Brian Birdwell

Senior Coach

MBA Protocol

Montana

United States

Net Promoter Score: 9.95

Consultant Bio

Hi! I’m Brian. I fell into the MBA admissions world over 17 years ago when I earned A 780 on the GMAT (and 99th percentile scores on the GRE and LSAT) and started helping others master those tests. First through test-prep, and later through my coaching work at MBA Protocol, I have helped hundreds of clients navigate the roller coaster of admissions, presenting the most inspiring candidacy possible in their MBA applications.

Applying to business school is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get crystal clear about who you are, what you want, and how you aim to get there. Not an easy task!! But an oh-so-rewarding one. That’s what’s kept me in the field for almost two decades. I love building relationships with smart, ambitious people. And I love experiencing this transformative part of their journey with them. I bring all the skills I’ve picked up in my diverse endeavors as a teacher, software developer, acupuncturist, outdoorsman, musician, and father to bear in helping my clients achieve their goals.

Let’s do this.

Company Information

MBA Protocol

At MBA Protocol, we believe that creating a life of meaning, impact, and fulfillment is the only outcome that justifies the significant investment of time & money required to earn your MBA. We also know that to be truly sustainable, your MBA must align with your post-MBA career goals and that many of you are wondering about the return on your investment.

When you’re thinking about ROI, we urge you to think about total return. Think pay plus purpose.

Your individual path to purpose will be unique; no two will be alike. But the most successful MBA journeys require these three things: deep personal reflection, values definition, and communication skill-building. And, yes, that begins in the application process.

All our programs at MBA Protocol are designed to help you gain breakthrough MBA admissions results and prepare in advance for MBA recruiting. Only by beginning with the end in mind can you truly maximize the ROI in both increased earnings and joy and fulfillment throughout your post-MBA career.

We guide you with five key principles:

• 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲: Uncover and share your unique story to connect authentically with admissions committees.

• 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸: Get candid, compassionate insights that respect your individuality and help you excel.

• 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵-𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱: Develop lifelong skills in self-awareness, communication, and relationships for lasting success.

• 𝗝𝗼𝘆𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆: We make the application process fun, rewarding, and confidence-enriching.

• 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿: You’re never alone. Our supportive community is here to help you grow, celebrate wins, and tackle challenges together.

MBA Protocol has tailored programs to fit every learning style and budget. Our core values of radical service and joy underpin them all, so you can confidently choose the approach that works best for you:

𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗢𝗻𝗲-𝗼𝗻-𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: High-touch, full application support, tailored to your needs (coaches take at most 10 clients per round.)

𝗠𝗕𝗔 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: Expert guidance from our coaches paired with the power of our whole community of peers, ambassadors, and the MBA Protocol team.

𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: The Power of community plus personalized coaching for essays and interviews.

We don’t like to brag but we’re kinda data geeks. We track our clients’ successes with precision, and 99.1% of them who followed the MBA Success Protocol got into at least one top MBA program and with an average scholarship award of $90,675 each.

We’re the only MBA Admissions Coaches who offer a 7-Day unconditional money back guarantee and an MBA Success Guarantee on all our MBA programs.

From test prep to school selection to scholarship negotiations and beyond, we’re with you every step of the way.

Ready to begin? Visit the site and request a call with us! We’re at your service.

