Testimonials: Best. Decision. Ever
The verdict is out: clients love working with us. Hear from a few folks who consider hiring Angela to be the best decision they’d made to date in their careers.
Guido is the one!!!
To work with Angela Guido is to have an MRI performed on your soul.
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.
During our consultation, she saw right through my unimpressive stats and assured me that I was a strong and differentiated applicant for a top program, then provided evidence for this assertion by highlighting the strengths of my candidacy. Where other consultants were hesitant to provide too many details for free, Angela was generous: She gave me a specific GMAT goal, a short list of top schools with which she thought I was a fit, and guidance on when to apply, all during the FREE call. She was professional, affable, and direct. I knew that I had to work with her when, in one sentence, she summed up my post-MBA aspirations more precisely and succinctly than I had ever stated them myself – to her or anyone else, for that matter.
I was sold and signed up for a 3 school complete package. Given my budget, she assured me that after we worked together, I would understand the process and be able to complete additional applications on my own. We decided to work on Harvard Business School (HBS), Wharton, and a Master’s in Public Policy application at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) together. I applied on my own to MIT Sloan and Yale SOM.
It became clear how lucky I was to work with Angela during our first brainstorming call. She had me complete a lengthy questionnaire in advance – I was sure she would need me to clarify a few things, but I was wrong; She already had me completely figured out. She has this uncanny ability to channel the essence of who I am. She thought the way I thought. She understood my voice. She could articulate things about me that I hadn’t fully realized myself.
This was particularly useful in my case because I have an unusual amount of varied experiences in my background and needed help choosing the most persuasive stories to tell. She noticed this (of course) and identified several experiences in my life that were formative, interesting, or revealing. She then suggested a few different narrative arcs that I could use to tie those experiences together into an essay, and left me to my own devices to pump out a draft.
Working with Angela is wonderful, in part because she teaches you the process as you go through it. There is always an overarching strategy, and she will explain the tactics as she guides you through the process. She will not write anything for you, and because she knows what your best effort is, she will reject sloppy substitutions for your best work. The process is demanding, but it is a lot of fun. She roots for you. She’s in your corner. She pushes you in a direction that she knows will be authentic for you. She will give you a pep talk whenever you need one, and in the end you really want to make her proud.
I eventually got my GMAT score up to 720 and submitted all my applications in Round 1.
And 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). I was dinged without an interview at Wharton, Yale, and HKS.
HBS & Wharton were no surprise to Angela – She’d told me all along that I was a strong HBS fit but wasn’t the Wharton “type”. Yale made sense to me – I didn’t have a clear rationale to go there. HKS was a surprise, but it wasn’t our fault: The essay that she pushed me to write was a masterpiece. I could not have made a stronger case and never would have gone in that direction on my own. So if that application didn’t get me admitted, nothing could. I’m fine with that.
I’m sure that a number of consultants could have helped me get into HBS, but Angela Guido’s services stand out because in addition to helping me submit the strongest possible applications, she’s also given me a bonus gift: A deeper understanding of myself than I’ve ever had before. This self-awareness leads to incredible confidence and is a tremendous competitive advantage.
So for anyone out there who isn’t sure about Angela Guido, you should be. A 30-minute call with her two years ago changed my life forever. It just might change yours, too.
HBS STUDENT , APRIL 26, 2017 ON GMAT CLUB
An ode to Angela
When I first decided to apply to MBA programs, I had no idea how competitive I was, where I had a shot of getting in, or how high I should reach. While I had good stats (3.9 GPA from a top 20 liberal arts school, 760 GMAT), I worked in accounting for 3 years and I didn’t know how to differentiate myself from the other good applicants who were applying. I didn’t feel like I had a particularly interesting story. I was intrigued by the idea of hiring a consultant but, frankly, couldn’t fathom spending that much money only one year before I would be taking out upwards of 150K in student loans.
When I got an email from Angela inviting me to have a free 30-minute consult live in my city, I figured I had nothing to lose. I went in thinking that if a consultant would simply save me time – tell me things I could find online, save me calls to admissions offices, etc – edit my essays, and set a schedule for me, I would skip it. But if hiring one would actually increase my chances of getting in in ways that I could never do myself, then I would consider it.
Free Consult
In my 30-minute consult, Angela assessed my competitiveness at all the schools I was considering, helped me with my resume, told me I didn’t need to take the GMAT again (despite getting 70% Quant and 67% IR scores) and helped me with my “story” – my reason for going to business school and my post-MBA goals. I remember leaving that 30 minutes consult feeling already like she’d added incredible value to the process. I no longer had to stress about whether or not I should retake the GMAT or figuring out what schools I should apply to.
I realized that if I thought an MBA was worth the cost of tuition and opportunity cost of not working, it was definitely worth another $3.75K to have a consultant help me with one school. After all, applying to one school would mean perfecting my resume, my “story,” and, if I picked the right school, I’d probably be able to use the essays for other schools. So I decided to use Angela for one school.
My next dilemma was which schools to choose. I had decided to apply to Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton as reaches, Booth and Kellogg as fit schools, and Fuqua as a safety. And I couldn’t figure out which one hire Angela for. If I chose Harvard to increase my chances of getting in, I figured I could still end up rejected everywhere. If I chose a fit school, then I thought my chances at HBS/Stanford went out the window. If I was only going to get into my safety, then I thought it was worth using a consultant to see if I could get scholarship money. In the end, I decided if it was worth using her for one school, it was worth using her for all of the schools. And that $8K when compared to the cost of an MBA was a drop in the bucket, especially if I could get a scholarship that would make the consultant more than pay for itself.
Hiring Angela was the best investment I’ve ever made. I ended up with full tuition scholarships to Booth and Fuqua, a partial scholarship to Wharton, and admission into HBS. I’m not at all saying that I don’t deserve admission or scholarships at these schools, but I can say without a doubt that I would not have been this successful in my applications if I had not hired her.
One of the biggest values that Angela brought to the admissions process was making me realize how strong of a candidate I was. When I first spoke with her, I thought I was a weak candidate and that Booth/Kellogg would be a reach. I wasn’t even thinking of applying to HBS/Stanford. But Angela recognized aspects of my candidacy that made me exceptional and pushed me to be as successful as I could.
Essays
She knew what I needed to highlight in my applications. At the beginning of our work together, Angela and I had a long brainstorm session in which she got to know ALL of my stories, personal, professional, and from undergrad. Because of this, whenever we started working on a new essay, Angela was able to pull from my life stories to know how I should best answer the question. Throughout the process, I was amazed at the extent to which Angela was able to tie together stories from my life that I would not have pieced together. She was able to find themes that portrayed parts of me I hadn’t identified. For someone who believes she has lived a very normal life, I didn’t think I could put together an inspiring essay. But Angela got to know me well enough to find the things about me that would make me shine in the eyes of the adcoms.
As I wrote the essays, Angela pushed me to do what she knew I was capable of. We went through 12 versions of some essays. In the first versions, she would often tell me to scratch it and start over. While I’m a perfectionist and a hard worker, Angela pushed me farther than I could have pushed myself. She often asked for more insight into what I was thinking, what my motivation was, and what I learned in a way that helped me discover things about myself that I never would have learned without her. Also important to note is that my essays (and the rest of my application) were entirely my work. She asked questions and pushed me to success, but didn’t make direct edits or in any way embellish the truth. Still, looking at the end product, I couldn’t have written the essays on my own.
Interviews
When it came to interviews, Angela delivered a workshop for all her clients with a really novel and refreshing approach to interviews. Then for each individual school interview, she helped me feel thoroughly prepared. She not only helped me come up with answers to specific questions during mock interviews but more importantly, taught me a methodology for how to answer questions, so I would never be stumped. She built up my confidence, which is perhaps the most important part of an interview. She even sent me a youtube video of an interview with a movie star so I could learn by example how to show in an interview that I’m human without apologizing. She taught me how to highlight my strengths without sounding full of myself. These are lessons I will take with me and apply to future job interviews, and I have even begun coaching my colleagues based on what I have learned from Angela.
