TLDR:
I worked with Paul from Amerasia for two-school complete package (application + interview).
I received R1 offers from both schools (Cambridge & LBS).
I recommend him to the fullest degree.

Detailed review of Paul & Amerasia:
I will breakdown my experience and provide a score for each of the criteria that I find to be important when it comes to admission consultation.

Knowledge & Expertise (5/5):
Paul is extremely knowledgeable about the MBA admission process in general, and his experience allows him to provide practical and helpful insights and guidance. He has also built up a wealth of information on application and interview. I found the materials he supplied me with to be intuitive and helpful. He allowed me to look past many of the "advice" offered on various forums by so called experts. Even though he mostly works with clients applying to US schools, I had no problem putting together solid application packages and getting through the interviews - all for European schools.

Communication (4/5):
I have to be honest here. Sometimes Paul can be a bit hard to reach. Having gone through the application process and looking back on the overall experience, this is not a big deal. It's not like he doesn't deliver on his words. However, for students admission process can be an emotional roller coaster, and at times having someone to speak to readily will greatly help with the stress. This is the only thing that I felt like Paul can improve upon. He does make it up also by spending the time with you. I've never had a single phone call where he asked to hang up first. He is willing to go over the allocated 30 minutes or an hour to address all of your questions, comments, and concerns. I very much appreciated that about Paul. In terms of style of communication, he is very honest. He will let you know directly that your work sucks. He will also let you know when you do a decent job.

Commitment & Engagement (5/5):
Paul's engagement style and his level of commitment is what got me to work with him over all the other big name consulting firms. I noticed immediately during the initial (free) consultation. Every other consultants hung up after a 30 minute conversation on the dot. Paul was different. Even for a free initial call, he spent an hour and a half talking with me. He will go over and beyond for you and he makes you feel that he, too, is truly invested in your success. It will obviously vary depending on people (and personalities), but him and I built a pretty strong relationship (considering the fact that we've never seen each others' faces and all of the communications were via email and phone calls) with him. This provided me with a sense of security that I really needed to overcome the stresses of application journey. He truly made me feel like he was looking after my best interest, and never once made me feel like our engagements were transactional. If you want someone in your corner during your MBA application journey, Paul is your man.

Value (5/5):
Value is personal and relative, so I will keep it pretty brief. His pricing is pretty much better than anything in the market. Not only that, as mentioned before, Paul is more committed and knowledgeable than other consultants I have talked to & received service (I used another company last year, but wasn't very happy with what I got) from.

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Adam is AMAZING. You will be lucky if you can work with him, as now he only works with client referrals. He truly goes above and beyond for every applicant and I cannot thank him enough!

- He is incredibly honest and direct -- if he doesn't think you have a credible shot, he will not work with you for that school. He will also be honest about the holes in your application and where the questions may arise. He is not afraid to hurt your feelings if your essay or answers need lots of help.

- His memos and strategy guides are incredible -- they give you fantastic insight into each school and each essay topic (what it means, what you should think about, what you should avoid, etc.)

- He spends the time to get to know you -- I have heard that other consultants will try to "bucket" applicants without taking the time to get to know you. He takes the opposite approach, don't care about what others might perceive your background, just be yourself!

- He knows how to tell a story -- this is super helpful when it comes to distilling your entire background into a few short paragraphs / pages or making sure the most important aspects of your life are able to shine through

- His team brings well-rounded expertise and insight -- a separate team member reviews your resume and a separate team member gives a mock interview

Best of luck with your admissions process! If you are lucky enough to work with Adam, you are in good hands.

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I found Amerasia on GMATClub and reached out to them 3 weeks (yup, 3 weeks) before MBA deadlines for 2019 intake. At that point, I'd just re-taken my GMAT, had not started on any of my applications, essays or recommendations. I remember asking Drew if I should just wait to apply for 2020 intake to avoid rushing through my applications. However given that I'm slightly older, he advised me to go ahead with this round.

We started working on the essays straight away. Drew had a very structured approach towards the entire process. He had detailed memos for each segment of the application, from recommendations to essays to interviews. This made it less overwhelming as it broke down the entire process into smaller and more achievable segments. I found this extremely helpful as I was working under extreme time constraint.

