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Michael’s analysis of the specific challenges of some of his former clients and how he addressed them with his Storyline Methodology to help them secure admission to their preferred schools.
Rejected by other consultants; Accepted at Harvard
GMAT: 680
GPA: 3.7
Industry: Entreprenuer
Work Ex: 6 years
Country: Thailand
Accepted at: HBS
“Joseph” was a client from Thailand. He had graduated from a small liberal arts college with a G.P.A. of only slightly above 3.0 and even this was boosted by his grades from his first two years at a community college. Furthermore, his GMAT score was below 700. When he came to me, he informed me that other consulting firms would not even take him as a client because they felt he had no chance to get accepted to Harvard Business School.
However, during my initial consultation with him, I disagreed. I could see how his work experience demonstrated true leadership, something that he didn’t know, but that I did because I have had clients with many different levels of experience. We talked at length and I made clear that although no one actually has a “good” chance at getting accepted to Harvard, I thought that he had some chance, IF his story were presented properly. I applied my storyline methodology and we worked hard that December in order to get his application submitted in time. He did in fact get accepted to Harvard Business School. Afterwards, he wrote a review on my Poets&Quants page.
Started a week before the deadline; Accepted at
MIT Sloan with Scholarship
GMAT: 750
GPA: 3.7
Industry: Finance
Work Ex: 4 years
Country: USA
Accepted at: MIT
"Christopher” was an American client who had excellent work experience in fund management but was in a hurry to complete his applications. As always, the single most important thing I worked on with him was determining a storyline that connected his previous experience with his future career plans.
However, the issue was time. We had no time to lose so we worked at a breakneck pace, meeting practically everyday. He was very diligent and quickly completed every assignment I gave him at every stage of the process which was necessary in order to submit his applications by deadline.
Writing the essays from scratch would probably not have been possible at that point. However, I determined that the existing framework of his essays lent itself well if we presented his storyline in a particular direction.
He was accepted to MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Afterwards, he wrote a review on my Poets&Quants page.
No Work Experience; Accepted at Yale
GRE: 324
GPA: 4.0
Industry: Nil
Work Ex: Nil
Country: Malaysia
Accepted at: Yale
"Aarifa” was a client from Malaysia. She was a senior in college and wanted to enter a Masters degree program immediately upon graduation instead of working for a few years first. This is actually very difficult and very rare. I therefore needed to review very thoroughly her academic interests and relate them carefully to a very specific career path. Since she had no years of professional experience yet, I could not apply the techniques that I normally would which involve great use of the most pertinent aspects of work to drive her storyline.
We also worked even more diligently than I normally would to scope a selection of schools that would even consider someone still in college, and which were very strong at the specific field in which she wanted to work.
She was accepted to Yale School of Management. Afterwards, she wrote a review on my Poets&Quants page.
Analyst with Less Work Experience; Accepted at Chicago Booth
GMAT: 750
GPA: 4.0
Industry: Consulting
Work Ex: 3 years
Country: Russia
Accepted at: Booth
"Alan” was a Russian client who was working in institutional finance. He had less work experience but excellent academics. Moreover, his storyline lacked cohesion.
The first thing I did was to encourage him to disregard what he had started and let me start at the very beginning. Some clients dislike this because they feel it would be time wasted, but I persuaded him that if we don’t do this, it would be like starting to drive to a distant location before we’ve set the GPS.
As we worked through the many aspects of this background, I eventually saw a way to relate his non-work, non-academic experience very specifically to what he wants to do in the future. After drawing this connection, we hammered away at all of the major points from his background on his essays.
He was accepted to University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Afterwards, he wrote a review on my Poets&Quants page.
Indian Techie ; Full Scholarship at NYU Stern
GMAT: 730
GPA: 4.0
Industry: Tech
Work Ex: 5 years
Country: India
Accepted at: NYU
Anushka had graduated from an Indian university and wanted an MBA from New York University to change careers into a technology related field.
