A little background about me: I'm an Indian with 3 years of work ex at matriculation, 2.7 GPA, and 710 GMAT. I worked with Stefanie on 3 schools - Darden, Cornell, and UNC.

I signed up with Admissionado after talking to 3-4 consultancies. I had a few reasons for this - their essay style which felt inherently 'me', their feedback style which I felt most comfortable with, and most importantly, their cheerful approach toward the process (which helped me feel excited about it).

Stefanie was great at easing me into the process. I was a ball of anxiety at the beginning, but later, seeing how the essays were shaping up, I started to relax. Stefanie and I drew up an action plan initially which was great while fleshing out the outlines for each of the essays. She had great pointers and was lightning quick when it came to replying. Even though their official turnaround time is 3 days, Stefanie sent my essays back to me in 2 and they were thoroughly dissected, just as I'd expected and hoped. What I loved most was how her comments did such a great job at directing me toward what I had to write.

The editing part, although stressful, was a really fun process because of the way she gave feedback. I also loved how the only time they went dark was during Christmas, and that was only for a day. They were available on all days and did a superb job of adhering to the deadlines, always delivering before.

All in all, it was a lovely experience and I wouldn't have believed it two months ago, but I genuinely enjoyed the whole process, thanks to Stefanie & Admissionado!
Special shout out to Claudia who was super super understanding during my payment issue and extremely helpful throughout the whole thing.

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Working with John DC Miles from Admissionado was the best decision I made w.r.t. to MBA admissions. He not only was extremely insightful, but was honest and directional in his approach. The first cut of my essays, admittedly, were crap and the comments which John, and not to forget my behind-the-scene-editor, provided were directional and solution driven - which certainly is important because anyone can shun you down for a bad piece of writing, but the ability to guide you in the right direction, suited to your unique story, the ability to identify and surface the best points, the ability to highlight it subtly but aptly is what everything John possessed. He did wonders to my application, of an "over-represented" Indian pool, lower than average GMAT score (710), with a non-fancy or non-over-the-top story line by doing all these and having immense faith in my application (which mind you is more important than one can ever imagine).

I would also thank Claudia, for linking me to the right consultant and offering the best offers.

For the Indian applicant pool, I strongly recommend these guys, they truly are "awesome" as they state. These guys also suggest ways in which we can maximize from the interactions, like they share the huge pool of resources for all schools, help you make a list of schools you should apply to, help you shortlist schools you should work with them on, help you prep for interviews....I can go on endlessly about them which simply shows my admiration and gratitude for John and Admissionado!

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John and the team are rock star essay reviewers, mock interviewers, and general advice-givers. The folks at Admissionado are by no means magicians, but they will guide you step-by-step through the application process to help you put your best foot forward. The multiple iterations of essay drafts are hard work but well worth it. John will take the weakest potential aspect of your application, whether it be essays or interview skills, and do whatever he can to make it a strong suit. I'm confident that John's consulting services played a huge role in my admission to UT McCombs and would recommend him to anyone applying to b-school!

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Before John was recommended to me, I had interviewed two other consultants who also came highly regarded. I hadn’t been impressed with either and when I spoke with John I knew instantly it was a fit. I told him my concerns: I needed someone who would respond in a timely manner and who would help me craft my story. John set clear expectations from the get-go about turnaround time and he instilled confidence in me that I had a good story to share.

John helped me research schools and programs, which would best suit my career goals and interests. Beyond that, John helped me brainstorm ideas for essays and gave me editorial help. John surpassed all expectations when it came to that. I always felt he was honest and if he didn’t feel like the story made sense or the essay wasn’t quite there he was very candid. The entire process was collaborative and with John a lot less daunting.

This review wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t share a personal anecdote. I was re-applying for admissions this year, and I was feeling a bit hesitant to go ahead, since I didn't know how to best portray the change in my story through the essays. During one of our calls, not only did John help me understand the gaps in my applications from my previous attempt, he also provided an in-depth perspective on how to best highlight my progress since the last year. Whenever I was feeling a bit low regarding my chances, John instilled confidence in me and he was my personal cheerleader through the entire process.

I cannot recommend John enough for his creativity, his brilliance in crafting stories, and his ability to serve as a personal coach throughout the entire process in areas one might not expect! Do not even hesitate when choosing an adviser. I can guarantee you all expectations will be exceeded with John!

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Admissionado works in a very functional and structured way, and it is easy to work with them if you are organized enough. They have a whole team where you are assigned a Consultant to help strengthen your application and profile, and he works with other editors as well. I truly enjoyed working with Kirill since he really brought out the best of me. He inquired deeply into my stories and professional background, bringing to light takeaways that I had not even realized. He understood my personality and my strengths as a human and person, helping me showcase and exemplify these in my essays.

