Accepted to Wharton, Booth ($$$), Sloan ($$), CBS ($), Kellogg

I was especially worried about applying to M7 MBA programs, especially with a below-average GMAT score (710 in my case). But thanks to ApplicantLab, I was admitted to five of the seven M7 schools I applied to, and I can confidently say it was the best decision I made during the entire process.

If you’re wondering whether an online platform can truly provide the same level of guidance as an expensive admissions consultant—don’t be skeptical. I did not use a consultant, and I am so glad I didn’t because ApplicantLab gave me everything I needed and more. The platform is incredibly thorough, insightful, and designed to help you craft the strongest possible application—without spending thousands of $$$.

From the start, ApplicantLab helped me write essays that would stand out. I kept rewatching the videos, which helped me brainstorm, nail down my story, figure out the flow of my essays, and refine them—something I wouldn’t have been able to do with just a couple of back-and-forth conversations with a consultant. The ability to revisit the guidance whenever I needed allowed me to iterate and make adjustments as frequently as I needed, ensuring my essays were as strong as possible before submission. The platform also guided me through revamping my resume into an MBA-specific one.

What truly sets ApplicantLab apart is its tailored, school-specific advice—insights I couldn’t have found even with extensive research. Maria (the founder) has spent years attending admissions events, consolidating what each school looks for, and distilling it into actionable advice. Beyond essays and resumes, ApplicantLab provided invaluable guidance on everything from tactical decisions (e.g., whether to re-request a CBS interview after an unlucky first round) to seemingly small but critical details (e.g., where to submit my additional math transcripts to make up for my low quant score). The platform even helped me strategize my Wharton Team-Based Discussion topic, ensuring I presented my best self in group settings.

Another useful section of the platform was the interview prep. My initial responses aligned with the platform’s "what NOT to do" examples—thankfully, ApplicantLab’s detailed guidance and sample responses helped me refine my answers. It even answered my questions about whether or not to wear makeup or what time of day I should schedule my interviews for. Because I could rewatch videos at my own pace, I continuously iterated and improved until my responses were polished. I have no doubt this was a key reason I was admitted to every school I interviewed with.

Even after acceptances rolled in, ApplicantLab provided thoughtful advice on choosing the right program, factoring in scholarships, post-MBA goals, and the environments where I’d thrive.

Every step of the way, ApplicantLab reaffirmed that it was the best investment I made in my MBA journey. If you’re debating whether an online platform can truly provide the level of insight you need—trust me, it can. I’d choose ApplicantLab again in a heartbeat. If you're applying to business school, this is the single best resource you can have in your corner.

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Strengths:

1) Gives structure to a highly draining and complicated process of applying to schools
2) Great value for money (both, for the product and the consulting services)
3) Fantastic team that is always available to answer questions
4) Diverse team of consultants - if you use this well, you can get a range of feedback on your essays, which I found to be very helpful

Would make the product better:

To be honest, nothing much to improve.

If I am being very very picky then maybe the UI could be a bit more modern, then I sometimes "failed to see" some of the content on the platform (maybe I was being lazy). OR, now that I think about it, AI-powered search on the platform would be a great feature.

In general though, I think the product and the consultants available are fantastic.

Tldr: If you are a self-driven person, I would highly recommend using the tool. It is great value for money, and provides great structure to a complex process. Further, I would highly recommend making use of the consulting services that they offer (super-detailed feedback, presented in a very efficient asynchronous format). If I had to redo my applications, I would stick to the same approach.

My detailed review:

I subscribed to the Lab, when I was getting overwhelmed and swamped with a massive checklist of stuff to-do for MBA applications. It was hard to figure out where to start, how do I approach essays, how do I select schools, etc. I decided to give the Lab a shot, and in hindsight it has been the best decision that I could have made during the MBA application process.

I found the initial brainstorming that the LAB forces you to do as part of the "Why MBA / Why you" sections to be very helpful - gave me a lot of clarity and made the whole essay writing especially useful.

