Greg Guglielmo

Basic Profile Info

I am a 2011 pass-out from a Tier 2 Indian college (GPA of 3.3/4.0 in Computer Engineering), and have worked in Finance industry for 3.5 years before having an Employment Gap for 2 odd years. In this time, I was employed at Early-stage investment funds (one for a voluntary unpaid position) for a discontinuous period of 9 months. Since then I have been working for an Asian focused investment fund.

While I believe that I have strong work experience, the Employment Gap loomed large and my CV lacked major brands. I had worked at 5 finance shops with only 2 of them having global brands – but those weren’t my longest tenured roles. I was also a bit on the older side of the average student’s age or work experience for my target schools.

I was introduced to Greg by one of his Round 1 clients, and after our first call, I took a reference call with another Indian client (a Kellogg graduate) who worked with Greg. I am aware that the first client has also done well and is going to a T10 with a decent scholarship. I owe them thanks for the introduction/ vetting, and I am glad in retrospect that they were made. Greg was very forthcoming with such references.

Our Work Together / My Results

Greg and I started off by working across 5 schools with a Tier 2 package (two M7s, one T10, one T15, and a leading Canadian program), and with 2 schools on an hourly basis (one M7 and one T10/15). All of these schools were in Round 2. I was invited to interview at one T5 program and Tuck, and I was waitlisted before interviewing at Stern.

After that, I used Greg’s Interview Prep services and was Waitlisted at the T5 and Tuck, post which I took more services from Greg to help navigate the Waitlist process. After many steps and great efforts, this ultimately resulted in acceptance to the T5 program. I withdrew my candidature from Tuck once my plans with the T5 program were settled.

What Stood Out (with Examples)

1) Overall Approach & Impact: The first thing I want to highlight here is Greg’s earnestness to make your profile win. He truly brings a lot to the table. While I had unsuccessfully applied to an M7 (in Early Decision) with an Indian admissions coach, I thought my application materials were mostly ready when I on-boarded with Greg. And I couldn’t have been more wrong!! Greg made me redefine and re-nuance my goal, worked very very very hard on my stories and rehashed my CV entirely again. It was clear the competence and professionality he brought to the table was enormous.

Also, regarding Greg’s efforts, he offered to work with me on a pro-bono basis on my Interview Essays (where required), despite the Package originally being Tier 2, which ends with submission. This included multiple iterations in 5 working days. He literally measures every word, every sentence and remembers every detail of your story.

2) Main Essay Work: The in-depth nuancing and opening essay strategy sessions we did gave me a skeleton for each essay, but there were many times where we would improvise as needed, and Greg was super accommodative on that (again, the general theme is his keenness for you to submit your best possible version). I really liked this balanced approach and his deep knowledge of the DNA of the school in question. Multiple times, Greg pointed me to the right resources to research and reference.

Even when we were adapting stories/ anecdotes from one school to another, Greg helped me think through and re-position them with an eye on the newer schools. Given the nature of the industry and people’s tendencies to streamline, he could have easily approved the older versions and saved his time and efforts. But that wasn’t the case.

To International Applicants, I would also like to point out that Greg sometimes helped me avoid fatal mistakes on the grounds of handling and quoting sensitive issues. We (i.e. internationals) need to understand that the reader is from a very different socio-cultural background, and sometimes, our manner of presenting a situation/ idea can be taken in a somewhat offensive manner. I was happy to have Greg on my side for this.

On Goals Essays, we molded my career goals to fit the strength of the school in the best manner possible – another example of the thoughtfulness and customization.

3) CV Work: Although I thought I had my CV “done” from an Indian admissions consultant, Greg and I worked extremely hard on it, review after review, and we re-built every single bullet point basically from the start. He also provided me one extra review than was in my original Package. Greg’s way of building the CV was much different than my previous consultant and much more in-depth too. Post 2 reviews we were still at 1.5+ pages of CV which was eventually trimmed into a single page in a manner well-done.

Also, Greg’s CV reviews didn’t end after applying to the first school. I remember once merely 3 days before the application deadline, he pro-actively offered to review the CV again and adapt its presentation for some schools specifically. I was amazed not only by his efforts but more so, by the timing, to prioritize this final pro-active and pro-bono review just to put the best foot forward. (There was no change in my job experience, but just one story which came forward, which led Greg to recommend re-balancing the CV.)

