Amerasia Admissions Consulting Reviews

I applied to 9 top MBA schools by myself (bad idea, I know) last season in all 3 rounds and was just not very well-prepared. I got no interview. To avoid making the same mistakes, I reached out to various consulting companies, hoping to find things to improve on (so basically a "ding analysis"). I took advantage of the various "free consultations," but ended up with Amerasia who actually did not do one with me.

This was what happened:
Adam Hoff responded to my email request for a consultation session by saying that at this stage (3 weeks away from Columbia J-Term deadline), I should not be hung up on past applications. Rather than paying for a ding analysis, I should focus on my current applications instead. Adam quickly reviewed one of my past applications (for free), and provided insights and resources on possible areas of improvement. Because Adam was so willing to work with me on my profile and available packages/pricing, I decided to go with Amerasia.

The Columbia expert assigned to me was Anjali Shah. She's a Columbia graduate and knew the school well. The area I needed help the most was probably my resume. Anjali was very patient with me and went through multiple edits to greatly improve my resume.

Given my short timeline, what impressed me the most was how Anjali was always able to make time for me. She is very responsive through email - sometimes I get replies in minutes. She was always ahead of the schedule that we had put together. Anjali was professional and patient, answered all my questions, and provided moral support. Her mock interview was also very useful.

Anyway, I no longer need to do my re-apps for Round 2 (that was the original plan). I applied to one school with Amerasia, and got in. :) Thanks!

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I want to pass on a BIG 'thank you' to the Amerasia team, specifically to Drew Hoff, for the amazing, unique guidance I received throughout the application process.

I had previously applied to 5 top-20 programs and was rejected without an interview in all except one, where I was wait-listed and eventually rejected. While working with Drew, I reapplied to my dream school (top 5 school), and was accepted within a month.

Drew had a very detailed and well-planned process for me to follow. He showed me that I, in fact, had all the necessary tools to put my application together, but helped me package them in a very concise and presentable format that allowed me to re-convince the MBA program of my candidacy. He even helped me do a little soul-searching to confirm whether an MBA fits into my short and long-term goals.

Drew was also great at managing my expectations in terms of turnaround times, and requirements for each step of the way. I really cannot stress enough the importance of Drew's role in my successful application.

For benchmarking purposes, please see my stats below:

GMAT: 700
Undergraduate GPA: 5.6 from a top-50 American University
4 years of work experience with a big 4 consulting firm
above average extracurricular experience

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Why I chose Amerasia:
Amerasia was the only admissions consultant who I came across who really seemed to know non-US business schools as well as US-based ones. Their guide to a European school that I applied to was extremely helpful. Unlike guides that I saw on other admissions consultants’ websites, it had a lot more information than just the facts about the programme (which anyone can find on a school’s website anyway). Adam (who also wrote the guide) was extremely helpful from the get-go and he really seemed to understand the nuances of the school and what would resonate with their admissions committee.

What was great about working with Adam:
School specifics aside, a few things set Adam apart for me. Unlike with another admissions consultants who I had worked with previously, with Adam the brainstorming process was more targeted and strategic as it focused on what was relevant to the school rather than cataloguing everything that had ever happened to me from the day I arrived on the planet! His approach focused on helping me put my best foot forward, and he had amazing advice for tackling the weaker aspects of my profile. Also, I found that some consultants are so paranoid about your stories being your stories that while they will offer endless edits to help you tell your story more eloquently, they don't guide you on which are the best stories to tell. Adam nailed it all. My stories were my stories, but he also helped me to look at things from a different perspective to uncover angles that I hadn’t considered before, and he helped me tell my story in an impactful way that was aligned with the programme.

Added bonus:
I got to do a practice interview with someone who is an alumnus from the school I applied to, which was a great source of added insights into the unique aspects of the school and gave me a lot of little nuggets that I got to drop into my two interviews.


Overall, I received outstanding guidance throughout the application process. If you're unsure of which consultant to work with, I highly recommend connecting with Amerasia!

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Background:

I’m posting under a new id to keep my real identity under wraps and will work with the moderator to verify my information.

This post will be lengthy since I know when I started this journey, I wanted lots and lots of details and liked the lengthy posts.

I work as an IT consultant and thought I had a pretty good work experience and personal life story. However, I have an average GMAT score and I didn’t climb Everest during a stop-over to my summer hobby of saving starving children in Africa. In other words, didn’t think I had a special story to tell to get me into a top ten school.

