BRIEF INTRODUCTION:
– A recent T15 admit
– Still in the throes of MBA admissions
– No way a prolific writer (non-native English speaker)
MY EXPERIENCE WITH APPLICANTLAB:
– It is my single source of reliable information and advice (yes, no other consultant/ resource – just the DIY tool/the Lab)
– Helped me power through the essays in fraction of time that I would have taken otherwise (ofcourse there was a learning curve for me in the first iteration, but then it was bullet fast and far fewer iterations)
– Kept me focused on the most important aspects of the answer to all questions in the app (short-answer or essays)
– Helped manage the writer’s block as well with breaking down an essay question into further mini-questions
– Extensive help with interviews as well – similar to identifying and presenting most impactful stories for essay questions
– All of the above at the price of a single MBA app!
WHY DO I THINK I COULD GET THE ABOVE LISTED BENEFITS:
– Because Maria has made painstaking efforts to get the most relevant advice from the adcom of each school (there were on-campus events that the top admissions consultants attended at B-schools pre-COVID); not to forget she has been at it for 15+ years
– The Lab presents topics in a very structured step-by-step foolproof approach – there is excruciating redundancy as the important advice is clearly marked in color and repeated across sections where necessary so the user does not need to recall or flip through links
– As an example, the essays module guides you through the steps of identifying the right stories, to writing rough drafts, to final drafts. The final drafts section contains all of the previous advice as well – so due to paucity of time (read as: I am a bad procrastinator; you too will!), I just jumped to this section and wrote almost finalized essays in first go for my easier apps
– Ofcourse the advice is for each of the top schools you’d want to apply to – and very detailed, granular instructions per question in the app (read as: cannot be made more detailed IMO)
WHO IS THIS SUITABLE FOR:
– Everyone; there are broadly two types of applicants –
– Self-Starters: these folks would proactively find time to spend with the DIY tool and work through the instructions and make effort to sense-check (heck, the Lab even gives sense-check advice!)
– Require-support: these folks can hire a 3rd-party consultant to hold them accountable and keep them on track besides giving admissions advice; but then if the self-starters were getting reliable advice from the Lab as a single source then why not use this as a sense-check/ insurance on the service you have bought that is worth ‘000s of dollars ?!?!
CONSIDERATIONS WHILE PURCHASING:
– Ofcourse the ROI is going to be in ‘000s of percentage points – however you calculate it; truly unparalleled as it is up to you to scale it with submitting as many apps as you possibly can
– Honestly, try to find time with the tool – the more you are spending time consistently on a daily basis working through the advice (if even for an hour per day), you will make phenomenal progress and will feel confident about your essays and the overall app
– If you want a 1:1 interaction with a consultant, I’d think better to take a-la-carte packages from ApplicantLab (with Maria herself) for consistency of advice and avoid getting contradicting opinions – gotta trust the process!
