Best Decision I Made!

I hired Menlo Coaching to help me with my 2019 MBA Applications

I decided to hire a consulting firm for 3 reasons

1. I didn’t know anyone who got their MBA so I needed someone who could guide me
2. I was facing significant weaknesses in my application
3. The financial ROI of a top MBA program was high (3x my salary)

I did consultations with about 8 consultants. 6 were cliché and a waste of time. Ultimately, my decision came down to Menlo Coaching and a consultant from MBA Mission.

MBA Mission was enticing for 2 reasons

1. I come from a niche industry and he’s the only consultant I found who shared my pre-MBA background and post-MBA goals.
2. He was about 40-50% of the cost (depending on how many schools I applied to) and since I didn’t make much money, cost was an important factor to me.

In the end, these were the 3 reasons I went with Menlo

1. I felt like Alice & David genuinely cared and wanted me as a client (they are selective) despite my weaknesses. And that was reinforced in the reviews I read online. Every consultant has 5-star reviews. But read the contents of those reviews and you’ll see a real difference in the detail and quality of Menlo Coaching.
2. While the MBA Mission consultant might’ve been a good career coach, I realized my target audience (admissions officers) wouldn’t have an in-depth understanding of my industry either so I actually wanted someone who could translate my experience into a language they would understand.
3. As I mentioned, the ROI was high and the total cost of attendance was also going to be high regardless of where I went so might as well spend a little extra money to maximize my chances. Hiring an admissions consultant is one of the few times in life where I didn’t want the best value. I wanted the best.

Looking back, I definitely made the right decision. Be prepared to work hard, but here’s a look at some of my biggest ways Alice added value.

Taught me how the game is played. And trust me, a bit of it is a game. As I mentioned, I didn’t know anyone who got an MBA and I didn’t work at a feeder firm. But thanks to Alice teaching me the value of “influencers”, I found at least one person who vouched for me at each of the 9 schools that I applied to.

Starting early. All the other consultants I talked to didn’t want to start working until June. I started working with Alice the moment I signed in February. We wrote resumes, personal stories and career goal statements in the Spring that made writing the individual essays much easier when applications were released.

Always available. I felt like I could ask Alice about anything – from campus visits to sending the perfect thank you email. None of my questions or concerns ever felt unimportant. Being overseas in Europe was never an issue either. If you send an essay at night in the U.S., you can expect a response in the morning.

Unlimited means unlimited. Some consultants charge per school but Alice charges a flat fee and doesn’t cap how many schools you can apply to. Because I was a non-traditional applicant and we couldn’t properly handicap my chances, I ended up applying to 9 schools spread across the Top 20. That meant a lot of extra work for her but she believed it was the right strategy so we did it. We literally went through 20+ revisions on some of the essays and she never complained.

Access to reports. Menlo Coaching has a strong network of applicants who share detailed notes over the years of campus visits, interviews, etc. which I found to be more helpful than the guides available on other sites.

Crisis management. Something came up before applying that could’ve seriously jeopardized my ability to apply at all. This is where I really gained respect for her. She could’ve easily quit on me and focused on her other candidates who had strong shots at M7 schools. But she stayed loyal and doubled down her efforts to make sure I overcame the setback and could finish strong. She had the perfect balance between empathy and pushing me to get tasks done. Even later, when the coronavirus hit, she was able to assess the situation and give me insights into how it would affect my MBA experience.

Interview Prep. I can’t speak highly enough about her interview coach Obinna Arizor either. He was always well prepared, came with tough questions and gave me instant feedback on how to improve. Even though interviewing was my strength, he was always available to hop on the phone and chat so I felt 100% confident going in.

As for my outcomes: I got accepted into 4 schools:

A Top 10 school (off the waitlist), Top 15 school (off the waitlist) and 2 Top 20 schools (including 1 with a 2/3rd scholarship)

For me, this was a wild success. I went into the process hoping only 1 school would take a chance on me.

Finally, Alice is just a genuinely good person who I actually hope to stay in touch with.

I met Leslie when I visited the Bay Area on vacation and if it weren’t for the virus, I planned to meet Alice & David in Amsterdam during my pre-MBA Eurotrip.
Our contract was for Round 1 applications but I feel like she’s the type of person who if I reached out for advice about MBA recruiting a year from now, she wouldn’t hesitate to offer her insights.

There are so many people who will be involved with your MBA journey from the moment you decide you want to apply to the moment you graduate. I really feel Alice is one of the few people who will always be an important part of that process.