The Application Process

eskimoroll wrote:I didn't use admissions consultants but if I had to, I'd go either with Alex Chu of MbaApply.com or Essay Snark from essaysnark.blocked. Why? Because they seem to be reasonable people who consistently provide really good advice across the various b-school forums.

I would second that. Though Alex has been in the business for much longer (and excellent at what he does), Essay Snark has gained my respect rapidly. Both have a boutique, no-nonsense approach to consulting.

Disclosure: As the signature reveals, I am an MBA consultant too and I have no tie-up with these two teams. We invite a select few consultants to write guest posts for our site. Alex and Essay Snark were on the list too, but it didn't work out due to their other commitments.

I worked with Aringo only in a partial manner, after I turned to them late and there was no room for me. I was very sorry that I did not work with them fully, as it would probably have helped me get accepted to other places and saved me a lot of heart palpitations.
Given this, I think that if I would not have worked with Aringo at all, I would not have been accepted anywhere, they helped me avoid a few mistakes that would have ruined my application and taken away any chance for me. Their guidance, professionalism and speedy response made all the difference and deserve appreciation and got me into Wharton.

I had heard about mbadream.in and Rahul from a senior in my College who made it to a top ranked US Bschool. After speaking to Rahul in the free initial consultation, i was almost sure that i will be able to achieve my goals this application cycle of fall 2013. With Rahul's constant support and his ability with articulating the why mba story, i have two admits from Top 25 US bschools and one canadian school with scholarships. i recommend applicants for next cycles should get in touch with rahul, mbadream.in before they start their Bschool quest.

I used Stratus Prep for MIT and I was able to get in!!
I consulted many companies before I decided to go with Stratus Prep. I think their process is really good. I worked with Shawn and Samantha from Stratus Prep and I would recommend them to anyone. The good thing I like about their process is you get inputs from two different people. I didn't understand it quite well in the beginning, but when I had some review sessions with Shawn, his input and thought process was really helpful to change the direction of my application. Samantha is also very professional to work with. I didn't have to wait for her to respond to any of my queries. She reviewed my application multiple times and worked with me almost day and night during the last few days of the application to make sure my application gets submitted on time.
Their process also guides you through each and every aspect of your application eg: what business schools are looking for, format for preparing your essays, resume etc.
I would recommend their services to anyone! Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.

Hi Tavi,

Let me know if you would like to speak about the offerings of Apply Point Admissions Consulting. Also, if you have any questions at all regarding the process, never hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. We pride ourselves on highly personalized service and have an incredible track record of admissions success at the top MBA programs. We are located in New York City, but work with out-of-town clientele via Skype.

Formerly, I was the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at a top-tier school and look forward to speaking soon about your MBA application process.

I wish you all the best.

Hi BTGers/MBAaspirants,

I want to share my experience of working with a consultant Rahul from mbadream , who helped me with my goals of seeking admit in two top ranked US bschools. I joined MBAdream.in coz of a good recommendation from one of my friends.Rahul is very professional, and has a very good understanding of the entire process. I found his way of working very comfortable and thought-provoking. We worked as a team, and were able to deliver very good results. Coming from engineering background, I was very skeptical about my essay writing skills; the team at MBAdream did a great job in helping me articulate my points better.
Thanks MBAdream for helping me realize my dream !

Good luck to all of the Fall aspirants...a special thanks to BTG for my GMAT prep help as well, discussions are really helpful.

[quote="eskimoroll"][quote="GoingtoHBS"]

JB[/quote]

Wow GoingtoHBS/JB, that post came across as a total advertisement for Stratus Prep or whatever they're called. Perhaps the internet has made me cynical but when I see a new person join a forum and their first post is something promotional for a for-profit company, I get a little suspicious.

If you are real and you really are going to HBS, I'll see you there in a few weeks.

Alex[/quote]


Alex,

I used Stratus - I wont see you at HBS, but if you're ever in the Philadelphia area, feel free to visit me at Wharton.

You can read my detailed review on Stratus and Shawn here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/anyone-use-a ... 15499.html

Additionally, anyone reading this, please feel free to reach out to me for GMAT/MBA/ESSAY advice. I receive maybe 3-4 PM's a week, and I do take my time to answer them. I had a lot of help with the process from BeatTheGmat members, so I like to give back...

Regards,
Benjiboo

For real! I also used Stratus and had an awesome experience with them, and yes I am a real person. LOL. If you would like me to take a picture in front of me and my Stanford prof this fall, feel free to let me know.

Hi All,

On this forum i want to share my story a sprint to a Top US bschool.

March 6th, I talked to Rahul for the first time. April 23rd I got an admit from a US top-30 B-school with 100% tuition scholarship.


I contacted mbadream in March when the international deadlines for all US schools were over. The first thing he told me was "Don't apply this year, you have a better chance next year". But I convinced him that I want to give it a try this year only. He agreed and gave me a very good deal. He didn't make any big promises but just said that "We'll try our best and we'll both have to work for it".

