Admissions Gateway | MBA Admissions Consultants

My friend worked with Rajdeep last year and is attending HBS so I reached out to him. I was looking for someone who could:

1. Provide nuanced guidance, tailored to my profile and target schools
2. Can dedicate necessary time and effort to submit high-quality applications
3 Has rich experience getting PE/VC admits into the top-3

As I compared my call with Rajdeep to the introductory ones with the other potential consultants, it stood out. The long and in-detail call with him gave me a good bird’s-eye view of what to expect in my journey and of course the great performance record.

I worked with Rajdeep for close to 6 months, during which he guided me through every aspect of applications from school selection till the post-interview formalities. The support proved critical, highlights below–

Resume: This is quite unique to Rajdeep. While other consultants don’t spend a large proportion of time on this, Rajdeep worked with me on my resume for close to a month. The resume structure followed by him is not only unique but also allows the candidate to think about his/ he profile holistically, with focus on the “STAR” format. The long time spent on the resume upfront equipped me with the macro view of my profile and organizations that I’ve worked with, which came in handy while filling the application form and preparing for my interview later.

Goal definition: While I had a brief idea of my goals, I wasn’t completely sure about how to tie them up with story. Multiple discussions with Rajdeep helped me articulate the goals in a way that blended with my previous experience and MBA aspiration, bringing across a strong story. Having worked with candidates of similar background, Rajdeep could share multiple ways of drafting the right story.

Essay “formulation” not editing: I enjoyed the process of working on my essays with Admissions Gateway. Rajdeep and I would have worked on my Harvard essay for close to a month, spending close to 50% on finalizing just the skeleton of the essay. The multiple structures shared by Rajdeep allowed me to not only think systematically but also pushed me to introspect on multiple attributes that defined me and instances that reflected those attributes. The clarity on what needs to be done upfront expedited the process of writing the essay. A unique quality of Rajdeep was he never forced-fit his style of writing but pushed me to bring the story to words in a succinct and articulate manner. This helped in putting across a unique story which communicates my strengths.

Interview prep: Compared to other consultants my friends worked with, Rajdeep put in significant effort on the last leg of application– interviews. The introductory call with Rajdeep and multiple interview-prep web links shared by him served as a great starting point, helping me understand key tenets of preparation. He also matched me with another applicant with similar background to practice mock interviews, which helped in peer-to-peer learning. Admissions Gateway’s focus and support on doing multiple mock interviews, with ex-/current students, proved to be extremely beneficial in giving structured, holistic and strong answers and handling fast paced and unexpected questions.

A general note: Some of my friends working with other consultants got into trouble at the end of R1, even though they were not his clients Rajdeep guided them on their apps, so imagine the time he would put in for his own clients!

I found Rajdeep listed here on Poets & Quants, on the best Admissions consultant list. I called a few people on the list, and I appreciated Rajdeep’s approach the most. Everyone else wanted to write my essays for what the school was looking for, whereas Rajdeep talked about wanting to make me look my best as is – and tailoring the way that I spoke of myself.

I have applied to business school before. It was not a very serious endeavor – I look back on that application and cringe. This time I was serious about applying to top schools, and I knew I’d need help crafting my story and articulating my experiences in a way that works for admissions committees (and in a way that I’d understand, too, since I struggled to see the patterns in my own life that explained why I am who I am). I am at the older end of b-school age; this felt like my last year to apply, and the cost was far outweighed by the benefits of getting in.

I was in the US and then Asia but working with Rajdeep felt seamless. From the first interaction, it felt like he cared for who I was as a person, and not just the parts that would make me the best applicant. In every application we were highlighting me at my best rather than trying to shape me to fit what each school was supposedly looking for, so nothing ever felt “fake” or “fabricated” just to try to get me in.

Rajdeep was also always available for a quick text or a call, and it was the casual interactions over WhatsApp that showed me just how dialed in he was to my process and what I needed. If I was stuck on an essay or procrastinating, he’d know how to help me get over that hurdle and put something on to paper, and often it was just a quick conversation to prompt me forward. I tend to be a perfectionist and I’m afraid to start an essay because I know it won’t be perfect, but Rajdeep was patient with me and encouraged me to get something onto paper that we could then fix.

My resume needed a lot of work, as my work experience spanned industries and lacked good detail of the things I’ve accomplished. Rajdeep worked with me for a long time on this, teaching me how to build out a resume, giving me examples from my own experiences, and pushing me on things that weren’t yet fleshed out enough. Predominantly, I appreciated the focus on quantifying my work, something I had always been afraid to do because I did not know exact numbers. We discussed estimating the market and building my value to the company off of that, and it helped me sculpt a resume that told a story about the ways I helped my company grow.

I also found the essay guidance particularly helpful. I tended to know what I wanted to say, but Rajdeep would help me structure things in a way that was cohesive, easy to read, and substantial. We’d start with a phone call to discuss what the essay was looking for, and in those, he would bring up examples of my own experience (again, showing how much he worked to get to know me). Then, he’d give me some homework to start structuring the essay. This method worked so well for me, as I often word-vomit and overwrite, so building out the foundation of what I want to say first always helped me reign it in when it was time to cut words. From there, I’d write a terrible first draft that Rajdeep would be patient with, and we’d work together over the phone to cut, tweak, and rewrite over and over again. Some essays had 3 drafts, and some had 11 – it was about crafting the best essay rather than just getting it done. When I reread those essays now, they sound like me but I have articulated myself much better than I would have been able to do otherwise.

I am going to business school because I do not know exactly what I want to do with my life, which made my goal definition difficult. Rajdeep was patient with me, pulling out the trends in my experience and showing me what kinds of careers might suit the skillsets I enjoyed flexing in the workplace. He still made me do the work – telling me to go to certain websites and read about their teams, or looking up other kinds of consulting – but having even that guidance helped me to recognize where I want to go post-MBA. When I threw out a career path I might be interested in, he explained to me how my “story” would need to change to suit that, so I could understand better how essays, goals, resume. etc. needed to connect to make sense. Ultimately my goals definition felt right, as I could see how my experiences would lead to a certain kind of career that flexed the skills that I had already developed while providing the kind of challenges I enjoyed from work.

All in all, this was a great experience and I tell everyone applying to any kind of graduate school to consider working with an admissions counselor. The structure this provided, along with the support and guidance, was invaluable to me. It helped me get into the Top 5 business schools, yes, but it also helped me understand and articulate myself better so that I can come into my MBA knowing what I can give to the experience and what I might want to take away from it.

I decided to work with Rajdeep because he had extensive experience of working with candidates from the FMCG sector. I was working in a remote region so it was important to have a counselor who was approachable, flexible, and whom I could reach out to without hesitation. Past candidates had testified about Rajdeep’s commitment to perfect your application and how hours spent was never a concern.

The resume was the first step and it was a step in which I built the most confidence. With the STAR format and the approach of taking a step back and thinking like your “boss’s boss”, I defined my role and accomplishments for every milestone. However, my resume did not just cover my key accomplishments but clearly outlined my professional skills as ‘pillars of my profile’. I think for me, this combination was brought out very well.

Early-on in the application process, my goals were vague and not well connected to my experience. Rajdeep made me aware of how consulting can be used as a medium to develop specific skills around market development, product offerings, and innovation.

