Karthik Palaniappan

I had an excellent experience working with Karthik from August Academy during my MBA application process. He was very knowledgeable and provided invaluable guidance throughout the entire process, right from shortlisting colleges to interview preparation. Thanks to Karthik, I was able to identify the right schools for me and craft an application that genuinely represented my strengths. I would highly recommend August Academy to anyone looking for expert guidance and an ultimate straightforward approach to getting into your dream B-School.

I had sought out the help of August Academy to gain insight into the B-school application process and to determine which programs would be the best fit for me. Overall, I found the experience to be incredibly helpful and valuable.

Mr. Karthik worked with me one-on-one to assess my goals, strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. In addition, he helped me identify the programs that aligned with my interests and provided guidance on how to best position myself as a strong candidate. His methodical approach to building the application and sticking to a timeline really helped me handle my priorities and meet the application deadlines well in advance.

From August Academy I got the support and guidance needed to deeply introspect myself and figure out my highlights. Mr. Karthik was always available via email to answer my questions and provide feedback on my essays and other application materials.

I was able to crack into some of the most competitive B-Schools in the world and am entirely grateful to Mr. Karthik and August Academy for the same.

The first time around when I applied to the MBA program, I did so on my own accord. But I was not able to secure a single admit. The next admissions cycle, I was still determined to give it another shot. But my confidence had taken a big hit by then. So, I decided to look for a consultant who’d help me approach things differently and stay on track amidst the fog that sets when applying to MBA programs.

I met with over a dozen different consultants. Karthik seemed to be the right match for me. From the onset, Karthik stood out from the rest because of his transparent approach towards the entire process and his commitment to giving me an honest and complete picture of my profile and the business school landscape that matched with the same. At no point did he tell me things I wanted to hear and was very direct with what he believed was the best path for me. The most important thing was that he made sure to not let my list of previous rejections bog me down while I was planning for a fresh season of applications.

Once I signed up with Karthik, he was very quick with getting the ball rolling. He is a very systematic individual with great organizational skills and a strong sense of time management. His resources urged me to think in the right direction and his approach towards breaking the entire application process down helps you get a very good grasp of how AdComs view each component of the overall application. He is very well-researched and each of his writing exercises helped me bring out all sorts of stories that I initially hadn’t realized would play a crucial role in telling my story.

After the initial period of introspection and brainstorming, Karthik makes efficient use of project management tools to streamline the essay writing process. I was able to seamlessly write through 5-6 iterations for many essays until I reached the perfect versions. While making edits or suggestions, Karthik was always very thoughtful in ensuring that he preserved my voice while still using his judgment to ensure that I was appropriately addressing what was asked of each essay. He even gave me the freedom to experiment with different stories for certain essays to ensure that I was able to demonstrate my fit with schools in the best way possible. His confidence in his process and my stories allowed me to experiment a lot. I don’t feel I’d be able to do that had I gone about it my way. Karthik is a great coach who truly believes that he is training a great athlete. He held me accountable every step of the way and pushed me till he believed I had gotten to the right version of my story. He was also very good at assessing obstacles in my mind that I had trouble articulating, and was able to help me maintain the right focus. The essay writing period is very strenuous and confusing. Karthik really played a major role in helping curb any deviations at different points. His prompt turnaround time between different edit versions helped me plan my work and gave me the confidence to run through as many edits as I needed.

Post the application, I had weekly sessions with Karthik to prepare for interviews. Like the rest of the process, he is very well-researched and helped me ensure that I was able to convey all aspects of my story during interviews. What I liked about these sessions was that Karthik really spent the time to learn about what my thought process was for each of my answers and talked me through different ways I could express them in a simpler manner. Through these practice sessions, he helped me understand the importance of being succinct and he also helped me articulate my story in an easy-to-understand way. This goes a long way when you’re talking to an AdCom who usually comes from a different background from you but still needs to be able to connect to your story. He gave me help in areas I didn’t know I needed it.

