I'm beginning the application process / school evaluation stage for potentially going to business school. My goal would be to go to a M7 school, but possibly a second-tier school if need-be.
I've spoken with a few colleagues, who mentioned hiring an Admissions Consultant in the past. The more hands-on consultants were upwards of $6K+. Though admission into a top-tier program has its own long-term benefits, this is obviously still a huge upfront cost to stomach. Will I be well behind others if I don't hire a consultant? Is this a common thing that most top-applicants are doing these days?
Hi Banker4444, check out these links:
If we're lucky, the following users may have something to say: Hurtado m8 DeepLearning
I hope those threads give you a bit more insight.
While I can't claim tons of objectivity, I can claim, after almost 25 years of experience as an admissions consultant, experience in the field and fairly strong opinions on the topic.
According to recent GMAC data, 17% of applicants say they used consultants, but my sense is that the real number is somewhat higher. I've seen estimates that it's about 40%; frankly that sounds too high to me. So you'd be "behind" those who are using a consultants, but obviously people do get in without using a consultant.
Is it worth it?
How much is that extra pair of experienced eyes worth to you? How much is it worth to you to know that you are doing your best to get into your dream school? How much is it worth to you for someone to help you fix your mistakes and errors in approach before the admissions committee sees your application?
Obviously the answer is different for different individuals, but if you view the feedback from Accepted.com's MBA clients -- one of the happiest pages on the Internet -- you will see that many clients volunteered that they felt our service was definitely worth the money and made the difference between acceptance and rejection. In some cases, they attributed scholarships to the assistance they received from their consultant.
I would argue that if an MBA is worth the investment so are consultant services. What forms could that ROI take?
Any of these scenarios could result in a return that is multiples of a consultants' fees and would clearly make the investment more than "worth it."
Now if you'd like suggestions on how to choose consultants, you can meet excellent Accepted's MBA admissions consultants , or learn how to select an MBA admissions consultant.
If you are so good at getting into business schools, why didn't you go to HBS ?
I got my MBA from UCLA in 1979. It's possible I've learned a few things since then.
If anyone cares, I applied then to HBS, Wharton, and UCLA. I was accepted to Wharton (with a small scholarship) and to UCLA and rejected at HBS. I chose to attend UCLA because at the time I applied I was living in Los Angeles and seriously dating the man who became my husband of the last 40 years. We didn't want a long-distance relationship. I have no regrets about that decision.
A lot of consultants offer free initial calls. You could sound them out and see if you feel like they can add value.
Agreed.
FYI That is one of the suggestions in Things to Consider When Choosing an MBA Admissions Consultant..
Sanford Kreisberg (HBSGuru) seems extremely convincing,knowledgeable, and impressive on YouTube, to say the least. At times, Watch his 'Handicapping Your Elite MBA Odds' and you can get an overview, for yourself, if an Admission Consultant could be worth the price tag. Regards.
Hello dear, A lot of consultants offer free initial calls. You could sound them out and see if you feel like they can add value. A Consultant is a professional who gives an expert advice in a few areas like education, management, accountancy, law, engineering, finance, and many other specialized areas. A Consultant is usually an expert professional with broad knowledge of subject matters. A few months ago, I have taken the services from Grace Education, who advises college, MBA, and graduate applicants to gain admission to top programs like HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Kellogg, Tuck, Chicago Booth, LBS, and INSEAD.
Definitely take the free calls and vet these places out for yourself. I hear you that it's a ton of cash to fork up, but pretty much everyone I know in this industry who went to a top school worked with a firm. Needless to say the competition is fierce. I've been working with a firm now (Shana Cohen at Admissionado) and I truly didn't know what I was missing when I came to them.
I took a bunch of consultations before I decided to work with them. Feel free to PM me if you'd like any insights into the other places I looked at.
Bump - wanted to see if anyone else has experiences with an admissions consultant.
I used a consultant this past admissions cycle, paid $11k, and got just about 0 value. I had a pretty weak story and knew it from the start. I wanted him to help me sharpen the story and make it more compelling for admissions. When I pressed him on how effective my story was, he admitted it needed work, but he would really ask me to rewrite it more effectively with no input. He made line item/wording edits on my essays, but they were typically minimal. He confirmed the schools I was targeting were realistic, and I had a disappointing result in the end (admitted to 2 M7s but with my profile I could have done a lot better--I had friends with much less compelling profiles get into HSW, some of whom used consultants and some of whom did not).
I've also had friends rave about their consultants so find a good one if you use one as they're expensive. I chose mine because he was well-rated and located in my city, but he refused to take in-person meetings so the geography part was a waste. He seemed helpful on our screening call, but he added almost no value.
I had a similar experience--my consultant seemed great when I spoke with her on the phone but ended up not providing any value other than line-item edits on my essays. I bought an hourly service where I paid for a certain number of hours upfront with the idea that I'd be refunded for anything that I didn't use and her firm had the audacity to claim I had used all 12 hours I paid for and provided an obviously inflated timesheet attempting to support this. It was obviously BS but I didn't have the energy to argue and just ate the $2.5k loss (although I did trash them to everyone I know so hopefully I was a net money loser to them).
that’s gotta be super tough cuz you don’t know whether or not you’ve hired someone who is just going to do line item edits to your essays or not. are you allowed to ask for testimonials or satisfied clients to do more diligence? the consulting space in general is such a shitshow I feel like buyer beware is a big mantra that’s needed. unless it’s people with clear brands (like an MBB), hiring an unknown consultant just seems like a shot in the dark
Aliquid veniam non illo. Incidunt est rerum quia molestiae quas nam. Et cupiditate maxime accusantium voluptatem esse sit. Qui cum atque quae vel.
Excepturi nostrum excepturi ab nemo itaque. Enim aperiam ea hic recusandae itaque doloremque. Tempore nisi numquam quod iure aut sit omnis in. Eum quod soluta atque nam vel. Ut perferendis et iure.
Ut velit tenetur accusamus deleniti suscipit magni ab. Dolores totam aut quasi nemo. Possimus rerum et cupiditate enim enim ipsum. Asperiores non officia voluptatem est perferendis optio. Aliquam fugiat quo hic aut. Perspiciatis molestiae et odio molestias dolorem voluptatem. Dolores officiis aut maxime nisi libero et.
Veritatis aut qui nihil perspiciatis. Et est porro placeat blanditiis. Suscipit aut iusto eos neque magnam. Sint dolorem labore officia ducimus iure laboriosam recusandae non. Ullam fuga accusantium nisi qui voluptas. Qui omnis repellat aut laudantium rerum et. Eos sed beatae rerum dolorem numquam consequatur sunt.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...