I worked with Austin from the team on refining my CV & getting feedback on my career vision - again, super helpful exercise and gave me further confidence to approach the essays.

The Lab's advice on how to approach school-specific essays is absolutely fantastic. Very detailed and spot-on advice.

I worked with Ken, Carin and Luqzan on applications for various schools. Initially I was a bit sceptical because there is no opportunity to "speak to them" and the communication mode is asynchronous. However, after my first review I realized that the feedback that you receive via video + an edited word-doc is highly detailed and is much more efficient than discussing on a "live call". I work with a different consultant for every school primarily so that I could get a variety of opinions. If you are someone who deals well with constructive criticism, then this is the ideal platform and set of consultants to work with. The advice is to the point, crisp and highly relevant - they will not mince their words if you have not done a good job, and at the same time also be quick to point out the "strengths and good sections of your application".

Special thanks and credit to Maria for answering all my questions along the way! She was always available to engage on a quick brainstorm on a plethora of topics.

Subscribing to the lab was the best decision I could have made during my applications, and would highly highly recommend the software + team to anyone who is still deciding how to approach MBA applications.

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Strengths:

Well-detailed explanation on what each school is about, their values, and what they look for in applicants.

I first knew about ApplicantLab from a GMAT Club, and I was skeptical about how efficient an online MBA preparation resource could be. But, boy, was I wrong. Maria gives an in-depth analysis of each school's culture and her experiences with the school's admission committee members. She's also very responsive to questions, sometimes within an hour.

ApplicantLab requires you to do a lot of self-reflection and soul searching upfront, making the actual essay writing process that much easier. But my absolute favourite bit of using the platform is Maria's humour. She makes everything sound so funny and light-hearded, while still driving home her points, and the results speak for themselves. Despite a below-average GMAT and coming from an over represented demographic, I got into my dream school: Kellogg!

The interview prep section was also very useful for me and helped me structure my answers in a way I could remember and that felt genuine. If you're on the fence about ApplicantLab, just give it a try! You won't regret it.

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Strengths:

Helps you get the brainstorming done in advance so you have a pool of stories to use in your essays.

You can then map the stories to the traits that each school is looking for in a very organized fashion, then you can pull those in for the essays.

Very structured notes for each essay by school.

Would make the product better:

Recommend to possibly add functionality or dates to each application by school meaning a planning tool for applicants that when they choose the schools they can also see application deadlines for those schools. This helps as applicants are applying to more schools every year 5+ so they can see the roadmap for the entire project of essay writing.

Secondly, some videos are not up to date or may require updates, for example the Foster video is using a website that is dated, not to say that the advice is irrelevant.

Lastly, I think you have this in beta, grammar errors or editing could possibly be automated in the tool....I am not sure if there are plug ins or what essay writing looks like 5 years from now so this forward is looking advice only for longer term.

Thank you.

I got Applicant Lab after I wrote the GMAT and started prepping for application season.

I would actually recommend that you get a subscription while you prepare for your GMAT, this way you can brainstorm your stories slowly in parallel, say a story a week and by the time you have your score you will have 12-16 stories to choose from.

This is a solid tool in the sense that you do the hard work upfront in terms of why MBA, why a particular school, why now? and these things are important for you to understand before you commit to applying.



Helps you get the brainstorming done in advance so you have a pool of stories to use in your essays.

You can then map the stories to the traits that each school is looking for in a very organized fashion, then you can pull those in for the essays.

Very structured notes for each essay by school.

Helps you get the brainstorming done in advance so you have a pool of stories to use in your essays.

You can then map the stories to the traits that each school is looking for in a very organized fashion, then you can pull those in for the essays.

Very structured notes for each essay by school.

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I started using ApplicantLab in 2022 when I was barely three years into a career in an Oil and Gas service company. I had an engineering degree from a top engineering school, albeit a state school. Coming from an ORM, I only had a 720 GMAT, and I was very selective with my MBA schools - I applied to Kellogg, Tuck, Yale, and Duke and was ultimately rejected from waitlists at Tuck and Duke, and the feedback was very clearly the lower GMAT (from Tuck.)

