Testimonials: Nontraditionals and esl

Concerned that your “nontraditional” background vis-à-vis the average MBA applicant will hold you back? Worried that as a non-native English speaker you’re at a disadvantage? Read what clients just like you have said about achieving their dreams despite these supposed weaknesses.

(NB: Many of these testimonials are featured on other pages too, but since so many other people deal with these concerns, we wanted to put them all in one place for you.)

You should choose Angela.

Angela was a great teacher and friend while I prepared for the application. I am from an Asian country, and I strongly recommend Angela to all candidates including international students who are not good at English. Angela has several years of work experience in Korea, so she understands the Asian culture very well. She perfectly understood what I intended to convey even though my English was poor, and led me in the right direction. I can definitely say that her experience and careful advice was very helpful.

Preparing my essays and resume, I talked to Angela a lot in order to know myself better. She helped me to make simple, but powerful resume. I had fixed and changed my resume eight times while discussing my performance and resume with her, and I was satisfied with my resume. It was focused on my real contributions and performance in my previous companies. I had received consulting from local consultants before I met Angela, and Angela’s advice was much much much greater and more useful than that of a local consultant in my country.

Angela was a wonderful essay teacher. She advised me to show myself genuinely with better expression. We talked a lot about my experience, and I could find my strengths and weaknesses that I did not realize. I could understand better about myself, find good topics, and write good essays using my strengths and even weaknesses. I usually wrote and revised one essay at least five times while discussing about it with her. She sent back my essay and resume very quickly, usually within one and half day from I sent my essays and resume to her. When I received back my essays, they were filled with reviews and questions written in red.

When I prepared interviews with six interview invitations, I also received great care from Angela. My English conversation was poor. However, she encouraged me, kindly corrected my errors, and taught me how to speak more logically with my words. It worked great.

My time zone was different from Angela's, but there was no difficulty in preparing my applications with her. She sacrificed herself even on weekend when it was urgent, and I always received what I needed on time.

I got admissions from several schools including top ten schools that I dreamed, and I know that Angela contributed a lot. Her effort and insight was the best, and I sincerely recommend Angela.

TOP 10 MBA ADMIT, AUGUST 14 | 2015 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.

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. 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.

 

  1. 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

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

She understands!

During an interview at a well known record label, a hiring manager looked at my resume, then me, and said with exasperation, “”I don't understand why you are applying for this job. Your path makes no sense to me.”” While I had a clear vision for the path I wanted to take, I've struggled to help others understand. Angela is the first consultant who has understood my career path and my future goals within minutes. She saw connections that I see, but which I've struggled to communicate to others. In just the first session alone, Angela provided clear advice with tangible action items that gave me confidence to move forward with the daunting MBA application journey. Her passion for learning and understanding others is infectious in the best way, and she is just as strategic as she is warm and insightful. Would recommend her 10/10.

FORTE MBA LAUNCHER, JULY 30, 2017 ON GMAT CLUB

The Business of Sex

I’m a porn star. Well, technically an adult fetish model, producer, and community leader. But to anyone reading an application or resume, I’m a porn star. By day I also run my own small business in education, but it’s my other “adult” interests that were obviously my biggest concern, and obstacle in applying to business school.

Before starting the application process, 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.

I started my journey with MBA mission through the free consultation. I chose Susan, and sent in my stats and resume, and crossed my fingers. Susan smartly decided to send my information to a few other consultants to get their opinions and insights to better help her with our first conversation. And it was at that time that Angela responded by saying essentially, “this girl seems awesome, and if she wants to hire us, I want to work with her!”

When Susan told me that another consultant had said that, I was thrilled. I felt so confident and hopeful knowing that the person I was going to be working with was not only not going to judge me and the choices I’ve made, but also was going to work hard to champion me, and was as motivated as I was to help me succeed and reach my full potential. She knew what she was up against, and she wanted the challenge.

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. She was there for me during the entire process in ways that really exceeded her job description. From working holidays and extra “hand holding,” to a face to face conversation in a coffee shop about my future that I’m rather certain changed my life, Angela was there for me, pushing me to be and to do better.

Brilliantly, Angela made me take the GMAT. I had a strong score on the GRE, and had intended on simply using that score. But Angela thought it was important that I didn’t give anyone any reason to doubt my abilities, and she felt confident that I would do well on the test. So with some prodding, and some guidance on prep, I took the test, and scored a 750, which I know lent credibility to my overall application and allowed me to put my best foot forward. I didn’t want to take the test, but listening to her on that was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

Angela also worked exceptionally hard to help me write my optional essay. We decided early on that that would be the place I explained my life—who I am and the choices that I’ve made. It was always a big ask. I needed to strike the perfect tone; the just right balance of being proud but not defensive, and understanding but not apologetic. We did over a dozen drafts of that essay, and Angela sent versions around to other consultants, getting second, third, and fourth opinions from people who didn’t know me as well to make sure that we hit that tone. In the end, those 250 words are some of the best “I’ve” ever written.

Personally, Angela is one of my favorite people ever. She’s witty and smart, passionate and opinionated, and she’s fun to talk to and be around. She worked hard for me and made me want to work harder for her. She believed in me when not very many people would have, and was prouder when I got in than just about anyone else.

I’m beyond thankful to have gone on this journey with Angela, and wouldn’t want to have done it with anyone else. Together what we achieved is pretty close to miraculous, and at the end of it, I’m thrilled to have worked with someone who I now like to consider a friend.

TOP 15 MBA ADMIT, APRIL 03 | 2014, ON GMATCLUB

Angela is awesome!!

Seriously, she's so great. She also knows a whole lot about storytelling and screenwriting, so if you don't have a lot of experience telling stories, she's an amazing asset. For me, as someone working in entertainment, was wonderful to work with someone who knows about my industry.

I applied to five schools (Stanford, Kellogg, Anderson, Stern, and McCombs) and have been accepted with significant scholarships to Kellogg and Anderson, have an offer from McCombs, and have an interview invitation from NYU.

I hope this review was helpful, and good luck to you during your MBA journey!! You got this!

KELLOGG AND UCLA ANDERSON ADMIT, MARCH 27 | 2015 ON GMAT CLUB

Perfect Service for non-traditional MBA Applicants

As an individual applying without anyone in my network to have gone through the MBA application process, I would highly recommend this service.

 Each webinar easily broke down one section of the process to keep it from being overwhelming. Angela Guido's sense of humor made the process a little fun at the same time.

 I think the greatest strength of the service was the deliverables that were recommended after each section. It was helpful to learn what a good MBA resume looked like and then go off to create one.

 Overall I anticipate this will save me tons of time by investing in this service early.

FORTE MBA LAUNCHER, JULY 24 | 2016 ON GMAT CLUB