Alex Leventhal Reviews

I made the decision to apply only to HSW this year, fully aware of the risk involved and ready to re-apply the following year if I had to (spoiler: I don't!). Coming from a family business background, with strong hard stats but weaker extracurriculars, I wanted to find the right admissions consultant to help guide me through the process. I did my homework and interviewed about 10 of the top MBA admissions consultants.

Alex quickly differentiated himself from the rest. In the free 30-minute consultation, he took the time to understand my background and motivations for applying to business school, and gave a thoughtful and honest assessment of my candidacy. He completely understood my school list and was ready to help me succeed. The other consultations I took were either a sales pitch, or they tried to talk me into applying to 3 or 4 other schools. Alex's process of working 1-on-1 with each applicant also stood out, as many of the top admissions coaches are often volume shops that pass you on to a more junior consultant.

Working with Alex made the application process so much smoother - and dare I say enjoyable! He started with a comprehensive questionnaire about my life and background that served as groundwork for many of my essays and short responses. His career goals exercise was so useful for me to better understand my goals - I felt like even if I didn't get into business school, I had a lot more clarity on my career path. He also encouraged me to take my HBS essay in a more personal direction than I otherwise would have, and I strongly believe this essay helped me stand out and secure an interview. There's a lot of noise online about the application process and essay writing, and Alex's guidance cuts through all of that. I felt confident that I had put my best foot forward when hitting submit on my applications.

Alex's interview prep was invaluable. I was extremely nervous about this stage of the process, and the mock HBS interview helped me understand what to expect and where I could improve. Alex is not shy about giving direct feedback and always told me what I needed to hear, even when it wasn't easy to hear. It's clear that he has deep insight into what adcoms are "looking for" and how to present the best version of yourself.

I'd recommend Alex without reservation. He will coach you through the admissions process with humor, calming energy, and honest feedback. I'm excited to join the HBS class of 2024, and I couldn't have gotten here without him!

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I spoke to four other admissions consulting firms before finally meeting with Alex after he came highly recommended from an alum from my firm. From that initial consultation, I could tell Alex offered a uniquely tailored approach. Alex put time into getting to know me personally, which allowed us to construct a compelling AND authentic MBA application together. I especially appreciate that Prep MBA is HIS full-time business – this is not a part-time gig for Alex, and it shows.

I applied to five M7 schools, three of which I worked on with Alex. Through direct help from Alex and applying what I learned from Alex to the schools I was applying to “on my own,” I received acceptances at Columbia and Kellogg. Alex’s help didn’t stop when I got in. Not only did Alex advise me on waitlist management, but he also acted as a soundboard to help me decide which program to attend. Ultimately, we agreed that Columbia is the best fit for me, and I couldn’t be more excited!

I’ve already recommended Alex to friends/colleagues who are looking for a trustworthy, effective admissions consultant, and I will continue to do so.

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I had been thinking about applying to business school for a number of months before deciding that I would seek the help of an admissions consultant. I came across an article on Poets and Quants about the best admissions consultants of 2020: https://poetsandquants.com/2020/08/26/best-mba-admission-consultants-of-2020/. What stood out to me in that article was that only four consultants made the Poets and Quants list every year since the site started this list, and, out of those four, only Alex was the sole proprietor of his consultancy. I read the reviews about Alex and his services and saw that Alex seemed to have a reputation for personal service and candor. As such, Alex fit the profile of the qualities that I was looking for in an admissions consultant – consistently ranked highly, personal service, and someone who would give it to me straight.

When I first spoke to Alex, I could immediately see why he was consistently ranked highly among admissions consultants. He began with asking me questions about me, my background, and my goals. It felt like he was taking the time to get to know me as a person first, which I greatly appreciated. Alex then very thoroughly explained the process of working with him and while doing that demonstrated a deep understanding of the various facets of business school admissions. Alex does not mince words. He made clear to me that the application process requires significant investment of time and energy and that we would have to put in extra effort to overcome the challenge of my non-traditional background and weak GPA. I signed up for a package for a mix of MBA programs, some traditional and some not.

Alex spent significant time downloading information about my personal and professional background. I saw why later when we were working on my resume and essays as he was able to recall and connect information with such ease and precision that it made the process of actually putting content down extremely efficient. He made me think about essay prompts in unique ways while still ensuring that the responses were still genuinely me. His ability to understand the purpose of each part of the application process and how they all tie together in combination with his skills of teasing out information and helping to succinctly communicate ideas helped immensely in putting together impactful content.

Alex brought his vast knowledge and coaching abilities to bear in interview prep as it helped me to understand the various types of questions that may be asked in MBA admissions interviews and how I could respond genuinely and concisely. Alex really helped me to calm my nerves and to watch out for my nervous ticks.

