Avanti Prep Admissions Consulting Reviews

Choosing a Consultant:
I had a pretty traditional & solid background when I applied, but really needed help with telling my story. I had spent a lot of time preparing for the GMAT and not a lot of time on researching, so I felt a bit rushed applying to 5 programs in Round 2.
I was looking for someone who was experienced with the MBA process to help me brainstorm story ideas, solidify my goals, and improve my essays.
I had a few meetings with a few MBA consultants from larger firms but ultimately decided to go with Greg due to the thoughtfulness of his initial profile assessment.

Working with Greg:
I began with 10 hours and added a couple more hours later on. From the get go, I felt like Greg was on my side. He made sure that we were making good use of the hours I purchased and I believe he spent more time on some tasks than he charged for, especially when it came to "crunch time", which he did a great job of turning around edits.

I spent most of my time working with him on my Wharton essays. Greg did a wonderful job of helping me tie seemingly unrelated topics into a unique, cohesive theme. He also helped me strengthen and articulate my “why Wharton” piece, which was immensely helpful.
When I interviewed for the TBD, I was able to leverage some of the info from my essays to prepare for the prompt. The brainstorming session that I did with Greg in the beginning went a long way!

Results:
I was accepted into Wharton Round 2. I'm excited for my next two years at my dream school and I couldn't have done it without Greg!

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It has been amazing working with Greg from Avanti Prep. The quality of service I received and results that I ended up with were way above my expectations. I worked with Greg on an hourly basis for my resume, essays, and interview prep and received a full scholarship to a top ~40 U.S. program.

I am an Indian IT Male with low GPA and ~680 GMAT. Greg helped me bring out positives in my profile and highlight them in the best possible way. He was kind enough to offer me a free hour of service to finish the process for one essay we were working on. In the beginning, I had some issues with the payment, but Greg was kind enough to start working even while he awaited payment.

In the resume, each of my bullet points were made much more direct, concise, and result oriented. Greg edited each of the points and even asked me for more specific information so that we could include those in the resume. He also helped highlight elements of my personal experiences that I had overlooked but that others would find interesting. After 3 complete round of reviews, my resume was completely transformed and strong enough to be submitted to any bschool .

Though my essays were already in good shape, Greg helped me to structure the content and bring out the “school fit” aspect. Greg helped me add a lot of school-specific content about fit with the culture, location and academics. These are the things that I had overlooked in my essays.

I reached out to Greg for interview preparation just 4 days prior to my actual interview. Even with such short notice, Greg was kind enough to help me. He conducted two very thorough mock interview and feedback sessions. The questions very closely reflected what I was asked in the actual interview, and thus I felt fully prepared to give clear, confident, specific, and concise answers.

Greg gave great feedback and helped me to refine and structure each and every one of my responses. He discussed every single one of my responses to the mock questions and offered detailed advice on a question by question basis. I cannot imagine it being any more thorough.

After the second mock, I had gained my confidence and was ready for my actual interview. Greg helped me put my best foot forward to get the dream result I had always wanted. He was extremely kind, friendly, and full of positive energy. Though I had availed just 3 hrs of interview preparation, the actual session went way beyond 4 hours. He also helped with post-interview thank-you notes.

Greg was always available for any questions and concerns I had during the process, and he remained available for the some email questions even after our time was up. We got a lot of queries resolved via email and all his responses were very quick. His response time was always less than 4 hours.

These services helped me to get an admit from Questrom School of Business with a full tuition fee waiver for the MBA plus MSDi program. I am extremely grateful to Avanti Prep for the guidance throughout the application process and would recommend Greg to anyone looking for an admissions consultant. Without Greg’s help, I would have never got into a business school with such a huge scholarship.

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I got an hourly preparation service for mock-up interview with Greg and found it very useful for my upcoming interview with HSB and GSB. The good things were:
1) very close to the real experience the type of questions Greg asked and similar pace to the real interview;
2) thorough feedback and detailed analysis of the performance with comments on both verbal and emotional performance, as well as specific wording and stylistic element;
3) willingness to spend the time to cover everything I had concern with.
I would mention Greg balance of friendliness and professionalism, which created perfect atmosphere for the mock-up interview.

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Let me curb some fears of working with an application consultant before I get started…. Greg Guglielmo was WORTH EVERY PENNY in this entire process. I came into application season with a GPA and GMAT score that are both slightly below average for the schools I was looking at. I knew it would be an uphill battle to get where I wanted. I chose to work with Greg at Avanti Prep because I knew I would need all the help I could get to have the most polished applications I could. It didn’t hurt that he came strongly recommended from a friend of mine who just started b-school last fall.

I’m a married Midwest man who had to consider my budget in the application process, so I chose to only work with Greg on one school and hoped that I could get some carry-over benefit for my other applications. My target schools were Kellogg, Tuck, Sloan and Fuqua. After talking it through with Greg, we decided to work together on Kellogg. This worked very well because most of its deadlines were ahead of the other schools.

