Brian Birdwell

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 essays Brian helped me break down some barriers and challenged me to be more vulnerable in my message. What I think I didn’t know I was looking for but what I got was that Brian helped me get deeper into the stories. Of course, it helped me with the essays and getting into schools, but it has helped sharpen my goals and understanding of why I want to go to business school and what I want to do.
Through my work with Brian, I learned to trust my intuition, especially as I was choosing between schools to which I was accepted — including 2 top ten schools and a scholarship offer. I ultimately figured out what kind of community would make me thrive. Brian helped me understand that.

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 from my dream school!

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 and write my story.

In the end, I received 6 interview invitations, 1 waitlist and 3 admits, including top 10 schools and my top choice!

If you’re looking for a genuine, energetic, and expert consultant, Brian is your guy! I couldn’t have made it through the process without him.

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 those challenging moments, when you are almost ready to throw everything out of the window (yes, I almost did it, lol), Brian was a real life-saver or, better, the MBA application-saver! He kept pushing me to keep going, and at the same time, he helped me bring out my authentic self in those essays, which is the most important thing (yes, NOW I know!). Brian constantly reminded me that I was enough and helped me realize how unique and special my story is, helping me build the self-confidence I needed to succeed in this process and that I will need during business school.

With Brian’s honest and constructive feedback, even if something uncomfortable to hear, draft by draft, we built the inspiring and authentic essays that got me into 2 great schools with $, one of them in the top 10!!

I couldn’t have done it without Brian! So if you are looking for a genuine and expert consultant but also an easy-going and funny travel companion during this journey; Brian is definitely the right person!

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 well put together – just like what I wanted my profile to feel like to the adcoms.

And I wasn’t disappointed. Within our first couple of meetings, Brian had looked at the material I had gathered, identified key elements of my story, and TOLD IT BACK TO ME in a way that felt and sounded like the “success essays” that I had read. Now we just had to turn those elements into specific essays for each school I was applying to, and Brian was my rock.

We then fell into a cadence of writing and reviewing once every two business days. We redrafted and redrafted until my essays were in the absolute sweet spot, and never once did I feel that I was getting anything less than 100% from Brian. He was there for ideation, for telling me (nicely) which parts still needed work, and he never let up or compromised on quality until the essays were “submission-ready”. I am 200% sure that what I ended up submitting was a magnitude better than what I would have produced on my own.

My results? Interviews at 2 top-5 schools, and admission with $ to one of them, as well as full-ride scholarships to two of my safety picks.

If you’re looking for a consultant, work with Brian. He’s cool, he’ll get you, and he’ll make sure you deliver nothing but your best self to the schools that you’re applying to.

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, but it was sincere, constructive, and I can say honestly that without it, I would not be sitting in the position I am today!