Alex Salton

Alex was an absolute joy to work with last year. I was accepted to 5 out of the M7 schools (Booth, CBS, GSB, Kellogg, Wharton) that Alex supported me on with $450k in total merit scholarship across the schools. I graduated from a top 30 school and worked in financial services after graduating. He is the right fit for someone who is all in–if that is you, work with him!

Alex was particularly helpful in the following areas:
>Forcing me to dig deep in identifying and displaying 1) the granular skills I needed to achieve my goals, and 2) the ways that a given school’s program can specifically enable me to achieve those goals. I think most consultants bring the latter but Alex really pushed me to think about the former. Gatehouse hires consultants who attended top MBA programs and often work in prestigious roles after attending those programs: this background uniquely enables Alex to see the connectivity between the classroom and real world skills.
>Pushing me to identify and highlight impact in my resume. Alex pushed me to really dig out the impact of my work even when I thought a given point was perfect: herein lies a key value driver of a talented consultant. Friends and families will typically read your work and affirm how great it is. No matter how honest you ask them to be, they won’t be because they have nothing to gain.
>Helping me stay on track and organized. Alex sent back feedback meticulously on schedule according to Gatehouse’s review timelines. Having a reliable consultant is so important and it’s so easy for part-time consultants to procrastinate in sending back feedback. However, I always felt that Alex prioritized sending me back comments in a timely manner–I couldn’t even tell that this wasn’t his full-time job!

After submitting my applications, he set aside plenty of time to conduct mock interviews with me (another one of his strengths). I genuinely feel that I became a more natural interviewer after working with him and know that will help me when I’m applying for internships and full-time roles. By the end of the journey, I felt that Alex knew me better than most of my friends and through working together, he helped me discover myself.

Alex was extremely supportive which was especially important for me as someone who was worried about managing my time and staying calm throughout the process. I had a much larger list of schools before we started working together and he was a great guide for helping me identify the schools that would best fit me from both a career goals and personal vibe perspective. We worked closely on how to best articulate my story and crafted essays that I felt were the strongest version of myself and my goals. Refining my essays was so much easier with him. I also felt behind my peers when I started the process because I decided to apply to business school only a few months prior to submitting and having Alex give me guidance through each element of the process made it a lot easier to get everything done and stay confident. Overall I just really enjoyed having him in my corner throughout the whole process.

Background: B.S. in Computer Science from an Ivy-Plus university with a 3.8 GPA. I scored a 675 on the GMAT Focus and when I matriculate will have 4 YOE from a top-tier consulting firm who is sponsoring my MBA.

Results: I was admitted to Wharton, Kellogg and Ross with ~$250k in scholarships across schools.

Alex was a hugely valuable resource throughout the application process. I decided to apply to business school relatively late and ended up applying R2. When I started working with Alex, I had taken the GRE once and gotten within range of my target score, but I was planning on taking it again. Balancing studying for and taking a standardized test (for the first time in a decade), doing the deep self-reflection needed to brainstorm worthy essay subjects, writing the essays, filling out all the small (yet time-consuming) bits, choosing and providing helpful context to recommenders, preparing for interviews, and more on top of a full-time job and trying to stay healthy is HARD. Before I started working with Alex, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get it all done in time and considered waiting to apply in the next cycle. But from the beginning, Alex made it all feel possible and even manageable. Alex helped keep me accountable for my progress with clear timelines, assignments, and deadlines and helped me stay motivated and optimistic with reassurance and encouragement. During the most hectic times leading up to submission deadlines (even around the holidays!), Alex went above and beyond in replying to my anxious emails sooner than his stated response time. Most of all, Alex helped create an environment in which I could tell my authentic story best. By getting to know me so well, much like a friend, he was able to encourage me to lean into my unique strengths and ask thought-provoking questions that helped me get closer to the heart of my story. Having completed the process, I feel proud of the stories I told because they were true to me.

Background: I graduated from an Ivy League university in the top 5% of my class. I had ~4 years of work experience in tech and a 330+ GRE score.

Result: I ended up getting into all the schools I applied to (HSW schools), and I couldn’t be more thankful for my result.

As someone who previously found self-reflection and personal essays extremely difficult during the undergraduate admissions process, I gained a ton of valuable insights and guidance from Alex while working with him on my MBA admissions. I was accepted to 3 out of the 4 schools that Alex supported me on for R2 – Booth, Kellogg, and Haas – with $150K in total merit scholarship across the schools.

