Menlo Coaching | MBA Admissions Consultants

As a round three applicant starting the process in February for end of March deadlines following a tech-layoff, I was in full sprint mode to complete my MBA applications. Pascal did not sacrifice getting to know me for the sake of time. He took the time to understand my background, my experiences, my strengths, and my values to make sure that my whole-self came through in my applications. His warm demeanor is ever present and is coupled with wisdom from years of experience. He beautifully held the line of providing constructive feedback, pushing me to produce my best writing, while also maintaining an encouraging attitude from start to finish. During the grueling two month sprint Pascal, along with Menlo Coaching’s unique Base Camp application portal, helped me manage the timeline of work to be done for all applications keeping lines of communication open while factoring in my personal life schedule which included 4 different time zones. In 8 weeks, I applied to 4 top MBA programs (26 essay prompts), took the GRE twice, and visited each school. Ultimately, I interviewed with 3 schools, was admitted to 2 and both with scholarships. I sincerely couldn’t have done all of that without the guidance and support of Pascal. I cannot recommend him enough!

I worked with Pascal from October 2022 to March 2023, through which he assisted with my R2 applications. His candid comments and advice on my school choices, essays and strategies are truly invaluable. With limited time and feeling persistent pressure, he suggested we catch up twice a week and so we ended up working very closely. (Indeed he became the go-to person for any doubts or questions I had and was always responsive.) His track record and experience were extremely helpful in the entire process. Ultimately, with his support, I will be pursuing my MBA at Booth.

Most exceptionally, even though Pascal was not the consultant of my partner (who was also applying to business school at the same time), he was very helpful and did not mind providing support to her at all. For example, he would conduct mock interviews for her and also invite her to join our weekly calls, answering any questions she had. Through this, I could easily see that Pascal is not just a consultant hoping to complete his work for a client but someone who genuinely cares for his client by doing his best to help both my partner and I get into the same business school (which was beyond the scope of his engagement). Because of his help and strategy, both of us ultimately received offers from Booth, Stern, Johnson, LBS and Ross.

Special thanks to Maya, Pascal’s colleague, as without her meticulous care and guidance, I wouldn’t be able to complete the tasks by myself and navigate this intense MBA application journey. Thank you Pascal and Maya!

While banking on luck is not an option for your application, working with Alice feels lucky. With deep straight forward no non sense analysis of your profile and constructive critiques, Alice made sure my story and artifacts matched my ambition.
On a technical side , I could not have asked for more , her guidance and reviews are impecable . Paired with an army of experts , she will find the weak spot and put pressure on it.

When it comes to build skills , decide schools and prepare , her experience is only matched by her investment in her clients . I truly believe Alice knew me and advocated for me even in moments of pressure.

Come prepared to work , deconstruct and iterate . Alice is a true master at her craft and it only feels fitting to correspond with dedication and resilience.

I had a one hour interview prep session with Obinna. This was the best decision I took before going for the interview. I have 3 points that made Obinna stand out.
1. Obinna was very sharp in analysing my answers, pointing out very clearly how the intended message came out and how to better formulate crisp replies to questions.
2. Obinna is very considerate in understanding that in the early stages of preparations, answers may not come out in the best possible way. At the same time, he has a knack of getting the best out of you, and I came out of the session feeling very confident having improved myself.
3. Obinna instills a framework model into approaching the interview questions. This helped me a lot in clearly articulating my answers in a structured manner.
To summarise, he not only provides with the information required to approach the interview in the best possible way, but also makes you feel very confident and fully prepared going into the interview.
I would highly recommend anyone preparing for an interview to work with Obinna so as to bring the best out of you in the interview process.

Pascal is a fantastic consultant! I initially chose him as I was interested in LBS, and his tenure at IESE, as well as his international perspective on the often overly US-focused MBA process, was a strong draw for me. However, through his guidance, I learned to navigate the process with the help of a seasoned professional. Pascal prepared me to receive admits from both LBS and HBS (the latter of which I only applied to at his prodding!). He was an absolute joy to work with and was instrumental in crafting my HBS essay. Pascal is warm, convivial, and cares deeply for his clients. I have nothing but positive things to say about him and my experience with Menlo.

Pascal also had my work with his associate Maya who diligently aided me in my resume restructuring. At first, I was worried that I would not see as much of Pascal, but he made sure that Maya was additive to the process – not a replacement! We met weekly for about 6 months as I prepared for R2. I highly recommend him and the larger Menlo team to anyone who is interested. Thanks again!

My experience working with Pascal has been absolutely fantastic and looking back now I feel incredibly grateful for having made the decision to have Pascal as my MBA consultant. Results-wise, so far I have already got offers from both LBS & IESE, with a very significant amount of scholarship.

Throughout my application process, I was dealing with an incredibly stressful job and poor health but Pascal made my life so much easier with his professional advice that was always on point and helped me boost my efficiency in my application prep. I was able to save a ton of time and energy. He also gave me many useful tips to ace my interviews and to come up with solid scholarship essays as needed for certain programs. The results I have received so far are also amazing.

In addition to being an absolute star MBA consultant, Pascal is a truly caring and kind person who goes way beyond simply giving application advice – I have been able to learn so much more from his experience and his approach to navigating career changes. Our regular weekly catch-up during the application prep process had definitely become something I looked forward to even during my busiest season of work. Our conversations were always intellectually stimulating and allowed me to reflect on my life on a much deeper level as I put together my MBA application essays. I believe that the positive impact these conversations had would last in the years to come.

For anyone out there looking for a life-transforming MBA experience, I would highly recommend having Pascal as your MBA consultant. He makes every bit of time, energy, and money you spent on this process worth it! I honestly would give him a hundred stars if there’s an option for that.

I am writing to express my highest recommendation for Pascal Michels. I had an outstanding experience working with Pascal and I truly believe that his guidance and support were instrumental in securing my acceptance into my dream school, not to mention with a very prestigious, full scholarship.

From the very beginning, Pascal stood out to me as a phenomenal consultant. Despite the tight deadlines we faced, he took the time to really understand my story, my background, and my goals. He went above and beyond to get to the bottom of every aspect that might have an impact on my application and provided me with invaluable feedback and advice that helped me present myself in the most authentic way.

What I found most remarkable about Pascal’s approach was his ability to connect with me on a personal level, very often, I would contact him late at night and he would always be available, even during the deadline periods, he would respond – no matter how “insignificant” my concerns were. The MBA application process can be incredibly emotionally draining, but Pascal was always there to provide encouragement. He was someone I could lean on during the toughest moments, and his unwavering positivity and dedication were incredibly inspiring.

Throughout the process, Pascal was not only my consultant but also my friend. He took the time to get to know me on a personal level, and I felt like I could always be candid and open with him, which shaped the uniqueness of my application. He challenged me to see things in a different light and helped me realize my true potential, especially when overthinking is the enemy – Pascal has the uncanny ability to make things simple, even in the minds of others.

Overall, I wholeheartedly recommend Pascal Michels as a consultant. His attention to detail, dedication, and personal approach are truly second to none. I am confident that anyone who works with Pascal will have an exceptional experience and benefit greatly from his guidance.

I am taking all the credit for choosing Pascal as my consultant! It was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made as it altered my career along with many others.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Maya Parikh, she greatly assisted me with my resume and brought out clear ideas and achievements with an extremely limited word count. Not to mention, she’s the one that constantly reminded me about deadlines, which is a great help, more than you realize prior to the start of the process.