Overall
One of the most incredible things about working with Angela is that I always felt like I was her only client. One of my hesitations in hiring a consultant was the fear that they would give the same advice to everyone. Angela’s advice was completely tailored to me. She also responded to my emails sometimes instantly. Even when on her holiday vacation, she responded within a couple hours to any and every question I had. She could not have been more devoted or available.
Coming from an industry where we track the time spent on each client, I was also nervous that if I got a package, the consultant would cut corners and try to spend as little time with me as possible. But on the contrary, Angela went above and beyond to give her time and energy. She pushed me to write more drafts of essays. After I was accepted to schools, she initiated a call with me to discuss my thoughts and offer advice on where I should accept. After I visited schools for their accepted students events, she reached out to me to hear how they went. I truly feel like Angela cared about my success and in finding the best fit for me almost as much as I did. She was there every step of the way.
For me, as a type A perfectionist, working with Angela also considerably reduced the amount of stress and anxiety I felt during this whole process, largely because instead of worrying over details, I trusted Angela. While I had been freaking out over whether to retake the GMAT, Angela said no, so I didn’t give it another thought. There are countless questions that you will have during the application process, any of which could cause considerable doubt and anxiety. Working with Angela took all of that away. If she said to use story A instead of story B I said okay and moved on instead of second guessing myself. Angela’s fees were worth it if only because working with her during this year-long period made my life a lot easier.
I can’t express enough how valuable Angela was in this process. My friends can attest to this as I can’t count the number of times I said to them “I don’t know what I’d do without Angela.” I’ve raved so much about her to everyone I know that my friends have already referred their friends and colleagues to her.
So if I had to give those of you applying to business school one piece of advice, I would say hire a consultant, and hire Angela. The value you will get far outweighs the cost.
HBS STUDENT, FEBRUARY 25 | 2014 ON GMAT CLUB
Revamped and MBA Ready
I first met Angela Guido through a free thirty-minute consultation referral. I was skeptical of using a consultant for two reasons – I was unsure how helpful a consultant could actually be and hiring a consultant is expensive. Well, after the first thirty minutes Angela had revamped my entire resume, helped articulate my goals, and revised my list of target schools to include much tougher programs, all during the free consultation. In the end, I was accepted to both of the Top-10 programs that I applied to. It was the best money I’ve ever spent for all of the reasons below.
- To me, there was nothing particularly impressive about my background when I began the application process. I assumed I had mediocre “paper stats” including a 3.2 GPA from a relatively unknown undergrad business school and a 700 GMAT score. I also had six years of experience in a field that wasn’t particularly sexy to an adcom. Brainstorming with Angela helped me realize that I have an extremely unique set of experiences that make me a much more competitive applicant than I originally thought.
- Angela helped me utilize my personal and professional experiences in my application. Without Angela’s assistance, I would have completely overlooked my leadership experience with several volunteer organizations and personal experiences that helped mold my passions. Brainstorming with her allowed me to uncover valuable stories outside of just my professional experience.
- While some consultants may push applicants to apply to safer programs to boost their acceptance stats, Angela did just the opposite. I thought I had a very small chance of getting into a Top-10 program. I was going to apply to Kellogg as my stretch school with other target schools in the 10-25 ranking. She encouraged me to apply to Booth and Kellogg in R1 and to save the other schools for R2 if I need them. As a Chicago native, getting into local schools would be that much more challenging.
- No one in my personal network has gone to business school. My personal resources were limited when it came to application knowledge and advice. It was emotionally rewarding to have someone to call and ask all of the minor questions and encourage me throughout the process. Angela was incredibly vested in my process and application. She genuinely wanted to see me succeed. She was my first phone call when I got invited to interview and when I was accepted.
- Angela has mastered the art of storytelling. Applying to MBA programs is a unique process in which you have to show the adcom all of your impressive accomplishments without sounding like a braggart. This is incredibly challenging and quite easy to get wrong. Angela helped mold my story using my own voice. Some schools have cut back on word counts to where you now only have one main essay with others less than 200 words or even a PowerPoint presentation. It’s quite hard to communicate an entire story in less than 200 words.
- Each of my essays went through at least five drafts before being complete. One essay in particular went through about seven drafts and neither Angela nor I loved it because it was a bit dry and lacked my personality. We eventually scrapped it and started over from scratch using a completely different story. It turned out to be my favorite essay. It’s important to note that consultants should not do any of the work for you. They ask insightful questions to pull stories from your own experiences and edit the essay as many times as it needs, but it’s still your own stories and work in the application.
- Even after several drafts of each of the essays, Angela helped me to review the entire application as a whole to ensure a solid theme was communicated. After applying to several programs, it’s easy to overlook something that needs to be included with each application.
- It was also incredibly useful to have someone keep me on schedule to submit multiple applications in Round 1. Angela responded well before the allotted timeframe and helped to lay out an efficient timeline including all areas of the applications.
- Angela also helped me to formulate my long-term goals. When I began the application process, I knew that I wanted to do management consulting immediately after graduation, but I couldn’t articulate why or what I wanted to do afterwards. Based on my experience and interests, she helped me discover a realistic career path that has now become my elevator pitch for b-school. She gave me the confidence that my long-term dream is not only attainable, but I am already on a successful path to achieve it.
- Thanks to Angela, next fall I will be attending my dream school, Booth, which I wouldn’t have even applied to without her help or encouragement.
BOOTH STUDENT ON ADMISSIONS 411
Stop thinking and go for it!
If you’re thinking twice about working with Angela, my advice is to stop thinking and go for it!
Because I was a “non-traditional” applicant who started a nonprofit, I didn’t have a network of friends, colleagues, or mentors who had been through the MBA application process and who I could lean on for essay brainstorming/editing, interview prep, and just general moral support throughout the ups and downs of the process.
At the same time, I knew that exact non-traditional background was what made me a potentially unique and compelling candidate for business school. So initially, I was hesitant about working with an admissions consultant because I didn’t want to lose/dilute that and was afraid to be boxed into a cookie-cutter applicant.
Last summer, when I was first exploring the idea of working with a consultant, I set up free consultations with three MBA admissions consulting firms. My first two calls with the other firms (shall not to be named) were very disheartening. Without taking the time to listen or understand my background/story (they cut me off several times as I was speaking and made assumptions with very little basis), they essentially would not consider working with me because they thought I wasn’t a strong applicant due to the fact that I didn’t work at a big-name company (I started a nonprofit) and I was still in the process of taking the GMAT (and my practice scores were sub-par at the time.)
My conversation with Angela could not have been more different. She was energetic and optimistic but pragmatic and honest/frank––especially with my practice GMAT scores. But unlike the others, she took the time to ask questions and listen to my story. She didn’t write me off immediately and believed in my potential. (With her encouragement to push through and some one-on-one private GMAT tutoring with a test prep company, I eventually scored a 700+ right.)
With Angela, I ended up purchasing a 4-school package and applied to 3 other schools on my own during R1. I know 7 schools in R1 sounds crazy, but I had no idea what my chances were of getting into a top MBA program, so I didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket. By the time I had worked on 4 schools with Angela, the applications for the other three schools were a total breeze.
I cannot say enough good things about working with Angela. She is an incredible storyteller, but best part was that every single word in my essays was my own work and my own thoughts. If you’re looking for someone to do the work for you, Angela is not the person. She is a partner and facilitator in the process. She will take as much time as you need to help brainstorm essays, develop essay skeletons, and give you specific feedback to make your essays more compelling/cohesive, but at the end of the day, the essays will be a product of your own work––work that you’ll really be proud of! By the time I got to the interview stage, I had spent so much time thinking, reflecting, and talking through my story with Angela that the interviews ended up being effortless. I knew my story inside out and why business school was the perfect next step for me, so I was able to convey that with authentic/genuine enthusiasm to my interviewers, which I think ended up shining through.
Of the 7 schools I applied to (all top 10-12), I ended up getting admitting to 5 programs with almost $280K in scholarships, including a full-tuition scholarship to a M7 school! It’s truly unbelievable to not only be on the other side of the application process, but also have the opportunity to choose between these programs. I cannot thank Angela enough for her unwavering enthusiasm and partnership throughout the process. My brother is thinking about business school and, when he’s ready, I’ll be giving him my strongest sisterly advice to work with Angela as well
KELLOGG STUDENT, FEBRUARY 12 | 2017 ON GMAT CLUB
Angela Guido -- A consultant who really gets to know you!
