Shaifali was fantastic to work with, and I would very highly recommend her services to anyone who is looking for an MBA admissions consultant. I am in an oversubscribed demographic (male in finance) and so was seeking someone who could really help to differentiate me in such a competitive pool. After speaking with multiple consultants, Shaifali and Ivy Groupe clearly stood out to me for the following reasons: 1) the very strong focus on authenticity and emphasis on understanding who I am, 2) Shaifali’s impressive credentials and experience in the space, 3) the importance given to collaboratively working through the process, and 4) the company’s strong track record and systematic approach.
Throughout the engagement, Shaifali was extremely responsive and accessible, which was important given the demands on my time. She could also always be counted on for honest advice. By digging into my background, she teased out my unique attributes and helped me connect-the-dots in my story – she truly is a magician in this regard. As a result, she was absolutely critical in helping me to position myself as much more than a male in finance. In addition, her feedback throughout the process (essays, recommendation letters, interviews, etc.) was invaluable and always on point. In all of our conversations and her feedback, Shaifali’s robust knowledge and nuanced understanding of the schools were evident.
Overall, Shaifali was the much-needed guide I needed throughout this process, always pushing me to think deeper, which resulted in the strongest applications. There is no doubt that Shaifali was instrumental in taking my applications to the next level. Her approach and work ethic are definitely differentiators – after comparing notes with my peers who used other consultants, it was extremely clear how much value Shaifali brings to the table and how committed she is to her clients’ success.
I was accepted to Wharton and couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome! You will be in excellent hands working with Shaifali!

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Shaifali is an exceptional consultant who helped me properly present myself to top-tier business schools. Thanks to her coaching and reliable comments on my application materials, I am now attending my dream business school. Her consulting process was stress-free, straightforward and highly individualized. She presented me with all the information I needed to prepare my strongest applications. Her proofreading, suggestions and interview prep were invaluable in securing spots in the top schools I applied to. I would strongly recommend Shaifali to anyone interested in a competitive MBA program. Ivy Groupe is absolutely a positive and engaging experience that served not only to improve my acceptance chances, but also teach me more about the MBA programs I was interested in.

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Shaifali was my main advisor during my application process to several top MBA programs. She was incredibly knowledgeable about the nuances of each admissions process and was able to tease out the traits of my profile that were applicable to each school's priorities.

In addition to helping curate the content of my applications, Shaifali was a crucial part of my support network when things inevitably did not go my away in the process (e.g., rejections, waitlists, etc.). She coached me through these hiccups in an elegant and comforting way.

Ultimately, in large part due to her guidance, I was admitted to the Stanford GSB. I HIGHLY recommend Shaifali for anyone looking to put his or her best foot forward in what is a very competitive process.

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I highly recommend admissions consulting services with the Ivy Groupe. Shaifali Aggarwal, Founder/CEO of the Ivy Groupe, helped me navigate the business school application process and successfully gain admission to my top schools. I was extremely impressed by Shaifali’s professionalism, thoughtfulness, attentiveness, and expertise. Working with the Ivy Groupe was a true value-add to my application process and I can’t speak highly enough about my experience.

I began working with Shaifali after completing the GMAT and she helped me brainstorm/narrow my list of schools, strategize for my applications, create a manageable timeline, craft my story, complete applications, prep for interviews, and ultimately finalize my school selection. Shaifali provides a highly personalized approach. She spent time getting to know my background, assessing my strengths/weaknesses, and understanding my personal and professional goals in order to provide meaningful consultative advice as we worked through applications. Because she took the time to know me personally, Shaifali’s feedback was always thoughtful and she brought out the best in my applications. I was grateful for Shaifali’s commitment to my applications and her communication was outstanding and she responded promptly to all questions via email or phone call.

