ApplicantLab is an amazing, super easy to use, highly customizable tool at a fraction of the cost of what other admissions consultant services charge.
About me – I come from one of the most over represented demographics – IME (Indian Male Engineer). Those of you who are aware of how college admissions play out would know, being part of an over represented group makes the already tough process, tougher. Unfortunately I had to learn this the hard way. After unsuccessfully applying to several schools in my first year, not to mention the hours and money down the drain, I was desperately looking to identify drawbacks and improve my profile. As a re-applicant, I also had the added onus on me to show how I have improved since last time.
Enter ApplicantLab, at this juncture!
One demo session with ApplicantLab, I found exactly what I was looking for. ApplicantLab handholds you through the entire application process by presenting a highly customizable path where you can choose amongst the numerous combinations to tailor the advice to exactly any background, any career vision and any target school. Are you a candidate from an over represented pool targeting a common post MBA career choice at an M7 school, Applicantlab’s got your back! Poor acads with limited ECs aiming to change career, Lab’s got you covered! You can think of any possible scenario and Maria has useful advice for each and every one of those.
But this is just the beginning. ApplicantLab ties your best stories with traits that schools are looking for and helps align stories with specific schools, depending upon what each school is looking for in their candidate. For example, it may seem, most schools are just asking different variations of the same questions and there is a strong urge, given the paucity of time, to rehash the same essay. And that, my friends, would be a massive mistake. Maria’s excellent guidance on bringing out the qualities that make you a good ‘fit’ with the school would often be the deciding factor on getting and interview call or being waitlisted/denied.
Now you may ask, but what about the essays? How do I know that I have written the perfect essay that would make the admission committee sit up and take notice? Believe me, after going through the ‘branding’, ‘mapping’ and ‘pre-writing’ sections, writing the first draft would be a breeze. You can definitely take help of your friends to edit the essays and use the numerous guidance videos in ApplicantLab to refine them further. And if you are still not satisfied, and want a final touch, Maria offers an essay editing service as well.
Additionally, once you do get the interview call, ApplicantLab offers guidance on interview prep, selecting recommenders and a host of other related stuff. It basically covers end to end of the MBA application process. Some of the advice would remain extremely helpful (especially those on networking) even after your MBA app is complete.
Thus, if you want to get the best help for your application at an extremely low price, with the option of starting with the basic package and getting add-on services only in case you need it, ApplicantLab is a no-brainer. I highly recommend it and I promise that you won’t regret your choice. You can sign up for a free 15 day trial and check for yourself.
As for me, my story has a happy ending. I got admitted Duke Fuqua and with that my MBA application journey came to an end. Best of luck to you all who are thinking of starting your MBA application journey. If you have any questions about ApplicationLab, feel free to pm me.