When we started off, Greg got to know me on a very personal level through scheduled phone calls and emails to framework how I would present myself to the admissions committee. After that, we got to work on my resume. I had no idea how much work my resume needed. I had a ton of industry lingo that had to come out and simplified my accomplishments into something admissions committees could understand. Greg was always very pointed and specific about what he wanted me to fix.

Once we both felt comfortable with my resume, we got to work on the essays. I’m not a gifted writer, so Greg was a huge help in this department. Greg went as many rounds as we needed to get my essays looking their best. He never took more than a day or two to get my essays edited and sent back. After my essays were in tip top shape, Greg was more than willing to spend time on the phone to discuss the rest of my application (LT and ST goals, international exp, extracurricular activities, etc.). Greg also helped me with a mock interview and gave me pointers for the video essay which proved invaluable. He helped shape some of my answers for typical interview questions in ways that I hadn’t thought of but made perfect sense. Greg was also extremely accommodating for a very late letter of recommendation. One of my recommenders procrastinated too much; however, Greg was able to turn around a review of his LOR the day of the deadline.

The Spillover Effect: Although I only had Greg help me with one application, my work with him substantially improved my other three applications. My goals were in much better form than they would have otherwise been. I know my essays were not near the same quality, but they too were much better off. With a 710 GMAT and 3.37 GPA, I’m in at Tuck and have an interview scheduled with MIT later next month. I can confidently say that I would not be where I am right now without Greg’s help at Avanti Prep. His personalized touch, responsiveness, thoroughness and skill should put Avanti Prep at the top of your list.

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*Please note, I worked with Greg Guglielmo while he was a consultant with Critical Square*

I couldn't be more thankful to Greg Guglielmo for helping me realise my goal.

I engaged a very well-known admissions consulting firm for my round 1 applications. I was rejected from three M7 schools, and received a waitlist invitation to a top 20 school. My objective metrics were reasonably strong (3.5 years' work at top tier law firm, 770 GMAT, strong extra-curricular involvement). While I felt my consultant did provide some useful pointers, I felt that perhaps his reviews were rushed and quite high level. He did not drill down into the content of my essays or provide meaningful suggestions; and I did not feel I put my best foot forward.

I dusted myself off and re-applied in round 2, this time to a further three M7 schools and one more top 15 school. After an initial free consultation (during which my consultant, Greg Guglielmo, spoke with me for nearly 90 mins - well over the allotted 30 mins), I signed up for 12 hours of service. Even though I had only purchased hourly services, I could immediately tell Greg was completely invested in my cause. The feedback on my essays was wholly different to what I'd previously encountered - I could tell that my unique position had been critically and carefully analysed, with extremely insightful recommendations made. Greg was incredibly responsive (even over the Christmas period). He delivered difficult advice candidly, but also warmly and professionally. I completely reshaped my career goals, and framed my past experience far more effectively.

Ultimately, I was fortunate to be admitted to two M7 schools - on 100% and 80% scholarships - as well as the top 15 school to which I applied. I honestly believe I wouldn't have had this success without working with Greg Guglielmo. Just the other day I signed a full-time offer for my dream firm - and I emailed Greg that same day to thank him for his (huge) part in getting me there!

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*Please note that I worked with Greg Guglielmo while he was a consultant with Critical Square*

I cannot recommend Critical Square enough.

I had known I wanted to pursue my MBA since the day I graduated college, but after taking the GMAT I was uncertain how I would put my best foot forward. I reached out to three consultancies with the hope that I might gain guidance on how to craft an application strategy and help me sort out my thoughts as I wrote my essays. After the free 30 minute consultation with Critical Square I knew I wasn't going to be sold a one-size-fits-all template.

I chose Critical Square's comprehensive package for all of my schools and believe the investment to be worth every penny. When I was provided with the initial questionnaire, I started to appreciate how thoroughly they wanted to understand who I was, what my goals are and what makes me tick. From that, Greg, Bhavik (the two consultants assigned to me) and I constructed a strong narrative that tied my previous experiences from my youth, undergraduate career and early professional career with my desired post-MBA industry, goals, and how an MBA was the missing link. The part of my applications I was most nervous about were essays. I am neither a skilled nor expressive writer and so I knew articulating the thoughts in my head onto paper would be challenging. Between all six of my applications I think we worked through close to 50 drafts. They were not afraid to rip into my essays, and that's exactly what I needed. Although they were tough, Greg and Bhavik were always professional and enthusiastic about bringing to life the best possible essay I could write. They were able to help me elicit thoughts and insights and help me structure them in a way that managed to not only answer the prompt well but also make a compelling case for my candidacy all within the word limit (it's a lot to do!).