Just like the title says, Angela is really somebody who cares about getting to know you as an applicant, and not just putting together a package that she thinks the Adcom wants to see. I've heard a number of horror stories of other applicants who used lesser consultants, and ended up with cookie-cutter applications that didn't really say who they were.
Angela's process started with a lengthy consultation and questionnaire. At first I was reluctant to fill another lengthy document on top of the application that I was about to embark on, but its value was very quickly apparent. After reviewing that document and through subsequent conversations, Angela really got to the core of who I was and what motivates me. Without Angela's guidance, I certainly would have taken a much more standard approach to my application, laying out accomplishments, career points, etc. With her help, my application was tailored to who I was, and my personality came through.
On top of her guidance through the essays, it was very comforting to have someone as experienced as Angela to bounce questions off of. Every little thought that you have on the application — even as trivial as what font should I use — she'll have good advice for, even if that advice is “”don't worry about that…seriously.
MBA ADMIT, JANUARY 28 | 2016 ON GMAT CLUB
Kept me on my toes!
As a marketing and branding nerd, I've always been fairly well in tune with how I've conveyed my personal brand. My resume has always been up to date, LinkedIn on point, and I've worked on creating value for others through my strong network. Or so I thought…
After an hour long consultation with Angela on my resume, I realized just how much work I had ahead of me. Even in that short time, Angela was able to challenge my thinking and get me to see the benefits of truly starting to break down my resume and build it back up — and as someone who is fairly headstrong, this is not an easy feat. She gave strategic advice on how to frame the resume and supported that feedback with some great tactics on how to ensure each bullet on the resume tells a story. I certainly saw the light by the end of the conversation!
Not only was this one-on-one advice incredibly helpful (my resume is in a MUCH better place), she has some ridiculously helpful documents to assist in the MBA process. The Explore Your Experiences document is something that has guided my entire MBA process and has even helped me realize area for personal + professional growth before even entering an MBA program. This document was a great thought starter, and I'm definitely referencing daily as I craft my essays now.
Finally – her essay advice was some of the most valuable guidance that I've received throughout the application process. She provides incredible guidance on how to ensure the essay conveys another facet of what makes a candidate a little more unique or interesting. Of the blogs, forums, webinars, I've seen so far – Angela's was far and away the most strategic, relevant, and insightful.
I honestly can't say enough about the support and guidance Angela has provided. She has an incredible knack for being able to challenge your thinking & assumptions, in the best way possible! I'm a huge fan and certainly grateful for the opportunity to learn from her!
FORTE MBA LAUNCHER JULY 20 | 2016 ON GMAT CLUB
Great experience with Angela
After reading so many good reviews & testimonies about Angela as an admission consultant, I wanted Angela to be my consultant. With her advice and company along my MBA journey, I want to say Angela really lives up to her great reputation.
- Angela helped me strengthen the overall quality of my application.
For those of you who comes from a non-traditional background like me and who don't have someone (or anyone, in my case) going through this MBA process, it's essential to hire a consultant to help you. That's the lesson I learned as a re-applicant. I'm very lucky to be Angela's client. She put into thoughts every aspect of my application and made sure my entire application came together. She pushed me and my recommenders to produce writings and ideas of the best quality. It's also important to have a well-rounded application that consists of so many aspect.
- Angela has great ideas and un-paralleled story-telling skills.
If you come from a quantitative background as I do, having Angela as your writing and story-telling coach will be really helpful. She can make dull stories shine. More importantly, she will perceive a life experience from an unique angle, which will connect your characteristics to those of a future MBA. She will also help clients show emotions. In one of our conversations, she pointed out the nature of my work and I had an ‘ah-ha' moment. This truly helped me interpret my value more clearly.
- She is very honest.
As mentioned by many other reviewers, Angela is honest about which schools are reach, stretch and safe for you. She's honest from the beginning to the end. After writing so many essays, I started to cut myself a little slack and she called me out on it. So trust her.
- She cares about her clients
When I was interviewing in Chicago, I had the pleasure to meet her in person. She was very kind to meet me over the weekend and helped me practice in person! That was much more than I expected!
And when she knew I was also applying to other schools, she gave me a few pointers about those schools.
In addition, she's so experience that her insights about business schools in general helped me land a huge fellowship from a top 15 school, which I'm going.
I Hope my review and testimony for Angela will help you in your MBA journey.
TOP 15 MBA STUDENT, 3/20/2016 ON GMAT CLUB
Seriously, the BEST in the biz. End of Story. *Drops Mic*
I worked with Angela Guido and was admitted to my top choice M7 school.
Finding the right consultant was not an easy process for me and I suffered through bad consultants and advice (wasting tons of precious time) before learning about Angela Guido.
The #1 thing I can advise you to do is to not work with a consultant unless you feel 100% about the following: 1) comfortable with your consultant 2) that he/she understands who you are and what story you need to tell 3) that he/she actually BELIEVES in you and makes you feel good (while still being logical/realistic) about yourself and your chances at your choice schools.
I spoke to a bunch of consultants in the beginning that did not tick those boxes and then I spoke to Angela and everything instantly got better – she ticked each and every box.
She has you fill out a document that details every single story, accomplishment, job, and experience that you can think of that might be interesting or feature in your application process in some way. I appreciated that they encouraged me to say as much as I could and in doing so, I felt that I was able to really show Angela who I am.
From our first brainstorming conversation, I knew that she had read through and considered my thoughts and words carefully. She records the initial in depth conversations so that you can listen to them after and not worry about missing any of her thoughts or advice. I listened to the first recording with my parents and after listening, my mother immediately smiled and said to me, “”Wow, she really gets you.””
Is applying to business school stressful? Yes, it is. But is is 100% better when you have someone knowledgeable that you trust and someone who believes in you and is firmly in your corner and available throughout the process. For me, that person was Angela. Instead of feeling forlorn and depressed every time I looked at an application or essay, speaking to Angela actually made me feel better/more sure about things and helped keep me confident in my chances and abilities.
No matter what, applying to bschool is work and you HAVE to put in the time and effort in your application and the GMAT if you want to succeed, but if I had to do it all over again, the only change I would make is signing up with Angela sooner.
M7 MBA ADMIT, FEB 21 2017 ON GMAT CLUB
Angela got me into my dream school!!!!
I worked with Angela this year and I have to say my experience was an EXCELLENT one!! I’m extremely happy with both the result and the process!
My background is 3.10 GPA / 710 GMAT / 3 years of work experience in a field that is not common for MBA applicants. I wasn’t one of those typical superstars on paper and to be honest, before I worked with Angela, I wasn’t confident about (and sort of intimidated by) getting into top schools. But I had big passion for my professional dream and for getting into my dream school!!
Angela did a tremendous job of guiding me to realize what is unique about me and express my uniqueness and passion through every aspect of my applications. Honestly, I don’t think I could have gotten into my dream school (Johnson at Cornell Univ.) if it wasn’t for Angela!
Here are some highlights of why I think Angela was GREAT!
-Angela REALLY cared about my success!
I wanted to work with a consultant who I can truly trust and who cares about me getting in to my dream school. With Angela, I never felt like it’s a business, but I really felt like we were a team!! From the initial free consultation, she focused on making sure that we’re a good match. She even introduced me to a couple of other consultants to compare and made sure that I was comfortable making this commitment. Throughout the process, she was very generous with her time, and she was there every time I needed support and expert advice, and she took time to reply to tons of my crazy paranoid questions! (She replied very quickly. Sometimes within 10 minutes..!)
On top of that, Angela’s personality was just amazing! While I was on 4 months painful wait list, I was almost giving up… but Angela never gave up and kept encouraging me to fight till the end!! I kept sending updates to the school and I got accepted after a long wait!!!
-Expert in story telling!!
Angela was amazing at helping me see my unique stories and tell them in absolutely effective way.
