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Getting into a top business school is no easy job. The same goes for hiring an MBA admissions consultant.

There are dozens of admissions consulting firms to choose from (US vs international). Some firms have a large number of admissions consultants, some firms are smaller boutiques while others are solo providers.

Some firms are experts in helping you get admitted into business school while others can advise you on any type of school you’re applying to.

Deciding on the right admissions consultant to help you get admitted to  your target business schools can become a bit overwhelming.

A bit like the MBA application process.

So how do you decide on which admissions consultant to hire to help you overcome challenges in your MBA application and achieve your MBA dreams?

To help you decide, we’ve created a comprehensive guide that provides you with a system you can use to find out which MBA admissions consulting firm would be the best choice for you.

In this blog post, the final part of our guide, you’ll learn about our five-system system for hiring an MBA admissions consultant.

So, what are the steps in the system?

Step 1: Develop a Big Picture View

You’ll want to spend some time getting to know who provides MBA admissions consulting services and what types of firms are you drawn to the most.

You’ll find that there’s all types of MBA admissions consulting firms from large firms vs. boutique firms, US-based vs international firms, specialists (i.e. MBA only) vs generalists (MBA, College, Law, etc).

Visit sites like AIGAC, GMAT Club, Beat the GMAT, and other sites to get the background on MBA admissions firms and identify what types of firms would be the best fit for you.

Step 2: Focus on a Smaller Subset of Firms

Now that you know a bit about the industry and the different types of MBA admissions consulting firms available, choose a smaller subset of firms to focus your research on.

You can identify this smaller subset through your initial research as well as through conversations with friends and checking out online forums like GMAT Club, Beat the GMAT Admissions411 and others.

Step 3: Compare Your Firms

Since you’ve narrowed down your search to a few firms, visit their websites and find answers to the following questions:

Who are the principals/founders of the organization?

Be sure to find out exactly what their experience is comprised of. Have they actually evaluated MBA applicants? Have they conducted MBA interviews? Have they seen the inside operations and dynamics of the admissions committee? Are they privy to how decisions are made and the hot buttons or red flags that the adcom look out for?

The answers to these questions will give you a good sense of whether the MBA admissions consultant has enough experience.

How up to date are they with the changes in the admissions industry?

It’s important to examine whether the founders are still involved in the admissions process. The MBA admissions world is constantly changing so having the founders of the company still engaged and invested in growing and learning about the changes in the industry is key to ensuring that you will benefit from discovering the latest trends/changes that affect admissions.

Who are their consultants and how are they trained?

You should find out who the consultants are and their admissions experiences. A good admissions company can have individuals who consult full-time as well as those who are part time consultants.

Regardless of whether the consultants are full time or not, they should be dedicated and committed to their clients. You should find out what the checks and balances are in place to ensure that consultants are delivering high quality service?

What is their approach and does it fit well for you?

There are so many different types of admissions consulting companies out there. Take advantage of their free assessment to get a taste of how they work. And be sure to ask them precisely how they work. Do trust your gut!

For example, there are companies that are primarily essay editing-firms. Others are more strategy and essay editing. If you need help developing a strategy then choosing an editing focused firm would be a misfit.

I recall a client of ours who signed up with us after having previously worked with another admissions consulting firm. She had applied to Wharton and had been rejected.

We reviewed her essays and they were beautifully polished and well written. But there was no brand to her story—she was not memorable. It was clear that the firm had focused on doing a great job with writing and polishing her essay.

That was her first mistake. As a non-native writer, any adcom could see through her application that it wasn’t her authentic self.

So, we put her through our personal branding process. And to our surprise loads of interesting aspects came out about her brand. She focused her application on these brand themes when she reapplied.

Her essays weren’t written in perfect English but who she was came through clearly and with concrete examples. She was admitted to Wharton on her second try.

What’s your budget?

Retaining a good admissions consultant is not cheap. But I encourage you to consider the value of the service over price. In the grand scheme of achieving your MBA admissions goals a few thousand dollars compared to admission to your dream school can be well worth the investment.

And if you have gone through a firm that focuses on significant introspection, you will find that you can take the insight you gain about yourself throughout your life.

Be careful when choosing an admissions consultant. Avoid making this decision solely on price. Applying the steps outlined in this blog will help you select the right service that will help you present your best application possible.

Step 4: Contact Your Firms

Now that you’ve done some background research on a few firms, choose a few that you’d like to contact before making your final decision.

Whether you contact your firms via email, phone or in person, you should find out the answers to these six questions:

How much time will be devoted to your application (if a package)?

Make sure that there isn’t a cut off on the amount of time. The correct answer is as long as it takes.

How will you and your consultant work together?

Most consulting engagement are done via phone, email, and video calls such as Skype, Facetime and Google Hangout. Confirm that this would work for you. Some applicants want the face to face and you should confirm whether this is available if it’s important to you.

When is your consultant available to speak with you?

Make sure that there wouldn’t be an issue with time zones when it comes to setting up calls. Find out if there is flexibility to speak in the evenings and weekends to suit your schedule.

What is the typical turnaround time to receive feedback?

You don’t want to work with a consultant who is not responsive. Make sure that you are clear about their turnaround time. A reasonable expectation is 24 hours (latest 48 hours) with flexibility to jump on an impromptu call during an emergency.

What exactly will be reviewed and how many times will it be reviewed?

These are important questions to ask as they apply to comprehensive packages and not hourly services.

What checks and balances are in place to ensure client satisfaction?

Before you hire your admissions consultant, make sure you know who to go to if you’re not happy with the service you’re receiving.

Step 5: Make Your Decision

Take some time to review the responses you received from your interactions with the firms you’re considering. How did you feel about the interactions? What did you like/dislike about each firm? What is each firm’s track record of success?

Between your online research and your contact with each firm, you have enough info to decide which firm is the best fit for you, given pricing, location, track record, etc.

If you have friends who’ve used these firms, they can also weigh in and give you their opinions. Ultimately, you’ll need to make a decision based on which firm is the best fit for you, given your requirements.

Next Steps

Choosing the right admissions consultant is a very important decision which shouldn’t be left to chance. And applying to business school can be a very stressful process. A good admissions consultant will help you manage the stress and keep you focused to deliver your best work.

In this guide you learned about the five-step system you can use to hire an MBA admissions consultant.

If you’re ready to hire an MBA admissions consultant, you can start with visiting AIGAC for a list of professional and ethical consultants in the industry.

You can also visit our website, learn more about us and sign up for a free MBA assessment to figure out if we are right for you.

We wish you success in your b-school application and look forward to hearing from you.

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