Alex Leventhal

I made the decision to apply only to HSW this year, fully aware of the risk involved, and ready to re-apply the following year if I had to (spoiler: I don’t!). Coming from a family business background, with strong hard stats but weaker extracurriculars, I wanted to find the right admissions consultant to help guide me through the process. I did my homework and interviewed about 10 of the top MBA admissions consultants.

Alex quickly differentiated himself from the rest. In the free 30-minute consultation, he took the time to understand my background and motivations for applying to business school and gave a thoughtful and honest assessment of my candidacy. He completely understood my school list and was ready to help me succeed. The other consultations I took were either a sales pitch, or they tried to talk me into applying to 3 or 4 other schools. Alex’s process of working 1-on-1 with each applicant also stood out, as many of the top admissions coaches are often volume shops that pass you on to a more junior consultant.

Working with Alex made the application process so much smoother – and dare I say enjoyable! He started with a comprehensive questionnaire about my life and background that served as the groundwork for many of my essays and short responses. His career goals exercise was so useful for me to better understand my goals – I felt like even if I didn’t get into business school, I had a lot more clarity on my career path. He also encouraged me to take my HBS essay in a more personal direction than I otherwise would have, and I strongly believe this essay helped me stand out and secure an interview. There’s a lot of noise online about the application process and essay writing, and Alex’s guidance cuts through all of that. I felt confident that I had put my best foot forward when hitting submit on my applications.

Alex’s interview prep was invaluable. I was extremely nervous about this stage of the process, and the mock HBS interview helped me understand what to expect and where I could improve. Alex is not shy about giving direct feedback and always told me what I needed to hear, even when it wasn’t easy to hear. It’s clear that he has deep insight into what adcoms are “looking for” and how to present the best version of yourself.

I’d recommend Alex without reservation. He will coach you through the admissions process with humor, calming energy, and honest feedback. I’m excited to join the HBS class of 2024, and I couldn’t have gotten here without him!

The MBA admissions process is among the most personal and competitive processes you will navigate in your life. I can’t highly enough recommend Alex as your trusted guide, strategist, mentor, editor, cheerleader, and friend along the way.

This is in fact my second year working with Alex. In my first year, I applied to three top programs, getting an interview at one, but ultimately not admission. (For more on all the transformative ways Alex supported my first application in R1 2020, see my review titled “A straight shooter who cuts to the heart of the matter”, dated 11 months prior to this post.)

This year, I’ve been floored to have received acceptance with a merit scholarship at four top ten programs including both of my top two choices, plus a full ride offer at a fifth top ten program (out of eight applications total)! As a non-traditional applicant who really struggled to connect the dots and think of myself through a business lens or the perspective of admissions committees, Alex’s directness and focus were particularly helpful in keeping my story crisp, tight, and compelling. I know that without his extraordinary support, the outcomes would have been quite different.

Here are a few of the traits that make Alex so special:

(1) Alex’s perspective is one you can trust when you doubt yourself. After the prior year’s rejections, I questioned whether the career goals I’d presented were viable and whether I stood a chance as a reapplicant. I wrote a long email to Alex explaining what I thought had gone wrong. He wrote back within the hour reiterating how important to him my success was (regardless of whether we worked together again) and how much confidence he had in my potential. He also convinced me not to abandon the career goals I’d focused my initial application around, since he felt they were worked for me. And sure enough, when I got my acceptances and heard back from my interviewers, it turned out my career goals (which, following Alex’s advice, I stuck to) were one of the most compelling components of my applications.

(2) Alex builds confidence around your strengths and proactively helps round out weaknesses. Following my initial rejections, Alex also offered a free post-mortem, during which we identified areas for improvement: building stronger supporting bullets for my career interests, finding opportunities to deepen impact in service work, and refining my case for why I needed an MBA. Given that I was a non-traditional applicant with no prior business experience, Alex encouraged me to use the time between applications to take HBS Online’s Credential of Readiness, a crash-course in accounting, economics, and statistics (which I highly recommend for applicants lacking a business foundation). His strategic mindset in evaluating your strengths and weaknesses is distinctly strong in comparison with other admissions consultants I spoke with, and wherever you are in the process (considering applying, approaching applications, finalizing materials, or post-rejection) Alex has value to add.

(3) Alex’s interview prep is fantastic—both in terms of the coaching he gives and the encouragement he provides. It’s easy to forget when you’re agonizing over every word in an essay that interviews are half the battle. As interviews started coming in, we worked together to manage my liabilities (occasionally meandering, losing connection with the interviewer, or missing opportunities to speak about my experiences through the language of business). He also helped me lead with my strengths, like my unusual background and my intellectual curiosity. At the end of our session, he gave me some heartfelt and much-needed advice: to forget the prior year’s rejections and trust in myself that I belong in this process. In the end, I got an offer (with scholarship) at every school I was offered an interview at, which speaks to just how effective Alex is at coaching for the interview.

(4) Alex’s experience, perspective, and judgment are invaluable lenses for understanding how admissions committees think about applicants. The hardest part of the process for me was looking at myself as an admissions officer would. It’s a real black box, and if even you’re rejected, you never hear why. This is where Alex perhaps had the most impact. When one of my essays was headed in a risky direction, he told me directly how the essay as drafted might cast me in a negative light to an admissions officer and made the recommendation (which I followed) that I rewrite it before submitting. I was ultimately accepted to the school that that essay was for (a top choice of mine), but I believe that without Alex’s timely and transparent feedback I wouldn’t have been. At the end of the day, the feedback you need in the MBA process is not just feedback when things are working, but feedback when things *aren’t* working, and that’s what Alex is so good at giving. He is uncommon in that he will always tell you what he thinks, will always explain why he thinks it, and yet will never be prescriptive.

Read through Alex’s reviews on P&Q and you’ll see the same themes come up again and again: clear and insightful guidance, his heartfelt desire to help you put your best foot forward, the time he invests getting to know his clients, his intimate understanding of the MBA admissions process, and a proven ability to help scores of MBA applicants get spots at the most competitive schools in the world. All of this is absolutely true: he works wonders, and for that reason alone, you can’t go wrong working with him.

But if there is one reason I believe Alex is the best consultant around, it’s his uncommon combination of honesty, focus, and perspective. These are precisely the traits you are most likely to lack as an MBA applicant. It will be your first time (or at most, second time) going through the process, so you won’t have perspective. You’ll feel pulled in many directions in terms of how you present yourself, so you’ll struggle to show focus in your application materials. And while friends and family might give polite feedback on your essays, it’ll be difficult to get a true read on what’s really working and what’s not.

So, do yourself a favor, invest in your future, and go with Alex as your guide through the MBA admissions journey! The outcomes speak for themselves, and you won’t regret it.

I spoke to four other admissions consulting firms before finally meeting with Alex after he came highly recommended by an alum from my firm. From that initial consultation, I could tell Alex offered a uniquely tailored approach. Alex put time into getting to know me personally, which allowed us to construct a compelling AND authentic MBA application together. I especially appreciate that Prep MBA is HIS full-time business – this is not a part-time gig for Alex, and it shows.

I applied to five M7 schools, three of which I worked on with Alex. Through direct help from Alex and applying what I learned from Alex to the schools I was applying to “on my own,” I received acceptances at Columbia and Kellogg. Alex’s help didn’t stop when I got in. Not only did Alex advise me on waitlist management, but he also acted as a soundboard to help me decide which program to attend. Ultimately, we agreed that Columbia is the best fit for me, and I couldn’t be more excited!

I’ve already recommended Alex to friends/colleagues who are looking for a trustworthy, effective admissions consultant, and I will continue to do so.

I had been thinking about applying to business school for a number of months before deciding that I would seek the help of an admissions consultant. I came across an article on Poets and Quants about the best admissions consultants of 2020: https://poetsandquants.com/2020/08/26/best-mba-admission-consultants-of-2020/. What stood out to me in that article was that only four consultants made the Poets and Quants list every year since the site started this list, and, out of those four, only Alex was the sole proprietor of his consultancy. I read the reviews about Alex and his services and saw that Alex seemed to have a reputation for personal service and candor. As such, Alex fit the profile of the qualities that I was looking for in an admissions consultant – consistently ranked highly, personal service, and someone who would give it to me straight.

When I first spoke to Alex, I could immediately see why he was consistently ranked highly among admissions consultants. He began by asking me questions about me, my background, and my goals. It felt like he was taking the time to get to know me as a person first, which I greatly appreciated. Alex then very thoroughly explained the process of working with him and while doing that demonstrated a deep understanding of the various facets of business school admissions. Alex does not mince words. He made clear to me that the application process requires a significant investment of time and energy and that we would have to put in extra effort to overcome the challenge of my non-traditional background and weak GPA. I signed up for a package for a mix of MBA programs, some traditional and some not.

Alex spent significant time downloading information about my personal and professional background. I saw why later when we were working on my resume and essays as he was able to recall and connect information with such ease and precision that it made the process of actually putting content down extremely efficient. He made me think about essay prompts in unique ways while still ensuring that the responses were still genuinely me. His ability to understand the purpose of each part of the application process and how they all tie together in combination with his skills of teasing out information and helping to succinctly communicate ideas helped immensely in putting together impactful content.

Alex brought his vast knowledge and coaching abilities to bear in interview prep as it helped me to understand the various types of questions that may be asked in MBA admissions interviews and how I could respond genuinely and concisely. Alex really helped me to calm my nerves and to watch out for my nervous ticks.

Overall, I would not hesitate in recommending Alex’s services to anyone. He gets to know you well and the time and effort he takes in the process as well as his vast knowledge about MBA admissions and his candor really help put together your strongest application package. Alex helped me to get into my top choice program!

I had been thinking of an MBA in the US for a long time but the process seemed strenuous, so I needed good advice from an excellent coach. People that got into HBS told me about Alex Leventhal, so I had an intro call and immediately clicked with him. He is straightforward and doesn’t bullshit you, which is particularly important when compiling an application that should be reflective of who you really are. The great thing was that he worked with me directly and took time whenever I needed him to – on weekdays and weekends. He always came across as really invested in getting me to a successful outcome, which I sincerely appreciate. He is a very nice and honest guy, who got his MBA from Harvard, and tries to get to know and help you reflect about yourself. He told me I needed to fix the GMAT in order to have a serious chance at M7 schools and even connected me to a GMAT coach, who is also great. I was short on time, so decided to apply to one M7 school with the EA instead of the GMAT.

He managed to transform good essays – on which I had spent a lot of time thinking and rewriting – to great essays. The entire application had a golden thread running through which I believe was only possible with the help of a very experienced advisor in the form of Alex, as my story was far from easy to explain. When the stakes are this high and you want to showcase your chocolate side in the MBA application, he is the guy you would like to have in your corner.

Working with Alex Leventhal proved to be fantastic. While I got waitlisted after a good interview (might have something to do with submitting the EA instead of the GMAT), I can say with certainty that this was the best application I could have put forward and one that I certainly would have never been able to compile on my own. To be honest, Alex is so nice that I am still regularly in touch with and I would recommend Alex in a heartbeat to anybody that would like to give their best shot in getting into a top-tier MBA program. In case I decide to reapply, I would only consider Alex as a coach – he is just great – and always recommend him to friends and colleagues.

I had conversations with over 6 consultants before I decided to go with Alex. Right from our first connection, I could see that Alex was truly invested in the process to make me successful. Where many other consultants discouraged me or would agree to whatever I had to say, Alex offered honest, open feedback but fully encouraged me to aim for the stars. I took the M4 package with Alex and have successfully submitted all the applications. As a person who is naturally anxious and gets very stressed, Alex helped calm down my nerves and offered sane advice. Right from his bio sheet to filling the application form, Alex has been extremely helpful. I remember him going back and referring to our first conversation while we brainstormed on the HBS essay and helping me self-reflect and dive deeper into areas that I might have otherwise not felt were as relevant. Alex helped me bring out a story that was true to me, did not superimpose his own ideas, and let me be my authentic self. He helped me really cut down the essays to highlight the best aspects and helped me prep for my 1st interview call as well while still ensuring I’m bringing out my natural flair to the table. I really feel now at the end of the process, I have a better understanding of myself.
I would recommend Alex to anyone who wants a personalized true approach to their applications.

Having come to the MBA application fairly late in the process, I initially just dived in and started making the applications and writing the essays on my own. This seemed ok from my perspective as I have been a working professional and thought I understood what was needed, but I was working from a very narrow perspective and although I was invited to interview following my first application, I really struggled with nerves and lack of clarity regarding why I was applying and what I planned to do following the course – so it’s no wonder I didn’t pass the interview.

I was determined to get a place and continued to do some online research – I realized that there were experienced coaches, who might be able to help me to ensure that my next application would be successful.
I found Alex through some online searches and reached out to him – he was super helpful and very responsive – however, I am based in London and realized that we would have the challenge of an 8-hour time difference. Alex is used to working across time zones and with my next interview coming up the following day, I decided to start working with him straight away.

After an interview prep session with Alex, I became very clear on what I wanted to say and he even helped me with the location set up for the virtual interview. I prepared myself the next morning and the interview went extremely well – resulting in an offer and part scholarship coming through the following day.

I was ready to take my first offer but Alex advised me that I had a more prestigious application in progress and he encouraged me to pursue this – the school was able to help me by expediting my interview process, so that I could try for a second offer. This ultimately put me in a position where I had two great offers and with Alex’s guidance and encouragement, I have now accepted a place at Cambridge Judge Business School – I’ve always dreamed of going to Cambridge so this is a dream come true for me.

I would highly recommend Alex to anyone who is about to make an MBA application or anyone who has already started and is trying to navigate it alone. It is a very personal journey and I found Alex was professional and friendly and recognised how and where he could help me. He also removed the intimidation that I felt as an executive applicant liaising with prestigious Universities. Alex helped me realise that I do have unique skills to offer and he helped me to articulate them. Throughout the process, I felt that Alex was on the journey with me and that I could rely on his advice every step of the way.

Alex Leventhal’s excellent service and keen insight into the admissions process helped me get into both of my top choice schools.

My application was made complicated by my year-long unemployment, which started in the summer of 2020. Coupled with a low GPA (3.0), I knew the rest of my application would have to be stellar in order to be competitive. Alex was very hands-on in helping me to craft a story for my application that was coherent, played to my strengths, and explained my shortcomings. He coached me through my essays, giving me edits and feedback multiple times. His interview preparation was also incredibly useful, as I had little experience with zoom meetings.

Alex’s service was also timely. He worked with me right up until the deadline, often at a moment’s notice.

I owe my success this admissions cycle to Alex, and will gladly recommend him to my friends and family.

I initially found Alex Leventhal on Poets&Quants. Recalling the whole process of MBA application, his suggestion and advice helped me a lot to get the offer in a tough MBA application season.

In the beginning, he patiently guided me to discover my highlights through my past career and extracurricular activates. The step of setting up a reasonable career goal was later proved to be a solid foundation for getting in. Alex has a deep understanding of top MBA schools and is able to offer me distinguished opinions school by school. Also, he was helpful for flow, structure, and word limitation. His rich experience made every feedback valuable. The good quality of application materials made me feel confident while preparing for the upcoming interview.

I would strongly recommend Alex Leventhal for future MBA applicants since he is a smart, helpful, and responsible advisor.

I spoke with several highly rated admissions consultants before connecting with Alex and my patience certainly paid off. Most of the large admissions firms match applicants with top consultants only to then outsource the day-to-day work to other associates in a template-based process. Conversely, Alex is the only person I worked with throughout my application process—he owns PrepMBA and applies a truly personalized approach.

In the beginning stages and throughout, Alex invested considerable time in getting to know my background, interests, motivations, strengths, weaknesses, etc. This strong connection and fundamental understanding of who I am proved to be an invaluable foundation for my essay and career goals. I come from an over-represented background and was really struggling to tell my story in a unique and powerful way. After our first call on the essay, Alex offered up incredible 3rd party insight on my life path that helped me break through key roadblocks. He always served as a helpful guide, providing me the space to craft the stories in my own way.

