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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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:
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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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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Background
- White Male (US)
- GPA: Above a 3.5 from Top 20 Liberal Arts College
- GMAT: Above 700
- Previous Role: US Military Officer

When I initially considered applying to business school, I spoke with one of my friends, also a former US military officer, who had been accepted at LBS. He highly recommended that I work with Greg, who was the “best in the business.” I took my friend’s advice, and I am extremely grateful that I did. Greg helped me develop a narrative about my accomplishments and my unique strengths that differentiated me from other applicants. That is the most valuable aspect of having Greg as your consultant – he understands what resonates with admissions officers at individual schools, and he can help you structure your application to highlight your best attributes and show that you can add value to a specific MBA program.

Greg put forth a great amount of time and effort to learn my story: my GPA / educational background, my test scores, my work experience, my interests outside of work, and my past community outreach. He worked with me on several iterations of my resume to make sure it captured all of my relevant and unique experience. His mock interviews reflected the tone and style of each individual school, and he provided feedback that allowed me to craft insightful responses to potential interview questions. Greg’s efforts had an enormous positive impact on my applications, and the results reflect this.

Results: I applied to 6 schools, received interview invites at 5, and was accepted at 4 – HBS, Booth, Ross, Darden. Greg’s effectiveness was demonstrable throughout the process, from start to finish. It is also worth noting that I received scholarships at 3 of the 4 schools to which I was accepted.

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Background:
• Male
• US Citizen
• Undergraduate: Large public state school (not a top 50 school)
• Career background: 5.5 years in F50 Tech (business side/not technical)
• GPA: Above average all schools
• GMAT: Below average for T15
• Admitted to T15 MBA program

Before deciding on an MBA consultant, I spoke with over 17 different MBA consulting services, utilizing the 30 min or one-hour free consultation. Greg went above and beyond with me and wasn’t a clock watcher. We met several times (over 3 hours) before I decided to hire Greg to help me with my MBA applications. He made it very easy to share my background, my concerns, my aspirations, and everything relevant about my life. Additionally, I was very busy with work and Greg took complete control of the process and kept me accountable with deadlines. Furthermore, he never missed a promised deadline to get documents back to me.

Thoughtfulness and attention to detail are key in building a great MBA application and Greg would never let me submit anything less than my best. He was willing to have many drafts and versions to make sure every part of my application was as perfect as it could be. I remember how Greg would consistently push me to think deeper and have more specific examples/answers that would resonate with admissions officers.

Overall, Greg was my biggest advocate and always encouraged me throughout the process which is something hard to find in the industry. It never felt transactional. Rather, by the end I felt that we had become good friends. I 100% give Greg my highest recommendation and can confidently say, I would not have been able to get admitted to a T15 MBA program.

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Summary

I could not recommend Greg more highly. I signed up for the Tier 3 Package for 3 schools in Round 1 2021 and achieved a far better than expected outcome: 2 M7 admissions (think Sloan/Booth/CBS), 1 of which came with a $50k scholarship.

As a white American male with good but not great work experience and undergrad pedigree, I was worried about differentiating myself and punching deep into the M7.

Without Greg, I really don’t think I would have gotten into the hardest of these schools, nor do I think I would have received the $50k scholarship, which I genuinely believe was driven by the quality of my application, and which Greg actually helped me negotiate.

The only program that I applied to with Greg’s help and didn’t get into was Wharton. As an applicant from a very competitive group (white/male/finance), I knew that Wharton would be a reach because of the high density of prestige finance backgrounds (BB IB, PE, VC, HF) and elite undergrad pedigrees within that group. Greg was candid in anticipating this from the start, but I still wanted to give it a shot.

My Profile

White American male
Undergrad finance degree from non-target (top 100 in a good year) large public university
Average GPA for the programs to which I applied
5 yrs of non-prestige finance work experience
760 GMAT
CFA charterholder
Solid (but not great) extracurriculars

How I Found Greg

I scheduled free consultations with multiple large, well known MBA admission consultants. I found them to be undifferentiated, uncreative, and dismissive of my ambitions to attend an M7 program as a white male finance guy with mediocre undergrad and job pedigree.