4) Application Review: Greg’s application reviews (i.e. review of online application submissions) were in-depth and water-tight. He helped me to elaborate on CV points wherever needed, helped bring out job responsibilities where needed. And he really made it a point to not leave anything on table (in terms of information and explanations).

5) School Strategy: While Greg and I did not specifically work on school selection together (as I started with a Tier 2 Package), he did offer me resources online to help guide me. To be honest, Greg felt my choices of schools were aggressive with my kind of profile – and he wasn’t wrong at all, as he was going with past trends and results (which any rational person would do). I do want to clearly highlight here, and quite explicitly too, that his work was as intense (always intense) no matter the school or chances of getting in, whether a riskier application or safer one. Coming from a background where potential winners are given more support than underdogs, it was a very heartening moment for me. In fact, seeing his professionality led me to double downing on riskier options, and I chose 2 more M7s than I initially intended to.

In an industry where no one can say for sure what’s a “good enough” application, Greg put a lot of his efforts and time and even some unsolicited additional reviews to help me deliver my best and rise to the challenge of harder applications. And in a good irony – almost like a movie – this Fall I’ll be attending the most difficult program I applied to.

6) Post Interview Invites: I took Greg’s Interview Prep services for both schools I was invited to interview to (one session for each). My initial reaction was a shocker when I realized how under-prepared I was. After going through long mock interviews in each school’s style, Greg offered me detailed feedback on the way to answering questions, presenting myself and handling curve-balls. I had very little skepticism when I thought of purchasing the second Interview Prep package. My effort with the second school improved, but still, further nuancing and feedback were re-introduced by Greg for that school. Greg’s combined effort of interviewing and feedback was much beyond the 2.5 hours per package offer. These made me more adept not only in answering the core interview questions and articulating goals and fit in line with the specifics of each program but also in handling each school’s mini-curveballs during the actual interviews.

7) Post Waitlist Efforts: I was waitlisted at the two schools I interviewed (Top 5 program and Tuck), post which Greg was very accommodating in allowing me to upgrade from Tier 2 to Tier 3 Package (as the late upgrade is not technically allowable).

One of the most important parts was Greg’s openness to accept what could have been done differently, i.e. how to be self-aware and identify and address the needed areas for improvement. Waitlists are tricky and create a lot of what-ifs and second-guessing in the candidate’s mind. I felt very happy that we both took the result in a positive manner and were open to accepting the outcome and developing an approach to move forward.

After some Waitlist Strategy discussion, I was surprised to see Greg ending up doing 3 reviews of each Waitlist Letter submission (I submitted 2 of these per school). Yet again, he guided me in nuancing the emails and letters to the right tone of the school.

Finally, I am grateful that a couple of colleagues/ alumni of certain schools agreed to write an Endorsement/ Letter of Support for me. Greg offered more pro-bono help by offering advice for these letters as well. This was definitely a piece of work that I didn’t explicitly sign up for, but Greg was much more than happy to help in order for me to win.

Summary Comments

At the risk of sounding repetitive and giving unsolicited advice, I truly believe that application success is quite a grey and can’t be predicted. Your GPAs/ Your work experience/ Your age/ Your undergrad institutions/ (to some extent of your GMAT – after all we all want that 760-780!)/ Your Extra-Curriculars/ Who your Recommenders likely will be are often well beyond your control by the time you decide to apply.

What is in your control are your essays and your stories and their presentation. While one can’t say how the results of the application would have looked if I had used a different consultant (BTW my first application with an Indian consultant was very terrible and cost me a chance at an M7 which was very well geared towards my goals), I would advise the following parameters as **must have** in your consultant – **the ability and the willingness** to do deep reviews, see the application in comprehensive manner, and not be penny pinching on time. Of course, the onus is on the applicant to give decent drafts for review and ahead of time; Greg was on many occasions able to rapid-turnaround reviews (at no cost to the depth of the review), in some cases as early as the same day.

