Farrell Dyan MBA Prep Coach

Farrell Nelson

MBA Prep Coach

United States

Net Promoter Score: 9

Consultant Bio

Together, we create unique application strategies that leverage your demonstrated strengths. My coaching brings forth your most compelling, authentic content. 98% of my clients have obtained admission to one or more top 10 MBA programs; 80% to a top 5 program. Most attend their first-choice school – and receive sizeable scholarships (that far exceed my fees!)

More than a consultant, I consider myself to be your friend and trusted advocate who is passionately invested in your success. Each client partnership is an exciting and fulfilling journey to me. I am known for my candor and high standards but always work with my clients in a spirit of humor, warmth, and kindness.

I received the Global Scholar award as the first Iowa MBA to study abroad. In 1999, I completed research and coursework on Brand Strategy and Consumer Behavior at a French-speaking business school, Ecole Superieure de Commerce-Amiens.

Upon my return in 2000, I taught GMAT Verbal at Kaplan while completing the second year of my MBA. At that time, I was approached by a top 5 admissions consulting firm, asked to develop a remote GMAT program and later, to edit essays. From 2000 to 2008, I held marketing management positions in companies such as Gannett, Dow Jones and Wells Fargo while coaching MBA and EMBA aspirants in the evenings. As the corporate newsletter editor for Wells Fargo, I interviewed executives throughout the organization and helped them tell their stories.

In 2008, I left the world of corporate marketing management to obtain my coach certification. From 2008 to 2014, I was a business coach to new startup founders while continuing my side work with MBA applicants. In addition, I taught marketing, advertising and strategic management at California State University.

In 2014, I decided to combine my work with MBA applicants with my coaching practice, by creating a unique coaching-based admissions consultancy. The goal of coaching is transformation; in my practice, the client’s desire for a top MBA is the catalyst for their transformation.

In addition to being a coach, I am a trained marketing strategist and a professional editor. All of this combined allows me to dig out good content, that I edit succinctly. The goal is to create a clear identity in the mind of your reader.  I enjoy leveraging my coaching, marketing and editing skills to help my clients gain admission to their ideal MBA programs.

My hobbies include meditation, swimming, Feng Shui, watching French films, and attending live jazz.

I am known for…

  • Guiding and supporting clients in self-discovery and career transformation
  • Fluency in many different cultures and industries
  • Identifying my clients’ strengths and areas of competitive advantage
  • Masterful storytelling and editing in a very succinct, powerful style

My aim is to help you create your best applications – get into your dream b-school – and pursue a career that excites you.

Fill out my prospective client form on my website and send me your CV; I will review both and reply to set up a time to chat.

Company Information

Is this you? 

When clients first come to me, they are generally looking to make a big career transformation but not sure what that looks like or how to go about it. They just know a bit about what they like – and even more about what they are trying to get rid of.

Also, when I first speak with clients, they usually do not have a clear understanding of what I call their “professional identity.” Their strengths, weaknesses, areas of competitive advantage. What they are known for in the eyes of others. The adcom wants to get to know you. But if you do not know yourself, you cannot really help the adcom get to know you.

And, they are unclear about, as they say, “what to put.” They don’t know what the admissions committees are looking for – or what motivates adcom to root for you. Because of this, they have trouble identifying what aspects of their background should be put to the foreground in their applications.

When it comes to discussing their work, they are unable to convey it in universal language the admissions committee could easily follow and absorb. This limits the impact of your application, and subsequently your chances.

What I deliver

Knowing “what to put,” – Often clients have a treasure trove of impressive anecdotes but are unable to recognize them as “exceptional”.  We mine through your stories together so I can identify examples of what the adcom is seeking – leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, innovation, positive impact, etc.

Identifying the “brilliance factor” – I help you identify the breakthrough thinking you applied to solve the problem, to get the result. With tight word limits, it’s important we go down the right road with these stories.

Discerning all the ways you added value/had impact – I often spot ways my clients make a positive impact that they had not considered. I can see ways your actions benefitted the company that you may not. We work together to articulate the value derived from your actions.

Achieve greater self-awareness – Our most important task is to help adcom get to know you. I help you get in touch with your authentic self, so can better express who you are to the adcom.  The better they know you, as a person, the more they will “root” for you.

Tell your story – By outlining your anecdotes with me, you learn an effective framework for telling stories. You will take this framework into interviews and carry it with you for the rest of your life. Also: because I outline all your essay stories with you, the drafts you write are on track, which saves time.

