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Wharton at University of Pennsylvania
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MBA Admissions Consultant
EXPARTUS
San Francisco, California
United States
Hello, I’m Graham and I would like to be your admissions coach helping you with what we at EXPARTUS believe are the most important factors that determine whether you get into business school: having compelling and intrinsically motivate career goals, reflection on one’s emotional intelligence and one’s ability to contribute to a business school’s community and culture.
Helping applicants with these important topics is not easy, and many consultants will focus on surface level factors instead and suggest that you “tweak your profile.”
While there are folks who’s GMAT or grades are well below the norm and the no decision is realistically made before committee review, for the 90% of applicants who’s experiences and scores are competitive, when we sat around the Adcom table discussing candidates or reading apps, we never thought “gosh if this candidate just tweaked their profile, they would be perfect and we’d love them.” Not once. Never.
What we often said in our evaluations and in our discussions are things like “their career path isn’t feasible given their background” or “they seem more interested in position and role than impact” or “the candidate does not focus on team growth/dynamics/success” or “I am sure they could handle the academics, but I can’t see how their focus/ideas/goals/etc. will improve the experience of their peers around them”.
I and the team at EXPARTUS are very good and experienced at helping candidates with their application and essay writing. But what really sets us apart is our ability to help you think deeply about who you are beneath the surface – beyond your profile – and share this deeper understanding of yourself with business schools.
I love working with EXPARTUS. When I joined, I had offers from a handful of admissions consulting firms and chose EXPARTUS because I believe applying to business school is more than writing applications and essays. It is an incredible opportunity to think about your professional and personal journey through life. By helping you develop your personal brand, it gives you the tools to present yourself purposefully, consistently and authentically to business schools and get admitted.
Before EXPARTUS, I served as the Executive Director of Talent Acquisition for Baltimore County Public Schools where I oversaw the hiring of over 2,000 people annually. Before that, I worked at BCG, served in the Peace Corps and was an award winning science teacher. I attended Middlebury College and then Wharton where I served on Wharton Adcom in addition to being a Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee. My background helps me think strategically about you and your application process, dig beneath the surface to find the root drivers of your interest and success, and teach you about the admissions process in a way that helps you feel empowered. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my wife and two daughters, doing triathlons, sailing and writing historical fiction.
EXPARTUS is a boutique agency, with a team that offers a unique case/team approach to helping candidates develop the right positioning and narrative for their top school choices. EXPARTUS was founded by a former AdCom of HBS over ten years ago, and has since worked with MBA applicants from over 100 countries. We are not the right for every candidate and use our free assessment to discuss our process and assess joint fit. Clients have the flexibility to sign up for our comprehensive school packages, which includes our proprietary personal branding process, or our hourly services.
The personal brand system we use at EXPARTUS is different than the process used by any other firm. We help you figure out your personal branding and then use this strategic framework to drive every aspect of your application.
EXPARTUS specializes on the top schools and we have enjoyed working with MBA applicants from over 100 countries and helping them make their business school dreams a reality. We are not right for everyone and use our free assessment to gauge whether we are a fit for each other. Clients have the flexibility to sign up for our comprehensive school packages or our hourly service which covers the following: Personal brand development Essay editing Interview preparation Recommendation strategy Waitlist support Re-application assessment Early start planning
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Phone: 404-514-8876
Email: graham@expartus.com
Website: http://www.expartus.com/
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My engagement with Graham goes a long way.
About 2 years before my B-School application, I was still deciding whether or not to go to B-School. I knew roughly what I wanted to do after B-School, but didn’t know how to best position myself and what school really suits me.
So I first signed up for Expartus’ early start package. I really loved the Expartus personal branding exercise and how Graham facilitated me through it. I felt like I was not just preparing for a B-school, but reviewing my overall life & career goal in general – from early childhood to date, family background, etc.
And that’s also what gave me the confidence to continue working with Graham with the actual school application. I felt that he knew me very well, and was able to bring out strong points/stories from my background, beyond just ‘hard stats’ like GPA/GMAT, etc., in a genuine manner. This, I believe, is what helped me to get into my dream B-School.
Graham also went beyond expectation many times. In addition to taking many early morning calls due to the time difference, he even gave me useful materials (e.g. leadership articles, interesting materials and even connections that are relevant to my long term goal, etc.), or simply short term career advice that’s still relevant to my long term goal post-B-School.