The essays were the most time-consuming part of the application. Rajdeep’s approach of breaking down the essay prompt into smaller parts worked very well. I recall not missing out on any part of the prompt and having the entire picture in mind while starting with the essay. However, along the process, when I got derailed from essay prompts, Rajdeep would help get back and patiently explain the essay expectation (sometimes even multiple times). Rajdeep is a very strong critique when it comes to the applicant not showcasing his/ her strengths appropriately. This according to me helped me the most, as I knew I would not be turning in an essay that did not represent me well.

The first step in the interview prep was the broad guidelines set for all interviews. While I worked on those, the real test of preparation was when I started doing mocks. Being in an operational role, I did not work with the larger business on a daily basis, which made it difficult for me to present broader views on industry and company strategy. My interactions with Rajdeep, made me realize this quite early. Rajdeep shared some very specific feedback about how I should build my answers, about answers that stood out and answers that needed more work. I believe that having someone to give you transparent and actionable feedback at the stage that you are preparing for an interview is very important. And Rajdeep has an impeccable skill at that.

I would also like to call out a distinct facet to my application process. I had a GMAT score which is significantly lower than school averages. However, despite choosing to apply to HBS and Wharton in R2, with a 700 GMAT, I never felt that enough time/ effort was not being put into my application because it was less competitive. I would like to acknowledge Rajdeep’s commitment to stand by his applicants even when things are not going too well for them.

I was clear I wanted to work with Rajdeep based on the experience of close friends at Wharton and HBS. Two reasons stood out:

i. Sharp focus on content and depth of story
a. Based on conversations with folks who had worked with Rajdeep, I liked Rajdeep’s focus on content and a very high bar on the depth of the examples in the story.

ii. Rajdeep was seen as extremely approachable and open to any number of iterations. This was a key factor for me, because I had a very tough work schedule as a management consultant, and approachability and iterative ways of working were key.

I think Rajdeep is one of the strongest people I have worked with when it comes to crafting a resume that presents a holistic narrative and story to the work one has carried out across professional, extra-curricular and academic domains. What stands out is not just the application of the STAR format, but really ensuring each bullet represents a broader context into the relevance and significance of your achievements.

I enjoyed the brainstorming process on goals with Rajdeep. I had started the process with a very wide view on my short term and long term goals, but with Rajdeep I could bounce off each idea and we debated on the pros and cons of each goal. That helped me in narrowing down on the goal that was truly personal to me, and then extending it to the broader theme of the application.

Essays can be daunting to start with, but with Rajdeep the most amazing thing I found was his ability to both provide a strong structure, as well as help, think through the kind of details needed around the story. It helped me deeply introspect on my own story as well as streamlined the iteration process.

I found Rajdeep to be extremely approachable and available at all times. The most important aspect however was flexibility, which was important in my case particularly due to the nature of my current role as a consultant. I found Rajdeep to be always on time when it came to agreed timelines on essay drafts etc.

I read about Rajdeep on PoetsandQuants and then talked to friends at HBS, who shared his track record.

Throughout the process and across the different activities of resume, essay writing, application form, recommendation inputs, Rajdeep has immense clarity of thought and is not afraid of giving you blunt feedback.

Resume – Rajdeep was able to bring out the best aspects of my profile into my resume, ensuring that I project the best version of my professional achievements. Thinking about my achievements from my boss’ boss’ point of view was eye-opening and gave me a new dimension to think through.

Goals definition – Rajdeep pushes you to think through an (a) aspirational yet achievable goal (b) detailed version of this goal, so that it isn’t ‘in the air’. The goals also make sense from the perspective of why the MBA is needed (on a more generic basis, not specific to a particular school).

Essays – Rajdeep de-mystifies the essay writing process and gives you a clear process to follow – listing out 3 stories and choosing from these. The STAR format and concepts of having personal transformation through the story are powerful and prevent the essay from just being a collection of facts.

Interview prep – “Stop rambling” – probably the best feedback someone has given me during my application process and more generally in life, this was a game-changer when it came to my HBS interview in particular. Rajdeep helped me understand how I could run through a STAR format for an answer without boring the other person while still leaving ‘some meat on the bone’ for the interviewer to work with.

Availability – Rajdeep is super prompt and readily available on Whatsapp or call. Small clarifications can be done on Whatsapp to ensure no confusion between two phone call interactions. This short-cycle problem-solving behavior is great.

I got into Wharton and my dream school HBS.

My friend at Wharton mentioned Rajdeep does not settle till he knows the best application has been put forth. I talked to many consultants and felt Rajdeep offered exactly what I needed – someone to push me and devote time to my applications.

Applying for an MBA is mainly about 2 things – self-reflection and articulating your story. I was weak on both when I started out and Rajdeep helped me with these aspects.

We spent considerable time digging into my motivations which helped me discover strengths that I would have never mentioned on my application otherwise. This helped define my goals which were important not just for my application, but also to have clear medium and short-term goals for my career.

Rajdeep pushed me and helped me stick to my timelines – I desperately needed this because applying while working is more challenging than one anticipates. He would not rest until my application was really at its best even if it meant iterating many times.

As an introvert, perhaps my interviews were the weakest point. I was initially scattered in my thoughts and essays. But he helped bring method and structure when formulating my responses, which is something I will take away and apply in all my future interviews.

I truly believe my application could not have been stronger.

I was referred by a friend at HBS and joined Rajdeep because of his track record and after discussions with past clients on their experience of working with him.

Rajdeep’s approach to the business school admissions process is very methodical, seamless, and personalized. His attention to detail to the specific examples which brought out my story together, unbiased guidance and support to ensure every application is completed diligently, systemic approach to preparing for interviews was extremely helpful in gaining admission to a school of my choice even though I was an early-stage candidate.

I have referred Rajdeep to a few of my friends for their applications as well.

A friend referred me to Rajdeep and I worked with Rajdeep for 4 schools. He also helped me shape my Booth application pro-bono. I benefited a lot from my experience and the following stood out for me throughout the engagement:
· Single source of information and opinions about the application process, coming from years of experience. This allowed me to focus amidst a barrage of, at times, contradictory information available through secondary or primary research within my network.
· My engagement with Rajdeep helped me in structuring the otherwise convoluted process. Starting from the timing of applications, elements of the applications, and the essay content.
· Significant commitment to the quality of the output across the resume and essays.

The resume was the centerpiece and I do not think my resume has ever looked better, with the same content, which I have been putting in for some time now. Rajdeep shared great insights about how to build perceptions through the resume.
Rajdeep and I debated a lot across the various elements of the goal and the overall story. I am extremely satisfied with the final goals we arrived at through this back and forth. His guidance helped me greatly in structuring the essay during the initial versions and improving the quality of the essays towards the later versions. For the interview, breaking down the overall interview in a structured manner made preparation targeted and easy.
Rajdeep was always available on calls and I received prompt replies to even the smallest of queries. I started in Round 2 and applied to 5 schools and gained admission to Kellogg.

I started my applications in round 2 and applied with Rajdeep to 3 schools. Rajdeep is very direct with his feedback but in retrospect, his working style kept me on the edge every time, to continue iterating to give it the best shot. Working on the resume, essays, and interviews, Rajdeep’s experience showed during our conversations and nuances he shared. Apart from picking the right experiences and shaping them, he helped me communicate in lesser words and helped cut down some large essays to the word limits without losing the essence.

He is also dedicated. Everything went like clockwork, with planned calls and timelines for each school – done well in advance. Calls happen on time, are as elaborate as you would want, and are filled with nuances and themes with examples – that helps get an outside-in perspective. I gained admission to HBS and am looking forward to it.