Set you apart – I focus on the attributes that separate you from other competitors in your profile group, to give you a strategic advantage. Beyond b-school, you need to communicate your USP cleanly and concisely. This is what sparks interest in you when it comes to interviews, networking and speaking with investors.

Remove barriers – In your line of work, you have learned a secret language replete with acronyms and industry terms. I help you translate industry jargon that into plain language adcom readily understands. Consider the expression, “A fish doesn’t know what water looks like.”

Establish your critical path – My key to success: research yourself, research your goals and research the schools. I guide you in doing the right things in the right sequence to get you closer to your goal of an admit.

Get a clear command of your professional identity for adcom – By getting to know you, I identify your brand promise. What you deliver in every setting. From this we come up with an “angle” unique to you, and weave that positioning through all elements of the application.  By doing this work, adcom can then summarize who you are, making you memorable.

Polished final product – I edit all your work, so it accentuates the key communication objective of each piece. I cut away what distracts from the main message.  By focusing on our communication objective and cutting the rest, you develop a more well-defined identity in the minds of your readers.

Leveraging your b-school investment – Having your goals ironed out allows you to spend time in b-school learning, instead of recruiting for a bunch of different industries. Why spend $200K only to get a job – classes, extracurriculars, and building a network hold a great deal of long-term value.

Be ahead of the game – In sum, you hit the ground running. I put my clients through the same exercises they do in zero week in business school, in terms of personal branding, and informational interviewing. You will have already completed some of your outreach in finding an internship or post-MBA job.

Reasons for my success

✦ MARKETING EXPERT – Skilled at anecdotally conveying your leadership and problem-solving skills

✦ CERTIFIED CAREER COACH – Eliciting concrete post-MBA goals and steps to achieve them

✦ CORPORATE & STARTUP LEADERSHIP – 20 years of post-MBA experience informing your apps

✦ FORMER MBA PROFESSOR – Academic perspective will help enrich your essays

✦ COMMUNICATION COACH – Guiding your prep for video essays and interviews

Also

✔ I KNOW WHAT’S OUT THERE

I have read and edited several hundred essays, by having worked for five large admissions consulting firms. I know what has been “done to death” by applicants, and where the opportunities lie.

✔ I HAVE WHAT IT TAKES

Contact me at the email below to set up a time to chat and see if we would make a good team. I want to help you create your best applications – get into your dream b-school – and pursue a career that excites you.

Menu of Services and Associated Costs

I take the time to get to know my clients inside and out. This allows us to create truly customized applications that are consequently very authentic, compelling and successful.

You will be working with me directly – a full-time experienced proven professional – on all elements of the application.

For best results, it is important that we partner on every aspect of your application. NOT just your essays. The application is akin to a “campaign” and each element needs to be consistent in message and quality. Also, statistically, each application element is weighted equally. Essays are weighed the same as your letters of recommendation, CV, and application boxes. Adcom looks at your LinkedIn as well.

For this reason, the first application generally requires 40 hours. My hourly rate is $120/hour. Subsequent applications are sequentially less, between 25-30 hours, depending upon how much additional work there is to be done. The 3rd and 4th applications land between 10-15. I strive to maximize your chances by repurposing your content in other applications. This allows us to improve your odds by applying to more schools.

Just looking for some answers or strategic direction with this whole thing? Contact me to book a 60 or 90-minute strategy session.

Don’t roll the dice on your future when the payoff is potentially massive: starting salary, scholarships, and being prepared to succeed in MBA internship interviews.