Maya and Pascal make a fantastic team and every meeting with them could clearly be measured by deliverables necessary for success!

Lainie helped make my dreams come true – simple as that! The unconditional support, mentorship, advice, and constructive feedback that she provided me with were monumental in helping me secure an offer at my dream school – CBS in New York!

I was originally very stressed about managing application work, exam studying, my current job, and physical therapy from a significant injury but Lainie helped me build out a schedule that was tailored to my needs and goals. She is the most organized person I have worked with and was there for me 24/7 with any questions I asked (which were a ton)!

Whether it came down to helping decide which schools to apply to, which exam (GMAT, GRE, EA) I should take, or which topics should be addressed in essays for each individual school, Lainie guided me. She armed me with questions to ask at info sessions, how to present myself during interviews, how to address sensitive areas of the application, and how to display confidence with every action and response. This made the process not only less daunting but actually fun and enjoyable – with plenty of self-reflection and pride.

The most important thing is that Lainie let me be myself in my essays and let me show my own voice. I felt empowered and her direction and feedback were critical in my story-telling.

I can confidently say that I would not have gotten the results I did without her help. She made sure that all the long hours and sacrifice that went into the admissions process was worth it, and for that, I will be forever grateful. She will make you feel like the center of her focus, and will help you achieve your goals!

As an R2 applicant, who only decided to consider pursuing an MBA in early October, I genuinely don’t know if I could have pulled off completing the application process without Lainie’s help, and I am sure I would not have seen nearly the same results. Now on the other end of the process, I have five full tuitions (including named fellowships/special programming) offered to T15 and M7 schools.

Lainie worked hard to understand my story, both in regard to my career path so far and my hopes for the future. It was so helpful to hear her perspective on how to craft a narrative that would connect with admissions officers, and her feedback on my writing helped me consider new perspectives and better draw the trajectory of my life. Lainie helped me not only craft great admissions essays but also learn new things about myself and how I feel about my experiences: something I think is an undervalued part of any admissions process. Our conversations were often deep and left me feeling excited about my next steps both in and beyond an MBA program.

Beyond the writing, though, Lainie also helped me stay on track with the minutiae of the application process. Since I was starting so late in the game, I was concerned that something would fall through the cracks. However, Lainie kept me on a pace that was both achievable and got me to the finish line with time to spare, even as I had to complete all my standardized testing!

While MBA consulting is an expensive proposition, it’s an investment in the future, and I can’t recommend investing in Lainie enough. I will be more than making up the cost for services by accepting my full tuition scholarship to Booth at UChicago this fall and have no doubt that I would not be in the same position had I not chosen to work with Lainie this year. She’s a gem!

From school selection to scholarship negotiation, Pascal was my trusted advisor. At every step of the journey, he supercharged my personal story, writing proficiency, and interview strategies to win offers and scholarships from M7, T10, and T15 schools. Working with him was my secret weapon, and I strongly recommend him to prospective MBA students who want to craft their best MBA application. Pascal is the real deal and is worth your time, energy, and money.

I initially contacted Pascal because IESE was my dream school. However, given my poor mental health history that affected my undergraduate performance, my priority was to find a competent and empathetic consultant that could help me frame this delicate topic in the right way. Since, in addition to IESE and LBS, I ended up receiving an offer from Wharton, I guess we did an amazing job!
We immediately established a very friendly and productive relationship, thanks to his ability to share invaluable insights from his personal life, his experience as an MBA student, and his jobs in finance and later as the head of the admission at IESE.
He is always available and his suggestions are obviously top-notch. I was genuinely impressed by how fast he is at thinking and editing. Lastly, because he himself interviewed hundreds of candidates, the mock interviews were game-changing and helped me gain a lot of confidence.
I could not recommend him enough! The only reason why I am sad to be attending Wharton next year is that I will not be able to see Pascal for some more tapas and beers in Barcelona. I am sure we will meet each other again though.

I am delighted to write a recommendation for Pascal, a phenomenal admission consultant at Menlo Coaching. I strongly encourage anyone who feels insecure about their past or themselves to consider using Pascal’s services for their MBA applications.

When I first approached Menlo Coaching, I was apprehensive about my chances of getting into a top MBA program. With an undergrad GPA of 2.8, I feared that my application would be summarily rejected by all M7 and T15 MBA AdComs. However, Pascal showed no hesitation in taking me on as a client, despite my academic record. He treated me with respect and dignity, helping me to recognize the “hero” in myself and find the confidence to face any future uncertainty.

Over the course of a year, Pascal worked patiently with me, allowing me to find my own path and guiding me toward success. His outstanding work paid off in the end, as I was admitted to both M7 and T15 MBA programs with a partial scholarship. I have no doubt that I could not have achieved this without Pascal’s help, support, and encouragement.

In retrospect, unlike many other MBA applicants who may have consulted or interviewed several admission consultants or consulting firms before deciding whose service to use, I chose Menlo’s service after my initial consultation meeting with Pascal. I was immediately impressed by his reassuring approach. Rather than making promises or sugarcoating my situation, Pascal was candid and honest with me, helping me to prepare for the worst while still holding out hope for success.

Pascal’s work with me went beyond simply helping me with my MBA applications. His work “Pensées” is a remarkable collection of philosophical musings that delve into the complexities of human existence. What sets Pascal apart from his contemporaries is his ability to create a safe and supportive dialogue in which I was able to confront my past failures and shortcomings in a healthy way. As someone who has always had his guard up, I initially found those MBA essays that were designed for thorough self-reflection extremely hard to write since I tended to write in a “diplomatic” way. However, Pascal made me realize the limitations of my past view and beliefs and helped me connect the dots and see my life in a new light. His help in this regard was truly priceless.

Throughout the application process, Pascal remained calm and strategic, helping me to stay focused even when the odds were against me as I faced major challenges at work. His recommendations were always spot on, and I had faith that if I followed his advice, I would have the greatest chance of achieving my goals.

Finally, Pascal is a master of “soft-talking,” able to soften my tone in writing and help me to communicate with greater humility and grace. His talent in this regard is something that will benefit me not only in my MBA applications but in all my future business interactions and meetings. Again, this soft skill is also priceless.

In summary, I wholeheartedly recommend Pascal’s services to anyone who is considering an MBA application but feels insecure about their past or themselves. Menlo Coaching’s overall service was exceptional, and Pascal was a key part of that success. He helped me to see the best version of myself, set me on a path to success, and I am confident that he will do the same for anyone who hires him.

I worked with Pascal for most of the summer of 2022, getting ready for Round 1 admissions. From the beginning, Pascal was an incredible asset in helping me achieve my objective of admission to a top-tier business school.

Pascal is incredibly flexible and understanding of personal circumstances, which was a great help as much of the work we did was while I was at sea on a warship, without much in the way of good Internet connectivity. He has worked with multiple veteran applicants before, and his background in Finance means he is a perfect consultant if your goal is to recruit into the field of Investment Banking (as mine was.)

