The Lab is an amazing tool. It’s structured, to the point, and incredibly user-friendly. I received offers from all three of the programs I applied to, including a scholarship at one of them. It also provides specific advice for all the major MBA programmes, which is a huge advantage.

Maria was also fantastic. She answered all of my questions thoroughly, and I truly felt I got incredible value for the price. I always felt in good hands with her.

I couldn’t recommend the Lab enough, there’s absolutely no need to spend 10x more on a traditional consultant.

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Very well organized, at an affordable price point provides the meat & potatoes of what's needed to apply successfully to MBA programs. Lots of videos for each school that breaks down every part of the process of picking schools to choosing recommenders to drafting essays and completing interviews. I was a last minute R3 applicant and with the help of this program was admitted to an M7 (Booth) and multiple T20 / T30 programs (Tepper, Anderson, Marshall) with $$. Founder is also very responsive via email, provides 80% of what you get with a typical admissions consultant at 10% of the price. For someone who is looking for support but doesn't want to spend for an expensive admissions consultant, I can't recommend ApplicantLab enough.

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Maria and the ApplicantLab team/platform answered ALL of my questions. I truly would not have been able to get into all of the schools I did without it. I leaned on it heavily for all of my essays, resume strategy, and interview prep. It also does a great job of helping with school specific advice and provides clarity about what's most important to each school. It helped me get into Booth. Great for people who are self motivated, like having an on demand platform, and want to break into T20 schools. Nothing but great things to say. It's truly an all encompassing platform that answers all of your questions. Wont find better bang for your buck

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I got into Harvard and Stanford with $$$ in Round 1 of 2024 and it's largely thanks to Applicant Lab. Using Applicant Lab was the best decision I made. Its modules contain pretty much all you need to craft a strong application. The videos are also fun to watch since the creator (Maria) is quite entertaining. What's great is Maria also keeps regularly updating the content (e.g., when essay prompts change). With Applicant Lab you shouldn't even need a pricey consultant - it's probably better than most of them. Feel free to use this promo code for 10% off: https://applicantlab.refr.cc/default/u/gauraangbiyani?s=esp&t=wa

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This is an outstanding product that I would recommend to anyone. It was the most helpful overall tool I found in my MBA journey! It walks you through every step of crafting your personal and professional story in a way that speaks to admission committees. I think it was well worth it to pay the additional add on fees for personal reviews on essays. The feedback I received was brutally honest, but trustworthy, and ultimately that feedback made my application exponentially more coherent and powerful. I'm extremely grateful to Maria and her team for the services they provided, as I ultimately gained acceptance to my top choice!

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I was hesitant to pick a virtual service over an Admissions Consultant, but now that I have been admitted to every school I have applied to (with a mediocre GPA and GMAT score), I could not have made a better decision. ApplicantLab helped me re-frame my mindset that gave me the best shot at success. In addition to all of the online tools they have (to do everything from tailoring your resume to interview prep) they also have paid services which you can utilize for a second opinion of your admissions material. I found the resume editing service especially helpful. I highly recommend ApplicantLab (and they had a free trial when I used it, why not try it out?), and would not have made it into my dream school without them.

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Subscribing to Applicant Lab—after my partner repeatedly encouraged me to do so—was possibly the most crucial decision for my MBA application journey. It completely changed the course of my applications for the better. The extensive resources that Maria has meticulously curated and the thoughtful process behind creating this marvelous platform simply cannot be overstated.

The process begins with deep self-reflection, but I believe the heart of Applicant Lab is the "Essay Advice" section. The depth and breadth of research presented for each school is truly exceptional. Maria literally includes school visit videos and directly quotes admissions committee members from various programs. This comprehensive approach helps you understand the unique culture and expectations of each school.

The return on investment cannot be expressed enough—for the minimal price, you get access to all the resources required for application, from the self-reflection platform to interview and waitlist preparation. This incredible value proposition sets Applicant Lab apart from traditional consulting services that charge thousands of dollars.

What makes Applicant Lab even more valuable—perhaps its best-kept secret—is that you can reach out to Maria directly for guidance. She generously offers ideas and addresses fundamental questions. I discussed my approach for at least one essay with her, and her advice was invaluable. When I was waitlisted at Berkeley Haas, I was heartbroken and immediately emailed her. She compassionately responded with a detailed 15-minute video message explaining how to approach the situation effectively. Fortunately, within a week of receiving the waitlist notification, I received my Wharton admission!

