Dan the Man!!! (Review for Daniel Richards)

My biggest concern while applying to business school was whether I would be able to communicate my story to the admissions committee in a compelling manner. This was partially due to the fact that my story (I felt) was quite unique, having had significant leadership experience in the non-profit sector. Hence rather than looking for an editor who would help me word my essays better I was looking for a guide who would truly understand me and help me present myself holistically. I found such a person in Dan.

The amount of efforts he took in understanding me: my passions, my worries, my ambitions and me as a person were remarkable. There were times I would push him to move to the "real deal" (writing essays etc.), but Dan being Dan would figure out a compelling way to convince me that there was more introspection required. This for me was the real deal breaker.

When I got to editing my resume and writing my essays, Dan helped me "cut through the crap" and get to the point. His ability to call a spade a spade and tell me very clearly what NOT to do helped me narrow my options and stay focused on my core story. He would never shy away from giving me a "Re-do" on the essay, and I found this attribute particularly refreshing, saving a lot of precious time for me. Sometimes I would not agree with him and we would debate endlessly on a line, a phrase and sometimes even the entire idea, this however made it clear to me how invested he was in this. We were in this together!

Fun fact: One of the things we debated on was whether I should apply to Kellogg. Dan was convinced that I should, I wasn't. End result: Today I'm going to Kellogg :)

The journey of applying to b schools is quite stressful and I guess everybody needs a friend who you can rely on, who can give honest feedback and be with you through the ups and downs. I found such a friend in Dan. Somebody I'll definitely keep in touch with and somebody I would highly recommend for anybody starting the b school application process for the coming years!