Even though I didn't get an admit the first time, the process that I went through with ApplicantLab was super helpful in understanding what kind of skills that business schools are looking for. As a first-generation student working at a place without many MBAs, these nuanced insights were super helpful in my beginning to take on leadership roles at work.

I ultimately made the career switch to Climate Tech, which I wanted to do post-MBA, but I still felt the need for an MBA. So, I resubscribed to the service and got a TON out of it. I knew what I was talking about during interviews. Luqzan was super helpful with his essay reviews and resume reviews -- reading about my leadership skills from my resume and my previous application, he pushed me to explore new topics for my essays, which I ultimately think made a huge difference. Maria was always prompt and thoughtful in her email responses.

ApplicantLab played a big role in my getting Kellogg and Booth MBA admitted for the weekend program with considerable scholarships, which is rare for part-time programs. They played a big role in getting this kid from a small town in India to learn, lead, and network in the big leagues!!

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I cannot express enough how incredible my experience was with ApplicantLab. From the very start, Maria went above and beyond in answering my questions. Her dedication and responsiveness made me feel supported and confident throughout the entire application process. The platform itself was fantastic – user-friendly, well-organized, and intuitive. It made the daunting application journey not only manageable but also very enjoyable. Investing in this service was hands down the best money I ever spent on my MBA application journey. It was truly my favorite part of the entire experience. The personalized support and the high-quality platform all contributed to getting into the school of my dreams! I highly recommend ApplicantLab to anyone embarking on their MBA application journey!!!

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After writing the GRE, I thought I the most difficult part of the MBA Application process was over. However, upon starting the application process, I realized how lost I was, and how unprepared I was.

Luckily, discovering ApplicantLab early helped set me up on the right path. I love how it breaks the application process into bite-sized chunks, from research, to brainstorming, to the initial draft, to the final checks. ApplicantLab even provides details on how to contact students, and how to best use school websites to dig up interesting details. But perhaps what it does best is allow you to tell your best stories. Only after using ApplicantLab was I able to transform my essays from vapid word salads to deeply personal, unique, and powerful essays that showed why I wanted to get an MBA, and how I would use it to impart change in the world.

Even as an international student who is an overrepresented minority, I was able to obtain admission to a lower-ranked T-15 with a 120k scholarship and two T-20s with full scholarships. Quite frankly, due to my demographics, I had expected to not receive any money, and I am sure that my wonderful essays were instrumental in that.

All in all, Maria and her team at ApplicantLab have created a truly useful resource that can help you get into the school of your dreams!

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I'm an international student and the MBA application process initially was a bit daunting, and seeing the admission consultant prices spooked me even more. I looked for alternate options and came across ApplicantLab. I was initially sceptical as I was scared this would not have personalized information, but after reading client testimonials, I decided to take the chance and boy, did it pay out!!!

I applied to 7 schools in total - Stanford, Kellogg, Booth, Yale, Fuqua, Darden and Stern - and got interview invites from all of them except Stanford. All the interview invites converted and I received $300K+ in scholarships!

The Lab helped me across the process - some specific examples below:
•⁠ ⁠I loved how the Lab split the entire process into different modules and summarized it all into to-do lists. From initial identification of profile strengths & weaknesses, building career vision and brainstorming stories to writing the essays, LORs and resumes, the advice given is super helpful and gives the best structure to the whole process.

•⁠ ⁠The interview prep module is also amazing with school-specific advice and detailed videos for even the 1-minute video interviews that you would have to do for some schools

•⁠ ⁠The BEST thing about this is the team - my initial misconception that you might not have personalised advice was broken during the first review I had with Austin. She helped me perfect my initial story and gave me ideas on what I could do better and how I can show my story in the best way possible. I had my interview prep and school review with Ken and he gave me some great pointers on how I can make my essays better and how I can tell my stories better in my interviews. And Maria is always super responsive and gets back within a few hours, always positive and encouraging!

