I decided to apply to deferred MBA programs during the fall semester of my senior year in college and utilized ApplicantLab’s platform to guide me through the application process the following semester. I had a 640 GMAT (taken only once) and got into Harvard Business School’s 2+2 Program for the Class of 2022.
3 Reasons I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ApplicantLab:
1. ApplicantLab was founded by a HBS MBA who went through the application process herself.
I found that many other consulting companies were created by people who don’t have an MBA and thought it was a little weird that people are consulting on a process they haven’t gone through themselves. As I went through the guidance videos on ApplicantLab’s platform, many times Maria (the founder) would mention what she and her peers went through in the application process (what worked, what didn’t work) and I found this information very valuable as I was thinking about what I wanted to include in my application. Her videos are also funny and she encourages the listener many times to step back and not look at the process so seriously. It felt like a very authentic and engaging way to learn the in’s and out’s of the process.
2. The platform is simple and affordable.
The platform is super easy to use and very very affordable compared to many of the consulting services out there. In my opinion, when it comes to more than 60% of the application, I didn’t need personalized consulting. There is a lot of general admissions consulting advice that I found incredibly useful and found that I was able to easily apply it to my life and my application. I think paying thousands of $ for a personal admissions consultant is not necessary at all and ApplicantLab has the program set up to allow you to get the general admissions advice, and then provides a space that forces you to make those connections and to write them down right next to it (this became very helpful later when writing essays and thinking about the application as a whole).
3. There’s an option to purchase extra personalized consulting specific to your needs.
Lastly, in any of the other areas where you feel like you need a more personalized look or a “Sanity Check” leading up to the deadline, ApplicantLab provides that option and integrates everything you’ve already done on their platform to make it easier to take EVERYTHING you’ve written under consideration when someone looks at your profile and gives suggestions. I took advantage of this leading up to my application deadline and found it incredibly useful. My reviewer took all of my answers in my general ApplicantLab platform + my resume and gave me great advice and an outside perspective.
I have and will continue recommending ApplicantLab’s platform to all my fellow peers interested in business school in the future. I could not be more grateful for ApplicantLab and I’m super excited to attend HBS!! 🙂
