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Personal MBA Coach Admissions Consulting Reviews

About Personal MBA Coach

Founded 14 years ago by Scott Edinburgh, a Wharton and MIT graduate, Personal MBA Coach has helped hundreds of applicants around the world get into top MBA, EMBA, part-time MBA and specialized master’s programs (including Master of Finance, Master of Analytics, Master of Public Policy, law school) with a 96% success rate. Personal MBA Coach is consistently ranked #1 or #2 by leading sources. Last year, our clients earned more than $6M in scholarships!

All clients have direct access to Scott, who serves on the Board of Directors for AIGAC, the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants and is invited to speak at MBA Admissions events globally, including the annual Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) conference.

Scott is supported by a boutique team including MJ Shores, a former Wharton MBA Admissions Director, GMAT/GRE/EA tutors who scored above the 99th percentile (most with 780+) and former M7 admissions interviewers.

Personal MBA Coach Services:

Pre-Application Support:

  • Early MBA Planning 
  • Customized One-on-One GMAT/GRE/EA Tutoring

Application Development:

  • Comprehensive Packages Including:
  1. Application strategy
  2. School selection
  3. Personal story development
  4. Resume editing
  5. Essay brainstorming and unlimited essay editing
  6. Video essay feedback
  7. Letters of recommendation support
  8. Interview preparation with former M7 interviewers
  9. Pre/post interview essay editing 
  10. Waitlist strategy and waitlist essay editing
  11. Post acceptance support 

Ad Hoc Services:

  • Interview Preparation (with former M7 interviewers)
  • Waitlist Strategy
  • Ding Report

Schedule Your 30-Minute Consultation Today!

Take a look at our package options and contact us to discuss your situation!

Working With Personal MBA Coach:

Personal MBA Coach Deal Page

Personal MBA Coach Admissions Consulting Reviews

Personal MBA Coach Interview Prep Service
 $600  $600
Reviews
11
Average Rating
5
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Personal MBA Coach Comprehensive School Packages
$4900
Reviews
191
Average Rating
5
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Scott Edinburgh
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Mae Jennifer 'MJ' Shores
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Nicole Shay
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AI Super-Summary of Customer Reviews for Personal MBA Coach*

The reviews overwhelmingly praise Scott Edinburgh and the Personal MBA Coach team for their expert guidance, personalized approach, and exceptional support throughout the MBA application process. Clients highlight the team's ability to help non-traditional and traditional candidates alike, crafting compelling narratives and strategically enhancing applications for top business schools such as Wharton, Booth, and others. The personalized, professional, and responsive services provided by Scott and his team, including essay crafting, interview preparation, and application strategy, have led to successful admissions and scholarship offers, making them highly recommended by various clients.
11 users mention "Admitted"
  • "and Scott helped me get accepted to my top choice M7..." Read more
  • "that resulted in multiple admits..." Read more
  • "I was able to get into my dream business school..." Read more
  • "accepted to your dream MBA program..." Read more
  • "accepted to all the schools to which I applied..." Read more
  • "got into Wharton which was the goal I set out for..." Read more
  • "accepted to my top choice EMBA program..." Read more
  • "interview from everywhere I applied..." Read more
  • "crucial role in helping me select the right schools..." Read more
  • "accepted into one of my top choice schools..." Read more
  • "thrilled to have been admitted to my dream MBA program..." Read more
9 users mention "Supportive"
  • "He helped me every step of the way..." Read more
  • "they really listened to my story and my "why"..." Read more
  • "gave me the support I needed to make my best possible application..." Read more
  • "I highly recommend Scott for his MBA consultant service..." Read more
  • "guidance on helping clarify my application choices..." Read more
  • "exceptional in helping me edit my essays..." Read more
  • "support during the interview process also played a crucial role..." Read more
  • "detailed prep plan supported me at every step of the application process..." Read more
  • "Scott made each step straightforward and clear..." Read more
6 users mention "Scholarship Awarded"
  • "with 85-100% tuition scholarships at each school..." Read more
  • "admission offers from four schools with scholarship offers..." Read more
  • "received a top scholarship to my top school (M7)..." Read more
  • "given the generous Fellowships/Scholarships I have received..." Read more
  • "admitted to 3 with considerable scholarship awards..." Read more
  • "offered scholarships at many of them..." Read more
5 users mention "Non-traditional Backgrounds"
  • "I came in with a non-traditional professional background..." Read more
  • "pushed me, a non-traditional candidate..." Read more
  • "I was a non-traditional candidate..." Read more
  • "translate my niche experience to MBA admissions committees..." Read more
  • "my international 40-yr old profile..." Read more
2 users mention "Low GPA Success"
  • "I was working with a low GPA..." Read more
  • "I was initially worried about my lower GPA..." Read more
2 users mention "Responsive"
  • "Scott is the kind of guy who picks up the phone when you call..." Read more
  • "He is always very responsive and supportive..." Read more
2 users mention "US MBA Programs"
  • "received an acceptance from Anderson..." Read more
  • "applying to Wharton this fall..." Read more
1 users mention "High GMAT Scorers"
  • "able to get 730 - much higher than I thought would be possible..." Read more
1 users mention "Detail-Oriented"
  • "consultants know the admissions process inside and out..." Read more
1 users mention "Military Background"
  • "helped me complete four Round 1 applications..." Read more
1 users mention "Value for Money"
  • "multiple scholarships to T15, including my top choice..." Read more
*Review summaries are AI generated from 25 latest reviews in the past 2 years.

