We do consultations all the time, would be happy to do the same for you. We would be able to help you get the process started. Good luck!

Woodencrawdad wrote:I am a non-traditional candidate - 31 years old, non-profit and faith-based background, 710 GMAT, 3.2 GPA (Business Admin major, philosophy minor), extensive extracurriculars.

I am pursuing a full-time MBA in order to move into a Brand Management role & would like to get in to a Top 20 school.

That said, I'm on a limited budget during this application process. I would love to hear recommendations for consultants who are particularly good with non-traditionals and who may be cost-effective when compared to some of the more expensive shops. Given my background, I don't think HBS is a realistic possibility but would love to try for Fuqua, McCombs, etc.

Thank you for the recommendations!

I'm not sure why you think you're not competitive for HBS. Given your profile, you may actually be more competitive than you think. There are a ton of cookie cutter bankers, consultants, engineers, etc. that are applying to all the top schools, and what you have to your advantage is being a non-traditional with a decent GMAT and strong leadership experience (if "extensive extracurriculars" and "faith-based background" means anything: my guess is you're LDS and did your mission abroad?).

Anyhow, I think you should consider shooting a bit higher (regardless of whether you use a consultant or not). Here's what I suggest:

Stretch (choose 3): HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Kellogg, Booth, Columbia, Tuck, Haas
Sweet spot (choose 3): Ross, Darden, Duke, UCLA, Stern, Yale, Cornell
Safety (choose 0-1): anything outside the top 16.

Given that you want to work in brand management, I'd look at HBS, Stanford, Kellogg, Ross, Duke and Darden. And maybe add in McCombs as a safety.

Good luck