I worked with a top US-based consultant last year and applied to 8 schools and gained admission to Stern from the waitlist. I reached out to Rajdeep to discuss a re-application. He was frank that Stern is a great school but went through all my applications thoroughly and pointed out all the deficiencies. He laid out a realistic plan for ways he could help in addressing those deficiencies. I felt like he was honest about what he could help with and built realistic expectations for me about my target schools. He told me the risks, told me the improvements and let me decide. I finally decided to reapply.

Some differences I felt in both my application attempts.

Resume: This was the most differentiating factor between Rajdeep and other consultants. While other consultants just took my existing resume and helped me compile it in generic flowery language, Rajdeep helped me in completely overhauling my resume. Right from template to the content. He helped me introspect upon my job and other accomplishments, while at the same time helping me craft a resume that would showcase the impact of my work in a layered manner (showcasing primary, secondary and tertiary impact).

Interview Prep: Rajdeep provided a thorough overview of the interview process which included what to expect from different interviewers and different schools. In addition, he also thoroughly covered ways on how to answer every possible question in an MBA interview.

Effort & level of knowledge: Working with Rajdeep, the entire process felt much more personal and caring than the very professional approach of other consultants.

I finally got into Columbia and the risk I took has paid off!

I learned about Rajdeep through P&Q so a big thank you! The first call was very informative. Rajdeep is to the point, honest with his recommendations and has great feedback from everyone I spoke with.

I only applied in R2. I applied to 4 schools – Tuck, Kellogg, Booth, and Wharton. I got interview calls for all 4, converted Tuck ($100k), Kellogg, Booth (WL), and Wharton (Interview).

Working with Rajdeep was a rewarding and enriching experience, not only from an application point of view but also for analyzing my career and professional goals. I had applied to a few schools in Round 1 with another consultant, but with Rajdeep, I saw a huge difference in the quality of my applications.
With the resume and essays, Rajdeep assisted me in delivering my professional/personal stories with increased impact and authenticity. For the essays, he set up multiple brainstorming sessions to help me bring together the important aspects of my professional and personal experiences. He also shared a lot of research material and connected me to his vast network of successful applicants for research. While preparing for the interviews, he helped me in assessing my weak points and work on them through multiple mock interviews.
Rajdeep is analytical, detail-oriented, and understands the MBA application process to the core. I would wholeheartedly recommend Rajdeep!

I found Rajdeep as he was ranked No.1 in last year’s MBA Consultants Ranking by P&Q. As a reapplicant for the MBA program in some top US schools, I thought I could use some advice on my resume and essay writing. Also, the first call I had with Rajdeep made me believe that he was very familiar with this area and could be a great help.

Rajdeep is the best consultant for MBA applications given his deep knowledge and understanding of different schools’ admission processes. Before starting the process, he did some assessments for me to better understand my strength/weakness and what practical career goals I could pursue post-MBA. He directed me in amending my resume and essays to make them more attractive. He would spend time to understand my life/work experience and teach me how to put that into context to tell a better story. He never wrote anything for me, but he has taught me a lot on how to improve with my writing.

He is also diligent and responsible. After my applications were submitted, he started sending me interview prep materials even before I had got an invitation! He gave me confidence during the process and asked me to start preparing sooner rather than later. I then spent at least three calls with him to practice the interviews which have proved to be very important. Not to mention the calls I have had with him before on essay/resume writing, each of my essays was asked to be amended at least three times, the reason I never thought I was going to write him this positive review if you asked me four months ago!

I applied in the second round and was admitted by Booth ($50,000) and Yale ($60,000) and am still waiting for some decisions.

I am based out of the US and read about Rajdeep on Poets & Quants. He had good reviews which referenced multiple successful admits to top schools, so I decided to work with him.

I can’t thank or praise Rajdeep enough. Despite being a candidate with a profile similar to many others in the pool he helped me stand out and even get a scholarship. He was efficient and had good response times and was always thoughtful in his responses. I also appreciate how approachable he was on Whatsapp, and how he took the time to discuss any concerns or roadblocks on the app.

In my career, I have reviewed hundreds of professional, highly curated resumes –I was skeptical that there was any improvement that could be made, but wow I was proven wrong. He took my resume to the next level, and I plan to apply his resume advice not merely to my MBA applications, but also far beyond since he really helped me frame my role and contributions in the best possible way.

In terms of defining my goal, I benefited from his straightforward, practical approach – he gave me the tools to easily tie together all the elements of my app to show why I was so passionate about that particular field.

In terms of the essay, I usually struggle to craft a to-the-point, evidence-based essay – the structure he provided made the process clear-cut and smooth. Finally, the interview was a breeze thanks to a combination of his bespoke guidance on my situation and feedback from his former clients who had gained admission to those schools.

I appreciate that he was there for me from start to finish – and beyond. No matter how experienced a candidate is or how compelling their profile, I assure you that Rajdeep will add so much to your application. I feel so lucky to have worked with him and I wholeheartedly recommend him.

I had worked with another consultant for 2 schools in round 1 and got no interviews and then a friend at Harvard recommended me to Rajdeep.

So many things went well in working with Rajdeep! Right from managing timelines for multiple schools’ applications and running different workstreams in parallel to creating a coherent story based on my career trajectory.

For the resume, Rajdeep pushed me to think about how the CEO of my company or how the partner in my consulting project would articulate the work, which enabled me to bring out the impact of my work. Rajdeep questioned my goals and ensured I did the homework and refined them so that they added up to my work experience. There was always room for discussions and debate, and it was truly a team effort right up to getting into the schools and beyond!

For essays, what was unique about working with Rajdeep was that I got all my essays out in 3 or maximum 4 versions (surprisingly even for HBS which seemed so ambiguous!). The reason for that was there was absolute clarity on what the schools expect and what are the hero stories from my experience, and the feedback given by Rajdeep was always very objective and actionable.

During the interview process, I got a targeted list of questions per school and did mocks which allowed me to confidently walk into the interviews. In R2 I gained admission to Booth, Kellogg, and MIT and got waitlist at Harvard.

I heard about Rajdeep through friends and had heard of his great success with M7 candidates. I applied in R2 to 5 schools.

Rajdeep puts a lot of effort into getting the resume right – as it is the foundation of the application process. He brought the best of me out in the resume. When we started discussing essays, I felt Rajdeep understood my professional and personal achievements well and gave me good direction for my stories. He is very sharp in giving direction and focused on tailored specific feedback.

There was a time during the applications process when I got very busy with work and couldn’t focus enough on my application essays and my app quality went down (material I worked on). What really hit me was that Rajdeep worked long hours to ensure we submitted our very best. He never compromises on the quality of essays.

Then during interview preparation, my first mock with Rajdeep didn’t go as well. He planned more mocks until my preparation was up to the mark. All this effort led to admits at Tuck, Kellogg, and Wharton.

I spoke to a lot of people at Wharton and Harvard before joining Rajdeep. Rajdeep’s impressive track record and ability to position my experiences to help put my best foot forward convinced me to join.
I had a great experience working with Rajdeep. His approach to structuring my resume so as to highlight continuous progression helped provide a framework for the applications on the whole and a lot of material for the essays. His guidance around defining ambitious but realistic goals resonated with me, and his coverage of the interview prep was targeted but comprehensive.
I was based in a different time zone and Rajdeep offered flexibility to ensure we hit our timelines. On the whole, the well-structured way of approaching the application to package my experiences and achievements into a holistic package worked well for me and helped me gain acceptance to Wharton, Booth ($70k) and Kellogg.

