Great Consultant - But Consulting Only Helps So Much

Stats / Outcomes: 710 GMAT (lower quant score, higher verbal), 154 EA, Overrepresented Background. Accepted to Yale, NYU, and Georgetown (with some $). Interviewed but dinged at CBS; interviewed and currently waitlisted at Duke.

Melissa was an excellent consultant. She was very patient and a good listener as we refined my story together. She also offered great insight into what schools look for. Together we were able to delve into my backstory and goals and connect the dots into a thoughtful narrative.

As far as consultants go, I think Melissa is an amazing one! That said, I do want to temper expectations on how far a consultant can bring you. They are great at being a thought partner to sound ideas out and offer very valuable insight into what programs are looking for (Melissa did a great job at this and it really helped me shape my story to emphasize the right parts). However, you still have to put in the leg work to shape your story and sometimes be proactive in following up with them on key questions. It's a wonderful accelerator, but a big part of it is still dependent on how much you put in. (For example, I found it very helpful refining my story further by talking to friends rather than just with a consultant).

Melissa is kind, patient, insightful, and great at connecting you with other folks on her team when she thinks you would benefit from another perspective. She helped me connect with Matt to finalize my list of schools (a Fortuna pro who regularly interacts with all top 25 schools and gave incredibly helpful insight), and a couple admissions consultants who came from some of my target schools so that I could better understand the culture. She also convinced me to take a new test to make up for my lower GMAT quant score (something I truly never thought I would do because I hated tests so much, but that I am incredibly glad I did).

I wrote 5 total applications (Yale, CBS, Duke, NYU, Georgetown). I got Melissa's help via the "all in" package on Columbia and NYU, and a couple hours of advice on my remaining 3 schools. Overall, I was accepted to Yale, accepted to NYU from the waitlist, and also accepted to Georgetown with some generous financial aid.

One piece of advice that I would give potential applicants is that an admissions consultant is a great help - but remember to keep pushing your own path forward in tandem. Keep going to admissions events (even after applying), connecting with alumni and students to understand culture, and be proactive in your own journey. I also supplemented some of Melissa and team's advice by talking to very close friends about my story - they were able to share stories about my life / frames of reference that I never would have thought of as being relevant before.

I am very happy with my experience and would highly recommend Melissa, but I wanted to call out the disclaimers above because when I was first reading reviews like these, I remember getting somewhat of a wrong impression. As such, I wanted to share my lessons learned. Best of luck in the process - you got this!