Consultants or not?

[Anahatha]

Hi... Is taking the help of a consultant for the application process prudent? Will it really make a difference?I read in someother article in this forum that about 1/3 of students who get into one of the top 10 b-schools take the help of a consultant.Please share your views on this..

[vineeshp]

Depends on whether you can do justice to yourself bringing out your best application.

And since they see multiple applications and know who got in who did not, they can give you the dos and donts of essays in a much better way than you yourself can.

[Stacy Blackman]

Hi Anahatha,

Obviously we are a bit biased but we definitely believe that working with the right consultant has the potential to transform your application and greatly increase your chances. You should view the consultant as a coach - just like a career coach, athletic coach, and others. An admissions consultant will push you and provide you with the expert knowledge to help you achieve your goals.

The key is in finding the RIGHT coach for you - even within our firm, we have a team of consultants so that any one person can find the person that really suits their style, and who compliments their strengths and weaknesses.

No one knows exactly how many people are working with consultants but at top schools we have enough insight to bet that it is even higher than 1/3. An increasing number of people are choosing to give themselves that edge.

If you are interested, we provide a free 30 minute consultation here:

https://www.stacyblackman.com/contact/


Hope this was of help.

Cheers,

Conrad and the Stacy Blackman Team

[Tyler@MBAPrepSchool]

A consultant will teach you about the qualities each school is looking for and help you to identify the qualities you possess and the experiences you've had that an MBA admissions committee will value. Through diligent research you might be able to accomplish the first part on your own via thorough school research. On the other hand, in my experience, it is hard for people to identify their strengths from the inside looking out. The consultant then is like the magic mirror in Snow White. Even if you are not the "fairest of them all" your consultant will help you to see the strengths you do possess more vividly. If you'll remember that mirror was honest to a fault, so, by the way, is an effective admissions consultant.

Once the consultant has helped you to identify your strengths, your challenge becomes communicating those strengths via an MBA application. While there are some similarities between a college application and an MBA application, there are just as many differences. An experienced consultant has expertise teaching his or her clients how to use the written MBA application as an effective medium of communication. He or she knows the opportunities and limitations of this unique mode of expression. Without guidance, many applicants fail to use the MBA application to its fullest potential. Doing so, is the secret to closing the gap between being qualified and being accepted. A consultant will provide guidance and feedback to ensure that you take advantage of every opportunity and create an outstanding application.

Finally, my philosophy is that a good consultant doesn't make his or her clients *appear* to be more competitive, his or her clients are, in fact, more competitive candidates by the time the applications are submitted. This is the ultimate value add of an admissions consultant.

Thank you for your question, and I would be happy to tell you more about how our admissions consulting process works if you are interested. Please visit our website https://mbaprepschool.com to learn more about our on-demand admissions consulting services and power-tools for building a winning MBA application.

[PrepMBA.AlexLeventhal]

In addition to what has been said, we all have blind spots in our writing. At times the movie that is playing in your head, if you will, is not the one that readers will comprehend. Every year I have ivy league clients (and many who are not) who consider themselves solid writers, and they are shocked when we discuss the holes and disconnects in their essays.

In addition, interview prep is another area that many candidates wing. Just like for a job interivew, you can most certainly practice interviewing so your strongest stories are front and center come game time, and so your nerves don't get the best of you. I can't imagine putting all those hours into the essay, and then not putting effort into interview performance.

These two components and others can be done with a peer, sibling, or of course, an experienced consultant.