Alina Liao

The business school application is not a process for the weary. Choosing Alina to be my consultant was instrumental in navigating the entire process and even more importantly, helping me feel confident about myself and my story.  She was involved in every step of the process– from helping me refine my story, to editing my resume and other short answers in my application, to preparing for interviews, I feel so grateful to have had Alina by my side and I saw her truly as a thought partner throughout this whole journey. She was very responsive and provided thoughtful feedback not only on the overall process but also on the content of my application.

Ultimately, I received invitations to interview at my top (and only) 2 schools that I applied to and have received acceptance from one school (and waiting to hear back from the other school). I highly recommend Alina as your business school consultant – she is sharp, thoughtful, and supportive – the qualities that I have found most important throughout my application process!

I worked with Alina for my MBA applications last year (entry term: Fall’19). She is an incredible consultant and I strongly recommend her to any candidate serious about their admissions outcome.
I’m an international applicant with 5.5 years of work experience (to date) and an undergraduate degree in social sciences. I had applied to B school in Fall 2016 and been rejected from every program I had applied to. Although I had supplemented my work experience and re-written the GMAT, I knew that I needed a qualified admissions consultant to help me communicate my story and articulate my ambitions. I also had a 6-month gap on my CV due to a job transition and a GMAT retake.
In our initial conversation, Alina came across as passionate, intelligent, and experienced. She didn’t gloss over parts of my CV/ history and instead reiterated that she could help me figure out how best to communicate my story to the admissions committee. More importantly, she genuinely believed that I had a fair chance at a top program. This is particularly noteworthy because previous consultants I had worked with (for the failed 2016 attempts) had told me that my non-engineering/ finance background and employment at non-Fortune 500 employers would be impediments to a successful admission at a top-10 program.
My plans to reapply to B-school last year materialized one month before a couple of applications were due. Alina was unfazed by the short timeline and was confident that we could work diligently to meet some of the round 1 deadlines.
We spent the next few weeks diving deep into my work experience, important moments in leadership and teamwork, extra-curricular activities, and post-MBA plans. Alina patiently heard my interests and helped me figure out which post-MBA path appealed to me the most. Once we identified that, she discussed essay concepts with me over the call and gave me ideas for my initial draft. Some of the application questions were tricky and I needed her help to identify the experiences to focus on. She reviewed every essay draft I sent and shared her comments on what different admissions committees would look for. Instead of merely correcting my sentences, Alina left comments for me to re-write sections that could be phrased better. Thanks to her feedback, I became a better thinker and writer. She also helped me craft a better CV, with a focus on metrics and outcomes that demonstrated impact.
Alina was always available for a quick chat or phone call and her turnaround times were excellent. Despite her travel, Alina cleared time in her schedule to review every application with me and stayed on the line when I hit the “submit” button.
After the application stage, I received two interview invitations. Alina worked with me to identify all the frequently asked questions for one-on-one interviews and reviewed my written answers. She also watched 10+ video recordings of me answering interview questions and provided feedback on posture, facial expressions, ability to express thoughts clearly and concisely, and strength of argument. She could pinpoint which answers I struggled with and did dry runs with me until I was comfortable with the process.
I firmly believe that my application would not have been successful without Alina’s help. She took me from a candidate with all dings and a gap on the CV to one who has been admitted to a top 10 school. I sincerely recommend her to any applicant who needs an extremely competent and approachable advisor to guide them through a very important life goal.