Price Comparison of MBA Consultants and Links to their Sites

Question

I'm done with GMATs, and now the plan is to apply for Round 2 to various schools. I'm going to start shopping around for a consultant, but there are so many and so hard to choose! From what I've seen, reviews tend to not be helpful as everyone gets a 5/5 rating. And, cost to me is always a factor. I'm not made of $$

I haven't found any place to quickly look up all my options and find price comparisons; so, I've made a googledoc spreadsheet that lists prices and their websites. I hope others will find this useful as well for a quick price comparison and look up for their consultant shopping. Let me know if I'm missing any companies, and I'll add them when I can. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... sp=sharing 0AvQWcVoFKJVfdEtoVHRJRXh1WlotV1NGaVhoQmhCbGc

farful · Answer

Some thoughts after going through a couple (okok, more than a couple) "free 30 minute consultation"

I love it when you send me a personalized email, as opposed to an automatically generated email. That said,  please  don't misspell my name!

I like it when you go slightly above 30 minutes, or at least make it sound like time isn't a constraint giving me personalized attention. I don't like it when you show up a few minutes late and need to leave right on the dot at 1:30.

No, I don't want to have a 30-minute free conversation from a 23 year old fresh graduate from a tier-4 college and have him give me a profile review and decide who might be the right consultant for me, especially when most other companies provide actual consultants, who are MBA grads, to do the free consultation.

I'm a little confused as to why you allow me to hand-pick your consultant (from dozens!) to have a free consultation with, but they're not available for hire.

Feedback is inconsistent. It's hard to tell who's giving me a realistic picture of where I stand. I have consultants who directly contradict each other, both about my profile and determining which schools I have a good shot at, making the task of choosing a consultant quite difficult.

GrantMeAdmission · Answer

Just out of curiosity, what is your reasoning behind "needing" a consultant? You must have given this a lot of thought, especially because of your budget.

MBAAdmissionsCoach · Answer

Hi Farful!

Thanks for putting together this list. I operate a boutique MBA admissions consulting business, MBA Admissions Coach (https://MBAAdmissionsCoach.com) and I'd like to be added to your list.

My hourly rate is $250 per hour, and I charge the following for my comprehensive packages: 1 School Package: $3,700, 2 School Package: $4,900, 3 School Package: $6,100, 4 School Package: $7,300, 5 School Package: $8,500.

Although I work hourly and on comprehensive school packages, most of my clients find that purchasing packages for specific services - resume update, essays for one school, etc., works out the best for them.

I started my business this past summer after serving as the Director of MBA Admissions for 15 years. Despite leaving my formal admissions role, I found that I really missed working directly with MBA applicants. So now, I get to continue doing the things that I love. All of my clients work directly with me.

Best wishes to all of the applicants out there!

Wendy

farful · Answer

Hi there, we've actually talked before (though you may not remember). You were extremely helpful and gave me a great start (and resources) to my research on business schools. So I thank you for that

I'll keep my response short. I've recently decided to pursue an MBA. The biggest reason why I feel I need a consultant is because I don't know anything about business schools nor do I know anyone personally who is in or went through business school. I need someone knowledgeable to help guild me through this process. Furthermore, I will be a one-time applicant. I have my age working against me, but more importantly, I have family considerations. This summer will be the only chance I have to move without impacting my family a great deal.

bb · Answer

P.S. Published a copy of your spreadsheet (it is a copy only so it is not tied to yours/changes you make will not be reflected).
You can, however get yours up there if you go to File > Publish in the Google docs and then paste the KEY value in the post.

Ward2012 · Answer

I'm not clear what your criteria is to include a company on your spreadsheet, but as you mention there are tons of admissions consultancies out there. I, myself, have a list of close to 85 consultants from my own research when I was looking for a consultant (note this is just a list of names, and does not have anything about pricing).

bb · Answer

Wow. Impressive research and probably quite a bit of decision making went into that... do you care to share who you picked?
Or at least what was the deciding factor?
Thanks!

farful · Answer

I don't really have a criteria - I just went ahead and compiled a list of consultants that I found here on gmatclub.
If you want to give me names of others, I'm sure I'll be able to find them via google and will add their information to the spreadsheet.

drebellion · Answer

Hi Farful,
I suggest column 2 be moved towards last column. Doing so will make the price comparison easier. As of now we cannot see the name of the company and the prices together.
Thanks,
dRebellion!

Ward2012 · Answer

Attached is my list. Please note that this list was compiled in Fall 2012, and I have not updated it with new consultancies that I have come across since then. Also I don't have any admissions consultants based in India on this list, and also some may not be in business anymore.