However, after doing my own research and attending info sessions, I felt encouraged enough to go all out and give it a good fight. As a result, I was armed with tons of questions when I interviewed the admin consultants. Amerasia was the last on my list to call, and I almost didn’t do it since I had felt so strongly about my previous meeting with another company. Adam’s incisive questions and perspective on my goals were so unique that I knew I wanted more of such insights for the rest of my application process. What I also really appreciated was his low key attitude in not pushing for a sale, and he would’ve been fine if I took his ideas and went off with another consultant. He recognized that it’s just not about ideas, but about finding a person who matches your personality to work with you in the weeks/months ahead on the application.

Working Style:

Adam’s primary mode of interaction with me was via email, so you have to be comfortable about the idea that you will not be having regular phone meetings. However, he was always willing to take a call if I needed it. In some ways, the emails work much better as I have them as notes to refer back on.

Adam always kept to the schedule we agreed upon, but his laid-back demeanor helped me keep a cool head as I was debating various issues (strategy on retaking GMAT, which story to tell for my essays, etc) while facing pressure of deadlines.

Also, I had a ton of questions throughout the process, but Adam was always patient and thorough in answering them. Sometimes even re-answering as I would say, “I know we already talked about this but now I have a different angle, would you still think…”

All in all, I felt I received the support I needed and was actively cheered on throughout the process.


Application:

During my initial conversations with Adam, we discussed my three target school in terms of both fit for my goals and what are my realistic chances. His insights were valuable to me in that he knew the school cultures so that he confirmed that I made good choices for schools that can help me achieve my goals. Also, Adam helped me navigate through my perceived pros and cons for the schools in the lucky event that I got multiple acceptances.

Regarding chances for an admit, Adam was always upfront and never gave me false promises (besides, I wouldn’t have believed him!). Given that Adam has worked with many candidates, it’s great to hear what I thought was a mundane background was actually unique. I don’t think Adam was giving me BS either since we were pretty candid about GMAT score or other areas that can be dinged.

Resume: This was an added bonus for me since I thought I had a strong resume, but Adam’s critique really brought it up another notch.

Interview: Adam brought in an outside expert to run the prep interview with me which really helped shake out some nerves as well as get another perspective on how I tell my story. A mock interview with Adam would not have been the same since I had a comfortable relationship with him by then, and having to talk to a total stranger was closer to the real deal.

Essays:

Working with Adam on the essays was great since it’s been a long time since I had written something for school, and didn’t realize how much business jargon and banalities crept into my writing. Since Adam was knowledgeable about the school culture of the programs I was interested in, he was also able to help me tailor the side of my personality and goals that would best appeal to each school. I still was being true to myself, but Adam helped me put my best foot forward.

While working on the essays, Adam typically responds within the day for questions, and within a few days for essay edits. I always got responses earlier than what I expected when I was facing deadlines and tried to crunch in more changes. In fact, Adam dug changes out of me even when I started getting sick of writing essays (doing several of them in a row will really get to you after a while!!). He also helped me turnover ideas when I was stuck… one method we used is for me to send key points for the essay so I won’t waste time writing the whole thing and have to do major revisions.

When I look back at what I started with, and then compare the drafts with the final versions, I’m amazed at the difference!

Results:

Got in two Top 5 schools and dinged in a Top 3 school (GMAT was the culprit, but I believe Adam’s help gave me a fighting chance).

In summary, only you can decide whether to work with an admin consultant and who to go with. You have to be honest with yourself about your chances and then do your homework in asking all the right questions during the free consultation. For me, it was a good experience in more ways than one, and I’m glad I went with Adam and Amerasia. I may question at what my outcome would’ve been had I done it alone, but I don’t question that having Adam there made the journey much easier in dealing with the stress and uncertainty, and the experience more enriching in terms of insights about myself and my goals.

One final thought: I knew I had decent chances, but I wanted to improve the odds in my favor. Besides, last thing I wanted to do was to look back and regret that I didn’t do everything possible to make my dream come true.

Best wishes with your application!

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My experience working with Drew was a great one. When I first started the MBA application process, I was a bit stressed out worrying that I wouldn’t be able to pull all the pieces together on time before the application deadline. Drew worked closely with me to streamline the application preparation process. With his guidance, I was able to gather my life stories and tell them in a well structured and clear manner. All of the advices I got from Drew (essay, CV and mock interview) were extremely valuable and really show his deep understanding about the school and program. Drew is outstanding mentor and I really appreciate his responsiveness, professionalism and kindness throughout the exhausting process.