I went through many drafts of essays for each school, but Alex consistently provided thoughtful feedback on each iteration in a timely manner—always within 1-2 days even as we approached the application deadlines. His honest and personable approach made it easy for me to open up and translated to a synergistic partnership. In the end, I achieved my lifelong goal of being admitted to HBS! I’m excited to recommend Alex to my friends and family in the future.

Alex came to me highly recommended by a close friend. On our initial call, he spent nearly an hour getting to know me and thinking through what my strengths and challenges might be in the admissions process. He immediately identified that I had a non-traditional background and that my goal should be to lean into the qualities that set me apart, while assuring schools that my quantitative skills and financial foundation were solid.

We decided it made the most sense for Alex to work with me on my applications to my top two choices. This would allow me to get good coaching on a variety of essay prompts, which I could then adapt for my other applications as needed.

Alex invested a ton of time and attention on the front end — the “getting to know me” stage. This proved to be invaluable for the rest of the process. It meant that he had a solid, in-depth understanding of my background and goals, and he was able to help me articulate my thesis to schools in a way that was both compelling and straightforward. Throughout the process, he was always approachable and accountable. He always got back to me within a day or two, whether turning around essay feedback or fielding more substantive questions and concerns. He was particularly helpful when it came to selecting recommenders and explaining why a particular school was the right fit for me. I also benefited a ton by reading the sample essays he shared from his clients in the past. I wound up getting into 2 schools (one MBA and one EMBA) including my first choice.

I would enthusiastically recommend Alex Leventhal to anyone looking to hire an MBA admissions consultant. He takes his work extremely seriously and always gives it to you straight.

I had the pleasure of working with Alex on my MBA applications. From my first consultation call with Alex, I immediately knew I wanted to work with him due to his honesty and straightforward nature. Having looked over my resume, he advised me to wait an additional year and bolster my work experience before applying.

I decided to go ahead and apply despite his reasonable advice. I worked with Alex under really tight deadlines and he really pulled through. Alex set out a timetable for me to ensure I’d hit my targets and when he realized I was struggling with the deadlines he made time for me multiple times a week to answer any queries and to get me back on track. Alex was incredibly flexible to my needs as I struggled between balancing work, studying for the GMAT, and writing essays. He is an excellent listener, and his experience and resources were incredible in helping me shape my narrative and essays for my schools. Finally, he really is someone you can trust in your corner. Alex pulled through multiple times when I emailed him to look over my essays only a few days before the application, and he could have easily refused but he went above and beyond what was agreed. I’m currently on the waitlist for a top MBA program which is better than I expected given I didn’t hit my GMAT target score and my work experience was limited.

I reached out to Alex very close to R2 deadlines and worked with him on an hourly basis. I was amazed by the personal attention he gave me in this process, turning around drafts at very short notice, and really helping me bring out the spark in my stories. He often made me feel like I’m his only client. The best part about working with Alex was how empathetic, encouraging, and uplifting he was throughout, even when sharing brutally honest feedback. His attention to detail is absolutely unmatched, and I’m so so grateful to have worked with him!

Just like many other applicants, I lurked on MBA forums for months before deciding to take the plunge and work with a consultant. I took a number of consultation calls with various highly-ranked firms before deciding to work with Alex Leventhal. After ten minutes on the phone with him, I was already impressed with his insights about the admissions process and his candor about the strengths and weaknesses of my particular candidacy.

I applied to three schools in round 1 and was rejected from two but deferred by HBS without an interview. As a Harvard college graduate with a relatively low GPA (and an overrepresented minority working in a popular industry), I was nervous about how to approach the HBS Further Consideration process and unsure of how it even worked. Alex’s experience with HBS and the Further Consideration process proved invaluable, as he was able to successfully guide me through the round 1 update essay to a round 2 interview invitation and finally to an offer of admission.

Alex has a very hands-on, straightforward coaching style. He was able to quickly and effectively analyze my application to help me pinpoint the most effective strategy for my Further Consideration update essay. He also conducted a very realistic mock interview which provided me with valuable feedback about my communication skills and gave me a lot of confidence to go into the real interview and perform my best.

Everything about his process stands out. It’s bespoke. It was refreshing to be able to directly correspond with Alex throughout the application process and his response time is unrivaled. His vibrant personality makes every call an enjoyable learning experience and he was always willing to entertain even my most absurd questions about MBA admissions. What makes Alex truly exceptional is that he both understands the meta-level strategy behind MBA admissions and also focuses on helping candidates cultivate powerful individual narratives. I believe that this dual emphasis was critical to helping me go from deferral to admission this cycle and I would strongly recommend Alex to others looking for a personalized approach to MBA consulting.

As with most applicants, I spent a good amount of time looking for a consultant who would be able to help me navigate the daunting application process. Although my partner had chosen Alex as his MBA consultant and spoke highly of his services, I wanted to consider all my options before deciding on the best consultant for me. To be quite honest, I could have saved myself a lot of time if I had just taken his suggestion. Alex was the only individual to review my qualifications and provide an honest assessment of whether the schools I was applying to would not only be within reach but also be a good cultural fit for me (which was something that was a major consideration for me when I was deciding where to apply).

He was the one who suggested that I apply to UCLA Anderson during the initial consultation as he felt that the school would align with what I was looking for. Going forward with his recommendation, I reached out to students and alumni and spent a great deal of time researching the school. As I collected more information, I could see why he suggested UCLA and began drafting my application. With his support, I was able to clearly define my post-MBA goals, understand how I wanted to contribute to the school community, and fine-tune the various components of the application. It was because of him that I was able to ensure that the admissions committee understood who I was and what I hoped to become after completing the program.

Without a doubt, I would recommend Alex to anyone who is looking for an MBA consultant who is honest, fair, and to the point. He knows how to emphasize your strengths and will work with you to address your weaknesses to ensure that they don’t detract from your application.

Ultimately, for anyone starting their MBA process, the applications can seem like an impossible task. However, with a consultant like Alex, they can be surmountable.

I started the admission process relatively late for 2nd round, and I was not very hopeful that I could make the deadlines. After an initial consultation, Alex offered to help so I don’t have to wait another year. Working with Alex proved to be incredible. He is very passionate about his service and he accommodated my aggressive schedule and last-minute questions. Without his support, I could not prepare several applications while studying for the GMAT.

Alex was very honest about my chances. I had a lower-than-average GMAT. He encouraged me to aim high but be realistic and he helped me strengthen other pieces of my application. As I was thinking through career goals, Alex’s strategic approach made it easy to step back, think through my past and present, and understand how this self-reflection may help shape application narratives. I was uncertain how to effectively structure and describe my post-MBA goals. He suggested writing a few pages about my career plans and he provided very useful samples to go by. This great practice paved the path for easily responding to all the critical questions each school asks.

I ended up getting into multiple schools, including my first choice, Yale. The time we spent forming my career plans and reflecting on my previous experiences was probably the main reason why I got admitted to multiple schools.

I would recommend Alex Leventhal in a heartbeat. He brings a unique perspective to each and every piece of the application package. He is very dedicated, personable, articulate, and brilliant.

In the midst of a mad rush to both up my GMAT score and begin crafting my application, I reached out to a number of consultants in late October targeting a Round 2 application. After having 3-4 calls, I was able to get in touch with Alex and schedule an introductory call. Instead of spending 20 minutes pitching me on his many success stories (and there are numerous), Alex took ~45 minutes to hear about my background, interests, and thoughts on what might be viable options for my path. What stuck out even more-so than the personalized approach Alex took from the initial call was his willingness and ability to address my candidacy holistically, quickly identifying key areas to focus on both highlighting or strengthening. Alex’s no-nonsense approach made him stand out from other more sale-like consultation calls.
After getting started, it was clear that Alex was going to stay whole fully engaged throughout the application process. He spent countless hours over the next 2 months with me identifying aspects of my background that would make strong cornerstones for my essays, helping select strong people to write my recommendations, working through draft after draft fine-tuning my essays and other application mediums, and conducting mock interviews helping prepare me to respond strongly to frequently asked topics. When I thought to add another competitive program to my application group, I knew I wanted Alex’s assistance and updated my package from 3 schools to 4 schools.
With Alex’s guidance, I have been able to score acceptances to 2 of my top schools, and I am sure I could not have done it without him. By taking the time to get to know me, my background, my interests, and my overall candidacy, Alex was able to help me put my best foot forward. I would recommend Alex to anyone who is looking to make the most of what they have to offer and want to present themselves to their dream schools with those positive attributes! I truly believe he is the best person for the job.

I belong to an over-represented demographic (Indian male). I also did not have any work experience with a strong brand name company. During my free consultation with Alex, I could see how engaged he would be. Given the fact that I’ve worked primarily for my family’s businesses, getting references is challenging and I loved how Alex was already brainstorming some great ideas in that regard during the free session.

I am a re-applicant. My previous consultant would nod to everything I’d say and never challenge my views, however bad they might’ve been. Alex, however, would not hesitate to challenge my ideas or hold his ground. Also, with Alex, you get to work with him – no juniors or English-trained associates. With my previous consultant, different people reviewed my resume, references, essays and conducted mock interviews. This approach doesn’t work – your consultant needs to know how your entire application is shaping up. Needless to say, this was a major reason I got nowhere in the previous cycle. With Alex, you get a highly trained pair of eyes to bring things together well.

Alex is very smart and connects the dots really well. At the very beginning, he made me fill out a questionnaire that focused on various aspects of my life and then spent 2-3 hours on call learning more about me. He really got to know me well (personal aspects and professional ones) and, all through the application process, I was always amazed at how he would pull out small snippets of my life that I myself had not thought of to answer application essays. He helped bring out my best side.

Alex is a Harvard MBA, sure, but he’s also witty, friendly, and constantly devoted to your quest. He was extremely encouraging, helped choose schools wisely, and when I did not get anywhere except 2 waitlists in round 1, kept encouraging me for round 2. I’d never considered Darden before. It was Alex who convinced me about how good Darden was and suggested applying there – I’m so glad he doesn’t give up and does his best to advise you on what’s good for you. So far, it’s the only school I’ve gotten into across 2 years of applying and he is the singular reason I have an admission offer.

I recommend strongly Alex. He is special and a great guide. You will be doing yourself a great favor by engaging him and giving your applications their biggest boost.

Alex was beyond helpful throughout my application process. In addition to being an indispensable advisor in helping me craft my narrative articulately and succinctly, Alex spent extra time working with me to review every scholarship essay. My only regret was not reaching out to Alex sooner in my application process.

When I applied to undergraduate schools years ago, I did not have the privilege or funds to hire an external consultant. But coming from a well-represented demographic, and even with GRE scores well above all published median acceptances, I knew that gaining admission to a commensurate MBA program would be an uphill battle.

After spending significant time with Alex Leventhal and Prep MBA, I can sincerely appreciate how fortunate I was to work with one of the top consultants in the industry. Without Alex’s support, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into any of the schools I applied to. I highly recommend working with Alex to anyone applying to MBA programs. Alex’s parents seemed to have presciently given him the initials “AL” …because in this industry, he’s an Absolute Legend.

As application season approached, I spoke with consultants from a range of firms, including ones commonly ranked at the top. Ultimately, I decided to go with Alex. What won me over was the confidence I had in his ability to work with a non-traditional candidate like myself, his ability to focus on the most critical issue at hand, and his honesty. The MBA admissions process is, to a great extent, about presenting yourself to admissions committees in a way that is completely sincere but also thoughtfully tailored to the criteria according to which you will be evaluated, and I wanted a coach who would be able to help me in doing that. Alex certainly delivered.

Alex’s insight translated to a tighter set of career goals and a sharper resume, but perhaps most substantially transformed the essay. Unlike some consultants, who push their ideas on you from the start (making it their essay), Alex pushes you to come up with your own ideas and provides guidance from there (so that it stays your essay). My first draft, selected from the four pitches I brought to him, was personal, vulnerable, and might have created some degree of emotional investment in me as a person. However, Alex rightly observed that that investment wasn’t focused properly. I had gotten a little too close to the assignment and lost sight of the underlying function of the essay: to create an emotional investment in your candidacy at the school.

Alex provided some guidance on a next draft that was loose enough for me to flesh out on my own, but specific enough that I didn’t get lost the second time around, especially with the deadline quickly approaching. He reviewed my work at the eleventh hour, giving me some excellent pointers, and we both felt very happy with where the essay had landed. It did what the essay was supposed to do, and tied together my background in the arts, the most noteworthy and unusual aspects of my work experience, and my future aspirations after an MBA into a clear and focused statement that I have no doubt effectively made my case to the admissions committee.

Given that I am a non-traditional applicant and a person who naturally focuses on details and nuance over the big picture, focus, clarity, and word count management were issues in my initial work. Alex brought all in spades. It was not always easy getting feedback that cut so sharply to the heart of exactly what was not working in my essay, rec packets, or career goals, but it was probably the best thing I could have asked for in a process where my application materials would be as closely scrutinized by admissions committees as they were.

Unfortunately, in this brutal admissions year (2020-2021 cycle), I didn’t get spots at the three (extremely selective) schools I applied to: Harvard, Columbia, and Wharton. However, I was thrilled to get a Wharton interview, and I’m optimistic about my chances next year with a wider range of schools and more time to strengthen my application fundamentals. When I do start on my reapplication materials, I know I’ll be dropping Alex a line!

I was searching for an admissions consultant who could very well understand my education and academic career in Life Sciences and help me cohesively tie it to my long-term goal of working as a biopharma strategy consultant post-MBA. After talking to a few admissions consulting firms, Alex Leventhal’s approach and service stood out to me. Using his previous experience in healthcare, he was able to help me extract the key points in my professional and personal journey that I could highlight in my essays. Moreover, after a thorough evaluation of my profile, he guided me to select schools with a realistic mindset. This approach in shortlisting schools is unlike other top admissions consulting firms which do not spend enough time to identify the programs where a candidate would have a better shot of getting in. Coming from a non-traditional background and being older than the average student admitted to a full-time MBA program, Alex told me to work harder to improve my score and seek some leadership opportunities that would improve my candidacy for the selected schools.

Working with Alex was worth the investment. Each of his advice to me was very personalized and at times he would go over the designated time for our call or an application section if it was needed to get a better outcome. In fact, there were a couple of applications where we were pressed for time, but he was able to accommodate his schedule to help me. He is genuine, approachable, and quite funny. He also walks you through the entire application process very methodically.

I would recommend working with him without hesitation.

Alex was instrumental to my acceptances to both HBS and Stanford GSB. I was initially hesitant to apply this year during the pandemic, given the higher volume of applicants and all-around tougher competition. However, after an initial consultation with Alex over the phone, I was able to put to rest any concerns I had and grew more confident around my chances.

Alex took his time to get to know me on a personal level through his detailed bio sheet assignment, which he was able to reference throughout our two-month process together. When developing my post-MBA goals, Alex encouraged me to write about my passion—sports management—despite it being a less “traditional” path. With his help, I was able to clearly articulate why I needed an MBA to achieve my long-term goals, while also highlighting prior relevant experiences in the field.

Most importantly, Alex helped surface an authentic voice for my personal essays, pushing me to a level of self-reflection/introspection that I couldn’t have achieved otherwise. Alex won’t be there to hold your hand and manage every detail or word, but he will be there to provide the insights and guidance for you to tell the right story for each school. After an initial brainstorming session, it was Alex who identified which themes for me to pursue, and from there, the words flowed naturally.

In my opinion, no one should apply to top MBA programs alone without the partnership of an expert, like Alex, who has been through the process himself.

I reached out to Alex Leventhal for his consulting services because it seemed to be the only one that had a more personalized approach. It wasn’t one of those big companies that had many consultants and you had to have the luck of the draw to get the right one. I really liked that Alex had his own approach to helping people.

For me, the most helpful part for me was helping me connect the dots with my previous experience and where I want to go in the future. At first, I was a bit lost on how I should approach the essays but his method really works in getting the story together. Lastly, he helped me understand the BIG difference between job resumes vs MBA resumes and he nails it!