Drew was very responsive with emails. He was giving me feedback on my essays and applications through the Christmas and New Year's period, taking only Christmas day off. It was easy to schedule calls with Drew when I needed to discuss my applications over the phone, especially since I'm located in South East Asia.

Here's my background: I am South East Asian, studied Economics and Statistics for my undergrad, worked as an analyst for 5 years in telco industry, and had a 710 GMAT score.

I applied for 3 schools - Harvard, Stanford and Wharton. I was accepted to Harvard and Wharton and was waitlisted for Stanford. After being waitlisted to Stanford, Drew shared some detailed guidance on the waitlist process and how to improve my chances, i.e. writing additional essays.

I found the entire experience to be very pleasant. Drew was extremely supportive throughout the entire process and gave direct feedback about essays and my interview responses.

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I would highly recommend Adam Hoff at Amerasia. I found him to be a true partner throughout the application process, and his feedback/work is top notch. He is not only very knowledgeable about what each of the schools is looking for (or not looking for), but he is quite honest and upfront with you. He is especially helpful with the essays, and will push you to make them as strong as possible. It seems like he has a real vested interest in each person he works with. He is used year after year by all the pre-MBAs that go through my private equity program, and with great results.

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I was introduced to Adam Hoff and Amerasia through a high school classmate that worked with Adam and recommended him highly. My classmate and his wife both received Adam's help and guidance throughout their b-school application process and wound up at HBS together. After hearing rave reviews about Amerasia, I was excited to hear about their services and set up an initial consultation with Drew Hoff.

After going back and forth on whether I wanted to use an admissions consultant I ended up choosing to work with Drew and Amerasia because of the personal and dedicated approach that was shown in my hour plus consultation call; very different than any other free consultation calls I had before. Looking back at my notes from that call, Drew really opened my eyes to a successful and feasible path forward towards reaching my b-school goals due to his attention to detail and sincere advice based on the short questionnaire I had filled out beforehand.

Drew was a huge help at the start of the process as my brain had been swirling around in circles when I was trying to figure out where to begin on my own. I asked for guidance and a voice of reason throughout the application process and received it from Drew each step of the way - from vetting my final list of schools to choosing which stories to write about to preparing as best as possible for interviews.

The personalized strategy memos were really the kickstart to the hot and heavy time of my application period and they were a great help for putting pen to paper. I certainly remember being frustrated staring at a blank Word page for hours on end but Drew was there to coach me through my jumbled thoughts and help maintain my clear vision for b-school and beyond. Drew was responsive no matter how many iterations of my essays I went through and I distinctly remember the point in time where I took a step back after reading an updated version and thinking, "wow, I really have a chance at this" and "I've really learned A LOT about myself".

I cannot thank Drew and Amerasia enough for the instrumental help in the application process and I am happy to report that I was accepted at both Wharton & Kellogg when it was all said and done. (I interviewed at GSB & Haas and got dinged right off the bat at HBS). For quick reference - B.S. in Civil Engineering, 5 years in construction, 770 GMAT.

I'd strongly recommend Drew and Amerasia!

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I worked with Adam from Amerasia on the complete school package for two of the four schools to which I was applying. Adam was incredibly helpful in all aspects of the application process including essays, guidance on selecting recommenders, and (fortunately) preparing for interviews.

Adam did a great job of getting to know my background and what I was interested and passionate about, and then making sure that I stayed true to those elements throughout the process. He knew when to push me to dig deeper for more details and how to effectively cultivate my experience in order to craft my story. Despite multiple revisions of my essays, Adam always responded quickly and gave me his honest assessment every step of the way. When it came time for interviews, Adam helped connect me with hand-picked interview experts from the Amerasia team who helped to ensure that I was not only prepared for the generic MBA interview questions, but also those that would demonstrate my interest and commitment to each school.

Overall, I cannot recommend Adam highly enough based on my experience as he and the entire Amerasia team helped me immensely throughout the application process.

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Over the past 2 years, I spoke with 10+ consultants, worked with 5 of them on various schools and services, and found Americasia’s Adam Hoff one of the bests for the following reasons: 1) an extremely clear and detailed understanding, breakdown, and strategy for each school and 2) a genuine interests in the candidate’s performance.

Since Adam was referred to me by a friend who got into Booth with Adam, I decided to work with him on Booth through a School Package. Throughout the application process, Adam provided me with materials that were more reading-friendly, to-the-point, and in-depth than most other consultants; Americasia really knows its stuff.