I cannot emphasize enough how much credit for my Wharton acceptance belongs to Applicant Lab. Maria is brilliant and consistently provides best-in-class advice. I wholeheartedly recommend Applicant Lab—choose it without hesitation, and you'll certainly thank me later.

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Accepted to Wharton, Booth ($$$), Sloan ($$), CBS ($), Kellogg

I was especially worried about applying to M7 MBA programs, especially with a below-average GMAT score (710 in my case). But thanks to ApplicantLab, I was admitted to five of the seven M7 schools I applied to, and I can confidently say it was the best decision I made during the entire process.

If you’re wondering whether an online platform can truly provide the same level of guidance as an expensive admissions consultant—don’t be skeptical. I did not use a consultant, and I am so glad I didn’t because ApplicantLab gave me everything I needed and more. The platform is incredibly thorough, insightful, and designed to help you craft the strongest possible application—without spending thousands of $$$.

From the start, ApplicantLab helped me write essays that would stand out. I kept rewatching the videos, which helped me brainstorm, nail down my story, figure out the flow of my essays, and refine them—something I wouldn’t have been able to do with just a couple of back-and-forth conversations with a consultant. The ability to revisit the guidance whenever I needed allowed me to iterate and make adjustments as frequently as I needed, ensuring my essays were as strong as possible before submission. The platform also guided me through revamping my resume into an MBA-specific one.

What truly sets ApplicantLab apart is its tailored, school-specific advice—insights I couldn’t have found even with extensive research. Maria (the founder) has spent years attending admissions events, consolidating what each school looks for, and distilling it into actionable advice. Beyond essays and resumes, ApplicantLab provided invaluable guidance on everything from tactical decisions (e.g., whether to re-request a CBS interview after an unlucky first round) to seemingly small but critical details (e.g., where to submit my additional math transcripts to make up for my low quant score). The platform even helped me strategize my Wharton Team-Based Discussion topic, ensuring I presented my best self in group settings.

Another useful section of the platform was the interview prep. My initial responses aligned with the platform’s "what NOT to do" examples—thankfully, ApplicantLab’s detailed guidance and sample responses helped me refine my answers. It even answered my questions about whether or not to wear makeup or what time of day I should schedule my interviews for. Because I could rewatch videos at my own pace, I continuously iterated and improved until my responses were polished. I have no doubt this was a key reason I was admitted to every school I interviewed with.

Even after acceptances rolled in, ApplicantLab provided thoughtful advice on choosing the right program, factoring in scholarships, post-MBA goals, and the environments where I’d thrive.

Every step of the way, ApplicantLab reaffirmed that it was the best investment I made in my MBA journey. If you’re debating whether an online platform can truly provide the level of insight you need—trust me, it can. I’d choose ApplicantLab again in a heartbeat. If you're applying to business school, this is the single best resource you can have in your corner.

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I first knew about ApplicantLab from a GMAT Club, and I was skeptical about how efficient an online MBA preparation resource could be. But, boy, was I wrong. Maria gives an in-depth analysis of each school's culture and her experiences with the school's admission committee members. She's also very responsive to questions, sometimes within an hour.

ApplicantLab requires you to do a lot of self-reflection and soul searching upfront, making the actual essay writing process that much easier. But my absolute favourite bit of using the platform is Maria's humour. She makes everything sound so funny and light-hearded, while still driving home her points, and the results speak for themselves. Despite a below-average GMAT and coming from an over represented demographic, I got into my dream school: Kellogg!

The interview prep section was also very useful for me and helped me structure my answers in a way I could remember and that felt genuine. If you're on the fence about ApplicantLab, just give it a try! You won't regret it.

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I got Applicant Lab after I wrote the GMAT and started prepping for application season.

I would actually recommend that you get a subscription while you prepare for your GMAT, this way you can brainstorm your stories slowly in parallel, say a story a week and by the time you have your score you will have 12-16 stories to choose from.

This is a solid tool in the sense that you do the hard work upfront in terms of why MBA, why a particular school, why now? and these things are important for you to understand before you commit to applying.



Helps you get the brainstorming done in advance so you have a pool of stories to use in your essays.

You can then map the stories to the traits that each school is looking for in a very organized fashion, then you can pull those in for the essays.

Very structured notes for each essay by school.

Helps you get the brainstorming done in advance so you have a pool of stories to use in your essays.

You can then map the stories to the traits that each school is looking for in a very organized fashion, then you can pull those in for the essays.

Very structured notes for each essay by school.

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