Pascal is someone who is unafraid to hold applicants accountable to their deadlines and requirements – you definitely won’t have someone telling you only what you want to hear. That being said, Pascal is incredible in his talent for being able to distill the overarching themes of your life and turn them into useful essay vignettes. Every draft of an essay I submitted was turned around within the expected timeframe, with evident care and attention given to each draft. With Pascal, you will always receive nothing but the highest level of performance.

Moving through past the application stages, Pascal was again an incredible help in helping me to prepare for my interviews. His background as an Admissions Director at IESE gives him a detailed understanding of what the schools are looking for in the applicants they are inviting to interview.

Ultimately, I can definitively say that I would never have been able to acheive my result without Pascal’s help and guidance. I can’t thank him enough for helping to make my successful transition out of the military (and my future dreams) possible.

Yaron has been a beacon of light throughout my MBA applications to five M7 programs. I was super grateful for his critiques on my essays and the Menlo team’s comprehensive interview prep. Coming from a competitive pool, I was surprised to receive interview invites from 4 out of 5 top schools I applied to and eventually got into all 4, including HBS! This is an outcome that exceeds my expectations and it would not be possible without the help from Yaron and the Menlo team.

Yaron has been really responsive throughout the process — always replies within two days and sometimes within a couple of hours. His edits are always to the point, helping me re-navigate to the right essay direction. I would definitely recommend Yaron and Menlo Coaching to prospective applicants!

Lainie was the most thoughtful, considerate, and supportive coach I could have asked for. In my applications, I could tell that she really cared about making my story come across authentically, in my own voice – while appealing to the admissions committees.

Outside of my written applications, she was so supportive, provided thoughtful advice on my path, and was the person I could turn to for all my unanswered questions.

I applied to MBA programs for the class of 2025. I was admitted to Wharton, Darden, and Yale… with scholarships, among others. I’m incredibly grateful for all the help she provided and would do it all over again!!

I worked with Alice through the Early Bird program for a Fall 2023 admission. Thanks to Alice and the entire Menlo team, I got 3 acceptances to the most competitive M7 schools, and I only applied to 4 schools. This includes 2 acceptances with significant scholarships.

First, as an Early Bird client, Alice helped me to build my resume very early on, including deciding which extracurriculars to pursue and working on getting an early promotion at my workplace (I come from a non-business background and promotions do not come quickly). Thanks to Alice’s early guidance, I was not only able to build a compelling resume but also grew as a person through my volunteer experiences and efforts to secure that early promotion.

During the application process, Alice never compromises on quality and she pushes me to go beyond what I thought I could do – and she was right every single time. For instance, I wanted to push my application to next year because I wasn’t getting the GMAT score I wanted. Alice pushed me to still apply this round and take the GMAT one last time anyway. After a lot of pushback from me (sorry Alice!), I caved and went to take the GMAT, and scored a 750. Alice knows when and how to push her clients, and always with good reason and to good results. I am beyond grateful to Alice for not compromising and always believing in me.

Lastly, Alice has been a pillar of support and encouragement throughout the application process. As mentioned, she pushes her clients to give the best they can offer, but she does it with empathy and sincerity. She is exceedingly patient, and when we had to make a particularly difficult decision, she considered my case as if I was her own child. The advice she gave to me was not just what was rational, but also what was best for me as a person. I really, really appreciated having Alice on my side.

I definitely think that Alice is the best there is. She is a gift and I couldn’t recommend her more!!

If you’re looking for a best-in-class consultant to help with your MBA applications, look no further than Lainie and the Menlo team. I received multiple offers of admission and am thrilled to be attending UC Berkeley Haas for the 2025 cycle. Being the first person in my family to earn an MBA and coming from a non-traditional nonprofit background, I’m not sure that I would have ended up at Haas without Lainie and the incredible team at Menlo.

If I could give Lainie and Menlo 6 stars, I would. Working with them was a complete game-changer for me during the application process. To start, the structure, quality, and quantity of resources provided by Menlo are incredibly helpful and exhaustive and make every aspect of the application process approachable. They allow you to maximize every aspect of your application by helping you understand why it’s important, what the programs are looking for, and how you can put your best foot forward. If you feel you have a weak spot in your application or that you aren’t sure how to proceed, you most certainly will after working with Lainie and Menlo. Beyond Menlo’s structure and resources, their deadline-driven project management approach ensures that you’re exactly where you need to be at every step of the journey. This made me feel at ease and assured that I wasn’t behind or spending too much time on any single component of my applications.

There aren’t enough good things to say about Lainie specifically. She was incredibly responsive to any questions big or small, always available to meet, and very quick with turnarounds. More importantly, she made me feel like I was the only client she had with how personalized her attention was and how dedicated she was to learn about me and my story. She’s creative, intelligent, and thoughtful, and knows how to guide an applicant from the brainstorming phase all the way through to the submission phase with her extensive expertise. There were certain essays that we went back and forth on over 20 times! There was no limit to her dedication. She worked with me until everything was the best it could be. Working with Lainie was so fantastic, I’m actually sad that our work together is finished!

To be honest, having worked with sub-par consultants in the past for college admissions, I did not have the highest expectations of finding a good consultant to help with my MBA applications. Working with Pascal completely changed my mind. He is a real expert in this field and knows all the schools inside out. Over our countless brainstorming sessions for my HBS essay, Pascal’s warm personality made it incredibly easy for me to open up to him and share my unfiltered life story with him in order to produce the most authentic and compelling materials. Pascal has a way of inspiring people to dig deep within themselves through introspection, and then he will help you piece all of your ideas together to make your essays flow seamlessly. His level of attention to detail is also admirable. I cannot remember the number of times I’ve bombarded him with questions over WhatsApp, yet he was always so accommodating and responsive with helpful insight and edits. Before my final HBS draft, we had accumulated 20+ versions of just this one essay! It’s obvious that Pascal truly cares about his clients, and he is genuinely happy about their success. I could not have asked for a better consultant than Pascal; he is in a league of his own. I am grateful for all the help he’s given me throughout the process and I am glad to have made a new friend.

I had the pleasure of working with Leslie on my R1 apps (Class of 2025) for HBS, Stanford, and Wharton. I’ve had a few months to reflect on my Harvard and Wharton acceptances and sincerely believe that this would not have been possible without Leslie as my coach!

HBS has been a dream of mine ever since I was in college, and I had applied twice (unsuccessfully) before for the 2+2 programme. Given my slightly tricky re-applicant history and the fact that I was in a hyper-competitive applicant bucket (Indian Male), I knew that I had to go with the best consultant for my third, and likely final, time applying to HBS. I could list countless examples that showcase why you should pick Menlo and Leslie for your MBA journey but the 4 most important factors for you to consider are:

1. A Partner in your MBA journey and not an instructor

• I started the MBA application journey in Feb ’22 and over the course of 6-7 months, I felt Leslie was an invaluable partner in the journey. I always felt like Leslie was rooting for me and that our successes were intertwined.

• Not once did I feel like I was simply paying for a service where I was spoon-fed and told what to do. Leslie always wanted to showcase my voice, authenticity, and tone in all components of the application, and this meant I always had to have an active role in driving the story forward. This was an important consideration for me because I wanted to come across as genuine and considered, and also wanted my voice to come through in the essays.

• Leslie, and the rest of the Menlo team, have been doing this for several years with 100s of applicants. This allowed Leslie to share unique data-driven perspectives and expertise whenever I asked questions about the application process, what is right/wrong, what the admissions committee is looking for, etc.