The twist comes here: I did not get into Booth, and thought Adam and my work would end here; nevertheless, in a few months’ time when I received an interview invitation from MIT Sloan in R2 and sought for Adam’s advice, Adam voluntarily provided me with a mock interview with MIT Sloan, which was not the school I had purchased the School Package for. This small act of kindness was very touching and inspiring; furthermore, the mock interview prep helped me obtain an offer letter from MIT Sloan.

Extremely supportive throughout the process; very attentive.

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Summary/Results – My wife and I both worked with Adam in the fall/winter of 2017 (applying for spots in the Class of 2020). We only applied to Stanford GSB and HBS; we were both dinged by the former and accepted to the latter. This review will be from my perspective only, as my wife will add hers separately.

Initial Call – My initial call with Adam was the most informative of all of my initial consulting calls. He provided actionable advice, such as the suggestion to apply to GSB and HBS in separate rounds instead of in the same one. He has a clear and direct manner that I like, and which is ultimately why I decided to work with him.

The Process (non-essay components) – As you have likely read by now, Adam corresponds almost exclusively over email. I was perfectly fine with this, as it kept communication efficient. Given that the application process (outside of the essays) is fairly standardized, Adam/Amerasia has come up with several "memos" which break down how to tackle each component (e.g., how to craft an effective resume, how to present your goals in an MBA-friendly manner, etc). Adam also gets input from the other advisers at Amerasia, as well as outside experts so that your final product will have been viewed from several different perspectives.

Essays – Adam provides the perfect amount of guidance. After giving me the strategy memo for a particular essay, it was up to me to craft the first draft. Like everything else, going back and forth on drafts with Adam was highly effective and efficient – his advice is clearly presented and isn't forced upon you to the point where you lose your personal voice. It goes without saying that he WILL NOT write your essays for you; the heavy lifting is still your responsibility. He is simply there to provide additional perspective and guidance.

Interview Prep – Again, very effective. After providing me with another memo, Adam set me up with a consultant he uses for interview prep which was extremely helpful.

Overall – I decided to use a consultant to maximize my chances of success. I am fairly confident in my writing abilities and did not want to blindly follow some drill-sergeant type. Thus, Adam was the perfect adviser for me, and I would highly recommend him.

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Working with Drew and Amerasia was the key to my MBA admissions success. I had a below target score of 680 but had my eyes on the top programs. By working with Drew to unearth my story and find my true passions, I was able to obtain interview offers at every school I applied to, and earned a full tuition scholarship to a top 15 program.

Drew's approach is hands-on and effective. He is methodical and consistent in the way he approaches each school, essay, and process. He helps perfect your resume, fine tune your applications, and isn't afraid to tell you when something needs to be changed. I would certainly recommend his services for any candidate that is looking to stay both ahead of the curve and on top of their deadlines.

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I had a fantastic experience working with Paul from Amerasia on my MBA applications, and am very pleased with the results (admitted into two out of 5 schools applied to). I couldn’t have done this without Paul’s a) insights into the entire MBA application process, b) genuine interest in seeing me succeed, and c) ability to help me tell my authentic “story” in the most compelling way possible.

I interviewed mbaMission, Stacy Blackman Consulting, and Amerasia in deciding which consultant to work with. When I spoke with mbaMission and Stacy Blackman Consulting representatives, I definitely felt like a “number” and had very rushed 30 minute conversations where they tried to sell me their services. In contrast, my initial conversation with Paul from Amerasia was completely different. Paul spent over an hour speaking with me, learning about my background, motivations for applying, and future aspirations and discussed how I might go about application planning. I was not only convinced of his deep expertise of the application process but that he truly cared about going the “extra mile” to see his clients succeed. The cost of the comprehensive package was also more competitive than what the other firms offered.

Throughout the process, Paul helped me craft essays and prepare interview responses that reflected my values, goals, and what I could specifically offer and learn from each school I applied to. Paul is a great listener – after probing on a detail about my background I had mentioned in a prior conversation, that ended up forming the bedrock of my story. In addition, at times he was also like a life coach, especially when things got stressful in the process!

Given my experience working with him from the very beginning, I can say Paul is definitely an invaluable source of guidance at any stage of the process you might be working through. I had a great experience working with him and am thrilled with the outcome.

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