The challenge was to create a storyline that establishes why she wants this career change and how it fits into her previous work experience. Knowing how highly admissions committees value applicants who have a clear idea of what they want to do with their MBA education and how they have developed their personal leadership abilities to bring them to a point where an MBA education would provide precisely what they’d need, I designed a storyline that emphasized the way in which individual parts of her past that would address this.
She got accepted to New York University and even received a full scholarship. Afterwards, she wrote a review on my Poets&Quants page.
Struggling with Interview Anxiety; Acing the Wharton Interview
GMAT: 750
GPA: 3.3
Industry: Tech
Work Ex: 5 years
Country: USA
Accepted at: Wharton
“James” was an American client who was working in technology. He wanted to move from the technical side to the business side but was concerned that he could not present his reasons why concisely.
He was particularly concerned that the interview process at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business might not give him the chance to highlight what he wanted to be known about himself. The biggest challenge in applying to Wharton’s MBA program is that their interview process is completely unlike any other business school’s. In fact it does not seem to be an interview at all. Actually, it is a group case study to be presented with five other applicants whom one would be meeting for the first time at the interview.
But not knowing the other interviewees does not mean one cannot prepare for the Wharton interview. I gathered five other clients who were applicants to Wharton and prepared them together for their respective interviews by taking the role of the interviewer/case study leader. I challenged each of them to be very active participants in the group case study, without monopolizing the allotted time and certainly without being arrogant. I taught them how to present one’s opinion without denigrating anyone else’s. More specifically, I taught them how to state factual reasons differently from expressing their own conclusions.
He was accepted to Wharton. Afterwards, he wrote a review on Poets&Quants page.
Low GPA & Average GMAT; Accepted at HBS
GMAT: 710
GPA: 3.3
Industry: Private Equity
Work Ex: 6 years
Country: USA
Accepted at: HBS
"Courtney” was a client from the United States. She was a top school but was very concerned about a critical part of the application process, the interview. She had been working with another consultant when she was directed to me for intensive preparation for her interview.
With Courtney, my task was first to ascertain which of her many interests would best comport her life’s storyline. To do this, I spent a considerable amount of time with her applying the Signature Strengths rubric from the field of Positive Psychology. I conducted multiple mock interview sessions using actual school interview questions, followed by detailed feedback on what she did well and how she can improve for each school. I threw every possible interview challenge at her because no one can know what to expect. I even pretended to be the most arrogant and mean interviewer I could imagine because even that is not impossible, although highly unlikely.
She was accepted to Harvard Business school. Afterwards, she wrote a review on my Poets&Quants page.
Overrepresented Industry; Accepted at Stanford GSB
GMAT: 730
GPA: 3.3
Industry: Finance
Work Ex: 4 years
Country: UK
Accepted at: GSB
"Joana” was an American client who was working in the field of finance. She wanted to make a major leap into an advanced niche in finance and knew she needed specific knowledge. She had already submitted her applications but was very concerned that she might not come across well in the very critical interview process for Stanford’s MBA program. So I drilled her like a drill sergeant would to soldiers in basic training. I threw every possible interview challenge at her because no one can know what to expect. I even pretended to be the most arrogant and mean interviewer I could imagine because even that is not impossible, although highly unlikely.
I truly wanted to over prepare her for her interview. She was accepted to Stanford's Graduate School of Business. Afterwards, he wrote a review on my Poets&Quants page.
Columbia Scholarship Doubled on Negotiation
GMAT: 730
GPA: 3.3
Industry: Finance
Work Ex: 6 years
Country: USA
Accepted at: Columbia
“Eric” was an American client who actually came to me AFTER the admissions process. Although he had been accepted, he was not happy with the scholarship they offered. After reviewing his original application and all his qualifications, I helped him to request a reconsideration of his scholarship. I taught him how to emphasize certain parts of background that would be most relevant for that specific scholarship. Also necessary was the need to keep the appeal very succinct because I knew the authorities would certainly not consider a lengthy one.
He received the scholarship he desired from Columbia Business School. Afterwards, he wrote a review on my Poets&Quants page.
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