In conclusion, I do believe that Karthik was the perfect consultant for me. He was quick towards understanding me as a person and candidate. And, one thing that stuck with me when working with him was that his commitment level was very high and he really got into the process as if it were for himself. The level of care he puts into it always filled me with a high level of confidence. And it is this momentum that finally helped me secure admission very early in the admission cycle. I will always recommend Karthik to whomsoever I speak to. He not only helps with the admissions process but also makes you think about other aspects you should be thinking of when wanting to do an MBA.

Karthik is extremely professional with deep expertise in the domain of end-to-end admission consulting across all top global b-schools. He understood that my goal was to get an admit to top European b-schools and always provided personal attention. Even though I approached him after Round-1 was over for most b-schools, he helped me in applying to 4 b-schools between Rounds 2 and 3 within very constrained timelines.

He helped me in evaluating my profile, discovering my true post-MBA goals, shortlisting b-schools, tailoring every single essay prompt (including scholarship essays) and preparing for interviews. He clearly explained to me the risks, pros and cons of applying to all the shortlisted b-schools based on his years of experience guiding students with diverse profiles and experiences.

Last but not the least, instead of just correcting grammar or suggesting points from his end, he always pushed and guided me to think through my pointers for every essay. He pinpointed the strengths and helped me realize what my essays may lack through simple examples, giving me a clear direction in which I was supposed to think. This ensured that my applications are 100% my original stories and perspectives (this is a very important criterion for every top b-school).

After the application stage, I received interview calls from 2 top business schools – HEC Paris and ESADE. He scheduled mock interviews with me for each of the schools and made me realize my strengths as well as some critical areas of improvement. Additionally, since HEC Paris interviews need you to prepare and present a presentation as well, Karthik even helped me in cleaning up and tailoring the presentation which made it more crisp and interesting. The entire process from getting onboarded with Karthik to giving my final interviews took ~4 months. He constantly supported me throughout this journey.

The results finally came. I received admits from both b-schools HEC Paris and ESADE. ESADE also gave me a ~15% scholarship on tuition fees. I was elated and called my parents and friends giving them the good news. I have decided to join HEC Paris for the September’23 intake because it was always one of my dream schools. I am very thankful to Karthik for his valuable support and guidance throughout this process and I could not have pulled this through in such a short timeline without his help!

I scored a 690 on GMAT and was from a traditional technology background. I was a little skeptical on whether to pursue an MBA or re-take the exam and wait for another year. I came across August Academy through a friend’s reference. Ever since the very first meeting, Karthik sir gave me a realistic picture of the entire application process. I truly admire his honesty because that is what set the momentum for my journey.

His entire application process is extremely seamless, professional, and thorough. His profile review, resume building, and brainstorming sessions are exceptionally informative because they helped me explore certain areas of my profile I was not aware of. He always provided the right insights, did multiple review sessions, and constantly motivated me to upgrade my profile. He is extremely meticulous and listens actively, therefore, he helped me pick the right kind of stories for my resume and essays.

I truly believe Karthik sir tries his best to bring the best out of every student. I was able to get into 3 colleges with up to 85% scholarship. I strongly recommend Karthik sir to future applicants.

Working with Karthik was a fantastic experience. He showed a genuine interest in my story and provided personalized guidance that helped me to craft a compelling MBA application. He was easy to talk to, and I always felt that he was invested in my success. He also encouraged me to express my individuality, which allowed me to showcase my unique strengths and experiences. Thanks to Karthik’s help, I was able to secure a 100% scholarship and gain acceptance to Georgia Tech’s MBA program. I highly recommend Karthik to anyone looking for an MBA admissions consultant who is supportive, knowledgeable, and easy to work with.

When I applied (without an MBA consultant) during R2 for the Fall 2022 intake, I received rejects from all my dream and competitive schools. Not wanting to compromise, I decided to reapply for the 2023 Fall intake during R1. After extensive research and reaching out to multiple MBA consultants, I decided to go with Karthik from August Academy. During my demo call with him, he was very upfront and direct with his feedback on my profile (I have 6.5 years of work experience and a GRE score of 325). I heard a lot of sugar-coated responses from other consultants about what schools I can apply to and my chances of getting in. I believe that setting clear expectations from the start and getting direct feedback reflecting the ground reality of the competitiveness of Indian students applying to MBA programs helped me immensely during my application process.