2. Unlimited support and their number 1 priority

• Leslie was always available for me whenever I needed her. I know she had other clients too but anytime I had a question I knew I could reach out to Leslie and I’d be able to get on a call within a day or get an e-mail response a few hours later. Whether it was a holiday or a weekend, I could always get Leslie’s input if I needed to!

• Leslie was also based in a different time zone (West Coast) than me (UK), which was a cause for concern for me at the beginning but ended up being one key reason why our partnership worked so well. I could send my drafts in EOD UK time and have Leslie’s feedback, changes, and comments back in my inbox the next morning because Leslie was 8 hours behind me.

• Although you are assigned 1 Menlo coach, throughout the application process, I always felt like I had an entire team behind me. For instance, Alice, Menlo’s Founder, jumped in to review essay drafts that were in their final stages and also helped shape my career goals statement. I also had several conversations with Alice 1:1 that involved strategizing and brainstorming about how I could gain an edge despite being in a competitive bucket. During the mock interview stage, I was interviewed by Alice and Leslie, each structuring their mock HBS interviews in a way that mitigated different gaps. Finally, for the Wharton TBD, I was able to do a mock interview with David, the co-founder of Menlo, and other Menlo clients.

• Over several months, I always felt like I was Menlo’s #1 priority despite them having several other clients who were all applying to similar schools. I know several of my friends used other Admissions Consultants and only had their ‘coach’ to lean on.

3. Hand-holding if you are in a busy job

• I work in a job with long hours (MBB) and I wanted to work with a consultant that offered a bit more hand-holding along the journey than others. Upon speaking to several former Menlo clients I was told that Leslie/Menlo will ensure you stay on track by gently nudging you and checking in with you regularly to ensure you aren’t falling behind.

• In fact, I finished all my applications with a few days to spare, and Leslie was a big reason for that! Furthermore, when I had particularly busy weeks at work, Leslie suggested I make progress on other parts of the application that weren’t as time/effort intensive and to come back to my essays when things cooled down at work.

4. Leslie will do what’s right for you, not what’s easy for Menlo

• Firstly, there were times when I had a strong point of view about how my essays should end or what to include/exclude from the story. On the few occasions where Leslie categorically disagreed with me, she was not afraid to say so and explain why, whilst also leveraging her experience in the past with other applicants. Although it would’ve been easier for Leslie/Menlo to keep me happier by agreeing with me, they were not scared to tell me when they disagreed with me, which ultimately led to a better essay.

• Secondly, I went through 20+ iterations of my HBS essay with Leslie until we both felt it was perfect. Although it was difficult to constantly make changes and build upon previous drafts, the fact that Leslie kept pushing me to refine my stories and content further allowed me to pull out key details that allowed me to showcase who I am as a person and applicant more effectively. Given draft 10 may not have been significantly different than draft 20, I know it would’ve been easier for Leslie to not request additional builds but she pushed me and added work on to her own plate until she knew the essays were acceptable.

I worked with Pascal for over half a year on the whole MBA process, from essay ideation to essay writing, and the interview process. I spoke with a couple of other consultants from different companies but only felt comfortable speaking candidly with Pascal. I found it hard to craft a story from the get-go, but Pascal helped me dive deep into my personal background, and we finally found a thread in my story after many sessions. During the essay writing process, Pascal helped me edit all of my different drafts, spotting the smallest mistakes I wouldn’t have thought about. By the time we reached the interview process, I was so familiar with the aspects we wanted to highlight about my story given that we had gone through it so many times throughout the previous steps, that interview prep went by extremely smoothly. I will be attending an M7 school and am incredibly grateful to Pascal for his guidance throughout this process.

Working with Rebecca was one of the best decisions that I made during the MBA admissions process. From our initial call in which Rebecca and I spoke for 2 hours about my background, undergraduate experience, and work experience, Rebecca was able to pull bits and pieces to help shape my story that ultimately would be crafted into the heart of my essays. This was no easy task as I had a bit of a nontraditional background, but Rebecca was able to do so seamlessly. Going through the essay writing process, Rebecca was supportive of me letting my voice shine through while helping to provide the necessary structure that adhered to the requirement set forth by prompts from each school. It was this collaborative process – and Rebecca’s deep understanding of my story and background – that allowed us to move through and improve on each iteration, culminating in top-notch essays for all 6 of the schools I applied to.

My recommendation process was more difficult than usual, as I had a recommender that was unable to complete their letter just a week before the application deadlines. Rebecca made herself available immediately to talk through a game plan for my backup recommender and ease any concerns I had. There was a chance that because of this, I wouldn’t be able to complete my applications in time for round 1. However, with Rebecca’s guidance, I was able to secure a strong letter from a backup recommender and avoid a potentially unfavorable situation.

As part of working with Menlo, I had access to the entire Menlo ecosystem (David, and Obinna, to name a few) who were available to help with interview prep and any questions I had along the way. Rebecca as well would bring in David on certain topics, to help provide a second opinion when appropriate. I very much appreciated the extra advice, which was incorporated into several parts of my application.

In all, I interviewed at 5 of the 6 schools I applied to, and received admission to 4, several of which were M7 schools. I also received $480k in scholarships among those 4 schools – a fantastic outcome and one that I couldn’t have hoped for any better.

For anyone considering applying to an MBA program, I would not hesitate to work with Rebecca or the Menlo Team. Thank you again.

I could not be happier that I signed up for a Menlo coaching session with Obinna! I had decided not to go with a consultant when applying but opted to try out a single coaching session prior to an interview for Kellogg. Obinna was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable and left me feeling confident about the interview. Not only did he provide specialized advice for the Northwestern program, but his comments helped me succeed in other interviews as well. I don’t know that I would have received an offer without him!

I can not recommend Alice and her team from Menlo enough! She was super helpful and thoughtful throughout the process. I had worked with another MBA consultant from a different firm a few years ago but Alice’s professionalism and experience were a leap ahead of what I expected. Aside from being extremely supportive in ideating during the application process, Alice and the team were very helpful in preparing me for my interview. Alice isn’t scared to give you direct feedback and is clearly on your team throughout the process, always welcoming live conversations or additional iterations (as desired), If you want to give yourself the best chance for admission into a top MBA program, you should use Alice, a full-stop.

Pascal Michels was an outstanding resource for me as I learned to navigate the Executive MBA application process. Although I have a strong educational background and extensive experience in my specific industry, only very recently had I begun to think an MBA would be useful for my career. Engaging Menlo Coaching and choosing Pascal more on intuition than on anything else was likely the smartest thing I did to ensure I could be accepted at some of the top EMBA programs in my region.

Pascal and the team at Menlo are proactive in providing instruction on the basics of the application. Pascal himself demonstrated he could provide excellent advice and feedback during the planning, execution, and review of the application components. He was able to provide the perspective of someone who might have to review hundreds of documents for dozens of applicants. He was easy to work with and very flexible in his approach. He repeatedly emphasized the importance of two things: being authentic and being memorable. He was candid when he thought I was not effectively being authentic and memorable. From simple tasks like producing a succinct resume to more difficult tasks like telling meaningful and unique anecdotes in the requested essays, Pascal motivated me to produce a better representation of who I am and what my accomplishments have been than I could have done myself.

