Guest Blog – GMAT Prep – Bringing in Outside Help

Although our focus is primarily test prep we know that mastering the GMAT is only one part of your journey to business school. To help you with the rest of the application process and even just choosing what schools to apply to its worthwhile to consider hiring an outside admissions consultant to help you along the way. Here are some of the reasons that you should consider hiring some outside expertise to help you put together your best possible admissions materials.

From the excellent folks over at AdmissionsConsultants here are some thoughts on the things you may never have considered when thinking through your application.

You completed college with a great academic record, you’ve been an innovator and leader in the working world, and you tested well on the GMAT. Now you are ready to start the application process for admission to a top MBA program. As you reflect on your accomplishments and MBA admissions requirements, you feel confident that you will get admitted to one of your target schools. So you launch and execute your application plan. Months later you are shocked to learn that you have been rejected by the Ivy League and other top-tier schools you had pinpointed. Even the state flagship school you had designated as a safety has rejected your application.

How could that be? You had so much to offer, and the credentials and references documented the portrait of determination and success you had drawn in your admissions essays.

MBA advisers are frequently contacted by bright, accomplished people who want to understand why they were rejected from highly competitive graduate business schools. What applicants often do not understand is not only how competitive MBA admissions are, but also how essential it is to identify the distinguishing characteristics that admissions officers are looking for in your application. What is in your background that will differentiate you from the competition? Especially in relation to your targeted schools?

There are enormous differences between MBA programs. To understand how your background and your goals meet the requirements and complement the focus of a particular graduate business program, applicants are turning to advisers who have significant first-hand experience in MBA admissions. A seasoned adviser knows the big differences between MBA programs, and how the subtle variations in MBA candidates’ backgrounds can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. A successful MBA adviser knows how to position your unique characteristics as win themes for the schools you are targeting, or may even suggest that you consider alternate – but equally competitive – schools that may be a better match for your background and goals.

If you are considering getting professional guidance, look for an admissions consultant who has served as an admissions officer at a highly competitive program – Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Dartmouth, Chicago – or one of the other top programs. You will also want an adviser with a track record in helping applicants succeed, someone who works exclusively with individuals who want to position themselves for admissions to top-tier MBA programs. An effective adviser will help applicants mitigate the red flags that – without explanation – could send an application to the reject pile. They also understand how and at which schools an applicant’s differentiating factor will be a bonus.

A top-notch MBA admissions consultant will help you manage the process, from identifying your best-fit schools to performing your best during interviews. Your adviser will help you understand when and when not to retake the GMAT. He or she will give you the kind of informed feedback that will help you tell your unique story in your essay, one that will hit the right note with admissions officers, explain how to choose your best references and when the time comes, coach you on how to successfully make your case when you meet one-on-one with admissions officers.

When looking for outside help you might consider a company similar to AdmissionsConsultants a company providing strategic and comprehensive admissions consulting services from consultants with MBA admissions committee experience.