Location: United States

Phone: 888-380-4180

Email: info@mbaprepcoach.com

Website: http://MBAPrepCoach.com

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P&Q Consultant Reviews

  • From Nightmare To Success: Admitted To Columbia EMBA
    10 months ago
    I'm in my early 30s, an ex-Big 4 CPA working in financial reporting at a conglomerate in NYC, and recently got admitted to Columbia Business School's Executive MBA program. Farrell reached out via LinkedIn after seeing I was a participant in one of CBS' EMBA webinars this past March. Throughout the short time working with her, I kept saying I wish we had connected sooner. At the time of her message, I was in the throes of completing my CBS EMBA application for the early admission deadline that was eight days away. I had been working with another consultant who was a direct referral, so I initially thought that would be a positive thing for me choosing to go with her. It ended up being ...
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    Class of 2025 Admit
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  • Top-Notch MBA Consultant Who Helped Me Get An Admit From Booth & Ross
    11 months ago
    When it comes to MBA admissions most of us focus more on our scores than our applications. With a similar mindset and a GRE score of 319, I had almost given up on my M7 dream until I met Farrell. Her experience in this field and resourcefulness helped me get into Booth as well as Ross, despite being an R2 applicant from India. I was also working around a very limited budget which prevented me from seeking comprehensive support from Farrell, yet, she respected my constraints and provided the best advice in the time we spent together. This was a refreshing difference from many of the large MBA consulting firms that charge exorbitantly yet provide mediocre service and guidance. If I were to be honest, after ...
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    Class of 2025 Admit
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  • Admitted To IESE; Farrell Is Beyond Just An MBA Coach!
    12 months ago
    When I approached Farrell in July 2022, I had just quit my job whilst simultaneously preparing for the GMAT. Over her first few calls with me, she convinced me to get my job back as soon as possible so that Admissions wouldn't be overly concerned with a long resume gap. We had a little over a month to prepare for the Early round deadlines. Farrell proposed ideas like taking the Executive Assessment and using test waivers where possible so that we could have more than enough time to prepare applications for the early rounds at Duke, Darden, and IESE. We eventually ended up applying to a lot more schools in Round 1 and I received admits with scholarships from IESE, McCombs, McDonough, and ISB. This ...
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    Class of 2025 Admit
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  • Admitted To Stanford GSB, Wharton (W/ $120k Scholarship), & Others Thanks To Farrell!
    1 year ago
    It was late July of 2022. Round 1 applications were due in 1.5 months and despite having been in this process for the better part of two years I still felt lost. Having gone through the application process last year without success, my confidence in my gut instincts around what to write about and how to portray myself and my experiences—especially with me coming from a consulting background with all oversubscribed demographics—was totally shaken. Nearly a dozen friends at top MBA programs assured me my past year’s essays and resumes looked good, yet I hadn’t gotten the traction I’d hoped. Now, I was applying to five schools and had a grand total of zero of my essay drafts complete. Although I had promised myself that I ...
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    Class of 2025 Admit
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  • Admitted To Wharton & Booth EMBA; Have New Sense Of Direction!
    2 years ago
    When I was young, I spent all my free time tinkering with computers and gadgets. Fast forward twenty years later and suddenly I’m responsible for guiding a large team to achieve a high degree of customer satisfaction in many highly technical areas. Yet still, when I think of myself, I feel like the same small boy taking apart a computer. I hit a point in my career where the problems no longer were technical, and I didn’t have the tools that I needed to solve the larger strategic problems facing the company. Farrell really helped me to explore first, what did I really want out of my career; second, how do I continue to build on the foundation of the little boy taking apart computers; and ...
    Read the full review
    Class of 2024 Admit
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  • Admitted To Booth & Ross EMBA Thanks To Farrell!!
    2 years ago
    Even after working with a brand name MBA consulting firm to prepare my admission package, I got dinged by Sloan without an interview call, I felt dejected. I chanced upon a comment from Farrell in an MBA forum that resonated with me and I contacted her to guide me through my next application, the best decision I ever made in my MBA journey. My prior large consultancy had many consultants on employ and the quality was not consistent from one to another. Who I interviewed and who I got on my case were different and were not very personal in her approach. Interactions dry. The feedback was unconnected and not holistic. I felt it didn't help me much to tell my story. In contrast, Farrell's ...
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    Class of 2024 Admit
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  • Looking For MBA Admissions Consultant, Found A Lifetime Friend & Coach!
    3 years ago
    For me Farrell is more than an MBA admissions consultant, she is a friend, a mentor, and a coach. The application process with her was bigger than just getting into a top MBA program, I learned what my values are (what makes me happy and what I don’t like), what my strengths are, and what makes me stand out. Learning these things about myself will forever guide me when looking for internships, jobs, and promotions. Having this knowledge gives me the ability to communicate who I am to people. Her coaching has even helped me make adjustments at my workplace and in my family life that have greatly benefited me. Before working with Farrell I had a lot of doubts about myself and insecurities about ...
    Read the full review
    Class of 2023 Matriculating
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  • Admitted To Darden With $$! Farrell Is Amazing!
