Understanding MBA Admissions Consulting Prices
Are you considering hiring an MBA admissions consultant and curious to understand how MBA admissions consulting prices work? It’s confusing, we get it! In today’s article, we’ll do our best to clarify the various ways MBA admissions consultants charge for their services and share the pros and cons of each.
We also want to acknowledge upfront that, as MBA admissions consultants ourselves, it feels a little weird to be opining on topics like MBA admissions consulting prices and whether hiring an MBA admissions consultant is ‘worth it’ (of course we think it is). As such, the intent of this article is not to ‘sell you’ on anything. It’s purely to lay out the way our industry tends to package and price its services so you can decide for yourself what is best for you. Ok, PSA over, let’s move to the content.
MBA Admissions Consulting Prices – Hourly Services
We’ll start here as hourly services are the most straightforward, on the surface at least. With hourly services, just as they sound, the client pays an MBA admissions consultant for time spent on calls, editing documents, responding to emails, etc. MBA admissions consulting prices for this type of work are generally $300+ per hour.
Pros
- While firms may have a minimum number of hours they require, you can usually add more hours as needed. This allows you to ensure you like the firm and/or your consultant before committing a large sum of money.
- You can allocate the hours as you see fit. Your consultant will help you determine the best use of your time but should ask for your ok before completing any billable work. This means you can devote a larger number of hours to your top choice / stretch programs and fewer to other schools, if you are so inclined.
Cons
- A big (and underappreciated) downside to hourly services is that, when working ‘on the clock’, it can be easy to shortchange the early stages of the process where your consultant invests in getting to know you and helping you define your ‘story’. This upfront work is SO critical to a compelling application, but the benefits often aren’t readily apparent until your applications come together. Some consulting firms don’t even offer hourly services (we do, but on a limited basis) because they feel it’s hard to do their best work when they can’t take as much time as they’d like at every step of the process.
MBA Admissions Consulting Prices – A la Carte or Pay by Service
Here we’re referring to services like resume reviews, final application reviews, mock interviews, etc. Generally speaking, the consultant will do one review of your materials (resume, essays, etc., depending on the service you’ve selected) and note areas where they could be improved. A mock interview entails a live session and then either individualized written or verbal feedback afterwards. The service may allow for a limited amount of back-and-forth communication with your consultant via email or phone.
At Vantage Point, we offer a unique variant on this service type through our Amplify Hourly Packages, which bundle together support in certain high value areas at a price that is less than a comprehensive package (described further below) but provides a more structured approach than working with us hourly. These are great for clients who have started on the application process on their own but want help taking their materials (resume, essays) to the next level.
The pricing for a la carte services is generally tied to the consultant’s hourly rate times the number of hours they expect to devote to the particular service you are purchasing.
Pros
- Certain services can really lend themselves to a ‘one off’ approach, such as mock interviews where it’s almost better if the person you speak with has only the information your actual interviewer will have, like your resume. The same goes for a service like our Adcom Trial Run where a client sends their near final application to a member of our team who used to work in admissions for one of the top MBA programs. He/she reviews it as they would have while on an admissions committee and provides feedback accordingly.
- If your budget it tight but you want a professional set of eyes, this is a lower cost option than a comprehensive package and there is 100% clarity into what you’re getting upfront (although a good consultant will be very transparent as to how you will work together with any type of service arrangement).
Cons
- The big con with this type of service is the fact that, for the most part, there is limited iteration with the consultant. With a resume review, for instance, your consultant will provide feedback on the version you send them, but it will be up to you to incorporate that feedback effectively. For reference, we often iterate 10 times with comprehensive clients on their resumes and up to 20 times on a set of essays. Understanding feedback and putting it into practice are two different things (and the latter can be much more difficult).
MBA Admissions Consulting Prices – Unlimited or Comprehensive Packages
Unlimited or comprehensive packages offer hands-on coaching throughout the MBA application process. At Vantage Point, we often begin working with clients applying in Round 1 around now (April – June) and the engagement continues until they’ve signed on the dotted line with a school. We work with them to select the schools to which they will apply, zero in on their career goals, define their ‘story’ or what differentiates them from other applicants, draft their MBA resume, select and prepare their recommenders, write their essays, practice for interviews, and more.
You can choose how many schools you would like to partner with the consultant on. The first school is the most expensive because a lot of the heavy lifting (setting career goals, defining your story, drafting your resume, etc.) is done whether you are working with them on one school or six. After that, there is a smaller fee for each additional school you include in your package.
The pricing for unlimited packages generally starts around $5,000 for one school and comes in around $7500+ for three schools. We get it, that’s a lot of money, but it’s also a lot of work (that we love doing!).
Despite what the term ‘unlimited’ implies, there are many things consultants do NOT do. They don’t write your essays for you. They don’t hit submit on your applications or make sure all the components are in by the deadline. They can’t guarantee you will be admitted to your dream school (if they say they can, run). Applying to business school is a lot of work, there’s no getting around it.
Pros
- Working with a consultant on a comprehensive basis is truly the gold standard for a reason. At every juncture, they will help ensure you are ‘doing all the right things’ from networking with schools to appropriately preparing your recommenders to position you in your best light. They know what schools are looking for and will help ensure these characteristics are brought to the forefront of your application in a way that is authentic to you.
- Applying to business school is stressful and there are endless questions that come up along the way. From the mundane (‘Should I attend this info session?’) to the not-so-mundane (‘How do I (and can I) negotiate scholarship offers?’), it’s reassuring to have someone on call to ask.
Cons
- Working with a consultant comprehensively is (necessarily) a very personal engagement. They will want to know a lot about you to help you craft an authentic and differentiated application. Do the leg work upfront to ensure you find someone who is a good fit for you. It’s not only important that you get along with them, but they should also have experience with clients like you.
We hope that helped clarify MBA admissions consulting prices for you! Our packages are described more fully here. As always, feel free to reach out to schedule a free consultation.