That process is part art, part science and 100% collaborative. We will start by asking you what qualities and experiences are most important to you in a consultant. We will also share what we believe your greatest focus areas are based on our initial conversation. Lastly, factors like time zone, consultant availability (depending on the time in the cycle), and working style will be added to the decision. From there, we will align that wish list with our team’s extensive resumes and find the most common ground. Sometimes there will be an obvious match and other times there will be more than one option that is equally strong. No matter the outcome, we will share our rationale with you, offer you a chance to chat with your consultant, and give you the final say.

The MBA application process is a marathon, not a sprint. The creative process takes time and there are very few shortcuts. In addition, coaching is not a transaction, it’s a relationship. And that relationship simply takes time to develop. So ideally, we start working with clients who are 6-9 months away from their target deadlines. This allows for a relaxed pace (to minimize stress) and gives us maximum time to impact your profile and application. (It’s much easier to add a little flour to cake batter than it is to do so when the cake is half baked!)

That said, we will meet you where you are in the application process. And if it took you a little longer to decide to engage an admissions consultant, that’s OK. If we believe we can help you, even if there are only 4 weeks before the deadlines, we will gladly take you on as a client and do whatever it takes to get you over the finish line.

As long as you have! Parkinson’s Law, the adage that work will expand to fill the time allotted for its completion, applies here. We have a fixed process that is intended to take a minimum of 2-3 months to complete thoroughly. However, we have built in enough flexibility that allows us to compress or expand that timeline as needed. In some cases, if you come to us further along in your application process, we may recommend one of our Amplify Hourly packages that is designed to focus on more narrow segments of our complete process. Be sure to discuss this with our team during your initial consultation.

Nope! In fact, helping you select your list of target schools is one of our specialties and we’d prefer that you keep an open mind. We find that applicants can be overly reliant on things like rankings and their perception of a school’s ‘brand name’ when choosing where to apply. While these are data points to consider, it’s important to dig deeper with your research AND self-reflection about what you want to get out of the MBA. Only then can you marry the two to determine which schools are a good fit for you. We’ll walk you through this process step-by-step when we begin working together. Then you can make a decision about which schools we will partner on all the way through to the finish line (assuming we aren’t working on all of your schools together - which is ok!).

You can absolutely add schools to your Comprehensive Package along the way. In fact, clients often do this once they see how helpful it is to have a partner by their side as they navigate a school’s application. Additionally, if you begin with our Pre-Pack, you can upgrade to a Comprehensive Package and we will credit the amount you’ve already paid towards its cost. Alternatively, you can continue working with your consultant on an a la carte hourly basis at the completion of your Pre-Pack. The same process applies to our Amplify Hourly Packages: once you’ve completed the package, you can continue working with your consultant on an hourly basis (whole hours only). Note that all of the above is pending consultant capacity, but we can virtually always make it work. 

Yes, both formally and informally! Formally, our Comprehensive Packages include an ‘Adcom Trial Run’, where a member of our team who used to work in admissions at a top MBA program reviews your near-final application and provides detailed, actionable feedback. Additionally, if you are applying to HBS and/or Stanford GSB and working with us on your application(s), your Comprehensive Package includes an incremental ‘fit review’ with our School Specialists for these ultra-competitive programs. Informally, we have an active Slack channel where we bounce around ideas, challenges, and the latest insights about top MBA programs. It is also common for our consultants to email one another with specific issues where another set of eyes might help. Our culture of collaboration between team members is our secret sauce!

Hiring an admissions consultant is an investment. It’s an investment in yourself and your future career. We take that investment very seriously and treat your application like it is our own. Accordingly, our services are not cheap. But we have carefully curated a menu of packages that accounts for different needs and budgets. While you will discuss our offerings in more detail during your initial consultation, our hourly a la carte services start at $2,575 for 5 hours and our all-inclusive school packages start at $7,900 for one school. Our add-on hourly rate is $425/hour.