I was based in the US when I started my MBA applications and previous applicants emphasized that I go with Rajdeep based on their experience. I had spoken with 4 other US consultants and the call with Rajdeep stood out:

– It was very structured – Rajdeep communicated how the process will look

– It was clear how I need to re-position things from a strategic point of view. I could visualize Rajdeep’s value add

– Rajdeep made it clear that we will go through as many iterations to get to the finished answer

– He also said that he will connect me with alumni to help gain a better understanding of each school

– He viewed my initial materials as “work in progress”. He was ready to help me draft and tweak my resume points, description of goals, etc, while other consultants were of the view that I should apply later when I have more strategic points on my CV or a clearer view of my goals

We began with the resume. This was the most critical part of the application and my resume underwent a big change in terms of how I positioned my points. Rajdeep has a clear, point-based CV rating mechanism. We went through a number of iterations and ensured my resume points have a “strategic” lens to them and are in a proper structure. I feel that without his guidance my resume would have been half as strong as the one I submitted.

Rajdeep helped me frame my goals and tie them to what I have done. He also helped me effectively answer the questions “Why MBA” based on the hard and soft skills required as well as “Why now” connecting the goals to market trends and the skills I have acquired.

We had countless ideation & storylining sessions. Rajdeep has a great handle on what the schools are looking for – in terms of the influences you speak about, values you substantiate, examples you give. He strives to bring out the depth in each essay. He effectively structures vague essay topics as well (e.g. HBS essay prompt) where applicants tend to get lost and typically ramble on. In the writing phase, we went through as many iterations as needed to perfect my essay

For interview prep, he sent an effective initial prep guide, ran 3-4 mocks and also connected me with alumni and peers for mocks. He also went ahead and helped me think through the arguments for the Wharton team-based discussion and how to handle real-life situations.

Rajdeep was invested and available all throughout. Despite my being based out of the US and the timezone difference, Rajdeep ensured that the process went smoothly and helped me gain an interview with Harvard and admission to Wharton and Kellogg.

I learned about Rajdeep from a trusted friend at Kellogg who had very positive things to say. What gave me comfort was Rajdeep’s track record to the top schools and strong experience working with consulting + investing profiles.

The engagement started with resume making which pushed my thinking to be more top-down and strategic instead of micro and operational. Next, he helped me create a reasonable school target strategy (top-5) backed with strong reasoning and data. However the biggest value Rajdeep brought to my application was helping me lockdown on the right narrative by taking a holistic look at my profile and career aspirations.

Another area where I really appreciate Rajdeep’s value add was crafting a thoughtful but power-packed essay for each school. He’s not easy to impress and pushes you to the limit to churn out the best possible product. However, he’ll work closely with you to find the right examples and the right stories from your background to support your narrative.

He also leverages his network at schools to connect you to students and helps one gain insights to differentiate the applications. I have already recommended Rajdeep to three of my friends/acquaintances and would strongly do so to anyone reading this review

Many of my friends at Stanford, Wharton, etc. had tremendously good things to say about Rajdeep. In a world where there is a multitude of consultants, it made my decision much easier knowing that some of my friends had secured MBA admissions to the top B-Schools through Rajdeep. After my first unsuccessful attempt with another consultant, I was rigid that I would only apply to business schools with Rajdeep. During my screening call with Rajdeep, he stood out as one of the only MBA Consultants who are blatantly honest with respect to your profile. After working with a top US consultant, I realized how good Rajdeep is vs. other consultants.

The consulting process was very structured. We first started with the resume, followed by recommendations and background essays, and then the main essays. Rajdeep had introductory/briefing calls with me at every step, and then feedback calls to discuss what I had written and how I could improve it.

Initially, I used to think that the resume I had built with my previous consultant was good, and I soon realized how wrong I was when Rajdeep gave me feedback and showed me how to communicate the value and impact of whatever I had worked on. My learnings here are not just limited to MBA applications, because I will be using his methodology in future job applications as well.

One of the most challenging essays for me was the goals essays, as I was unsure of what I wanted to do in the next 3-5 years. Rajdeep outlined the different possible career paths one could take after an MBA given their background, and he did so with concrete examples. This really opened my eyes in terms of what goals should be like, and I could finally position them well in an essay with his help.

Rajdeep was always reachable on Whatsapp and made it a point to put in his best effort to help and guide me. On a side note – once I had submitted my INSEAD application, Rajdeep had a call with me on which other schools I could apply to. As he had a packed schedule, he offered to help me out pro-bono for LBS, and share some sample materials for other schools. His offer amazed me, and I am extremely grateful and thankful. This is a testament of how structured and detail-oriented he is, and at the same time how much they care about the people, they work with.

I learned about 5-6 consultants from my network and I read up on everyone and then set up a time with them and discussed my profile before working with Rajdeep.

We started with the resume and on my first draft, I received specific instructions especially on moving away from case-based thinking to firm based thinking and impact metrics. I also applied this approach to my current job as well. The resume process overall helps you think about your work from a more strategic perspective rather than a task-based one.

For the essays, Rajdeep and I used to brainstorm first and build out an outline. So once I had clarity on the story elements for each essay it was easier to write and I was not lost in the structure or words. In some parts of we had different ideas and once I showed a draft we would discuss if it works or not. His method of outlining how to approach certain essays provides clarity on where to begin and how to research things. Rajdeep was open to reworking or changing stories as we go and was very honest, sometimes too much, but that turned out to be a good thing as it led to better outcomes.

For the interviews, Rajdeep had specific input on what to work on, and frameworks on how to answer the questions. Also detailed insight on how various questions would be asked for each school and down to those asked for my specific career path. Based on these inputs, I created my templates and prepared for 50 questions including doing mocks to make my answers more concise.

Rajdeep was easily accessible and works hard with you. He was never trying to save time or hurry things and we were always working towards the best outcome. He helped bring out the best of my story. He was there through countless hours and last-minute doubts to ultimately help me crack Harvard, Wharton, and Kellogg!

I was applying from Consulting and was uncertain of the strength of my application. I did not have people from either my consulting firm or my undergrad institute who were at top b-schools and so I had a limited network to rely on / less access to information.

My job involved long hours and considerable travel leaving me less time to understand the nuances of the application process. My objective of joining was two-fold – get guidance on the nitty-gritties of the process (what do schools really look for, what do the essay questions truly mean, etc.) and saving time.

I knew I had a number of experiences that I could highlight but I was unsure of how to articulate them or whether they would be good enough for the top schools without a “tier-1” brand per se on my CV. I started off by working with Chimni and first he helped me develop my resume – both helping me pick out the relevant experiences and articulating them effectively. This gave me more confidence and helped me in my school selection.

Rajdeep’s inputs were extremely valuable while brainstorming my application story and defining my goals. I had a clear theme running through my application but he helped me bring it all together and form a solid story that factored in my motivations, experiences, and goals. What I valued the most was his honest guidance about my ideas and his attention to detail about the smaller aspects that really helped me tie-in the loose ends. He was available to discuss any new ideas and was on-top of things, actively replying to messages and reviewing my materials in time.

Essays were another area where I appreciated Rajdeep’s support. He helped me articulate my points better and get to the depth of my ideas, helping me think about the next level of detail. He first helped me structure my ideas into a flow and then helped me find the right examples from my resume which demonstrated those points the best. His objective guidance was helpful in picking the right examples, deciding on the right level of detail and ensuring my essays were engaging.

His experience with schools and the specific requirements of their application process was helpful as I tried to navigate the different processes. While my story remained the same, he took a fresh approach to every application which was customized for that school. This helped me conduct school-specific research and create unique applications for each of the schools I applied to.

