Choose Paul!

My experience with Paul was great. He was not only an admissions consultant but also became a friend during the process. My results were great. I got into HBS and Kellogg.

I am from India and I had spoken with 10 consultants to evaluate from. Almost all of them viewed my GMAT score as not good enough (730(Q50, V40)) and asked me to give GMAT again or asked me to not even try for HBS. Disheartened by this, I took a break from the process to rethink my priorities. I even took another GMAT test and scored a disappointing 710.

I decided to apply with 730 and spoke with one last consultant - Paul. Paul mentioned on the call that HBS doesn't care about the GMAT and I shouldn't worry about it at all. He also crafted a mini-story around my profile and blew my mind with his creativity and articulation. He was the only consultant who was actually interested in my story. I chose Paul in a heartbeat. I also spoke to my seniors from college and work who had worked with Paul in the previous years and were now at HBS/Wharton. All of them were happy with their experience with Paul.

Paul and I worked together on 4 schools - HBS, Wharton, INSEAD and Kellogg. I got interview invites from all except INSEAD. Below is the breakdown of my experience with Paul stage by stage of the application process:

Stage 1: Discovering your story and drafting the HBS essay. Paul and I spoke in-depth about my childhood, college and job experiences. He took a shot at drafting the first version of the story and together over the next 2 months we iterated over 30 versions of the HBS essay. Paul worked on the HBS tirelessly. He knew exactly what the school wanted and how can we deliver that in the essay. This instinct of his has been accumulated by going through the process for years. We crafted a very personal story. Seeing the final output of the HBS essay was heartening. I even compared it to my other friends who were applying in the year. Their story was not as personal and it showed a lack of understanding of what the school really is looking for. All in all, stage 1 was great!

Stage 2: Using the HBS essay and my story to draft other essays of Wharton, INSEAD, and Kellogg. This was not a hard part. We took about a month to do this. By this time I had understood Paul's style and we were able to get things done in time and move fast. We also finished working on other parts of the application (LOR, mini questions, goals, etc)

Stage 3: Polishing all the material and finally submitting it. Paul really helped me in calming my nerves and taking all the material to the finishing stage. He was very diligent at this step and made sure we did not leave any stone unturned. This was the most crucial stage. I was extremely happy with all my applications. There was depth in what we wrote and I believe all schools got to know me very well.

Stage 4: Shortlists and preparing for the interviews. I had interview calls from HBS, Wharton, and Kellogg. Paul helped me do an extensive interview prep. I was well prepared for all my interviews and a lot of questions that Paul asked appeared in the interviews. Paul also made sure that I focus on the aspects I was lagging in. He also helped me draft a very good reflection of the HBS interview, which the school asks post the interview.

Stage 5: Results: Results were in. I will never forget the day I got into HBS. I couldn't believe the results. That feeling was extraordinary. The next day Kellogg also said yes, putting the icing on the cake.

I would highly recommend working with Paul.