As a non-traditional background applying in R2, Greg had successfully elevated my profile for top business school, leading to dual admit to GSB and HBS + misc. offers and waitlist (most are M7)

Greg analysed my background and story diligently and provided very useful feedback to elevate my profile. He is also not afraid to be frank about his comment and approaches, which contributed the good chemistry between the both of us.

Greg is always looking to improve my whole profile, including essay, additional essay, interview answers, even in the smallest possible way to ensure there are no rocks left unturned.

although he has a proforma for certain things, he remained very flexible and would patiently listen to my recommendation and incorporate them into the end product (Eg. essay). He is also not afraid to criticize my approach when needed, making him not just a great consultant, but also a tutor.

Overall, I would definitely recommend him to anyone who wants to aim high. But a reminder is that - be ready to put in the work to complement his hard work!

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Background
• Age 30
• Asian male (raised in China, now a US citizen)
• GRE 325 (low for my schools and demographic)
• 3.6 GPA in a T-20 US university
• 5 jobs in 6 years across multiple industries
• Applied in Round 2

I decided to apply to business school in the summer of 2023, having done no prior preparation. Once I committed, I realized I would miss the round 1 deadline, and with only 5 months until round 2, I needed guidance. An HBS alum highly recommended Greg and Avanti Prep, which was refreshing since many of my friends felt their MBA consultants added little value besides grammar editing on the essays.

Consultation and Services
Before meeting Greg, I had met with five other consultants, but I knew immediately after our intro call that I wanted to work with Avanti Prep. Greg had clearly put in significant effort to understand my background and suggested schools that would be a good fit. I left the call feeling confident I would be in good hands.

I chose the 4-school package and added 18 more hours of service for extra schools, high-touch recommendation feedback, and comprehensive interview prep. Greg was my lead consultant, but given the extent of our engagement, he put together a team customized to my background and career goals, and I also worked with Xin, Sarah, and Fahad during the process. The team exceeded all my expectations.

Comparison with Other Consultants
I have a unique vantage point on different consultants because my wife also applied for an MBA at the same time as me. She chose one of the "big name" consulting firms with a higher price tag, and despite their flashy advertising, her consultant did not go into the depth they promised compared to the tremendous degree of attention and care I received from Greg and Avanti Prep.

For example, when my wife worked on her resume with the other firm, her consultant helped her with only two rounds of edits: one for format and one for content. In contrast, Greg and Xin conducted five extensive reviews, including both calls and document reviews. During these, they went through my resume line by line, asking detailed questions about my experiences and finding the best ways to convey them. My wife’s consultant mainly polished the language, without much guidance on the resume content itself, which is what distinguishes a great resume from a mediocre one.

Avanti Prep’s thoroughness was equally apparent during the essay process. They helped me work through multiple drafts, with each draft showing significant improvement, while my wife’s consultant focused mainly on two iterations and then shifted towards grammar edits. Whenever I told her about the processes I was going through, it was like night and day to her experience with the other firm.

Resume
Before starting my resume reviews, I believed my resume was in excellent shape, having recently applied for jobs. However, after meeting with Xin, I realized an MBA resume is different from a traditional job-seeking resume. Xin's extensive experience in resume editing, both as a former Career Management Fellow at CBS and as a resume screener for one of the largest consulting firms, was invaluable.

Xin quickly identified the key highlights of each of my experiences and selected those with the most effective evidence to support my overall story, painstakingly employing a situation-action-result approach for every single bullet point on the resume.

After my sessions with Xin, I thought my resume couldn't improve further, but Greg's subsequent reviews helped me perfect it. This was the first instance where Greg’s signature "above and beyond" approach made me feel extremely confident that we were putting the absolute best forward in my application, and little did I know, it was just the beginning of many such instances in the pursuit of success.

Essays
Greg and his team helped me tremendously with my essays, and I could never have expected my final versions to be as strong as they turned out. Applying to five schools with essay prompts ranging from deep self-reflection (where Sarah’s storytelling expertise was pivotal) to professional ambitions (where Fahad’s experience in my target industry was pivotal) was no easy task.