During my brainstorming sessions with Karthik, he made me find my leadership stories that I could highlight. To be honest, I didn’t even realise these could be identified with leadership skills. This changed my entire outlook of myself and my profile. In addition, he kept pushing me to rework my essays until both of us were happy with them and this process helped me gain more clarity of thought. It was an amazing experience working with him. I currently hold admits from five top 25 schools including my dream school, UVA Darden, all with scholarships. I would definitely recommend Karthik to anyone applying to MBA programs and looking for a clear and smooth application process. Best of luck!

I worked closely with Karthik for getting into one of the top B-schools in Europe. It was a great experience, very systematic and disciplined, and I was able to manage the applications well alongside a full-time job. I also learned a lot about myself in the process, as it helped me streamline my thought process and truly learn what my priorities were. Definitely recommend!

It was a pleasure working with Karthik on the MBA application process. I was a reapplicant, having applied to multiple schools unsuccessfully a couple of years ago. This time around, with Karthik’s help, I got acceptance offers from London Business School, Columbia Business School, and NYU Stern and interview invites from all the applications we worked on (Kellogg, LBS, NYU Stern).

Karthik is extremely organized and working with him on the Asana platform also helped me (an unorganized person) organize tasks effectively and adhere to several deadlines. His style of consultancy really worked well for me. I was generally strong with my vocabulary but I didn’t know how to structure my thoughts and make a compelling argument. I would often beat around the bush and not get to the point. Karthik’s advice helped me build decisive and strong essays that showcased the best of my abilities. With interview prep as well, Karthik was instrumental in helping me dig deep into my professional and personal accomplishments and shortcomings and I was able to build strong talking points for my interviews.

Overall, it was a privilege working with Karthik and I would highly recommend him to anyone looking to get the best out of the grueling MBA application process.

I found out about August Academy through GMAT Club and Poets and Quants. Verified reviews listed on the portal encouraged me to approach Karthik.

I was not sure of my chances of getting into a B school after +10 years of work experience, but a counseling appointment with Karthik really helped me narrow down my best options and get more clarity on my post-MBA goals. Preparing B-school applications is a rigorous and painstaking process and in the form of Karthik, I could not have asked for a better mentor in this journey. Right from the first day, he worked very closely with me through his Starter Files, helping me gain better knowledge of myself in terms of skillsets, strengths, weaknesses, etc. The process employed by him was so holistic and methodical that I didn’t realize that parallelly he was preparing me for my interviews as well. Initially, I was skeptical whether I would be able to get the required level of cooperation/guidance via a phone call/week, but believe me, it is more than enough once he has already done those brainstorming sessions with you. Moreover, he was always available via calls/mail/Asana (a tool that he employs to track your application process)

You might come across consultants who will offer to write your essays themselves, but let me be very honest in saying that it will not benefit you even a bit because you will not be building any writing skills of your own and you will be doubtful of your abilities at the end of the process. On the other hand, working with Karthik has really helped me broaden my skillset in terms of story-telling/writing/content relevance etc. He also encourages and guides you to do the research and networking for a B-school, meanwhile honing your networking skills for the B-school journey ahead. He doesn’t place any limitations on the number of edits and he makes sure that the essays you put in your application are of the highest quality and relevance to that particular B-school. He is a master of what he does and has all the tools in his kitty to assist you with any kind of B-school application and its components be it video essays/written essays/scholarships essays/LORs etc. I will highly recommend any serious candidate to seek his guidance to put their best foot forward for their B-school applications.

Under the able mentorship of Karthik, I have received an admit from Fisher College of Business and WP Carey School of Business with a Full Scholarship and I am waiting for decisions from other schools as well.