    3 years ago
    I LOVE WORKING WITH FARRELL. I used other admission consultants in the past, and I didn’t receive any good results. This year, I worked with Farrell on my application. Farrell coached me to apply to an MBA program in Round 3. I got admitted to Darden with a decent amount scholarship which is a big surprise to me! I would say it is the best decision that I have ever made in my life. She is the best! Below is a list of her values that I didn’t find in others. 1. Personal – Farrell does not do a cookie-cutter approach. She paid close attention to understand me as a person rather than just an MBA applicant. Working as an independent MBA consultant, she has ...
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    Class of 2023 Admit
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  • From Zero To Kellogg In 2 Months
    3 years ago
    Due to covid-19 and some work issues, I started late to prepare my applications. When I started looking for a consultant, I had not taken the GMAT or TOEFL, and everyone told me that I would not meet the deadlines and that they could not help me, except for Farrell. After a brief conversation where we talked a bit about me and my goals in life, she said we could do this, I believe in you. We put together a plan to prepare everything in 2 months, and she coached me in everything from my resume to my interviews and helped me to get into Kellogg. Now that I look past through the process, I could highlight many things, but what I most value about ...
    Read the full review
    Class of 2021 Admit
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  • Farrell Helped Me Find Who I Am Meant To Be
    4 years ago
    7 applications, 7 interviews, 0 dings, 1 life changed forever. When Farrell and I first started working together, I had a plan, but I was lost. I was following the standard career path for my industry; start in engineering, get an MBA, move into business development. There was nothing in my plan that aligned with who I am or what I believe in. Farrell saw through this, and so would an admissions committee. We started with introspection and goal setting. We dove deep into my entire life story, not just my professional journey! I told her of the good times that I love to share and the hard times that I’d rather forget. Farrell got to know me better than I know myself. She posed ...
    Read the full review
    Class of 2022 Admit
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  • 100% Acceptance Rate Thanks To Farrell - She Is AMAZING
    5 years ago
    I consider myself so lucky to have gotten to work with Farrell, and I know I wouldn't have gotten into HBS without her help. I came to Farrell in mid-July hoping to apply round 1. In two months, Farrell coached me through taking the GMAT twice, rewriting my resume, submitting three applications, prepping for interviews, and ultimately getting accepted to HBS, MIT, and Darden. Farrell was my therapist, best friend, and toughest critic throughout the process. She insists on a lengthy introspection process before starting the applications, which ensures that she knows you incredibly well and understands your unique strengths / what will make your application stand out. Farrell has a very strong BS detector, and she does not put up with slacking off or ...
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    Class of 2021 Admit
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  • Admitted Into HBS & MIT
    6 years ago
    Farrell will help you get into your dream university. She is a results-oriented professional with track record of success. In my case, I was admitted to both HBS and MIT. Farrell’s success formula is based on a number of factors that I will list below: 1. She is extremely committed with her clients. Your goal will become her goal. It was incredible to see how much she cared about me getting admitted: even more than my parents! She dedicated time outside her work schedule to think about me and my application, she sent me relevant articles and information very often, she was 24/7 available, she gave feedback with very short turnover time when we were approaching deadlines… You will hardly find anyone so focused in your ...
    Read the full review
    Class of 2020 Admit
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  • Admitted into Wharton! Farrell is a 5 Star coach!
    6 years ago
    I couldn’t believe it when I received a ding from INSEAD! I thought I had prepared a strong application and was completely confused and clueless about what went wrong and was looking for guidance. I was a bit apprehensive about my GMAT score of 710, but thought my strong application would make up for that. I browsed for days on the net, read reviews of various consultants and finally decided to seek help by reaching out to three consultants, including Farrell. The responses from two consultants were quite generic – try to slightly improve my GMAT score and be more specific in my essays. I got the impression that they had not read my INSEAD essays in detail. Farrell’s view was diametrically opposite. After pouring ...
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    Class of 2019 Admit
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  • Admitted in to Wharton and MIT - Farrell will get you into business school
    7 years ago
    As a strategy consultant at BCG, I’m surrounded by colleagues who get into top 10 business schools every year. I thought the application process would be straightforward and something I could manage on my own. I invested quite a lot of time in my R1 HBS and Stanford applications. Much to my surprise, even with a 780 GMAT, I was dinged from both without interview. Only then did I probe a bit more and then learned that almost all of my fellow consultants sought help on their MBA applications. Planning for Round 2, I set up some calls with the big Admissions Consulting companies and also with Farrell. There were three main reasons I chose to work with Farrell: • She was the only consultant ...
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    Class of 2019 Admit
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  • Fantastic MBA Coach!!!
    7 years ago
    I thank Farrell whole heartedly for helping me get admitted to INSEAD, my dream B-school, INSEAD. When I found her on GMAT Club, I had already applied to London Business School, and was rejected without getting even an interview. In order to improve my essays and increase the chances to get admitted by my dream school, I decided to go with her, even knowing we on a very tight schedule. Farrell couldn't have been more helpful and supportive throughout the entire application process, including essay editing, resume preparation, video interview preparation, and later, alumni interview preparation. I also chose to work with her on the Diversity scholarship for INSEAD, and was awarded 10K Euros! She has rich experience in how to tailor candidates’ profiles to ...