Another great part of my experience was the level of correspondence I had with my consultants. Essay edits/comments were always sent back within 24 hours and I was not afraid send a text or have a quick call with Greg to bounce around ideas. Lastly, as part of the comprehensive package I was offered interview prep for my schools and cannot speak highly enough of my experience there. Working with someone who has both interviewed for a program himself as well as interviewed prospective students gave me a great foundation for how best to answer certain types of questions as well as additional practice to ease my nerves.

At the end of the day I was lucky enough to be admitted to three schools and am excited to be headed Tuck this fall with a substantial scholarship! I can honestly say that I would not have been nearly as successful as I was without Critical Square's help along the way.

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*Please note that I worked with Greg Guglielmo while he was a consultant with Critical Square*

"It all started back in June 2015 when I gave my 2nd GMAT. I scored a 690 and knew I had blown away my chance of getting into a top 10 MBA school. I come from an overly represented group of applicants. Thus, a GMAT score less than the higher end of school averages will not cut it for me. Even though I knew what the consultants will be saying about my profile with my current GMAT score, I posted my profile for evaluation on GMATCLUB. I got replies from many distinguished admission consulting firms. Of note, were 5 replies that caught my attention by the depth and clarity of their replies. This then created my shortlist. Now I had to select that 1 and postponed this decision to after my final GMAT attempt. I scheduled my next GMAT for August and was hoping to close GMAT for good then. Luckily, I was able to get the desired score and posted the update to my already-replied-to post on GMATCLUB. The next day onward I scheduled 30 minute free consultations with 6 admissions consultancies over the course of next 1-1.5 weeks. I vetted out major consultants and zeroed in on critical square based on the depth of their responses on my profile evaluation post on GC, clarity and process as explained to me by my would be client manager. The following points made my decision for me:
1. One question that clinched for me was the answer to "based on my profile etc, what are the chances to these (my list of 5 schools)." Response from Critical Square's client manager (Greg Guglielmo) was the most honest and straightforward one. I didnt want to work with a company that will give me false hopes, only to come crashing down later. Greg told me that the schools of my choice (all M7) will all be extremely difficult but not impossible given my educational and professional background. That being said, I understood the process on the very first call, leading to a better clarity on what was expected to get in a really great application package. The call lasted 1.5 hour instead of the scheduled 30 minutes and the client manager made sure that all my doubts were answered.
2. When I told Greg Guglielmo during our free consultation call that another ABC firm is offering with 40% discounts on their regular pricing, I was told that Critical square is aware and confident of its methods and thus there wont be any discounts. This only showed to me that these people do not waste anyone's time and as a paying customer, I went in with their 5 school package.
3. Pricing structure is very easy to follow and does not have the hidden costs, very transparent with addition of schools (1 price that does not change with number of schools added and when in the process!) and they do not have a "rush hour" pricing unlike other competitors (more on this later in the review).
4. Greg Guglielmo did not try to talk me out of the choice of my schools but made sure that we will have a good method of attack for whatever schools I want to apply to.
Applications: As mentioned before, I come from an overly represented group and as I was very interested in doing everything I can in getting that admit, weaving my past experience of an engineer in aerospace industry to go into a consulting role post MBA would play a massive role in how good a candidate adcoms will consider me. As an aerospace engineer, I was leading geographically, culturally and functionally diverse teams of engineers on multiple projects. This provided a good platform in talking about how MBA will help me in achieving my goals. I had the major variables already in place, it was just a matter of coming up with a coherent application story that will provide confidence to the adcoms of my success post MBA.
Now to the crux of this review, Greg Guglielmo’s process.
Once I decided on Critical Square, I was assigned the same client manager with whom I had spoken to during the free consultation call. This saved me a day or two (important in the grand scheme of things as I only had a month to submit 5 applications in R1) in bringing a new manager upto speed with what my thoughts. I went ahead with a purchase of their 4 school comprehensive plan (I was planning to add 2 schools later and I would have been fine doing this as Critical square follows a 1 price school addition price model). I went for the comprehensive (Tier 3) package as I didn’t want to be constrained by number of edits or number of times I can reach out to my client manager.
Do note that none of the admissions consultancies will write anything for you. As an applicant you must do the work yourself. At most, the consultants will help you in using the correct verbiage and provide the best way of putting the same thought forward. I made sure to choose what I thought was the main idea and tone behind the different essays. It will always be your work and not of your client manager's. As I had given my GMAT in August, the list of schools that I had gone ahead were Kellogg, Booth, Wharton, CBS, MIT and NYU. I was told in our first conversation that as Booth's deadline is less 3 weeks away, I had to push Booth to R2. We dropped MIT as a combined strategic decision while bringing in Ross for R1. I was clearly explained that by keeping Booth, we will end up messing up the other R1 applications. After this strategic session, there were a couple of more calls with the client manager to chalk about a plan of attack as there were 3 weeks left for the first application. I was also provided a very detailed questionnaire that had ~30 questions and took me close to 8 hours to complete as I knew doing this exercise will help me understand answers to questions such as why MBA, why now, strengths and weaknesses.
Once we had that figured out, I was asked to start bringing my recommenders up to speed with the process. Greg Guglielmo helped me in compiling a list of questions (most of the schools now ask same questions although with different word limits) and typical responses. I did tell my client manager that I wont be helping my recommenders in writing the recommendation as it is against the sanctity of the process. All these things had taken another week out of my applications leaving me with almost 2-2.5 weeks for 4 schools (Kellogg, Wharton, Ross (all R1) and CBS(ED)). The client manager and I created a very aggressive schedule in which I worked on close to 50 drafts of essays, and 5 drafts of resume. All these drafts were required as my initial drafts were either not answering the essay prompt or were too verbose. Although Greg Guglielmo was working with me as his 1st client (he did work in admissions at his bschool), I was fine with not working with a more experienced consultant as new hires usually work the hardest to impress the clients (professional experience!).
Few points that only made me more confident and glad that I had the support of Greg all along:

1. Comments on my drafts by Greg were top notch; very particular and even included links to places where I would be get the desired answers. I was very ably guided all along via regular and prompt emails. Without these comments, it would have taken me atleast twice of what it actually took to submit even 1 application. Prompt email replies is something I truly appreciate as a working professional as it alleviates stress to a very large amount.
2. The most important point: the time-frame for getting the comments back usually used to be <1 day (sometimes even a few hours). I never had any round of comments sent after 2 days. Critical square and Greg did not charge me extra for providing such prompt service. I used to work on my drafts till 1 AM and would get up at 6 AM only to find comments back from the client manager.
4. Greg Guglielmo would schedule weekly calls as the schedules were tight to discuss plan of action for the next week. We would discuss at length any of his comments that I would think should be answered in a different way. I did not use to incorporate all the comments but will have a good conversation with the client manager as to what should be provided to convey what I was thinking.
5. The mastery of language and ability to reduce my initial drafts by more than 400 words even was just amazing.
At the end, I did not miss a single deadline and made sure that all my documentation (essays, online applications, and recommendation letters) were submitted on time and were of highest quality possible. Greg completely understood the urgency that was required in meeting my application goals.
After submitting my R1 applications, we started working on R2 applications (Stern and Booth). In the meantime, I got interview calls from CBS, Wharton and Kellogg. Greg Guglielmo made sure that I was well prepared by scheduling 2 mock interviews before each school with 2 different people from the company so that I get to know different perspectives. Good thing is that the feedback that you get is actionable and can even ask for more sessions if needed. Final result was that I was admitted to Kellogg for class of 2018. Although, I was dinged after interview at CBS and Wharton, I am sure that the help provided to me by Greg Guglielmo was instrumental in getting those interview calls in the first place; especially at Wharton and Columbia where they have tons of engineers with my background applying every single year.
This review will not be a complete evaluation of Critical Square, unless a few suggestions/recommendations for improvements are not provided.
To summarize, my investment in Critical Square and Greg Guglielmo was worth the cost, effort put in all along made me more aware of the entire application process and provided me better insights into my strengths. Definitely and whole heartedly recommend Greg Guglielmo for MBA applications.

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I couldn't be more thankful to the team at Critical Square for helping me realise my goal.

I engaged a very well-known admissions consulting firm for my round 1 applications. I was rejected from three M7 schools, and received a waitlist invitation to a top 20 school. My objective metrics were reasonably strong (3.5 years' work at top tier law firm, 770 GMAT, strong extra-curricular involvement). While I felt my consultant did provide some useful pointers, I felt that perhaps his reviews were rushed and quite high level. He did not drill down into the content of my essays or provide meaningful suggestions; and I did not feel I put my best foot forward.

I dusted myself off and re-applied in round 2, this time to a further three M7 schools and one more top 15 school. After an initial free consultation (during which my consultant spoke with me for nearly 90 mins - well over the allotted 30 mins), I engaged Critical Square. Even though I had only purchased hourly services, I could immediately tell my consultant was completely invested in my cause. The feedback on my essays was wholly different to what I'd previously encountered - I could tell that my unique position had been critically and carefully analysed, with extremely insightful recommendations made. My consultant was incredibly responsive (even over the Christmas period). He delivered difficult advice candidly, but also warmly and professionally. I completely reshaped my career goals, and framed my past experience far more effectively.

Ultimately, I was fortunate to be admitted to two M7 schools, with significant scholarships, as well as the top 15 school to which I applied. I honestly believe I wouldn't have had this success without engaging Critical Square, and I'm forever indebted!

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