Location: Montana, United States

Email: hello@mbaprotocol.com

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P&Q Consultant Reviews

  • HBS Bound Thanks To Brian!
    9 months ago
    Let me start with the headline, Brian was instrumental in me getting into 5 of 6 schools I applied to and merit scholarship to 4 of those! These schools were Harvard, Kellogg, Tuck, Darden and Emory. He starts with a Discovery process that in itself is worth the cost. It really helped me think more deeply than I ever had before about who I am, what truly motivates me and what I want to do with my career. Using this a jumping off point he helped me write my absolute best business school essays that were also 100% authentic to who I am (not some version I thought ad coms might want to see). On some occasions, I would think the essay was finished and ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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  • Yes, You Are On The Right Page, Work With Brian!
    10 months ago
    I had the pleasure of working with Brian on my MBA application and was able to receive acceptance letters from both Wharton (UPenn) and HBS (Harvard)! I ended up choosing to work with Brian because first, other firms that I’ve talked to felt very much like a factory, where I felt rushed to make a decision to commit to them. Many mentioned fees and deposits before being interested in my motivation behind applying to MBA programs. Secondly, I watched Angela’s YouTube videos and she was so energetic and I loved how she would call out that MBA is not for everyone. From her videos, I could tell that this firm would honestly tell me if this were not the right path, and they would tell ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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  • Coaching With Fun Times & Perfect Results
    10 months ago
    I had the pleasure to have Brian as my MBA coach. I had really high stress levels and was not confident at all with my profile (other MBA coaches rejected me because of my GRE), but he was able to calm me down and help me find the way to build a strong profile, increase my confidence, and have fun while doing it. With Brian’s way of giving feedback ( really objective, direct, and critical) I was able to bring out the best of me and reflect it in my application. At the end, I was able to achieve more than I expected, I got in to my dream school and I even got a 50% tuition scholarship ( in a school that doesn’t usually ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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  • Brian The Magician
    10 months ago
    I still can’t believe how meaningful and game-changer Brian’s counseling was for my MBA admission process. The bottom line: I got a scholarship of $70k at Haas and admission to my dream program at London Business School. My MBA admission process started with another consultant who was very discouraging because of my low GRE scores. He told me not to even waste my time with LBS and suggested Florida instead… But then I met Angela and Career Protocol. She matched me with Brian and my journey started. Working with Career Protocol and Brian was a transformative experience for me - they coached me to know myself better and my self-esteem grew a lot through the process. I started unsure of what value I would add to ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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  • The Wizard Who Has Magical Powers || Get Ready For A Transformational Journey
    10 months ago
    If you are reading this and debating whether you should work with Brian, let me save you the trouble and just say, sign up ASAP! If you don’t believe me, the results speak for themselves. I got admitted at Kellogg with a $20K scholarship and I’m still waitlisted at Booth and Columbia (I already know where I’m going :P) I come from one of the most over-represented cohorts on the planet – hello, my Indian engineering brothers out there!- and being a reapplicant with just a 710 GMAT, I know that if it weren’t for Brian, I don’t think I would be going to Kellogg. But beyond the admit, I’m most grateful to Brian for changing the way I write and express myself. It ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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  • Self-Discovery Architect Who Took Me On A Journey Of WHY!
    10 months ago
    I choose Career Protocol after speaking with several other consultants because of the welcoming and contagious energy that Angela has throughout the Career Protocol brand and her contents. When I spoke with Angela for the very first time, my hopes of getting in to the top schools jumped up way more than I thought initially. I didn’t feel this with other consultants. Then I met Brian to start out the application process. Besides having an impressive and cool background himself, my favorite thing about Brian is that he is genuinely interested in people, and you will feel that he cares about you and your story more than anybody else. He gives you the floor to make you feel heard. Having somebody know your story is quite ...
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    Class of 2024 Admit
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  • Low GRE Score. Got Into 5 Top 10 Programs With Scholarships Totaling $300K+
    10 months ago
    In my previous life, I was a Division 1 athlete. I know well that the best coaches can help the bottom of the barrel, average, and the best athletes become world-class champions. This is Brian. He has helped many people (no matter their ability level) get into the very top MBA programs including Harvard and Wharton. He helped me overcome a major weakness: my GRE score. Many other consultants and GRE tutors told me I wouldn't be able to get into the top 10 MBA programs. Brian didn’t blink. He was honest but also believed he could help me reach my goal. For that, I’ll forever be grateful. The result was more than I expected, I had choices to make and each school I got ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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  • $1.4M in Scholarships // Brian Changed My Life