In addition to the invaluable coaching, Pascal also helped guide me toward being very selective about which schools to apply to. Being a leader in a demanding junior executive role, I believe this perspective was also critical because it taught me to narrow my applications to just two schools: Sloan in Boston and Wharton in Philadelphia. If I had applied to more, I doubt I could have given each application the attention each deserved.

Pascal and Menlo Coaching tailor their approach to your specific needs and while I don’t have experience with other organizations, the value of their assistance speaks for itself. I soon found out that I was admitted to both programs. Without their advice and coaching, I suspect I would not be in the same position I am today – having the difficult choice of deciding between two excellent EMBA programs.

Deciding to work with Rebecca has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! Before committing to Menlo Coaching, I screened multiple consulting services and I found Menlo Coaching to be the best for me because they offered comprehensive services like interview preps and an entire scheduling platform to keep you on track. Not needing to track hours used was especially critical for me since my background in tech though isn’t traditional, it is also not unique. Through Rebecca’s help and brainstorming, we were able to pull out my story and connect the dots from my upbringing to my passion and to my career. Rebecca is an absolute superwoman who is not afraid to push you to do what’s needed, especially when it’s out of your comfort zone.

A bonus of Menlo Coaching is being based in the EU (I am based in the US). The time zone difference works out very well as I can work on my essays during my day. Rebecca then provided feedback while I was sleeping. This enabled very efficient and rapid drafting of essays.

Having Rebecca in your corner with the entire Menlo Coaching team, you can be absolutely confident that you’ve put your best foot forward in your applications.

MBA Class of 2025 Admit

I was admitted to Columbia’s new MBA/Executive MS Engineering program. I scheduled a 60 minute mock interview with Obinna which I found extremely helpful. He tailored the interview specifically toward Columbia. After each question, he gave insightful feedback and was extremely helpful in figuring out ways to structure my answers. He did an excellent job in helping me tailor my responses specifically toward the dual degree program, emphasizing “why MBA”, “why MS”, and how both of these degrees combined will be useful. Obinna also gave great general advice in addition to the pointed advice he gave after each of my answers, helping me understand what the admission committee looks for and what can hurt me during the interview.

Working with Rebecca truly changed my life. I had a below-average undergrad GPA and without a standout application, I wouldn’t have had any chance at my dream schools. In the beginning, even just breaking into the M7 seemed like a reach. Rebecca helped me with every step of the application. She identified forgotten areas of my life to highlight, helped weave a comprehensive life story, and pushed me to meet all the various deadlines that the MBA application requires. She was a mentor, a therapist, and a friend. My countless essay drafts were turned around within 12 hours and Rebecca had seemingly endless hours to meet with me and help me work through problems, wording, and strategies. When it came time to interview, she made sure that I was 100% prepared and my situational examples were rock solid, oftentimes conducting multiple sessions with me until I had it perfected. Overall, Rebecca and the rest of Menlo Coaching are white-glove consultants that do everything in their power to help you achieve your goal. For me, the experience was life-changing. I would recommend Rebecca to anyone who wants to guarantee themselves the best chance at getting into their dream school.

Overall David was an incredible resource. He knew the answer to every single MBA-related question I had throughout the process. I could not have asked for a more knowledgeable resource to help me through this process. He was also very patient during our conversations and pushed me in the right direction to make some incredible essays, and, quite frankly, better understand my own desire for getting an MBA. With his help, I was accepted to Columbia Business School with an $80K scholarship which was an extremely exciting result!

After contemplating business school for a few years and having a less than positive experience with an hourly/part-time MBA consultant, I entrusted Rebecca in guiding me through the MBA application process during R1 of the 2022-2023 application season. Coming from a family with little to no business experience (let alone any former MBAers), Rebecca helped make the goal of business school feel attainable. Rebecca was candid from the start, highlighting the strengths in my application profile as well as some areas of concern. She provided realistic feedback on my target list of schools and helped me narrow down my final list. While I appreciated (and needed) Rebecca’s honesty, she balanced that honesty with a warm and supportive demeanor. She clearly wanted what was best for me and was only giving advice that she believed would help me find the most success in my MBA application process.

After starting with endless turns of my resume, Rebecca helped me identify unique characteristics about my life and career that would enable my personal story to stand out. Differentiating myself from my peers was one area in Rebecca that brought out the best in me as I was struggling to communicate what unique abilities and perspectives I could bring to the b-school classroom. I have a fairly “cookie-cutter” business school background (top public undergraduate institution and Big 4 consulting firm), but Rebecca helped my story come to life by highlighting life experiences from my upbringing and family dynamics that had previously unknown parallels to my professional career and goals.

Once my personal story was well defined, Rebecca was a guiding light as I worked through various MBA applications. She shared nuanced differences between the program’s applications and the different approaches I should take depending on what specific schools look for in their students. Having Rebecca, along with Basecamp (Menlo’s software platform), keeping me on track with deadlines made the process much more digestible and doable while balancing professional and personal responsibilities. Rebecca also advised me on how to approach and support my MBA recommenders while respecting the integrity of the MBA recommendation process. Additionally, Rebecca and the Menlo team supported my interview prep process, allowing me to feel borderline over-prepared for all of my MBA interviews. Interviewing is an area I typically feel very comfortable with, but Menlo improved my approach and messaging, leaving me feeling even more confident for this phase of the process.

Thanks to Rebecca’s help, I was admitted to Tuck, Ross, and Kellogg with a combined $230K in total scholarships! While reflecting on such a positive end result, giving credit to Rebecca is natural. However, I believe it is important to highlight how I felt leading up to the admissions decisions. Once my applications were submitted and interviews were complete, I felt that I had truly delivered the best version of myself to the admissions committees. I knew I could not control the final outcomes, but Rebecca’s support gave me the peace of mind that I could not have put together a better application!

Please consider Rebecca and the rest of the Menlo team (David White, Maya Parikh, Obinna Arizor, etc.) as you prepare for your MBA applications. Rebecca helped me realize a new level of confidence through a vulnerable MBA application process and I am more than grateful for my admission/scholarship outcomes!

Pascal is an oracle. He possesses a prescient, near-omnipotent ability to pierce the opaque veil that is the admissions committee. How does he accomplish such feats? By focusing on you, the applicant. Pascal had me walk him through my entire life, asking questions and steering the conversation as we went. By the time we were done, I had discovered so much about myself that I had never even considered.

With this newfound knowledge, I drafted my first essay confident that Pascal would love it. He hated it and made me redo it. I thought he was being extreme until I realized that I was typing what I thought the admissions committee wanted to hear. I was fake and inauthentic. Pascal immediately identified this.

The next draft went much better and that’s when Pascal told me to apply to HBS. I had never even considered it. I had bad grades and went to a small state school, but none of that mattered according to Pascal because I had a story to tell and he would help me tell it.

Even after submitting my application, I was extremely weary and didn’t believe HBS would ever consider me for an interview until they did. Pascal went out of his way to conduct mock interviews and provide additional coaching and feedback. The interview at HBS was a walk in the park compared to the preparation I undertook.

In the end, I was accepted at four of the very best business schools including HBS and none of that would have been possible if not for Pascal and his immense talent to put you, the applicant, front, and center. The secret is to tell your story and no one can help you tell it better than Pascal.