Graham is also a very critical, principled and honest person. He won’t hesitate to call out any weakness in your application and recommended practical approaches on how to fix it.
I genuinely feel very lucky to have met and worked with Graham, and sincerely hope there are many more applicants in the future that can be helped by him as well. Thanks, Graham & Expartus!
I decided to hire a consultant because I was working a very time intensive job outside my home country (with a big time difference), preventing me from relying on family and friends as my sounding board during the application process. After interviewing several consultants I decided to go with Graham/Expartus because I liked his focus on what Exapartus calls “personal branding.” Graham’s goal was to help me dig deep to understand why I really wanted business school, who I am both inside and outside of work, what makes me a unique candidate, and how to sell that to my business schools of choice. I also liked his emphasis on being genuine and honest in all aspects of the application process. Graham explained that business schools just want you to be yourself: they want to understand how you have excelled in your career so far, what you want for your future career, and how their program can help you achieve those goals.
This process orientated approach helped me get into three out of the 4 top schools I applied to with $40,000-$60,000 scholarships at each!
Graham also provided insight into what each school was looking for. This was helpful in my school selection and choosing what aspects of my “Personal Brand” to highlight in each application. Since I was working a pretty stressful job while navigating the admissions process, he also helped keep me accountable for deadlines. He pushed me to always try to do better and keep polishing essays and answers to tough interview questions. Whenever I felt down and insecure about my acceptance prospects, he helped buoy my confidence.
In addition to success in getting into my top schools, I also found going through this process with Graham helped me learn more about myself and confirm that business school was the right next step for me. It also allowed me to stop and take inventory of my life to date and to reflect on my time working & living abroad. I feel like I have a better understanding of who I am as a person, and what I want in the future after navigating the application process with Graham. As the start of my first semester approaches, I think this will help me be a more successful MBA student.
I was paired with Graham after a recommendation from a friend to try Expartus. I had been disappointed by the surface level help from another firm and was looking for someone who starts at the beginning to help me understand what made me unique and then craft an application that put that best foot forward. Graham and Expartus were just what I was looking for. The Expartus process starts with a deep dive into your story to discover and craft your “personal brand” which informs the months of work to come. More than just a good process, Graham went above and beyond the purely professional requirements. He believed in my potential when I doubted myself, pushed me to never accept “good enough”, and brought insightful ideas and thoughtful edits to the content in my essay. I felt like he became a friend and truly cared about my success and celebrated with me when I got into my dream school. I cannot recommend him and Expartus enough.
After informational conversations with various consultants, I decided to collaborate with Graham because I felt that he would give me the personalized help and guidance I needed. Even in the initial conversations with him, I was surprised how well Graham was able to help me recognize and reveal personal characteristics and skills and integrate them into a conclusive Personal Brand. Creating a Personal Brand was essential in articulating and presenting myself in an authentic, consistent, and compelling manner throughout all essays and interviews. In addition, I feel that collaborating with Graham helped me be more aware of myself and that the advantage of this increased self-awareness goes far beyond an admission offer from an elite MBA program. It will help me be a more responsible, empathic, and wise partner and leader for others. In the end, I was admitted to several elite MBA programs. After placing me on its waiting list, my most favorite MBA program also gave me an admission offer that included a generous scholarship. I want to thank Graham for his great advice and encouragement that made this accomplishment possible and that let me grow both professionally and personally.
After over a dozen consultation calls with various firms I chose to work with Graham on my applications to two of my top-choice schools. From the very beginning Graham took the time to understand my goals for an MBA and craft a personal narrative that spoke to my background and accomplishments in a way that resonated with my target schools. Graham went above and beyond at every stage – we spoke dozens of times over a period of 7 months and I never had any issues getting in touch. There was never a barrier to getting his advice at any stage of the application process, and he made sure I was prepared at each stage. Could not recommend Graham and Expartus highly enough. At the end of the process not only did I get into 4 of the 5 schools I applied to (including my top 2 choices) but I feel I’m better prepared to succeed this fall as I enroll and get more out of the business school experience.