I have heard (and had one bad experience myself also) of several shenanigans of other consultants including: reviews which are done in a manner to push work – stories where even international consultants follow stereotypical skeletons of essays, superficial essay and CV reviews that offer little more than general comments, 5-10 mins of work done on Application Entries review, or consultants pushing their thoughts on to the candidate to save time and effort. None of that ever happened here. Quite the opposite instead.

There were very few times when I was in disagreement with Greg (including the topic for an Interview Essay, some mentions within the main essay, and even how to articulate some points during the interview prep). But we would always have a constructive debate and end up on a much stronger middle ground than where we started. This is a big testimony to his sincerity and his mandate – to get the best out of you and to get the best for you. I can assure you that this is one thing that has been constant in our seven full months of work together. I strongly feel that your probabilities of success increase several-fold when you take someone of his caliber and more importantly his dedication.

Please feel free to reach me for any references etc. I would be more than happy to help.

I got an hourly preparation service for mock-up interview with Greg and found it very useful for my upcoming interview with HSB and GSB. The good things were:
1) very close to the real experience the type of questions Greg asked and a similar pace to the real interview;
2) thorough feedback and detailed analysis of the performance with comments on both verbal and emotional performance, as well as specific wording and stylistic element;
3) willingness to spend the time to cover everything I had concern with.
I would mention Greg’s balance of friendliness and professionalism, which created the perfect atmosphere for my mock-up interview.

Short summary first if you don’t want to read the whole thing:

Thanks to Greg’s help, I was accepted to the Kellogg 1Y program, INSEAD, IMD, and USC, and I am convinced that I would not have been accepted had I not worked with Greg. Between the four schools, I received over $175,000 in scholarships. Since Greg is a small shop, he takes the time to get to know you personally and can really help you discover your voice. I consider myself a very compelling and articulate writer, but I was astonished at how much my essays improved after working with Greg. I would highly recommend working with Greg.

Longer version for those interested:
Age: 31
Sex: Male
Nationality: American (Texas), white
GMAT: 770
Schools applied: Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg 1Y, USC, INSEAD, IMD
Accepted to: Kellogg 1Y, INSEAD, IMD, USC
Scholarships: Kellogg ($35k), IMD ($20k), and USC (Full ride)
Background- I have been working in my family healthcare business for the past five years after starting my career in hedge funds and private equity. As I saw things coming to a close in my family business, I started thinking about what’s next. In the absence of a clearly defined passion or desire, I wanted to go back to school to get some more credentials and take time to think. Coming to the game a little late, I was worried about crafting my story and articulating why I was ready to get my MBA.
One thing that Greg did very well helping me craft my narrative for very different schools. Because I don’t know exactly what I want, my applications ranged from going to USC to pursue a job in the entertainment industry to going to Kellogg to return to the family business to going to INSEAD or IMD to pursue international consulting. Obviously, Greg helped me identify the parts of my story that resonated with each because I was able to secure a seat in each school.
I researched the heck out of admissions consultants, and I actually worked with 3 different consulting companies over the course of my admissions process. Greg and Avanti was the one that stuck in the end. I started out with a bigger, more well-known firm, and quickly felt like the process was too automated and impersonal, like a cookie-cutter approach. I was told from the beginning with the other firm that I had to follow a syllabus and they would email me changes. I said that I’d prefer to speak on the phone and they said that I had to schedule phone calls days in advance in order to speak to a human. Greg’s personal approach felt more aligned with my personality and communication style, so I went with Greg. He was always open for a phone call and would email me responses very quickly when I had questions. Greg even went out of his way to email me stuff when it crossed his mind, whether I had requested it or not. For example, I was visiting Tuck’s business school, and Greg emailed me that he knew a couple of students there and got me in touch with them. I didn’t even ask. I thought it was very thoughtful and intentional. This characterizes how Greg goes above and beyond.
By the time I had started working with Greg, I had already put together some background info on myself mapping out my life story, motivators, etc, but I’m sure that he would have done this with me had I started out with him. We had a long call going over it and discussing major themes and motivating forces. These early conversations became the seeds of my later essays.
This isn’t probably how everyone likes to work, but I wrote multiple stream-of-consciousness essays for each school and then shot them off to Greg for a quick read. Greg would look at all the essays I’d written and give me feedback on which one he felt would work best as a final essay. Then we’d work together to polish the essay. THIS IS WHERE GREG REALLY SHINES. Like I stated above, I feel that my essays were pretty good, to begin with, but boy was I wrong. Greg really made them more succinct, articulate, and in lots of places, more politically correct or less offensive. There were lots of times where he changed the wording because I didn’t realize how something might come across as insensitive. Greg helped me really articulate to each school who I was, why I wanted an MBA from that school, and how I could contribute to each school. In the end, I truly believe that Greg’s help on my essays made the difference in my getting in or not, ESPECIALLY ON THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS, where it was a bit harder to explain why this white guy from Texas wanted to go get an MBA in France.
Greg self-admittedly did not have much experience with Harvard Business school, so I worked with a third consultant who had specific experience at HBS. Greg still helped me with my essays there, but the other consultant helped me understand what HBS was looking for. While I did not get into HBS, I don’t necessarily think it was their fault. I think like a 31-year-old white male applying in round 3 with no clear driving passion or career vision, it was an uphill battle, to begin with. The other consultant used to be an adcom at HBS, and she told me to form the start that I had slim odds at HBS.
Greg didn’t nickel and dime me with time, and occasionally did stuff off the clock when he was personally interested in a question I had asked or something. Greg was always a pleasure to talk to and I genuinely enjoyed my time working with him. I highly recommend Greg. If you are looking for a very personal, highly communicative approach and a better value than the big names, Greg is the guy.
For the curious, I chose IMD. The personal, intimate, focused nature of the course seemed like the best fit for my personality type, even though it’s not as well-known as Kellogg or INSEAD. Kind of like Greg, I took a chance on the little guy and went with my heart based on feel, and I don’t regret it. I’m hoping I have the same experience at IMD.