Rebecca was an absolute pleasure to work with and really helped me put my best foot forward for all my applications. I can confidently highly recommend Rebecca to any prospective student who is considering an admissions consultant.

From the start, Rebecca spent a lot of time ensuring she understood my story and could relate it back to my short and long-term goals in a cohesive manner. This formed the bedrock of my CV, and personal and professional essays and, ultimately, even helped in the self-discovery process of identifying my true professional goals. Without Rebecca, I truly would have been ‘shooting in the dark’ to figure out what my most impactful stories were.

Rebecca was someone who I developed a rapport with very quickly, she was both thoughtful and insightful in her approach to working through big questions or roadblocks as I was crafting my applications. Rebecca enabled a lot of “aha moments” for me in the application process that I simply wouldn’t have gotten from any amount of online research. Rebecca was also extremely responsive, and I was amazed at how available Rebecca made herself to me. She helped me prioritize the right things at the right times throughout the application process, which helped me submit all my applications early.

Ultimately, I got into my target M7 school. Thanks, Rebecca!

I had a truly incredible experience working with Pascal on my applications. We worked together for 18 months as I went through the application process, and he offered his undivided attention and support throughout every step of the process. Pascal was always able to accommodate my schedule, and he made himself available to talk or review my essays regardless of the time of day.

His guidance went far beyond just the application, as he encouraged me to think deeply about who I was as a person and who I wanted to become. This level of self-reflection is something I couldn’t have achieved by myself, and it made a huge improvement in the quality of my applications and my ability to communicate effectively during my interviews.

Pascal also drove me to exceed my expectations in regard to my test scores. My GMAT had plateaued in the low 700s – not only did he push me to take the GMAT five times, but he also strongly suggested I switch to the GRE after I had exhausted all of my GMAT attempts. I was frustrated, exhausted, and discouraged, but Pascal helped me find another gear in regard to my work ethic. I ultimately scored 330+ on my first GRE attempt – a score I never would have achieved without Pascal pushing me to succeed.

As a candidate with a 3.2 GPA in undergrad, I was pleasantly surprised with my results. I submitted 8 applications in R1, received 7 interviews, and was admitted to 6 schools. I will be attending Wharton in the fall, which felt like a huge stretch when I began the process. Pascal’s guidance made all of the difference and having him as my consultant was worth every penny.

I cannot speak highly enough of my experience working with Lainie and the Menlo Coaching team! I started working with Lainie for Round 1 admissions in April 2022, and she was with me every step of the way from school selection, resume building, essay writing, interview practice, and scholarship negotiations – and all other moments of stress and nerves. It was easy to forget that I actually wasn’t her only client; Lainie is that focused on you, and becomes an expert on every facet of you throughout the time you work with her.

I was initially a puddle of nerves and insecurity, but Lainie patiently guided me throughout the whole process with concrete milestones and a plan so that I never felt overwhelmed or like I was running behind schedule. When we first started working together, my school selection was still all over the place, but Lainie is so knowledgeable about all these programs that her advice helped me narrow down my choices, and naturally led us to craft my career goals.

Writing personal essays felt so daunting before I began the process, but Lainie patiently went through so many ideas and drafts with me until we were both sure that it felt true to who I was and was also a compelling story that I wanted to tell. She is direct, kind, understanding, clear with her advice, and so incredibly sharp with the advice she points out that I never felt like I was wasting time or going in circles, and I trusted every comment that came from her.

And then the interviews – I am 100% positive I would not have survived any of my interviews without Lainie’s coaching and numerous practice sessions. Not only did she help craft the content of my answers, she also coached me so that I could make the psychological/mental switch I needed to make to “perform” in the interview. I would not have been able to make that shift on my own, and I think it’s become a life skill that I’ll take with me moving forward.

Applications are stressful. Working with Lainie was the best decision I made, and I feel so good being on the other side of the process because I know that I did the best that I possibly could – and I owe all of that to Lainie, along with the generous merit scholarships I received with my admissions offers. And honestly, professional services aside, I love Lainie and genuinely miss our regular calls! You cannot go wrong working with her, and I cannot recommend her highly enough!!

As an ORM software engineer, I come from one of the most competitive applicant pools for top business schools. I also didn’t know many people from my background who had successfully applied to top business schools. After completing the process and getting into several top schools, including Harvard, Wharton, and Kellogg, I can safely say I wouldn’t have been as successful in this process without Alice and Leslie. Alice and Leslie will make sure you put your best foot forward. They gave clear actionable feedback on everything from the resume to the essays, helping me avoid application landmines. They pushed me to be bold in my essays, even when I questioned whether the risks I was taking were worth it, and pulled me back with an outsider’s perspective when I perhaps wasn’t clear enough or going too far. They have high standards, but if you’re willing to put in the work and revise draft after draft, Alice and Leslie will be right there with you every step of the way. 1000% recommend.

Alice and her team are truly phenomenal. She is a thought partner and was critical in my admission to both HBS and GSB. From day one, it was clear that Alice had the business school application process down cold and was unafraid to tell me things as they are. We spent countless hours together better understanding my background, refining my responses, and best positioning me for my dream schools. Coming from a competitive finance background, I was afraid that I would come across like every other applicant. Those fears were washed away once I started working with Alice. She helped me tell my story in a way that was authentic and unique all while maintaining the edge I needed for applications. Alice is like no other – she possesses the best combination of intellectual horsepower, heightened emotional intelligence, and sheer dedication to getting things done. I have recommended her to countless friends and would encourage you to work with her if given the opportunity.

It was an amazing experience getting to work with Pascal during my MBA admissions process. It was also one of the best decisions I made during my application process, and I know my applications would have been nowhere as good without Pascal guiding me through the process. I really cannot thank him enough!

Pascal is a veteran of the process and immediately puts you at ease. He is very responsive to any questions, and he knows all the schools well and has extremely useful insights into what they are looking for. But perhaps most importantly, he really takes time to get to know you and your story and helps you craft a compelling narrative that is both true to you and attractive to an MBA admission committee.

He spent countless hours helping me draft and redraft my essays until they really got across my story in a compelling way. He also spent many hours helping me perfect my interview answers. Without his help, I really doubt that I would have made it into one of my top choices. I cannot recommend Pascal (and the rest of the Menlo team) highly enough!

I highly recommend Menlo Coaching! I was accepted into the HBS 2+2 program, and working with David made the whole application process so much more manageable and less stressful. David is extremely intelligent and creative. He knows exactly how to bring the best out of you and craft an extremely compelling story. He has highly keen insight and intuition into what admissions officers are looking for with his vast experience.

I also visited their office in person in the Netherlands. It was an awesome experience and greatly boosted my productivity. Not only is David highly gifted, but he is also just an extremely pleasant and generous person. Even though we were under significant stress to hit deadlines (since I decided to apply only a couple of months before the deadline), David’s lighthearted sense of humor kept me laughing and my spirits up through the intense grind to finish my application. He also really went the extra mile to make sure my application was completely ready to submit and gave me peace of mind by promptly responding to any concerns I had over email.

I can’t recommend David enough! He’s the man!

I worked with Lainie for the class of 2025 applications and had a wonderful experience. I’ve been accepted to HBS and Wharton (with a large scholarship) in R1, and could not have done it without her!

