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Product Avanti Prep Package
Consultant Greg Guglielmo
Hiring an admissions consultant is never an easy task – especially with the plethora of options in the market and the significant cost involved.
I approached Greg when I seemed to have lost direction regarding my MBA process and he turned out to be my best investment till date. My first attempt at GMAT landed me a disappointing 640 followed by a second attempt a month later which got me 700. I was confused and doubted my chances to land a good school with that score. Greg was warm and friendly and offered to hear my story over the first free consultation. Although only the first consultation is usually free, Greg voluntarily spent another session with me just to understand my background and what factors mattered to me while picking schools. He was methodical and helped me analyze what mattered to me and what were my priorities. He helped me understand, very realistically, that a top 15-20 school would be quite challenging with this profile. I appreciated his honesty in not making over-arching promises, unlike what most consultants would do to land clients.
Few things regarding my background:
- Age: 24
- Indian IT Engineer
- 700 GMAT
- Under 3 years of work ex
- Applied to all schools in R2
I decided to hire Greg after our second meeting. I signed up for a Tier 3 (Comprehensive) Package for five schools, and added about 14 hours of service on top of that to handle three additional schools.
Working with Greg:
1) Quality of advice and coaching – Greg brings with him years of experience working with people across the world. His expertise in decoding one’s story and presenting it in a way which catches attention, uniquely enables him to interact with diverse clients with ease.
2) Quality of reviews – Greg’s review comments were elaborate and descriptive. He gave careful attention to every word and reviewed a document iteratively, until it was perfect. Be it resume reviews, to essay reviews, to reviewing abstract submissions like presentations, Greg was thoughtful and valuable in his insights.
3) Essay and editing skill – A story has to sound convincing and appealing. Greg brought out the uniqueness in my story – he could identify and highlight what is a differentiator in a seemingly plain storyline. He helped me prioritize what needed to go in the essay and what could be sidelined. His editing skills are impeccable. Greg can concise a lengthy essay into the set word limit, without compromising on the details and impact.
4) Video essay work – We worked on two video essays together – one for Kellogg and another for Georgetown. Both times, Greg supported me end-to-end. He would get very involved in the whole process and his inputs were valuable. He guided me not just on the preparation of the content of the video essay and my delivery, but also with being mindful about aesthetic factors like the attire and light and sound conditions.
5) Extreme attention to detail – Greg gives extreme attention to detail in all aspects of his work – from resume building, to essay edits, to composing emails, to formatting a document. Greg is tireless and diligent in his work and never compromises on quality even with the stringent timelines.
6) Depth of our mock interview-and-feedback sessions – Greg initiated video calls to simulate the interview experience. He was prepared with a set of questions for each school I was to interview with, and the whole experience helped me tremendously. Greg customized the interview prep for each school and did not make it generic. He was up to date with the research on each school and even scheduled more than one mocks when required. I felt so well prepared going into the actual interview because I had practiced with Greg.
7) Ongoing Q&A assistance – Greg is always available over mail to answer any query. He goes beyond his immediate role to assist you if he can help in any manner – like sharing information which he thinks might interest you, assistance in filling the application forms, and continued support through the whole process.
8) Other factors like availability, response time, professionalism, friendliness, positive energy – Greg was very professional and yet approachable and accommodative. There have been times when we have overshot the agreed time by an hour, but Greg would never leave me feeling like we have not concluded the conversation.
His energy makes one feel comfortable and that in turn makes brainstorming smoother. I shared a great rapport with him and I should give him most of the credit for it. His response time has been top-notch. At one point, we were to submit three applications in one day and Greg worked around the clock with me, at times running late into the night.
Outcome:
I applied to 8 schools, all in Round 2: Kellogg, Columbia, Cornell, Ross, UNC KFBS, CMU Tepper, USC Marshall, and Georgetown McDonough. I got admits from all three schools I interviewed with: Tepper, Marshall, and Georgetown. To top it, I got strong scholarship offers from both Tepper and Marshall. I am currently enrolled with Tepper with a $60K scholarship. I am extremely pleased with these results in context of my profile.
This fantastic outcome after nearly nine months of working tirelessly with Greg was a sheer delight! I felt Greg’s support throughout the process. He was always with me through successes and failures and cared genuinely about my success. We were true partners. Not only was he an excellent consultant, but he also went beyond his paid services to mentor me on few interviews which were not a part of the package. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Greg and would strongly recommend him to anyone who is considering an MBA consultant.
Apart from the fabulous outcome for which I shall always be grateful to Greg, I have also grown as an individual at many levels – I now compose better essays, can edit and review work more skillfully, and have also been able to define my post-MBA goals in the whole process. This preparation will hold me in good stead as I start MBA recruiting.
Hiring a consultant makes a huge difference to your candidacy, and I can vouch for Greg’s work! He is worth every penny!