Fantastic software and team (admits to CBS, Booth, LBS - thanks to the combination)

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.