MBA, Harvard Business School, 2005
BSE, Princeton, 1998

Maria has over 15 years of MBA admissions experience beginning with volunteering with the HBS Admissions office in 2003. With the belief that expert admissions advice shouldn’t cost thousands, and should be accessible to people from many income levels, she founded ApplicantLab in an effort to level the MBA admissions playing field.  Read the full story here.

Maria currently co-hosts the Poets & Quants weekly podcast “Business Casual” and is regularly invited to present on GMATClub.com webinars.

Read what ApplicantLab users say about Maria on Poets & Quants.

Maria is a member (and former board member) of AIGAC, the elite admissions consulting professional organization, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son.

Head of Operations | Sr. Admissions Consultant

MBA, Chicago Booth, 2008
BS, Northwestern, 2003

Carin joined ApplicantLab in early 2018 and has been working with MBA applicants since 2017. With 15 years of experience in marketing and client management roles at Bain, McKinsey, and Mattersight (a SaaS analytics company based in Chicago), she’s a strong storyteller and strategist with an eye for detail.

Carin is a member of AIGAC, the elite graduate admissions consulting professional organization, and has served on the Chicago Booth Women’s Network Board as a Booth Alumna.

At Northwestern, Carin studied Economics and Communications and was a member of the Women’s Varsity Swim Team. She’s now an avid traveler – after retiring from the corporate world in 2017 she spent a year in Costa Rica teaching ESL and has been exploring the world as a digital nomad since September 2019.

Read what ApplicantLab users say about Carin on Poets & Quants.

MBA, Michigan Ross, 2020
BE, Jadavpur University, 2011

Souvik is a graduate of the University of Michigan – Ross School of Business and a former ApplicantLab user. Before his MBA, he was engineer, an educator to 50 precocious middle schoolers, and an ed-tech product manager. During his MBA, Souvik focused on product management, strategy and impact investment. He spent his summer as a Product Manager with Apple and decided to move to the pacific northwest after graduating to join Amazon Web Services as a Technical Product Manager.

Souvik brings years of experience interacting with and interviewing MBA applicants on GMAT Club and as a member of the Ross Admissions Committee. During his free time, or whatever is left of it, he enjoys cooking the best butter chicken the world has ever seen.

MBA, Duke Fuqua, 2021
BFA, Chapman University, 2015

Austin is a graduate of the Duke Fuqua School of Business and a former ApplicantLab user. At Fuqua, she was the Co-President of the General Management Club, the largest professional club on campus. She was also selected as a Student Interviewer and Admissions Coordinator. In addition to her work with ApplicantLab, Austin brings almost a decade of experience as a Career Coach. She is passionate about helping others achieve their goals and increasing the accessibility of career education.

Before her MBA, Austin lived in Los Angeles, where she ran digital marketing initiatives at a large performing arts center. Austin used her MBA to explore strategy and product management roles across industries. She held MBA internships at The Walt Disney Company and Techstars and at a BioTech startup. Currently, she is a FinTech Product Manager in D.C. and writes children’s books in her spare time. 

MBA, Wharton, 2020
BA, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 2013

Ken is a graduate of The Wharton School and a former ApplicantLab user. At Wharton, he was a member of the Student Admissions Program (SAP), meeting with prospective students and holding info sessions. He also held leadership positions in Out4Business and Boxing Club as well as membership in Consulting, Tech, and Analytics clubs. He’s a big proponent of diversity, access, and guiding people to their full potential.

Professionally, Ken has 7+ years experience spanning Creative Services, Advertising/Marketing, and Tech across F500s and Startups. While at business school, he interned at McKinsey & Co. and independently advised retail startups on growth strategy. Currently, he’s a Product Marketing Manager in NYC and enjoys running in Central Park in his free time.

MBA, Harvard Business School, 2021
BE and BBusMgmt, University of Queensland, 2007

Luqzan is a graduate of Harvard Business School and a former ApplicantLab user. While at HBS, he held leadership positions in the Energy & Environment Club and the Coffee & Tea Club, which he co-founded with a classmate. He enjoyed volunteering for admission events, speaking as a panelist on life at HBS and meeting prospective students.

Luqzan built his career in the energy industry where he held techno-commercial roles in refinery operations, joint venture management and corporate governance. After HBS, he decided to remain in the energy industry and is now working in corporate strategy for a global energy company. In his spare time, he enjoys experimenting with different brew methods and discovering new single-origin beans in his quest to find the perfect cup of coffee.