    11 months ago
    I began working with Brian at a vulnerable point in my life. I was recently unemployed with no expectations of getting a new job before applying. I also didn’t have a test score yet, I had no recognizable brands on my resume (schools or employers), I knew my post-MBA goals would need a lot of fleshing out and explaining, and that I’d only attend business school if I got a large scholarship. What I did have was a lot of free time and a unique life story that I thought could lead to good results. I spent weeks interviewing a dozen or so of the top-ranked consultants on this site. A few told me what I wanted to hear to try to get my business. ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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  • Brian Helped Me Stay True & Get In!
    11 months ago
    I really enjoyed working with Brian. Even though honestly it can be costy to work with an admission consultant or coach, I have absolutely no regret signing in up with Brian for this daunting journey. The results speak themselves – I got admitted into 3 out of the 5 schools (no “safety school”) that I applied to, with $$ from one of them. Later on, Brian helped me draft a letter to get a scholarship from my dream school (a M7), and we made it! I chose to work with Career Protocol because their philosophy aligns with my value. I wanted to stay authentic in the application, and let the schools decide whether they wanted me. Before deciding to work with Brian, I researched about ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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  • Brian Birdwell & Career Protocol - Best No-Regret Decision I've Made
    2 years ago
    Personalized introspective MBA application experience with stellar outcomes. One of the amazing things about Brian and the Career Protocol team is that they helped me whittle the many vast ideas in my brain down to concise essays that got results. Results including acceptances from 7 out of the 8 programs I applied to, with 5 of them offering me scholarships totaling $500,000. I went from worrying about not getting in anywhere to getting in virtually everywhere I applied. Acceptances included: Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, Columbia, Ross, Johnson, Fuqua. Brian helped me through the process end to end, and I wholeheartedly recommend Brian Birdwell at Career Protocol. But since essays are done, here are some bullet points that describe how amazing it was to work with Brian: • When ...
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    Class of 2025 Admit
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  • The Best Decision I Made: Why I Highly Recommend Brian & Career Protocol
    2 years ago
    Brian truly embodies the “Under-commit and OVER Deliver” spirit, and the career protocol package is both super-detailed and truly end-to-end (they guide on everything: from deciding which schools to apply for  to now sharing tips on how to maximize the next 2 years). Top 3 value adds for me: helping me improve my GMAT score from 740 to 770 (V47!!), helping me find my calling and encouraging me to make a pre-MBA pivot from consulting to Venture Capital, and of course, helping me land an offer from my dream school, Booth! I applied to 7 schools (Harvard, Stanford, Booth, Columbia, Duke, UCLA, and McCombs), got interview invites from 5 of them, and finally got into 3 (Booth + UCLA and McCombs with 50% scholarship). ...
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    Lakshay Piplani
    MBA Class of 2025 Admit
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  • The Full Package
    2 years ago
    I was offered admission at my dream school, so I'd say this worked. Brian helped me craft my admissions profile, showcasing the full package that I'd bring to school. I wasn't the strongest candidate on paper, with an underwhelming GPA and test statistics, so I chose Career Protocol because it helped me believe that my personal story was compelling. As he states above, this is a once-in-a-lifetime process, so I spilled out my most personal struggle, which he helped me turn into an inspirational admissions essay. I trust Brian. This was one of the most reflective periods in my life - I had never thought so deeply about what I wanted and why I wanted it - and Brian was there to support and guide ...
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    Class of 2025 Admit
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  • Stellar MBA Coach
    2 years ago
    Prior to starting my MBA applications, I interviewed a handful of the top consultants and ultimately chose Career Protocol because it felt like a much more personal approach. When speaking with the others, I felt like just a number. I didn’t come from a top undergrad program and the other firms told me to not even bother applying with my test score. My initial call with Career Protocol couldn’t have been more different – it was positive, yet realistic, constructive and encouraging. Ultimately, I got into three out of the three M7 schools I applied to, including Booth with $50k. Working with Brian was quite the journey. I came to Career Protocol and Brian with three weeks to apply to three top schools (which I do ...
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    Class of 2025 Admit
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  • An Enthusiastic & Inspirational Coach!
    2 years ago
