Being yourself is the most important job you’ll ever have

“I made a promise to never again hire an MBA consultant. I applied to B-school twice. The first time around, I utilized a consultant from a well-known, big name consulting company. I ended up getting dinged by every school I applied to, without an interview. Given the results, I followed up with my consultant and shared my disappointment with the service. What blew my mind was that my consultant refused to take ownership and framed the situation in a way where I was at fault.

Then came Charli.”

Despite his previous failures, “James” actually had a great story when we dug into it. He had a nontraditional background in education, but he had created tremendous impact at the places he had worked. And on top of that he had a very big vision for the future of education that was driving him to apply to business school in the first place. We knew the adcom would be just as inspired by him as we were if we could just get him to own his greatness and shine in the essays.

The first thing we had to do was get him to recalibrate his douche-o-meter – coming from an Asian culture, where modesty is emphasized, he was reluctant to even take private credit for his achievements, let alone to speak about them with any degree of power. We started with the MBA Resume Protocol, which helps all our clients transform their relationship to their own impact and speak like an executive about their achievements. But we needed to go further with James. We invested extra coaching to help him understand and frame his achievements in a way that he couldn’t deny that he had thus far made a huge difference in his field. And then we nudged him to speak up more at work – to stop self-deprecating and take more credit for his input – this required additional coaching beyond the norm. But it worked. He finally saw how great he was, and great essays followed.

We carried these lessons through the interview preparation, helping him get rid of tentative phrasing and upspeak at the end of his sentences. In his own words, we “helped to uncover my shining attributes and did an impeccable job of helping me formulate strong essays and preparing me for interviews without distorting my true voice.” And with our nudging, he made the very best Booth waitlist video we’ve ever seen. Booth knew it too, which is why they admitted him off the waitlist and gave him a hefty scholarship.

What were the results?

“This time around, I applied to seven schools and got six acceptances (M7 included). I also got multiple scholarship offers, including a full ride plus stipend for my top school! My perception of MBA consultants has changed. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe that there are a lot of bad consultants out there. But there are a few kick-ass consultants out there who will truly be invested in you and unlock your potential. Just a few. Charli is one of them.”

“When I started this process, I didn’t have a vision or any long-term goals. Our work together forced me to grow in places that I definitely needed but did not expect.

“Sophie” came to us in a terrible state (from an MBA application perspective). She had weak test scores (a 640 GMAT equivalent on the GRE) and no clear goals. Though she was working on some side projects, she had been unemployed for over a year. To top it off, she had no great candidates for recommenders.

We don’t reject candidates that have weaknesses. We only require our clients to have a social conscience: they have to care about making the world a better place somehow. Sophie cleared our bar, so we got to work and accepted the challenge.

We spent a lot of time clarifying her goals so that her career path going forward would inspire both her and the adcom. Then we helped her identify some real work experience she had been amassing for her family’s company without having initially considered it resume worthy. We found creative sources of recommendations: people who had known her well and observed her professionally, even though they were not her supervisors. Then we helped her build authentic stories around her values that really enabled her genuine character and big heart to shine through.

When interview time came, we were extra rigorous. Beyond the 8-hour Interview Hero training program, we held a few extra drills to ensure she was able to strike the balance in telling her story and addressing weaknesses in a transparent yet non-defensive way.

What were the results?

Sophie got into her top choice school (top 15 school) with a full ride scholarship and on top of that, she entered the program fully clear what she wants to do post-MBA. In her own words: “Now, thanks to our work, I’ve got my head on my shoulders, I’ve got a plan, and I’ve got a huge scholarship to my #1 choice MBA program!”

“I’m a porn star. Well, technically an adult fetish model, producer, and community leader. … I made the decision that I was going to choose to be “out” during the entire process. I didn’t want to lie to get in, and I didn’t want to live a lie at school, in constant fear of being discovered – especially when the thing I was hiding was something I’m actually quite proud of. So I decided I was going to need help, and was hoping to find someone brave enough and bold enough to take me on as a client.”

We’ve worked with clients with any number of weaknesses or quirks in their candidacy. But “Julie” really took the cake. And we were up for the challenge. We loved the idea of helping her construct an application that showcased this unconventional and decidedly un-MBA side of herself.

We knew there would be two keys to her success: Crushing her statistical metrics to obliterate any doubt on schools’ part that she could handle the work and telling the story of her porn career in a direct and inspiring way without pulling any punches.

Fortunately, Julie had a good GPA from a good school already and a 740 GMAT equivalent GRE. We coached her to take the GMAT instead of the GRE because we knew it would be worth extra points to the adcom, who was very rankings concerned.

Then we got to work on her story. It took more drafts than usual because we had to really help her strike the right tone – one that is earnest and forthcoming while still being professional and uplifting. Her journey to porn had been a very personal one, and we wanted to make sure the adcom understood the choices that had led her there. In the end, we were all extremely proud of her essays.

What were the results?

“I can say with all honesty and complete sincerity that if it weren’t for Angela, I would not have gotten in to any business school most likely, let alone my top choice (a top 15 program) with a prestigious fellowship, and a full ride to my third choice school.”

“After a 30-minute consultation with Angela, I was stunned by the accuracy with which she summarized my motivations, character, and potential. Other consultants took one look at my stats (3.1 GPA, mid-ranked public university, ~600 practice GMAT score) and either steered me towards 2nd & 3rd tier schools or ignored me altogether. Not so with the MRI of Souls.”

When we first talked to this candidate, we immediately saw his potential hidden in the details of his resume – a successful blog and public speaking career, extensive community political involvement, attempted entrepreneurial ventures, and an extensive background supporting diverse individuals in advancing their education. All that outside a fulltime career managing a factory floor with 100 direct reports.

Working methodically through every detail of his experience, we shaped essays that showcased his diversity and depth while speaking plainly about the many setbacks he had faced. He got is GMAT up to a 720 in the meantime.

What were the results?

“I was admitted to Harvard Business School – My dream program! I was also admitted to MIT Sloan with a Dean’s fellowship (1 ½ yrs tuition: ~ $107,000).”