Lainie is always responsive, timely, and honest. She is a perfectionist and isn’t afraid to push me on areas where I needed improvement. Her 15+ years of experience in being an admissions consultant really showed throughout the application process, because she knew what story would resonate with admissions and what would be considered “generic”. She also helped me a ton during the interview stage and always took the time to do mock interviews with me. She is truly outstanding.

Most importantly, she gave me confidence. I knew that if Lainie was signed off on an essay, the essay had the right tone and portrayed my story. I can’t underscore how important this was for my mental health during this stressful process – having Lainie’s review gave me the sense of comfort that I needed.

Alice takes the time to really understand your situation, ensuring a unique application that allows the schools to fully understand who you are and what you can bring to their MBA. She also takes the time to discuss with you what schools are the best fit for you, balancing between ranking, the school’s strengths, and your personal situation. Alice is not afraid to give candid feedback and will push you when needed. The GMAT and GRE tutors are also real support. Working together with them and Alice allows her to maintain an overview of your application throughout the period that you are working together. I would not have gotten into an MBA program without Alice!

Attending an M7 school was an uphill battle from the start. While I had a great undergraduate GPA and good work experience, my GMAT was lower than the median and I came from an overrepresented group. I also did not have a lot of time to be on top of multiple applications, as my intention was to apply to five schools, all on the East Coast. Three of the schools I applied to were in the M7, and two were in the T10, meaning every single application was going to be very competitive (all had a 30% acceptance rate). I did a ton of research on consultants to maximize my chances of getting into at least one school.

After narrowing it down to three and getting an initial consultation from all, it was clear that the Menlo Coaching program, and more specifically Yaron, were the right choice. Yaron has tons of experience with candidates with a similar finance background as I have and frequently gets admitted with less-than-ideal stats into top-tier schools. I also really admired his pragmatism as he told me where I could really get into what would be a real stretch (such as Wharton). Menlo’s resources kept me on track through the entire process, and I ended up crafting five great applications all in time for Round 1, despite starting in the middle of the year. All of this happened during a challenging work schedule where I could only devote a handful of hours a week to applications.

Yaron made it a priority to make sure each of my applications was tailored to the school I was applying to. He and Menlo provided resources to contact current students and alumni of the programs. The Basecamp project management software that Menlo broke down the apps into bite-sized deliverables, gamifying the process and ensuring I was on track for every single deadline. He meticulously reviewed the dozen or so essays that I put together for the five schools. We worked on some essays for weeks, going through multiple drafts until I finally nailed down the story I wanted to tell, making sure my true self was being expressed in 500 words or less.

Of Wharton, the two other M7 schools, and the two T10 schools, I received interviews at all except one of the M7s! This result is nothing short of remarkable given my GMAT, which I was told elsewhere would have to be above 740 to be competitive. There is no way I would have gotten an interview at Wharton without Yaron, and while I ultimately wasn’t admitted (perhaps due to the school’s unique TBD interview process), I have no complaints about where I will be attending. Columbia has been my dream school since I was a high schooler, and I am extremely elated to be attending it this year. If you are worried about your GPA, GMAT, or any other aspect of your profile, Yaron will help you craft the qualitative aspects of your application, which will more than make up for any quantitative shortfall. I cannot recommend Yaron enough and look forward to staying in contact with him as I enter B-School and beyond.

Menlo is the most expensive consultancy out there, and the price initially gave me some hesitation. Just how much value add could a consultant provide for a seemingly standardized process? Well, the phrase " you get what you pay for" was almost made for a situation like this. Nowhere else will you have access to the consultancy and your individual coach for such a long period after your applications are sent. No one else would allow you to schedule as many meetings as you need, even at times inconvenient to your consultant. And most importantly, the attention to detail each application received made me confident that I would be admitted to one of my five programs, which would otherwise have been extremely challenging. Thank you, Yaron!!!

Working was Pascal was one of the highlights of my application process. Pascal helped demystify what would have been a very intimidating journey. He knew exactly what each of the schools I was applying to were looking for and walked me through the whole process with ease. I honestly don’t know how I would have fared had I done it alone or whether other consultants would be of the same caliber. Money very well-spent. I got admitted to the school I wanted most and I owe a lot of that to Pascal’s intelligence, time management, and knowledge of the industry. He’s also such a great guy who I am still in contact with months after admission.

Yaron and the Menlo Coaching program are incredible, and I highly recommend them to anyone with hopes of attending a top business school.

The Menlo Coaching program is extremely structured, taking all the mental burden of the process out of the applications, so you can focus on the quality of the content: writing the best stories you can, crafting the best narrative about yourself, researching schools, and networking with them. When you sign on to work with Menlo, you’ll have access not only to genius coaching from Yaron and others but also to the infrastructure of people and tools that keep you organized and on schedule to accomplish all you need to do before deadlines hit.

Yaron is one of the best coaches (of any kind – sports, work, school) I’ve worked with because he guides you to the best answer, the best outcome, by asking prompting questions that force you to dig deep and do a lot of tough, creative introspection. For me, I had somewhat of a sense of what I wanted to say going into the applications, but Yaron took it to another level, making my story extremely personal, unique to me, and compelling. We got there through a mix of one-on-one sessions where Yaron and I talked through my entire history – not just career and school, but what motivated me in life – and trading essays back and forth, Yaron asking me thought-provoking questions in his redlines. And lastly, perhaps most importantly, Yaron helped me then tie my personal story and life goals together to articulate to my top choice schools exactly why I was a perfect fit.

When interview season came along, Yaron made sure I was prepared to tell my story with excitement. And through Menlo, I also had access to a communications coach from Fearless Communicators, who put me through my paces in a 2hr session before my interviews began.

In the end, I was admitted to my top choice school – CBS – with additional acceptances to Kellogg, Yale, Stern and Darden. I’m extremely excited to be heading to CBS in the fall and would highly recommend Yaron to anyone seeking success in MBA admissions.

I worked with Rebecca on MBA applications in Round 1. I had an amazing experience working with her, and the larger Menlo Coaching team (David White, Obinna Arizor). The thing that truly sets Rebecca apart is how supportive she is in writing the application YOU want to write (vs prescribing or using templates of the past); At every step of the way, she ensured that she worked together with me. At the same time, she kept me honest about timelines and gave me candid feedback on my essays. I think MBA applications are stress-inducing, and having someone like Rebecca in your corner, who can really help you calm down and support you when you’re feeling low, is crucial. For example, 10 days before my Stanford GSB deadline, I wanted to try a completely new direction for my essay. Although we had one fully drafted essay ready as a backup, Rebecca took out the time to work with me and draft a completely new essay from scratch 10 days before the deadline (and GSB essays are arguably the toughest to write). She did this just so that I felt comfortable with what I submitted. I got her undivided attention, at a time when many of the other applications she would’ve been working with also had their deadlines approaching. Rebecca also spent a lot of time in the beginning few months getting to know me deeply – my motivations, background, and upbringing. She used this to work with me and create some essays that I’m really proud of. In the end, because of Rebecca, I made it to my dream schools – Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, and Kellogg. I would highly recommend working with Rebecca and Menlo Coaching for your business school applications!