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Adam's insider expertise on the MBA admissions and application process was invaluable and timely. Out of all the admission advisory companies out there, I ultimately decided to go with Amerasia and Adam because he made me feel the most comfortable. Never did I once feel forced or pressured into signing up for his services. At the same time, he was helpful and realistic with what he could help me with. Our initial consultation forced me to rethink my strategy (I had a sub 650 GMAT score), and he advised me to retake the test, and thank goodness I did. Lets just say I retook the test and received a score between 650-700.

Adam's strength is in the brainstorming process, where he'll help you draw upon your experiences and background to craft the most compelling and cohesive stories. Without Adam's help, my essays would not have flowed as seamlessly and presented me as holistically as they did.

I appreciate Adam for his insightful feedback from the very beginning to the very end, he was positive, professional and knowledgeable about how best to assist me. More than anything, he was patient with fielding my million questions and he always made an effort to turnaround my questions and essays in a timely manner. His feedback was spot-on, and he even helped me prepare and gave me the confidence I needed to go into my interviews and perform well.

What I appreciated most about Adam is his customized, catered and personal approach. When you're working with Adam, you'll certainly feel taken care of, as opposed to the one-size fits all approach of many of the larger companies out there.

In the end, I was accepted into a top-5 program, Northwestern-Kellogg with a sub-700 GMAT score!

I had an excellent experience working with Adam and would certainly recommend him without reservations.

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This post is my first on gmatclub, and I think only the second or third post I’ve ever made anywhere (in general I’m not an online-posting or radio-show-calling kind of person). I primarily used this site for GMAT tips, but I most recently used it in my admissions consultant search.

I had focused so much on acing the GMAT that I almost totally neglected the application process. It was one month before the R1 deadline, and I was just starting my essays. I asked a friend of mine, who had recently graduated from a top 3 bschool, to review the essays. Since time was so short, he suggested that I find an admissions consultant who could devote more time to helping me with the application.

After scouring the web for admissions consultants, I ended up down-selecting to 5 or so companies who seemed to have a solid presence in the field. I then did some deeper research on the gmatclub discussion boards, finding out what warts existed for each company. It seemed that most of the companies suffered from one or more fatal flaws: poor responsiveness, generic/easily-recognizable essay style, rudeness/unprofessionalism, or defensiveness/lack of contrition when faced with substantiated bad reviews. Amerasia fit the bill. However, I specifically wanted to work with Adam since I had read that Paul was not responsive enough (although, based on recent reviews, he has completely turned that around). Unfortunately, Adam was fully booked for R1, but he referred me to Nicole (he said they intentionally staggered their assignments so that Nicole could help late R1 applicants).

Nicole exceeded my every expectation, and I now feel that she was actually the perfect fit for me (given my background, career aspirations, and general disposition). I signed up for the 2-school package, and in the 24 days between our initial conversation and the application deadlines, we went through 12 revisions of the essays (and 4 revisions of the online application entries). Not only was Nicole super responsive (1-2 day turnaround time per revision), she offered detailed, constructive (and candid) reviews. It felt as if one of my close friends was helping me. And once I got selected for interviews, she prepped me to the point that I was able to pounce on all the curve balls the interviewers threw my way. I got into 2 of the best business schools in the world (my top 2 choices) and could not be happier with the investment I made with Amerasia/Nicole. Thanks Nicole!!!

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This is my first post here, and in all honesty I do not spend a lot of time on forums at all because they usually bring me more anxiety than calm! Having said that though, I would like to post for all of you my review of Amerasia and Paul Lanzillotti, and hope that it will help you as you decide whether or not to use a consultant and if so, whom to choose.

When I first decided 2012 would be the year I apply to B-school, I had barely heard of admissions consultants and was certainly not planning to hire one for myself. I have an impressive GMAT score, solid work experience, strong writing skills, and several MBA grads in my extended family to help me so I figured I was all set. When I got down to choosing my schools and looking at the essay prompts for each one, I idly browsed a few GMAT/MBA forums to see what others were doing. That’s when I got seriously intimidated. I realized I was up against a very varied pool of applicants from completely different backgrounds and professions and unlike applying to engineering grad school (which was much more straightforward), I had no idea what I should do to appear unique and compelling in my B-school application. I was encouraged by a couple of friends and by my husband to look into getting a consultant and after some initial sticker shock I decided it was worth the money.