Reviews:

202 Reviews
5.0 Average
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February 20, 2019
wizard93

Joined: Feb 20, 2019

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Great experience

REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by score report [?]

Scott offers great advice on schools, career choices, test taking and essay writing topics. Being an Wharton MBA graduate himself, he knows so much about MBA admissions and education to enable students to make good choices on which schools to apply to. He is very frank in his feedback to applicants.

He is very process driven and had a great step-by-step approach to enable me to reflect on my life and career choices for writing strong essays. We had a couple of long phone calls in the beginning where we did reflection exercises on my life and career. These enabled me to write great essays that came from the heart.

He is very ethical as he does not write letters or recommendations for students unlike other consultants.

He offers outstanding interview preparation advice and mock interviews for students so that they go into the interviewing room with confidence.

He also travels around the world for MBA fairs so you have a high chance of meeting him in person. He offers very quick regular responses through email. I highly recommend Scott.

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February 18, 2019
pchin11

Joined: Feb 18, 2019

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

Amazing Consultant - Highly Recommend

REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by score report [?]

When I first applied to business school in 2016, I was rejected by six of the M7 schools. With Scott's guidance in 2018, I was able to secure acceptances from Kellogg, Booth and Sloan and was offered a combined $170K in scholarship money from Kellogg and Booth.

I started the process with Scott after meeting him in late July 2018 after the MBA Tour and listening to his talk about the 10 things that one must do to prepare for applications. He seemed very knowledgeable and mentioned his connections with admissions offices, all while offering insights that I would never find online. I immediately signed up with him and am so glad that I did.

Scott took the time to thoroughly understand my background before laying out our plan of attack. Scott's guidance made me feel very assured and confident in myself throughout the process. He steered me in the right direction on how to prioritize apps and plan out my essays for each school, recommending that I focus on particular topics that would resonate with admissions based on my background and what he knew they would look for. We developed such great chemistry that we would be emailing each other practically every other day for the next two months. We scheduled phone calls to strategize our attack for each school's application. He's also been available at a moment's notice for me to call him with more pressing matters, such as how I should rationalize the factors that went into my decision of deciding the business school this fall. This encapsulates what I have truly enjoyed most about working with Scott -- he is candid in his feedback, available at at a moment's notice, and provides great perspective on the admissions process given his history working with other clients.

If you are considering the investment, I would highly encourage you to sign up with Scott. Working with the founder of a top consulting firm is a huge plus, and I think it would give you the confidence that you'd need to secure placements at top MBA programs.

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February 07, 2019
MBAdreamer112

Joined: May 23, 2018

Posts: 1

Kudos: 4

Review for Personal MBA Coach

REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by school email address [?]

Overall, working with Scott from Personal MBA Coach was a great experience.

Starting off, I knew I wanted to work with a consultant because I wanted someone to help keep me on track while I balanced a busy job (I do consulting) and my extracurricular commitments. My initial search process started off with the free 30-min consultations with the larger brand names. I realized that I wanted more personalized attention and that the quality of the experience varied based on which consultant you worked with when signing on with a larger group. Eventually, I found Scott and we connected because of our backgrounds (Scott is a former consultant) and the fact that I would get his personalized attention throughout the process.