Each essay began with a brainstorming session that sparked new inspiration and provided me with an actionable outline. After the initial stages of essay development, Greg gave detailed comments, ensuring each sentence served its purpose, methodically refining each essay like a surgeon. Greg is a terrific coach and communicator, and his passion for helping you tell your best story is evident throughout the process.

Another hidden value was Greg’s help with planning my essay sequencing, which was especially important given the number of essays I needed to write. We strategically tackled the most foundational essays first and then adapted them for each school, making the process efficient. I sometimes felt like they had a PhD in the nuances, potential for overlap, and customization between different essays.

Conclusion
Working with Avanti Prep was worth every penny. For me, the ROI was felt in the quality of their process; in that I was accepted to Booth from an overrepresented group, with a subpar GRE, and multiple pre-MBA job changes; and in the $60K scholarship!! Their dedication, attention to detail, and personalized approach far exceeded my expectations and far exceeded my wife’s experience with a well-known, big name consulting firm. Greg's commitment to excellence was evident every step of the way. I wholeheartedly recommend Greg and his team to anyone seeking a consultant who truly goes above and beyond to ensure success.

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As an Indian male reapplicant in my 30s, I achieved my dream of getting into a T15 MBA program with a strong scholarship, and I highly recommend Greg for his pivotal role in this achievement.

I am a finance professional with 10+ years of experience across multiple functions in financial services and a GRE score of 331. I had previously faced multiple rejections from T20 schools. My stories likely weren't strong enough or were too technical for the admissions committees, which led to dejection and frustration, especially given the stiff competition as an over-represented applicant.

After hearing good things about Greg from a colleague who got admitted into an M7 school, I decided to reach out to him. From our first meeting, Greg was very accommodating. As a reapplicant with multiple essays from previous applications, he suggested that hourly packages would be more cost-effective for me.

We worked together for around 25 hours on both my application materials and interview preparation. Greg was patient in understanding my story, prompt in his replies, and detailed in his reviews. He helped me make strategic changes to my application, and even during deadlines, his turnaround time was quick. One of Greg's best qualities is his approachability. He was considerate in counting the minutes, often not charging me for small queries and only billing minimal time for brief reviews.

Greg was also a supportive mentor. During our conversations, he motivated me when I felt low on confidence. In our interview preparation sessions, he guided me on intangibles like articulating myself without losing the listener, structuring my thoughts, and communicating effectively through gestures. He helped me adapt my interviewing skills specifically for admissions interviews.

These multiple adjustments made a huge impact! I applied to nine T25 schools with Greg's help and received admits from four, each with strong scholarships. One school even offered me a full ride. I will be attending a T15 program with a strong scholarship this fall. This was a massive improvement from previous cycles, when I was not accepted anywhere. Remarkably, I was a reapplicant to three of these four schools, and despite no significant improvements in my scores or profile, I not only gained admission but also received generous scholarships.

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Background: 31M, India, 760 GMAT Classic, Non-traditional engineering background

I can’t emphasize how much value Greg provides for your money and the depth with which he helps craft stellar applications. From the very first introductory call, I knew Greg is the guy I want to work with. He provided me with so many more services that he charged me for. I wholeheartedly recommend Greg. He is super friendly, warm and actually is fun to work with.

I took Greg’s hybrid comprehensive package for 5 schools and later added 3 more schools, waitlist support and interview prep on hourly basis. With every aspect of applications- essays, resume, actual application, interview prep and waitlist support, he makes you go super deep, dig the best stuff and help shape the best version out of them. He doesn’t only focus on the big picture but gives every word importance.

Outcome – Accepted and going to an M7 school, waitlisted at another M7, got into 2 T10 schools and 1 T15 school. Total scholarship (includes scholarship from an M7): $240,000.
Lastly, I am just going to say- “Do not go anywhere else or go after big names. Greg is your guy”. Some of the other companies that I talked to were charging more and do not provide the same hands-on service that Greg does. One of them straight away said no for NYU stern as the deadline was close but Greg said let’s do it and we will put our best foot forward.

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Background: 31M, military veteran, good GMAT and GPA

I cannot overstate how much Greg enabled my success as an applicant. I think a previous review described him perfectly when it said, “he’s like your friend that really wants you to get into your dream school.”

Greg came strongly recommended by another military veteran who attended HBS. Together, we worked on essays, resume, recommenders, interviews, and navigating the waitlist. Here are some of my highlights.

