Application Strategy - Empathy and Honesty Got Me In!

Stats:
GMAT: 690 (40V/44Q)
GPA: 3.1
School: Stanford
Work: Telecom - Leadership Program + Corporate Strategy/BD
MBA Prep: Forte MBA Launch

Angela and I met through Forte MBA Launch, and she had done a few seminars on crafting your story. When I engaged her, I was just finalizing my school selections. Given my GPA/GMAT were so low, I knew I didn't hit the middle 80% GPA at pretty much any of the top 10 (my target schools) and was on the lower GMAT end with the 690. I was devastated and thought my goals were virtually unattainable. Angela's advice and encouragement helped me to believe it was possible.

I reached out to Angela, because she had such great insight and energy when she taught our courses. She and I discussed my MBA target schools choices (H/S/K/Tuck) and was very honest. She said that realistically I would need a higher GMAT for HBS/Stanford (which I was aware of) and recommended several great tutors, and then for Kellogg/Tuck I was competitive and would need to make sure to nail my story. What I appreciated about Angela's advice was she didn't shy away from the real talk I needed, but she did so in a way that she gave me options (recommended a few other schools where I would be competitive) and certainly gave me encouragement that I could get into at least one of my target schools.

I also spoke to several other MBA consulting firms - Stacy Blackman, Admit Advantage, and a few smaller private one-person shops - and all of them said target Duke, Ross and UCLA. I didn't want that, and they didn't give me any options for how to reach my goals.

Angela, on the other hand, really pulled through and made it an honest conversation. She was incredibly EMPATHETIC and PROBLEM SOLVED WITH ME! I cannot emphasize those two things enough. When I work with someone, I want them to feel that they are on the same team with me. Angela was on my team the whole time!

I am now proud to share I have been admitted to both Kellogg and Tuck, and I couldn't be more thrilled about the prospect of going back to school in the fall!!

Angela brought energy, a positive can-do attitude, and helped me believe in myself at a time when it felt like there was no chance for me to get into school. Angela's a rock star - you won't go wrong!