Overall, I had a very positive experience!

A friend at Harvard referred me to Rajdeep. With absolutely no clue on approaching business school applications, Rajdeep’s expertise made the process less overwhelming. Every step of the process (resume, essays, goals) is very well laid out which helped me structure my application.

For every school, he has an idea of what works and what doesn’t, which helped me choose stories/traits I wanted to exhibit for each school. For the essays, Rajdeep kept pushing me to think harder till the time he was convinced of the “what” and the “how”, and paid attention to the relevance of every single word in each of my drafts.

The interview preparation stood out for me for the way Rajdeep asked me to answer varied sets of questions in a coherent manner, covering all my stories. I will be attending Kellogg this fall!

Rajdeep’s expertise was reflected in his ability to provide pointed and insightful feedback on my application material. As a first-time applicant, the application process was a black-box to me. Rajdeep helped me think about the strategic business impact of my achievements and bring it out in my resume and essays.

In particular, he was great at helping me drill down my technical experiences in financial advisory, simplify complex financial jargon, and put together a well-rounded, engaging story with an easy flow. I also appreciate Rajdeep’s persistence in ensuring that I iterated as many times as was needed with the essays before I arrived at an application-ready version.

Mock interviews and support in preparation helped me do my best in interviews. Rajdeep also provided valuable advice on my selection of schools. In fact, thanks to his encouragement, I applied to Ross in R1 (to which I received an offer with a full ride). Rajdeep was responsive on WhatsApp/call throughout the process, promptly answering any questions. I would strongly recommend him to any future business school applicant.

Rajdeep came highly recommended to me from a friend at Harvard and hence I had high expectations. Turns out, he exceeded them. I worked with him for Wharton interview prep and I found the experience to be thorough, detailed and ultimately, helpful.

Rajdeep did this using a three-pronged approach – 1) Detailed overview of the process through a long email covering suggested reachings and approach, 2) Practical insights through conversations facilitated with Wharton students who had gone through the process, and 3) Personal feedback on the notes prepared and tailoring them to bring out individual strengths.

I appreciated all three aspects which allowed me to frame my approach quickly and provided a sounding board to stress test my approach before going into the interview. The confidence from the process no doubt played a role in my ability to ultimately convert the offer.

I learned about Rajdeep through Poets and Quants when I was looking for an experienced consultant who had a good M7 success rate. Additionally, the cost was realistic and not an exorbitant number quoted by other consultants.

When I started working with Rajdeep, I appreciated how structured the whole process was. On our first call, he laid out the different stages of the process and the high-level timelines involved for each stage. This visibility and structure not only boosted my confidence but also helped me plan to juggle my work responsibilities and application deadlines.

As we began discussing each of the elements in my background and profile in depth, Rajdeep was very prompt in his responses and spent a lot of time helping me get my foundational elements such as my resume and goals right. While working on the essays, Rajdeep was committed to helping me put my best foot forward, often pushing me to rewrite entire sections and drafts if needed. Connecting to me to various alumni and resources to do school-specific research, Rajdeep helped me create tailored and cohesive applications for each of my target schools. I received interview calls from both the schools I applied to (Wharton + Kellogg).

Guiding me through the specific interview styles for each school, and conducting mock interviews, he made sure I was well-prepped on D-Day with contingency plans for multiple scenarios! All this effort was worth it when I received offers from both the schools. Rajdeep helped me refine and polish my application to make it targeted, concise and compelling. In fact, he helped me bring down an essay from 1,200 words to 450 without losing any critical content – a task that seemed close to impossible.

Despite my working out of the US and juggling hectic responsibilities, Rajdeep was flexible enough to work across timezones and was available to answer my questions late at night. Thanks, Rajdeep – might not have been 2 for 2 in the top-5 without all your help!

Friends at Booth and Wharton referred me to Rajdeep and I joined him because of his track record. I applied in round one myself and gained admission to Duke ($98k) and Darden ($120k) having taken interview assistance from Rajdeep. I then joined Rajdeep for my round two applications to Wharton, Booth, MIT, and Kellogg.

Rajdeep help me bring about a strategic shift in my resume and helped me articulate my leadership experiences in my essays. What stood out for me was his at-cause attitude – working with applicants even while he had an urgent family situation to attend to. He worked tirelessly to prepare me for the Wharton TBD – even scheduling long late-night calls at a short notice. Another thing I appreciated was Rajdeep’s calmness when we had multiple deadlines in a single week. He always made me feel that the situation was under control. I gained admission to Kellogg, Wharton with $42K scholarship and was waitlisted at Booth

I had an exceedingly positive experience with Rajdeep. When I started, I was unsure of my target schools, how to plan the process and what the schools were looking for. Rajdeep has a robust understanding of the process across schools and helped me structure the application process from start to finish. Early in the process, he provided a timeline of each step, which provided comfort that I was on track.

While working on the resume and goals, Rajdeep pushed me to restate my goal. Realizing that my initial goal was a bit confusing, he helped to better craft my goal statement into something that all could understand. This feedback really helped me state my goal during interviews as well!

Rajdeep has a clear idea of what strengths different colleges are looking for in their essays and works with you closely to determine which life experiences are most suited for which essay. While writing one of my essays, the essay underwent 10+ iterations before my essay stories were clear. Till the end, Rajdeep kept patiently pushing me to keep thinking and reframe my essay. In my final version, I was able to clearly state 3 different ideas in the essay all while keeping within the word limit!

He is extremely approachable and supportive. Whenever I faced any issue or needed a clarification in the process, he was just a quick Whatsapp message away. His flexibility in working and supporting you where you are stuck allows him to help applicants of all types.

heard about Rajdeep from colleagues at work. My overall experience was very pleasant. I couldn’t have done it without him. Few things that stood out for me:

His focus on specificity: Rajdeep made sure that every statement that I wrote in my app made sense and was not some vague and general remark. He would push for more research and ensured only quality work goes ahead.

Helping extract stories out of work examples: Rajdeep really helped me to form detailed stories out of instances at work which then ties with my overall story.

R1/R2 school distribution: This we could have improved. I could have kept a few schools for R2 to make sure that I still would have few schools left to apply in case of no admit in R1. But it worked out.

Attention to detail: Very high as he even helps with the application form to make the complete story is tied up.

Support: Even when I got dings from H and W, Rajdeep helped to bring objectivity and was there throughout the process and not just professionally. He even helped me with schools I was to do on my own. He will be with you until you are admitted to one of the schools.

My colleagues in consulting had worked with Rajdeep and seen amazing success. Other consultants I talked to had different school ranges from what was my view, so after my conversation with Rajdeep I read testimonials, saw the success rate (particularly from my firm) and joined him.
My journey for applications has been grinding, super busy and taxing. But Rajdeep has been with me all along, making me better with each edit and really investing time in my applications.
Given I had an early start and I am a very ‘J’ person, I had completed my resume and goals definition way before applications had even opened. Rajdeep asked all the right questions that made me think and understand the point he is trying to bring forth.
Personally, I think my goals had a better starting point given I knew what I wanted to do, but Rajdeep truly shaped them into something concrete that was achievable, didn’t look all ‘up in the air’ and helped me market myself better in my applications.
Essays are the one place that I heavily relied on Rajdeep’s guidance. He was willing to make as many edits, sometimes starting the entire storylining from scratch and pushing me to think through what I was trying to say. He forced me to think and answer the question that applications asked me, all the while being true to myself.
When it came to interviews, he provided excellent materials and frameworks. He has a database of interview questions and styles and helped me hone specific answers.
Overall, my experience has been fantastic and I cannot thank him enough – he has always been there, only a text away, supporting and guiding me through this tough process. So a very big thank you!!!