    I approached Brian and the Career Protocol team as a re-applicant, after being waitlisted and dinged from my dream school, and having received no interview invites from 5 other schools. I chose to work with Career Protocol because of their small team and the impression I would be important to them. And it was true! It was clear that Brian really cared about me and my success. From the beginning, he was interested in my story and digging deep into various moments of my life to get to know me. I was surprised by how thoroughly he knew me and could recall all the little stories we talked about in our first meeting, and how to make them relevant to my essays. I loved how ...
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    Class of 2025 Admit
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  • The Coach You Need!!
    2 years ago
    I was in over my head when I started the MBA application journey. I didn't know what I didn't know. Brian kept me on task but didn't inundate me with what I should/shouldn't be doing. All along the way, Brian always met me where I was on my journey, whether I was really energized and overwhelmed (at the beginning), with lists of lots of schools to research, or anxious or after a few tough drafts when I wanted to throw in the towel and quit, or worried about not getting in, Brian met me where I was at each step of the way. I needed someone who wouldn’t just be a coach but would also be a reassuring and steady friend. As I dug into writing ...
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    Class of 2025 Admit
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  • MBA Wizard
    3 years ago
    Coming from an unconventional personal and professional background and carrying an embarrassing test score, I had little concept of just how deeply challenging the MBA application process would be or how I would successfully navigate it. In our sessions together, Brian’s wizard-like wisdom, calm, and love of a good story helped me to focus my energy where it mattered most, and his thoughtful promptings at the right times helped me to better understand my identity and experiences, get clear on my career goals, and think bigger about the impact I really wanted to make. Had I not taken the plunge and moved beyond resources scattered elsewhere, I know I wouldn’t have emerged from this process as my best self. Today, I am expecting an offer ...
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    Class of 2024 Applicant
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  • The Cheerleader I Needed!!
    3 years ago
    I had initially not planned to work with a consultant, but as R1 approached, I quickly felt overwhelmed with all of the conflicting guidance on the internet and knew that I needed a cheerleader to help me get through the process. Brian was incredible to work with and exceeded all of my expectations! He is one of the most positive and energetic people I've worked with, and truly made my application experience as positive and stress free as it could be. My favorite part of the experience was the guided reflection, where Brian helped me connect my stories to my values, which served as the foundation for my essays and applications. Brian's prompts were thoughtful and thought provoking and helped me learn more about myself ...
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    Class of 2024 Admit
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  • The MBA Application-Saver!!
    3 years ago
    When I started my journey to apply to an MBA program, I didn’t know what I was about to face. I moved from Italy to Houston six years ago and had never applied to an American college before. I knew that I needed some guidance to navigate this long process, and working with Career Protocol and Brian was the best decision ever. I came from a non-traditional background, and I struggled a lot with the GMAT first and the GRE after. No matter how much effort I put into those tests, my score was still low. The test stressed me so much that I often felt that I wasn’t good enough for business school and would have never been accepted to any good school. In ...
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    Class of 2024 Admit
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  • The GOAT
    3 years ago
    I had read hundreds of "successful" essays and numerous how-to guides. But when I actually sat down with my applications, I had no clue how to put the pieces together in a way that did justice to my profile. I stumbled around with a few attempts and realized that I was going to sabotage myself if I kept trying to go it alone. I needed an experienced sherpa to help me climb this mountain. Who, though? I decided on Career Protocol because I felt that they were able to articulate a great framework and process, and when I looked through the slate of consultants available, Brian's profile jumped out at me because it didn't read conventionally. It felt fun, cool, and grounded, while still being extremely ...
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    Class of 2023 Admit
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  • Great Experience & Great Results!
    3 years ago
    Brian was an invaluable piece of my MBA application journey and a true pleasure to work with! His guidance directly led to 4 interviews, 3 admission decisions and ultimately my enrollment at a top-5 program. We were on a tight timeline to begin with, and I wondered if we could really pull these applications together from start to finish in just a few short weeks. But despite his cool, laid-back demeanor, he kept me on schedule and accountable to all deadlines throughout the process. Brian also had a knack for asking the right questions, which helped me discover my own personal/professional story, and he challenged me to communicate that story in the best light possible to Adcom. His feedback wasn’t always the easiest to take, ...
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    Class of 2024 Admit
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