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 Portal and structure: They have a structured framework/portal for essays and timelines (though in my case access was revoked, it does exist for clients).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 Access to the platform was revoked, emails went unanswered for days, and responses felt more like legal rebuttals than guidance.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.

Read More

I enrolled in MBA&B’s consultation services, investing INR 6 lakhs of my hard-earned money, based on the strong confidence their representatives expressed in my profile during evaluation. Unfortunately, my experience has been extremely disheartening.

From the start, the onboarding process was poorly handled. I was asked to draft content that was neither reviewed nor utilized properly. School selection was left to the last minute, and I received no meaningful guidance on GMAT/GRE expectations or preparation time. My consultant, was unavailable during critical moments, being on holiday twice during important stages of my application process. As a result, my essays were only reviewed at the last minute, and I even missed the deadline for one school due to her absence. This was a tipping point that made it clear that the service was way below what they had been promising.

I only availed the service for one school before requesting a refund, as my experience was well below expectations. Despite this, my request was dismissed. I was able to speak with the founder, and while I appreciated him taking the time, his response was entirely unsympathetic. Rather than addressing my concerns, he shifted the blame onto me for my lapses and completely disregarded my refund request. To make matters worse, the conversation felt more like a warning, with him stating that any action on my part that might affect the company’s reputation would have consequences.

It is extremely disappointing to have made such a significant financial investment only to be met with poor service and an unprofessional response. I would strongly advise anyone considering MBA&B to thoroughly evaluate other options before making a decision. The confidence they initially displayed was nothing more than a sales tactic, and my experience suggests a lack of both professionalism and ethical responsibility.

Read More

I engaged with MBAB's service after the Marketing team showed extreme confidence in my profile and told me that they'll be able to turn around my 3 applications in the stipulated period of 1 month. Thinking that MBAB could really identify and highlight my strengths and also help me navigate the complex of process of filling applications, I enrolled for their premium price.
I was promised an entire comprehensive process that would help select schools and match it to my profile. But in real,I was asked to pick my 3 colleges all by myself. After much nudging, the consultant provided me with 3/ 5 school options, degrading my target school to #22 school ( this is when I was shown great confidence in #9 school during the marketing call)

The content specialist's only contribution to the process was ' I ll push you think to harder'. There was no support inthe branding and writing of essays. All I heard from my admission consultant is that 'look you have to decide what story you have to present' when asked to zero in on one storyline. In 2/3 brainstorming calls, I was the one providing ideas and story lines instead of vice versa.

Even their reference material was subpar. I got ONLY ONE essay for reference that was not even aligned to my industry and function. I was told that I have an ML based profile and MBAB hasn't seen such profiles and point blank told 'so sorry we cant provide you with any more reference material.'

When asked to provide me with content related to my specific school in essays, I have been told to Google things and do my research myself. Despite paying a premium fee for their services, I received absolutely no assistance in navigating the complex MBA application process.

It was super stressful to work with MBAB and I had to do triple the amount of work to do because of lack of any 'consulting' from their end. I couldn't apply to more schools and it infact became a huge opportunity cost for me to leave out applying to more schools in this cycle.


I was super dissapointed with MBAB and I really wished they did a better job especially when candidates's stress levels are high and add real value to the process.

Read More