Laura MacLean

Consultant Bio

Laura is a graduate of Harvard Business School (HBS)—and a former gatekeeper of the highly-selective program itself. During her 13 years as a member of the HBS Admissions Board, Laura reviewed applications from candidates from a wide range of backgrounds and conducted more than 1,000 interviews. For three of those years, she lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she not only interviewed candidates but also supported the school’s marketing efforts to attract the very best applicants on the West Coast.

Laura started her career at Morgan Stanley in its Investment Banking Division. After graduating from HBS, she transitioned into strategy and marketing through roles at Gap Inc., a Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company and Gillette. She then joined HBS’s admissions team and used her broad set of experiences to evaluate competitive HBS candidates. More recently, Laura tapped into her passion for baking by launching a home-based French macaron business. Now, baking is just one of her many interests, in addition to skiing, tennis, and volunteer work.

Company Information

Gatehouse Admissions was founded on a simple truth: getting accepted to Harvard, Stanford, and other top-tier business schools becomes more challenging each year. Candidates need a new level of expertise and commitment from their admissions consultant. Meet Gatehouse Admissions, the new standard in MBA admissions consulting. Via strong client partnerships and deep investment at every stage of the application process, Gatehouse Admissions specializes in helping determined candidates stand out.

We have codified our best practices—gleaned from our many combined years of coaching clients—into the Gatehouse Way. Each of us is committed to the expertise, energy, and approach that defines Gatehouse.

Our Consultants earned MBAs from three of the most competitive business schools: Harvard Business School (HBS), the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. We believe that the key to effectively coaching someone through the application process for any MBA program—let alone a top-ranked one—lies in having successfully navigated it oneself.

As MBAs, we are driven, ambitious, and focused on reaching our singular goal: your acceptance to your target business school.

As coaches, we are passionate about helping others understand and ultimately realize their potential.

When you bring together a group of determined, sharp, and caring MBAs, you can do amazing things. (Trust us, you will see this for yourself once you arrive at business school.) What this means at Gatehouse is that you benefit not only from our having already walked the path you are just now beginning but also from our relentless and collaborative focus on ensuring that our processes, tools, and insights are the best in the industry.

Having helped hundreds of applicants gain admission to the world’s most competitive business schools, we know that nothing about the admissions process is formulaic. Yet the services at many admissions consulting firms are. We focus on taking individuals in whom we see exceptional promise and tailoring the application experience to ensure that their candidacies are as compelling as possible.

We limit our client roster to a small number of high-caliber candidates who are targeting the most prestigious business schools. Yet even within these motivated applicant pools, Gatehouse Admissions is not for everyone. The strongest partnerships are those in which each participant contributes equally. We do not care if a client is a weaker writer, tends to be disorganized, struggles to interview effectively, or has never engaged in any real self-reflection. We know very well how to address and overcome these kinds of issues. Instead, we seek clients who are committed to working hard, open to feedback, and willing to learn — about both themselves and how to craft a compelling application.

If you are ready to bring your best effort to your application, we are ready to help.

Menu of Services and Associated Costs

The best way to see if Gatehouse Admissions is a good fit for you is to visit our website and fill out an inquiry form. If we feel that your profile would be a good match with our services, we will contact you to schedule a free 30-minute initial consultation. You can use this time to discuss your MBA application strategy, school choices, readiness, or any other MBA issues or concerns.

Our selection of services is all-encompassing:
– Exploration of your experiences, values, and ambitions to identify the stories and messages that will shape your application

– Coaching, editing, and an expert’s perspective on your essays, resume, short answers, and other application components

– Strategy development for your recommendations, working with both you and your recommenders to ensure effective letters

– Interview training, as well as multiple mock interviews

– Access to proprietary tools, rubrics, and processes that will make your work more efficient and productive

– Expertise and support throughout every step of the process, from early planning to deciding among acceptances

Prices depend on what services you select, which schools you target, and how many you target in total. Once we have learned more about your goals and plans, we will develop a personalized pricing plan for you.

Location: New York, New York, United States

Email: info@gatehouseadmissions.com

Website: https://www.gatehouseadmissions.com/