Prior to finding Avanti Prep and contacting Greg, I was unsure that my goals were attainable and considered bailing on the whole process. I happened to find Avanti on GMAT Club, set up a 30 minute consultation with Greg (which went a good bit longer than that), and was blown away.

From our first interaction I was impressed with Greg’s energy, depth of knowledge, and willingness to think outside the box. Even on the free consult Greg was very generous with his time and added immense value. I immediately realized that Greg was the person I would want in my corner during the application process.

Review

With Greg’s help, I was able to achieve a far better than expected outcome. As a consultant, Greg stood out in the following ways:

Depth - Greg dug deep into my story, accomplishments, goals, and interests to help me construct a compelling narrative around my candidacy. As a candidate from an overrepresented background, differentiating my application was a necessity. From the first call Greg differentiated himself by striving to find and highlight the things that made me unique.

Idea Generation - Greg comes across as having a passion for you and your story, and for ‘solving’ the challenges of MBA admission, which makes him an incredibly valuable partner. I would often find myself frantically scribbling down the high quality ideas and suggestions that surfaced through our extensive discussions of my life, career, and goals.

Communication - Greg is a master of written and verbal communication. I would consider myself a strong writer, and I still benefited immensely from Greg’s reviews of my essays and resume. I discovered whole new levels on both that I didn’t think I could reach. I would also consider myself a solid interviewee, but Greg helped me to refine and strengthen my responses to the expected interview questions through our school-tailored interview prep sessions.

Enthusiasm - Greg’s unwavering energy reinforced my spirits during the at times exhausting application process.

Commitment - Greg is totally committed to you and your success, he has a super detailed approach to every step of the application process, and he is always available when you need to chat. This isn't his first rodeo and it shows. I honestly felt like I got even more out of the experience than I expected. Even after acceptance, Greg guided me through corresponding with admissions, resulting in the award of a substantial scholarship (I was not initially offered money).

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Profile & Background:

• White male
• 4 years of work experience – M&A for an industrials
company
• GPA: 3.9 (Business / Finance) – small, non-target liberal
arts school
• GRE: 326 (V163, Q163)

While I had a high undergrad GPA and strong background, standardized testing was not my strength. I also knew I would need help crafting my story once I was finished with the GMAT. After taking the GMAT several times, the best I could do was mid-600s.

When speaking with several consulting firms (found on GMAT Club) to assess my profile, most said there was little hope I could crack a Top-20 school. This was very disappointing given my hopes of attending a top program for Investment Banking recruiting.

Greg was the only consultant I spoke with who instead began thinking about my options and how to maximize my potential. He recommended I try switching to the GRE. After two attempts, I scored a 326, which was at or above average for my target schools.

Working with Greg:

I signed up for the Tier 3 package for 3 schools and covered 3 additional schools on an hourly basis. Greg went above and beyond not just on the 3 package schools but the other 3 schools as well. He was also more than accommodating when it came to adding hours or work (often working with me on things outside of the package pro-bono). It was nice knowing Greg truly cared and was not selling me on additional hours / schools / services.

Greg helped me create a detailed plan for selecting schools, developing my goals, resume, and essays, and preparing my recommenders. He was exceptional in all aspects. Greg’s ability to help you draw out your personal story, craft it into a cohesive narrative, and tailor it to each school was beyond impressive. He has an amazing ability to push your thinking and how you convey your thoughts (in your resume, essays, and interviews) to the next level.

Greg’s dedication continued through the interview prep process. He spent several hours with me talking through school-specific questions and providing detailed feedback on my responses, boosting my confidence for the real thing. I’m equally appreciative of Greg’s availability, friendliness, and professionalism. He understood the stresses I had about the MBA process and was committed to making things organized and practical. I cannot thank him enough.

Results:

My interview invitations and final results speak for themselves. Of the six schools I applied to, I was invited to interview at five (all T15 schools), including my top choice. I was accepted to all four programs with which I interviewed (I declined one of the interview invites), and I received two scholarships, one of which at my top choice, where I will be attending this fall.