I would highly recommend Alex to any applicant. He really gets to know you and makes you think A LOT. I mean, not just for the application but also helps you do a self-reflection as well. He helped me land acceptances at both dream schools 😊

As a European, I had little experience on the “how-tos” and the key success factors of applying to top US MBA programs. I was therefore eager to find an admission consultant who could support me in the process. One thing that was really important to me was that I could trust the respective consultant not only to have contextual expertise but to be easy to build a personal relationship with. After all, you are sharing deeply personal stories with the respective person throughout the application process.

After my initial call with Alex, I knew he was the right one. You could immediately sense that he cared and was passionate to see you succeed. But he was also honest and straightforward about my expectations and where my profile was strong/not so strong – as an example, he openly addressed the potential fallbacks of my current GMAT score or the limited number of current extracurriculars (given it was early in the process, we could also take action on those). Alex was open about the fact that his offering was slightly more expensive and also that response times might be a little slower, given he does not have a team of junior consultants. But what you get in return is a deeply personalized service, Alex’s full set of experience, and a creative, funny, and honest partner throughout your application process.

Working with Alex proved to be amazing. I only applied to three schools – Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton. In the end, I interviewed with and got into HBS and Wharton. While Alex officially only supported Harvard and Stanford, I could use many of the tools (such as career goals) and even essay preparations for my application at Wharton as well.

I would recommend Alex in a heartbeat, and I already have to my former college friends planning to pursue an MBA. Not only did he play a massive role in my success of getting an MBA spot in the US, but the whole process with him was also super cool and a great reflection of my career, personal goals, and ambitions. I feel strongly that Alex is uncommon as an advisor. He is sincere, funny, and often made me feel like I was his most important client.

Alex’s biggest value-add is his ability to draw out the uniqueness in each candidate. He starts the process by asking the candidate to fill out a detailed “Bio sheet”. Several times in the following months, while we worked on the applications, he would reference various details I had mentioned in the sheet – ones so small that even I had forgotten them! Alex spends a lot of time and energy preparing to work on the applications with the candidate, and throughout the process I felt assured that his advice/suggestions were personalized to showcase my strengths most effectively.

He also has incredible editing skills, and has a knack for trimming all the excess fat from written pieces without losing the essence. Through his interview prep sessions, he also coaches the candidate on how to be concise yet thorough and impactful, making the candidate very appealing to the AdCom.

Lastly, I immensely valued Alex’s work ethic throughout the process. He would tell me exactly when to expect a response and I always got a thoroughly reviewed piece back from him as planned!!

As someone who has not only helped candidates over multiple application cycles but has also been through the process himself, Alex realizes how stressful the process is. Beyond simply providing great advice on the application materials, Alex took the time to connect with me, helping me through stressful times. I am so glad that, after debating amongst multiple consultants, I chose to work with Alex – it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a better guide and support through this life-changing process.

I was referred to Alex by a friend who was successfully admitted by her dream school last year. Alex helped me decide on which approach to take and what stories to include in my essay, which I believe is the most critical help he offered me in the application process. Looking back, I think my essay makes a lot of sense; but when I was hesitating on which approach to take, Alex helped me make the right decision. He could immediately tell one approach was better, point out that one story I prepared was not reflecting my true self, and point out that another story did not clearly manifest its significance to my future career. Had I chosen the other approach and stories, I probably wouldn’t have got the offer. Alex was very helpful with my interview preparation as well where he was able to provide me with very constructive feedback.

I was initially interested in Alex Leventhal’s consulting firm, PrepMBA, because it appeared to be one of only several firms that prioritized crafting a personalized approach to business school applications. I also liked that Alex didn’t have a cabal of junior associates working with his clients; Alex directly worked with each one himself. It was clear that Alex was personally vested in each of his clients’ success.

When I started with Alex, I could tell that he was focused on getting to know my story from my early childhood to the present. Through his detailed biosheet questionnaire and other supporting materials, we both got organized on what my strengths and weaknesses were.

As we had more meetings and the conversation moved to my resume and future career goals, I appreciated Alex’s help in thinking critically about my past accomplishments and the messaging I wanted to convey on my applications. We ended up brainstorming and refining my thoughts for many weeks before I began to write my essays, which gave me confidence as I wrote my essays and completed respective applications. Alex’s same honest, thoughtful approach carried over into interview prep as well. Throughout it all, Alex was always there to provide a deep dive into a portion of my application that needed substantial attention or a quick answer to an ad-hoc question. This all culminated in my acceptance to NYU Stern.

I would highly recommend Alex and his services to any MBA applicant, and have already spoken highly of him to several of my friends who are considering applying in the near future. He is diligent, hard-working, very kind, and genuinely cares about helping his clients achieve their goals. I could not be happier that I worked with him.

Alex’s services played a huge role in my acceptance to Booth! After checking out a number of consultants, I chose Alex because of his personalized approach and his honesty in assessing my odds at different programs, especially during this tougher COVID cycle. What truly differentiates Alex from other consultants is how comprehensive and rigorous his methods are. The breadth of support that Alex provided surprised me and alleviated a lot of stress. For example, he spent significant time helping me tailor communications to recommenders and coaching me on body language and vocal tonality for my video essays and interviews.

One key area where Alex was able to provide invaluable guidance was in helping my differentiate myself as an Indian American applicant in consulting, a highly overrepresented pool. Alex starts his process by getting to know you as well as possible by having you fill out a bio sheet and interviewing you. Therefore, when I reached roadblocks later on, he knew my story and background well and was able to point out examples that portrayed me in a unique and positive light.

As a result of working with Alex, not only was I accepted to one of my top choices, I also received a significant scholarship. I thought working with Alex was really enjoyable and helpful, and I would recommend him to anyone hoping to put their best foot forward in their MBA application journey!

Alex was extremely helpful in focusing me on the areas which I needed to spend the most time in the admissions process. After completing my GMAT exam, he worked with me to create my career purpose and story, which helped guided everything else in the process. He was thoughtful and honest in delivering feedback on my resume, essays, and interview prep. Not only was his process efficient, but also allowed me to submit my application early in the cycle and ultimately gain admission to my top choice program.

I would not have gotten in my first choice MBA without his help! Alex was able to help me craft compelling essays and excellent overall MBA applications. The MBA application process can be very stressful and Alex had been extremely patient and supportive at every step. What makes him stand out is his dedication to his craft, interpersonal skills, and honesty. Highly recommend him!

Alex is incredibly knowledgeable about the MBA application process. He did a fantastic job helping craft my story by pushing me to reflect upon my goals, passions, and past experiences. Unlike other consultancies, Alex doesn’t pass on the work to junior consultants. I would highly recommend him, especially if you’re struggling to come up with your unique story for the essay. Thanks, Alex!

I picked Alex as my consultant after talking to a few others because of his personal approach—other companies would have had me work with junior consultants.

I found Alex’s service to be helpful in all aspects of the admissions process, but especially the essays. His approach to writing the essays helped elucidate this tricky part of the admissions process. He was not satisfied until I crafted the strongest personal story I could, even though it took almost a dozen iterations of ideas. If your essay is not as good as it can possibly be, he will be direct in telling you so and recommending what you can do to improve it.

He has a fast response time and spends as much time as is necessary to perfect the application. For one school, I was working right up until the deadline and he still was able to provide feedback on my essays the day of.

Alex’s no-nonsense approach greatly improved my admissions prospects and I would recommend him without hesitation. I’ve found that he genuinely cares about and invests in the success of his clients.

I was completely satisfied with the service Alex provided during my MBA admissions process. Alex had several helpful tips and brought up ideas that I would have never found otherwise. At first, I was not sure if I should bother with an admissions consultant, but I believe that without his assistance I would not have gotten into the schools I wanted. Alex also gave a personal touch I highly appreciated, and took the time to get to know me to give personalized advice and service. Alex regularly checked in with me to see how things were going, even though I was only an hourly client. Great guy and highly recommend.

I had called around a couple of consulting firms and worked with another consultant prior to working with Alex. The difference is night and day! First of all, Alex is the owner and sole consultant for Prep MBA – if you sign up with Prep MBA, you are guaranteed to work with Alex, a Harvard MBA grad. Second, Alex will give you direct and honest answers. After our initial conversation, he quickly identified some critical issues about my profile (work gaps, GPA, age, etc.) and how to address each of the problems from the point of view of the admin team. Third, Alex’s creativity and sense of essay structure are beyond impressive; I was always amazed at how we were able to turn a 1000-word draft into an articulate 500 words essay. Finally, I am extremely impressed by his knowledge of various details of the MBA schools and he was able to identify a group of school that fits my career aspirations.

After the initial conversation and assessment with Alex, I decided to rethink my application strategy completely, even though I had previously worked with another consultant. I only had a month to complete my application prior to final deadlines, and Alex was able to accommodate such a rushed schedule. With his help, I was able to get into Tepper and McDonough, both with scholarships. Looking back, I believe that his advice on how to tailor my essay to the admission committee was the main reason I was accepted. The devil is in the detail, and Alex was very meticulous – he really helped me with the tones of my essays and worked with me to find the right words to express my goals concisely. Additionally, Alex was able to provide me with different samples that fit with my career aspirations. These samples were extremely useful when I was trying to find the right flow and structure for my essay drafts.

I highly recommend Alex Leventhal and Prep MBA. If you are honest with him and follow his advice, know that he will provide you with the clearest path to your dream school!

I interviewed several people, and Alex is the only MBA admissions consultant I would recommend. He was candid and provided valuable essay guidance. I ended up matriculating at Wharton, where I had a phenomenal experience. Going to business school changed my life. Thank you, Alex, for all of your help!

Alex knows what he’s talking about, accurately and candidly assessed my application, and gave a ton of useful advice.

I spoke to around 8-9 consultants before deciding on Alex to help with by business school applications. The initial 40 min consultation with Alex was extremely helpful and I received more insights about the process and about my profile than any other consultant I spoke to. I finally chose to work with Alex over other consultants because of the boutique nature of his operation and given that I started my applications for Round 2 in 3rd week of October, I couldn’t afford to make a mistake with this decision.

I chose a 4 school package and did a couple of applications on my own. To date, I have 3 wait-list offers and 1 confirmed admission offer. I am now working with Alex on negotiating the wait-list offers and see what other schools I can get into.

Overall, it has been great working with Alex and I would definitely recommend him to anyone looking to work with a person rather than a company, without any restrictions on the number of edits or how many times he will speak to you.

I am so glad I chose to work with Alex this year during my application process to HBS. I applied as a current medical student only to HBS for a dual MD/MBA. I had introductory calls with a number of consultants but ultimately chose Alex because he was personable, approachable, knowledgeable about HBS, and demonstrated a clear interest in me and my story from the introduction call onward.

Throughout the application cycle, he was a calming presence and helped me navigate the application process while quelling my anxiety. Whenever we embarked on a portion of the application, Alex always gave me space to brainstorm, soul search, and draft, before he provided feedback. This helped us get to know each other better, and also ensured that my vision and story guided my application. At the same time, when I was stuck with tons of ideas and no clear direction for my personal statement, he helped me come up with a creative essay approach that I am extremely proud of. I genuinely believe that this is the first personal statement I have written that truly gets across who I am as a person, and I have Alex to thank for that.

As a dual-degree applicant, I had to write an additional essay explaining my interest in the program. Alex was happy to dedicate time to helping me brainstorm, draft, and perfect that essay, despite it not being part of the typical application. I really felt like Alex was rooting for me, and had a vested interest in getting me into my dream business school. He was unafraid to give me direct feedback when I needed it and ensured that I put my best foot forward in my application and interview. I would work with Alex again in a heartbeat!

I was a re-applicant this year. Last year I had worked with Alex on an hourly basis, a couple of weeks before my applications were due. Alex was super helpful to go out of his way to help me put forward the best application possible. Last year – I got an interview call from Booth but could not convert it.

This year I worked with Alex on a comprehensive package for 1 school and worked on an hourly basis for a couple of other schools. I applied to 4 M7 schools and got an interview invite from 3 of them and offers from 2 (Kellogg and Booth).

Inputs from Alex were helpful to streamline my thoughts during the ideation phase – which eventually went a long way to put together a holistic package. He was very straight forward with his comments and would always call out the weaknesses/BS in my essays. He would also come up with ways to work on the weak aspects of the application. As an Indian applicant – coming from an over-represented pool of applicants – I benefited immensely while working with Alex as he would always strive to bring out the soft-skill aspects of my application.

Finally, I benefited immensely from the mock interviews with Alex. He helped me become more aware of my body language and also helped me to tweak my stories so that they were easier to connect with. I would wholeheartedly recommend Alex to all the applicants who are aspiring to get into M7. It’s worth every penny!

I feel Alex is very kind and hardworking. He helped me on an hourly basis and really helped me reflect on my application. I would recommend Alex to anyone thinking about an MBA. If I had the chance I would work with him again!

I highly suggest working with Alex Leventhal. He knows MBA applications inside and out. His process is unique — he first helps you discover and build your narrative and then helps you center the rest of your application around that narrative. It creates a strong application that showcases a clear image to the adcomms.

In addition to that, working with Alex is a pleasure. He kept me positive throughout the process and was easy to communicate with. He pushed me to produce my best work. When working with Alex, unlike other consultancies — you get Alex! He is all hands on deck with your application and doesn’t pass your questions on to junior consultants. He helped me get into Yale Som with scholarship.

For all those reasons, I’d work with Alex again in a heartbeat!

As with anything I picked Alex as my consultant after significant research. I knew Alex was the right consultant when we first spoke over coffee. He was more interested in my story and my goals than just my statistics and demographics. Unlike other consultants who immediately fixated on “handicaps” and pushed a prescribed set of schools purely based on statistics, Alex was interested in understanding my story and helping me maximize my chances of achieving my goals. He is thoughtful and has an effective process of helping you put together essays. I ended up getting accepted to a top 10 school and waitlisted at two M7 programs. I am very happy with the results and would highly recommend Alex!

As a non-traditional applicant without a business background, I was initially unsure about the value of an admissions consultant. After reaching out to multiple firms and speaking with multiple advisors, I started to get the feeling that these firms were intent on processing me through their system. They felt impersonal and uninvested in me as a person.

Finally, after reading through a GMAT club review, I reached out to Alex. Speaking with Alex was the absolute opposite experience in every way. On the very first call, he took the time to get to know as much about me as possible in a very natural and human way. Without judgment, he was realistic about my chances and what my target schools should be. It was easy to see from the start that Alex would be as invested as I was in the outcome of my application process.

Working with Alex will make your entire application process easier, and I especially recommend him if you are a non-traditional applicant. He outlines a roadmap from the very beginning of each step in the process. I had a sort of vague idea about what I wanted to get out of my education, and he helped me to refine my vision and communicate it in clear and certain terms. He was very responsive to emails and calls and was available to talk through the ambiguities of the process regularly.

My most prominent memory during the process was when I looked back at an essay I had recently submitted. I remember reading the essay and thinking, ‘This person sounds so interesting and amazing, I can’t believe it is about me!’. I was surprised not because the essay was untrue, but because of how wonderful it sounded. Alex was able to take the stories and qualities that I had communicated to him, and he refined them into better, more exciting versions. He helped me to craft a narrative around myself that I am certain I could not have done alone.

If you are reading this and are still on the fence about hiring a consultant, take this as your sign to call Alex. It’s a free call, and I promise you, it’s worth it.

I heard about Alex through my friend’s referral and decided to work with him after the first skype meeting. Back then, I still knew very little about the MBA application process, had no idea where to start from, and meanwhile had to deal with an already challenging full-time job with long working hours. Being highly experienced, knowledgeable, thoughtful and patient, Alex really helped me navigate the whole journey with more ease and confidence. The result speaks a ton – I applied to as many as seven schools in the second round (was surprised that I actually made it!) and got admitted to four of them!