I would highly recommend the tool as you go through your application process, as an individual tool or complementary to other services that you are availing. The tool and the team behind it will have your back :)

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After checking out a few reviews, I tried ApplicantLab and it was the best decision. After multiple GMAT attempts and being stuck at a lower than average score for my target schools and coming from an ORM, I wanted to strengthen the other aspects of my application and ApplicantLab did exactly that!!

Applicant Lab portal provides all the resources we need and allows us to create our own narrative using those resources!! It allowed me to keep my originality intact whilst adhering to what schools are looking for.

Apart from the 1-year Lab subscription, I also took a Sanity Check since I wanted expert advice on whether my essays are conveying what I intend to convey. Carin did my sanity checks and I cannot recommend her enough!! She has been absolutely clear in her communication and critical when she needed to be. I felt that Carin wanted me to succeed and the kind of criticism she gave was absolutely needed for me to present my best self in front of the admissions teams across business schools.

Speaking about Applicant Lab, Maria has done a great job in distilling all the advice in bite-sized pieces that don’t overwhelm you. My advice would be to sign up well in advance so that you can follow through with all the advice at the intended pace. But you can also jump through modules as I did.

Out of the 4 schools I applied to (2 M7 and 2 T15), I got interview calls from 2 schools (1 M7 and 1 T15) and then got waitlisted at both schools. I reached out to Maria for advice at that time and several other times in my application journey. Maria always responds back quickly with all the necessary info and a ton of positive attitude. She has a great sense of humor which comes through in her messages also. I got off the waitlist at both the schools and will be headed to what has been my dream school all along, Chicago Booth!!

To conclude, Applicant Lab is a DIY tool with all kinds of resources at your disposal. Those resources are more than sufficient for the application, trust me!! (Resources for Resume/Essays/Video essays/Recommendation letters/Scholarships/Waitlist etc). But it is upto us to make the best use of it.

Thank you Applicant Lab!! Thank you Maria and Carin!!

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As an international applicant, the MBA application process felt daunting and confusing to me. I initially engaged a consultant (hourly services), but when a friend from Stanford told me about ApplicantLab later on, I signed up immediately.

I used ApplicantLab’s processes and was admitted to Stanford (my dream school), Berekely, Wharton and MIT, and also received $50k+ in fellowship awards.

Here’s how ApplicantLab helped me:
• Modularized the ENTIRE MBA application process into bite-sized chunks from start to finish. Every single piece of information is essentially codified into digestible blocks e.g. setting your strategy, why MBA, brainstorming essays, recommendations, short-answer questions, interviews etc. The Lab also has a to-do list for you to keep track for your application process, which helped me stay organized
• Packed with Information. Each module is jam-packed with so much valuable information, either through text or videos. If you’re in a hurry, there are TLDR sections where you read the important points and move on, saving you precious time
• School-specific advice. This is GOLD. ApplicantLab provided really specific advice for each school, including the schools’ brand, traits they’re looking for (e.g. leadership/innovation) and essay advice. This helped me to craft my essay to fit the school’s profile
• Brainstorming exercises. Introspection and self-reflection do not come naturally to me, so the brainstorming prompts and questions from ApplicantLab helped me to think of my personal story and weave it into my application so that my authenticity can be felt
• Customized help. I signed up for ApplicantLab’s value-added services and worked with Luqzan for my essays. I am forever grateful to Luqzan for pushing me on my essays to dig deeper and refine my stories to answer the question (especially for Stanford and Harvard essays!). The process is also extremely convenient, and because the feedback was given in a video format, I could replay the video multiple times over to internalize the feedback

Overall, ApplicantLab gives you way more bang for your buck – I was paying more per hour for a consultant than what I paid ApplicantLab. You really do get a wealth of information and customized support from the team. Also, I love the story and mission of ApplicantLab – I believe access to information should be democratized to level the playing field, so thank you Maria and team for creating ApplicantLab!

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