Eric and I solely reviewed my candidacy for my MBA programs and worked on how to approach application questions. The result: I was accepted in my dream school (Sloan).

Throughout the process, Eric helped me because he:
1) helped me understand my profile's strength and weaknesses
2) unfolded the questions that the schools were asking.
3) was incredibly timely in getting back to my questions.

Note that I was under the deadline gun in many situations and Eric was a champ in getting back to me faster than the standard 2 days.

The only challenge was that I came from an engineering background whereas Eric seemed to have more experience with candidates with more traditional backgrounds. This wasn't a big issue - we just got hung up on minor details.

I would recommend Eric - he was very helpful but did not write anything for me and I took ownership of the applications. Read the mbaMission book, Eric goes by many of its suggestions and it pays to have read it ahead of time.

Read More

MBA consulting packages are generally very expensive... so that aside, I would say I had a very good experience. Note that the consultants job isn't necessarily to get you into the school of your dreams but to help you reflect on your strengths and weaknesses so that you can tell a compelling story. If you don't get into a school, don't blame your consultant. They can only help you brainstorm and provide feedback as to what sounds trite or cliche... ultimately it's up to you to be open to their feedback and willing to really dig deep for your story.

Also, I gave 4 stars because that last star I think the applicant needs to earn himself/herself. I think the world of my consultant, Lynn Moloney, and can't thank her enough for pushing me to think hard about what was important to me and how I should craft my story. While I had my own person reasons for choosing Lynn, I would highly recommend her to anyone.

During my initial consultation, I had 2 choices, go with someone with a PE background or someone with an online media background (one of my interests). I chose to go with online media because there are a million PE guys looking for a place at the top bschools, and I wanted a different approach to my story. Lynn helped me brainstorm, and while all the ideas I had to dig deep for, she helped me craft well honed essays that weren't just interesting stories but had a theme and a focus that ran through my entire application. Ultimately, you have to believe in your own story to be successful. Consultants can only be helpful in pushing you to dig that much deeper by providing a different perspective or from experience they have had in the past with other applicants. Lynn definitely challenged me on every topic that I wrote about in my application. "Was I just telling them what was important to me versus showing them with a relevant and personal story?" "Why is this important to me?" "Is this idea cliche because it sounds like you are preaching, or is there something in your life that is unique that specifically addresses this topic? If so what is it?"

Read More