Alex was especially helpful in the following:

1. Helping ideate and connect past experiences into cohesive essays: From the day I started my applications to the day I submitted them, Alex listened to my thoughts, experiences, and perspective and recommended ways that I could powerfully tell my story. As someone who (successfully) went through this process himself and as an English major, Alex has a gift for storytelling and essay revising that would benefit anyone who works with him.
2. Establishing clear cadence and timelines: Starting my MBA applications, I initially found it overwhelming to workplan and hold myself accountable because the entire process seemed so vast and nebulous at the time. Alex took into account my busy work schedule, personal commitments, and school deadlines to craft a working cadence and interim deadlines that ensured I was always on track.
3. Going above and beyond during times of greatest need: I was rejected to my R1 schools and hadn’t put too much thought into R2 before receiving these rejections. This meant I had ~1 month before R2 deadlines. Needless to say, I was stressed, overwhelmed, and discouraged. When I reached out to Alex after these R1 results, he got on a call right away to gameplan R2 apps and to provide emotional support when I needed it most. For the schools with the earliest deadlines, Alex even provided revisions ahead of our agreed schedule to make sure we had ample time before these applications were due. This is just one of many ways that Alex has given 110% during our time together.

Background: I graduated from a top 25 US undergrad university with a 3.8 GPA. ~2 yrs. of work experience in MBB consulting. 740 GMAT.

Result: Accepted to Chicago Booth, Northwestern Kellogg, Berkeley Haas, with ~$150K in total merit scholarship across schools.

Alex was incredibly helpful in keeping me calm and focused through a chaotic process. For reasons outside of my control, I applied in Round 3 and was under significant time pressure to complete my applications. Alex was instrumental in helping me create a plan that allowed time for me to still find my voice which proved more difficult than expected. Through countless drafts, Alex was there with sound advice and probing questions that helped me really dig deep and write essays that fully encapsulated who I am and what motivated me.
Background: I have a B.S. and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University (UG GPA: 3.7, Grad GPA: 3.9) and have worked for 6 years in the automotive industry on advanced technical projects. I was selected for MBA sponsorship by my company, took the GMAT and scored 760 (Q50, V42).
As somebody who had never considered applying to business school before this year, I found Alex’s help to be priceless when it came to understanding each step in the process. Obviously, the essay help was crucial, but there are so many other aspects to the process that I completely underestimated. With Alex’s help, I went through 7 drafts of my resume. His attention to detail helped me to maximize the use of space and adequately convey the impact that I have had in my career and activities. He also was incredibly helpful in thinking through who to ask and how to coordinate my letters of recommendation. After submitting my applications, Alex conducted multiple mock interviews with me that really honed my storytelling abilities. His focused feedback gave me the tools to standout in my interviews. And lastly, an often under-appreciated piece of the process is the emotional toll it can take. The arduous process can really wear you down, but Alex really encouraged me every step along the way and kept me motivated when I was tired. I am truly grateful for all the assistance that Alex provided and don’t know where I would be without him. I’d recommend him to anybody applying to business school.
Result: I applied to 4 full-time MBA programs in Round 3/4 (Stanford GSB, Wharton, Kellogg, Ross) and was accepted to all including full scholarships at Kellogg and Ross. I chose Stanford GSB because of my sponsorship.

I can confidently recommend Alex as a consultant! He is an extremely kind, creative, and humble individual who has a wealth of knowledge to share!

Background: I graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in finance and a 3.63 GPA. I have worked for four years in Corporate Development/M&A for a Fortune 25 company. I took the GRE and scored 164 Quant/163 in Verbal.

Result: I was accepted into Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, the only school to which I applied.

My current employer is sponsoring my MBA as part of a fellowship program, and they contracted Gatehouse Admissions to help all fellows with the application process. I only wanted to apply to Fuqua’s earlier round and wait to hear back before considering applying to other schools. Alex was my consultant, and he was absolutely fantastic! From the time that we were introduced to Fuqua’s R3 deadline, we only had 2 weeks, and Alex worked with me to get the application ready to go in that very short amount of time!

Alex is absolutely fantastic for many reasons. He is extremely responsive and timely, and he makes a great effort to give you quick and accurate turnaround times. He is also very organized, keeping track of outstanding tasks and deadlines for each. In addition, he has a thorough understanding of what schools are looking for in candidates, which is helpful because candidates can be very specific and intentional in their applications to different schools.

I think one of Alex’s greatest contributions came in the form of application essays. When we first met, he did a great job of getting to know my background, goals, and values so that he could effectively advise me on my essay topics. After I provided my initial essay drafts, Alex provided insightful feedback on how to make them stronger in content and more creative in style. He did an incredible job at making constructive suggestions while keeping my voice and style in mind.

Once I reached the interview stage, Alex provided helpful interview tips and topics of focus. We walked through questions that could potentially be asked and thought through how to best present my experience and goals. He was open in sharing his own interview and career experiences, which helped me understand what interviewers were looking for, as these key factors are not always what you expect.

If you are wondering whether a consultant helps, I can tell you with certainty that it does! My overall application and interview strategy were both stronger thanks to Alex’s guidance and support!