When I started applying for MBA programs as an entrepreneur and someone at 29, I was insecure about my MBA dreams. I researched extensively for the professional admissions consultant, including MCB, MBA and Beyond, etc., and I am glad I worked with Karthik from August Academy. He is highly professional and will go the extra mile to help. One thing I realized was that he saw my success as his own and was always there to help me get the best go my profile. With his help and deep understanding of what colleges are looking for in my profile and truly personalizing my story with MBA programs, I was admitted to four of the five colleges I applied to him. I got more than 50% scholarship in the three colleges (SIMON, Gtech, and EMORY) while admitted to Cornell. I was waitlisted and rejected from Columbia. I am genuinely grateful to have worked with Karthik and would highly recommend him to anyone in the blink of an eyelid.

When I was looking for a consultant to help with my MBA applications, one of my friends, who went to pursue his MBA in the US recommended August Academy. After my initial interaction with Karthik and a few other consultants, I decided to sign up with August Academy. My plan was to apply to five schools across the US and Europe. He helped me pick the right schools based on my background and career goals.

Once I signed up, I had access to plenty of resources in terms of videos, webinars, and documents to help with each step of the application process. I really liked the process of filling out documents and writing down professional and personal stories before starting work on any essays. This helped me create a large pool of relevant stories that could be picked as required. We did brainstorming sessions for each school to identify the relevant stories that could be used for the question prompts. During these sessions, Karthik helped with bringing out the story and articulating it.

By the time I started my essays, the content and articulation were very clear. Karthik uses project management tools to keep track of progress and his response time is very good. He uses a lot of tech during the process which really helps with the overall process and experience. Overall it was a pleasure to work with Karthik during the entire MBA application process. I got an admit from INSEAD and waitlists from two schools in the US. Based on my results and my overall experience, I would highly recommend August Academy for your MBA application process.

I can’t imagine my MBA admission journey without Karthik’s guidance & support.

When I started researching business schools, I was unsure how effective working with admissions consultants would be. But I soon learned that I needed to communicate my stories effectively, and highlight aspects of my personality that would make my application stand apart from the application pool. That’s why I wanted to work with someone who would invest his/her time to understand my perspectives and refine them. I wanted someone who would be personally involved in reviewing my documents and be honest with the criticisms.

When I spoke to Karthik, I immediately knew that he understood my professional background and aspirations beyond an MBA.

I really appreciate Karthik’s approach to building an authentic application. He does not spoon-feed you but rather works with you to investigate and analyze your stories to bring out aspects that might not have even occurred to you.

Over multiple iterations of essays, LORs, and resume, I felt confident that my stories painted a true picture of my personality and ambitions.

My interactions with Karthik went beyond discussions on b-school essays. He helped me gain clarity about my career which I translated into my daily job, thereby having more stories to write about in my applications.

I strongly recommend b-school aspirants to work with Karthik. His feedbacks were insightful, and he would not hesitate to give you the truth about your chances, which I feel is a very important aspect as one decides on the kind of schools he/she would apply to.

Having achieved my target GMAT score, I started looking at b-schools and the application process. I was of the strong opinion that I won’t take the help of a consultant and will navigate the entire process on my own. It didn’t take much time to realize that the process is complex and overwhelming. I felt clueless and don’t know where to start. I researched online for help. I found popular resources such as Applicant Lab and admission consultancies but they didn’t seem like the right choice.

That’s when I stumbled across a YouTube video of Karthik giving an overview of the b-school application process and strategy for Indian students. The video explained in layman’s terms the application process, what the schools look for in applicants, and how to approach the goals and other essays. The 1 hour video helped me understand more about the application process than my 2 weeks of own research.

I then decided to schedule a 30-minute consultation with Karthik. Karthik provided a brief and transparent overview of schools I can target, goals, and the consulting process. Karthik shared his honest thoughts on schools I can potentially target, something I did not receive in my conversations with other consultants. I finally took a 5 school package and looking back, it feels like the right decision I have made.

The profile review sessions, essay edits, goals discussions, and school selection – all helped me present my best application to my target schools. Karthik played the role of a perfect coach. He asked the right questions – which helped me understand my motivations for pursuing an MBA. He provided multiple examples, reviewed multiple versions of my resume, and explained about highlighting impact till we finally develop a good one.

