I reached out to MBA & Beyond through word of mouth in June 2024, seeking guidance on my applications to top European b-schools. Choosing a service can feel uncertain—there are concerns about affordability and worth. Fast forward to November, and I can confidently say it was one of the best decisions I made.
1. Getting Started with MBA & Beyond
Early on, I gathered my content—stories, goals, and school research—which set the foundation for my applications. I wanted a consultant who would dig deep, give honest feedback, and challenge me to improve, and that’s exactly what I found.
2. Working with Andy
Andy was genuine and direct, quickly understanding my strengths. He didn’t sugarcoat anything and pushed me to craft essays that truly reflected my story. From our very first call, he shared his wisdom on managing multiple school deadlines—something I hadn’t fully grasped but proved crucial. Andy prepared me for every step of the process, including interviews, which were closely aligned with my essay content. By staying authentic in my essays, I found that the interview felt natural and engaging.
Beyond essays, he anticipated potential interview questions and encouraged me to be foresighted. Andy didn’t hold back in pointing out when my writing lacked meaning, and his patience made me comfortable drafting and refining until I felt genuinely satisfied. Our conversations expanded my thinking and helped me grow as both a writer and a thinker. The skills I learned in this process will serve me well beyond the MBA application.
To all the aspirants: trust me when I say this—if I can make it to Oxford, then Andy is definitely someone you can trust with your application journey.
3. Application Buddy
My application buddy, Kanishka, was invaluable. Warm and welcoming, she was my steady support system, keeping me on track and assisting me with any issue that arose. Her encouragement and friendship made this journey smoother and more enjoyable.
4. MBA & Beyond Mirror Portal
The Mirror Portal is user-friendly, detailed, and structured in a way that’s not overwhelming, offering everything needed to stay organized and focused.
Overall, I never thought I had the potential to be accepted at Oxford. "Self-rejection" was my biggest hurdle, but MBA & Beyond helped me see my own potential. I’ll be forever thankful to the entire team at MBA & Beyond for bringing me closer to my dream.

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i chose this service because i was a re-applicant and had lost that confidence on my essays - i felt i needed a fresh perspective on those.
I did get some amazing insights from the process - it did make things better (for the second application).
On the first application - which was a re-application - there was a comment from the adcom that i have the possibility of reusing the same content - so that's what we did.
On the second application, we actually spent time and effort. Even though i was unsuccessful in both the schools, i did enjoy the process on the second school.
The consultant - no doubt , extremely good and professional but what hurts is even though we worked together for more than a month or 2 for 2 schools and when i told him i got a no from the second school - there was no response - not even the bare minimum " sorry to hear that , i hope you will find what you are looking for one way or the other".
This made me wonder, that i spent 4-5k$ on this process, got some good insights no doubt - but in the end not worth the value for me - my failure in those two schools were definitely not the only reason in making this statement - it is the behaviour .

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I reached out to MBA & Beyond quite late in December, seeking guidance on my application strategy for top business schools: INSEAD, HEC Paris, and IESE. I was pleasantly surprised by the team's immediate involvement from the day I was onboarded. I was assigned a specific consultant, an application buddy, and given access to the MBA & Beyond Portal.

1) Consultant- I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with Andy Fischtrom as my consultant. From the very beginning, Andy showed genuine interest in getting to know me as an applicant and offered his honest feedback. For each iteration of my application, Andy took the time to reason with me and play the devil's advocate, challenging my anecdotes and helping me refine my approach.

He suggested strategic ways to align my application with each school's timelines. By the time we finalized my application, I felt fully prepared to discuss every aspect of my life with clarity and logic, which made it easier to be honest and transparent during my interviews. Andy emphasized the importance of being true to myself, which greatly increased my comfort and confidence throughout this journey.

Andy wore many hats during our sessions, sometimes acting as an admissions committee member and other times as an alumnus. This diverse perspective made my application stand out, resulting in interview invites from all three schools to which I applied. Andy took time to review my CV and ensured that I had all the backups before I could submit them to the schools. Thanks to our detailed brainstorming sessions, I navigated my interviews with ease, turning them into engaging conversations.

Ultimately, I secured admissions from both HEC Paris and INSEAD, with IESE offering me an application waiver for the next admission round. Working with Andy was a positive experience not only for the applications but also for learning some wisdom from this wise man.

2) Application Buddy: Kanishka, my application buddy, was an invaluable asset. She was like an alarm clock, ensuring I stayed on track and offering immediate assistance whenever needed. She also facilitated in offering a third-person perspective once I finished my essays. It was an absolute delight to work with her!

3) Portal: The Mirror was very user-friendly and designed with the applicant's challenges in mind. It provided structured pathways and assigned plans with deadlines, helping me maintain my momentum. It was extremely helpful for both Andy and me, as it asked deep questions to extract maximum information, helping Andy understand my personality better. The portal also included samples and guidelines, offering a clear idea of the ideal structure.

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I had the pleasure of working with Andy from MBA and Beyond, and I’d be remiss to not highlight the role he and the team from MBA and Beyond played my application journey to INSEAD.
From our very first interaction, it was evident that Andy possessed a great deal of expertise and dedication to helping me succeed. Further, MBA and Beyond as a whole seemed to be THE best when it came to INSEAD admits, and I realized soon why that was.
Andy had a profound understanding of the intricacies involved in crafting a compelling application for INSEAD. He patiently and meticulously guided me through each step of the process, offering invaluable insights from his time with INSEAD, and personalized advice tailored to my unique background and aspirations. Most importantly, whenever I felt underconfident or overwhelmed, he instilled confidence in me. His positive reinforcement not only bolstered my self-confidence but also reignited my enthusiasm for the application process, turning moments of apprehension into opportunities for growth and self-reflection.
The wider team at MBA and Beyond was also super helpful and responsive! Kanishka, my application buddy, kept me on track with ALL the stages of the app. Her constant check-ins and positive words kept me sane and helped me navigate what otherwise was an overwhelming barrage of things to tend do.
In hindsight, I think I made the perfect choice by partnering with MBA and Beyond, especially considering INSEAD was the only b-school I was applying to. I am super grateful for their support – they made my journey so much easier and worthwhile! 😊

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Highly recommend, particularly for students with one glaring weakspot in their profile.