We worked together on 3 applications. He was extremely helpful when it came to outlining an essay response, getting my main points across, and finding ways for me to stand out among the sea of other male consultants in the MBA application pool. I felt that Scott took the time to read through my drafts, which he sent back usually within 1-2 business days. We finished the 3 applications with 2-3 weeks to go before the deadline. I then used material from those 3 schools to do 2 other schools on my own, mostly to save money. I would recommend the same to others if money is an issue, but you still want to make the most out of a consultant.

Beyond essays, the package does include interview prep. Overall, I felt like that was less useful than the essay help was. I say that because the nature of interviews can get pretty subjective. Scott does have personalized interview guides for each school (2-3 pages), but most of the information can be found online or from current students. Regardless, it was nice to practice interviews with people who had either interviewed at the school themselves or gone to the program. I also supplemented my interview practice with current students/alumni who I had known through undergrad or work.

Finally, I just want to say that Scott cares about each of his clients! He called to congratulate me when he heard I got into my dream programs and was there to comfort me when a got ding'ed at a few others. Looking back, there is nobody else I would have rather worked with to help me through this process!

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January 06, 2019
greystonecapital

Joined: Jan 06, 2019

Posts: 2

Kudos: 1

Verified GMAT Classic score:
690 Q48 V36

Personal MBA Coach gave me options!

REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by score report [?]

I came into my MBA school search with no knowledge of how competitive it gets while applying to top business schools.

Working with Personal MBA Coach allowed me to craft, hone and my message to target as well as get several admits into the schools of my choice.

The essays and the whole editing process made me a better, well-rounded individual and made me more self-aware of my strengths, weaknesses and abilities.

I highly recommend Personal MBA Coach and their methodologies. They're true professionals and strongly focus on creating favourable outcomes for their clients.

The schools I got admission into were A. ESADE B. Schulich C. McMaster University, Canada

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November 25, 2018
pchen1210

Joined: Feb 08, 2018

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
730 Q49 V41

Highly recommended and responsive

REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by score report [?]

Scott was great to work with and always responded within 48 hours. After calling several consulting firms for their free consultation, I found that Scott was the most straightforward and provided the most honest feedback. He did not try to up-sell me his services when I indicated that I only wanted to apply to two schools. He indicated that my odds were not the greatest upfront and did not pressure me to use his services, unlike some of the big firms that referred me to their outside/lesser known partners. I ultimately accepted early decision at one school and declined my interview at the other.

Throughout the application process, Scott kept his promise on providing comments or feedback within 48 hours. I was able to get quicker responses/live phone calls within 24 hours, when necessary. Given that Scott appears to have many touch points with various adcoms throughout the year, he was able to provide very insightful essay comments and help craft stories that work best/better for specific schools. In addition, interview prep was extremely helpful because he was able to connect me with a prior ambassador.

I highly recommend Personal MBA Coach for your MBA application process, especially for applicants who value honest feedback.

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October 16, 2018
jbradicich

Joined: Oct 16, 2018

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Scott Goes the Extra Mile and Cares About Your Success

REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by score report [?]

I'm going to get right to the point - Scott helped me get into Columbia Business School's Executive MBA program! From the moment I started to work with him to the day I received my acceptance call from Columbia Business School, Scott was there along the way. He responded to my emails in an attentive manner, went the extra mile to really understand my story and how to tell it compellingly, and he knows exactly what the admissions officers are looking for in applicants. I found Scott to be very adaptable to my personality, inquisitive, and strategic in his approach. He gets right to the point and is honest with his feedback, even if it's not necessarily something you want to hear. Scott went the extra mile when reviewing my essays with several rounds of edits. He wanted them to be in the best shape possible before submission day, and he continued to jump in to tweak verbiage to make the narrative, grammar and sentences perfect. He is also well connected and set up a mock interview with a CBS graduate that was very helpful for me when preparing for my in-person interview. I would highly recommend Scott as someone who is friendly, strategic, honest and can really help you get into those challenging Ivy League business schools.

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July 30, 2018
rb1234

Joined: Sep 06, 2016

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Best MBA admissions consulting service

REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by school email address [?]