We did very thorough brainstorming sessions (both general and school specific) for my stories. During the session, Angela asked many profound questions about my life events and as I thought hard of answers to those questions and we discussed them, I started clearly seeing MY STORY of upbringing, passion, goals, setbacks, why MBA, and why now, and my story became very cohesive and it just made sense. If there were any fluffs or BS in an essay, Angela didn't hesitate to point out and asked more questions to help me clarify. Every word and every sentence in my essays became well though of and very clear. By the time I applied, I was really confident and excited about my story and application! The process of brainstorming was very rewarding; Angela helped me REALLY get to know myself in depth, owe my own success, define what is unique about me, clarify my goals, and above all be confident about talking about myself and my story!
-Expert in admission process!
I had 100% trust in her expertise and I knew following her guidance and advice would give me a great result! I was placed on a waitlist (which had 10% conversion rate to admit last year) and it was very critical for me to have a strategic wait list plan. Angela gave me a guidance of what admission officers were looking for and what additional materials (some of the ideas were just outside of box that I couldn't have thought of by myself!) to send and when to send them. I followed her guidance and I did get off the list after 4 months!! Stressful waitlist process was manageable thanks to her!!
These are just a few examples but Angela truly had such a great impact on my life and I cannot thank her enough for her service!! I STRONGLY recommend her to anyone, especially for those who not only really want to get into their dream schools but ALSO want to get the most out of this application journey!! Now, looking back, I absolutely enjoyed this process and learned so much all thanks to Angela! It was a GREAT Investment!!!
CORNELL MBA MAY 22, 2013 ON GMAT CLUB
The investment was certainly worthwhile
I decided to use a consultant given the aggressive timelines I was facing. In hindsight, it's without question the upfront investment was worthwhile as I was not only admitted to four schools but also received substantial scholarships at all of them. My personal consultant was Angela Guido. I found her to be extremely personable and highly effective. She clearly has an expertise in communication and was able to guide me in conveying myself distinctively, in the strongest light. While I didn't use her service for all my applications, the recommendations she provided were highly transferable and I was able to leverage many of her ideas in essays which I wrote without guidance. Additionally, Angela was also very accommodating. In parallel to working on my applications, I was also relocating abroad for work. Angela was flexible in arranging conference calls at times that
COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENT ON ADMISSIONS 411
Angela is Amazing!!
Out celebrating after receiving my first acceptance, my skeptical husband says out of the blue “Angela was the best investment you made – you really could not have done this without her”. That is absolutely true.
I didn’t give myself the luxury of time when applying to school. While I was fairly confident in my candidacy, I needed guidance on the process so I could get through it as efficiently as possible. Enter Angela. She delivered on this and more.
Starting from our first conversation through my decision, her enthusiasm and support was unwavering. She took the time to get to know me and dig deep into what is important to me. Even across continents at times, she was clear I was a priority, set expectations, and always delivered (and quickly!). From day one, I knew she was fully invested in helping me be successful.
Before I even started writing, Angela helped me brainstorm my stories. While I thought each story was disparate and unrelated, she drew connections among my experiences and helped me weave them together into compelling essays. She also provided actionable, honest, and direct feedback. Initially, I was writing what I thought the admissions committees wanted to hear, but Angela quickly spotted this and coached me to write about what truly mattered to me. She then helped me connect this to each particular school. When my writing was too business like – dry, boring, and overly analytical – she let me know and helped me find a tone that demonstrated my personality.
Angela will go out of her way to support you through every step of the process. When one of my essays flopped multiple times, we were no sooner on the phone starting from scratch again just days before the deadline. When I was torn between two schools we were back on the phone walking through the decision together. Angela puts you at the center and truly tailors the process to your needs and what will make you as an individual successful.
I am pleased to say that I received an interview at all the schools I applied to and was accepted into Wharton, Sloan, and Tuck. Angela was an incredible partner on this journey, and I know I could not have done it without her!
WHARTON, MIT, AND TUCK ADMIT, MAY 06 | 2014 ON GMAT CLUB
Angela is invaluable!
I did a lot of research, and set up consultations with several companies. After talking with Angela, I not only realized the value of consulting services but also realized that she was the best in the business. I am convinced that without Angela, I would not have seen even close to the same level of success in the business school application process. As a nontraditional applicant, I was really unsure of how I would fare in the business school process. I presented my list, and the fact that I am applying with my fiance, to Angela and she was honest that I had a great chance of getting into at least one of my 7 schools, but that they are all extremely competitive. I appreciated her no-nonsense style because I felt it was born of out her great level of expertise. I applied to HBS, Stanford, Haas, Sloan, Ross, Tuck, Kellogg, and Booth. I ended up getting into Tuck (both admitted), Booth (both), Kellogg (both), Ross and waitlisted at Sloan (both). After a long deliberation, we ended up selecting Kellogg.
Angela's guidance was amazing. She structured a process that forced me to be very disciplined and efficient in my work, but still confident and proud of the applications that I submitted. Furthermore, I felt like my essays were authentic representations of who I am; they felt very much mine. Angela helped me to achieve this by probing my thinking and helping me down what ultimately became an emotional journey. The best of example of this was my Stanford essay. While I did not get into Stanford, the process of writing the, “what matters most to you and why” essay helped me to process important people and events in my life in a way that made all of the subsequent essays that I wrote so much better. I guess you could say that there were my before Stanford essays and my post Stanford essays. My first few drafts felt disconnected and were a strange mix of intensity and saccharin. Angela suggested that I talk with friends and family and ask them what they think matters most to me and why. This resulted in a tearful conversation with my sister that gave me the “aha” moment that made my Stanford essay one of the most important things I have written in my lifetime.
In short, I felt Angela not only invested in my application process but also that she was invested in me as a person. I trusted her completely as a thought-partner — she managed to be objective and straightforward in her feedback, while also offering insights that I would not have identified on my own.
I still feel that I have not done Angela justice for how amazing she is. I will always be thankful for her guidance, not only because of the business school that I will be attending, but also because of the growth I experienced while working with her. Suffice it to say that I would absolutely recommend Angela as an admissions consultant!!
KELLOGG MBA ON ADMISSIONS 411
Angela is invaluable!
Angela Guido is a rockstar! I was accepted to both HBS and GSB … with a somewhat average GMAT score. Angela went well beyond mere essay editing and helped me think about storytelling and application strategy. I was initially skeptical about using a consultant (I didn't for my undergrad), but I now stand corrected. Angela is a Booth grad herself, and is well versed in the ins-and-outs of b-school admissions. When deadlines came up, she dropped everything to provide me with feedback and assistance in time for my close-call submissions. You won't go wrong with Angela.
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL AND STANFORD GSB ADMIT ON ADMISSIONS 411
Angela Guido: Honest Feedback, Personalized Approach, and a Great Investment
I took a very rigorous approach in choosing the consultant I wanted to work with. I emailed most all the top firms, and few individual consultants that came recommended from my network or online reviews. In closing, I probably held about 8 informational interviews. I was fairly ready to go with another consultant, but my last call was with Angela, and I couldn’t be more grateful that was the case.
It’s easy to get sold on some other consultancies. I spoke to former admissions committee members at GSB and Wharton, and although I don’t doubt they are extremely competent, the value in an admissions consultant is derived less from their past experience and more from their ability to understand where you’ve come from, where you are now, where you want to go, and how to weave all that together in a personalized brand and story – in short, an ability to connect with you. Luckily, Angela is one of the best story tellers out there.
After five minutes of speaking to Angela it was clear that she was a foot more empathetic, understanding, and interested in my background and story than the other’s I had spoken to. But what most impressed me was the rigor with which she questioned my goals, my strategy, and my motives. You will speak to plenty of “yes people” during this process who tell you how great your profile is and how they can definitely get you into some top programs. Angela was clearly more interested in me as a candidate than having my business, as evidenced by the honest and direct manner with which Angela evaluated my application. This inspired me to work harder, have a greater understanding of myself, and not settle for an essay I wrote that was “good enough.” I can only speak for my experience with Angela, but I suspect she pushes, challenges, and is more direct with her clients than others, which is something I wanted. I suspect there are many admissions consultants who will let an average or good idea slip through to the final application – Angela is not one of those people.