Overall:

Working with Greg was the best decision I made, and I highly recommend him to anyone applying in the future. Greg truly believed I could be a successful candidate when others, including myself, had doubts. The results and scholarships show how valuable his services are.

Greg was fully invested in my success and it never felt like I was just another client, as it did with some of the other firms I spoke to. Beyond the application work, he became somebody I could bounce ideas off of and talk to about anything MBA related. Not only will Greg ensure you position yourself as the best possible candidate, he will become a mentor and friend.

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1. BACKGROUND

I was first introduced to Greg by a Ross student who had previously worked with him. He was endorsed by another T5 admit and a Darden student, but even with such strong and personal recommendations, I was sceptical about admissions consultants because of my prior experiences working with them.

This was my third time applying to b-schools. I had applied with no luck in two previous rounds, during which I worked with a total of 04 admission consultants based out of India. More often than not I felt that even the Indian consultants with big names adopted a generalist approach with very little or no efforts to get to know stories that could form a base for a strong personalized application. Reviews were superficial and at times it took over a week to get a response over a draft.

2. FREE CONSULTATION

My reservations were all alleviated as I scheduled a 30 minutes complimentary call with Greg. Honest, curious, well-seasoned, genuinely concerned were some of Greg’s traits that I could observe during our call, which went for 60 minutes and he seemed completely fine about it. He made genuine efforts to get to know me and my prior application experience and was sympathetic about it.

Whereas other consultants boasted about their past successes and dictated which schools I should be applying and what their strict timeline of working shall be, Greg took a far different route. He listened, provided insight as to where I might have gone wrong, and held an open discussion about schools. We even explored themes for my Goals Essay, providing a glimpse of the experience should I choose to move forward. It was a detailed two-way discussion and I was sold!!

3. SERVICES AND RESULTS

Working with India-based consultants in 2017 Round 2, I applied to Kelley (rejected without interview), Ivey (rejected without interview), Arizona State (dinged post interview), Rice (dinged post interview), and ISB (dinged post interview). Working with other Indian consultants in 2018 Round 1, I was dinged without interview at three T15 US schools and invited to interview again at ISB.

The very first thing I did with Avanti Prep was interview preparation for ISB, and this time I was accepted. I also signed up for a Tier 2 Package for two schools plus Hourly Services for one additional school, all for 2018 Round 2. I specifically worked with Greg on three T20 programs, received interview invites to all three, and was accepted to two, including one with a scholarship over $90K.

Seeing this success and wanting another chance at the T15 programs (this time working with Greg), I secured a deferral from one of the T20 programs and reapplied to three T15 schools and one new M7 school with Greg the following year, in 2019 Round 1. This time the story was very different, as I got admits from all three T15 schools, including two with scholarships ($50K and $40K).

So with the very same job and GMAT score, I went from being unable to crack the T30 working with local consultants to receiving multiple T15 offers and two T15 scholarships working with Avanti Prep. The only new ingredient in my recipe to success was Greg, who helped me portray and communicate my experiences in a coherent and powerful way.

4. SCHOOL RESEARCH

Greg’s insight into schools is unparalleled and his drive to make one learn about the schools is something I had not experienced before, yet I would consider it essential in one’s applications. While discussing the essay questions and brainstorming on how to position my responses, Greg always pushed me to make sure that my responses resonated well with the core values of the school and answered the exact essay question being asked.

From the outset Greg shared his insight on schools and highlighted how to go about researching schools, how to communicate with adcoms and students, how to keep track of interactions I had, and even connected me with students from certain schools I was applying. Even after my admit euphoria settled down, Greg encouraged me to talk to more students and alums so that I could choose between the programs where I was accepted.

5. STORY AND ESSAY DEVELOPMENT

The Package started with filling out a detailed Brainstorming Document. It was structured in a way to make me think and put all my experiences and stories on paper, which formed a base for my applications. Post that we hopped on to a series of calls focused on discussing my story, school selection, and forming a strategy on how to tackle my essays for the first school I was applying.