I interviewed 3-4 different companies (including Stacy Blackman) before I had my free initial call with Paul Lanzillotti (Amerasia). Within the first 15 minutes of that 90 minute call, my decision was made and I signed up for the 3 school package with Paul immediately! Paul had taken the time before our free consultation call to pore over my resume and profile, and he got straight to the point on the phone discussing what areas of my background I should emphasize versus play down. This was in sharp contrast to the other consultants I’d spoken to earlier, who were clearly learning about me for the first time on the call itself.

My first impression of Paul was excellent, and it never lessened through the many months we worked together on my applications. He came to every single call we had each week fully prepared and we always hit the ground running. I credit him especially for listening carefully when I discussed my experiences, identifying things unique about me and my background, and encouraging me to represent those in my application - which I wouldn’t have done otherwise because these are things I generally take for granted and wouldn’t necessarily think are my best strengths. He also really knows his stuff on what each school wants and how each one is different from the others, which is super useful when you’re applying to multiple top schools and want to tweak each application to be just perfect for the target school. Some schools care a great deal about which clubs you will join, while others just want to hear that you’re going to make a difference in a third world country. I certainly didn’t know who cares about what, so his experience and advice was invaluable. His turnaround time on essays was solid, and his comments were always very detailed and easy to take action on. He never tried to put words in my mouth or write my story in his way, but at the same time was very candid and honest when my stories or ideas just weren’t compelling enough for the essay prompts. He helped me prepare well for my interviews, and was always available to read or review something even at the last minute.

Overall, Paul is just a really nice and easygoing guy, he is very easy to work with and I felt like I was chatting with a friend during our weekly calls. Also, best cheerleader ever. He was genuinely disappointed with me when I didn’t get into Stanford, and incredibly happy with me when I did get into Kellogg. I highly, highly recommend him as an admissions consultant, and I wish him and all of you every success ahead.

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GMAT Club - This may be a little long, but I hope my unique experience, process for selection, and feedback is helpful to those choosing an admissions consultant.

After months and countless hours scouring the site for tips and feedback, I've decided to add something of substance of my own. Namely, my experience with admissions consultants. About a year ago, as I was preparing (and deciding) to apply to b-school, I began by identifying schools that made sense for me. While I (in no means) work in what many b-school admissions boards would consider a "prestigious" job/field, I am well compensated - better than I'll likely be immediately out of b-school - and therefore agonized at the "cost/benefit analysis" of going. After speaking with many, many people in my target industry, I decided to try to take the plunge, but I could really identify only about 4 or 5 schools that seemed "worth it," both in the short run and the long run.

I was pretty familiar with those schools and the stringent admissions process, but upon further research, I realized I had a problem. My GMAT was good but under the median for each, my GPA was WELL under the median for each, I went to a mid-tier state school, and although I had extracurricular activities, I was downplaying their importance. Most importantly, while I had an idea of my future career path and "story," I was having a difficult time articulating it to myself. That's when it dawned on me - perhaps I should look into getting an admissions consultant.

I soon realized admissions consultants weren't cheap, but I decided that if one made sense for me, I'd go with the entire 4 (or 5) school package. Ideally, I was hoping to find TWO separate consultants to take advantage of two different viewpoints on everything. I would just work with them on different schools.

I immediately set about "interviewing" various consultants (i.e. taking advantage of their "free" hour consultation). Prior to the interview, I sent them a lengthy profile of myself so they'd be adequately prepared, and asked them questions about my chances at the top schools, how to frame my background, strengths/weaknesses, what their process was, and some other general things to get a good feel for who I may be working with.

After interviewing 15 or 16 (literally) consulting firms, including MBA Mission, ClearAdmit, Stacy Blackman Consulting, MBA Prep Advantage, MBA Prep School, etc.... etc...., I wasn't feeling great. Each interview was pretty similar, and while I liked a few of the consultants, they weren't convincing me the money was worth it. Desperate and trying to whittle it down to two, I stumbled on Amerasia and Paul Lanzilotti on the GMAT Club website, and decided it was worth one more hour of my time to chat with Paul.

That decision helped me get into one of the top schools in the world.

Even on our INITIAL phone call, Paul was much different than every other consultant I'd spoken with. I could tell he had taken the time to read my bio, and came with ideas on how to shape my story. Our first phone call ran 90 minutes, with Paul asking me to elaborate on the bio I'd sent him and then him spilling out ideas for my story, even how to apply themes to various essays. I was frantically taking notes the whole time, even though I realized within the first 10 minutes that I had to hire him. Most importantly to me, we clicked fairly easily. Paul was not only clearly knowledgeable about the admissions process and extremely creative and resourceful in that he already had essay/story ideas (and was sharing them with me on our "free" call), but he was laid-back, casual, and much frank/honest than the other consultants I'd spoken with.