The Personal MBA Coach Team has been instrumental in my MBA admissions journey. They truly made it possible for me to achieve my long term dream of getting admitted to a top business school.
The team's thorough knowledge of the entire application process and guidance on how best to position myself along with various nuances related to each school, The Personal MBA Coach really customized and supported me extensively throughout the MBA process.
I am a non-traditional MBA candidate, with a PhD and a little older than traditional applications that was discouraged by other MBA coaching and advisory services in terms of my aspirations of getting admitted to a full time program. But once I spoke with the The Personal MBA Coach, he provided a lot of support, and helped me build confidence to peruse the effort and defined clearly a working strategy for me specifically.
He and his team are thorough, diligent, pragmatic and realistic. With my profile he was very honest about what I need to work on to get to my target and how to go about it.
Unlike other MBA admissions advisory services, The Personal MBA Coach is truly personal and goes the extra mile to provide best in class service, advisory and support through out the process of MBA admissions. They are available and ready to answer any question and very flexible in terms of scheduling.
Scott has a deep understanding of each school and what is needed for them to tailor the application in the best way. Through out the process of working with Scott and the Personal MBA Coach team, I not only got admitted into the Full Time MBA program - at the University of Chicago - Booth School of Business, but also developed key insights about myself, becoming a better writer, interviewee and strategic thinker.
My sincerest thanks to the Personal MBA Coach and team and I strongly recommend working with this team if one truly wants to achieve their MBA goals and dreams.

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July 04, 2018
vishal2401

Joined: Oct 19, 2011

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

I applied from one of the most competitive categories in MBA – Indian Male engineer. My age was on higher side ( 30 yrs) and GMAT score of 730 was a little low for the competitive category of Indian Male engineers. I was also a reapplicant.

One of my friend recommend Scott to me. I worked with Scott on three schools. Got waitlisted in Kellogg and accepted in Tuck.

1) Scott is very professional, humble and straight forward. If something is lacking in the essay or some part of your profile needs work, Scott will tell you in a straight forward manner ( without sugar coating) . This is one of the best things a liked about him – he gives honest feedback.
2) His insights on what the admission committee of different schools seek is fantastic. Therefore, his recommendations on which school to apply for were very useful. Infact, I wasn’t even considering applying to Kellogg, but Scott recommended that I apply and I was waitlisted .
3) He will push you to self-reflect and think more about your experiences and stories.
4) One of Scott’s associate who is ex-kellogg interviewer took my mock interview. Her feedback on the mock interview was very helpful and she gave a detailed question-by-question feedback. She also coached me on how to answer the questions. My confidence post the mock interview increased tremendously.

Overall, I wouldn’t have done with Scott’s coaching and help. He helped me navigate through each part of the MBA application process and I got through my dream school – Tuck . Thank you Scott. I whole heartedly recommend Personal MBA Coach for MBA applications.

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June 21, 2018
cindyduan

Joined: Jun 23, 2015

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Go with Scott!

REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by school email address [?]

Scott was absolutely incredible to work with!

At first, I was debating going through the admissions process without an admissions consultant, but in hindsight, I'm so glad I decided to go with Scott. He is very experienced and knowledgeable about the process, is extremely responsive (e.g. essay revisions turned around within 24 hours), and I can tell he gives his 100% effort to each of his clients. I also appreciate that Scott gives it to you as is - he isn't one to sugarcoat and will give you the feedback you need to hear.

I'm happy to say I will be attending my top choice (Wharton) this fall, and I can't thank Scott enough for getting us here. I felt well-prepared throughout the whole process (including no surprises during interviews!), and I highly recommend Scott to other prospective applicants!

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June 18, 2018
langdonh

Joined: Jun 18, 2018

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Interview Prep Success

REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by score report [?]

I worked with Scott on the interview preparation portion of my application to HBS. I can say honestly that without this interview preparation, I would not have been ready for the depth of questions I was asked in my actual HBS interview. This package was a critical part of my preparation, and allowed me to go into the interview feeling confident and prepared. Scott was always just a quick email away if I needed anything, and his service was a key factor in my preparation that ultimately led to an HBS admission. I would recommend Scott and his team to any of my peers applying to business school. And can truly say it was 100% worth the money. Thank you Scott!

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