Post these sessions I dove into drafting essays. With tons of information about the school which I acquired through research, coffee chats, and interactions with school, I felt much more confident in my first drafts. Still the comments I received from Greg showed how much further I needed to go and how much effort he puts in to pushing the applicant. His comments were detailed, nuanced, and well-organized, not just pointing out the flaws but also suggesting possible corrective actions I could take.

In my prior experiences with other consultants, I almost always received high-level comments such as, “this doesn’t seem proper, you might want to change this” and whatnot. But with Greg it was different. He made efforts in making me understand where I went wrong, why the message was not being conveyed properly, and advised on what specific changes I could consider making.

6. RESUME AND APPLICATIONS

Greg followed a similar approach for my resume. He commented extensively on my resume on a macro and micro level, making me understand why the bullet point was not effective, what did it lack, what should I do to make it more effective, and how to engage his “SCARL” approach. For the bullets he felt lacked clarity, he sought more information.

When it came to resume format, Greg did not follow a cookie-cutter approach with fitting information in a pre-designed resume format. Instead we worked to adopt a format that best depicted my experiences in a neat, well-organized, easy to follow, structured way. Again, his diligence and conviction to achieve perfection helped me craft a strong resume.

He also reviewed my responses to the various application sections and ensured that information across different components was in sync, balanced each other, and painted a diverse picture of my professional and personal life.

7. INTERVIEW PREP

Over the two years I worked with Greg for my interview preparation for eight schools and was accepted to six of them, including three with scholarships. The experiences were a stark contrast to my previous experiences where the mock interviews were organized hastily, were neither structured nor school-specific, and feedbacks provided were brief and high level.

When I scheduled my first interview preparation, I was wondering what would we be discussing for 2.5 hours, but when we finally got over with that, the time clocked 3 hrs 15 mins. Greg has meticulously structured the flow of each school’s interview to mimic the program’s actual interview experience. The questions were well-segmented, close to what I experienced in my actual interviews, and the flow was adaptive to my response.

Post the 60-minute mock we hopped onto the feedback and analysis part, where at first, I received high-level feedback of the overall mock, and then we went into a deep analysis of my responses. Greg helped identify not only what went wrong but also how could I improve my answers to each specific question. He also explained the rationale behind each question, and we prepared strategies for each question or question type.

8. SCHOLARSHIP AND DEFERRAL NEGOTIATIONS

My involvement with Greg eventually went beyond just securing admits. These steps were not on my priority list while considering working with Avanti Prep, but they became a very important part of my applicant journey. When things became uncertain with COVID, Greg helped me decide if it would be right to defer my admission and helped me in securing it.

We also worked on negotiating scholarships with schools. With Greg’s guidance and experience, I was able to secure more than a $90K scholarship to a T20 program and a $50K scholarship to a T15 program, after neither of them had offered me any scholarships alongside my original acceptance.

Obtaining a top global MBA is a costly and challenging affair. If you need a coach and friend to navigate you through this gruelling process, Greg is THE GUY. As my experience shows, the investment made to work with Avanti Prep in putting up strong applications was far outweighed by the rewards in terms of admits and scholarships!!

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Accepted to M7: International Female with 700 GMAT

Profile and Background

I am a female with 3 years WE upon matriculation. I studied Liberal Arts in Undergrad (Top 15 US university), and grew up in Southeast Asia. I worked at a top US bank in investment banking with no direct management experience (however with some indirect management through training analysts).

• Age: 25
• Demographics: Female with underrepresented demographic background
• Senior Analyst at top US bank (well-known household name)
• GMAT: 700 (sub-60th percentile Quant and IR scores)
• Undergrad GPA: 3.6 (top 15 US school and social science major with business minor)
• Work Experience: 3 years upon matriculation
• Applied to 1 M7 (accepted)

Overall, I felt I had good work experience and college extracurriculars but an average GPA, below average GMAT score, and the “minimum” amount of work experience (which limited my post-college leadership experience) for M7 schools. Nevertheless, I wanted to give my dream school a shot.