B-schools want applicants to share their authentic selves in the essays, something possible only if applicants write their own stories. But it is not easy to do so on our own. You need to understand what the college is looking for in that essay. You need to share your own experiences and should not copy another experience or writing style. And you need to show the impact of that experience. Enter Kartik. Karthik explains what the college wants to know about the candidate through an essay and then gave a brief overview of how I should structure my essay. Then it is for me to write the complete essay. Karthik reviews the essay multiple times and provides suggestions on what to improve. However, he never wrote my essays or provided an essay template I can follow. He is committed to helping you present your true self in the application process and succeed. Working with a consultant who is committed to your success was hugely motivating for me. As consultants typically work with several applicants, it is easy to provide general advice and share a general template that everyone can follow. But Karthik is genuinely interested in your success. He always spent time and provided personalized feedback even when times were difficult for him.

It was very tough in the initial stages as it is not easy to become a great writer all of a sudden.

After days of thinking, I was able to write only one impactful paragraph. However, I trusted the process Karthik employed. After a few weeks, I started to see the improvement. Karthik’s suggestions and the questions he asks helped me frame authentic essays. I got interview invites from 4 schools out of the 5 target schools I applied to. I was able to convert my interview invite to an admission offer with a 70k scholarship. I am positive this would not have been possible without guidance and motivation from Karthik.

To summarise, the application process is strenuous. Unless you are confident and write good essays, you need a good coach who can guide you and motivate you to successfully navigate the process. You cannot ask for a better coach than Karthik to help you with the process. He is committed to your success and helps present your best authentic version to the admissions committee. Trust the process Karthik employs, follow the guidelines, and you will succeed.

I had been involved in dramatics during my college days. When our college was participating in an inter-college skit competition a coach was hired by the college to train the team. On the first day, he gave us a situation and asked us to prepare a skit. This was repeated every day for two weeks. With the competition fast approaching, we were getting tense and asked him about the script for the competition. To our surprise, he told us that he does not have a script and we had to prepare one. We were furious and asked him if that was the case then why did he waste our time. He then asked us to prepare the skit using the best parts from all the skits that we had performed in the last two weeks. the result was a skit that eventually won us the first prize.

The methodology adopted by Karthik from August Academy is similar to the one stated above. His starter files push you to introspect deep into your life and become a ready reckoner for your essays. Karthik will show you the path and guide you when you veer away from it. His commitment can be gauged from the fact that he took a brainstorming session with me even while tending to a serious family matter.

I am indebted to Karthik especially for the selection of schools. Even though I had a decent GMAT score of 730 I was an outlier in terms of experience with over 13 years of experience. He carefully analyzed my profile and suggested Harvard Kennedy school as one of the schools to me even though I had approached him for B-schools. He was pretty candid and blunt about my chances and told me about the points that did not work in my favor. And true to his prediction I was able to convert only HKS.

I would recommend August Academy to anyone looking to apply to top B-schools and I wish Karthik the very best in his future endeavors.

I had first interacted with Karthik during a free profile evaluation. I had met with several admissions consultants for a profile evaluation but his feedback was very honest and helped me close some gaps. I decided to work with him post this call.

He helped me shortlist the right kind of schools that I could apply to and there was a good mix of target and stretch schools in this.

The best thing about working with him was that there was no limit on the number of reviews per essay. I had gone through several versions of essays for different colleges and the final version was always a lot more polished and convincing.

He had also helped me with the interviews for different schools and I got a lot of value from the mock interviews.

Overall, it was a great experience working with Karthik and he helped me hone my writing and interviewing skills.

I had a great experience with Karthik at the August academy. I was initially a bit hesitant since I did not feel comfortable with paying so much money for the applications process. But I think it was really worth every penny.
There was a clarity of process and thought which Karthik brought to the table- that helped to streamline my applications and eventually I did get into HEC Paris- which was one of the top 3 colleges I aspired for.
Apart from actually ensuring the correct content for the applications, this coaching helped me to work on my writing skills, resume building, interviews and develop a more linear structured way of thinking. I got to know myself as a person better.

