Multiple U.S. Top 25 Admits with $$$ (Indian, IT, Male, Re-applicant)

[b][u]Profile:[/u][/b]

[u]Work Experience:[/u] 6 years
[u]Demography:[/u] WORST (Indian, IT, Male)
[u]GMAT:[/u] 730 (V41, Q49)
[u]Graduation:[/u] Computer Science Engineering (7.48/10)
[u]Post-Graduation:[/u] MBA (from an above average B-School in India) (9.23/10)
[u]Job Profile:[/u] IT Consultant in insurance domain
[u]Highlights:[/u] Started handling a team of 8 distributed over 3 geographies – UK, Israel, South Africa

[b][u]Background:[/u][/b]

I had appeared for my GMAT in 2018 and scored a 730 (V41, Q49). At that time, I thought that a 96 percentile should set me up pretty good for the top schools around the globe. However, I couldn’t convert any of the 8 schools I applied to even though I received interview calls from 6. I knew that I was not good at writing essays which is essentially the most important part of the application. Therefore, I tried reaching out to my friends on and off the GMATClub forum. Everyone tried their best to help me out but the essays ended up below average.

I realized that no matter how much anyone wants to help you out, essay writing is something that requires dedication and knowledge of how the adcoms would evaluate you.

I then decided to give myself a year to work on my profile and decided to reapply in 2020. However, this time I was sure that I would hire a consultant to help me with my essays. I reached out to @stonecold and a few others and the straightforward response was – Don’t even think about anyone else than Greg.

I was like, okay, let me try a free session with Greg and see how things work out. I dropped an email to Greg and quickly set up a session. I had shared my resume with Greg beforehand and made a list of a few points to discuss in that call. I liked the way Greg approaches the application process – he is very clear about how the adcoms look at your profile, what might be your best ‘go to' story to showcase yourself. The most important quality of Greg is that he listens to you and tries to alter plans according to what you want! Why am I saying this? I am stating this because I had come across reviews of a few other consultants who didn’t take the candidates thoughts, story etc into account and tried to dictate their terms. With such inflexible approach one cannot expect good results.

Towards the end of my first session with Greg, I asked him whether my target schools look good because I had made my intentions clear that I would either attend a world top 50 program or not attend at all. My profile was also pretty unique – second MBA, non IIT Indian IT male. I mean everything was bad in my profile except for the GMAT score which too seemed pretty below average for a top 10 or 15 program. He said there was a silver lining in the interview calls from last time, so that with hard work and improvements I can put up a very competitive fight. There are a lot of different packages that are available. I went for the hourly services because I was very clear as to how I wanted Greg's help.

[u]NOTE:[/u] I would advise you to be very well prepared in terms of your expectations before reaching out to consultants because that would save you both time and money.

[b][u]Process:[/u][/b]

I decided to apply for my target schools in R1 and started working with Greg from the month of June. Early start meant that I had ample time to work on my story. Greg has a structured way for you to first pen down your thoughts and experiences, which you then discuss together in a more open brainstorming fashion in order to choose what you should utilize for each topic and your own essay writing process.

Greg is so accommodating that I am not exaggerating. It is always better to get your essays done early, but if your deadlines come near he supports you with urgency and quick turnarounds. Looking back, officially I signed for 15 hours of service (not including the interview prep services which I added later on) but in reality, Greg gave more than 19 hours of service for those 15, with the extra time provided for free in an effort to give me the best guidance and chances.

I decided to utilize the first 3.5 hours for story building and essay brainstorming calls, before allocating the remaining time (other than interview prep) to essay feedback and reviews for many of the specific essays of my target schools. I gave Greg the nickname Gr'wow'eg because as I incorporated his guidance and feedback into my essays I could see the difference in the quality building with each of my attempts. The quality, character, knowledge, competence he brings is absolutely top notch.

Further, even though I just focused mainly on the essay part of my application Greg used to constantly give me various tips that might help me in other areas such as resume building or from whom to receive a recommendation or how to discuss various points with your recommenders in the hopes they could highlight them for you without any duplicacy in the overall profile. All these small things made a huge impact.

Once I submitted my 6 applications in R1, I received 5 interview invites. Since Greg was so good and helpful, I decided to go with the interview prep services as well. He is flexible and impactful in this segment as well. He created a set of questions from amongst 3 schools specific to my requirements and it did wonders. Whatever we prepared in those interview preps, most of the things were asked in the interviews.

As clear enough evidence of the improved strength of my essays, applications and interview skills this time, I went from getting rejected everywhere last time I applied to 3 acceptances in 2020, of which one was a 50% scholarship and another a 100% scholarship. Greg is so dedicated to his work that you will not be a bit disappointed. I wholeheartedly thank him for supporting me throughout the process. If you would ask me personally which consultant should you go for – I would say “don’t think beyond Greg".