Rebecca has been instrumental in my success during the 2022 R1 application cycle. I have a fairly average profile with few bright spots (no-name undergrad, work at a company that isn’t a b-school feeder). However, with her guidance, I was admitted to all my target schools in the T15 (with scholarship) and my reach school in the M7. Rebecca’s extensive knowledge of all the top MBA programs was invaluable in helping me craft a compelling narrative for essays that resonated with each school, wordsmithing to meet the pesky word count, and answering all my late-night random questions about the schools. My lowest point was when one of my recommenders was apparently not going to meet the deadline despite my numerous attempts at reminding him. I was on the verge of giving up and preparing to apply in R2 but Rebecca went above and beyond by tactfully diffusing the tense situation – a few days later I received an email notifying me that the LoR was received. Besides that, she has been pleasant to work with and attentive throughout the process. I’ve never had to wait long for a response to a quick question or feedback on essays.

Based on my experience, I can confidently recommend her services to any prospective students reading this review. I would not have been half as successful in this round without her help.

Alice has a very personalized approach to the MBA application process. She spent time getting to know me and my story and helped me think about my personality, ways of working, strengths and weaknesses, and more. As a result, not only did I get into the school that I wanted but I feel better equipped to start. Alice is also always available and very willing to help; as an example, she sent me feedback from her vacation. Her structured process and great GMAT tutor were fundamental to my acceptance.

I came to Jarrett just 10 weeks prior to application due dates with a plan to apply to 7 schools. Jarrett was confident that this could not only be done but done well. He immediately organized me around due dates, drafts, and goals and kept me on pace to feel comfortable and confident in every application, interview, and negotiation. Though I came to Jarrett overwhelmed, at no point after we started working together did that feeling return. Jarrett has an incredible talent for seeing “golden threads” where others cannot, gives honest and direct feedback, and responds at all hours of the day with an eagerness to hop on Zoom and work out problems. Ultimately, I was only rejected from 1 out of those 7 schools and received scholarships from 2 in large part because of Jarrett’s wit, resolve, and diligence. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking to apply M7.

Yaron is amazing. He is a great guide who actively took the time to discuss all aspects of my background and helped me think critically of my applications. He gave honest and straightforward feedback, which helped me improve different parts of my application. I was able to reflect of my career choices and future career interests to create an effective story because of Yaron’s feedback. I was able to fully understand the differences in the application essays for the top schools in the US due to Menlo’s and Yaron’s guidance. My discussions with Yaron helped me develop confidence as well as greater self-awareness regarding my future career interests, which also helped me pick my target schools for pursuing my MBA.
I was able to effectively prioritize my timeline for applications while being very busy with my job to secure financial aid from one of my dream schools.

Alice was really helpful throughout the application process. Applications are time intensive and require diligence, especially when working on them while actually working professionally in tandem. Alice and the team made the process much easier, I would have seriously struggled without their guidance and coaching.

I worked with Rebecca for R2 admissions when applying for part-time and Executive MBA programs at M7 schools. Looking at my overall background and personal and professional commitments at the time, I knew that I needed help from someone who really knows the application process in and out and was absolutely thrilled to have found Menlo coaching. From my experience, David White and the entire Menlo coaching team are highly knowledgeable and the absolute best to work with – they truly knew what all went into the application process and hence they were my trusted advisor at every step of the game! After a brief discussion with David – I was paired with Rebecca to help me in my MBA journey as she was the best advisor when it came to helping experienced candidates! From the very first introductory call – my experience with Rebecca has been awesome!

Rebecca was a perfect coach who is not only knowledgeable about the MBA process for experienced candidates but she was also creative in the way she helped me formulate my personal and professional story. Throughout the time I spent with Rebecca which was a 5little over a year – I noticed that she was extremely detailed and completely dedicated to helping me succeed. She is definitely not someone who is interested in cutting corners or jeopardizing the quality of the deliverables i.e. essays, resumes, etc. even though you might sometimes feel that it is not necessary. Unless and until she is satisfied that there is nothing else in the application that cannot be improvised – she will relentlessly try to push you harder to keep working. Consistency was key all throughout the course of my application process – she would schedule check-ins at regular intervals to track progress and highlight any areas that needed my urgent attention. She was incredibly personal yet extremely professional throughout my experience with her.

Below are just some of the highlights of the areas where Rebecca helped me:
Personal and professional story – she helped me evaluate what areas from my personal and professional story needed to be highlighted and how the narrative could be put together that best reflects my personal and professional goals in the most concise and succinct manner. Rebecca helped me put together a personalized timeline to keep me organized in navigating around my schedule, which ultimately helped me with the planning and feeling less stressed especially as I was considering applying to multiple schools whose deadlines fell in the same timeframe. There were several instances where she would help me with pointers from our brainstorming session whenever I would struggle with essay topics. I found her to be a great sounding board and I really valued her feedback as it was honest (even though I wanted to hear something else).
Identifying recommenders – she assisted me in identifying who my recommenders should be. The brainstorming sessions we had in this area were very helpful in helping me finalize who to seek the recommendation letters from as it was a very important part of the application.
Resume Review – she helped me tirelessly to ensure that all the relevant job experience was captured within a page and hit all the key highlights to drive the most impact.
Interview Preparation – she was a huge help in assisting me in framing my responses concisely as I have always struggled with it. She would identify areas where I could improvise and it made a huge difference in how I performed during the interviews.
Leveraging my existing network – Rebecca made me realize how strong of a professional network I already had within my firm so she truly helped me unlock several avenues and guided me towards being a better influencer.

With Rebecca’s expert guidance and mentorship – I was able to successfully interview in all the top 5 schools of my choice and eventually secure admission from 4 schools – Columbia Business School, UC Berkeley Haas, Chicago Booth, and Kellogg. The all-inclusive package that I had chosen with Menlo coaching only covered 4 schools but Rebecca was extremely kind and generous to assist me with how to repurpose content for the essays and overall application for the additional school i.e. Kellogg without any additional fees! To summarize, Rebecca helped me exercise all the required levers to amplify my applications; one such example is the issue with a previous MBA that I had completed from a local school several years ago. She helped me address the challenges in my applications head-on via the optional essay and it really boosted my chances of getting an admit as a result of that.

I knew that I had the potential of getting accepted into one of the schools and was willing to do whatever it took to get in; however, all that hard work would have been meaningless without the strategic direction that Rebecca brought to the table. If you are a prospective candidate and want to improve your chances of getting an admit to the top 10 business schools then you surely will not be disappointed with the quality of services Rebecca and the entire Menlo coaching team will both offer and deliver. They have covered every possible area of the business school applications that you can and cannot think of.

I worked with David at Menlo Coaching in the 2021-2022 admissions season based on the recommendation of another family member, who got into Stanford GSB after working with David.

Early in the decision period, I got into Wharton with a $130,000 scholarship! This was great news and made it easy to wait for the other decisions.

And then a week later I got into Stanford!!! Kirsten called around 7:30 pm right as my 5-hour flight was departing, so I couldn’t tell anyone for forever! I still can’t believe it, I am so so lucky and so so grateful to David and his team.

Given my busy work schedule, David was great at keeping me on a weekly schedule. This helped me break down the application into manageable chunks and I always had someone I could e-mail if I had any questions. David is very responsive – almost always responding to questions or feedback within 24 hours. Overall, I am really happy I got to work with David. The MBA process can often times feel like a black box of uncertainty, and David’s experience helps demystify the process.

Getting into my dream school makes it easy to say goodbye to the east coast. Thank you for everything David, I’m still in disbelief!