I would recommend August academy for anyone who is aspiring to get into some of the Top B-schools and who is keen to also invest time in the applications process.

I would like to thank Karthik for his support during my MBA applications. I reached out to Karthik in December for Round 2 applications (deadlines in early January). Karthik’s structured approach helped me in submitting quality applications to 7 schools in this short time. I was invited to interviews by 4 schools and received admits to 2 schools. Karthik is very logical and was an excellent sounding board for my ideas. He encouraged me to explore various facets of my experiences and provided valuable advice on how to structure my essays.

After a lot of research on consulting companies, I decided to go with August Academy. It was the best decision I made in my entire MBA application journey. Karthik guided me throughout the application process – starting from the selection of B-schools to apply to – one of the steps that I dreaded the most. His approach is very professional and well-educated. He helped me in putting the best of myself out there through my resume, essays, and letter of recommendation. He enhanced the uniqueness of my application by helping me develop ideas for my essays from my life stories and not compose them himself. I believe that I was profoundly benefited through the extensive experience he had with his other MBA candidates over the years. If not for his ingenious counsel, I would not have been able to secure admits from such great B-schools.

As I was approaching my MBA applications, I knew I needed a good strategy right from deciding on the right colleges all the way to my admissions. I wanted to do it right the first time. I attended Karthik’s free webinar and had a free call with him. After speaking to him, I was pretty sure that I would definitely benefit from his advice on my MBA journey.

Karthik always gave me the right advice at the right time throughout my tumultuous journey of the application process. His brainstorming sessions were an eye-opener as I recollected my life stories and learned to use the right stories for the essay questions. The best thing about the whole process is that I authored all my essays using his structured advice. His sound comments made a rough initial draft to a polished final draft after multiple revisions. The use of the Asana platform also made the full process organized and systematic.

Another goldmine are his MBA Masterclasses which give new applicants a foundation knowledge on various aspects of the MBA application such as crafting a proper resume, preparing elevator pitches, answering the ‘Why MBA?’ question, setting up your LinkedIn profile, goals essays, video essays.

As I worked with him, I got interview calls from Tepper, McDonough, McCombs and eventually got admits from all of them, that too with scholarships of 50k USD from Tepper, 30k USD from McDonough, and 10k USD from McCombs. As I worked with him for the above colleges, I used the experience gained to write the essays for ISB and Kelley and was able to get admit from ISB and an interview from Kelley as well.

Working with Karthik and August Academy on my B-School applications was an excellent experience. Together, we worked on 5 applications out of which I scored an admit from Tuck and a waitlist from UCLA even in an extremely hard application cycle.

From the get-go, I appreciated Karthik’s honest and open communication style. In our first conversation, he helped me think through the range of schools that were realistic targets given my profile and GMAT score. Yet, he let me know that he was open to changing our strategy if I wanted to be more ambitious. And I did. Karthik was also open to letting me position my story the way I wanted to – he is a firm believer in authenticity and would often nudge me in the right direction when he felt that I wasn’t being true to my goals and ambitions. We often brainstormed a plan B w.r.t story positioning but our priority would always be to run with what felt right.

Another thing with Karthik is that you can always know what to expect. He uses Asana as a project management tool with his clients and I found this to be extremely helpful in staying on top of all the various to-do’s that an applicant needs to address. He was also prompt in his review of my essays, resume, and other documents – you could pretty much expect an in-depth review within 48 hrs. This helped me manage my internal application deadlines with ease. Having said that, Karthik was always open to working on a tighter deadline if the matter was urgent and needed his review.

One thing I particularly liked about his process was his ability to ask the right questions during our brainstorming process. Often, we do not dig deep enough when trying to answer essay questions in MBA applications. We have an ongoing narrative in our heads which we rely on heavily. But if you ask the right questions, there is often a much more meaningful reason and core belief that is guiding your decision-making. Karthik was a pro at doing this and it massively improved the quality of the essays we worked on together.

