Shantanu Sharma

I had the pleasure of working with Shantanu from MBA and Beyond, and I can confidently say that his guidance played a pivotal role in securing my admission to INSEAD. I reached out to MBA and Beyond in June 2021 through a friend’s recommendation, and I cannot thank my stars enough that I got to work with such amazing people at MBA&B. From the very first profile evaluation call, the team showed genuine interest and confidence in my profile. Having heard so much about Shantanu I requested the team to assign him as my consultant. And thus, my journey started with the most amazing Shantanu Sharma.

From the initial consultation to the final application submission to interview preparation, Shantanu demonstrated unparalleled expertise, dedication, and a genuine commitment to my success. One of the best qualities of Shantanu is his highly personalized approach to every application. He not only spent great efforts in understanding my unique background, career goals, and aspirations but also went above and beyond to unravel my strengths and achievements, helping me articulate them effectively in my application essays and interviews. I vividly recall crafting a minimum of 10 drafts for each INSEAD essay, a testament to Shantanu’s commitment to bringing out the best version of my narrative. His refusal to move on to the next essay until completely satisfied underscored his dedication. During my interview preparation stage, Shantanu left no stones unturned in preparing me for the interviews and Mock exercises. I distinctly remember a moment of panic during my preparation stage when Shantanu, despite being on vacation, generously dedicated two hours to me, offering invaluable guidance and calming reassurance. His role transcended that of a consultant; Shantanu became a steadfast friend and guide throughout the entire process.

Furthermore, Shantanu’s support extended beyond the application itself. He offered valuable insights into the culture and values of INSEAD, enabling me to align my application with the school’s ethos. This holistic approach not only enhanced my chances of admission but also contributed to my overall readiness for the INSEAD experience. On receiving INSEAD’s acceptance call, Shantanu was the first person I contacted to share the joyful news. His significance in my MBA journey and the profound impact he has created in my life is truly immeasurable. In summary, my experience with Shantanu was transformative. His personalized guidance, unparalleled dedication, and genuine support were instrumental in navigating the competitive admissions journey.

I wholeheartedly recommend Shantanu and the MBA and Beyond team to anyone seeking an exceptional and personalized MBA admissions consulting experience.

Shantanu acted as a friend and mentor throughout the process. One can count on him to find and highlight the best stories to make a stellar application. The application journey was a rollercoaster ride, where there were moments of self-doubt, but Shantanu helped practically tackle those concerns. I highly appreciate him taking out time even in his busiest schedule to address any challenges on which his applicant needed immediate attention. The content-gathering part of the consulting process is also beautifully designed and is a great way to introspect and put an informed foot forward in the applications.

The MBA application process was daunting to me coming from an over-represented applicant pool. Shantanu has worked as a partner in this journey.

The MBA and Beyond team understood my profile extremely well, believed in me, and helped me showcase my best. They explain every aspect of the application process which helped me prepare myself for the effort I have to put in. For me, the best part is their wonderfully structured approach to bringing forward your true personality and attributes that you sometimes overlook or take for granted.

Working with Shantanu helps you raise your bar higher as he makes you work multiple times if he thinks there is a chance of improvement. This definitely helped me put my best foot forward. I got accepted to IE and RSM, Erasmus with partial scholarships, and I wouldn’t have had this outcome without the support of MBA and Beyond.

I strongly recommend working with the team to build a winning application.

I wanted to do an MBA for a long time. I started preparing for the GMAT but because of having a hectic job, I was not able to devote too much time to studying. Ultimately after a number of mocks and preparations, I got 640 on my GMAT. I was not super happy with my score but I was not sad either. I knew it was an average score so I worked hard on selecting appropriate colleges and an appropriate consultant. I searched on google I spoke with a number of consultants. But the one with which I quickly connected was MBA and Beyond.

In our first conversation only I got the feeling that they are ready to help me despite getting an average score and will work together with me to get into a decent college. I could feel that personal connection while speaking with them. After that our journey started. I worked under the guidance of Shantanu who is one of the best mentors to work with.

As I am working, he was totally flexible as per my availability, keeping in mind the application submission timelines. The first task was to tell them about myself. For that, they had an online questionnaire that covered everything about me. After getting the basic data we moved forward toward developing a story for applications. All communication was online via teams meeting and the content gathering software that they have developed is really helpful.

For each college application, there were several brainstorming sessions unless and until we both are satisfied with the essays. With a similar approach, I applied to 4 colleges. Due to the awesome guidance of Shantanu, I got a call from one of the colleges i.e. Copenhagen Business School (CBS). After that, we prepared for the interview and ultimately I got accepted into CBS.

It was a really life-changing experience. I got to know more about myself, learned how to put everything into words, and got the guidance of Shantanu because of which I got into my target B school.