The team has a robust process and offer unlimited one to one sessions throughout the application & interview process.

My essays were reviewed by multiple members of the team.

I received multiple responses to my profile evaluation post here on GMATClub and many consultants wrote me off saying INSEAD and similar schools are far reaches but Neha's thorough response saying its a challenge but entirely possible instilled confidence in me knowing their team see something the others didn't.

After the initial onboarding calls with Paridhi, she was also excited when learning more about my profile and knew the team can help me submit a compelling application.

By the time I started my interviews I was confident in myself which helped me translate that into an admit.

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a. The content gathering process really structures your story & helps even after essays - personally helped me during the interview process as well. MBA & Beyond really makes you work to get this right.
b. Unlimited sessions - be it for actual consulting, sounding off writing prompts, finalizing essays & interview prep - my consultant Andy Fischstrom was super supportive throughout the process, and managed to make time almost on a daily basis
c. Andy was also able to bring in diverse perspectives - soliciting the opinions of other consultants when we were unsure of what path to take
d. As nerve-wracking as the application process can be, it felt like I had a coach willing me on, even through bleak days, and that is something I'm grateful for
e. Focus on the little things - a lot of hours were spent in making small modifications to the essays, following which Andy and me would step back and look at it as a whole - and over time, the essays got to a point where we were both happy with them. Those little things add up!
f. The supporting team takes care of a lot of work that needs doing to keep applications on track - they let you focus on the essay writing

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When I started my journey, I knew where I wanted to apply but I had no idea how to go about it. My search for MBA Consultants started at a time when I was still preparing for the GMAT and had my target schools shortlisted.
MBA and Beyond - Key Differentiator
I spoke to many different companies and a lot of them asked me questions that I felt were being plugged into a foolproof equation that was known to provide results. However, I finalized MBA and Beyond because -
- I felt that my personal strengths and motivations were understood by the team and they didn’t boil my experience and personal qualities down to a math
- I didn't feel pressure to score exceptionally well on my GMAT or that the GMAT score was the make or break for my schools - the encouragement and tone through and through was always to give it my best shot
- Their success rate/ track record in helping secure INSEAD admits for applicants with low GMAT scores
The Application Process
a) The Product
The process itself of starting work on my applications was life-changing. Putting down points in the product in the MBA and Beyond framework gives you so much clarity going into this process about who you are as a person. From start to end the product covers content and instruction for each stage of your application process specific to the schools you are applying for. The content-gathering stage is the most pivotal step in this process in my opinion because it pushes you to think hard about your personal qualities. The team, especially Ayushi in my case, supports you through and through, even when you’re stuck and helps you position your content in unique and powerful ways. I think what comes out of this process is a simplified and more focused thought process that prepares you not just for your applications but also for your interviews.
b) Working with your Consultant – Andy my Partner
The relationship working with Andy was like no other. For starters, he actually read all the material I had written with a fine-toothed comb – be it my content frameworks, notes, first drafts and of course my final drafts. He helped come up with my branding – who I was as a person, what were some defining qualities/ motivations in my life that got me to where I am, my professional strengths and my contributions to a diverse classroom. I can’t emphasize how important this was for me because at each step of the way, I felt secure in knowing that Andy understood who I was and exactly that person was being presented in my applications. I was truly myself in the applications and not a summation of different variables in a tried and tested formula. Despite being in completely different timezones, Andy was always approachable, quick to respond and a true partner in this journey.
I would also like to highlight that the applications for both schools I got accepted into – INSEAD and IESE were with submission dates on the same day. This was extremely challenging as the INSEAD application is quite extensive and detailed oriented but with Andy’s help I was able to help systematically work on all aspects well in time.
Amidst this process, I would also like to share, that I took the GMAT twice as I scored poorly the first time and it pushed my plans to apply to INSEAD from R2 to R3. However, not once did Andy make me feel stressed or uneasy about my situation. He was a beacon of hope and positivity and encouraged me to take it again and not worry about the outcome. As I said – Andy just understood me and knew that I had a very very VERY bad day and it wasn’t a reflection of me or who I was. He was confident that I would take it again and “smash it” and even if I didn’t get that 700+ score I would still be just okay and we’d give it our best shot. There was never an expectation from me to score a specific number or be within a certain threshold – I was only and only encouraged to do my best. So I juggled preparing for my second GMAT attempt and working on my applications side by side with Andy’s help.
To sum up, I truly believe I made it here only thanks to Andy’s encouragement and support and I would encourage you all to work with him in applying to your dream schools!
The Interview Process
With Andy’s help, I was able to prepare just the right amount for my interviews and I think a key piece of advice that worked for me was to prepare but not over-prepare. Andy gave me the confidence boost and motivation I needed to just be myself during the interview and we went over certain aspects of my interviews in different calls he had set up.
Finally, Shakshi from MBA and Beyond, made sure to check in with me, every step of the way and ensure I was comfortable and all set at each stage. She was always just a call away and proactively helped me with quick responses for any queries that I had, never needing any follow-ups or reminders. So I can vouch for the fact that it’s not just your Consultant but an entire team that is there to support you through this entire lifecycle and the Teamwork truly makes the Dream work.

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