Background

Engaging a (sub-par) consultant during the last admissions cycle had already been a bitter experience that I primarily made due to the seemingly beneficial geographical proximity (they were based in the same city as me) and undeniably ‘low-cost’ services (be sure to verify advertised claims). Already on the other side of 30, I felt that this time around was really going to be my last real chance at gaining admission to a Top MBA program and I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. Here’s some brief background:

-Indian Male
-US Undergrad + First Masters (Top 30 School)
-750+ GMAT
-9 years of work-ex
-Re-applicant in R1 2018 (from R2 in the previous cycle)

As an Indian male engineer with nine years of experience when I would start the MBA program, primarily in family business (with some entrepreneurship and startup experience, all in India), I was in an over-represented, older, and non-traditional bucket.

Although I was re-applying with a much-improved GMAT score (50 points+), with 4 interviews and 3 waitlists last time around, I knew that it probably wasn’t just the GMAT that needed improvement and hiring someone who knows the drill was essential in achieving my goals. Admittedly, I began my research on choosing the right consultant very late in the process (less than 2 months to go before the first R1 regular deadline), and by the time I had decided to engage Greg, the first deadline was just 5 weeks away.

Consultation & Signup

Although Greg technically advertises a 30-minute free consultation before sign-up, we ended up talking for almost 2 hours during that initial conversation where he really took the time to understand my situation and offer his candid opinion. He was also the first consultant who offered upfront to connect me with his previous clients (post which, during my research, I made that a requirement for even considering a consultant – and let’s just say no-one was as forthcoming as Greg in making those connections). This was also a big bonus as I could actually talk about some of these connections (and subsequent connections made in their network) in my applications (in hindsight, these were strategic choices made by Greg given my specific school and career interests).

We ended up speaking again to finalize our arrangement and I ultimately signed up for a Tier 2 package for 2 schools with 23 extra hours to tackle 4 additional schools.

Quality, Efficiency, Precision & Personal Investment

Let me say here that Greg is really efficient with his time, and although I was a little skeptical of being charged by the hour once the 2 schools in the package were over, multiple times I saw him mark less time than I expected and make major progress within a review that seemed like it would have taken at least a couple of hours. Given the limited time we had, I had numerous anxious moments throughout the process, but Greg stood right by me before each and every deadline (literally burning the midnight oil on more than one occasion if there was a delay on my part in a particular review). No matter what, Greg was always committed to ensuring that we put our best foot forward.

