Lifetime Achievement Award In MBA Admissions Consulting: Jeremy Shinewald Of mbaMission

A PARTNERSHIP THAT MADE A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE

A breakthrough of sorts occurred four years after his start when Manhattan Prep, a leading test prep firm based in New York, sought an exclusive partnership with an admissions company. Manhattan Prep invited ten firms to distribute content on its platform to reach his audience of GMAT test takers.

“I could see how valuable they were and how quickly they were growing,” recalls Shinewald. “It was the gold standard, the gorilla of test prep at that time. The more we invested in their channels, the more we were rewarded with leads and clients. I would send out a newsletter blast on long-term MBA planning at noon. By 12:30, i would have 100 people ask me for a free consultation.”

Then Manhattan Prep CEO Andrew Yang opened up a competition in an effort to sign up an exclusive partner in the space. “He said, ’It’s a beauty pageant. Who ever makes our clients happiest will get the shot at this,’” recalls Shinewald. Four firms were shortlisted: Accepted.com, Clear Admit, mbaMission, and Stacy Blackman Consulting.

‘WE BECAME A GORILLA OVER NIGHT’

Shinewald went all out. He doubled down on producing content and arranged for several in-person events for Manhattan Prep. “I flew into New York City and did weekends of free sessions with their clients on everything from how to write an MBA essay to how to select an MBA program. I tried to let the high quality information speak for itself.”

No less crucial, Shinewald was willing to do something that its rivals would refuse to do: pay the test prep firm for leads.“Andrew initially offered a financial agreement to all four firms and every other firm kicked and screamed,” maintains Shinewald. “They all balked and thought it was silly. To me, it seemed like a reasonable request. Every other firm was just asleep at the switch. But we also got it because of mutual trust and a recognition of our quality.”

The exclusive deal sealed, mbaMission’s business took off like a rocket. In the first year after the deal was signed, Manhattan Prep was responsible for half of his business. It also helped sales of his book because the test prep firm started handing it out to each of its test takers. “We became a gorilla over night because we were putting amazing content into all these channels and then had the scale to continue to invest in the business,” says Shinewald.

‘ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS OF MY CAREER’

He then made what might well be the most consequential hire, recruiting in 2011 a social media coordinator who would assume far more importance to his firm: Aimee Lukin. She had been the special events coordinator at the Touro Law Center in Long Island, NY, where she planned and organized alumni and fundraising events, helped write and edit brochures and other publications, and initiated and maintained social media efforts.

“It was one of the best decisions of my career,” says Shinewald flatly. ‘We were so busy that we weren’t even capturing and following up on our leads. She came in and helped to professionalize all of our operations.” Aimee now has the director of marketing and operations, though she functions as the admission firm’s chief operating officer. It is not an overstatement to say that she is Shinewald’s right and left hands.  Lukin was instrumental in the company’s recent launch in May of its most ambitious project to date, onTrack.

It is very likely the most comprehensive guide to MBA admissions ever attempted. The software platform is meant to be the ultimate sherpa for candidates on the grueling journey toward acceptance by highly selective MBA programs–at a tenth of the cost of an actual admissions consultant. The innovative product features 450 videos, dozens of learning modules and brainstorming exercises, 50 background and goal-specific lessons, 15 essay samples, eight resume examples, and 17 specific school modules.

‘IT’S POSSIBLE THAT IT CAN CANNIBALIZE THE CONSULTING BUSINESSS’

On one level, it is a courageous move. In launching onTrack, Shinewald runs the risk of cannibalizing his own business. “In the long run, I think it’s possible that it can cannibalize the consulting business,” he says. “But if someone is going to cannibalize our business, let it be me. Someone else could do it to us or we could do it to them.”

He isn’t losing sleep over that prospect, confident that he has built a solid foundation as a professional services firm. “It really has to do with enormous differences with the way our firm is set up, relative to other firms,” maintains Shinewald. “Most of the firms in this space are part-time firms. If an applicant aspires to go to McKinsey, I say, ‘Ok McKinsey has 10,000 full-time consultants. Imagine if they switched to a model where they had 40,000 part-time consultants. They wouldn’t be the dominant consulting firm that they are. Admissions consulting is no different. Most firms in this space use part-time individuals who are committed to another job. And when push comes to shove, they will be committed to that other job instead of the client.

“At our firm,” he adds, “we have full-time professionals who eat, sleep and breathe MBA admissions and live their clients outcomes because it is not a hobby. It is a professional calling. That is a huge top layer differentiator and a lot flows down from that. On top of that, everyone in our firm is an MBA from a top program and that is a difference between us and a lot of other firms as well.”

Shinewald also has cultivated the culture and values of a prestige services firm. “We want people to feel that they are working for a top consulting or law firm, a firm that is delivering at the top of expectations.,” he says.

There are weekly consultant meetings every Tuesday, an annual conference to hone skills and continuous staff training. A five-person hiring team must agree on new consultant hires. Once employed by mbaMission, a new coach is put through a three-month curriculum, followed by a capstone exercise and a year-long mentorship with a senior consultant. “There are a variety of writing and editing exercises they have to do,” argues Shinewald. “You can’t just say, ‘I was an admissions director at Cornell eight years ago and now I am your consultant.’ That doesn’t mean anything. You have to have the skills. There are firms out there where if you went to Wharton, they make you their Wharton consultant. ‘Congratulations! You start Monday.’ That isn’t mbaMission”

Adds Vallabhaneni: “Jeremy has created standards so that admissions consulting acts like a service line within a professional services firm. Through his vision and adherence to standards, he’s created the ‘MBB’ of MBA admissions consulting. It’s for this reason that mbaMission felt like the natural next step after being part of the HBS Admissions Board.”

Shinewald takes little comfort in the leading position his firm has built. “I am always finding something to stress about,” he concedes. “There are low barriers to entry but high barriers to getting clients. I am not daunted by the new firm that gets five or six clients. It doesn’t keep me up at night.”

Poets&Quants 2024 Honors

Lifetime Achievement Award for A Dean: Jeffrey Brown of the University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business

Lifetime Achievement Award for Admissions: Dawna Clark of the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business

Lifetime Achievement Award for MBA Admissions Consulting: Jeremy Shinewald of mbaMission

Dean of the Year: H. Rao Unnava of UC Davis’ Graduate School of Management

MBA Program of the Year: IMD’s Reimagining of the MBA

MBA Professor of the Year: Wharton’s Ethan Mollick

 

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