Finally, something that really helped take my application to the next level was just the sheer number of reviews each of my essays went through. Karthik and I would often go up to as many as 5 drafts of the same essay before we froze it. Knowing that I had the option of doing multiple iterations of the essay allowed me to take more risks in the writing and craft better essays.

I will forever be grateful for Karthik’s guidance throughout the process. Will 100% recommend using his services if you’re looking for a good mentor to guide you through the B-school application process.

In hindsight, after having secured an admit, the whole MBA admissions process-right from preparation for GMAT to appearing for the interview- seems fairly simple. But to be honest, when you are in the midst of it all, the process does get overwhelming at times. And while not impossible, it certainly is daunting to do it all by yourself.
Especially if you are someone like me; at worst I’m an indecisive procrastinator, at best I’m a coffee guzzling work machine and on most days I’m that ambitious average Joe hoping to capitalise on my strengths.

I did give it a shot on my own in 2019, applied to only one school for several reasons including lack of motivation, lack of clarity, lack of self-belief. Producing immature essays with a fairly presentable profile that secured me a spot on ISB waitlist before an interview and nothing further. I let a year pass by as my lacklustre effort and the unsuccessful outcome had considerably shaken my confidence.

I realised I needed substantial guidance in the admissions process. The biggest hurdle was of-course the sizable fees charged by almost all the consultants. I convinced myself it is still worth it by reasoning that a. Even the best CEOs, athletes, political leaders etc. take help when they need it (that was to convince my heart). b. The fees for a consultant would end up being a small percentage of the salary post MBA (This was to convince my mind).

Having convinced me to go for consultant services, the next big task was finding the right consultant. And just like you are doing right now, I read numerous reviews/testimonials for various consultants. This kind of helped me narrow down to few, however, there was no trial option in this case. I decided to go with Karthik primarily because in our initial email exchanges he was quick to revert to my queries in straight to the point, no-nonsense style. This approach suited me well. And throughout the admissions process remained the same.

So in the same no-nonsense style, I’ll give you reasons to work with Karthik for your MBA admissions process.
A. He provides a step by step guide for the entire process along with useful templates. This brings much-needed clarity in terms of what you need to do and when, and in some cases why.
B. He will make sure you do all the work, and you will thank him for that later. It helps you in the interviews and does wonders to your confidence.
C. He offers unlimited reviews for resume as well as essays. This goes on till both of you are satisfied with the outcome (or you have run out time)
D. He gives feedback that’s easy to understand, actionable and often helps you bring out the best in you.
E. You will not have to waste your energy in following up since he sets clear deadlines for all the activities and strictly adheres to them.
F. Beyond all this, he is easy to communicate with. I feel that’s the biggest USP because during this process you really need someone who would help you identify the winning stories from your cluttered story-board.

Please be cognizant that working with a consultant does not mean it gets any easier, you will still have to do most of the heavy lifting. (Just like working with a fitness trainer) but the best trainer often helps you achieve the best results.

So go for it. Wish you all the very best!

PS: In case, you would like to connect with me for any additional information reach out to me on LinkedIn.

Short Version:

I decided to go with Karthik primarily because in our initial email exchanges he was quick to revert to my queries in straight to the point, no-nonsense style. This approach suited me well. And throughout the admissions process remained the same.

So in the same no-nonsense style, I’ll give you reasons to work with Karthik for your MBA admissions process.
A. He provides a step by step guide for the entire process along with useful templates. This brings much-needed clarity in terms of what you need to do and when, and in some cases why.
B. He will make sure you do all the work, and you will thank him for that later. It helps you in the interviews and does wonders to your confidence.
C. He offers unlimited reviews for resume as well as essays. This goes on till both of you are satisfied with the outcome (or you have run out time)
D. He gives feedback that’s easy to understand, actionable and often helps you bring out the best in you.
E. You will not have to waste your energy in following up since he sets clear deadlines for all the activities and strictly adheres to them.
F. Beyond all this, he is easy to communicate with. I feel that’s the biggest USP because during this process you really need someone who would help you identify the winning stories from your cluttered story-board.