Throughout the process, never did I feel even once that Greg just wanted to ‘get it done and over with’. To the contrary, he was really personally invested in crafting my story and achieving a common goal. I doubt that an individual consultant in a larger firm (where you often have only a part-time lead consultant, and sometimes have different individuals working on different parts of your application) would have worked in a similar manner. In fact, when it came time for interview prep, Greg threw in an extra interview prep call prior to a scheduled Skype interview I had with an M7 school to ensure I was fully ready. I found him always eager to go above and beyond during the process, and I would also say he challenged me to do the same, bringing out the best in me.

The quality and precision in his reviews are also remarkable. At times, it seemed impossible to be able to do exactly as he’d recommended in an essay review, but once that was done (sometimes, post a couple of iterative suggestions), the depth of his initial suggestions really shone in the final outcome. I was also amazed at how effortlessly, over the course of several reviews of my resume, he was able to shrink 2.5 pages to the standard 1, without compromising on the substance or impact in my work experiences.

Summary & Endorsement

Given my GMAT score and the fact that I was applying in R1, we decided to apply to 4 stretch and 2 reach schools. I got an interview invite at one of the stretch schools, a wait-list at one of the reach schools (Greg predicted this one) and an admit with a 50% SCHOLARSHIP AT A TOP 10 US PROGRAM (we were both over the moon about the $$$)!!!

I can confidently say that engaging Greg for my applications was the best investment that I made during the process. The improvement in my applications from last season to this one stood out like night and day. The work we did and the brainstorming that went in to craft my story will not only hold good for a long time in my professional career but also really helped me understand the value of my experiences thus far and aspirations going forward.

I have already referred multiple MBA aspirants who worked with Greg on their R1 and R2 applications during this past admissions cycle, and will happily continue doing so in the future!

I couldn’t be more thankful to Greg Guglielmo for helping me realize my goal.

I engaged a very well-known admissions consulting firm for my round 1 applications. I was rejected from three M7 schools and received a waitlist invitation to a top 20 school. My objective metrics were reasonably strong (3.5 years’ work at top tier law firm, 770 GMAT, strong extra-curricular involvement). While I felt my previous consultant did provide some useful pointers, I felt that perhaps his reviews were rushed and quite a high level. He did not drill down into the content of my essays or provide meaningful suggestions, and I did not feel I put my best foot forward.

I dusted myself off and re-applied in round 2, this time to a further three M7 schools and one more top 15 schools. After an initial free consultation (during which my consultant, Greg Guglielmo, spoke with me for nearly 90 mins – well over the allotted 30 mins), I signed up for 12 hours of service. Even though I had only purchased hourly services, I could immediately tell Greg was completely invested in my cause. The feedback on my essays was wholly different from what I’d previously encountered – I could tell that my unique position had been critically and carefully analyzed, with extremely insightful recommendations made. Greg was incredibly responsive (even over the Christmas period). He delivered difficult advice candidly, but also warmly and professionally. I completely reshaped my career goals and framed my past experience far more effectively.

Ultimately, I was fortunate to be admitted to two M7 schools – on 100% and 80% scholarships – as well as the top 15 schools to which I applied. I honestly believe I wouldn’t have had this success without working with Greg Guglielmo. Just the other day I signed a full-time offer for my dream firm – and I emailed Greg that same day to thank him for his (huge) part in getting me there!

Choosing a Consultant:
I had a pretty traditional & solid background when I applied, but really needed help with telling my story. I had spent a lot of time preparing for the GMAT and not a lot of time researching, so I felt a bit rushed applying to 5 programs in Round 2.
I was looking for someone who was experienced with the MBA process to help me brainstorm story ideas, solidify my goals, and improve my essays.
I had a few meetings with a few MBA consultants from larger firms but ultimately decided to go with Greg due to the thoughtfulness of his initial profile assessment.

Working with Greg:
I began with 10 hours and added a couple more hours later on. From the get-go, I felt like Greg was on my side. He made sure that we were making good use of the hours I purchased and I believe he spent more time on some tasks than he charged for, especially when it came to “crunch time”, which he did a great job of turning around edits.