I reached out to Rajdeep to help me with applications when I had absolutely no idea of the process. From the moment he came on board, he was frank and methodical. The most striking thing is that he takes complete ownership of the application and treats it as his own.

We went through multiple iterations for resume and essays until he was sure about each word that was written in the application. This in turn gave me tremendous confidence in his commitment to my application.

Rajdeep introduced me to frameworks for the resume, which transformed my resume and made it more appealing. He was patient and went through each and every line on the resume in detail. Writing essays was a mammoth task for me but Rajdeep made the process smooth and even enjoyable. We had many hour-long calls on the kind of content we wanted to incorporate into the essays, went through my resume to dig up relevant stories and came up with a framework for each essay. Rajdeep’s vast knowledge of essay themes and styles was incredibly helpful in writing essays that were well structured.

Interview prep was intensive with several mock rounds. In particular, the interview prep for Wharton was a standout. Not only did Rajdeep discuss the TBD and interview questions with me personally, but he also set up time with ex-Wharton students to take us through the process. Learning from the experiences of other students helped with the nerves as well.

Overall, my experience was absolutely amazing and above all expectations. There is no way I would have been able to navigate the tricky b-school process without Rajdeep’s support.

I was referred by a friend in his first year at HBS and worked with Rajdeep for the interview and post-interview reflection.

I’m incredibly grateful to Rajdeep for all his genuine guidance and support through the HBS interview prep, and I’m certain HBS would not have happened without him! I reached out to him just a week before my HBS interview, with super tight timelines on my end. Rajdeep went out of his way to adjust to my schedule, and carefully tailored my prep, rather than employing a cookie-cutter approach.

During the mocks, he provided sharp, nuanced and insightful comments, along with suggestions on how to improve, in a very short period of time. His understanding of the HBS interview process is unparalleled. In the 24-hour window for the post-interview reflection, he was again super responsive, and his feedback was incredibly smart and thoughtful. Rajdeep goes the extra mile and is genuinely invested in the success of his applicants :). Will recommend him without a doubt!

Having applied earlier to Olin and not having made it I was unsure about how to fully project my experience through essays and during interviews, for which I believed soliciting guidance would be the best approach. Secondly, my current job is heavily demanding and I wanted someone to keep me on track.

Rajdeep has one of the best track records for applications to the M7. The most brilliant part of his advise was that despite having an unconventional profile, I was able to explain my experiences in the right manner, using the most appropriate anecdotes which gave my story the required impetus.

During one such instance of laying down the goals, the questions put forth by Rajdeep led me to dive into extensive research as well as an exercise of introspection, thus helping me outline my aspirations and goals, necessary for applications.

Of course, it involved numerous discussions and countless iterations, which inevitably required me to go over my professional experiences several times and eventually incorporate the usually overlooked nitty-gritties.

Rajdeep help me realize my potential and I am attending Wharton!

Colleagues of mine work with Rajdeep every year and have gained admission to all the top-5 schools so I was aware how Rajdeep was supportive in building an application strategy and delivering on it.

I was impressed by Rajdeep’s support on my resume – having worked only in the social sector, I had trouble articulating my experiences to suit an ‘MBA app’. Rajdeep helped me every step of the way, from explaining what was needed to how it is to be done. His revisions were meticulous and really helped my resume jump 10X from my initial draft.

I remember spending hours on call, discussing my goals and story – we had over 10 iterations for one particular school where we kept building on the story until both of us were satisfied – Rajdeep would give me the hook, help me with suggestions and push me to dig deeper. And he was excellent with timelines – even if I slacked somewhere, I’d get a prompt text from him, checking on my status. This, I know is what sets him apart from others I’ve heard about. He was personally invested in my success at this process and allayed my apprehensions and fear with his strategy skills and humour wherever he could.

I enjoyed the process of applying to B-schools partly because I had Rajdeep to support me with it. I would certainly recommend my friends and anybody who is willing to put in the hours, to work with him and get the best that is offered!

I learned about Rajdeep through Poets&Quants, so a big thank you to Poets&Quants! The experience was fantastic. I really appreciate the attention to detail, continuous willingness to go the extra mile and the unending strive for perfection that Rajdeep brought to the table. Also, I always respected Rajdeep’s insights regarding essays and profile-positioning – they were worth their weight in gold and added tremendous value to my application.

One thing that personally stood out for me was Rajdeep’s dedication. Even though we started months in advance and went about the process in a very planned manner, there were days closer to the deadline when I was rushing to do last-minute changes – in such cases, Rajdeep was available throughout – be it 12 midnight or 9am, and his turnaround time was less than a few hours! Exceptional commitment. He always made it seem that we are a team rather than just a client-counseller, and he was as (if not more!) invested in my success than I was.

I gained admission to Columbia, Booth, and LBS and would definitely recommend Rajdeep for those applying to an M7 school.

For three years my colleagues have been gaining admission to HBS with Rajdeep’s help so it was an easy choice to work with him. He has been key to helping me achieve my b-school results.

I liked the fact that early-on, he thought through a timeline customized for me, factoring into my work commitments and ensured that we largely stuck to it. He has a strong grasp of the application process for all top b-schools. He helped me build a crisp resume and provided clarity when we were brainstorming my post-MBA goals. He nudged me to identify the right situations and examples to talk about, helping me craft meaningful and impactful essays.

His college-specific phased approach of building the intensity of interview prep helped me have a great interview experience with HBS. As is often the case with nervous applicants, one tends to come up with last-minute requests and edits. I had 2 such instances, and in both situations, he went out of his way to accommodate my requests. Overall, I would recommend everyone, who is applying to the top b-schools, to decidedly go ahead with working with Rajdeep to successfully make it through otherwise an extremely intense process.

I gained admission to HBS and Kellogg and will be attending HBS.

Rajdeep is a great consultant. I chose him because my friends (6 people I knew in my network) had worked with him, and gone on to receive admission in top schools. Personal recommendations from friends, combined with Rajdeep’s unparalleled success rate and a competitive fee (at least relative to other high-performing admission consultants) made working with him an easy choice.

In terms of my experience, what I found to be most helpful was the resume-improvement support. Rajdeep probably took a 5/10 resume and improved by dramatic margins. He always pushed me to think of concrete results that exemplified the work, while remaining authentic and concise.

His support on essays is essays is useful as he provides solid boundaries for what the content should cover. Over the years, he has assimilated knowledge of “what works” for applicants from diverse industrial backgrounds. He has distilled different essay needs through the sheer experience of working with previous clients into an easily transferable structure, which is super useful. While it does result in the loss of certain aesthetics in the essay sometimes; it also results in an essay that is comprehensive, showcases a clear thought-process, and has a fluent flow.

I would highly recommend Rajdeep – always a safe choice to go for if you are targeting a top 5 school.

I was impressed with the high percentage rate of acceptance and the confidence that Rajdeep showcased during our conversation. I was re-applying and had applied to HBS, Columbia, Cornell, and UCLA before with the help of a consultant.

Once we aligned on the schools, which took some time and back and forth, there was a big change in my resume in terms of how I presented my work. I appreciated the essay brainstorming, outlines and additional information provided by Rajdeep that helped me shape my essays. He also helped in connecting with students and my essays this year were much better researched.

