If you apply to business school without using ApplicantLab, I think you’re doing yourself a disservice. I didn’t have any friends or coworkers applying to business school this year, and using just ApplicantLab and the add-on services, I got into Kellogg with a half tuition scholarship.
Here’s the thing: no matter how uncommon your background, adcom is going to be looking for similar things (i.e. that you’ve demonstrated leadership, that you can get a job after graduation, that an MBA will fit your needs). It makes NO SENSE to pay thousands of dollars to reinvent the wheel with a traditional admissions consultant. The ApplicantLab modules do a really good job of breaking down the components of a successful MBA application, it just takes time, introspective, and initiative to apply the information to your own circumstances (and if you’re applying to business school, you’ve presumably got ample reserves of time, introspection, and initiative).
Christians have the Bible. Celtics fans have the 2008 championship. Every major group has something they pay a religious devotion to. For MBA applicants, that’s ApplicantLab’s school-specific advice. This is going to be your Rosetta Stone while writing your essays. 2 major value props: it helps you decipher what the school is REALLY asking in the question (believe you me, it’s usually far from obvious), and it helps you understand the culture and priorities of each school so you can subtly weave those breadcrumbs in your essays. To me, this is the biggest value of ApplicantLab compared to a traditional admissions consultant. Sure, a traditional consultant could walk you through the high-level components of a business school application and get you equally as prepared for that portion as ApplicantLab (at 10x the price). But I’m very skeptical that the random consultant you get from some agency is going to have in-depth, program-specific knowledge of each of the 5+ programs you’re applying for. If you’re serious about getting into your dream program, it’s a no-brainer.
Finally, the add-on services. Big fan of these as well. I think it’s very helpful to get a second set of eyes on your materials by someone who has experience with the application process. I’m not sure how traditional consultants do it, but ApplicantLab’s process for reviewing essays is completely asynchronous (they record a video explaining how you can improve your essays/resume/etc). I like this for two reasons: it mimics the way adcoms review your essays (you don’t get to explain to them why you chose to put that sentence there) and you can review the video as many times as you need. Really solid service, and offered way, way cheaper than a traditional consultant.