What I find most valuable about working with Alex is that he never tried to use a formula when helping me craft my application, but always offered me tailored advice based on my own experiences. He guided me to think from different perspectives, dig deeper into my stories and connect the dots in the most natural way. Instead of following a rigid timeline, he made sure that we were spending a sufficient amount of time thinking through and put together the best story, and I really appreciate this flexibility which comes from his experience.

I benefitted a lot from the mock interview sessions as well. Alex was super sharp at identifying my issues and focused on improving my delivery by practicing on the spot. This worked really well, and I could see my confidence and efficiency of delivery building up massively after a few mock sessions, and reaching a peak during my actual interviews.

It’s been a pleasant experience working with Alex and I would definitely recommend him from the bottom of my heart. He always emphasized to me that this journey can be tiring, but with a lot of fun as well – and looking back, I can’t agree with him more!

Strongly recommend Alex to anyone looking for an MBA consultant! Really glad I went with him from a friend referral. He is simply amazing, knowing what he is doing. I am very happy with my results, exceeding my expectations. I applied to a few schools in R1 but did not go well. Alex kept encouraging me and told me to stay positive, and my R2 applications turned out great: I got into Haas and Kellogg both with sizable scholarships, and also my top choice, Wharton!
Throughout the process, Alex was really helpful in crafting my story and finding the themes/unique aspects of my experience. He is candid and sharp, a great storyteller with a grasp of each school’s essays. He is great to work with, very efficient – quick turnaround and high quality. I tend to procrastinate sometimes, but Alex always helped me meet the deadlines. I also benefitted much from mock interviews with Alex, both individual and the group interview for Wharton. He gave very personalized feedback that made me much more comfortable going into the interviews.

Alex was a great consultant. We were virtual – I was in NYC and he is in LA. I chose him after interviewing 5 consultants. I was accepted to Columbia Business School – I don’t think I would have been accepted had I not worked with Alex. Alex was very thoughtful and engaging. He has the unique ability to pull interesting essays and stories out of you; I spend my time in spreadsheets, not writing essays, so he greatly helped to synthesize my story. I highly recommend Alex.

What an easy recommendation… Alex helped me get into both HBS and the GSB; working with him was a pleasure. In a market where most of his competitors are volume shops or bounce you between a team of junior consultants, Alex is high-touch and high EQ. I’ve personally recommended Alex to close to a dozen peers who, in turn, have each done the same. He really drove me to dig deep on my essays and properly represent my background and values. His insights really helped my passion transcend the written format and shine. Thanks, Alex!

During my junior year of college, I made the decision to apply to the HBS 2+2 deferred admission program. To help me through the process, I decided to enlist the services of a consultant, and settled on Alex after consultations with a selection of the highest ranked consultants. Alex was a pleasure to work with, he is a consummate professional and truly takes the time to understand the unique strengths of his clients. He helped craft a phenomenal narrative for my application, and despite a subpar GMAT score (under 700), I still managed to receive an interview spot. Whilst I ultimately did not end up being admitted for the deferred program, I will most definitely work with Alex again in a few years during the regular application rounds.

I came to Alex with a pretty unique situation. During a prior application cycle, I had applied and gotten accepted to my target school. Ultimately, I declined the admission’s offer to take a flier on a startup. Fast forward 18-months and my situation had changed, I was now ready to get my MBA. Further, given my industry and geographic preferences, the same target school was an obvious first choice (and this school ended up being the only application I submitted).

I reached out to Alex approximately 2-weeks prior to the application due date—which was obviously a very short turnaround. Although some consultants might up-charge this type of time crunch, Alex rose to the challenge without blinking an eye. He quickly read through my prior (successful application) and quickly dissected a plan of attack for my new, re-application. He brought a ton of experience and advice to strengthen my application. In particular, Alex helped with my essay’s strategy, while working within the context of my prior application to clearly articulate how my situation was different this time around.

He also demonstrated in-depth knowledge about my target school’s “self-identity” versus their peers—which was critical to my application articulating a very strong “why ABC school is the only option for me.” Given I had rejected my target’s prior acceptance 2-years earlier, I think this was critical to getting readmitted. School’s care a ton about yield and Alex was quick to focus in on this as a key for me. Alex really got to know me and my unique situation. Alex doesn’t take a cookie-cutter approach to his work. Instead, all his advice felt custom to my application which added a ton of value.

I think Alex’s help was critical to my application’s success—especially given my unique situation as a re-applicant. Whether you’re a first-time applicant or have a unique situation like I did, Alex brings a dynamic and experienced approach to get the job done.

Please note: For this review, I chose to not name the school I was accepted at given my application’s uniqueness as a formerly accepted re-applicant. Think US News #8-12 range in terms of ranking. That said, I have no doubt Alex can assist across any range of schools and application situations.

I cannot recommend Alex highly enough. As a re applicant and part of an over-represented demographic, Alex was instrumental to my acceptance at Columbia Business School. I met with him for the first time 8 months before I submitted my applications, and instead of sitting on my candidacy until the spring, he began to work with me right away. He took the time to get to know me, my background, and most importantly spent weeks helping me nail down my story. By the time I actually started writing, I was incredibly confident and secure in my career narrative, which made the application process much easier than the previous year.

Alex provides a great service as well. Unlike some of the other consultants that I looked into, Alex is a one man show, ensuring that he spends quality time with each and every applicant. He is incredibly honest and isn’t afraid to tell you when you are below the mark in essay drafts, mock interview answers, or career goals. However, he ensures his feedback is clear and prompt. Multiple times, Alex would call me directly to chat about my essays to ensure that I understood his feedback to make the process more efficient. I was very impressed on how his recommendations, even those that seemed seemingly minor, would substantially elevate my essays and resume. My experience with Alex was entirely positive and a big reason for my business school application success!

As a reapplicant competing in an over-represented demographic pool, I realized I needed some professional help to improve my chance of getting into a top MBA program. I talked with a few consulting firms, and Alex stood out in that he quickly analyzed my profile and provided his honest opinion. He focused on getting to know about me instead of selling a service. I did a four-school package and eventually got into a top-tier MBA program with a scholarship. Alex has always been very straightforward and honest with me during the process: he would point out the weaknesses of my essay and provide very helpful advice. I would recommend him to all the applicants who want to get into a top MBA program.

I would definitely recommend Alex’s services to anyone applying to business school. His help in crafting my essays and preparing for my interview was critical in helping me get into HBS.

When I first connected with him over the summer as a Round 1 applicant, I could immediately tell that he really valued genuinely getting to know his clients. We ended up chatting for 40 minutes about my story. His feedback about the strengths and weaknesses of my application in that first conversation were super insightful and got me thinking critically about my own story and rationale for applying to business school. I ended up working with Alex on an hourly basis on my essays for my R1 applications and then did interview prep with him for my HBS interview.

In terms of essay prep, Alex helped me identify areas where I could stand out from the crowd and he helped me add significant depth to my application. I felt that he was able to do this because he had taken the time to get to know me. Alex’s feedback is honest and he brings humor into an otherwise stressful process, which I really appreciated. Once I had gotten my interview to HBS, I did mock interview prep with Alex which was fantastic! We spent over an hour running through questions as Alex provided live feedback and ways for me to improve my answers. We strategized on answers to the common and uncommon questions that may surface during an interview. Ultimately, when I interviewed, I wasn’t stressed and that was thanks to prepping with Alex.

If you’re considering working with an admissions consultant for business school applications, look no further. I highly recommend you work with Alex!

Having worked with another admissions consultant in the previous year and interviewed several admissions consulting firms, Alex’s service immediately stood out to me. Whereas other consultants mainly communicated via email, Alex took the time to set up several Skype calls, including an initial video call where we just chatted about our personal lives. We got to understand each other at a much deeper level than otherwise possible through a written form or a voice call. This depth of understanding played a vital role when drafting early versions of my essays, where Alex would offer suggestions on which of my personal stories might fit best, rather than just telling me to rewrite a section.

Alex was also very accommodating to my last minute requests and unique situation. I had a recommender who was unresponsive and sent Alex a draft of his recommendation the night before the deadline. Alex stayed up late into the night to review it and called me after to calm my nerves. I can’t imagine working with anyone else.

Given that I am an Asian male (over-represented group), I purchased the 5-school package to put my best foot forward. With Alex’s help I was able to do just that and was invited to interview at Wharton, Booth, and MIT. After that, Alex’s interview prep ultimately helped me convert all three interviews into admittance offers! I was quite surprised how many of the questions Alex asked in his mocks were in the real interviews. Overall, working with Alex was a pleasure. It is a no-brainer when it comes to recommending Alex, and I have to a friend. Beyond his technical expertise, Alex is funny and personable, everything you would want from an advisor and more!

Having worked with another admissions consultant in the previous year and interviewed several admissions consulting firms, Alex’s service immediately stood out to me. Whereas other consultants mainly communicated via email, Alex took the time to set up several Skype calls, including an initial video call where we just chatted about our personal lives. We got to understand each other at a much deeper level than otherwise possible through a written form or a voice call. This depth of understanding played a vital role when drafting early versions of my essays, where Alex would offer suggestions on which of my personal stories might fit best, rather than just telling me to rewrite a section.

Alex was also very accommodating to my last minute requests and unique situation. I had a recommender who was unresponsive and sent Alex a draft of his recommendation the night before the deadline. Alex stayed up late into the night to review it and called me after to calm my nerves. I can’t imagine working with anyone else.

Given that I am an Asian male (over-represented group), I purchased the 5-school package to put my best foot forward. With Alex’s help I was able to do just that and was invited to interview at Wharton, Booth, and MIT. After that, Alex’s interview prep ultimately helped me convert all three interviews into admittance offers! I was quite surprised how many of the questions Alex asked in his mocks were in the real interviews. Overall, working with Alex was a pleasure. It is a no-brainer when it comes to recommending Alex, and I have to a friend. Beyond his technical expertise, Alex is funny and personable, everything you would want from an advisor and more!

At first I wasn’t sure about whether working with a consultant made sense for me, but Alex came highly recommended from a number of colleagues at my firm who had attended top business schools, so I set up a consultation and immediately recognized how valuable his input would be.

Before offering any advice, he made a concerted effort to understand my background, interests, and goals. As we moved into the more tactical parts of the process (brainstorming essay topics, thinking through potential recommenders, etc.), he would suggest incorporating parts of this context in a way that made my personal narrative more coherent and compelling.

Alex never farms work out to junior consultants. He committed his full focus to every session. And with Alex there is no sugarcoating – he offered honest and dispassionate opinions about how various aspects of my application would come across to AdCom members.

I was fortunate to get into my top two school choices, and Alex’s help was invaluable – he brought the best out of me at every stage of the process. I recommend him highly to anyone who is serious about applying to a top MBA program.

When I first decided that I wanted to get my MBA, I knew I wanted to go to NYU. Initially, I wasn’t sure about using an admissions consultant. However, a former boss suggested that I reach out to Alex, so I decided to give it a shot. We set up an intro call and in only 20 minutes it was clear to me that he would make a huge difference. Rather than push a sales pitch, we spent most of the call going over my credentials (GMAT score, GPA, work experience, etc.) and discussing my chances at gaining acceptance to NYU. He was quite honest about everything, which is exactly what I needed. My undergraduate GPA was below average, and I wasn’t exactly sure what direction I wanted to take my career; however, he explained that with the right approach – I had a chance.

Over the next few weeks, we discussed my career and he helped me craft a cohesive story within my application. He was able to help connect all of my previous experiences and clearly explain the importance of an MBA to achieving my goals. I’m convinced that this story is what got me into NYU, and I never would have been able to do it without Alex’s help.

Throughout the whole process, he worked with me directly and was always easy to contact, whether it was to answer a quick question or review an entire essay. He’s funny, easy to talk to, and clearly very smart. He knows exactly what he’s doing when it comes to understanding the business school application process. I would strongly recommend Alex to anyone.

As an older applicant with a diverse background, and someone who knew little about business school admissions, I felt I needed to get a serious and experienced consultant to ensure my application is competitive.

I called several consulting firms for initial consultations and Alex stood out– he listened carefully and gave me very personalized and encouraging feedback. I could tell that he genuinely interested in me as a person and that proved extremely valuable for my application. He was also quite clear in his assessment of my chances and told me his view on the different business schools I had considered applying to.

Prep MBA is Alex’s firm – and you get to work with him, he does not have an army of junior consultants. Alex is very experienced, thoughtful and humorous – all of the calls I had with him were truly enjoyable (even the mock interview!). At the same time, working with him was very productive. He responded to my questions timely, even in the days before submission. I did a 2 school package and I got admitted to both schools – I could not have asked for a better outcome.
Alex will encourage you to think through your career plans. Do not underestimate the time and effort needed for this – but it is worth it. Alex helped me to make connections in my vita that I had not seen earlier. His input enabled me to craft a passionate and compelling application. Alex has an exceptional skill: He is able to carve out your story and write it down in your own words. I highly recommend Alex!

Upon researching several top-ranked MBA admissions consulting services through Poets & Quants, Alex stood out among the rest as he is a graduate of the prestigious Harvard Business School, possesses nearly 15 years of experience, and resides in the same city as me. During a preliminary phone call, I grew to appreciate the independence, personability, and accessibility Alex had to offer through his Prep MBA service. I was comforted in knowing that throughout such an arduous process, I would be working directly with Alex and that I wouldn’t be passed down the hierarchy to a junior consultant.

Working with Alex proved to be a truly fantastic experience. I especially appreciated his quick response to my correspondence. His turnaround time on edits was also extremely fast, but never to the sacrifice of quality. He consistently maintained an objective point of view throughout and never hesitated to indicate my strengths and weaknesses. Given my strong GPA, but weak GMAT score, Alex helped me in developing a strong professional narrative that highlighted my individuality in my essays. Additionally, Alex was stellar in preparing me for my interviews. My actual MBA interviews were verbatim to what was covered in Alex’s in-person mock interview. Without his preparation, I would have otherwise found myself stumbling.

I would highly recommend Alex Leventhal to anyone applying for their MBA. He is sharp, thorough, and most importantly, he has his finger on the pulse of the graduate admissions landscape. Thanks to Alex, I found a greater sense of direction throughout the MBA application process. As a result, I got accepted into one program and waitlisted at another.

I was connected with Alex in hopes of being admitted into NYU so that I could live and work in NYC. I really enjoyed working with Alex. He is very passionate and diligent. He took the time to get to know me personally in order to better evaluate my career trajectory. His honesty and commitment to his business, Prep MBA, challenged me to work hard in pursuit of the outcome that I wanted. He improved my overall application tremendously and helped me consolidate my thoughts into a well-structured essay that was personalized to my past experience and future expectations. I would recommend Alex Leventhal to anyone in a heartbeat. It meant a lot to me that he was my consultant as well as the head of his firm. There was no one in between, and I was able to have specialized attention as one of his clients. If you want the best shot at your dream school, choose Alex!

Alex was wonderful throughout my application process in a number of ways. First, his get-to-know-you process felt thorough and not rushed. Second, he was instrumental in turning those original brainstorming ideas into a polished essay. Lastly, even with aspects of my application that I thought was finished (like my resume), he pushed me to find ways to convey more bang for my buck in a way I don’t think is as doable on one’s own. All in all – his combo of experience and personalization is exactly what I needed. I highly recommend Alex!

There are a lot of options to choose from when it comes to consultants. I chose Alex because he was the only consultant who wasn’t afraid to take on a challenge. I told him which schools I was targeting and they were all long shots. Other consultants dismissed my ambitions except for Alex. He didn’t guarantee anything except high-quality work, and that’s all I wanted. He delivered and was true to his word. He helped me craft an application that was 100x better than what I could’ve done on my own. Clearly, it worked, and I would choose Alex again in a heartbeat.