Rajdeep was available and helped me prepare for my mocks. Once I got my first admit, my interview process was made much more comfortable as I felt a sense of accomplishment and encouragement.

I was admitted to all the schools I applied to Wharton (scholarship), Duke, Cornell, Tepper (scholarship)

I first worked with a widely reviewed and ranked admissions consultant firm in US but after no admits that year, I was talking to some friends and advisors in introspection before my next move. One of my friends had worked with Rajdeep and his experience was poles apart from mine in terms of school choices and how he positioned himself to schools. I joined Admissions Gateway because of this robust approach I had seen work for my friend and because Rajdeep could point out major improvements in my application in our very first meeting.

With Rajdeep, I got admits at Stern and Darden with full rides. Let me share the two things that he did that absolutely turned around my results.

1) Resume and Career Goals:  Where Rajdeep helped me the most was in pulling together my professional journey and aspirations in a way that truly let my strengths shine. In retrospect, I think he so brilliant at this because of the high bar he sets for you but also because of his experience succeeding with so many candidates. Resume-building was a test of giving away all my current notions about my professional journey. It was a hard winding road, and sometimes, also frustrating. But Rajdeep arranged for multiple check-in sessions and guided me to put together what became the foundation of both applications and subsequent interviews.

2) Commitment to the ‘why’: You are a great candidate but you are just one of many others. Why should the school consider you over the hundreds with similar backgrounds? Rajdeep helped me drill my experience and goals into a story that clicked with schools, and this is probably why I got multiple scholarships. This was the result of a grueling process and what really held together my application was the level of commitment Rajdeep displayed. With adaption of our storylines on several occasions, I often found myself out of examples to portray and even, at times, lack of words to describe my passion. Rajdeep was around till 1 am to finalize essays or just available on phone to hear out where I was struggling. With anecdotes and thoughtful counters, we were able to iron out concerns and explain my motivations for an MBA.

The best part of this experience really was that besides gaining admission, I learned a lot about what was holding me back, in some ways.

These lessons hold true when you are positioning yourself in a business school or when interviewing for your dream role. Today, when I talk to prospective students or put together teams, I am still reminded of phone conversations with Rajdeep.  

Admissions Gateway helped me get into 3 of my top schools – Kellogg, Yale SOM, and UCLA, with a $70K scholarship at Kellogg and $60K scholarship at UCLA and I can confidently say none of my success would have been possible without them. AG and Rajdeep helped me with every little step of the MBA application process – a resume that shows my impact, a clear vision for my post-MBA goals, a thoroughly researched case of why the school and program were a great fit for me, and how to show my best self during my interviews. All of this, while making sure I remained 100% true to who I was and what I wanted from the MBA!

Rajdeep really pushed me to reflect on my career and future goals in more detail than I had ever done before. The team has relentless attention to detail and always made sure every line in my resume and essays was perfectly articulated and fit into a cohesive story. He checked in with me regularly and helped me stay on track to finish my applications well before my deadline, which was really important because I was trying to balance the MBA process with a busy job. He was always quick in responding to my messages (often at odd hours) which helped me make live edits to my essays. He also helped me a great deal with interview prep – with live interview practice and feedback.

AG and Rajdeep – Thank you for helping me stay motivated, disciplined, and for bringing out my best self!

Rajdeep is very effective in putting structure and discipline into the application process. I found it difficult to define the scope of the essays and was overwhelmed by the whole process. But Rajdeep helped me put a boundary around the ask, and broke down the essays into milestones which made the task much simpler.

He is a stickler for quality and constantly pushed me beyond my comfort zone to dig deeper into my stories unless they reflected the necessary leadership qualities. I was able to think clearly through my career by the end of the process and had much more clarity on what I want to get out of my MBA.

I always refer him to my friends for their MBA applications and all of them have had great results as well.

Successfully applying to a B-school was less about my experiences and more about the takeaways from those experiences that would help me demonstrate that I was MBA ready.

As easy as it may sound, the process forced me to ask some probing questions and it became very important for me to be able to structure my answers within the prescribed word limits. Being from a highly competitive talent pool, I needed strategic help with the process of working with someone who had a proven track record with Indian applicants. I came to know about Rajdeep from some of my classmates who had worked with him and highly recommended him.

The first thing that really stood out for me was Rajdeep’s strategy of building out your resume before deciding on your schools or even application strategy. This was unlike any other consultant I had reached out to. We spent a good 10 days fleshing out the resume, making it as strong as possible. Looking back this was one of the strongest reasons why I got accepted at LBS.

I remember after the first 2 iterations of my essay with Rajdeep, I was very happy and satisfied with the effort I had put in and how the essay had shaped out. That’s when he told me that I needed to come up with a surgeon’s insights vs. a butcher’s perspective. This line summarizes my experience with Rajdeep wherein I learned to dig deeper, research harder until I had the essay that was good enough to compete with the best in the world.

For people who are planning to apply this year, I would recommend that you get in touch with the consultants out there and then get in touch with Rajdeep. I think that a single call will help you understand the competitive edge that Rajdeep brings to the table and it will make your decision much easier.

A close friend referred me to Admissions Gateway and I was impressed with the track record, Rajdeep’s structured approach to the process and the word of mouth.

The factor that really stood out in my experience was Rajdeep’s approachability. From every stage of resume building to essay drafting to interview, Rajdeep was always reachable and very involved. You can just reach him a WhatsApp away.

His iterative reviews and pointed feedback really pushed me to bring out the best in my essays. He is always willing to offer help in whatever aspect you may need – be it making alum connects for mock interviews/essay pointers or providing essay edits, even on a tight timeline. I got into both Wharton and Booth. I would highly recommend him for his great job and support!

A friend at Wharton referred me to Rajdeep. Unlike what I had heard from friends about other consultants, Rajdeep didn’t try to convince me into applying to lower-ranked schools to improve his success rates. I stood my ground in applying to schools that I wanted to go to, and Rajdeep supported me in the process and we applied to HBS, GSB, Wharton, Sloan, Yale SOM and INSEAD.

One thing I like was Rajdeep’s commitment. When I needed some extra support in getting my SOPs reviewed for a scholarship application, Rajdeep was willing to take a look at it and share some high-level feedback (even though it was outside the purview of the contract).

The frameworks shared to think through different sections of the application were useful. Using these frameworks ensured comprehensive coverage of different skills. This approach is going to be useful in the future as I navigate the job-application process in the next couple of months.

Rajdeep gave good inputs on essays. One example that stands out is my Wharton essay, where I had to highlight an impactful experience that is not covered elsewhere in my application. Because Rajdeep knew my profile and background well, and because he understood Wharton as a school, Rajdeep quickly suggest an excellent theme/idea that I could elaborate in my essay – something I wouldn’t have thought through on my own. While I didn’t get into Wharton eventually (summer waitlist), I have to admit that Rajdeep helped me take this essay to the next level.

I will be attending INSEAD and look forward to the experience! Would recommend Rajdeep having been through the process and having seen many of my friends succeed as well.

A friend at Harvard suggested connecting with Rajdeep and I worked with him on 5 M7 schools. I had an educational experience and gained a lot of insight on how to present my story in a way I couldn’t have done myself. Time zone differences meant that it was pretty late in India by the time I was free from work commitments in London. However, Rajdeep was very flexible and ensured that we left no stone unturned in putting up a strong application.

I thought Rajdeep’s resume strategy of thinking from your management’s perspective in order to tease out the high-level impact of one’s professional achievements was genius. It’s something that I’ll deploy for years to come.