Shaifali’s guidance goes beyond the applications. After submitting applications, Shaifali advised me on how to manage the rest of the process in order to best position myself with each school. As a result, I was well-prepared for interviews, campus visits, and conversations with current students and admissions officers. Finally, Shaifali shared her extensive knowledge of the MBA world and specific details about each school that I was admitted to in order to help me determine the best fit. I was admitted to my top school and could not be more thrilled with the outcome.

Shaifali is truly an expert in admissions consulting and she is also personable and very fun to work with. For all of these reasons, I give my highest recommendation for Shaifali and the Ivy Groupe.

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I had a pre-med background so did not have many peers who were familiar with the business school application process, so I needed a consultant to support me through this process. I had purchased a package from another consultant at the time and did not realize how unhelpful his services were until I met Shaifali. I was blown away by the care she put into my entire application, from brainstorming to choosing between schools I got accepted into. She sent me a questionnaire that not only asked me to outline my main activities at work and outside of work but also asked me to summarize key themes and ideas which really got me to think critically about my background and how it comes together to tell a compelling story. Instead of just doing mere line edits of my essays, which I know from experience many consultants do, she looked at the essay as a whole and advised me on how to thoughtfully proceed.

Besides our brainstorming phone calls, Shaifali was also available via email whenever I had a question, no matter how big or small. Her responses were never automated or generic. She remembered the smallest details about my background when answering my questions, which showed she was invested in each of her clients as unique individuals.

Out of the 6 schools I applied to, I received 5 interviews - Haas, MIT Sloan, Kellogg, Booth and Wharton and got accepted to 3 and will be attending Wharton (my first choice) in the Fall! And my success in this process is definitely attributed to Shaifali's tremendous support and knowledge about the application process.

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With Ivy Groupe's help, I was accepted into my first choice MBA program at the University of Michigan (Ross School of Business)!

In our initial consulting call, Shaifali honed in quickly on the weakest part of my application (undergrad GPA) and suggested specific ways to offset it by emphasizing my graduate school and work experiences.

I was impressed with her experience and insight throughout the month-long process! She helped me write compelling essays that were extremely authentic, without ever suggesting that I change my voice or the narrative. Her feedback is honest and direct- it helped me feel both confident and self-aware going into the B School interview.

I chose the hourly package as I was only applying to one school in this round, and Shaifali was very accommodating. She was prompt with essay feedback and was available for phone calls throughout the week. I'd recommend Ivy Groupe to any of my friends applying to B School!

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I signed up for the comprehensive package for three schools and I can honestly say that it was worth every penny. I’m beyond happy with the results that I have achieved in my application journey and I couldn’t have done it without Shaifali’s guidance along the way.

I had signed up for a number of free consultations with various consultants and it was only with Shaifali that I’d felt a true, comfortable connection. The others would tell me to give up on so-and-so, leaving me completely discouraged. Sure, this approach might work with some, but certainly not for me. During my conversation with Shaifali, she was frank and honest about what my chances are but relayed that as long as I understood where my candidacy stood with respect to my selected schools, you just never know until you try. These words of encouragement helped me to establish a sense of confidence in working with Shaifali, and that sense of confidence only grew as we began to delve deep into the applications.

Shaifali is incredibly patient, very quick on her feet, amazingly sharp, and is somehow always able to magically give the best feedback based on the given situation. During our calls and also our email exchanges, I’m constantly bombarding her with questions, often with a lot of anxiety attached. She would answer those questions and alleviate my concerns one by one in a very straightforward manner, and I’m always left feeling assured after our correspondences, knowing exact what my next steps should be. Not only this, Shaifali also gives her feedback in a no-nonsense, straight-shooter type of way that doesn’t beat around the bush; trust me, when you’re juggling multiple essays (in addition to the all of the other aspects of the application) at a time, you just want to talk to someone who gets right to the point and tells you exactly what you need to work on. Shaifali’s feedback is always very actionable and provides a clear sense on how to proceed; I’ve never been left feeling stuck after a conversation or exchange with her!

Anyway, I could go on and on and on about what an amazing experience I’ve had working with Shaifali. For those who are considering working with an MBA consultant, I cannot recommend her enough! Thank you for all your help, Shaifali!