Please be cognizant that working with a consultant does not mean it gets any easier, you will still have to do most of the heavy lifting. (Just like working with a fitness trainer) but the best trainer often helps you achieve the best results.

So go for it. Wish you all the very best!

PS: In case, you would like to connect with me for any additional information reach out to me on LinkedIn.

I worked with Karthik this year and was admitted to HBS!

I really, really enjoyed the experience. Karthik’s process forces you to introspect and think deeply about what you want from an MBA. It helps layout all your achievements and strengths which makes the process of filling out the application much easier. He helped me highlight the best parts of my candidacy which I’ve sure helped me stand out of the pile!

Karthik also knows where to push you – he made me retake my GMAT and I think the additional 20 points that came out played a big role in making my application more competitive. He knew I was applying to a tough set of schools to get into – and told me clearly where my profile was weak and where I would need to strengthen it. He’s always available to help – and also kept me calm when I was stressed out after I hit the submit button!

Working with Karthik is a no-brainer for me – I would definitely recommend him and August Academy to anyone looking to pursue an MBA!

worked with Karthik for 5 schools in round 2. I was targeting all schools which were in the top 10. Karthik guided me through the process, making me well aware of the risks but was supportive of how to achieve the aim. When I had contacted Karthik, my whole application was rusty. He worked patiently with me spending almost a month ironing out kinks in my resume and my professional goals. The best part was that he understood my part of the story why I wanted to pursue Mba, which helped me create compelling stories for the application. The other thing that I really liked working with Karthik was his organization through Asana. It made life so much easier anytime I needed any content reviewed by him. I ended up getting an interview call from MIT-Sloan, Yale, and Berkeley-Haas. I was put on the waitlist for Yale and Haas and ended up converting those. The step by step help provided by Karthik during my waitlist period, really helped me be in meaningful constant touch with the admission team. I would like to give a shout out to him for his constant support and guidance that ultimately helped me get admitted into my dream school.

Securing an admit from a top B School is tough but finding the right person who would take you there is even tougher. After a lot of deliberation over whom to choose, I decided to go with August Academy. The primary reason was Karthik’s stellar academic achievement. Karthik’s no spoon-feeding attitude not only made the grueling application process feel interesting and fun but also helped me at work and outside. The starter files that he prepared brought the unique qualities out of me to be put down in application essays. He would never give up on his students and would constantly motivate them throughout the application process. Through the constant effort that he has put, I was able to get an admit from one of my dream B Schools with 60% scholarship. I would really like to thank Karthik for helping me with my applications and wish him much more success in the present and future.

I was referred to Karthik at August Academy by a couple of colleagues who had worked with him before. I worked with him in Round 1 of 2019 for 4 US-based MBA programs.

I had spoken to multiple MBA consultants at the beginning of the application cycle and had my doubts about how personalized their approach would be. I wanted to work with someone who would personally spend time to understand my story and then guide me to present it in a convincing manner. After my initial conversation with Karthik, I was convinced that his approach suited me the best and I wasn’t disappointed.

Karthik follows a very systematic and structured approach to the application process. His use of an online productivity tool made it much simpler to manage multiple tasks. We began with a set of starter questions which helped me compile all my experiences and achievements in a succinct manner. This exercise made the rest of the process relatively straightforward as I had the relevant reference material for the essays and the resume.

Calling Karthik a consultant would be a bit of an understatement as he was more like a mentor and friend to me. He helped me pick me a set of schools and had a unique and tailored perspective on each one. He was the perfect sounding board who helped structure my thoughts in the right direction and often brought an outside-in perspective to my essays. He was always available for a chat about the smallest of doubts, even in peak admission season and responded to most queries within 48 hours.

Thanks to Karthik, I received admits from two top-10 U.S.-based schools along with a place in the waitlist at another top-5 U.S. school. I would suggest all future aspirants set up a chat with Karthik to understand how beneficial it will be to have him by your side in this rigorous process.