I spent most of my time working with him on my Wharton essays. Greg did a wonderful job of helping me tie seemingly unrelated topics into a unique, cohesive theme. He also helped me strengthen and articulate my “why Wharton” piece, which was immensely helpful.
When I interviewed for the TBD, I was able to leverage some of the info from my essays to prepare for the prompt. The brainstorming session that I did with Greg, in the beginning, went a long way!

Results:
I was accepted into Wharton Round 2. I’m excited for my next two years at my dream school and I couldn’t have done it without Greg

As a reapplicant who worked with a different consultant last year and did not receive interviews invites, I was anxious about applying this year and hesitant to work with a consultant. I can say with great confidence that this year’s success is completely a result of my work with Greg and his unique, personalized and brilliant approach to crafting my application.

With a 740 GMAT, 3.85 GPA, 5 years of work experience at a big tech company, and career goals in brand management and entrepreneurship, there were no glaring red flags about my previous application. I felt lost when it came to improving my application, and apprehensive about my odds this year.

I initially set up a free consultation with Greg, which went probably two times longer than the allotted time; by the end of our conversation, I could tell that Greg was different than other consultants and really understood me and each school’s unique application process and values. He followed up with a comprehensive email with ideas and insight based on our conversation, and I immediately started feeling hopeful for this round of applications.

I initially signed up for three hours with Greg, but I quickly realized how invaluable his insight and help is and ultimately signed up for about 10 hours (Greg certainly rounded down more often than not, so I’m sure that 10 hours should really be more like 20). Greg not only helped me craft my essays but also helped with strategizing on recommender selection, prep, crafting my MIT Sloan video and eventually with scholarship negotiation. He also helped me with school selection and encouraged me to apply to Wharton (which is where I will be attending next fall!).

Greg helped with my applications for MIT Sloan, Columbia, and Wharton. I must say that the ten hours I worked with Greg were more effective than the 40+ hours I worked with my previous consultant. I felt confident about every essay and application component.

Ultimately, I received interview invitations from all three schools (versus zero invites last year) and was accepted to Wharton and Columbia, with a $100k fellowship at Columbia.

Greg’s expertise and insight are unparalleled. He has an incredibly deep understanding of every school’s mission, offerings, and priorities and helped me craft applications that spoke to exactly what each school was looking for. In each essay revision, he would offer brilliant anecdotes to include to highlight my fit for and knowledge about the programs. He suggested ultra-specific treks, clubs, competitions, and courses to highlight in my application, showing a very deep understanding of each school.

Greg is also a highly skilled essay crafter. He was incredibly strategic at cutting down content to fit word count without eliminating important details. He helped me prioritize aspects of my background that made me stand out but also fit into each school’s culture.

Greg was incredibly responsive and provided feedback often within 24 hours. Nonetheless, his feedback was deep and comprehensive. He provided clear strategies for improvement and what content to prioritize.

I’m most grateful for Greg’s help with my application to U Penn. In a last minute decision, Greg encouraged me to apply to Wharton, two days before Christmas. He ensured that he would make time to help me through my application in the days to come, and gave me hope that I had a chance at what would soon become my dream school. In an incredibly quick turn-around, Greg helped me craft a fantastic application, that showed no signs of being put together in just two weeks (I don’t recommend rushing through an application like that!)

I was accepted to Wharton and will be attending the school in the fall; I know that I would not have even applied to Wharton if it wasn’t for Greg’s encouragement, and there is no chance I would have been admitted without his expertise.

Greg’s insight is absolutely invaluable and his approach is unparalleled by any other consultant. He will make a huge difference to your application and is worth every penny and more.

When I started searching for MBA counselors, many started to sound similar – either promising to move mountains or being pessimistic on my candidacy. As a white American male in Finance from New York, slightly older than the average candidate with a 700 GMAT score and 3.3 GPA, I was realistic about my candidacy but optimistic with strong essays and direction I could succeed in the process.

From Day 1, Greg broke this mold and working with him was by far the best decision I have made throughout the admissions process. Even before engaging, Greg offered to do a quick read through of a draft essay I wrote for a school, offering complimentary comments as part of his free consultation. He was frank about my odds but optimistic, passionate, and ready to go to battle!