Overall, I would not hesitate in recommending Alex’s services to anyone. He gets to know you well and the time and effort he takes in the process as well as his vast knowledge about MBA admissions and his candor really help put together your strongest application package. Alex helped me to get into my top choice program!

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I spoke with several highly rated admissions consultants before connecting with Alex Leventhal and my patience certainly paid off. Most of the large admissions firms match applicants with top consultants only to then outsource the day-to-day work to other associates in a template-based process. Conversely, Alex is the only person I worked with throughout my application process—he owns PrepMBA and applies a truly personalized approach.

In the beginning stages and throughout, Alex invested considerable time in getting to know my background, interests, motivations, strengths, weaknesses, etc. This strong connection and fundamental understanding of who I am proved to be an invaluable foundation for my essay and career goals. I come from an over-represented background and was really struggling to tell my story in a unique and powerful way. After our first call on the essay, Alex offered up incredible 3rd party insight on my life path that helped me breakthrough key roadblocks. He always served as a helpful guide, providing me the space to craft the stories in my own way.

I went through many drafts of essays for each school, but Alex consistently provided thoughtful feedback on each iteration in a timely manner—always within 1-2 days even as we approached the application deadlines. His honest and personable approach made it easy for me to open up and translated to a synergistic partnership. At the end, I achieved my lifelong goal of being admitted to HBS! I’m excited to recommend Alex to my friends and family in the future.

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Just like many other applicants, I lurked on MBA forums for months before deciding to take the plunge and work with a consultant. I took a number of consultation calls with various highly-ranked firms before deciding to work with Alex Leventhal. After ten minutes on the phone with him, I was already impressed with his insights about the admissions process and his candor about the strengths and weaknesses of my particular candidacy.

I applied to three schools in round 1 and was rejected from two but deferred by HBS without an interview. As a Harvard college graduate with a relatively low GPA (and an overrepresented minority working in a popular industry), I was nervous about how to approach the HBS Further Consideration process and unsure of how it even worked. Alex’s experience with HBS and the Further Consideration process proved invaluable, as he was able to successfully guide me through the round 1 update essay to a round 2 interview invitation and finally to an offer of admission.

Alex has a very hands-on, straightforward coaching style. He was able to quickly and effectively analyze my application to help me pinpoint the most effective strategy for my Further Consideration update essay. He also conducted a very realistic mock interview which provided me with valuable feedback about my communication skills and gave me a lot of confidence to go into the real interview and perform my best.

Everything about his process stands out. It’s bespoke. It was refreshing to be able to directly correspond with Alex throughout the application process and his response time is unrivaled. His vibrant personality makes every call an enjoyable learning experience and he was always willing to entertain even my most absurd questions about MBA admissions. What makes Alex truly exceptional is that he both understands the meta-level strategy behind MBA admissions and also focuses on helping candidates cultivate powerful individual narratives. I believe that this dual emphasis was critical to helping me go from deferral to admission this cycle and I would strongly recommend Alex to others looking for a personalized approach to MBA consulting.

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As with most applicants, I spent a good amount of time looking for a consultant who would be able to help me navigate the daunting application process. Although my partner had chosen Alex as his MBA consultant and spoke highly of his services, I wanted to consider all my options before deciding on the best consultant for me. To be quite honest, I could have saved myself a lot of time if I had just taken his suggestion. Alex was the only individual to review my qualifications and provide an honest assessment of whether the schools I was applying to would not only be within reach, but also be a good cultural fit for me (which was something that was a major consideration for me when I was deciding where to apply).

He was the one who suggested that I apply to UCLA Anderson during the initial consultation as he felt that the school would align with what I was looking for. Going forward with his recommendation, I reached out to students and alumni and spent a great deal of time researching the school. As I collected more information, I could see why he suggested UCLA and began drafting my application. With his support, I was able to clearly define my post-MBA goals, understand how I wanted to contribute to the school community, and fine-tune the various components of the application. It was because of him that I was able to ensure that the admissions committee understood who I was and what I hoped to become after completing the program.

Without a doubt, I would recommend Alex to anyone who is looking for an MBA consultant who is honest, fair, and to the point. He knows how to emphasize your strengths and will work with you to address your weaknesses to ensure that they don’t detract from your application.

Ultimately, for anyone starting their MBA process, the applications can seem like an impossible task. However, with a consultant like Alex, they can be surmountable.