Essays – Greg’s greatest asset was helping me develop overarching themes that tied together different elements of my life, career, etc. He had me write up five or six short stories that I felt were significant and was able to see the larger themes that tied them together. It led to an “a ha!” moment when I realized my “why” behind the decisions I’ve made throughout my life.

Resume – Another theme of Greg’s is attention to detail, and he lets nothing go unnoticed. He helped me translate my military experience into language that was easy for admissions board members to understand. Instead of just quantifying everything, his technique offers a nice combination of descriptive language that speaks to the applicant’s values and skills while still being quantifiable and easy to read. He analyzed every word, sentence, and even the spacing between lines!

Interviews – My HBS interview went smoothly because 90% of the questions asked by the interviewer were questions that Greg had prepared me for.

Pricing – Greg’s rate is a steal for the value that he offers, and he significantly rounds down on his hourly tracker. He doesn’t charge for routine email queries and even offered free service on a part of my application because he genuinely wanted to see me succeed.

Military vets – Greg has established himself as the go-to consultant for vets applying to top B-schools. Even though he doesn’t come from a military background, his ability to understand my experiences, roles, and skillsets was remarkable. He was able to offer a different point-of-view on almost every element of my application. For example, I thought I was going to lean heavily on my role as a military pilot, but Greg convinced me to highlight my leadership, mentorship, etc. Turns out, he was right!

Outcome – Accepted to HBS!

Greg challenged me to think deeply, and I feel confident that he helped me craft the absolute best possible application. I must highlight one last time that Greg is not only talented at what he does, but he is also a pleasure to work with. He is approachable, patient, honest, and detailed, and the quality and commitment of his work are unmatched.

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With just a 720 GMAT, Greg helped me get an acceptance to HBS and a waitlist at GSB. He's hands down the best admissions consultant / thought partner / writing coach / interview coach I’ve ever worked with. I actually began this process by signing up for a couple of hours with a few well-known firms before diving deeper with Avanti Prep. Working with Greg was one of the best decisions I made during the admissions process. Here are just a few (of the many) reasons why:

Great for non-traditional backgrounds: I studied liberal arts at a non-target public university, had a fairly non-traditional background, and super non-traditional career aspirations. Greg was the only consultant I spoke with who actually "got" my background and helped me craft a really unique and cohesive story out of it. He struck a brilliant balance both supporting my goals, and challenging me to take them to the next level.

Financially favorable: Avanti Prep offers some of the best deals across the consultant landscape. (If you do your own hourly rates benchmarking you'll come to the same conclusion!). I did a 20 hour package, and added an additional 10 hours for interviews. On top of all of that, Greg was extremely generous and gave me a lot of complimentary time.

Personality: I genuinely had fun during this admissions cycle, in no small feat due to Greg's constant humor, warmth, and integrity. He's just an overall incredible person to work with.

Essay expert: Greg has deep expertise in school programs. His essay guidance was thoughtful, direct, unique to each school, and extremely constructive. I often thought of myself as a strong writer, but Greg's suggestions were always on point, mirrored my writing style, and significantly elevated my own voice.

Interview prep: I spent many hours with Greg prepping for HBS, GSB and a few other M7 interviews. He knew the interview style and nuances for each school, which can vary significantly, especially with HBS and GSB. He delivered highly personalized prep sessions and helped me significantly polish many of my answers unique to each school. In fact, many of his interview questions ended up being nearly verbatim to the ones I actually received!

If you're on the fence and you've read up until this point, just take this as a sign to sign up. It’s absolutely worth it.