Throughout, Greg was extremely responsive to all questions. While we engaged on the Tier 2 package for 2 schools and supplemented that with hourly services to finish the rest (I was very ambitious applying to 8 schools), he did not let the confines of our engagement limit his work – i.e. if an essay needed 30 more minutes than I had purchased, he was genuinely engaged with producing the best results.

In addition, Greg structurally went above and beyond in terms of availability and engagement. We began with a kick-off meeting in person – something not typically included in any of the Avanti packages, but he was truly willing to do whatever it took to partner and put our best foot forward. In addition to the numerous additional hours he put in on top of our agreed upon engagement to drive home essays to the finish line, he also provided introductions to people within his network who would add value to my application and, more importantly, my overall business school search process. Greg epitomizes someone who pays-it-forward.

The first rounds of revisions really steered the ship, beginning the high level with structure and content, while latter reviews brought the full polish to the essays. Greg was always extremely professional, kind while balancing that with providing strong feedback and getting the best out of me.

I can confidently say Greg was the best choice for an admissions counselor, providing A+, institutional-caliber service with a bespoke, customized, personal touch. As a result, I received interview invitations to Wharton, Fuqua, Darden, and UNC Kenan-Flagler and am happily enrolled at UNC Kenan-Flagler.

I’m an Indian applicant with seven years of work experience and a GRE score of Q164 / V157 (GMAT equivalent of 660). I applied to the following schools.

1. Questrom- Accepted with 70K
2. Georgetown McDonough- Accepted with 20K Scholarship
3. Kellogg- Dinged after Interview

I was looking for a comprehensive service that would help me prepare my MBA application. I researched many consultants that would be cheaper as well as effective. Finally based on my friend’s suggestion and talking to fellow mods, I decided to reach out to Greg.

I was applying in R2 but started my application very late (after Christmas)

Greg and I discussed my profile, goals and target schools. We initially started with my resume. I was in the assumption that my resume was good enough. But the first edit by Greg was brutal. He pointed out all the flaws in my resume. It took a total of 7 edits and more than three and a half hours to finalize my resume.

Questrom- I did apply last year with poor test score and the same resume I had before Greg edit. So I decided to reapply. Greg helped me to prepare a story, edit my essays and provided suggestions that would fine tune my essay. I received an Interview Invite. No matter what, the first interview always makes us happy and nervous after getting rejected the previous year. Greg helped with the interview prep as well. The question by question rigor for the mock interview helped me prep for the actual interviews. And finally, I was accepted into the program with the 70K scholarship.

Georgetown- I initially did not have plans to apply to Georgetown at all since I was targetting other schools. But I received an email that extended the deadline by a week. I immediately emailed Greg about it. He was happy to help with short notice. We created a story from my professional & personal life to write the essay. He was able to edit the essay in short notice, and I was able to submit my application in four days. He also helped me the same way he did for Questrom Interview. The result- Admitted to Class of 2020 with 20K Scholarship. And I will be matriculating in Georgetown this fall.

Kellogg- I wasn’t sure to apply, and Greg as well since my scores and profile are well below average for Kellogg. But I decided to go for it anyway. So we decided to put in the application. Kellogg often waives interviews for Indian applicants, so I wasn’t expecting an interview invite. But I was excited that when I saw the email with an interview invitation. Greg helped me prepare for the interview. I guess we had our Mock interview for over an hour discussing the plan to answer the questions.

His mock interview session for all the schools was almost perfectly accurate, and I was able to prepare for the curveball questions and create a template to answer any questions.

Greg was super helpful and he would respond to my emails within a day even though he was busy with his other clients. And always made himself available for phone calls and questions.

Hiring an admissions consultant is never an easy task – especially with the plethora of options in the market and the significant cost involved.
I approached Greg when I seemed to have lost direction regarding my MBA process and he turned out to be my best investment till date. My first attempt at GMAT landed me a disappointing 640 followed by a second attempt a month later which got me 700. I was confused and doubted my chances to land a good school with that score. Greg was warm and friendly and offered to hear my story over the first free consultation. Although only the first consultation is usually free, Greg voluntarily spent another session with me just to understand my background and what factors mattered to me while picking schools. He was methodical and helped me analyze what mattered to me and what were my priorities. He helped me understand, very realistically, that a top 15-20 school would be quite challenging with this profile. I appreciated his honesty in not making over-arching promises, unlike what most consultants would do to land clients.
Few things regarding my background:
– Age: 24
– Indian IT Engineer
– 700 GMAT
– Under 3 years of work ex
– Applied to all schools in R2
I decided to hire Greg after our second meeting. I signed up for a Tier 3 (Comprehensive) Package for five schools and added about 14 hours of service on top of that to handle three additional schools.