After giving Angela an idea of my story and strategy for the applications, Angela made some crucial tweaks, additions, and omissions that were necessary to get the best information across with the limited word count we are all constricted to. As a disclaimer, none of these accredited firms are going to write your essays for you – that’s not how it works, or how it should work. As expected, these essays were written by me. But Angela’s thought process, guidance, insight, and challenging line of questioning pushed all my stories in a better, or different, direction that didn’t resemble my original drafts – in content, polish, effectiveness, and tone. One specific example stands out which highlights how connected Angela is to her client’s work. We had gone through about four drafts of an essay for a school that was one of my top choices. Although it was a relevant and insightful story, that may well have been good enough, Angela told me we had to scrap it and start over with a new idea. At first I was concerned that we were changing directions with three weeks until the deadline, but upon reflection I agreed – the essay just wasn’t great, and wasn’t going to ever be great because the experience I was writing about just didn’t mean that much to me. To this day I am grateful that Angela pushed me from “good to great,” as the next draft was infinitely more personal and relevant, and I was accepted into the school for which the essay was written.
Overall, I was very pleased with the results. I consider myself a “unique” candidate, as I worked a very different job right out of undergrad (it wasn’t even in the business field) and I had a GPA that was well below the average for all the schools I applied to (although I was a business major). A 730 on the GMAT probably helped my chances, but I definitely needed help in bringing my story together. I basically applied to all schools in the M7 except for MIT, Columbia, and Wharton, and then Stern as well. I got into Kellogg and Stern, and will be attending Kellogg in the fall.
KELLOGG AND STERN ADMIT, APRIL 09 | 2015 ON GMAT CLUB
So thankful to have worked with Angela Guido!
Initially, I approached Angela as a career coach, not an MBA admissions consultant. My existing job was coming to an end, and I needed to figure out my next career move. The problem was that I had no idea what I wanted to do. An MBA was appealing, but I thought my situation was too complicated for me to get into a top program, since I was about to leave my job. For this reason, I wanted Angela to help me gain some personal clarity and navigate the job search.
My first assignment was to fill out a document that captured my accomplishments, failures, preferences, etc. and I exhaustively completed it. I wrote a ton and provided a bunch of supporting documents from performance reviews to journal entries to personality assessments. I totally overloaded Angela with information about me and needed her to help make sense of it all and find themes. In fact, I was desperate for thoughtful feedback. I had hit a wall personally and professionally and had been searching for answers to no avail.
A few takeaways from Angela’s response.
- Her observations resonated with me and were really insightful. She saw themes and characteristics that I couldn’t articulate. Even now, I frequently reference her comments as I continue to think about my personal brand.
- She read and went through everything I sent, even the stuff I told her not to worry about; this was significant because of how much stuff I sent her. On our debriefing call, she made reference to a random and minor comment I made in one of my “exhibits.” I was pleasantly surprised by her attention to detail and thoroughness. It demonstrated a true commitment to helping me.
- She told me that nothing was wrong with me and that I had a lot of great qualities. She was enthusiastic about what I brought to the table and incredibly optimistic about the next phase of my career. I needed to hear this, and I needed someone to genuinely believe in me. While I would like to attribute this connection to how special I am, it’s more appropriate to acknowledge how adept Angela is at finding the awesomeness that lies in everyone.
- She thought I would be a great candidate for a top business school, even if I applied while unemployed. In fact, she encouraged me to apply if that’s what I wanted. I don’t think I would have gotten similar encouragement and enthusiasm from other coaches/consultants.
I decided to apply to MBA programs, and Angela became my admissions consultant. Below are a few highlights from this experience.
- I didn’t know how to tell a compelling story in light of being unemployed. How should I spend my time off to enhance my application? What do I tell school representatives about my job when I visit? Should I write an optional essay, and if so, how should I approach it? In my interviews, how do I frame my unemployment status and what’s the right spin to put on it? We were constantly talking about these questions because I needed a lot of help controlling the narrative. With her assistance, I was able to get in front of the questions that I was scared of getting and do so in a manner that captured my own voice and followed the “formula” for application success.
- She really got to know me well. At times, I felt like she knew me better than I knew myself. For one essay in particular, the topic she suggested was the perfect direction for me to take and one that I wouldn’t have thought about on my own. It encapsulated a theme that is core to what I’m about, enabling me to highlight several unique experiences. That topic was meant for me and only me.
- Career coaching/application consulting is what she does. It’s her full time gig, and she’s approaching it with a fresh perspective that intertwines how we connect with others and how we tell a good story. I really appreciated this type of thoughtfulness and her level of expertise.
- She went well beyond just helping me with application deliverables and proved to be the ultimate sounding board. I had a lot of questions and needed a lot of guidance and encouragement (encouragement about my profile, the GMAT, and the schools that I should apply to). I was a high maintenance client, but she always exceeded my expectations. I couldn’t have done without her.
DARDEN STUDENT AND SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT, JUNE 28 | 2016 ON GMAT CLUB
Highly recommend Angela!!
Of all the consultants i had researched, i felt that no one other than Angela had such positive reviews and client feedback history on various online forums, including GMATClub, spanning several years.
Once i signed up and had Angela as my consultant, she sent over a very thorough brainstorming document which took me more than one entire day to fill out. It forced me to think about EVERYTHING that has happened in my life so far, which was great because it helped me build a clear and concise picture of why i want to really pursue an MBA and several schools' essay questions themselves were answered through stories narrated within the document. We scheduled our first call and discussed the strategy for which 4 schools i would work with her on. We chose Stanford, MIT, Wharton & Booth.
Before we started on a school, i tried restructuring my resume from a coding/technical-jargon filled page to a more business school resume and sent it to her for review. She came back with several important highlights and indicators as to where i need to put more content or expand on a bullet more to show impact/result. In the meantime, we also discussed our strategy for the first school and i got to work on the essays as well so that i wasn't idle while she was reviewing the resume. I really liked this tandem work ethic because we were both then working on a document without wasting any time in between and it carried on till we were done with all the schools.
Six reviews of the resume later, after we couldn't identify any bullet/heading/formatting to improve on, my resume looked completely different than what it was to start off with. It presented my achievements and the results/impact that i've had in a very succinct and meaningful manner and in which i definitely could see how it was much better for business schools than what i had been able to do on my own. We went through a similar number of reviews for each essay and also reviewed the short answer questions within the schools' online application forms.
For each of the schools that we worked on we would schedule a call to discuss what the general strategy should be for me to answer the question properly and what stories about me i should definitely mention in the essay. Angela also answered any questions i had regarding any parts of the application from the schools we were not working together on. There was no doubt that she was definitely concerned about my outcome; apart from answering all my questions she highly recommended applying to a safety school myself as a back up several times since i was applying to only M7 schools. When the deadlines got closer she would even reply to any questions and even send back essays over the weekend even though she didn't have to as per the contract.
When i got an interview invite from MIT she coached me through the interview process, conducting a mock interview, giving me suggestions on structuring my thoughts and what to ask at the end. She also shared with me a list of questions other clients had been asked so far in the interview process this season.
When i finally got an admit to MIT i couldn't have been more thankful and relieved. All of a sudden my initial hesitation to spend so much money on a consultant seemed totally worth it. Without Angela's expert opinions, suggestions and coaching i don't think i would have had as good a chance to get into my dream school. Even though i didn't make it to the other 3 schools i worked with Angela on, looking back i now realize the importance of ‘fit'. While i was researching the application process, i had heard of how important ‘fit' is and how each school had a distinct culture but i didn't think much of it until i actually interviewed at MIT and met people there and saw how much i can relate to them. I feel i got into MIT because of my personal story and how much more it identifies with MIT's culture as compared to other schools and Angela was instrumental in bringing that out in me.
I would highly recommend Angela Guido if you're looking to apply to business school and hire a consultant. Its great to have someone with several years of experience reviewing your work and guiding you during such a crucial stage of your career.
MIT SLOAN ADMIT, JANUARY 27 | 2015 ON GMAT CLUB
Angela is Incredible
First, I will start by saying that I was a humanities major and definitely a nontraditional candidate. I couldn't decide whether or not I wanted to hire a consultant, and I'm SO glad I did, and I'm SO glad I went with Angela, in particular. She really lives up to all of the amazing testimonials, and I'm positive I wouldn't have gotten into my first choice school (M7) without her help.
