Testimonials: More Confidence in Yourself

When I was first looking for an MBA consultant all I was asking myself was “Who will get me into a top 10 MBA program?” Having gone through the process successfully, I now know that this wasn’t the right question to ask. Writing successful MBA applications is about understanding who you truly are and connecting the dots in your life meaningfully to tell your story in a compelling and authentic way. The key to unlock the full potential of this insight, to me, was Angela.

I initially connected with Angela because her post-MBA career path was similar to what I was looking to pursue so I thought we would be a good match. Within a few minutes of our first conversation I knew she was the right consultant for me – blunt, honest, fair, fun and easy to talk to; the kind of person who keeps you positive and relaxed as you explore the tough and fundamental questions in your life that are crucial to answer to build a strong MBA application.

After the initial assessment we decided it would be best to defer my application by a year and give me time to grow professionally. To maximize my additional time, I started to work with Angela as my career coach. What started off as a laundry list of things I enjoy, tasks I hate, successes, failures, attributes and values, turned into a deep insight into my purpose and motivations in life. Angela helped me to seek and create opportunities at work that I would thrive in, which in turn made me feel more confident, raised my profile with senior managers and eventually landed me a promotion.

As we transitioned into essay writing for my applications, we were in a good shape: We knew where I was in life, why I was there, where I wanted to be and how the MBA fit into this equation. What fascinated me about Angela at this stage was her ability to take random anecdotes from my life and draw very meaningful and accurate insights of my character. Because Angela had done such an incredible job to help me find and use my inner voice and realize what I really wanted in a career and why, most essay and interview questions became very easy to answer. Even then, her care for getting the best out of me constantly pushed me to do an even better job.

I interviewed with LBS, IESE, Booth and Kellogg, got admitted to all four schools and held a scholarship from two. Ironically, Angela was the one to suggest applying to these four schools. It was on her insistence that particularly one of them would be truly right for me that I explored these options, and I could not be any happier or more grateful for the outcome. In hindsight, I can see why Angela was pushing for these schools over my initial choices.

I am walking away from my experience with Angela with not only a spot at an elite MBA program that is right for me, but also more confidence in my abilities and a deeper level of self-awareness that will be invaluable going into the MBA and beyond. I was looking for an MBA consultant to get me into a top program – little did I know that with Angela I was going to find a mentor, an inspirer, a cheerleader, and most importantly, a friend who I truly enjoyed sharing this very unique journey with. For that and more I will forever be indebted.

I really need to sit down and think through my stories in the past year – stories that both Angela and I developed together. It was June 2015 that I finished my GMAT test and wanted to talk to a professional about my overall competency to a top MBA program. I had initial 30-minute call with two consultants, including Angela. Both of them were supportive of my ambition but with different approaches. What made me decide was the video done by Angela. She wrapped her introduction up with a statement “I want to help people and make people successful”. It touched me because I know that we share the same value. In the next couple of months, I realized the great skills that Angela possesses – the ability to know and understand people, always approach people with supportive manner, integrate pieces of information into a complete package, summarize people’s characteristics into a high level, smells from a small story or simple statement the opportunity to elaborate and expand – innate skills that also take tremendous exercises and hard work. I remember how she captured my intuition when I saw the pictures of Booth’s essay and helped me frame up the two pages document. Beyond her pure hard and soft skills is her willingness to help me at all levels. I was hesitated to ask her to advise me on other schools which are not covered in my purchase package. But she always promptly replied with her clearly structured guidance and advice. I can’t explain how much I appreciate that she has been flexible about the line in the sand. The fruition of my application process is not only the admitted decision from my dream school built on refreshed, solid understanding of my traits and goals but also the luck to meet a coach, a mentor and a friend. So thank you Angela!!!