I am someone who comes from a non-traditional business background and I did not have any idea about the admission process for US schools. My biggest concern was that I was applying to Top US B-schools with a GMAT waiver. When I tried to reach out to MBA admissions consultants, I was rejected by them as I did not have a GMAT score. But I am glad I found MBA and Beyond in time for getting the guidance and support I needed for my journey.

The most important thing for any consultant is to first believe in the applicant’s story and work together. A few things which set them apart from other consultants in this industry are, that they work with applicants regardless of the filters (Low/no GMAT, low GPA) and bring value to their application through a very unique process through the content gathering phase. This allowed me to look into my own profile through different eyes and my consultant was amazing in navigating through my stories to define my fluid profile.

My consultant had a structured framework for me and that made me feel comfortable as I did not have to burn out during the process. Another important aspect for me was not doing the process by exchanging emails or commenting on a word document. My consultant was always on a zoom call and we brainstormed together, reviewed together, and edited together. This was a huge thing as we always remained in sync to move forward.

The framework is very streamlined and my consultant was great in navigating me through each element of the application one by one without overwhelming me. Also, he was very good at translating my non-business work into a resume and action-based stories which ended up getting me 4 admits from Top US schools with a GMAT waiver along with the 40% scholarship at Ross School of Business.

Before working with Shantanu, I had already worked with another consultant and my experience had been so awful that I almost lost faith in this industry. Soon after, I realized that the application process requires insights and a keen understanding of what adcoms are looking for. This budged me to take another leap and I began my research to work with another consultant. But this time I wanted to be more careful and within 3 days I had spoken to as many as 20+ consultants.

But Shantanu was the only one who used technicalities and not rhetorics and this brevity and structured thinking drew me to MBA & Beyond.

Since then, my relationship with him has been more than just a client, he has been like a friend and more importantly a mentee.

The best thing I loved about working with him was that he takes such a keen interest in your story until he actually believes it. While writing essays, the critical thinking and analysis that he brings to the table are unparalleled. In fact, I learned so much from him that I applied to 3 more B-Schools following the line of reasoning I learned from him. Shantanu actually goes beyond the ways to help you in putting up the right picture for adcoms, living up to the name – MBA & Beyond.

And finally, because of his assistance and continuous support, I was able to get into USC Marshall – Class 2024

Therefore, I would definitely recommend anyone and everyone seeking application assistance to work with MBA & Beyond.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience working with the team at MBA & Beyond. Coming from a competitive category of Indian Male Engineers with a GMAT score of 720, most admission consultants told me I did not stand a chance of getting into LBS. Even though Shantanu encouraged me to retake the GMAT, he focused on my overall profile and helped me put together a holistic application. Throughout the process I had numerous occasions of self-doubt and the frequent conversations I had with the team, reinstalled the confidence in me to keep me going. Shantanu was very humble and approachable and talking to him feels like talking to a friend who really wants you to succeed. I am really happy with the outcome of the process as I not only secured admission from LBS, INSEAD and IESE but also received a partial scholarship from LBS and IESE. I wouldn’t have had this outcome without the support of MBA and Beyond and strongly recommend working with them to submit a winning B-School application.

The best thing about Shantanu is that he is available when you need him. He takes a structured deep dive into your story, to bring out the highlights – your strengths, achievements, significant events, weaknesses, failures and goals – and helps you weave them into a coherent story.

I went into the application process with a very limited idea about how to tell my story. It’s difficult for one to judge whether one achievement/failure is more impactful than the other? Which strengths/weaknesses should I highlight? How to sew everything into a story? What are the different schools looking for? Which schools should I pick? How to balance my weak areas in the application?

This is where Shantanu adds tremendous value. He helps you develop a potent toolkit that highlights you as a brand, which you can use not only in your applications but also later.

Further, he helped me a lot more than I expected going in with every component of every application (essays, interview prep, school picking, resume, last minute reviews before deadlines, etc.), and the material we generated helped me apply to many schools.

But most importantly, Shantanu is someone who will work hard beside you for your success and be available when you need him.

When I started my application journey, I thought I could do it on my own using all the material available online but I quickly realized that I needed help. A lot of it.

From the very first session, Shantanu did his absolute best in trying to bring out the best in me. From his detailed approach in creating a story to tweaking my Letter of Motivation in a way that will highlight what makes me unique.

Our sessions really helped me discover my own strengths and how to sell them. The “content gathering” process will be helpful for me for a long time.

Shantanu really creates a cordial environment during his sessions and yet manages to push you to find more out of yourself. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I cannot recommend Shantanu and MBA and Beyond enough.

When I started contemplating my MBA plan, I soon realized that the application journey was a long marathon and I would need support from an experienced runner. Thus, started my hunt for the best consultant who could guide me in the process. I had the following criteria in mind:
1. Admission consultant who has graduated from a top B school and has been through the application journey.
2. Admission consultant recommended by candidates who successfully made it to my dream schools (LBS, INSEAD).
3. Admission consultant following a structured and well thought-out process.