My profile was very simpleton. What can an IT guy achieve in 3 years after all. But Rahul projected my strengths very well, wrote some really focused essays for me. He also helped me in preparing my Resume, and scholarship essays.He kept everything simple. Also he was very responsive over emails, Skype and phone which made me feel connected. He also shared an interview questionnaire and helped me with my (interview) weaknesses. All in all he gave me hope and gave me the confidence that I'm good.

Initially our plan was to apply to around 9 to 10 Bschools. He didn't want me to spend much, so I applied only to the colleges which granted me application fee waivers. By the time I had applied to 7 colleges, I had 5 interview calls lined up (US and Germany). Even before I could complete all my interviews, I got an admit from a US top-30 Bschool with a scholarship of $95000 which amounts to full tuition fee waiver. And all this we did in less than a month.



Feel free to PM me about my application experience and i will be happy to share my journey.

You should definitely try MBADream. I had used their services and they offer excellent consulting for a very reasonable price too. I understand the need to be economical and yet have a top notch consulting for your MBA admissions. I was in the same dilemma and a friend of mine introduced me to Rahul who runs MBA dream. After availing his service I have now got admitted into a top 30 college with 80% scholarship.

Hey

I had worked with www.mbadream.in aka Rahul. I had a very positive and fruitful experience with him. His editing is super amazing and he know how to portray your life experiences, emotions and feeling in limited words through you essays. Really helpful too and gives an initial free consultation too. The best part you can first opt for smaller packages like 3 schools and if you like him go for more (which I am certain you will ). I started with 3 school package got 5 done

Admits - Ohio state (Good scholarship), Schulich, Northeastern (Super amazing scholarship)
others are waitlists

I knw these r not big names as compared to HBS and stanford..but i never applied to all these big schools. Its not because he suggested me these "safe" schools,its because I chose these schools. I still remember him nagging me to apply to bigger schools..these so called ranked "bigger schools". But after discussing with him, I applied to schools which will suit my ambitions, career progression style and importantly my pocket.

I would highly recommend him..and all the best!!
If you have any questions email me - [email protected]

Regards
Genuine guy..heading to NeU fall 2013..learnt a lot from BTG...now starting to contribute

Hey All,

I worked with Stratus Prep and had a really positive experience. I worked with Shawn and Jeff to apply to the major schools HBS, Wharton, and Stanford. They have a bunch of packages so you can choose exactly how much support and advice you want. I did the full service, school packages which I highly recommended.

They spend a lot of time getting to know you as a candidate and work to highlight your unique capabilities. I was nervous about my prospects as generic male finance professional from a state school and a =<700 GMAT Score. They have an incredible admissions rate which is unique so you know they consistently deliver results for their clients.

They also worked really well with my busy work schedule and took calls, responded to emails and met with me at weird hours and on weekends when I was free. They helped me craft my story, outline my essays topics, edit the essays (they are awesome at this btw), practice for interviews, review short answer questions, etc. If it's part of the process, they will help you do it.

Really enjoyed working with them, would have not been successful without them.

Hi,

I represent General Education. We are India's leading application assistance consultancy founded in the year 2007. We do application assistance for top global B-schools, we have a team of consultants graduated from top B Schools like Harvard, Duke, Cornell, ISB, LBS, INSEAD among a few. we are based in Bangalore and our consultants are spread across major cities in India, US, UK and Europe.

Over the past five years our consultants have made it possible for numerous MBA aspirants who took General Education services, ranging from online GMAT preparation, essay evaluations, general counselling, interview preparation to brainstorming sessions, and made it to b-schools like - Harvard Business School, Wharton Business School, Kellogg Business School ,ISB, Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth, INSEAD France, Cornell to name a few. Please visit https://tinyurl.com/pdgswsz to know more about our services.

For free profile evaluation with top b-school graduate, kindly share your contact details or drop us an e-mail with your profile at [email protected].

If you happen to be based in Bangalore, you can attend a MBA workshop by the alumnus of ISB along with alumnus of various top global B-Schools during the dates mentioned in this link https://tinyurl.com/cjy62uh

Feel free to write if you have further queries.

Cheers!
Vendetta

I just wanted to take a minute to fill you all in on my experience with SB. I wouldn't take the time to do this unless I really felt positively about my experience. I signed up with the firm in 2012 and was paired with Esther Magna, my consultant. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to use a consultant to assist with my applications since my GPA was really low (<3.0).

I applied to three schools and hired SB for all of them. Esther was great!! I was genuinely worried about being accepted to any of them, but Esther really helped me identify the strong points of my background and experience, and ensure I consistently stressed those to the admissions committees. I know I can be overbearing with the frequency that I send emails, but Esther was fantastic (she may be more addicted to her Blackberry than I am!). I ALWAYS received a prompt reply with helpful feedback.

My background is not especially distinctive - white male, finance background, etc. - but with Esther's help, I was able to craft an application strategy that stressed my attributes that I believe differentiated me from other applicants. She also had personal connections with former members of various admissions committees who reviewed my essays and critiqued them in advance - this was a huge help.

One last comment. Although the price of SB can be intimidating, as it was for me, hiring the firm turned out to be a great decision financially in the long run. I ended up receiving a scholarship for a full year's tuition at a top 10 US MBA school. Clearly the expense of a consultant can be high, but it paid off for me big time with Esther.