| All Reviews > Menlo Coaching Reviews |
Product Menlo Coaching
Consultant Alice van Harten
I talked with many consultants, and it seemed I was talking with the same person. The questions were superficial, and everyone told me how great my chances were. Alice, on the other hand, is at a much high level, from the first email loosely explaining my ideas, she already pointed out many important flaws in my reasoning and gave me invaluable tips. That was even before the first interview, and on that instant, I knew she was the one. I would not even dare to consider anyone else but Alice.
I had a very tight schedule, only one month to prepare my entire application from scratch, and, even in such short notice, she managed to give a lot of attention to every single detail of my application. She is caring, knowledgeable, a top expert on her field.
But above all, she is one of the nicest persons I ever had the pleasure to work with. You may think this is not relevant, and you are wrong. You need to open up, find and tell your qualities but also your weakness, find the happy and sad histories in your life. And this is so much easier when the person in front of you make you laugh and feel comfortable. If I had the opportunity I would surely want her as my BFF.
She will work with you in all the aspects of your application, essays interviews, techniques to relax and even propose a session with Eduardo on how to articulate your speech and your voice. She will make you think and talk until she extracts qualities, skills, and histories from you that you would never think were relevant, and she will show you they are a gold mine.
She will definitely tell you no BS, she is very candid and logic about your objectives and your chances.
She got the best application out of me, I got admitted to IMD, one of the most selective schools in the world.
And once the application was submitted she kept in touch and is still giving me guidance.
Alice is a fantastic professional, you will never find better. Stop wasting your time looking for someone else.
Product Menlo Coaching
Consultant David White
David was always extremely accessible and truly cared about understanding me as a candidate/applicant. I had changed my timing by pushing out applying for schools by one year and he helped me come up with a game plan in regards to timeline and key steps – including introducing me to a tutor to raise my GMAT score from a 700 to a 720. During the in-between period, he would check-in on me and send interesting e-mails that resonated with my interests. I love how personable he was.
During the application process, David was very helpful in providing feedback, pushing me to think about things and develop my ideas further to be the best essays they could possibly be. He also connected me with other people when I was trying to decide between which school to apply. Least to say, he has an amazing network!
David is a great resource and is always very candid and helpful in sharing advice and insights. I learned a lot about myself throughout the process thanks to David’s guidance. He supported me beyond the application by doing some mock interviews – had a mock with Alice as well to get additional practice and feedback! And the feedback from both sessions were valuable as it not only improved my interview content/responses but also improved the way I presented myself from a subtle soft skills perspective. The interview feedback will be applicable to beyond the MBA application.
Even after the being admitted, the Menlo Coaching team provides support post-admittance! I truly love their service as they are the complete, whole package and both David and Alice go above and beyond with their thoughtfulness. Their team truly cares about the client and this is shown by the support they provide through all facets of the MBA from application to even post-MBA career.
You cannot go wrong working with the Menlo team!
REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by school email address [?]
Product Menlo Coaching
Consultant David White
I’m matriculating at Wharton this Fall. The Menlo Coaching experience for the mock TBD provided me with a clear competitive advantage going into the interview.
Since I started the application process a little later in the season – having messed up the GMAT and needed to retake it – both David and Alice were fully booked (if I were to apply again from scratch, it would be with Menlo Coaching, no other admission consulting service even comes close!) However, on being invited to interview at Wharton – I reached out again, to try my luck at getting a mock interview with either Alice or David – and I’m glad I did.
The mock TBD experience was seamlessly handled through a multi-person video chat. David shared expert tips and offered thoughtful advice before the mock interview started. He even brought on a current Wharton student to provide an insider perspective. During the interview, David observed each interviewee’s participation and offered candid feedback to the group as a whole, and individual feedback for each of us. The best part was that the feedback was actionable – and could be immediately put into practice. David also helped walk through some scenarios and anticipate directions in which the actual TBD could go in.
The experience took the edge off the nervousness that usually accompanies an interview. I had a really clear game-plan stepping into Huntsman Hall at Wharton for the actual TBD. Once the interview started, the prep. with Menlo really began to pay off – someone else on my team had the exact same pitch as I did – but thanks to David anticipating such a case – I was able to pivot and add details that the other person had overlooked. The result – an extremely smooth TBD, which led to an admit from Wharton.