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- International male from Asia, investment industry
- GMAT score of 720, GRE score of 332
- Three-time reapplicant, 33 years old
- Had bad experiences with two other US consultancies before Avanti Prep
- Completed 31 hours of service with Avanti Prep
- Achieved three top 10 scholarships (50K, 40K, 20K)
After having very poor experiences by the so-called large consultant companies, I was losing
hope on admission consultancy in general. But Greg and Avanti Prep changed that feeling. I
found out about Avanti Prep from its free consultation. Greg went above and beyond the
allocated 30 min (probably spent an entire 1hr) to share with me insights and next steps.
The level of dedication and excellence was completely different than the other consultancies.
We worked on revamping my resume (total improvement even from what the previous
consultancies considered “done”), essays, and interview strategies. I signed up for hourly
services and kept adding because I really enjoyed the level of details, insights, and perspectives
on how the materials are being interpreted by the admission officers as they read them.
The financial commitment to admission consultancies is real – HOWEVER – Avanti Prep’s rates
are much more affordable versus others, I did not feel like I was getting ripped off like I did with
the other companies, you end up receiving even more hours and services than you actually sign
up for, Greg will tell you to save money if he thinks you don’t need advice on a certain area, he
will give you discounted pricing when it’s possible, and most of all the final results are clear.
(I was even on the waitlist for one of the T10 schools with the other consultancy in Round 1
before I worked with Greg on the waitlist strategy, which led to my acceptance with a 20K
scholarship. Greg’s waitlist strategy was so much better and more thorough than the previous
consultant who was very abstract and wishy washy about the approach. Greg later helped me
with the scholarship negotiations, and I was able to increase two out of my three offers.)
I would highly recommend Avanti Prep to anyone, especially if you feel burned by a previous
consultancy. I felt the highest level of commitment and quality in everything that was done. If
this can be a sign, I have taken almost ~9 months to write this, and NOT A SINGLE DAY has
gone by without me thinking what I wanted to say. If anything, this shows how much I respect
Greg and want to keep him as a mentor and a person to look up to even after the contract is
completed. He has taken my perspectives and communication skills to a whole new level.

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​Background:
Asian Male (International)
GPA: 3.5 from Top 20 U.S. university
GMAT: 740

Why I chose Avanti Prep:
Speaking with friends attending M7 schools, I noticed all of them had used MBA consultants... so I decided to follow the trend.

I scheduled more than five calls with different firms to assess my profile. Most of the consultants barely looked at the details of my profile and superficially jumped to the conclusion that M7 would be pretty difficult. After talking to a handful of consultants and only having Greg's call left, I had pretty much made up my mind about signing up with the most premium consulting firm. I thought this would be the safer choice.

But... when I got on the call with Greg, my mind changed. He started asking me questions about my career moves and background and really dived into the details. He then discussed with me the strategy and how to bring my unique stories to life. I felt like the other consultants were just inputting me into their cookie-cutter framework by looking at my stats, whereas Greg was trying to really get to the crux of my value and uniqueness.

Working with Greg:
I signed up for the Tier 3 package for 4 schools originally and then added 5 additional schools. Greg was exceptional and truly transformational in all aspects: selecting schools, helping me contemplate my background and connecting the dots, ideation of goals, resume, essays, and everything else.

Greg has a keen sense where he can really squeeze the best personal and professional stories out of you, and he teaches you to deliver them in a way that really resonates with the reader. He was always readily available, and I felt as if he was a good mentor and a friend I had known for a while. We would talk about non-MBA-related stuff as well. Although the MBA process was gruesome, and I do not ever want to do it again, it was awesome working with him -- I honestly could not have done it without him.

Interview Prep:
Also, I cannot thank Greg enough for the interview preparation. I'm the kind of guy who loves to just "wing it," but Greg really coached me on the best practices and tremendously improved my interview skills. The interview preparation was super tailored to each school and to me.

Greg’s feedback was on-point, and he really helped me nail all the different kinds of interviews, plus the HBS post-interview reflection essay, Booth interview video, and LBS mini-case. I remember for my last interview, I had lost all motivation, but he helped me push through to the end.

Results:
I will let the results speak for themselves. I received invitations for interviews from 6 out of the 9 schools (M7, Lauder, LBS.) Of the 6 interviews, I was accepted to HBS, Wharton, Lauder, LBS, and Booth, and I received scholarships for 2 schools. The final result is a dream come true.

Greg was awesome, and I really don't think I could have accomplished this without him. I also want to take this opportunity to pat my past self on the back for choosing Greg. To sum it up, Greg is a personable, skillful, and sharp mentor and friend, and I would highly recommend him to anybody.

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Applying to MBA programs was hands down the most stressful part of my transition out of the military. Ultimately that stress led to me apply to a single MBA program in round 2 (Haas) and thanks to Greg’s diligence, support, and coaching, I was accepted.

