After meeting with and chatting with over 7 MBA admissions consultants, ranging from the biggest brand names to the smallest independents, I decided to go with Scott, Personal MBA Coach, as my advisor for 8 schools. Not because he was the most optimistic or the most pessimistic, but because he seemed honest and like an easy guy to work with, with an equal to or better track record of success versus his competitors.

We agreed on some “safe” schools, some “matches,” and some “reaches,” and decided that a strategy of applying to 8 match-to-reaches with no safety schools would be an optimal strategy for my goals and risk tolerance. I applied to all of the M7+Tuck, and to my surprise received offers of admission to 3 of the 8 schools, with interviews and eventual waitlist at 2 more, which I chose not to pursue.

As a realist, I understand that a lot of your profile is set in stone. GMAT, GPA, Work Experience… but there is still a huge amount of room to market yourself in a certain way that Personal MBA Coach was key in. Knowing what pieces of my career and background to emphasize were part of this.

One additional reason I chose Personal MBA Coach over some of the larger companies was that he ensured me that whether it was interview prep, essay brainstorming, or essay revisions, he would be the only person I spoke and dealt with whether by phone or email. This ended up being absolutely 100% true. There are of course other good consultants out there, but Scott is extremely connected to the process and is able to identify trends that others cannot.