Choosing a Consultant and Package Selection

I knew I had below average scores and WE and knew I wanted to hire a consultant early on. I relied solely on reviews from GMAT Club and read the website thoroughly for any leads for my consultant. Business school has always been a dream of mine, and I knew that my consultant would be a big investment that would continue to pay off throughout my life.

I pretty much decided to work with Greg based on the thoroughness of his reviews. Each review commented on the attention to detail, custom care, and compassion Greg shows for his clients. Greg was my first choice early on and I quickly scheduled a free assessment call the spring before my applications were due. I learned that what everyone said was true through talking on the phone with him for just 15 minutes.

I decided to hire Greg on the spot and didn’t bother talking to other consultants. I 100% stand with my decision as Greg helped me in so many ways. I decided to enroll in the Tier 3 package which included school selection, essay reviews, interview prep, story selection, scholarship negotiations, and more.

School Selection

I had my heart set on one particular M7 so I communicated with Greg that I was very interested in this school early on/that it was my first choice. I decided to focus on this school and planned to later hire Greg for additional schools if things did not work out with this one. Greg was honest, yet optimistic about my chances. He did not sugarcoat anything but instead reassured me that together, we would produce the best package possible.

Resume Review

Greg really helped me create a business school type resume. Having been in the workforce for a few years, I was used to resumes that focused more on professional experiences. One thing that sets business school resumes apart is that business school style resumes should ideally also focus on leadership and involvement, which Greg really helped me position and hone.

Greg helped me create actionable, concise bullets for each line on my resume and helped consolidate my leadership, professional, and personal interests in one page. Greg conducted over 5+ iterations before we found it to be in a good place to submit to schools. Once we were done I felt confident that the 1 page document represented my experiences perfectly.

Essays

Greg truly went above and beyond with the essay prep and reviews. We had brainstorming calls for all of the essays my school required, with him scheduling even more calls if the topics didn’t “click”. I definitely feel like Greg helped me hone and tune my story to help me clearly articulate my goals and unique personal narrative.

Each of my essays had at least 5 iterations of reviews and each of Greg’s comments for the essays allowed me to further assess topics and enhance/refine my delivery. Greg often worked after-hours to provide me with feedback and most iterations were given back in about 2 business days, which allowed me to move fast and really focus on each essay.

I truly believe that Greg has a natural gift for telling stories. Each call helped me come up with a “skeleton” of each essay which I expounded upon. Greg’s guidance truly polished my essays and made me feel like I was submitting the best possible work. The fact that he scheduled multiple brainstorming sessions showed his dedication to coming up with the best product.

Interview Prep

Greg was one of the first people I notified when I was chosen to interview at my dream school. I was ecstatic that my hard work over the past few months was culminating with an interview invite. I wanted to schedule the interview ASAP since this was my dream school; however, Greg stressed the importance of adequate preparation.

We scheduled 2 preparation sessions of about 1-2 hours each and we conducted 2 mock interviews of about 2 hours each (all together ~8 hours even though the official interview prep service is technically supposed to be around 3 hours). I truly felt that Greg wanted me to do the best I possibly could and put in the extra work and effort to really help me articulate clearly how I could be a good fit for the school.

Greg’s preparation for the interview was so complete that I did not feel surprised on interview day. His interview prep was identical and I felt prepared for each question. Greg even gave me some tips to talk about my contributions to the school, which I think impressed the interviewer.

Conclusion

I got admitted to my first choice M7 with an average GPA, below average GMAT, and 3 years of WE upon matriculation. I genuinely believe what made me stand out in applying to an M7 was my essays and application, which Greg truly helped me with.

I have read many negative things about consultants but please do trust me when I say that Greg is worth every penny. His feedback on each deliverable went above and beyond and really helped me take my application to the next level.

I only have positive things to say about my experience and I believe that Greg exceeded every expectation I had of hiring a consultant. I always felt like my opinions, questions, and beliefs were valued. With Greg’s help and support I will be attending my dream school of 5+ years.

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