Eric Hollowaty is the Best of the Best in MBA Consulting

Strengths:

The entire product is excellent - see detailed review below

Would make the product better:

N/A

Eric Hollowaty was a phenomenal advisor throughout the entire application process, going above and beyond routinely to ensure I put my best foot forward in my Round 1 applications. I would highly recommend him to anyone who is debating working with a consultant ahead of their MBA applications.

For background, I am from the Northeast and attended a top 15 U.S. News-ranked university for undergrad (think Duke, Johns Hopkins, UChicago, Northwestern), where I graduated with a liberal arts degree and a 3.9+ GPA. I applied in Round 1 this fall with a 695 GMAT Focus to HBS, GSB, and Wharton with four years of work experience (will be five by matriculation); two years at an investment bank and three years in large-cap private equity. In case helpful context, I had previously applied as a college senior for the 2+2 / deferred admission at HBS / GSB (did not apply with a consultant and had been less rigorous about prepping for GMAT, resulted in rejections without interviews).

I approached the application process with some trepidation about building a profile that would differentiate me from the large pool of candidates applying to the same schools with similar backgrounds. Although I had led a few initiatives outside of my core job responsibilities / through partner organizations over the ~2-year stretch ahead of applying, I wouldn’t say I had some particularly strong non-professional angles (i.e., no Associate Boards, leadership positions with community orgs, etc.). With Eric’s help, however, I was able to build a differentiated application that still described me authentically.

I’d say Eric’s primary value-add can be split across three core buckets, all of which were immensely valuable and critical to my success:
• Initial Ideation: Eric spent hours going through my background with me, teasing out anecdotes and stories that would ultimately form the basis of my applications. Where he is most effective in this process is driving you to think more critically about why something has been impactful or where you have driven change – he doesn’t ‘let you off the hook’ at your initial story, but prompts you to do the second-level thinking that makes your story both unique to you and interesting. Once the essay prompts themselves were released, he would coordinate a 90 minute school-specific ideation session, where we would debate stories to leverage for each prompt. These sessions with Eric were critical – he is unafraid to tell you when an idea is a bad one, saving you the time of writing an essay that ultimately would not land. Further, his excitement over a compelling essay idea is palpable, motivating you to drive forward. In short, he was a crucial sparring partner that helped me land at the best and most relevant narrative possible.
• Essay iteration: Eric was tireless in his support through the drafting process; he thoughtfully reviewed everything I drafted (multiple times), ranging from the long-form essay responses to the 150 character blurbs embedded in the applications. He was unafraid to push me when a draft needed a lot of work, taking the time to even leave voice memos describing where he thought I could improve when a draft particularly missed the mark. Across the three schools, Eric reviewed and commented on nearly 50 iterations of my various essays and short answers – an incredible level of meticulous external review that helped me get my essays into very polished shape well ahead of submission day.
• Interview Preparation post-submission: Eric’s help did not stop after I submitted my applications. When it came time to prepare for interviews, he worked with the same meticulousness, helping me think through both how to prepare broadly and specifically for each school I applied to. Again, Eric was unafraid to give direct but valuable feedback when my answers missed the mark during a mock session. With his support, I walked into my interviews incredibly confident, and even faced several questions that we had gone over in our mocks.

One other note which I think is important in the hectic nature of getting applications submitted – there are no surprises with Eric. He is incredibly communicative, clear, and always available to promptly answer one-off questions that pop up. Importantly, he is also a pleasure to work with, bringing an infectious attitude that made the marathon of MBA application writing feel manageable.

With Eric’s support, I was admitted to both HBS and Wharton this fall. I am 100% confident my applications and profile would have been nowhere near as well-received without his help and support throughout the last year. I feel very fortunate to have worked with him, and strongly recommend him to anyone considering working with him.