CriticalSquare · Answer

Hey Farful,

This is a great list - thanks for pulling it together! Could you add a link to our free consultation form for folks who are interested in chatting with us? Thanks!

https://criticalsquare.com/contact-us/f ... sultation/

FortunaAdmissionsMJ · Answer

Fortuna Admissions, as we are fairly new, isn't on this list either but for our services and prices, you can check us out here: https://fortunaadmissions.com/services/

What makes Fortuna unique though is that our entire team is made up of former Admissions Directors from the top b-schools in the US and Europe so we've been on the 'other side'. Another plus is that if you sign up for a full school package, you get to work with 2 consultants/expert coaches as opposed to 1.

We also understand that cost can be a factor for many so we are willing to set up a price/package that works best for you. Give us a call anytime (or email).

All the best,

ARINGO · Answer

Farful, thanks for this valuable research.
We'd like to add that our prices above are not final. Each Aringo client is considered for a discount from the Lese fund, and there is also a discount through GMAT Club!
Feel free to  contact us  to learn more about our services and discounts.

farhanchaudhary · Answer

I just can't afford it

. Thank you for preparing a list which help students like me motivate us further to work on our own.

neo656 · Answer

From my experience I can tell that these prices tend to be indicative. The consulting company might customize the package to suit your needs or they just might get convinced that you deserve to pay less. I used Aringo's services once, to get an independent opinion about one of my applications just before I hit the submit button. It was cool experience - prompt and to the point responses.
So I'd recommend to go ahead and talk to the consultants about your needs and affordability, worst case scenario - you'll hone your negotiation skills.

myEssayReview · Answer

Hello farful,

Thanks for putting together the list. Could you please include myEssayReview to the list? I am Poonam Tandon, an independent admission consultant; I founded myEssayReview in 2011 after three decades of successful teaching career in India and the US. Since the past 4 years, I have helped over hundred students get accepted into their dream schools.

What makes myEssayReview unique is my highly personalized service, great results, and extremely affordable pricing.

Here is link to my website:

https://myessayreview.com/index.php

Here is link to the pricing page:

https://myessayreview.com/pricing.php

Links to the GMAT club verified reviews of my students:

https://gmatclub.com/reviews/myessayreview-345345505

https://gmatclub.com/reviews/instructor/ ... -345345587

Thank so much,

Poonam

fxMBAconsulting · Answer

I guess this is an old thread but still relevant (although the prices in the spreadsheet are now a bit outdated). If you're wondering why prices are what they are - I do a special segment on that in my video (see Cost & Benefit section)
https://youtu.be/xCZAYfNnuTc

alphanumericman · Answer

I watched your video, and I do not think that it offered any reasonable explanation of "why prices are what they are." It seemed mostly like an argument for why independent consultants are superior to firms, i.e., a sales pitch for your own services. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but that's just my honest feedback.

fxMBAconsulting · Answer

Hi Alphanumericman,

Thanks for watching the video and commenting. You're right in that during the video I don't directly address why prices are what they are and I regret not having posted instead that the video would 'help people understand how to get the best value for their money from a consultant given prices being what they are'. I apologize if that statement caused you to waste time watching my video.

In terms of giving you a sense of why consultant prices are what they are - in the video I do talk about a few topics that are indirectly related to fee allocation:
- factors like how much time/availability your consultant will have for you,
- the number of revisions the consultant will be willing to do on essays/resumes (unlimited or limited),
- how much money independent vs consultants who work for firms really make (and what type of service you can reasonably expect from each).

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't find the video useful. And I'm sorry and surprised to hear that you think it was just a promotional video for myself. The video is 15 minutes long and I think it provides candidates with a lot of insider knowledge into the mba admissions consulting industry. I actually put a lot of time and effort into making the video and the segment in which I speak about independent vs consultants who work for firms is in the 'Costs & Benefits' section which only lasts 2 minutes. The rest of the video covers (I think) a lot of important topics that people should consider when hiring a consultant:

I Asking for examples of past work
II Performing Due Diligence
III Full vs Part-time Consultants
IV Costs & Benefits (ROI)
V Consultant Availability to the Client
IV Firm and Consultant Transparency
IIV Leveraging Recommendations
IIIV Tips for International Applicants

All the best to you in your applications and hunt for a consultant

Leah

Quote:

I watched your video, and I do not think that it offered any reasonable explanation of "why prices are what they are." It seemed mostly like an argument for why independent consultants are superior to firms, i.e., a sales pitch for your own services. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but that's just my honest feedback.

Leah

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