Our Best MBA Admissions Consulting Firms, 2022
The debate over whether to engage an MBA admissions consultant is on the minds of countless MBA applicants. The stakes are high in engaging an MBA admissions consulting partner, as applicants want to get it right the first time with admit success. As we continue into the 2021-2022 MBA application season, the team at Beat the GMAT has assembled its new ranking of the best MBA admissions consulting firms, along with tips for how to do your own research on evaluating an MBA admissions partner.
Here are the key factors to use when evaluating whether your MBA admissions consulting firm:
- Check online reviews for the admissions firm to validate quality, track record, and service. Beatthegmat has amassed a huge database of verified online reviews.
- Assess the caliber of the MBA admissions firm and what type of consultants, such as top 5 MBA admissions officers, they have in-house. In recent years, MBA admissions firms have grown their teams to include former Admissions Officers (AdCom) from the elite MBA programs. These former AdCom have closely-guarded, insider knowledge of how AdCom committees make admit and ding decisions.
At Beat the GMAT, we defined our ranking of top MBA admissions firms according to the criteria above. Here are the results:
Best MBA Admissions Consultants 2022
| MBA Admissions Consulting Firm | Review Volume | Harvard & Stanford MBA AdCom | Top 5 MBA AdCom Expertise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stacy Blackman Consulting | Request Free Consultation | 122 | HBS & GSB | Extensive |
| Aringo Overview | Request Free Consultation | 99 | No | None |
| Personal MBA Coach | Request Free Consultation | 69 | No | Minimal |
| Stratus Prep | Request Free Consultation | 65 | No | None |
| Vantage Point MBA | Request Free Consultation | 19 | No | Minimal |
| mbaMission | Request Free Consultation | 9 | HBS | Minimal |
| Admissionado | Request Free Consultation | 4 | No | None |
Applicants who are aiming for the top 5 MBA programs find that the skills, expertise, and support of a quality MBA consulting partner is worth every penny. Please see Beat the GMAT's latest review collection here.
The online reviews on the Beat the GMAT site were our starting point. From there, we looked at the caliber and type of consultants by firm. We focused on the former AdCom from the top 5 US programs as those business programs have the highest demand relative to other ranked schools. While rankings change by institution and by year, we defined the top 5 MBA programs to include: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and Columbia Business School.
We scoured the team profiles on MBA consultant websites. We compared the team profiles with data on Linkedin to find out which MBA admissions firm had former Admissions Officers from the elite programs. We looked for former full-time employed Admissions Officers (AdCom) to see the differences in talent across the known MBA consulting firms. We excluded student or alumni interviewers, as they are not former Admissions Officers, although some firms counted them as such.
Lastly, we encourage you to also look closer to evaluate the scope of services provided by your admissions consulting firm. The same is true of the comprehensive engagements offered by some MBA admissions firms. Ask about whether the comprehensive model is truly unlimited by time, if there’s a diligent matchmaking process, and if there will be access to other consultants/ resources at the firm. Too often, MBA applicants get stuck in a tunnel-vision relationship with just one consultant at a firm and aren’t able to benefit from the firmwide resources because of contract fine print.
Good luck in the MBA admission process, from the team at Beat the GMAT!