Alex came highly recommended by several of my friends who had attended top MBA programs. I opted for a 2-school package (NYU & Columbia) as I intended to stay in NYC. My experience with Alex was fantastic. He spent a significant amount of time getting to know me, my career goals and my aspirations which helped go beyond the mindset of answering each question and essay independently. Instead, he saw value and opportunity where I saw trivialities. He made me feel comfortable and at the same time pushed me to take risks and helped me to focus on building a holistic and compelling story.

Alex also prepared me for the interviews. He understands what the schools are looking for and given the time he had previously spent learning about me, was able to help me close the gaps on difficult questions and guide me towards more thoughtful answers.

I would recommend Alex Leventhal to anyone applying for top MBA programs. He is sincere, passionate, smart, and knows what he is doing. Also, he was very accommodating to my work schedule and last-minute questions.

Alex is a fantastic MBA consultant. I was late to the process at the end of October and he ensured that I was all squared away for round 2. I was accepted and attended my first choice school (GSB). More than just a consultant, Alex is a great person who really cares about his clients and the process. I would highly recommend him (and have too many in my friends and family). If you’re on the fence, make the jump and go with Alex!

I worked with Alex on several strategy sessions planning my applications this year. He made himself available on very short notice to help me make some major decisions regarding my application strategy with an approach that homed in on the critical parts of my profile that needed work. Alex is great at giving you direct feedback on how to improve and distilling a core story from your career and personal experiences. He is also a great pre-interview coach and really sets you up to enter confident and prepared.

I was referred to Alex by a colleague of mine and decided to take the 4-school (M7) package (applying to a 2 year full-time MBA programs R2, Class of ’21) after speaking with Alex and understanding his overall process. If you are applying to top schools, I highly recommend partnering with Alex on the admissions process.

Alex started me off with a bio sheet that asked me to define myself in and out with a series of pre-defined questions – this was a fundamental exercise for me to define my goals, recall anecdotes, but also for Alex to deep dive into my life. Alex gets to know you very well early on.

We then focused extensively on the resume portion, aligning on a letter of recommendation strategy, followed by the essays. Working on the essays with Alex was my favorite – I was very proud of all my essays by the end of the process. Alex gave direct/actionable feedback every cycle and pushed me to keep iterating.

Alex was always accessible via phone, Skype, and email. He’s patient, listens, and is calm. Alex is the coach you need on your side and I highly recommend him.

Having Alex as an advisor provides me with great assurance and guidance during the MBA application process. Alex was always there for me starting from the selection of recommendation writers to interview prep. Knowing that Alex will take closer looks on all my draft materials with his experienced eyes gave me so much more comfort and confidence. He definitely helped me avoid making some significant mistakes for my resume, career goal story, video, and essays. I could also reach out to Alex for any questions popping up during the process. I’ve received an offer from my target school with Alex’s help, and will highly recommend him to my friends.

I am a candidate from an over-represented applicant pool (Indian Male). I worked with Alex (on an hourly basis, approx. 10 hours) to fine tune my essays for two schools.

I reached out to Alex just a couple of weeks before my application was due. Before turning to him for help, I had worked with another consultant but was not happy with his inputs.

Although I was fairly confident to showcase my professional journey in my essays, I thought my ‘personal’ stories were weak. In a very short notice, Alex was able to structure my personal stories and tie the loose ends in my application. I benefited the most from our brainstorming sessions. Alex will help you to connect the dots in your personal (and professional) stories and present a more holistic application.

I wish I had sought Alex’s help earlier in the application process!

Alex was a great coach in our mock interview sessions. I did a total of 2 sessions with him, and he was consistently insightful about which key stories and personality traits to highlight in my interview. He made sure to study my application before getting on the phone with me so that our time together was productive. I appreciated his ability to understand the nuances of my application and give customized, well-tailored feedback to my interview responses, drawing out characteristics I myself had overlooked. Finally, Alex was phenomenal about building confidence and getting me in the right mindset for the interview. My only regret is not working with Alex earlier during the pre-interview application process!

Alex was phenomenal in helping me get into the schools I wanted. He helped me discover and craft my personal story of “Why MBA?” so well that I was amazed at how it much deeply resonated with me which, in turn, helped me sell myself to the schools. He was candid in his feedback and will make you work very hard on your essays until he’s satisfied with them. However, he has your best interest in mind and is willing to go the extra mile for you. He was also tremendously helpful in preparing me for interviews so I was able to walk into my interviews with great confidence. Far from being a taskmaster, Alex is actually really caring and will help guide and encourage you every step of the way, if you let him. I couldn’t have done this without his help. He gets the job done and he is the consultant you want!

I had the pleasure of working with Alex on my scholarship essay. Even if the deadline was really short, Alex managed to take his time with my essay and give me guidelines on what would be best for it. He was very efficient and available and great to work with, even for such a short time. I would definitely recommend him!

Alex is was exactly what I looked for in a consultant. He was honest about what my strengths and weaknesses were as a candidate for admission at each school we worked on, and his advice on how to put my best foot forward was invaluable. Our working together resulted in a process where I learned a ton about my strengths and weaknesses, and he encouraged me every step along the way! Alex has a thorough, well-thought-out process for helping candidates, and it works. He is transparent, accessible, and thoughtful.

I applied to business schools last year with a different consultant, but got better results this year working with Alex. Alex’s assistance went far beyond reviewing essays for grammar and finer details; he helped me craft a more compelling goals narrative that tied in my personal background. He also helped me own both past successes and missteps in my applications. Alex provided honest feedback that admittedly was frustrating at times when I had to rewrite essays from scratch but ultimately led to more polished applications. Alex kept in mind the overall impression that my application would make at each school when reviewing individual application components. His high-level analysis helped me create more cohesive and memorable applications for each school. I have gotten acceptances at multiple schools (some with merit-based scholarships) and now I have a tough decision to make!

Talked with Alex on the strengths and growth areas for my profile, he was amenable in identifying them and giving constructive feedback. He also gave good methods to present yourself in the process to bring the real person. Alex also substantiated his success by giving examples of those who succeeded under his supervision, overall I was satisfied with Alex’s phone conversation. I wish him the best.

Alex was great to work with! He was highly recommended by a colleague of mine and I was not disappointed. He made my MBA application process much easier and less stressful. He took the time to understand my background and motivation for attending school, and then helped me craft an application story that was clear, genuine, and impactful. He was instrumental in helping me write a highly effective essay and preparing me for interviews. I got into HBS and Columbia Business Schoool and owe a debt of gratitude to Alex. Since working with Alex, I have continued to recommend him to friends and other colleagues who have experienced similar success as I did.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Alex – what stood out to me most was how engaged and thorough Alex was in helping me to craft my story, specific to my background and specific to the MBA programs I applied to. He was so thorough through detailed questionnaires, hours spend on the phone, and lots of time spent crafting essays and preparing for interviews, all catered to my specific story and goals. I’ve had friends work with other counselors and from the competitive intelligence I’ve gathered, it’s clear Alex was far more engaged, caring and customized than the rest of the market. I couldn’t recommend working with him more highly.

As an older, non-traditional applicant and someone who knew very little about MBA program admissions process, I wanted to get help to ensure I put together the best application. I have done several free consultations and Alex stood out – he listened, didn’t rush the call, and gave me more personalized feedback than other consultants. Alex recognized an opportunity to take seemingly random facts in my background and create a passionate and compelling application. I believe this is truly Alex’s gift – helping bring out your story and express it in the best possible way.

Alex is definitely a strategist and will help identify and recommend how to best position your strengths and address your weaknesses. He will help clarify your career goals and express them in an inspiring yet realistic way. With that said, you have to be ready for a lot of self-reflection and a lot of thought into who you are. Alex will not be a substitute for detail-oriented and tactical tasks and you will own your application, but you will get answers every step of the way. Alex is responsive to emails and has also provided plenty of phone call time.

I would recommend Alex to anyone, and especially to prospective students who may not have a traditional pre-MBA background. Alex offered his help to me when numerous other consultants did not want to put the extra effort into seeing beyond cookie-cutter checkboxes. Many of those consultants advised me to target schools in the top 10-15 range.

Not only did I end up getting admitted to a few M7 programs, but I also received fellowships and significant tuition assistance. I could have not done this without Alex’s guidance, help, and simply encouragement to push harder.

I hired Alex for essay guidance, resume feedback, and interview prep. Alex’s direction on my essays completely changed my essay approach, enabling me to better connect with the admission committees and market myself as a well-rounded applicant. He helped me to transform my engineering resume into a competitive b-school resume and his interview prep helped me feel confident when approaching b-school interviews. Alex brought out the best in my application with his extensive background in MBA prep consulting. Alex’s direction helped me gain admittance into UCLA’s fully-employed MBA.

Alex was a great help to me in getting into a top business school. He helped me stay organized and focused in the hectic process that is the application process. His feedback and guidance through each step of the way was tremendously helpful and resulted in my acceptance into multiple top programs. I highly recommend Alex’s services to anyone applying to an MBA program.

Recently, I was dinged from the business schools of my choice. Looking for help I turned to Alex given his stellar reviews and the fact his career background matched my own. I was not disappointed. He did a thorough review of my application, spoke with me about it multiple times, and even is coaching me through a difficult situation I have with one of my recommenders. What I really appreciated was the fact that he advised me to not move forward with additional ding analyses to save my money, proving that his primary focus is not getting every possible dollar. I look forward to working with Alex this summer to get a better result.

I came to Alex through a friend who used his services to get into HBS. During the initial phone conversation, it was very clear that Alex has the depth of experience in business school applications and is straight to the point about what it takes to get into the top schools.

I worked with Alex on the one school package and also used additional hours on another essay. I particularly found Alex to be a value-add in constructing my resume. Alex helped to eliminate any industry jargon and highlight leadership experiences that may be missed in generic job search-focused resumes. Alex is always responsive to last-minute emails and willing to accommodate special requests. I’m happy to have received admittance to Wharton with Alex’s guidance.

I highly recommend Alex to anyone looking to improve his/her chances at a top business school.

I reached out to Alex, unsure whether an MBA is right for me. The information Alex was able to provide was incredibly helpful and will be invaluable as I make my decision on whether to pursue an advanced degree and where I should get that degree.

Applying MBA was a complicated and time consuming process especially for a full time professional like me. Alex made the whole process a lot easier by providing guidance every single step along the way.

His experience, knowledge and unique approach on challenging me and inspiring me about my thought process gives me an edge when it comes to crafting my story and makes me stand out from the competition. I could have not done it without Alex being there all the time. I am graduating this summer coming out of my dream MBA program, I want to take this opportunity to thank Alex for his help and I would highly recommend his service.

Applying to business school is an arduous process and I’m so grateful that I had Alex providing guidance each step of the way. He was deeply caring and took his time to get to know me on every call. He constantly pushed me to think deeper and tackle essays from different perspectives. With each turn, I felt my essays were improving and he helped me get them up to a standard that I would have never reached on my end. I appreciated his clarity of thought and his willingness to be honest when an essay wasn’t quite working. When it came time for interview prep, Alex knew to ask the right questions and I felt calm and well prepared heading in to real interviews. Working with Alex has been a tremendous growing experience and I highly recommend Alex to anyone applying to business school!

Alex is a wonderful consultant. I really needed help with my MBA admission essays and couldn’t tell a great story (at first).

He interviewed me several times and help me identified some compelling ways to draw out the right narrative. His process helped me become much more confident with my writing which in turn, helped my admission interviews.

Alex will not take it easy on you. He will partner with you, but he will also push you and make you work very hard for something that you really want.

With his help, I ended up getting into all of the business schools that I applied to. I highly recommend Alex.

Knowing that I had limited network resources to tap on regarding the MBA application process, it was essential that I selected the best admissions consultant who could personally guide me through the journey. I spent a considerable amount of time speaking to numerous consulting firms, and Alex stood out as he was specific in outlining his approach to my profile. I also wanted to work with a “single consultant” firm and amongst all, Alex brought in the most experience, which became clear during my application process.

Alex communicated openly and candidly as he brought me through a structured approach that he had developed for each of my applications. I appreciated how he challenged me to dig deep to craft my personal narrative and objectives, rather than providing ready-made answers that did not reflect my individuality. I am certain that it was through this process of rigorous discussion and feedback that many of his clients, including myself, were able to produce uniquely compelling and successful applications.

It is also worth mentioning that Alex made great effort to accommodate scheduling challenges, to the point of his own inconvenience. He was also an expert in pacing my rate of work while making sure that timelines were comfortably met. I worked with Alex on 4 schools in total, which was sufficient as I got into my furthest reach school: Stanford GSB.

I unreservedly and wholeheartedly recommend Alex as the top choice for anyone looking for an admissions consultant, and serious about giving themselves the best chance of getting accepted at their schools of choice.

When I began the MBA process, I wanted advice from someone who could guide me through the self-reflection process, help me pick the correct schools that would fit my profile, and work with me through the interview process.
Moving forward with Alex after speaking with several consulting firms was a very easy decision – you could tell that he was passionate about his work and that he handled every client himself, unlike the plethora of firms that farmed out the work to inexperienced folks. What I liked most about him was his up-front approach of giving me realistic targets while still having a couple of reach schools (I was from an over-represented demographic without a blue-chip name company on my resume).
He helped me immensely during the application process, starting with a profile overview that helped me dig deep into my to the interview process during which he conducted several mock interviews with pertinent advice that helped me improve without overwhelming me. I was always able to reach him even the night before an interview.
I ended up with generous offers from three M7 schools and will be attending a top 4 business school this fall (with a scholarship!). I could not have done this without Alex and would recommend him in a heartbeat to anyone aspiring to get into a top school.

I approached Mr. Leventhal with very short notice regarding my personal statement. Considering the fact that this was my first time applying to Universities I only wanted the best of the best to help me reach my goal. I transferred from a local community college where thousands of students transfer from every year and I knew that Alex could help me stand out giving me a higher chance of acceptance in the UK. I was very impressed with his knowledge and understanding of the academic field. Thank you for helping me take the leap into the right direction towards my education. It was extremely helpful to work with someone who knows what he is doing. He has his eye on the target and works with you to help you reach yours. He is highly recommended and after working with him I can see why.

When I first spoke with Alex in what feels like eons ago, my first impression was that he was a thoughtful and incredibly sharp guy. He gave me great feedback and made astute observations of my candidacy right from the very beginning. Most importantly, he was honest – and I was looking for someone who wasn’t afraid to give me some “tough love” but also willing to commend me in the areas where I did good.

This was mentioned in other posts but bears repeating: Alex is the one that you will work with. This is invaluable, especially in an already opaque industry where some admissions consultants build up their workforce in the pursuit of scale and not quality. Alex approaches the MBA application process with the same rigor I would expect the schools to use in their classes. He put a lot of time into getting to know me personally and through our conversations, I was better able to understand myself. Alex’s pre-application process was extremely useful when I started writing my essays and preparing for my interviews as we had a framework to use for each and every part of the application.

For me, Alex’s greatest contribution as my consultant was his ability to help me drill down on my career purpose. I had some issues in the beginning articulating exactly what I wanted to do but my conversations with Alex and the feedback I got helped crystallize my story. He was able to take seemingly disparate parts of my work experience and extracurriculars and tailor them to each MBA program, using examples from past applications and his knowledge of the school. He meticulously went through my essays with a fine-tooth comb; we must have gone through multiple revisions and drafts for each essay. The turnaround for the edits and feedback was always within 24-48 hours. The mock interview was also a great help to me – I am not a great interviewee and Alex helped put my unease to rest by giving me useful tips and walking me through each one of my responses to provide advice on how best to approach the question. I think he is the reason I felt so confident coming out of my interviews with some of the m7 schools. Thanks to his help across all areas of my application, I will now be attending one of the top MBA programs in the country.

Lastly, Alex is fantastic to work with. He has a good heart and obviously wants his clients to succeed. He is generous with his time (he offered to help me do a mock interview for a school that wasn’t part of my package) and he genuinely wants to get to know you. Part of the value of a consultant is to have someone who can truly understand your underlying motivations almost as well (if not better) as you do. That can only happen with a large investment in the person and Alex is willing to make that sacrifice for you.