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If you are on the fence about getting a admission consultant just do it- I promise you it will be the best money you have ever spent. Sure, they are helpful to put together essays, but admissionado (and Julia especially) is there step by step of the way with you to answer any questions. This was huge for someone as indecisive as me. Julia was able to share what I could expect, what about my profile shined, and what I should stay focused on. My knowledge about applying to grad school now is night and day different than before I started working with Julia. Pick Julia if you want to get into your dream school, I did!

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I would highly recommend working with the Admissionado team for anyone looking to clean up and refine their MBA essays. My main rep was Seth, and Claudia was always quick to reply to my questions! The specific 1-school essay package is a great deal, and I received many rounds of feedback in a timely fashion. The team helped me uncover stronger ways to convey my story in my own voice. They clarified ways that I could make the essay personal while maintaining the professional nature of the piece. I was accepted to my top choice school, and the team gave me confidence in the essay portion of my application.

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I can’t speak highly enough of my experience working with Karen Doster and the Admissionado team. Let’s be honest, the application process is daunting and exhausting.

For me, the hardest part was getting my story of why an MBA and why now dialed in as I, in my opinion, had a very convoluted path. That is where Karen and Admissionado shined. With a few Skype calls, Karen was able to pull bits and pieces out of me and help weave them into a cogent story that flowed with my goals. It was seriously impressive how well she understood the kind of person I am and what my path has been leading up to business school to help me get my story tightly knit.

Throughout the few months we worked together, we exchanged dozens of emails. Her response time was always lightning quick and her advice was outstanding. What I really liked was that she was honest with her feedback. If something was working, she would give encouragement and help me explore the idea further. More importantly, if something wasn’t working, she would point it out and tell me why it wasn’t working and help me steer the boat in a new direction. I really think that her ability to give candid and honest feedback is such an integral part of the process.

If I had to go through the admission process again I wouldn’t change a thing. Working with Karen and Admissionado brought a ton of clarity, direction, and value to the process. I ended up getting admitted to my top choice -- with a scholarship!

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I was a re-applicant, but my personal and professional circumstances had changed significantly since my first application. In that, I could only go to a top business school which could offer me a scholarship because I had to support my family. What is more, doing that with a not-so-great GMAT (710) was obviously a steep challenge. That is why, I was looking for an admissions consultant that had truly mastered the art of applying, and I am so glad to have stumbled upon Admissionado. I strongly believe that the process they diligently use to build applications (content married with storytelling) is at the heart of their repeated success with applicants. Irrefutably, I would not have made it to a top European program (with 30,000 EUR scholarship) without their help.

My consultant was Stefanie Barlow, and since the very first interaction, she was approachable, patient, attentive to details, and most important, politely honest. Every time I submitted my essay for her review, she painstakingly edited my essays and marked it up with numerous powerful questions, which in turn, triggered the responses that made for outstanding story-telling. That is when I realized how robust (and outcome-oriented) their process of application-building is.

Admissionado is a delight to work with from an administrative perspective, too. Claudia is easily one of the most responsive people I know, and was accommodating to all my requests without much fuss (so common to other all too professional admissions consulting firms). For instance, I had initially paid for their resume editing services, but soon realized that I didn't really need their help on the resume. The team agreed to use my payment towards another package without much back-and-forth because they understand the confusion and stress that most business school students endure during the application process.

Again, I reserve the highest recommendation for the systematic process and the excellent team at Admissionado (special shout out for Stefanie and Claudia, of course). I can confidently say that anyone who diligently follows their process and puts in the required hard work will emerge successful -- regardless of the school she or he may be applying to.

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I was introduced to Admissionado by a friend who worked with them the previous year. My first call was with Stefanie and i instantly felt a great vibe with her.
Their questionnaire was a great 1st step because it forced me to think hard about what i wanted to convey with my essays. Before starting this process i had the misinformation that all they did was "check" the essays for grammatical errors and content but it was so much more!
Stefanie had an astute sense of who i was and what were my best qualities. She dug deep into every single line of my drafts and forced me to chalk out the details and remove all unnecessary fluff. She helped me weave a thoughtful narrative and provided a structure to my words.
Although i had the most communication with Stefanie, Claudia and the rest of the team were always on hand for help. They were swift with their responses no matter the time of the day. I was so satisfied with the essay process i eventually went back for help with my interviews as well.
The best part is, the entire team is really cheering you on and want you to do your best. Stefanie was a much needed motivational boost during the whole application process.

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