I told Paul even before we hung up the phone that he was hired, but due to my extremely, extremely analytical approach to this process, I still had to re-visit my "admissions consultant spreadsheet," and decide whether to go with Paul on the whole package or hire another consultant as well. I ended up sticking to my guns, and decided to work with Paul on two of the top schools, and another admissions consultant I'd previously interviewed on the two others.

Over the course of the next few months, Paul and I built a very comfortable relationship, working for hours weekly (Paul never complained about our two hour phone calls) on crafting my "story" and essay ideas based on my background. Within a few weeks, we were already shooting essay drafts back and forth for editing, and had knocked out my target school within a month or so. I was quickly beginning to realize the difference between Paul and the other consultant I'd decided to work with - I genuinely felt Paul WANTED me to get into these schools as bad as I wanted to and more importantly, he was going to tell me how to do it. While my other consultant had a fantastic system/structure in place for identifying references, crafting essay ideas, and identifying my own strengths and weaknesses, among other things, I was starting to wonder whether I had paid for the "system" itself or his advice. I had paid for an admissions consultant for a reason - I needed input! Ideas! A definitive opinion now and then! With Paul this was never an issue - he always let me "drive" the process (it was my application after all), but he was a wealth of ideas, opinions, and expertise along the way.

The bottom line for me in selecting an admissions consultant and working with an admissions consultant had always been "Who can help get me into the school?" In my case, Paul fit the bill.

After working feverishly with Paul last summer, I was ready for Round 1 applications. I can't tell you how pretty I thought those essays looked. Paul had helped me shape my background into some fantastic essays, and most importantly, he helped me realize how to not only ARTICULATE my story, but how to tailor it to the schools for which I was applying. Lo and behold, I received an acceptance to my school of choice Round 1. I had swung for the fences, both with the schools I applied for and with my decision to work with a consultant, and it had paid off.

Looking back, I can't say that I REALLY regret hiring two admissions consultants, although if I had to go through the process again, there's no doubt in my mind I'd hire Paul and only Paul. When I called him, ecstatic, after my first acceptance letter, he was more excited than I was. After we hung up, he texted me, "This is why I do what I do." I think that sums up Paul pretty well.

I've taken the time to write this (way too) lengthy summary and feedback on my experience because last year at this time, I was clueless. Apprehensive. I was pouring over threads like this one trying to figure out the best way to approach my applications. Moreover, I'm taking the time to write this because of the extra effort and time Paul spent with me, and because I'm that confident that my GMAT Club peers reading this will have a fantastic experience with him.

Good luck with applications!

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Paul Lanzillotti is like the Rick Ross of MBA admissions - that is to say, he is the BOSS.

I used Paul on a 2 school package this year and cannot recommend him enough. While I browsed through and spoke with several admissions consulting firms, Amerasia was the only one that stood out. The initial call lasted almost two hours and made it very clear that:
1) Paul knows a LOT about business schools and how to position you best with each and
2) Paul really cares and wants to see his clients succeed. While other firms tried to lower my expectations because of my fewer years of work experience than most applicants, Paul raised my confidence and told me to consider some Top-7 schools rather than the Top-20 that I was considering.

The choice to use Paul was easy – but the editing process (thankfully) was not! Paul was never afraid to tell me if a draft was completely off point, yet was always able to provide thoughtful suggestions on how to recover. Paul and I started way early, spoke nearly every week and spent months editing and honing my essays.

The best thing about Paul was that from our first call, he already had a strategy on how I could connect the dots of my academic and career experience to tell a story of myself. He turned my unique background from what I perceived as a weakness into a major strength! Paul could also bring out insight from our talks that I was previously unable to bring out on my own. By the time my interviews came around, I knew my story and what I had to offer so well that the process went very smoothly. Paul’s months of guidance definitely were to thank!

Beyond this all, Paul was always an excellent sounding board and a calming influence during the stressful months before and after sending in my applications. Overall he is a cool guy as well and fun to work with, even through the monotony of editing essays.

Thanks to Paul’s help, I was accepted at Kellogg, a dream school of mine! I wholeheartedly recommend Paul & Amerasia to anyone looking for the most insightful consultants who are behind their clients 100%.

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