I chose to work with Graham after a few informational calls with other consultants and I knew he would be great at getting me the personalized help I need. Graham is attentive, professional, and very good at getting to my story. I really appreciated our first few sessions where we talked about all my life experiences (not just the successes), career goals, and what’s important to me. The Personal Branding approach taken on by Expartus and Graham really helped me articulate my story and set me up for all my applications, including the ones that I completed myself in Round 2. Graham was very flexible in finding time for discussions, and went above and beyond in giving me opportunities to tap into his network to help me define my career goals. I enlisted Graham’s help for Round 1 with a two school package. In addition to helping me set up the backbone to all my applications, Graham actually read through my applications and set-up interview preps for the schools I applied to on my own. Ultimately, I was admitted to one of my dream schools and will be matriculating at a Top 10 MBA in the fall. I think working with Graham is great for those who are willing to work hard and really want some good advice (and counselling) throughout the application process. I actually really appreciated the fact that he won’t hand-hold, but will set expectations upfront, and be there whenever I needed help or some encouragement (the one thing I would say would be true for probably all consultants is that they get really busy towards application deadlines, which was a little stressful for me to not have full control, but I’m pretty sure Graham stayed up past mid-night to go over my and others’ app during those weeks and made sure to answer my last-minute anxiety induced questions. If you are good at managing timing and expectations you would have no issues). He is very good at pointing out BS and tell me that something isn’t working when it isn’t. I felt that I dug deeper into my story and reached out to more contacts for advice and opinion at his encouragement, which ultimately helped me in more than just the application process.
From our first conversation Graham had a knack for opening me up and teasing out stories from my past that I hadn’t thought of in years. His open style allowed us to cover a large range of topics before honing in on what was really important to me and therefore what belonged in my application. Graham was consistent and reliable throughout all of our many conversations and we had a personal relationship that enabled us to speak of many things outside of my MBA. He even met me in person when I visited my target school. In addition to advice about my application Graham introduced me to several of his contacts in my chosen industry to whom I was able to speak prior to submitting my applications. Crucially these were people in senior positions that could give valuable, thought provoking insight. In terms of the MBA application specifically Graham’s knowledge was particularly useful from two perspectives. Firstly he helped me maximise the value of every word in my essays. Secondly he knew exactly what the different admissions committees would and wouldn’t like from a cultural perspective, which was particularly useful as an international student because it ensured that my sense of humour came across as a strength rather than a liability. I got in to my top-10 target school and will be starting next year! Looking back now from the end of the line I struggle to find fault with how Graham handled the entire process and can only express my thanks for everything he has done for me.
After previously applying to business school without much success, I started searching for the right consultant to help me polish my application. I first learned about Expartus through a friend, and couldn’t be more thankful to have worked with Graham. Graham focused on helping me develop my personal brand, which was key in demonstrating authenticity in my essays and anecdotes. He was always quick to respond to my questions, and went OVER AND BEYOND during the ENTIRE application process. I honestly feel that I received more help than I had expected or paid for from Graham. He never counted the times we spent on the phone; rather he was focused on assisting me in every way possible. He also happily connected me with people within his network who could help me better understand the industry I wanted venture into post MBA. Through working with Graham, I was able to understand myself, my key strengths, and how to powerfully convey my strengths throughout the application process. All of these contributed to my phenomenal admission success. Also, when it came to the interviewing stage, he gave me the best preparation I needed, which led to my admission to 3 schools – with a full scholarship from one of the schools! If you are looking to GET ADMITTED, and are looking for someone who is passionate about getting applicants admitted to their top MBA choice, and for someone who will give you the attention, individualized focus, personal branding, and expert MBA advice that you need, Graham is you man! I’ll be going to a M7 school this fall with a full scholarship, and Graham played a significant role in this achievement!
It’s rare that you come across a standout consulting like Graham. Ridiculously efficient at getting your story right is what comes to mind when I think about Graham. I worked with Graham through Expartus to apply for business school in 2016 and got into my top choice school with a full scholarship despite having a lower GMAT. Graham has a natural talent for helping people craft their authentic stories; he is incredibly knowledgeable on the MBA admissions process. He is also globally aware – and he has the ability to make your unique talent stand out on paper. Graham also pushed me to think cleverly and no matter how tense I felt, Graham made sure I finished our meetings with a smile. I am extremely pleased with the results as Graham knocked it out of the park and delivered!
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