Working with Greg:

1) Quality of advice and coaching – Greg brings with him years of experience working with people across the world. His expertise in decoding one’s story and presenting it in a way which catches attention, uniquely enables him to interact with diverse clients with ease.

2) Quality of reviews – Greg’s review comments were elaborate and descriptive. He gave careful attention to every word and reviewed a document iteratively until it was perfect. Be it resume reviews, to essay reviews, to reviewing abstract submissions like presentations, Greg was thoughtful and valuable in his insights.

3) Essay and editing skill – A story has to sound convincing and appealing. Greg brought out the uniqueness in my story – he could identify and highlight what is a differentiator in a seemingly plain storyline. He helped me prioritize what needed to go in the essay and what could be sidelined. His editing skills are impeccable. Greg can concise a lengthy essay into the set word limit, without compromising on the details and impact.

4) Video essay works – We worked on two video essays together – one for Kellogg and another for Georgetown. Both times, Greg supported me end-to-end. He would get very involved in the whole process and his inputs were valuable. He guided me not just on the preparation of the content of the video essay and my delivery, but also with being mindful about aesthetic factors like the attire and light and sound conditions.

5) Extreme attention to detail – Greg gives extreme attention to detail in all aspects of his work – from resume building to essay edits, to composing emails, to formatting a document. Greg is tireless and diligent in his work and never compromises on quality even with the stringent timelines.

6) Depth of our mock interview-and-feedback sessions – Greg initiated video calls to simulate the interview experience. He was prepared with a set of questions for each school I was to interview with, and the whole experience helped me tremendously. Greg customized the interview prep for each school and did not make it generic. He was up to date with the research on each school and even scheduled more than one mocks when required. I felt so well prepared to go into the actual interview because I had practiced with Greg.

7) Ongoing Assistance – Greg is always available over mail to answer any query. He goes beyond his immediate role to assist you if he can help in any manner – like sharing the information which he thinks might interest you, assistance in filling the application forms and continued support through the whole process.

8) Other factors like availability, response time, professionalism, friendliness, positive energy – Greg was very professional and yet approachable and accommodative. There have been times when we have overshot the agreed time by an hour, but Greg would never leave me feeling like we have not concluded the conversation.

His energy makes one feel comfortable and that in turn makes brainstorming smoother. I shared a great rapport with him and I should give him most of the credit for it. His response time has been top-notch. At one point, we were to submit three applications in one day and Greg worked around the clock with me, at times running late into the night.

Outcome:

I applied to 8 schools, all in Round 2: Kellogg, Columbia, Cornell, Ross, UNC KFBS, CMU Tepper, USC Marshall, and Georgetown McDonough. I got admits from all three schools I interviewed with: Tepper, Marshall, and Georgetown. To top it, I got strong scholarship offers from both Tepper and Marshall. I am currently enrolled with Tepper with a $60K scholarship. I am extremely pleased with these results in the context of my profile.

This fantastic outcome after nearly nine months of working tirelessly with Greg was a sheer delight! I felt Greg’s support throughout the process. He was always with me through successes and failures and cared genuinely about my success. We were true partners. Not only was he an excellent consultant, but he also went beyond his paid services to mentor me on a few interviews which were not a part of the package. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Greg and would strongly recommend him to anyone who is considering an MBA consultant.

Apart from the fabulous outcome for which I shall always be grateful to Greg, I have also grown as an individual at many levels – I now compose better essays, can edit and review work more skillfully and have also been able to define my post-MBA goals in the whole process. This preparation will hold me in good stead as I start MBA recruiting.

Hiring a consultant makes a huge difference to your candidacy, and I can vouch for Greg’s work! He is worth every penny!