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    - Tony
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  • Wharton without a GMAT - Farrell is THE coach to have
    7 years ago
    I don’t know how I can thank Farrell enough: I have been admitted with a scholarship to Wharton with no GMAT! When I first start preparing my GMAT and researching business schools, I was quite confident. After completing my master’s in Aerospace Engineering, as a French student in the US, I went on to work for a top aviation company in NYC, filling a role generally reserved for engineers almost twice my age. On top of that, I had a leadership position in a non-profit organization. Quite a rare profile in this business world! Well, I could not get above 650 on the GMAT and, after calling dozens of prep coaches, none of them believed in me. They all told me that the top 10 ...
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    Class of 2017 Admit
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  • More than just an MBA Coach
    7 years ago
    Simply put, Farrell goes above and beyond what I would ever expect from an MBA prep coach. When I went to her, I had a resume that showed no impact and provided unclear, confusing details of my roles. Farrell was able to show me ways that I had contributed to my company that I had not even realized. She opened my eyes to how to quantify impact and describe problems I had solved in language that would make sense to even people outside of my industry. Apart from working wonders on my resume, Farrell helped me understand more about my professional aspirations. When I first started working with her, I had no real long or short term career goals. She was tough and critical of ...
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    Class of 2017 Admit
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  • Great Coach
    7 years ago
    Farrell was a real life saver in the MBA application process. I first came to her to help me in developing a holistic application that was tailored to my target schools. Her process effectively identified key strengths and weaknesses in my candidacy and developed a strategy to give me the best chance of getting accepted. Two weeks into working with Farrell, I had realized my first choice schools deadline was actually in two weeks, and not in two months as I had originally thought. Farrell immediately sprang to action and made herself available around the clock. We would often have calls as late as 11pm and corresponded constantly through email. While I do not suggest completing an application in just two weeks, Farrell’s dedication and ...
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    Class of 2018 Anonymous
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  • Highly Recommended MBA Coach
    8 years ago
    After battling through the MBA applications and essays alone for several months, I decided I needed help. I was targeting some of the most elite schools in the country, and I knew I could not do it alone. I found Farrell through a close friend who was working with her at the time on his MBA essays. I was having trouble framing my message clearly and concisely, and I was looking to gain a perspective outside my own that would help enrich my essays, but still remain true to my story. I would write essays but they would end up being 1,500 words for a 750 words maximum essay or would meander and abruptly end with no strong conclusion. Farrell was a tremendous help in ...
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    Class of 2017 Admit
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  • The consummate coach
    8 years ago
    Long before I started the MBA application process, I knew that I wanted to attend MIT-Sloan. Even though it was my top choice, I was reluctant to apply, given Sloan’s intimidating acceptance rate and the weaknesses in my application profile – sub par undergrad GPA and zero extracurricular involvement. While I was proud of my professional work experience in big tech, I knew it was only valuable to my application in so far as my ability to tell a compelling story. To stand any chance of getting in to Sloan, my application essays and letters of recommendation would have to be exceptional. When I started writing my initial drafts, I really struggled to find my story – faced with broad essay prompts, yet tight word ...
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    Class of 2017 Admit
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  • Chicago Booth MBA
    8 years ago
    “After finishing college, I worked as a trader for a few years, but realized that that my understanding of the business world was actually quite limited. I spent considerable time looking for a position in another industry, but realized I was extremely pigeon-holed to finance. My Ivy league undergraduate degree often got my foot in the door, but I didn’t have any hard skills I could bring to the table. I decided to submit Round 3 business school applications. I needed to differentiate myself, being overrepresented as a white male with a finance background. I started looking for GMAT Verbal tutors and found Farrell on Craigslist. Farrell raised my Verbal score from 48 to 51 within only 8 hours; I would have spent more time ...
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    Class of 2016 Admit
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  • Why MBA?
    8 years ago
    This time last year, I had just exited a software startup that I co-founded. After considering my options, I decided to go to business school and started to study for the GMAT. When I had finally taken the test three months later, it dawned on me that my first Round 1 application deadline was only four weeks away! That’s when I called Farrell. I knew I needed help with my application essays. Even though I am skilled at writing technical documents for work, I had no clue what would make for a good personal essay. I was also in the dark about what essay content would capture the attention of the admission committee. And, although I didn’t realize it when I first called Farrell, I ...
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    Class of 2017 Admit
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