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In the midst of a mad rush to both up my GMAT score and begin crafting my application, I reached out to a number of consultants in late October targeting a Round 2 application. After having 3-4 calls, I was able to get in touch with Alex and schedule an introductory call. Instead of spending 20 minutes pitching me on his many success stories (and there are numerous), Alex took ~45 minutes to hear about my background, interests, and thoughts on what might be viable options for my path. What stuck out even more-so than the personalized approach Alex took from the initial call was his willingness and ability to address my candidacy holistically, quickly identifying key areas to focus on both highlighting or strengthening. Alex’s no-nonsense approach made him standout from other more sale-like consultation calls.
After getting started, it was clear that Alex was going to stay whole fully engaged throughout the application process. He spent countless hours over the next 2 months with me identifying aspects of my background that would make strong cornerstones for my essays, helping select strong people to write my recommendations, working through draft after draft fine-tuning my essays and other application mediums, and conducting mock interviews helping prepare me to respond strongly to frequently asked topics. When I thought to add another competitive program to my application group, I knew I wanted Alex’s assistance and updated my package from 3 schools to 4 schools.
With Alex’s guidance, I have been able to score acceptances to 2 of my top schools, and I am sure I could not have done it without him. By taking the time to get to know me, my background, my interests, and my overall candidacy, Alex was able to help me put my best foot forward. I would recommend Alex to anyone who is looking to make the most of what they have to offer and want to present themselves to their dream schools with those positive attributes! I truly believe he is the best person for the job.

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I belong to an over represented demographic (Indian male). I also did not have any work experience with a strong brand name company. During my free consultation with Alex, I could see how engaged he would be. Given the fact that I’ve worked primarily for my family’s businesses, getting references is challenging and I loved how Alex was already brainstorming some great ideas in that regard during the free session.

I am a re-applicant. My previous consultant would nod to everything I’d say and never challenge my views, however bad they might’ve been. Alex, however, would not hesitate to challenge my ideas or hold his ground. Also, with Alex, you get to work with him – no juniors or English-trained associates. With my previous consultant, different people reviewed my resume, references, essays and conducted mock interviews. This approach doesn’t work – your consultant needs to know how your entire application is shaping up. Needless to say, this was a major reason I got nowhere in the previous cycle. With Alex, you get a highly trained pair of eyes to bring things together well.

Alex is very smart and connects the dots really well. At the very beginning, he made me fill out a questionnaire that focused on various aspects of my life and then spent 2-3 hours on call learning more about me. He really got to know me well (personal aspects and professional ones) and, all through the application process, I was always amazed at how he would pull out small snippets of my life that I myself had not thought of to answer application essays. He helped bring out my best side.

Alex is a Harvard MBA, sure, but he’s also witty, friendly and constantly devoted to your quest. He was extremely encouraging, helped choose schools wisely, and when I did not get anywhere except 2 waitlists in round 1, kept encouraging me for round 2. I’d never considered Darden before. It was Alex who convinced me about how good Darden was and suggested applying there – I’m so glad he doesn’t give up and does his best to advice you on what’s good for you. So far, it’s the only school I’ve gotten into across 2 years of applying and he is the singular reason I have an admission offer.

I recommend strongly Alex. He is special and a great guide. You will be doing yourself a great favor by engaging him and giving your applications their biggest boost.

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Alex was beyond helpful throughout my application process. In addition to being an indispensable advisor in helping me craft my narrative articulately and succinctly, Alex spent extra time working with me to review every scholarship essay. My only regret was not reaching out to Alex sooner in my application process.

When I applied to undergraduate schools years ago, I did not have the privilege or funds to hire an external consultant. But coming from a well-represented demographic, and even with GRE scores well above all published median acceptances, I knew that gaining admission to a commensurate MBA program would be an uphill battle.

After spending significant time with Alex Leventhal and Prep MBA, I can sincerely appreciate how fortunate I was to work with one of the top consultants in the industry. Without Alex’s support, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into any of the schools I applied to. I highly recommend working with Alex to anyone applying to MBA programs. Alex’s parents seemed to have presciently given him the initials “AL” …because in this industry, he’s an Absolute Legend.

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I was searching for an admissions consultant who could very well understand my education and academic career in Life Sciences and help me cohesively tie it to my long-term goal of working as a biopharma strategy consultant post-MBA. After talking to a few admissions consulting firms, Alex Leventhal’s approach and service stood out to me. Using his previous experience in healthcare, he was able to help me extract the key points in my professional and personal journey that I could highlight in my essays. Moreover, after a thorough evaluation of my profile, he guided me to select schools with a realistic mindset. This approach in shortlisting schools is unlike other top admissions consulting firms which do not spend enough time to identify the programs where a candidate would have a better shot of getting in. Coming from a non-traditional background and being older than the average student admitted to a full-time MBA program, Alex told me to work harder to improve my score and seek some leadership opportunities that would improve my candidacy for the selected schools.

Working with Alex was worth the investment. Each of his advice to me was very personalized and at times he would go over the designated time for our call or an application section if it was needed to get a better outcome. In fact, there were a couple of applications where we were pressed for time, but he was able to accommodate his schedule to help me. He is genuine, approachable, and quite funny. He also walks you through the entire application process very methodically.

I would recommend working with him without hesitation.

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