Amerasia - Joint Degree

Bottom Line Up Front: Paul brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and a great network to the admissions consulting process. You should capitalize on his services!

Here's the quick rundown on my profile: military, mid 700s GMAT, magna cum laude undergrad at a top 50 school.

Here's why I chose Paul after interviewing a half dozen consultants at other firms:

1) He has integrity. He's upfront and will tell you whether the schools you're applying to are a good fit for your profile. He's not going to BS you. One of the most important questions you can ask any of these consultants is what they think they could improve on in helping their clients. He was literally the only one who gave me a straight answer; all the others blamed their clients for any missteps or problems.

2) He's generous with his time. The free, initial consulting session which is only scheduled for an hour lasted 90 minutes. He made no big deal about it. Consultants at other companies strictly adhered to the timelines given whether it was 30 minutes or an hour for the initial consult. If the company's not willing to go the extra mile to get my business, then I can't expect them to do so once they already have it.

3) He understands people. Paul is great at building meaningful connections with people over skype. It was like having a penpal who knew my whole life story and then was able to advise me on how to present that story in a compelling manner to admissions committees.

Here's what I didn't know Paul was going to bring to the table:

1) Free services. Yes, that's right. I applied to joint degree programs, where I had to write essays and prepare entirely separate applications for the non-MBA part of the programs.
He worked with me on those applications at no extra charge. The other consulting companies, when I mentioned the joint degree, said they would be unable to assist me with that part of the application.

2) Research skills. Going into B-school I had an idea or a general framework of what I wanted to do in the future, both in the short-term and long-term. But I was having trouble conveying my ideas effectively because I didn't have a great grasp of what people in those positions actually do. Paul researched those fields and positions and sent me useful materials to read so I could develop my inchoate desires into something more tangible and compelling to the admissions committee.

3) Editing skills. Paul isn't going to write your essays for you, but he will tell you when your writing is weak and where you can do better. I'm a published author and I can tell you that Paul has a keen eye for editing and for identifying weak writing. Those word limits get tough and he's great at suggesting where you can cut the fat off your paragraphs while retaining your message.

Oh and I'm sure you'd like to know where I'm going: Harvard...'nuff said.