I highly recommend Alex Leventhal as a first-class MBA admissions consultant. Alex knows the ins and outs of applying to top-notch MBA programs and this is abundantly clear throughout every stage of the process. He is highly intelligent, professional and effective. Alex provided me with excellent advice regarding school selection, how to shape my story, how to effectively frame my career goals, and how to confidently articulate key points relating to my background. His very valuable insights proved very helpful in receiving admission offers to four top schools. I deeply appreciated his laser-sharp sense of judgment as well as his ability to put his finger on problem points and guide you towards finding ways to resolve these. Alex has been in the business since 2005 and those years of experience are clearly reflected in the points he raises. He is also genuine and down-to-earth. He will not mince words when explaining how to improve your candidacy and this is exactly what you need when you are looking for an experienced professional to help you navigate the admittedly daunting task of applying to top MBA programs. I will absolutely recommend Alex to friends looking for an admissions consultant. 5 stars – no doubt!!

As a college senior planning to attend business school down the road, I decided to enlist the help of a consultant to plan my career and extracurricular trajectory. After numerous consultations with potential consultants, I settled on Alex because of the personal attention he provides his clients. While many other consultants work with assistants, Alex takes care of all his clients application needs personally. Once we starting working together, Alex was extremely knowledgeable on how best to best foster my strengths while also aiming to mitigate any potential weak areas. I look forward to completing my applications in the years to follow with Alex’s continued help.

Alex not only changed the entire MBA process from me, but also helped me find myself and better understand my strengths. He taught me how to be focused and clear in storytelling in a way that would elevate my message. Through his tough questions and direct feedback, I was able to quickly hone in on what I am looking for and the right schools that made sense for my goals. The best part was that I was able to work directly with him as he is a wealth of knowledge. He has a clear process in which he is able to get to know you quickly, and provides actionable next steps each week. I highly highly recommend using Alex to help anyone in the MBA process – he’s no nonsense, ensures that your time is used efficiently, and guides you through an application that with catch an admissions boards eye.

I worked with Alex for both interview prep and a “ding analysis” in 2018 as a re-applicant to HBS/GSB. He took significant care and time with all of my materials, redlining certain sections for specific advice as well as providing a great high-level overview. I am particularly pleased with his attention to detail and his thoroughness in preparation. Over the phone, we discussed the application and he went into even greater depth. I believe his comments were central to building a successful reapplication campaign that netted me an acceptance to either GSB or HBS. We also did interview prep for a session and his tips for me on the eve of the real thing was also invaluable. I am grateful to him and can highly recommend him as an AC.

I availed of Alex’s one time review because I felt like I just needed a professional opinion on whether or not I was creating the best possible application. I really appreciate how Alex was able to give useful insights which I was able to apply to my MBA apps for other schools as well. Would definitely recommend the one time review service if you feel you just need a quick check before you submit anything!

I was referred to Alex by a close friend who worked with him and was admitted to two M7 schools (one with a scholarship). In working with Alex myself, I was admitted to a top program as well. I can see why Alex has such a high success rate with applicants—he is an expert in navigating the hyper-competitive MBA admissions space, he is incredibly detail-oriented and knows how to bring out the right details and stories to make your profile stand out, and he is honest and quick with his feedback. I highly recommend Alex for anyone who is going through the MBA application process.

As a young applicant coming directly out of undergraduate studies at UVA, I knew how difficult it would be to achieve my goal of securing admission into a top MBA program. Working with Alex proved to be an invaluable experience. He took the time to understand my full history – academically, athletically, and personally – and was able to help me find new ways to approach my application and tell my story in the most compelling way possible. What truly set him apart was his ability to help me tailor my resume and essays to the cultures of the programs I applied for. Alex truly makes a personal investment in each of his clients, which made working with him all the more productive and enjoyable. Thanks to Alex’s help, I’m proud to be a part of UVA Darden’s Future Year Scholars Program and will begin business school in 2020.

I love the fact that unlike other big companies that treat you like another number, Alex is a one-man show who will help you from start to finish. Alex really helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses. He was extremely patient as I explained him my background and my career goals. Coming from a non-traditional background (education) can be a challenge but Alex really helped me figure out my next steps. Even though I will not be applying this year, I hope to work with him again in the future.

Alex came highly recommended to me by several of my more senior colleagues who had found success in applying to business school. Having recently completed the MBA application process with Alex, I find it easy to see why! I really believe that working with Alex allowed me to put together the best MBA application possible. I ended up getting into HBS, which was my top choice.

One of the best parts about working with Alex is that he runs all of Prep MBA (i.e. no junior consultants). As such, he gave personal attention to each of my applications and he built a deep understanding of my unique profile and the major selling points of my application. This in-depth knowledge proved especially valuable as Alex helped me brainstorm ideas for essays and prepare for interviews. I’m sure Alex has plenty of other clients, but I never felt neglected.

Alex’s experience (HBS MBA and consultant since 2005) also proved to be very useful. Across the MBA forums, there is a lot of conflicting information on the application process and it was helpful to have someone with multiple years of real experience to cut through the BS and help you focus on what really matters. Alex has an informed view on the top business schools and he gives straightforward information on what they are looking for. Additionally, when you work with Alex, you also get the benefit of guidance based on his long history as a consultant. Alex provides extremely helpful examples from past clients that cover a wide range of scenarios to help you frame your thinking.

With that said, my favorite part about working with Alex was that he really pushed me to go the extra mile. When drafting my resume and essays there were many times when I thought, “this looks great, this has to be the final draft,” but Alex would continue to push me to improve every bullet point and every sentence. No detail was too small to avoid attention. Alex pushed me to maximize every aspect of my application – which is critical in today’s hyper-competitive MBA application process.

Alex was excellent resource throughout the entire process and I would highly recommend him to anyone I know planning to apply to an MBA program.

I worked with Alex on career counseling and MBA strategies. Not only was he very easy to speak to, but he was also very candid. Career changes and MBA applications are an overwhelming process. Alex helped me stay grounded and provided actionable advice. I would definitely recommend his services to anyone seeking help with applications or general career advice!

I consulted with Alex for 2 hours to have his expert opinion on my chances on various universities. Alex was perfect for providing me with this assistance as he has a few decades of experience under his belt. In addition to having vast experience, Alex has worked with applicants from far and away. He had unique insights on applicants from the ‘competitive pools’ such as India & China. This greatly helped as I was able to re-calibrate my approach towards preparation and application.
I would strongly recommend Alex.

Alex was extremely helpful in defining a path to a potential MBA. He helped map out an achievable timeline that would best serve me. He was easy to work with and very flexible. I would not only recommend Alex for MBA planning/application but also for career counseling and how to best transition from current career to a post MBA career.

As I researched and connected with various admissions consulting firms, Alex immediately stood out from the rest. On our initial call, he personally reviewed my strengths and (very candidly) weaknesses, and took the time (well over the published allotment) to really understand my story, and identify my chances of success at a range of programs I was interested in. I also liked that Alex would be my single point of contact throughout my application process, and would not hand me off to a junior consultant, or team of essay reviewers, but instead would work with me step by step to develop and execute an admissions strategy. Throughout the process his sense of humor, intelligence, ability to communicate, and creativity helped alleviate the stress and potential panic of the admissions process.

As we started working together, each interaction reiterated that Alex, a Harvard MBA, is a consummate professional who has mastered his trade. He identified potential friction points in my application profile, and helped me to leverage stronger aspects to compensate for any weaknesses, and build the best application possible. I did a 3 School package with Alex and was admitted to all three programs, including Tuck (my top choice). Alex’s guidance and long ‘man-hours’ spent connecting dots to logically present my story and ‘brand’ my application undoubtedly integral to my admission.

I have already and will continue to recommend Alex Leventhal! The two things that most distinguish him from other consultants are his creativity and his communication ability. His ability to look at my experiences from a different angle, coupled with his unmatched writing/editing ability helped to craft captivating and complete essay responses within the prescribed word limits. I firmly believe that Alex is a uniquely skilled advisor, and that his consulting practice is unmatched. He is uncommonly bright, hard working, and efficient – I often felt like his only client.

A critical ally in helping me prepare for an eventual eMBA run, Alex deserves his five-star rating on P&Q. Alex started with a thorough analysis of my resume (a key element of the eMBA application) and thoughtful suggestions for improvement. Important professional achievements are now appropriately highlighted and the overall results are night and day. I continue to work with Alex to connect the dots in my professional narrative as I prepare an application to several top-tier eMBA programs. Highly recommend.

Let me begin by saying that my MBA application journey was a long one. After having worked with one of the “big” guys, I was left with 2 dings and a sour taste in my mouth.

From the start, working with Alex was different. Instead of providing general feedback, he provided direct/candid feedback with examples of ways to improve my resume, essays, and story. He was efficient and creative. He was able to connect the dots in my “story” very quickly, which was impressive. Alex is an extremely supportive consultant. The prior consultant I had worked with had a strict deadline for essay submissions and if she didn’t have the essays in her inbox by the deadline, you were on your own. Working with Alex didn’t feel like a ‘business’ relationship, but rather a mentorship. Although I would never recommend making major changes to your application the night before the deadline, Alex bailed me out when I did. He logged on late into the night to provide feedback and edits because he truly cares about his clients’ success.

With Alex’s help, I gained admission into a Top 15 US full-time MBA program. I would recommend Alex to anyone who is looking for an experienced professional who will improve your candidacy in almost every facet.

I got Alex referred by someone who recently was admitted to a top tier executive MBA. With just a few hours of help on my essays, Alex was able to explain what it was the school was really after in their essay questions. He pointed out how my drafts could be improved on content and style. What I really appreciated was the direct feedback and the efficient way we worked together which helped me get into my school of choice (INSEAD executive MBA).

When I first reached out to Alex, I was coming off of a cycle of rejections from a few top schools and just during our initial conversation, I could sense the areas in which I could have done a better job in my applications. My career story was somewhat disjointed and the motivations were not coming across strongly. Alex suggested that I had a strong chance with higher quality application materials and so I decided to re-apply when I realized immediately how Alex could help me strengthen my applications significantly.

Alex brings a wealth of experience in helping candidates from all types of backgrounds gain admissions to top schools and it shows in the way he carries himself through the preparation process. He is thorough and meticulous with his reviews at every stage.

We started off by filling out a detailed PrepMBA questionnaire which touched upon various aspects of my professional and personal life. I then mapped out 1-2 relevant but slightly different career paths as options. As I come from an over-represented pool of candidates, I heard the need to “differentiate yourself” several times, but it was not until I had done my ‘career purpose’ work with Alex that I understood what it really meant. I strongly recommend watching his video “Crafting compelling career goals” on the PrepMBA website. My career purpose document served as the basis for my essays, which I was able to complete smoothly, thanks to the foundational prep earlier.

I strongly recommend Alex for his ability to help applicants build strong career narratives and his ability to stitch them together into essays that flow very well. I would suggest starting as early as possible, to be able to take full advantage of Alex’s rigorous preparation process. I ended up getting admitted to a top choice (top 4 M7 school) and couldn’t have done it without Alex’s help.

I spoke with over 10 consultants before choosing, and I decided on Alex because of his experience and genuine care for my success. During our initial call, he was the only consultant that took the time to ask me about my background and helped me generate some great essay ideas. His HBS background and industry expertise make him the best consultant not only for HBS but also for any other business school.
Alex’s greatest strength is his creativity. He has the ability to pick out the perfect story from topics that other consultants would brush off. In my case, I came in with a few ideas I wanted to write about, but Alex encouraged me to list all possible topics. He pushed me to explore a topic that I wrote down briefly at the end of the list, and we ended up using it as my HBS 2+2 essay. Alex has the ability to take underappreciated life experiences and turn them into compelling stories.
Alex also really cares about all his clients. He willingly used my mock interview for another M7 school that I did not use his services for, which helped me get on the waitlist.
Alex was meticulous about every step in the process, from interviews to letters of recommendation to the application form itself. He definitely makes you feel like his only client. I would definitely hire Alex again!

My journey to being accepted to business school was a long one, involving reapplications, waitlists, and a lot of nervous waiting. Alex guided me every step of the way, from connecting the dots in my professional experience to define my career purpose, mining my personal experience (including my childhood) to create compelling essay material, and overcoming the introverted side of my personality to put forth an engaging admissions interview. In addition, he was equipped to handle the less typical aspects of my specific situation, which included reapplication and waitlist processes. Lastly, Alex is a good-hearted person who honestly does care about his clients, which I believe helps to create a more personal application that is truly reflective of the person underneath the applicant. I would not have been able to get into my dream school, Stanford GSB, without Alex, and I highly recommend him to anyone considering applying to business school.

I am so glad that I decided to hire Alex and his services for my MBA application process. Because I was studying for the GMAT and completing the application at the same time, it was extremely important that I stayed on track and was well paced for the short term deadline. Alex was flexible with my schedule and very responsive to my emails. He also helped to shape a clear story for why I was seeking an MBA from my background and personal experiences – I think this was a pivotal part in my application that would not have been as strong without his coaching. Even though I had a lower than average GPA and okay GMAT score, I felt confident about the quality in my essays and resume and the content in my application. I only applied to one school, Fuqua, and was accepted with a scholarship in their most selective round.

I was introduced to Alex’s Prep MBA through a close friend who got into MBA at MIT Sloan, and she told me Alex played an essential role to guide her in the process of self reflection to connect the magical dots in her life, which deeply touched me because since the very beginning, I thought my application, especially the essay should show the genuine me, even my weak sides, my emotional side, and I believe Alex would be the advisor that could help to unleash my potential, not like many other advisors in China, kind of forced everyone into some kind of format.

My gut was proved super right. He pushed me hard to reflect on my past experience, and did not shy away from failures. I felt super safe and comfortable in showing all sides of me, that lead me to generate super genuine stories, and through the process, I have become clearer of the things I want to do in the future, not just to apply for MBAs.

There are three memorable things from this 1-year consulting with Alex.

1. The application process is very intense and stressful, but having Alex can always ease my tension, and kept me on schedule. I remembered in my round 1 application, I was super late in the timeline, but Alex’s comforting words, That’s what I am here for, to set you the pace and ease your tension, which definitely relived my stress and panic situation. He is very responsible, always solve my doubt and it’s nice to have companionship like Alex in this rigorous process.

2. While I was writing my HBS and Stanford GSB essay, I’ve seen various admits’ essays from the HBS application guide, and most of them are filled with so many successful points to demonstrate the capabilities of them. However, I did not feel those are my type, and Alex encouraged me to just be me, and write it in a simple and genuine way, that shows my struggles and obstacles, and how I got over with them, and also show my mental activities. I’ve shown my essay to several HBS & GSB admits, they all said, it might not be strong enough or it’s too emotional. I was nervous and panic. But Alex told me my essay is super genuine and touchy, I should stick to who I am not who others think you should be, which gave me confidence. And I believe it’s my genuine that allowed me receive both offers from HSB and GSB. I think Alex is truly trying to know the special characteristics of each applicant, and try to bring out the special parts of each individual.

3. As an international student, though I had my undergrad at US, I was still not that confidence with my writing skill, but Alex will never edit too much of my original drafts – essays or application forms unless the time is super urgent. At first, I was a little nervous that my language is not perfect, but Alex told me that I should not focus that much about my language, as long as it shows the true me and well articulated. It is actually cool that he took rounds and rounds to guide me to get to the proper content that allowed myself to dig deeper. At the meantime, though Alex quietly encouraged self-reflection, he is strict sometimes when he thinks you are really thinking too much.

Eventually I got into Stanford Graduate School of Business and Harvard Business School, which are amazing results for me!!! I had dreamed for them, the Alex has helped me to make my dream came true.

How I wound up working with Alex is really interesting: I initially consulted a few of the larger MBA consulting firms and I never reached common ground with them; I had a low GPA, a 640 GMAT, and worked for my family business in the Middle East and had never worked for a multi-national company. Yet I had big aspirations to get into a top 5 MBA program despite all these obstacles. None of the consulting firms would take me on with my stats. Alex, on the other hand was very honest from the beginning that getting into an elite program with these stats would be a long-shot yet he was willing to work with me provided that I studied hard for the GMAT and I that I was realistic about my chances.

