: here's a comparison, StacyBlackman has a strict 48 hour policy. They apparently don;t even need to acknowledge that they have received your essay/edit till that time. Its frustrating when you have back to back deadlines, I didn't know if my consultant was working on it or not, and I had Wharton and Kellogg two weeks apart with Duke right after Kellogg. The consultant actually exceeded that 48 hour deadline, didn't pick up my calls to check, and sent it to me 3 days later. Was frustrating since I paid so much for dedicated service, really made me appreciate Bethany's one day turn around time.
2) Grammatical consistency/ROI for cost: A+
3) My "story" was already in place - however, I had made that story for U.S. schools, so my INSEAD app story was a bit shaky. She gave some good suggestions on changing my tone for this school, modifying some points etc. Some people above have mentioned that her suggestions are more on the grammatical side, as opposed to qualitative suggestions. I can't say that with firmness, I think if you call her attention to a particular paragraph or point and ask her opinion, she gives quite cogent answers.

Cons:
Don't really have one, here's a mixed point -
1) Bethany - one suggestion, this will increase your work, but you should request a one paragraph summary of the applicant's backgrund (or their resume). Just for increasing the insights on the actual points. Anyway, just a suggestion, I think she's doing a marvelous job!

purpleshirt · Answer

Thank you all for the positive and constructive feedback. I'm very happy to be able to help aspiring mba students (I was in your shoes last year!), and I appreciate the constructive feedback on how I can continue improving my services.

One thing I would like to emphasize for people who are considering getting my help:

From SyedSan: "if you have not already introspected a lot and came up with selected stories, going to professional consultants would be more helpful than sending essays to Bethany - she is more for review than selecting your stories or assessing your profile."

I completely agree with this point.  Help me help you.  I am NOT a professional admissions consultant, and I do NOT advertise my service as helping select stories or assessing your profile. And as such, I don't charge $1,000s for an application package. That sort of feedback takes a lot more time and admissions experience - both of which I obviously do not have as a full-time MIT Sloan student.  Where I provide value is an objective perspective on your essay  (e.g. what reaction would a reader have to your essay?)  and very critical grammar/writing editing  (is your essay easy to read? Remember, they are reading hundreds of applications).

Again, I've been thrilled to help everyone that's sought me out and I've tried my best to make it completely worth your value. Thank you all for the feedback.

A little advertisement to R2 readers:  If you were not been successful in R1, consider this: does it make sense to submit the same application package to your second round of schools?

BestOrNothing · Answer

Dear All,

this sounds interesting. I have blogging for more than 2.5 years and recipient of ClearAdmit Best of blogging awards for 2 consecutive years.

I have started offering free Essay reviews services on my blog- www.mbapensive.wordpress.com

Till now, more than 35 applicants with 130 essays have benefited from my services. On top that some of them have got into , Schulich, IE, AIM, ISB and one girl admitted to Harvard as well.

Please feel free to visit my blog and get in touch with me for free essay reviews page on my blog. It contains my motivation to start this initiative, Client testimonials, clarifications to doubts raised my some readers, result of admitted students.

Hope to hear back from you soon.

purpleshirt · Answer

Hello everyone! I took a short break to focus on recruiting and school-related activities but I'm back! If you are applying to R2/R3 or getting started early on R1, now is the time for a peer review. Please PM me for more information! I look forward to hearing from you

A little advertisement to R2/R3 readers: If you were not been successful in R1, consider this: does it make sense to submit the same application package to your second round of schools?

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