Shantanu and the team fulfilled all the criteria above and beyond (true to their name!). That’s how my application journey started with Shantanu and the team at MBA and Beyond. Right from the first introductory call to the content gathering, essay drafts, mock interview preparation, and scholarship strategy, Shantanu’s feedback was always on point and extremely helpful.

I applied to two schools (LBS and INSEAD) and was very fortunate to receive admits from both schools. Without Shantanu and the team, I wouldn’t have secured such an outstanding outcome. I would wholeheartedly recommend Shantanu and the team to anyone seeking guidance for admission to top business schools around the world.

When I was looking out for MBA consultants, the most important consideration for me was that my consultant should provide me with the necessary time and attention throughout my application journey. From personal experience, I know that one may feel lonely and de-motivated during the process. You need a mentor and a friend who can guide you. For me that person was Shantanu. I had signed up for MBA & Beyond roughly 5 months before the deadlines. Having sufficient time at my disposal helped me follow the structured process of “content gathering” and unravel some of my best stories personally and professionally. According to me, it is the most important step of the application journey and MBA & B’s unique value proposition. Shantanu used to schedule regular calls and provide tasks to be completed before every call – an approach that suited me and helped us to be on track. A successful “content gathering” process eventually translated to powerful stories that I could use for my essays, LORs, and interviews! MBA & B’s support helped me get my admit at Darden. I would end by sharing a realization I have now that the journey has ended – it’s not all about getting an extremely high GMAT score. Your candidacy is judged on different parameters and GMAT is only one of them. Striking the right balance in all areas is the key.

My experience with MBA and Beyond has been amazing. It was a pleasure to interact and work with each member of the team.

After having spoken to more than 10 consultants, the primary reason to choose MBA and Beyond was that they were offering unlimited sessions with the consultant. And they definitely stayed true to the promise. We used to have a call at least twice a week, sometimes more.

Everyone in the team is friendly, approachable, open, and of course meticulous. My consultant, Shantanu, worked with me tirelessly till we both were happy with the application. He was very candid and realistic while setting my expectations on the schools.

Coming from an overrepresented pool of Indian male engineers and having a sub 700 GMAT score, I am positive that one of the primary reasons for me to get admitted in one of my first choice schools was the way MBA and Beyond pushed me to bring out my story. My application would not have been half as good without the assistance of the team.

I had the best time working with Shantanu and the MBA & Beyond team. I come from a demographic that is overrepresented, and I was looking for someone who could help me stand out. Shantanu and his team have done an outstanding job of assisting me throughout the process. Shantanu is a very positive person to be around. Throughout this arduous application process, he was constantly motivating and pushing me to do my best. MBA and Beyond has a very structured process for understanding my profile and how to best project my strengths. We used to have a call every other day and have a detailed timeline in place for each application. His insights and suggestions had improved my overall application tremendously. I cannot recommend MBA and Beyond enough. 

Shantanu was a great support throughout the arduous MBA application process.

His friendly approachable demeanor is only eclipsed by his meticulous approach to crafting a story. I’m very sure that if it wasn’t for his support, I would almost definitely sell myself short.

In an otherwise impersonal, process-driven industry, I admired how Shantanu didn’t limit his time with me and always made himself available. He’s also someone who’s recently been there/done that with his INSEAD journey so his ability to relate and create a safe space for his clients was truly very pleasant.

I wouldn’t have made it to ISB without him and I highly recommend his expertise for people looking to navigate the maze that is an MBA application.

Already having failed to secure even an interview last year from Darden , my expectations were already rock bottom this year. I had half a mind not to reapply as I hadn’t improved any aspect of my MBA-application (apart from GMAT score).Last year, I tried writing my most significant and impactful stories and incidentally they were not good enough for top B-school like Darden. I figured that something needed to change this time and chose to work with MBA and B ( due to a glowing recommendation from a friend) to put my best application forward.

Shantanu has developed a unique methodology to take you through the guided journey of MBA application process starting from “Self-Discovery” to “finalizing stories” and writing an exceptional application.

After reviewing my past application with Shantanu, I realized that my application is not standing out from the over-represented pool of “Indian Engineers”. MBA and B helped me understand that MBA application-game is all about your USP and branding. And this was exactly what I needed to crack the admission at Darden.

My overall experience with the MBA and B was amazing. Apart from admits from Darden and INSEAD , I couldn’t have asked for anything more from the team. However, engaging in deep “Self-Discovery” sessions with Shantanu has given me a new way of introspection as well.

Shantanu helped me get into my dream B School and I couldn’t have done it without him. I talked to multiple consultants and Shantanu’s education background (An INSEAD alumni himself), genuine and analytical approach toward application process stood out. Shantanu grills you throughout the journey , helping you put your best in the application. I strongly recommend him for B school applications .