Background:
Demographics: White, Male
GMAT: Below Middle 80% Range
GRE: 159V/162Q
GPA: 3.4
Undergrad: Mechanical Engineering, Service Academy
Prior Experience: Aviation, 8 Years

Connecting with Avanti Prep:
I was referred to Greg by a military peer at the very beginning of my application journey. At the time, I was still struggling with my GMAT scores. Greg gave me two free consultations to plan my application timeline from start to finish. During this time, he also encouraged me to switch to the GRE which I believe was a pivotal step in my future acceptance. As someone who felt (and was statistically) below average, Greg’s expertise in building a roadmap felt like a lifeline for a journey I wouldn’t have been able to complete alone.

Services:
When I transitioned my efforts from test taking to applications, I had one and a half months prior to the round 2 deadline and I was defeated – I felt that I had no story to tell and nothing that differentiated me from other military applicants. Greg is an absolute expert in his craft and his brilliance showed through with our first story and goal development session. After helping me identify an overall goal and my unique experiences that coincided with that goal from a very in-depth personal assessment, we formed the blueprint for my application. We then systematically tackled each aspect of my application.
Greg is a phenomenal storyteller and has all the skills to edit and a build a “perfect” application, but what makes his services special is his attention to detail and ability to push you past “good”. Every detail of my application was thoroughly analyzed, and reviewed multiple times with the intent to be more specific so that every story, message, or word served a purpose in communicating who I was as an individual, and how my individuality will bolster the community of the school to which I was applying. This is what makes Greg special and this skill applied to my essays, my resume, my interview answers, and even extracurricular parts of the application that could have easily gone unnoticed.

Takeaway:
I got into Haas not only because of Greg’s technical skills, but really because Greg is a great person who was uniquely suited to help me see parts of myself that I couldn’t see. He gave me the confidence I needed to complete the journey, and that journey ended with a fantastic result thanks to his excellent services and pseudo-role as life coach, teacher, and encourager.

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Overall the time commitment, effort, depth of work and level of support that I received from Greg was far higher/better quality than two other (quite well known) consultants that I worked with before I came to Avanti Prep. Greg was extremely detail oriented and it was an absolute pleasure working with him.

Background:

I initially reached out to Greg for extra interview support with one of my Rd1 schools. I was already working with another consultant but I figured I could use more help. His interview feedback was so detailed that I decided to sign up for a 2 school comprehensive package with him for Rd2. I had done some of the initial career goals exploration with another consultant but I worked with Greg on everything else for these two schools (he also helped me refine my career goals to a certain extent).

Here are some of the things that stood out as I worked with Greg on the two schools:

1. Right from the very outset, starting from the initial intake form, he went really deep into my personal and professional background and really spent a lot of time getting to know me. And this was not a one time thing - in future calls, when we were brainstorming essays, he would bring up stuff from work/extracurriculars and we would spend a lot of time going even deeper into those topics as needed. He asked a lot of probing questions to extract the relevant fodder for essays. This translated really well in terms of him being able to guide my essay/interview content and overall application.

2. He really cares for his clients. He went above and beyond to make sure I was supported and all my questions/nagging concerns were answered.

3. His overall demeanor is very relaxed and friendly, and he is very easy to talk to. The application process is extremely stressful and I felt like I had someone by my side to support me throughout the process and calm my nerves when things got scary. This translated really well to me being candid and honest about my background and helped us bring my best self to the application.

4. He knows how to strike a balance of being polite and respectful but at the same time being persuasive to get you to do things. He was never rude but at the same time he made sure I knew when he thought something was not good enough, or more information was needed, or if there was a better way to do things, or if I was not putting my best answers forward for the interview. Nothing slipped through the cracks and he made sure I was giving it my best shot.

5. The level of depth and thoughtfulness that went into the process was simply remarkable. And this was true across the board - getting to know my story, essays, interviews, etc. The essay process involved 5-6 extremely detailed reviews which involved him asking me a lot of questions in specific areas so I could get the best ideas on paper. Even the brainstorming involved multiple calls to nail down the appropriate content for each specific school/essay. Likewise with interviews, it went far beyond content - we talked about vocal tonality, length of answers, body language, answer structure, etc.

In summary, I strongly recommend working with Greg for your MBA applications for all the reasons mentioned above.

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