Angela was outstanding at both helping me figure out who I was and what was important to me. While I had a sense of these things, Angela really helped me hone my sense of myself, then craft a compelling narrative that conveyed that information. She had a unique skill for simultaneously understanding what made me different, as a nontraditional student, as well as what aspects of my job and extracurriculars would be applicable to a business career. She also helped me hyperfocus on my goals, and what I wanted. Especially as a career switcher, I wasn't sure exactly what area of marketing I'd like to explore in school, but she forced me to really think about what I wanted for my future and to convey that quickly and effectively.
I was so impressed by how deeply knowledgeable Angela was about the admissions process, and about each school's wants/needs. She had an incredibly nuanced understanding of what each school was looking for, and helped me shape targeted essays. We worked on essays for three different schools, and each of those collection of essays highlighted different strengths and facets of my personality. She never pushed me to be someone else, or to say what the schools wanted to hear–rather, she helped me understand how I would fit into each school's culture, and how to express that clearly and concisely to each school. My essays would never have been as targeted, focused, or relevant without Angela's guidance.
Throughout the process, she was very honest about my strengths and weaknesses. For example, I had a free consultation with a different consultant, who said my GMAT score wouldn't be a problem and I wouldn't need to retake the test. However, Angela took a closer look at my score (which skewed heavily in favor of verbal), and told me that it was in my best interest to get my quant score up, as it would be a stumbling block at the top schools. This sort of honesty and critical analysis of my application was ESSENTIAL in my understanding where I was strong, where I was weak, and where I needed to devote my energies to present the best application possible.
I also have to say that Angela was just a joy to work with, as a person. She was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, clear-headed, friendly, and extremely responsive. It was so easy to get a hold of her, even when it was for a brief question, or when I needed someone to talk me down from a minor panic.
COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENT, APRIL 11 | 2016 ON GMAT CLUB
Without invaluable Angela, I would have never suceeded!
Last fall and winter, I worked with Angela Guido on business school admissions and it was amazing. Without her, I certainly would not have gotten into Kellogg, Booth, Sloan, Tuck, and Ross. Over time, I went from seeing her as an admissions consultant to a mentor, coach, and friend. Although I am no longer a client, Angela and I have kept in touch. We've gotten coffee, and from time to time, she'll send me e-mails on things she knows I'm interested in. I'm now at Kellogg (and loving it) and have interviews with McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Booz, and Parthenon next week. I reached out to Angela for case prep help because I'd remembered that Angela had been at BCG for several years, and used to run BCG case and interview coaching at various business schools. Furthermore, she already knew so much about my strengths, weaknesses, and how I best receive feedback. The time I spent with her was INVALUABLE.
BOOTH STUDENT, ON ADMISSIONS 411
A comprehensive review of Angela Guido - In short, Great!
It is long past due for me to do this review. First, I want to thank you, Angela, for the exceptional job that you did with me. I would not have been accepted at 3 top business schools if it weren’t for you. Also, I wish you the best of luck with Career Protocol!
BEFORE I START, SOME CONTEXT. I am 33 years old from South America with a solid career at small investment management companies. I started early (May), had a solid gmat score (740) but due to my age, I knew this would be my only and last shot at business schools. Career wise, I wanted to keep working in finance and stay in America after my MBA. I did the full package for 5 schools with Angela and applied to another 3 on my own (all on R1).
WHY ANGELA? She had great reviews, but I am a thorough person. I talked with about 5 consultants, all from top firms and with great reviews. Angela was the one that I felt most confident about. She really knew all the schools, had a great insight into the reality about employment of the programs and we had a great chemistry. I am sure all the other consultants were great, but I know Angela was the right choice and I don’t regret, not even for a second, choosing her.
THE FIRST GREAT FEATURE – She really knows the employability of each program. I think that most of the employment statistics provided by business schools are bogus. There is industry and region bias and people might be employed at second tier jobs or companies. Do you really believe that a top 20 BS is better than HBS because HBS has only 90% of its students employed upon graduation? Well, I don’t and neither does Angela. Our first task together was to narrow my 15 schools list to about half of that and also pick the 5 that made more sense working together. She really knew which programs were doing great and which were struggling to get jobs for their students. It was like I was working with someone from the inside! We also discussed a lot about the career path that made more sense given my goals. The MBA consulting came with a bonus of career counseling! She made me realize that PE was not a go way to go for an international to stay in the US. After putting all together, we decided on HBS, Booth, Kellogg, Tuck, Duke, Wharton, MIT and UCLA. The first five I worked with her.
THE HARSH TRUTH. It was early June and we were excited to start working on the essays. We were already done with the Brainstorming, which turned out great and full of stories, and were very advanced on my resume. My original Resume really stunk. It was very bad! LOL. Angela had a tough job there, but it became a masterpiece. I am so proud of it that I am thinking of framing it! Back then, only very few schools had they essay out. We started working on HBS (the dream and reach school). The first essay was terrible! The second, worst! Angela kept returning my essays with honest comments about them. After five bad essays, we decided to take a break and go back to the drawing board. She taught me the concept of a narrative. Tell the story, show the facts, be specific, but not so much that you can be concise, which I am not being here, and not turn boring. Also, she demanded me to take another look at the material she had sent to me. Advice: read everything carefully and pay attention to the structure of the examples. Angela does what a great consultant should do. She will tell will the truth, teach you how to overcome the problem and will not let you deliver anything short of a great work.
THE GREAT TALENT. Angela is the best writer I have ever seen. She could really spin any fact that I told her in a perfectly told story. It is amazing how she does it on the spot and had I had that talent, my life would have been so much easier. Well I don’t have the talent, but I was fortunate to have Angela as my consultant. She guided me on the right direction in a way that I was able to tell my stories and at the same time the essay were compelling and resonated with the AdCom. After the HBS fiasco and of a round of advising, we decided to move on to Tuck. I nailed it on the very first draft! Her counseling really stuck and that essay was so compelling that became the base for at least another 3 different business school. Angela really taught me how to write a perfect essay.
THE ESSAYS (in order of writing). HBS – Took me 13 drafts. I only started getting right on the 11th. The final draft made my wife literally cry. TUCK – Nailed both on the 1st draft but after minor reviews they were ready in 3 drafts. DUKE – About 5 drafts each. KELLOGG – 3 drafts each. BOOTH – 5 drafts to what, I am quoting here, became the best essay Angela had seen for Chicago that year. MIT – 2 drafts. WHARTON – 5 drafts. UCLA – 5 drafts.
SOME OTHER QUALITIES. Besides the career and essay insights that were fantastic, I really enjoyed working with Angela. Not only me. In fact, my wife participated all the way in the business school applications. She was with us from the first to the last call. She read every single essay and short answer. Angela embraced her all the way in the process, as if she was the one applying. Even though she was in Europe and we in South America, we had little trouble in arranging calls to discuss essays and strategies. I sent her a huge amount of work every week (I must have been her most frenetic client) and she handled it beautifully. The interview prep material and the mock interviews were extremely helpful. She was even a shoulder to “cry” on, when everything seemed to be falling apart. The first five schools to release their decision dinged me, including Duke that I was certain to get in. She asked some friend to review my stuff to check for inconsistencies and problems, which they didn’t, and she gave me advices on how to proceed for R2.
THE FINAL RESULT. I got invited to 5 interviews (Booth, Kellogg, Tuck, Duke and UCLA). Booth suggested me to pursue their executive MBA. I got accepted to Kellogg, Tuck and UCLA. I also got 70K in scholarship from UCLA and an additional 30K from an UCLA Alumni Society.
GRATITUTE. I want to one more time thank Angela for her work. I had 2 weaknesses on my profile. I had always worked at smaller non mainstream firms and I was on the verge of being too old to be an MBA applicant. I would not have passed to any of these schools if it weren’t for her. Instead, I got much more than I was hoping for.
If anyone has any questions, just PM me.
Sincerely,
GUILHERME KOBYLKO, UCLA MBA, APRIL 19 | 2016 ON GMAT CLUB
The best experience with my consultant Angela Guido
Where do I start…
Could I have applied to an MBA program without the help of a consultant? Probably.
Would I have gotten the same results? Probably not.