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As an international applicant from an overrepresented pool, I knew I wanted an admissions consultant by my side during the application process.
I set up introductory calls with multiple consultants and the call with Shaifali stood out to me for a few reasons:
1. I would be working directly with Shaifali at every stage
2. Our conversation was very clear and straightforward, with no frills
3. The call was not stressful and was largely focused on my background and goals

During our first few sessions after signing on, Shaifali spent time getting to know me and my short-term and long-term goals in more detail, in order to create a compelling application strategy. She laid out a schedule for the upcoming months and guided me while narrowing down my larger school list based on my profile. She also reviewed my resume and provided valuable feedback. This was particularly beneficial to me; coming from an engineering background, my resume was more technical and less business oriented. During the process, Shaifali helped me highlight important leadership areas and cut down the more technical sections.

I signed up for the Comprehensive Package for my 2 top schools. Once I had created initial versions of my essays, Shaifali reviewed them and provided feedback on how to articulate my thoughts better. We went through multiple iterations until I was happy with my application, which I was very grateful for. Additionally, Shaifali was very helpful during the interview preparation stage - she set up mock interview sessions with me and provided feedback on what areas of my answers to emphasize. Her in-depth knowledge on different schools and their programs really came through here.

I highly recommend Ivy Groupe. Shaifali gave clear advice, was very committed, and was very easy to talk to. Shaifali’s responsiveness also differentiates her from other consultants. I was able to reach out to her with questions anytime of the week and would get a prompt and detailed response.

The support I received during the application season was invaluable. Thanks to Shaifali and Ivy Groupe, I was able to get into my top school.

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I signed up for 30 minutes of free call and a paid hour-long essay review session with Shaifali. Free call service was very helpful as we used that time slot to understand whether we understand each other clearly and we can work together going forward.

During the call, Shaifali asked very well-structured introspective questions to understand my story. These questions were very useful for me when I started drafting my essay. Besides collecting initial information about my story, she also gave some high-level notes such as which parts of my story are worth to mention in detail, which parts are worth to keep short. The call was not stressful at all, and she sounded very appreciative and inspiring instead of critical of my thoughts.

Then once my essay draft was ready for her review, I sent her my essay via email. She reviewed my draft based on essay structure, sentence structure, clarity of thoughts, logical flow. She integrated her notes and follow-up questions which I used to later strategize for my final essay version.

I would recommend her hourly services. I highly suggest having at least some draft essay at hand before using the services to get the most out of paid service. That was what I did and it was quite helpful.

I think Shaifali's greatest strength is that she is an HBS alumna and has been preparing candidates for this school for years. She is a well-equipped person who speaks the HBS language.

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I took Shaifali's help for the HBS interview and have been extremely happy with the overall engagement.

It started with the initial outreach and proposal. I looked at some of the top consultants on GMAT Club and reached out to about five of them for interview prep help. All of them had nearly the same pricing levels -- but Shaifali's proposal was the most well-written, thoughtful, and comprehensive. Shaifali also mentioned that she would be personally helping me out with prep as opposed to having an associate of hers assist me (which was the case with all the other four consultants).

Shaifali's guidance through the interview prep process was invaluable. Her pre-mock interview session was constructive, where she gave me a lay of the land of how top B-school interviews work. I had also been struggling a bit with framing answers to a couple of fairly standard questions in my prep before I engaged the Ivy Groupe; Shaifali's inputs on those specific points were like that of a master coach's. She helped me make some adjustments, and I finally felt comfortable!

The mock interview was quite excellent too. She asked me a couple of oddball questions that threw me off guard, and the entire 30 minutes feedback session was excellent. Talking to Shaifali gave me 100% confidence in my actual interview.

I highly recommend Shaifali's consulting services to any interested candidates. It is a pleasure to work with a clear and polite coach.

Happy to have engaged the Ivy Groupe!

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