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Admissions Consulting

We are often asked our opinion of MBA Admissions Consulting. We believe that MBA Admissions Consulting is a valuable service that can significantly boost your chances of admission to your top-choice business schools. Some GMAT students are able to self-study and achieve successful results on their own. Similarly, some MBA applicants can successfully handle all facets of business school applications themselves. In both situations, however, the vast majority of MBA aspirants would benefit tremendously and maximize their results by using GMAT preparation and Admissions Consulting services.
 

Selecting an Admissions Consulting Firm

You should feel very comfortable working with the Admissions Consulting firm that you select and the particular consultant at that firm with whom you will directly interact. Your consultant will be a key advisor who will help you craft all aspects of your business school applications. Furthermore, your consultant will have access to extensive personal and professional information about you. If you don’t trust and like your admissions consultant, the working relationship is unlikely to be productive.

An Admissions Consulting firm should demonstrate expertise and add value to your application strategy before you sign-up with a particular firm. To asses this, we suggest that you undertake the following research on the firms that you are considering:
  • Carefully read through the firm’s website. Look for bios of the firm’s founder and consultants. Read testimonials from former clients. Discover what resources and advice the website offers. It’s a red flag if you cannot easily find this information on a firm’s website. Consider what value you ultimately derive from going through the website, since a firm that delivers value on its website is much more likely to deliver value in its services.
  • Schedule a free consultation. Top-quality firms happily offer consultations, and a firm that does not offer a free consultation is simply not worth considering. After the consultation, assess how valuable you found the session. Did you get advice tailored to your specific situation, or were you just offered a generic sales pitch? Did you get honest feedback about your chances of admission? Did the person you speak with listen to you and respectfully answer all your questions? Did the firm’s representative seem to care about helping you and ensuring a good fit, or just pressuring you to sign up for services? Based on the consultation, you should feel very comfortable working with the firm with which you wish to proceed.

Not surprisingly, these are largely the same criteria that you should use in choosing a GMAT preparation company. What about a company that offers both GMAT preparation and Admissions Consulting services? Although the client base is the same, the skill sets to effectively deliver these two services are vastly different. In our opinion, most companies that offer both GMAT preparation and Admissions Consulting do neither very well.


Our Recommendations

There are many Admissions Consulting firms out there. Rather than present an unfocused directory of such firms, we present a curated list of what we believe are the best firms in the industry. We reviewed the websites of many admissions consulting firms to select those that we believe possess valuable experience and expertise that you can benefit from. Furthermore, we have spoken with a key executive at these firms to ensure that they share the values that we espouse. Some of our prior clients have used these firms’ services and have reported their high satisfaction. We are confident that these Admissions Consulting firms strive to deliver excellent value to their clients. Please note that the firm bios presented below have been supplied by the respective companies.

ARINGO Consulting

 
ARINGO Consulting
ARINGO Consulting has been helping professionals reach their goals since 2003, making ARINGO one of the most experienced MBA admissions consulting firms in the industry. ARINGO consultants assist applicants in choosing the appropriate business schools, developing an application strategy, writing a resume (CV) and strong essays, and selecting the recommenders who will best support their application. ARINGO also offers assistance in interview preparation and assistance in applying for scholarships and financial aid. Over 80% of ARINGO's 7+ hour clients received an offer to one of their first choice business schools, and ARINGO clients were awarded over $8 million in scholarships in the last 5 years! The ARINGO MBA Blog provides the latest updates on admissions and its clients' success. Wondering where you stand? Try ARINGOS's free admissions chances calculator or sign up for a free consultation.
 

Candidate Coach

 
Candidate Coach
Candidate Coach is a boutique admissions consulting firm with a global reach. Based in Paris, France, founder Eric Lucrezia has been an education and coaching professional since 2000. Originally from New York and working in schools in the US, Spain, Australia, and France, Eric has refined a strategy for success that works by getting to know his clients on a personal level to help them tell stories that are authentic, unique, and yet adapted specifically for each school. Eric is also the author of the country-specific "Getting into an MBA" book series, which walks through the admissions journey from A to Z and includes guides for the United States, UK, France, and Canada. He is also the host of the weekly vidcast, MBA Waves, which hosts special guests each week diving into topics related to MBA admissions, business, and education. Contact Eric for a free consultation.
 

Oriel Admissions

 
Oriel Admissions
Oriel Admissions offers highly-personalized admissions consulting services for MBA applicants applying to US and international business schools. Oriel Admissions was founded by Rona Aydin, who has an MBA degree from Oxford University and a Masters in economics from New York University. Rona is passionate about helping her clients leverage their unique experiences to earn a spot in their dream program. Applications to business school require a huge time commitment and Rona treats each application with the same level of care and attention that she would give to her own application. Contact Rona for a free consultation.
 

The Jaffe Advantage

 
The Jaffe Advantage
The Jaffe Advantage is a boutique admissions advisory founded by Pamela Jaffe, a Columbia MBA and eleven year consulting veteran. Pamela began her admissions consulting career in 2010, working as a part-time consultant for one of the largest and most established admissions consulting companies in the US while simultaneously pursuing a full-time career in the corporate world. She found her passion helping candidates gain admissions to their dream schools and eventually left corporate America to launch her own firm. Pamela brings a unique blend of business experience and admissions know-how to help candidates define their goals and create their unique story. A strong believer in partnership, Pamela offers mostly comprehensive packages in order to fully engage with each and every client. She has helped hundreds of students gain entry into all top 20 US programs (often with scholarships!) as well as INSEAD, LBS, Oxford, Cambridge, and IESE. Contact Pamela for a free consultation.
 
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