Personally, I struggled to get a decent GMAT score. I am talking tons of courses/books/hours of studying. It took me years to finally break 700. So I wanted the application process to go as smoothly as possible because I spent so much time getting the score I wanted. Like many of you reading this, I spent hours sifting through the reviews of the different consultants and consulting companies. I spoke with someone from Stacy Blackman (the person I spoke with was not very pleasant) as well as many local consulting companies. I was most excited to speak with Angela Guido since I had read so many great reviews about her on GMAT club, and I knew after our 30 minutes conversation she would be the one.
Angela helped me decide which of the five M7 schools to apply to.
Once you commit to working with Angela, she sends you a brainstorming doc. This document really makes you take a HUGE step back and reassess everything that has happened in your life. People say the business school application requires a lot of self-reflection and it is true. The process helps you assess where your life has been and where you see it going. After answering all the questions in the doc, I thought that I had a pretty uneventful life. How in the world was I going to write a creative essay to get me into a top MBA program? The funny thing is that each and every one of us has an interesting story to tell because we are different, we just don't realize it. Through phone calls with Angela, I realized that I have some really unique stories to tell that I never would have considered writing about. Angela listens to your life story and then pauses and zooms in on those events in your life that can be excellent essay material. She is absolutely brilliant. Then we went through a strategy and brainstorming session for each school. You can read about the process in other people’s review.
Then I waited anxiously. I got an interview with 4 of the 5 schools and she was diligent in helping me prep for all my interviews.
Let me just say that through the application and interview process, I sent one too many emails about different questions I had on my mind. Angela was always quick to respond to my email or jump on the phone to calm my nerves. She was sincerely with me every step of the way, celebrating the good times and helping me through the stressful times.
When I got accepted into 2 of the schools and waitlisted at 1, I was ECSTATIC! I got $$ from one school, and no money from another. Angela and I exchanged several emails and calls about what the best options were for me and my career goals. She also started her company MBA Career Coaches so she knows what she’s talking about. At the end of the day, we decided that the school I got no money from was the school for me. She was able to coach me in my conversations with the admissions staff and I was successfully able to negotiate $$ from the other school, ***nearly $100,000 from a top 5 school!!!***
Initially, I knew this was going to be a heavy financial investment on my part. Having gone through it all, it was worth every penny, especially since she helped me secure a hefty financial package from a top 5 school! I don’t know how I could have done this without her. Angela is a rockstar and there is a reason she has the most reviews on GMATCLUB. Personally, I am not one to write reviews on anything or anyone, but I will for Angela. She is that good.
If you are looking for someone to spoon-feed you or write your essays, look somewhere else. She will guide you and work with you, but you will have to pull your weight. The dynamic and pace of the relationship is highly dependent on you, the applicant. If you are indeed set on working with a consultant, there is no better person than Angela.
BOOTH MBA, APRIL 21 | 2015 ON GMAT CLUB
Angela Guido - All-In-One
To set the scene: It was mid-October. I had just taken the GMAT for the first time and was uninterested in repeating the ordeal. I had not yet opened an application much less determined to which schools I would apply. I also had neither a resume nor a solid narrative as to exactly why I needed to attend business school, yet I was adamant about applying in Round 2 – some 10 weeks later – and to some assortment of top tier schools no less. I realized quickly that I was ill-prepared.
Enter Angela.
Angela provided the necessary candor and experience to appropriately set my admissions expectations and to focus my list of schools. She diligently culled through my life story to help me develop my “”why business school”” narrative and accentuate my unique characteristics that set me apart from other applicants – both of which allowed me to gain a better sense of self. She aided my choosing appropriate essay topics (which is more difficult than one expects) and perfecting those stories through countless drafts. She instilled a greater confidence and speed in my writing, qualities that I had always lacked. She helped me pull together a resume from scratch in under 24 hours, coached me on interview questions, and answered countless paranoid e-mails. And when I was initially waitlisted at seemingly all of my schools, she enthusiastically motivated me to continue fighting for admission until I achieved just that.
The cost might be steep, but one is not gaining just an advisor in Angela. One is gaining a coach, a psychiatrist, an editor, a mentor, a confidant, a cheerleader, and a friend. And I truly needed all of those to have gained admission to a Top 5 school – my dream school, no less.
Thank you, Angela. I hope others will benefit from your exceptional, all-in-one skills as I did.
TOP 5 MBA STUDENT, JULY 21 | 2013 ON GMAT CLUB
Angela is a rock star!
I’m convinced that I wouldn’t be matriculating at my dream M7 school this year without Angela’s support. I was on the fence about hiring a consultant, but after reading what so many happy people had to say, I really wanted to work with her. I’m part of very large and highly competitive demographic of applicants, and have an average GMAT score and weak GPA from a less known university. Although I’ve performed well in my professional life, due to some personal challenges I had a weak foundation and didn’t start achieving stronger results until my senior year in college. Angela was instrumental in helping me tell my story in a cohesive, compelling and impactful way. Some highlights are that she:
– Gives truly tailored advice: Angela helped me identify unique aspects about my profile and use them to effectively differentiate myself, considering my demographic, professional, and academic backgrounds to ensure that I had the best chance of standing out. I was blown away by her ability to digest information. I bombarded her with a MASSIVE brain dump in our brainstorming document, and she swiftly cut through and captured the essence of my story. Her evaluation and suggestions were spot on with the themes I wanted to emphasize to the adcom.
– Inspires you to aspire: When I started the application process, I wasn’t sure how my profile stacked up so I was aiming for schools in the top 20-30. Angela encouraged me to aim higher and gave me the confidence to apply for top 10 schools, and I got accepted to two (one from the M7)! This is the single most valuable thing she did for me, since I might not have applied to these schools otherwise. For applicants suffering from “imposter syndrome” or a lack of confidence, Angela can change your trajectory. I felt like she took it as a personal challenge to shoot for “stretch” schools, rather than convincing me to apply to a bunch of safety schools to pad her stats. Having said that, she was also very realistic about my chances, which leads me to my next point.
– Keeps it real: I really valued Angela’s brutal honestly and bluntness. She doesn’t beat around the bush and when time is of the essence, this is really crucial. I valued how open she was about the strengths and weaknesses in my profile, because it kept me focused. Make no mistake, she will help brainstorm ways to mitigate weaknesses in your application, but places much more emphasis on telling your story and highlighting strengths.
– Educates and develops: Angela will let you struggle to find your own “voice” to ensure that your personality comes through – she isn’t afraid to subject you to short-term pain for long-term gain. Instead of just telling me what to write, she would share her knowledge and experience with me so that I could become a more effective and informed writer myself. As a result, each application I worked on became easier with fewer revisions and edits.
– Maximizes efficiency: She helped brainstorm different ways to express key points to make the most of the word limits, while making sure I provided a balanced representation of myself. It’s easy to get tunnel vision while writing essays, and Angela saved me precious time and energy by providing feedback on what NOT to write about and what to cut in order to save space. She helps make every word count.
– Sticks with you: In addition to providing stellar feedback on all aspects of my application, Angela provided a level of emotional and moral support that got me through the toughest parts of the application process (i.e. waiting for interview invitations and decisions). Things came down to the wire for me. I was admitted by two schools with late R1 decision deadlines. When I hadn’t heard anything but bad news from other schools in the preceding weeks, I felt doomed. Angela kept the faith and cheered me on, sharing in the bad times. I never got the sense that she was ignoring me to devote more time to other clients with more promising outlooks. In the end the wait paid off.
Overall, I couldn’t be more thrilled. Angela went beyond what I expected from a consultant and helped me realize a dream that I once thought was impossible to achieve. Thank you so much, Angela. You’re amazing!
KELLOGG STUDENT FEBRUARY 22 | 2016 ON GMAT CLUB
Highly Recommended
I started thinking about working with an MBA consultant in June for round 1 applications. I had a 700 GMAT so I knew that I needed to really stand out on the essays to get into my dream school. I had lots of ideas on what I could write about but was looking for someone who can help me decide which stories are the most compelling. I was looking for thought leadership, a direct communication style and someone who really clicked with me. I reached out to friends, colleagues and even my GMAT instructor for consultants they have used and would recommend. I spoke to 8-10 different essay consultants before deciding to go with Angela Guido.