The key with Alex is to start the process very early as Alex is extremely meticulous and would not accept anything less of perfection. With the essays, Alex immediately knows what stories make the cut with the big schools. I was impressed with the amount of time that Alex devotes to knowing his client, a step of the process that he thinks is the key to a winning application. Before we began working together, I had to fill in a very comprehensive bio-sheet that took quite a long time to fill out but a form that was really pivotal to the process. Alex would later draw onto details that I forgot I had mentioned in that sheet.

I also saw major added value in GMAT support where Alex was really pushing me to try different prep companies and even at one point to take on a personal tutor. I took the GMAT 5 times, scoring 680 the 4th time, and where everyone else told me to forget about the GMAT, Alex told me he thinks I should try one more time, and I followed him on that one, scoring a 710 in my last attempt.

Though his turnaround times are very quick, Alex is very critical throughout the process, and things take time to stack up to his standard, so for me starting early with Alex no matter how weak you think your profile is would be imperative to gaining admission at the school of your choice.

I applied to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, and LBS, and gained admission into Wharton, MIT, and LBS, and will be starting at Wharton next fall.

Bottom line: If you are really serious about getting into a top program and have enough time to devote to the process, then Alex is your guy.

I had the experience of working with other admission consultants before I worked with Alex, and I can tell you that the level of personalized attention I got from Alex is not something other consultants provide. The other consultant I worked with was not the most responsive. When I emailed her, she would take various days to get back to me. I never felt she took the process as seriously as I did. With Alex it was a different story. He always tried to respond within the same day, and if he could not get back to me in 24 hours he would let me know when could I expect a new version of my essays. He also provided valuable advice in choosing between my recommenders. His interview prep helped me feel confident and ready for my interview. Additionally, he identified my areas of weakness so that I could improve on them before my interview. With my essays he provided direct and honest feedback indicating the gaps in my stories, but also suggesting a complete rewrite of the essays when necessary. Thanks to his guidance I was fortunately admitted to MIT Sloan, despite having a low GPA.

I was introduced to Alex by close friend and former colleague who had gotten into both Harvard and Stanford and spoke volumes about Alex’s expertise in the application process. I spoke to six admissions consultants as part of my initial research and found Alex to be very thoughtful about how to go about navigating the admissions process, and clear in noting both the strengths and weaknesses of my candidacy. I am part of an over represented demographic (Asian male in finance) so it was critical for me to have a strong consultant who could help my unique capabilities shine. Alex’s experience clearly showed during our introductory call and I liked that he works directly with all his clients rather than having other junior members lead parts of the process. He was also the only consultant I spoke with who clearly highlighted that over 90% of his clients have gotten into one of their target business schools (no other consultant provided any statistics – if you don’t believe me, check the websites!).

Working with Alex was fantastic, and I really enjoyed our discussions. He dives deep into your profile and tries to understand everything about you before recommending ideas you should highlight in your application. The personal touch was what made a clear difference in my case as Alex was able to augment my career ambitions and really make my essays shine through detailed examples of my background and aspirations. Alex also provided me with multiple samples of successful essays from past clients and these were incredibly helpful for structure, flow and word limits. The advice and edits he provided for my resume as well as the interview preparation were critical both for my application as well my long-term career. Two things that really stood out were his creativity (he was always able to find vivid and catchy ways to tell my story) and his editing capabilities (I was amazed by how he was able to help me hit the tight word limits!).

I did a 4-school package with Alex and applied to the very best schools: HSW & Columbia. It was an ambitious goal, and most would have suggested a “safety” school but Alex knew that I wouldn’t settle for anything less and that despite my over representation, I stood a good chance if I put in the effort. Ultimately, I received interviews with three of four schools (Stanford, Wharton and Columbia) and got into both Wharton and Columbia. I also received a 6-figure merit scholarship at Wharton!

In my day-to-day job of private investing, our ideal situation is to generate 10x returns on our capital (i.e. invest in companies that ultimately generate 10 times our initial money into the company) and many in my industry search for years to find such opportunities. In the case of Alex and my merit scholarship this statistic was clearly true!

I would recommend Alex in a heartbeat and have already done so to friends. Applying to business school is not an easy process and having a consultant like Alex working tirelessly on your side can really improve the odds!

Alex Leventhal was critical in assisting me with putting together thoughtful applications in a short amount of time. From our first exploratory phone call, I could tell he was passionate about his work and would help me stand out. His honesty after reviewing my candidacy was refreshing and he was able to suggest solutions to weaknesses a low quant score immediately. I appreciated that he ran a one-man shop and that I would be working with him directly at all times.

Working with Alex proved to be awesome. His service was very personal (I often felt like his only client) and his schedule accommodating, despite a time difference between my location and LA. His vast experience truly helped me develop my “career purpose” and he really worked with me to get creative with my essays. He helped me differentiate myself and get into my top choice program (one of H/S/W).

I would strongly recommend Alex to all future applicants, as I have to my friends, looking to get into their dream school.

Results first- I applied to four schools with Alex and got into three (out of which one was from HSW), 2 with scholarship (1 M7 with scholarship and another one in top 10) and I was waitlisted at one (another M7 school.

Now, coming to my application process and history-I reached out to Alex first in 2016 for a free call. He wasn’t in a rush, asked me specific questions and really got to know me on the call to assess what my strengths and weaknesses were. He pointed out certain weaknesses in my profile (I am from an overrepresented background, Male/Engineer and belonging to one of two most populated countries in the World) and asked me to work on them. Also, to provide more context, neither is my undergrad school reputed nor is the engineering company I work for. So, I belonged to the most difficult competitive pool you can think of. What I really liked about this call was his honest/unbiased opinion on my profile. Though the call was supposed to last 20-25 min, it went on for a good one hour.

However, emotion got the better of me as I ended up going with a different consultant who spoke strongly about my chances with some top schools. Result- I was dinged from (3) schools in T-15 and realized that I would need someone who is more honest and critical throughout this process. After this, I took my time, increased my GMAT per Alex’s recommendation and went straight to him for R-2 admissions for 2017-18 season.

I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do, but Alex really helped me distill this vagueness into “concrete passion” and we came up with solid goals, that tied with my engineering background. I really think the brainstorming and time we took to finalize goals was a big reason I ended up getting into top schools. Once we started working on schools, he was always very responsive, always available for a call and made sure that I was never getting stuck. I can’t recollect a single instance when I didn’t get back comments on my essay or a response to my question within 48 hours. Also, the samples he will provide from previous successful applicants will also help you brainstorm more ideas for unusual essay topics. Oh by the way, you cannot BS him- he has way too much experience in the field (he is a super smart, HBS grad) and will be direct with you when he thinks you’re trying to exaggerate something. He is very articulate and can bring life into mundane sentences. So, if you’re afraid that you aren’t a good writer- fret not- your essays will sound very compelling and logical in the end.

In terms of interview prep, Alex’s coaching is outstanding. He will coach you on tone, content, timing, and also teach you how to drive the conversation to be able to talk about your top stories.
Overall, I had a very positive experience with Alex. His experience in the field for more than a decade will truly show in your application. Lastly, he runs the business by himself – so no junior consultants, you will always get the best service. And he WILL provide that personal attention to make it seem like you are his only client. Go for him if you want to get into your dream school.

During my initial due diligence on admissions consultants, I spoke with a number of large, national firms where conversations began a receptionist to gather information, not the actual admissions consultant. After this initial experience, Alex and PrepMBA immediately stood out from the competition as a hands on approach where Alex was my initial and only point of contact. Alex took a sincere interest in my story, hearing about my goals and what I was looking for in an admissions consultant. During our first two introduction calls, it became very clear that Alex’s honestly and no BS attitude was one of the keys to his success. He outlined my weaknesses from his perspective and helped me to really gauge my strengths during the application process which was extremely helpful in putting together my target school list.

I purchased a five-school package from Alex, and worked hourly for a sixth application, and the first step in the process was the Bio Sheet: nearly 50 personal questions meant to help both him and me analyze my history to craft the perfect story. This was one of my favorite parts of his process and was the first time that anyone has had me really look into my decisions and path to date for inspiration. I had a general idea of where I wanted to take my application, but I had a very hard time moving from “general” to “specific.” Alex helped me to really pinpoint my career goals and to craft an application with character, interest and even humor. Applying to six schools was a daunting task and anxious process, but Alex made sure that I moved calmly and methodically through the application process, completing one school at a time.

I would recommend Alex to anyone looking to take their application to the next level. Alex was always available to bounce ideas off of, even at odd hours while I was traveling internationally. I can truthfully say that my applications would not be a fraction of their final product if it weren’t for Alex’s mentoring and expertise along the way. I was ultimately accepted to two of my top choices, UCLA Anderson and London Business School!

I began my search for an MBA consultant with endless questions and a lower than average GMAT for my target
schools. Moreover, I came from an over-represented background having worked in banking since graduation. These
qualities mandated that I find an experienced and effective MBA consultant to help me avoid common pitfalls and
standout from a large crowd of qualified applicants. My GMAT tutor provided three recommendations of MBA
consultants that had worked with his clients in the past. My initial communication with Alex of Prep MBA proved
that he had what I was looking for. First, he was the experienced with 10+ years in the industry demonstrating
successful outcomes with clients in a similar predicament to my own. Second, as a Harvard MBA himself, Alex
could relate and provide crucial insider knowledge. But, most important, before signing up for any services, Alex
took an hour out of his schedule to examine my profile, pinpoint areas to improve and outline his process. This
initial interaction demonstrated that Alex would be a committed and thoughtful partner through this challenging
process. After the initial consultation, I chose a two school package with hourly work on two other schools.
Alex was great at providing candid and effective feedback throughout the process. We started by examining my
background from square one, highlighting areas of strength and weakness to help craft a compelling profile for my
target schools. Alex’s strong understanding of current industry dynamics, banking and MBA selection criteria
helped my profile steer clear of generalities and focus on particularities. Moreover, Alex’s attention to detail allowed
each sentence in my essays to speak to my strengths and personality, highlighting my career goals and value add to
the MBA program. However, I think Alex’s understanding of the interview process helped the most. Through in
person, one on one sessions, Alex helped turn my interview style from nervous and impersonal to engaging and
confident. In the end, I was accepted to three schools as well as one of my top choices, LBS.
Looking back on the process, I do not know how I would have fared without help from a consultant the caliber of
Alex. His process helped me demonstrate a compelling profile despite my well represented background, his
experience answered all my questions giving me confidence at every step and his sense of structure kept my essays
impactful within the right word limits. I look forward to recommending Alex to any of my former classmates and
colleagues who wish to pursue an MBA in the future.

Alex has been a great help to me and instrumental for me to make the application process for my Executive MBA as time efficient as possible. He was a great help for me with getting the right strategy and helped me greatly expressing my reasons for wanting to do the programme and through a structured process gave me some very helpful pointers to get starting on the essays I had to do. Thereafter he was a very efficient and gave me some very actionable feedback and advice which resulted in my essays getting to the next level in for me a very time efficient way. Would recommoned him highly to everyone who wants to have some tailor made advice and support for application for an executive MBA.

I first reached out to Alex over the summer as I was getting ready for my round 1 applications. Like most applicants in the market for an admissions consultant, I scheduled free consultations with several big-name shops. Alex immediately stood out because he made it clear that I would be working with him one-on-one through the admissions process, and he had a track record of helping applicants with my background get admission into top programs. Most other consultants who I spoke with were eager to pass me on to the junior members of their teams, and I would have little to no interaction with the admission veterans who were extensively featured in their marketing material. During my research, I encountered consultants who thought that I was aiming too high and pushed me to apply to lower ranked schools, or they promised the moon and advised only applying to M7 schools. Alex gave me an honest assessment of what schools I should target and were worth spending the limited application resources on. After receiving decisions on my Round 1 applications, I can confidently say that his assessment was spot-on with regards to target and stretch schools. One big area where Alex’s expertise immensely benefited me was in the crafting of my career goals. Since I was sponsored by my employer, Alex helped me brainstorm a few different career goals that made sense for my background and my sponsorship situation. He helped me identify aspects of my background that connected organically to a career goal that was not only unique, but also something that I was genuinely excited about. I am positive that this enthusiasm came across in my essays and interviews and played a big factor in receiving multiple admits. Another area where Alex shone was picking the right stories for my essays. Often the stories I initially disregarded ended up being extremely meaningful in addressing the essay prompts. While working on a particularly challenging essay, I found myself in a creative block and ended up spinning my wheels for several days. Just a quick phone call with Alex gave me several different ideas to work with, and I was able to crank out a solid draft that I was happy with in a matter of hours. The mock interview with Alex helped me understand the finer aspects of my delivery that I needed to refine – things such as how to come off as a more ‘fun’ applicant, adding texture and color to my stories so that I don’t sound like the hordes of other applicants applying to top programs. Oh, and did I mention that I was a reapplicant? I went from all dings and waitlists last year to multiple admits with scholarships at my target schools this year. This was made possible in no small part by the reapplication strategy that Alex helped me come up with. He helped me determine the right mix of reapplications and new applications for round 1 and advised me to wait till round 2 for schools that had denied me in round 2 the prior year so we could show substantial year-over-year growth. All in all, I highly recommend Alex to B-School aspirants who are looking for a solid coach who will go the extra mile with them.

Before contacting Alex, I had already called a couple consultants located both in China and United States. The feedback I received from those consultants were quite opposite. I got very negative feedback from a Chinese consultant saying that I had no chance to get in a top 10 school, and very positive feedback from an American consultant encouraging me to apply any school I want. Coming from a very competitive pool with a moderate background (Chinese and average GMAT), I understand there are many hurdles I have to face. The initial conversation with Alex was quite pleasurable, unlike other consultants who treat you just as another business opportunity. Alex was sincere, professional and passionate about his career. More importantly, Alex was very honest with me after evaluating my background. With his help, I targeted three schools and got into CBS, my dream school! Working with Alex was a great experience, he is a Harvard MBA with more than a dozen years of experience in this business. His passion and expertise always help me think out of the box and have the chance to look into the “black box” of MBA admission. We spent a lot of time working on my career goals and resume, and when it came to the essays, Alex’s creative thinking about the structure and logic of essays really helped me ace my application, and I believe that’s why I got into CBS. Rather than just a consultant-customer relationship, working with Alex was also a fun and personal experience. We shared our lives during the calls and really got to know each other. I would definitely recommend Alex to anyone who is planning to pursue MBA at top schools. Looking back at my journey, teaming up with Alex was the best decision I made when I decided to apply business schools.

I was referred to Alex when I first began seriously considering pursuing an MBA. Despite indicating in my initial outreach that I was unsure an MBA was right for me, and that I was looking only for high-level guidance, Alex gladly took time to speak. The discussion led me to spend another year at my job and take my time with the GMAT. His candid advice and patience with my unfamiliarity with the application process were key reasons I decided to retain Prep MBA when I had fundamentally strengthened my resume. After retaining Alex’s services, he and I got to work immediately even though we were months out from the “typical” application timeline. With Alex’s guidance, I narrowed a target school list – Fuqua, Wharton, Kellogg, McCombs and Anderson. We then worked collaboratively – including in-person meetings, phone calls and lots of emails – to prepare a compelling resume and strong core personal narrative that leveraged my family history, work experience and short- and long-term career goals. When the time came to write my essays, I was well-prepared with my narrative and a great resume to support it. Alex’s support throughout the drafting process was timely and demonstrated a deep knowledge of my background and target MBA programs. In addition, his bank of resumes and school-specific essays were helpful resources. His timely feedback, creative and actionable directional guidance and digestible line edits were also extremely valuable. As a result, my applications painted a clear picture of me and my specific goals at each school and how I’d give to and take from each program to achieve those goals. As my applications moved forward, Alex continued to be a critical resource for me. His interview prep, school selection advice and scholarship negotiation assistance demonstrated his commitment to his clients from start to finish. In the end, I was offered admission at Anderson, McCombs (both with sizeable scholarships), and Fuqua. I removed myself from the waitlist at Kellogg after deciding on Fuqua, but was confident I’d gain admission in the event I remained on the list. Given I was offered scholarships at Anderson and McCombs, Alex and I decided to shoot for some scholarship assistance at Fuqua. He helped conduct back-and-forth scholarship negotiations with the school. After some time, Fuqua offered a generous merit scholarship, which has enabled me to attend my dream school! Overall, Alex was immensely helpful through his commitment to helping me develop the strongest possible applications and ability to navigate the MBA application process at both micro- and macro-levels. I would highly recommend him to prospective MBA students.