I received great support on school-selection as well, especially as I was very optimistic on the number of schools I wanted to target in Round 1, without due regard to time constraints. Rajdeep’s advice was very practical and ensured that I didn’t apply anywhere without due preparation.

On goals’ definition, he encouraged me to take my time, while offering great suggestions based on his thorough understanding of my profile. When it came down to writing the essays, what stood out was his emphasis on structure. This didn’t just enhance readability and impact, but made them fungible among each other: I could easily reprocess the abstract strictures of Essays A & B from School 1 into Essays C & D from School 2 with the specific research or tuning.

The experience with Rajdeep didn’t just get me into a great B-school but will continue to hold me in great stead for the future as I believe that storytelling is a key skill required to excel professionally.

Making a choice for a consultant was a task and I took my time to research the market. I spoke to Admissions Gateway, Adam Marcus, Jennifer Bloom, MBA Exchange, Menlo Park, etc. Admissions Gateway stood out on 3 parameters –

1. Result orientation – AG is the only firm that transparently listed their past results and connected me to past clients.

2. Consultant (Rajdeep) – Though he may come across as too frank, Rajdeep on the first call was astute with his assessment and didn’t shy from pointing out weaknesses in the application. It didn’t seem like a sales pitch which a lot of other consultants had.

3. Costs – The costs were competitive in fact they seem to be low for the results and scholarships people get :).

I would rate my experience working with Rajdeep as great. It took some time to build chemistry but I could see him putting in extra effort to applications and would continue to iterate till he felt essays were good to go. On specific parameters –

1. Resume – This is the strongest point. The resume is really well done and presents a strong leadership story. Rajdeep ensures that the candidate represents himself well in a pool of international students. Personally, it took me a lot of introspection on how to position my work in different organizations and Rajdeep helped in framing a coherent story.

2. School selection strategy – I would say Rajdeep is fair and factual in his assessment of schools but the onus is on you to ensure you debate if you don’t agree. I ended up applying to H/S/W, which he thought was a risky strategy.

3. Goals definition – Rajdeep was clear on a pragmatic approach here and what would work for different schools based on my profile. His insights are to the point and seem to work well. I must add, specifically for Wharton, he had a great approach to essays and the success reflected in the number of interview calls his clients got.

4. Essays – Rajdeep’s approach is structured and clear on how to break the question and think of your own experiences. For Wharton it was more of a structured approach for Harvard, he helped in creating a good flow, ensured I balance my language to suit the school and encouraged me to write a personal / people stories over professional ones.

Some other points –

1. Turnaround time – This was good. Typically 24-48 hrs.

2. Informal engagement – Rajdeep always seemed available on Whatsapp or call and this was helpful to bounce quick ideas off. He once also spoke to me at 2 am which I am sure no other firm would encourage or do.

I feel Rajdeep is genuinely invested in the process and cares about maximizing results. I made it to H ($106k scholarship) and W ($75k scholarship) – joining Harvard.

Having pivoted from banking to consulting early in my career, I found Rajdeep’s advice very helpful to uncover and articulate my goals in a structured manner. His guidance helped me create a resume that presented my experiences in the best light and ensured that I approach the entire application process with a positive attitude. I especially appreciated the honest feedback I always received, as it helped me pick schools that would be the best fit for my goals.

I was traveling quite often during my applications, but never felt disconnected from the process due to Rajdeep’s flexibility on timing. He was easily accessible on calls and texts when needed. Focused on the New York area, I applied to three schools and gained admission to Stern with a full scholarship. Thanks for all the support and guidance!

Colleagues who gained admission to Harvard and Kellogg referred me to Rajdeep. We started out with building my Resume. Rajdeep understood my work experience and helped me present it in the most impactful way by bringing clarity to my role and impact on each project. He further helped me decide the critical points to emphasize.

This was followed by the definition of the goals. Here, Rajdeep helped me tune my thoughts to come up with a logical, consistent and practical story which would provide a solid foundation for a compelling story based on my work experience.

For the essays, we identified my most impactful work experiences and customized each school’s essays to highlight different aspects. For example – Kellogg requires an essay demonstrating brave leadership. While I had a couple of compelling leadership projects to talk about, Rajdeep helped me identify a project where I helped move a business out of the crisis which displayed that I could be brave enough to take super challenging projects. This story was not highlighted in my previous essays and we went on to draft a new essay for this question. My experience shows that Rajdeep goes a long way to put one’s best foot forward for each school.

For my HBS application, Rajdeep went to painstaking lengths to help me tune even my short application questions to answer in a concise and impactful way, supporting me in the minute details of my application to make sure that we left no stone unturned. For my HBS essay, he helped me think about two of my key stories – one from college and the other from Abbott in greater detail, helping me write a holistic story about my life and career. His inputs around making the story more fleshed out and highlighting some finer details of my experience added depth to my essay. I got into HBS with $100K+ and Kellogg with $120K!

Another consultant referred me to Rajdeep, which I thought was rare. I had a busy work and travel schedule so I started working on my applications only in Round 2 and that too in December! I would have liked to have applied to more schools but given the time I targeted 4.

Rajdeep’s honest feedback and guidance through the process was invaluable. He was available at short notice and helped me manage my hectic schedule and craft good applications. Even though we had less time, he pushed me to think clearly and research all aspects to make a compelling application. It was comforting to have him available and he was willing to go over multiple iterations till we both were satisfied with the outcome.

Rajdeep understands the values and the lens through which the school is evaluating your application. Even in this short period, I gained admission to Wharton (matriculated), Booth – $40K scholarship and LBS – £30K scholarship. He has a great ability to help you structure your applications and execute them under time pressure.

I was initially wary of working with consultants. I knew what I wanted which was not just essay editing help or someone who could fit me into types of schools but wanted someone who could help me make strategic decisions covering my professional history, building my profile and then targeting the schools.

When I spoke to people about Rajdeep, they gave me excellent feedback about his very structured approach, individual attention and some credentials in helping students to top US B-schools.

One of the biggest positives of working with Rajdeep was that he helped me address certain key challenges in my profile. For instance, I had a 710 GMAT score which is on the lower side to target the top schools I had on my list.

He suggested a good strategy of breaking my list into safe, reach and stretch schools for Round 1 and I got into Ross and then in R2 I targeted higher schools like Kellogg, Tuck and Booth, and this prep really helped me set the bar high and prepare for R2.

What also helped was the interview prep. Since Rajdeep was working with me on a daily basis he was well aware of my profile. However, after prep, he also made me do a mock with someone who wasn’t familiar with my profile and that prepared me for what I would be facing during the actual interview.

I applied to 5 schools and got into 3, one with $50K scholarship. I am finally attending Kellogg which has been my dream school from Day 1 and looking back I know this would not have been possible without Rajdeep’s help!!

Rajdeep is more of a coach than a consultant. He is a clear thinker with deep insights into the admissions process across schools. Spending time with him – discussing my profile, the overall approach to admissions and career goals – I came out with a more comprehensive understanding of my path ahead.

He was extremely thoughtful through the process. Starting from helping me build my CV – I have an unconventional background which needed to be represented appropriately for maximum impact – he spent considerable time understanding my vertical and iterated multiple times ensuring the best output, to building a consistent overall narrative across each of the many INSEAD essays and finally taking mock interviews and helping me write my scholarship apps even while he was traveling with his family. His dedication is unmatched in the space and I’m glad that I had him as my guide through the admissions process.