She was someone who really wanted to understand me and help present my stories in the best light instead of just treating me like a client. From the beginning, I felt like Angela was somewhat of a best friend, mentor and epic story evaluator. She was the one my GMAT instructor recommended and I was delighted that she was making time for me in her busy schedule.
Angela was very easy to work with. We spent a lot of time upfront brainstorming and talking about my entire life story. I did most of the hard work on my own (i.e. filling out brainstorming documents, writing drafts of essays/resumes, scheduling time with her to chat, bringing ideas to the table) but we did the all the creative thinking and structuring together. We started with essays for my top choice school. The first one was the toughest one. I think we had a total of 4 or 5 drafts, including one where I had to re-write the entire essay. Angela was very prompt with her feedback and her notes were very clear with thoughtful questions, insightful suggestions and a knack for keeping the big picture in mind. Sometimes, I would have ideas on what I wanted to talk about but had no idea how to approach it. This is where Angela was the most helpful. She could boil down stories to the most important essence and help me recreate it in writing. She never “wrote” anything on my behalf and she trusted that I would be on top of all my applications. I was in charge of the whole process which made our working relationship very positive.
List of what she helped me with:
– Brainstorming – thinking about who I am and how I could differentiate myself
– Essays – at the beginning we did everything together, but by the end I was doing essays on my own without too much iteration
– Applications – including short form answers, I had everything in a word document and she reviewed
– Recommender brainstorming – I ran my recommenders by her and what they were going to write about so she had the “whole application” in mind
– Interviews – we spoke about them but didn’t do a formal practice interview
– Resume
Other things she can help with that I didn’t take advantage of (did it myself, but she could’ve been very helpful):
– Mock interviews
– Read recommendations from recommenders
I sincerely feel like I had a better end product because I worked with Angela. She brought out the best in me. She was so great that I referred many of my friends to her. One of my friends let me read her essays before submitting them for her round 2 application and I was pleasantly surprised that her essays were very different from mine. This was one of my fears of working with a consultant. This just goes to show that Angela really tries to stay true to her clients and does not impose any “molds” or “common guidelines” for them. Everyone remains an individual.
HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL AND STANFORD GSB ADMIT, MARCH 03 | 2013 ON GMAT CLUB
Without her I would not be in school
Angela helped me extensively throughout the application process. She is a very realistic person and gives you her honest opinion right from the start, which I greatly appreciated.
I did not have a good enough GMAT score for McCombs. My GMAT was way below the average GMAT score of the entry class. However, with Angela's creative skills she aided the build up of my resume and application that got me my acceptance at the University of Texas at Austin.
Angela works very hard and expects the same amount of effort from her client. She cares a lot about the people she's working with and treats their work as if it were her own. She will continue to encourage you to rework your applications, essays and resume until it meets and exceeds the expectations of the admissions officers at any Business School.
I believe that without her input and help I would not have gotten my acceptance.
THANK YOU ANGELA!
ANONYMOUS, JANUARY 15 | 2013 ON GMAT CLUB
Angela is a rockstar!
I have been through 3 admissions consultants. The first one was an author and a H/S/W grad. She never criticized anything I did and just way too optimistic bordering on fawning. I had to fire her in no time. Then I decided to not hold back and hired a very highly rated consultant (another H/S/W grad) from a very expensive firm on a hourly rate. She was good, but I always felt she was handling way too many clients. I had to remind her in every meeting about my stories as she was getting too many clients mixed up. For one session, she was driving to a dancing class while talking to me from car. For the rate I was paying her, I felt like she was literally taking me for a ride. Anyways, I applied to a couple schools and was promptly rejected.
It has been 4 years since then and I wanted to apply for EMBA. I did not want to go with the second consultant and looked for more info on others. Fortunately I came across Angela and her reviews. Despite my bad experiences with other consultants I decided to hire her because this was my final shot at MBA. I wasn't going to apply again. And that was THE BEST decision of my MBA application process
One of the best things about Angela is she genuinely tries to know you as a person. She will ask you to write down everything about yourself and really takes the effort to study that. Unlike the other consultants she did not ever have to be reminded of my background and accomplishments. She knew them as well as I knew them at each and every meeting.
She is a story teller at heart and can make your seemingly boring accomplishments come to life so much so that you will be impressed with your own accomplishments too. She worked with me on my essays and my resume and now that I look back at my original essays I came up with, they were a disaster. With her on my side, I was able to create a very riveting story in each of my essay and remove the fluff from my resume
She is also honest if you are screwing up. In one of the iterations I tried to jazz up my stories and she called me right away to tell me that the essays did not reflect who I was. She asked me to be very genuine as my personality/demeanor did not gel with my essay and that it would be a red flag at my interview. I am glad I heeded to her advice then
Another amazing aspect of working with her was that she was amazingly fast. I never had to wait for her ever. And this despite taking a school package in which they promise only a 3 day turnaround. She worked with me to get 4 iterations of my essays done in a week and each iteration was a huge improvement over the previous one. All this while she was working from Texas, Chicago and even Europe. It did not matter where she was physically as she was so prompt
Most importantly, I felt she genuinely cared about the outcome. She really wanted me to succeed and I honestly would not have gotten admission to ALL the top b-schools (without revealing too much, I got admitted to two of the following top schools Columbia, Wharton, Kellogg, and Chicago)
If you get a chance to hire her, do not hesitate. You will not repent it. This is coming from someone who hired consultants from other apparently top consulting firms before. They are not even close to Angela in terms of quality
TOP EXECUTIVE MBA, APRIL 21 | 2014 ON GMAT CLUB
Work with Angela, you won't regret it
I applied to two top 5 business schools in 2013. I was flat-out rejected by one and waitlisted then rejected by the other. When I decided to apply again this year, a friend suggested that I work with Angela. My friend had been accepted to his target school and was waiving the Angela Guido flag rather fervently. I was initially skeptical. Believing that my rejections in 2013 were born of too ambitious a school choice, I had targeted slightly less prestigious (top 15) schools and did not believe that I needed an admissions consultant to help me gain admission. On the advice of my friend, however, I emailed Angela and scheduled my free, 30-minute consultation call. I have heard that other admissions consulting firms offer a similar service but I cannot say for certain because I was completely sold on Angela after our first call. The first thing Angela did was convince me to raise my sights. Instead of applying to the slightly less prestigious schools on which I had settled, Angela convinced me to apply to 3 top 5 programs. She helped me to identify that I had been rejected earlier not because of my credentials, but because of the quality of my application. This turned out to be immensely valuable input as I was admitted to 2 of the 3 programs to which I applied.
As I started the process of applying, Angela and I set about crafting a clear and coherent narrative based on my work experience and my goals. Angela's keen sense of storytelling helped me see an arc in my own experiences and her enthusiasm about my accomplishments was inspirational. She also helped me see (and later explain) exactly how an MBA could fit into that arc and what I could do with an MBA after business school. In the initial, preparation phase alone Angela helped me to develop a better sense of what I had accomplished, who I am, and where I am going.
As I moved into the heart of the application process, Angela’s feedback and gentle reminders improved my confidence and efficiency. Knowing that a professional, who had read and reviewed hundreds of admissions essays, was reading and reviewing my work enabled me to write faster and with more confidence in the outcome. I was also able to take greater risks in my essays, short answers, and even in my interview responses because I knew that Angela would intervene if I swerved too far outside of the lines. I have no doubt that taking these risks helped me to create a more interesting application.
After I was offered an interview at 2 of my 3 targeted schools, Angela worked with me to prepare for the interview. Immediately after interview invites were distributed, she conducted a webinar about the interview process and preparation for the interview. The webinar was invaluable in helping me contextualize the interview and begin to establish the outline for my responses. Later, during a mock interview, Angela helped me to refine my answers and the style of my responses so that I was able to convey the points I wanted to convey without sounding over-prepared or canned. Preparing with Angela for my interviews immensely bolstered my confidence and helped me crush both interviews.
The last thing I will say is that working with Angela always felt personal. She took a genuine interest in me and my goals. Her personal touch teased a handful of (what I think were) really good applications out of a candidate who had been completely rejected previously. I can’t overstate how much I recommend her services.
TOP 3 MBA, DECEMBER 22 | 2015 ON GMAT CLUB