To conclude, I’d say, shop around consulting firms if you *really* want to, but Menlo Coaching’s offerings are light-years ahead of the rest of the pack.
Product Menlo Coaching
Consultant David White
Choosing David as my MBA coach was the best decision I made during the application process. I first came to David almost two years ago, and was seeking his help to submit rushed applications to USC and UCSD a couple weeks before the R2 deadlines. He talked me out of this and convinced me to wait until R1 the following year so that I would have time to put together the best application possible – I’m so thankful that he did. David was very helpful in helping me determine my career goals (one of his specialties) and making sure that my applications told a cohesive and compelling story. He is very knowledgeable about the tech industry and helped me chart my career path and the steps necessary to reach my end goal. David advised me through each step of the application process and gave tips and recommendations that I would have otherwise had no idea about. He was also instrumental for interview preparation, and during all of my interviews I was not asked a single question that we hadn’t prepared for in some form. He also referred me to an amazing GMAT tutor who helped me raise my score from 700 to 730. With his guidance, I was able to secure a full tuition scholarship at Darden! I was also accepted to Dartmouth Tuck with a sizable scholarship and will be enrolling there in the fall. I have had an amazing experience working with David and cannot recommend him highly enough.
Product Menlo Coaching
Consultant Alice van Harten
I worked with Alice on a successful re-application to Harvard Business School. I was initially not sure whether she was real because her reviews were so universally positive, but my initial consultation with her put me at ease. Of all the consultants I talked to, she was the best mix of realistic (she told me that I was a very strong candidate but in general the odds were not good) and insightful (she pointed out the main weaknesses in my previous application).
Alice is really good at coaching through essays, and was relentless about ensuring that I kept things clear, simple, and in my own voice. I was often tempted to write things in an over-complicated way, and she always held me to a higher standard. She was also helpful with explaining the recommendation process to a first-time recommender, who ended up writing me a very strong letter. Alice was also really crucial strategizing through recommender choices and role change choices at work as a couple of things were changing nearing the application deadline.
I think I would have made a lot of the same mistakes I made the first time had I not worked with Alice, and was impressed by the level of dedication, high standards, and personal warmth that she brought to our time working together. Her partner David is also a great resource and helped at a few points in the process as well, so it was great to get both brains of the fabulous Menlo team.
I would highly recommend, and already have to many in my personal network. Unfortunately, when they've reached out to Menlo Coaching, Alice & David were already at capacity, which speaks volumes about 1) the fact that they only work with a limited number of clients per round and 2) how incredibly high-quality and in-demand they are as consultants.
Product Menlo Coaching
Consultant David White
After speaking with a number of admissions consultants, I decided to work with David and Darren Kowitt at Menlo Coaching due to their responsiveness, professionalism, and understanding of my story and goals. I primarily worked with Darren on my application essays, and he was thoughtful and encouraging throughout. He helped me prepare with deep introspection and then convey my narrative in a compelling fashion with clear language. David was there to provide overall advice and guidance throughout the process. This included how to approach my career pivot, where an MBA fits within that, which schools fit best, and how to devise an overall strategy to tackle the application process. He also helped with interview prep through mock interviews, and I can’t imagine walking into interviews without having gone through those sessions. David was very knowledgeable about the strengths, weaknesses, and nuances of each school, and his insights were invaluable. Ultimately, I was admitted into an M7 program with a full scholarship as well as another top 10 school which was high on my target list. I couldn’t have done it without Menlo Coaching, and the costs were well worth it with the scholarship offer.
Product Menlo Coaching
Consultant David White
David remained a highly reliable resource throughout my MBA application process. This was exemplified by him not only responding to nearly all of my requests within 24 hours, but also constantly thinking on my behalf. Specifically, David was very good at identifying my uniqueness among all the other well-qualified applicants in the financial service industry, and helped me brainstorm ideas and eventually construct a highly compelling, personal story. I was also impressed every time when he came back with revised versions of my essays, which were succinct and to-the-point. I ended up receiving offers from my top choices, Wharton, Columbia and Tuck. David was definitely one of the biggest contributors to this pleasant outcome.
