Surface-Level Guidance, Hidden AI Reliance, and Poor Delivery

Strengths:

1. Aggressive sales team: They are very responsive before signup, with constant follow-ups and encouraging words that make you feel supported at the start.

2. Alum network (on paper): Having consultants from top schools (like INSEAD) sounds promising and is what attracted me initially.

3. Portal and structure: They have a structured framework/portal for essays and timelines (though in my case access was revoked, it does exist for clients).

Would make the product better:

1. Transparency on process: MBA&Beyond should clearly disclose that they use AI models for essay drafting. Applicants deserve to know whether they are paying for human expertise or machine output.

2. Quality of guidance: Move beyond surface-level advice. Simply asking candidates to jot down points and then plugging them into a tool is not consulting. Applicants pay for strategic storytelling and school-specific insights which were missing.

3. Service completion: Ensure that services paid for are fully delivered. I paid for two applications, yet one was only partially done and the second was never started.

4. Applicant-first approach: When I raised concerns, the response was not to support me but to defend their own position; even suggesting I push my application to next year instead of helping me meet deadlines. Access to the platform was revoked, emails went unanswered for days, and responses felt more like legal rebuttals than guidance. This shows intent was tilted towards protecting themselves, not helping me succeed.

5. Consistency between sales and delivery: The enthusiasm during the sales pitch with daily follow-ups and “impressive profile” praises should carry through to delivery. Once the fee is paid, applicants should not feel abandoned.

🚨 My Experience with MBA&Beyond – A Warning for Applicants 🚨

I signed up with MBA&Beyond for end-to-end support on 2 MBA applications. Unfortunately, the experience fell far below expectations, and I want to share specifics so others can make an informed decision:

1. Quality of Guidance
The advice I received was extremely surface-level. For example, in INSEAD’s career journey essay, I was told to write my career transitions in 2–3 lines each. The “final draft” simply lifted one line from my notes. This is not strategic guidance worth thousands of dollars, I could have done that myself without a consultant.

2. Process Deviations
What shocked me was discovering that MBA&Beyond relies on an internal AI tool to generate essay drafts, something never disclosed to me upfront before I made the payment. I was asked to create pointers, which were then fed into their AI to produce a “story.” If that’s the case, even ChatGPT could have done the same. What I expected (and paid for) was expert human judgment, how to connect my experiences into a compelling narrative. Despite my consultant being an INSEAD alum, I received no school-specific insights. The entire process felt like a black box, not real mentorship.

3. Incomplete Services
I paid for 2 schools. One application saw only partial progress, the second was never started. Yet I was repeatedly told about “value delivered” in terms of call-hours not actual outcomes. That’s not what end-to-end consulting means.

4. Defensive, Not Supportive
When I raised concerns, instead of fixing them, I was told to push my applications to next year. Access to their platform was revoked, and responses came only after multiple reminders. This felt like avoidance, not support.

5. Sales vs. Delivery Gap
During sales, I was chased daily and told my profile was “impressive.” But after payment, that energy disappeared. The difference between how hard they sell and how little they deliver is stark.

💡 Takeaway for future applicants:
MBA applications are high-stakes. If you want genuine guidance and accountability, look elsewhere. Paying premium prices for half-completed services, AI-driven drafts, and defensive responses left me stressed, behind on timelines, and without the support I signed up for.