I spoke with a couple of consulting firms before choosing Alex. I wanted to gauge my chances at my target schools being a younger candidate coming from an over-represented demographic. What initially stood out was his candid feedback not only about strengths to highlight but also potential weaknesses and challenges. His honest feedback gave me a realistic sense of what to expect throughout the application process. I went with a 3 school package and utilized our work to apply to an addition 2 schools.

Once you sign on with PrepMBA, you will have access to Alex’s expertise as someone extremely familiar with every intricacy of the process. Alex’s method to get to know who he works with provides tremendous value. Alex helped shape my MBA goals and story in a way that set me up favorably throughout the entire process. This focus helped me craft a narrative that I used in all my essays and interviews. Additionally, his feedback on essays and my resume improved my writing significantly. From topic selection to essay structure, every sentence of each essay was meticulously considered. Alex definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone at times with edits and rewrites, but the hard work paid off with the final version of my essays. Additionally, after digging into my resume, I couldn’t believe the substantial improvements from first draft to final product.

Beyond all of this, I could be assured that I was well-prepared and composed throughout the entire process knowing there was a veteran Harvard MBA in my corner. With Alex’s help, I got 4 interviews and will be attending one of my top choices, Chicago Booth!

I contacted Alex after working with another admission consultant and receiving my first ding in R1. I was disheartened and was looking for someone to provide a fresh perspective on my profile. I called a number of admissions consultants, however was reluctant to accept any. That changed with Alex. Soon after our call I knew that he can help me and said Yes! He does not have a group of consultants working under him, but works individually with each client. I could tell that he was passionate about his service and honest in his assessment. I handed over a very difficult task to him – to help an Indian IT engineer, arguably the most overrepresented applicant pool, with silver work experience (not golden) land a ticket in one of the top-MBAs in R2 admissions. As I had limited time, I took hourly packages with Alex. However, he ended up becoming my mentor helping me in every stage of application process – school selection, profile assessment, essay ideas and edits, resume review, waitlist help, and most importantly interview prep.

His essay brainstorming and editing style is unique. End results of my essays, unlike my previous essays, were true, candid and confident reflection. They were well structured and much more engaging than my previous essays. His turnaround time surprised me! He was super flexible within my strict timeframes, and sometimes returned the edits on the same day. However, one area where I think I benefitted the most was interview prep. He changed my presentation style from sounding like a robot to presenting like a confident and genuine professional. I could see a huge difference between my first R1 interview and the following two R2 interviews. I’m sure his interview advice is going help me throughout my career. I applied at 3 schools with him and got into 2, including one of my top choices – Michigan Ross.

I would highly recommend Alex Leventhal. No wonder he has been featured in Poets&Quants as one of the top-10 MBA consultants. While his Harvard MBA is definitely a good enough credential, his philosophy undergrad, I think, also helps him connect with his clients on a deeper level. He is an amazing advisor with whom I look forward to staying in touch.

I remember in October 2016, I approached numerous consulting companies. I had initial sessions with many of them. After several conversations, I noticed that the majority of these companies does not assign those with highest scores on forums to you. Indeed, they use lower level people and they claim that the higher consultants oversee the progress. However, I wanted to directly work with an experienced person. One who owns the business not a middle man consultant who does this job on side. That’s why I chose Alex. It took me three weeks to reach this conclusion, and I think if you listen to my advice you can save your precious time. I did two school package with, and I hourly based consultation. My background is relatively complicated. First of all, I’m an international applicant with just 40 months of full time work experience. And before starting my MBA, I was pursuing my master in science as well as working part time. I bet you may think, schools shouldn’t admit me. And to be honest, I was thinking the same. In the first step, Alex sent me a workbook and I was supposed to answer them. The questions helped me to delve deep in myself. I came up with several events and achievement that shaped my life. This workbook helped us through the next steps. We started with Berkeley. As you know those self-reflection essays are super hard. We tried 12 times to reach the final idea and framing. But for the second one it decreased to 3 essays. As an international student, Alex helped me a lot to come up with appropriate and inspiriting sentences and well structured essays. For the general essay “Why school X? Why MBA? Why now?”, the strategy that he developed was really helpful. It helped me to connect my ideas and experience with school’s values, and come up with several solid reasoning. Therefore, admission committee could trust on me. I really feel shy to show my first draft of resume to anyone. It was a total disaster. I believe we went over that more than 15 times. The final version was a one page resume with precise wording and appropriate formatting. Don’t risk on your resume. Last but not least, for interview we had three sessions. He taught me to be more likeable, something that really matter for BS. We developed numerous stories with solid answers that made me confident in front of interviewer. I got admission form my top three choices Haas, Anderson, and Tepper. As an international applicant, I strongly suggest you choose Alex. He really cared about me. He is prominent in storytelling and writing skills. He knows what schools are looking for in their essay, what they want to hear. It’s a reasonable investment, as you will probably get into one of the top schools.

I had a great experience working with Alex. From our very first call while I was still deciding which admissions consultant would be the best fit, I felt at ease with Alex due to his honesty and openness about the process. Because I was a college senior, applying to only deferred admissions MBA programs, I chose to go with 1 full-school package, and then hourly services for additional applications. Upon beginning the first application, Alex provided clarity to an overwhelmingly open-ended process by helping me narrow down my story. He was extremely supportive in helping me explore multiple potential “career visions” until I could find one that was unique, realistic, and exciting for me. I firmly believe that I couldn’t have fully progressed through this initial planning without Alex’s help and honesty. The other reason that working with Alex was invaluable for me was for his help with my essays. Again, he provided honest feedback, taking the time to help me understand why certain themes in my early drafts sounded forced rather than genuine. He didn’t simply type up some comments and leave me to interpret them – he offered to chat on the phone and make it a live discussion. Ultimately, with his support and reaffirmation that I had picked a unique idea, I decided to write an essay about a highly unconventional topic. I can truly say that I would never have submitted an essay on this topic otherwise. When I received an interview from the Stanford GSB, Alex continued to provide good advice on how to avoid over-preparing and sounding too scripted. A month later, I finally received the positive news: I will be off to the GSB in two years! I know that the unique essay topic made me stand out – the dean of admissions even wrote a comment referencing the essay in the acceptance letter! Reflecting back on the process, I would have told myself not to hesitate in working with Alex (I had been debating whether it would be a worthwhile investment or not). Knowing what I do now about b-school applications, I can’t picture help any better than I received from him. Another tip – during the “busy” times (before R1 and R2 deadlines), he firmly sticks to 48-hour turnover times on essays (very reasonable), so you can typically plan ahead based on this.

As I began to consider pursuing my MBA, I was overwhelmed by the daunting application process, and felt alone, not knowing many people who had been through it before. Alex was recommended to me by a close friend whose sister had used his program and got into her dream school, HBS. The way my friend spoke of him made me feel like if I really wanted to be competitive and put my best foot forward with my applications, Alex was the guy to work with. This became evident from our first conversation together. Alex walked me through the steps we would take together to thoroughly establish my story and MBA goals before even opening an application. He took the time to get to know me personally and answer all of my questions thoughtfully. It was clear that Alex had many years of experience that translated into impactful coaching tools to help me be successful. While I was certain that Business School was the next step for me, I initially had trouble verbalizing what I wanted to get out of an MBA and narrowing down concrete goals for my post MBA career. Without feeding me answers, Alex gave me frameworks to think through my strengths, and work them into a unique plan for myself that would stand out as a thoughtful career path in my applications. With Alex’s help, before even starting my applications, I felt equipped to take them on and confident that I would be a competitive applicant. As I worked my way through a 3 school package with him, Alex challenged my thought process and never settled for a product that didn’t completely exhaust all opportunities to make me stand out as a candidate. He helped me completely re-work my resume and write thoughtful essays. He praised my work when appropriate that gave me confidence, but mostly provided constructive feedback that I would have never thought of if I had gone about the process alone. I called Alex on many occasions to discuss changes to my essays (big or small), and felt that I had him as a constant support system. All in all, I got into 3 of the 5 schools I applied to: Kellogg, Tuck and Fuqua (+$100K scholarship), and I know that Alex’s guidance was an integral part of my success. His level of expertise, natural skill for coaching and genuine personality made for a truly wonderful experience with PrepMBA. I would recommend Alex for anyone who might be weary entering into the application process and is seeking a real competitive edge.

I got to know Alex through a colleague who Alex helped get into a top 10 school with scholarship. After calling two other admissions consulting firms, I gave Alex an intro call and his articulate communication style and interest in helping me immediately stood out. In addition, I wanted a consultant who I can trust to manage the whole process and going with Alex guaranteed that, as compared to other admissions consulting firms who pair you up with consultants that you do not interact with before payment. I was so convinced that Alex was the right choice that I immediately signed up for a 5 school package with hourly work for an additional 2 schools. Right from the start of working together, Alex was incredibly helpful. He was very detailed in finding out about my background, motivations, leadership style, extra-curricular activities etc. We then worked together to craft a career purpose that really fits well with my aspirations. This initial phase of the process (including totally revamping my resume into one that really stands out) took multiple correspondences between me and Alex, but Alex was extremely patient and did not stop giving me advice until we have perfected every detail in my career purpose and resume. Eventually, we managed to build a holistic personal story for myself that combined my background, regional developments and personal interest. During our essay writing, Alex’s logical train of thought and creative use of language within the word limits really helped me to build character in my essays. This was also apparent in the multimedia submissions for some schools (such as PowerPoint or videos). Alex helped me to not only tailor my career purpose essay for each school, but he also helped me to really shine in the personal expression essays. In fact, the AdCom member of my first choice school that I got into specifically mentioned how much they loved my essay! Most importantly, I want everyone to know that signing up for Alex’s services will be an incredible experience because of his personal touch. He will always make time for you and ensure that no matter how busy your schedule, he will help you to get your submissions over the line. He is super detailed in his advice throughout the process and really makes you feel like he is as much a part of the application as yourself. With Alex’s help, I wound up getting admitted into my dream school, Columbia. I strong recommend going to Alex and will be recommending him to several of my colleagues who are considering doing an MBA. His mentorship throughout the process helped me to create a distinctive story that was convincing and unique. I remember that Alex advised me to have more chutzpah during my interview with Columbia as I lacked confidence at times when speaking to others. With Alex as your mentor, he will give your application the chutzpah to get into the school of your dreams.

I initially was skeptical about using the services of an admissions consultant when beginning the application process for business school. I considered myself a good essay writer so I was questioning what value could really be added. After reviewing the testimonials on Alex’s site, and chatting with him for about 30 minutes, I was convinced he would be able to help me in the process and I am sure glad that I decided to work with him. Alex was very honest with his feedback on what schools were realistic targets. After discussing some options, I settled on a five-school package. Although I had gotten started a bit later than I would have liked, Alex worked with me to get in four Round 1 applications, and one rolling admission application (still on the early side). Alex really helped me to think outside the box in terms of my essays. He helped me take my story of why I was pursuing an MBA and helped me to express it in a clear, concise, and relatable manner. He also encouraged me to be creative with the essays that were in a non-traditional written essay format. With Alex’s help, I was admitted into three of the five schools to which I applied, including Chicago Booth, which I will be attending as part of the Class of 2018. In addition to crafting my story, and assisting with the essays, Alex’s interview preparation was extremely helpful. Coming from a finance company, I was used to very stiff and formal interviews. Alex helped me to relax and focus on conveying my reasons for pursuing an MBA, and encouraged me to let some of my personality shine through in the interview. After spending time preparing with Alex, I felt much better about my interviews, and was admitted to each school at which I received an interview! I had an exceptional experience working with Alex. He is sincere, reliable, and holds his clients to a high standard, which helps give them the best chances to get in to these very competitive programs. I highly recommend him!

I’m afraid of two things in life: Standardized tests and applying for things. After two attempts, thousands of problems, and a lot of sweat and tears I got my GMAT score near where I needed it to be and began to focus on my second anathema. As I looked at what I would need to do for the applications I became completely overwhelmed. Figuring out who would write my letters of recommendation let alone asking them to write my recommendations in a way that would best support my candidacy was daunting, and just a tiny piece of a much larger narrative I would need to craft. At this point I spoke with many admissions consultants, and at a few of the larger shops got admittance percentages I was comfortable with at my top choices. Then I talked to Alex. He wasn’t negative, he was just honest with where I would stack up vs. other candidates, and even suggested a few programs I hadn’t considered that based off my background and interest in healthcare may be a good fit as well. While the conversation was sobering on one hand, I appreciated the candid feedback, and was struck by how personal he made our interaction. Alex shot it to me straight, which was frustrating at times, but needed. My biggest challenge in the application was the “career purpose”. Like most of you, I’m used to creating things at work that get accolades from peers and superiors. Alex telling me my career purpose was “too broad” and “not meaningful” was a little hard to swallow at first, especially since this was the story that had impressed folks at my company enough for them to encourage me toward an MBA. There was clearly a disconnect between what I thought schools wanted to hear and what they actually do. Alex helped me bridge that in developing my career purpose and throughout our time in an iterative, albeit sometimes painful process. While beneficial for applications and interviews, I have found the secondary and tertiary effects of our working with Alex to be significant as well. I was amazed at how many folks at accepted students weekend enter b-school with only vague notions, if any at all, of what they want to do. I feel like the mind wrangling I went through with Alex has given me a huge leg up and I feel like our conversations have given me a road map to make the most of my MBA experience. And beyond me, I now find myself using similar tactics to help friends and family members think through their careers as well. I worked with Alex in a 5 school package, and got into two of my target schools: Tuck and Wharton. I applied with 2 years of experience, and Alex’s expertise and one-on-one focus really helped me navigate through the process. I’m really excited about going to Wharton this fall, and there’s just no way that would have happened without Alex being there to provide guidance I could trust. I would absolutely recommend Alex and have already sent colleagues interested in MBAs his direction. He does not have a team of junior consultants that he delegates work out to. He knows your story front to back, and you get the sense that he is personally vested in your success. A very worthwhile investment in my opinion.

Applying to business school is very stressful for most applicants – for me, Alex has been a huge help in every step of the way. The first time I called Alex to get his eyes on my resume and start working together, he actually told me to wait one more year before applying. During our first introductory call, instead of giving me a sales pitch, he listed his concerns and assured me that having one more year of work experience under my belt would strengthen my applications. I was impressed by his honesty and transparency from the very beginning. Indeed, a year later, I went back to Alex to work on my applications together. Alex is thorough in his approach – he is never satisfied with ‘good’ and has always pushed me to reach ‘great.’ He takes a holistic approach to the application process starting from childhood stories to future career goals, which proved to be invaluable as we were shaping my story. Alex often made me feel like I was his only client as he was always available for my last-minute questions. He hopped on the phone with me at a moment’s notice even when he was away for a few days on family vacation. His dedication to his clients and their success is hard to come by. He is also extremely patient – he was there every step of the way, even when I was editing the same sentence for what it must have been a hundred times. I worked with Alex on my top two schools and got into both – Stanford GSB and HBS. Without Alex’s exceptional support, this would not have been possible. His work ethic, years of experience, and friendly attitude transformed the application process for me from a dreaded experience to a joyful period of self-reflection. Thank you Alex!