Product Menlo Coaching
Consultant Alice van Harten
I'm so happy I found Alice through a friend's referral. From the start we clicked and I could tell she really cared about finding the best MBA fit for me (she helped me narrow down the list of schools I was applying to based on personal/family needs). Then while writing the essays, she always followed up, helped me think through my story, and paid attention to the smallest details so that I came across as dynamic and not just a typical "finance person." I knew when I submitted each application that it was as perfect as possible - and I ended up getting admitted to Wharton, MIT, and Booth with an 80k scholarship!
She is also a great resource to practice interviewing with (we prepped for about five hours total) and is as invested in the process as you are. I think this is because she doesn't overwhelm her schedule with clients - so once she is fully booked, she doesn't accept more clients in order to ensure quality time with the set that she has. That was really helpful, especially when I was finishing essays last minute.
I look forward to staying in touch with her even after I start school, since her guidance and advice has been so valuable. Thank you Alice!!
Product Menlo Coaching
Consultant Alice van Harten
Bottom line up front: If you want to present your best self in your applications, you want Menlo on your team. Alice is the best in the business, and she will help you to extract every bit of what you offer as a candidate and present it in your applications.
I found Menlo Consulting on P&Q while reading reviews for admissions consultants. Alice’s excellent reviews stood out to me, and once I learned that Alice and David only accepted a limited number of clients each year and could, therefore, provide the individually tailored service for which I was looking, I decided to contact them. I could not have been happier with my choice.
As a transitioning Army veteran, I was concerned about being able to tie the lessons I had learned during my military service directly to my future goals in the private sector, so I was pleased to learn that both Alice and David had private sector experience in my areas of interest- consulting and tech. I was also acutely aware of a number of challenges my candidacy faced for entry into a top program. I was an older MBA applicant >30, and both my GPA and my GMAT were below the average scores of nearly every top 20 school. I understood that I was fighting an uphill battle and that most of my school choices were “reach” schools for me.
During our initial call, Alice identified a few strategies that she thought would strengthen my candidacy, provided me with candid feedback about my school selections, and helped me to understand why it was best for me to wait until R2 when I could present the strongest application to schools. We decided that once I had completed some of the strategies we discussed that we would start the application process together. After I worked through the tasks, I got back on the phone with Alice. I was extremely impressed by her process as she sought to understand who I was, and how best to describe my story to an admissions committee. I felt by the end of the call that Alice understood who I was and what made tick. As I started to work through essays and applications, Alice pushed me. She never wrote any essays for me. Instead, her notes compelled me to reflect deeper on my stories, their lessons, and what I wanted out of my future education. I wrote and rewrote. Each time I submitted a draft, I had a response from Alice either the same day or the next day. Honestly, even though I knew she had a full plate, her responsiveness made me feel as if I were her only client. After we nailed down the essays, and I submitted, Alice and David helped prepare me for interviews. The interview prep could be probing, but by the time school interview invites started rolling in, I felt prepared, confident, and calm.
When the call came in from Kellogg, my whole extended family was gathered, and we got to celebrate that moment together- it’s a moment I will never forget. I was proud of all that I had accomplished, but I knew that I had Alice and Menlo to thank for helping me overcome the many hurdles facing my candidacy, craft the best story possible, and gain acceptance to an M7 school. If you are on the fence about hiring an admissions consultant, invest in yourself and do it- I’m glad I did. Thank you, Alice and Menlo!
Product Menlo Coaching
Consultant David White
I decided to work with David White in the first place because he genuinely tried to understand my unusual/European background and experience. I soon realized that I made the right choice.
Working with David has been invaluable and reassuring from crafting my very first essay to pressing the submit button of my last application and sending a thank you note to my interviewers after my interviews:
- He is incredibly efficient and responsive, which is more than appreciable, especially when, after spending hours on version 7 of an essay, you start asking yourself if version 2 was not better;
- Even when I was satisfied with a draft, he kept on pushing me to go the extra mile and I feel like I eventually submitted the best applications that I could have, thanks to him;
- When I was not fully convinced about an idea, a draft etc., he never fell short of valuable ideas and advice;
- During the application process, I changed my mind a few times (sometimes last minute) and David has always been happy to take the time to (re)discuss an idea, understand the reasons of my doubts and make sure that we could move on;
- Finally, David is honest, genuinely interested in his students’ success and 100% worth his hourly rate. David’s help went way beyond preparing my applications. He had been a great career coach and happy to help me on any matter he could.
