Esther Choy Reviews

I considered a number of consultants prior to partnering with Esther and Faisal. From our first conversation it was clear that Esther is someone who genuinely cares about her clients’ success and has the skill set to push them to deliver the best and most genuine stories about themselves. I knew that I would need to deliver a refined narrative on my application to find success given that I came from a non-traditional background without a well-known employer on my resume.
What I especially appreciate is that Esther and Faisal do not impose their idea of what the perfect story is for you, but challenge you to figure it out yourself. This is valuable not only for the application and admissions interviews but also for future career discussions. I was able to authentically and articulately convey my story to other students and admissions staff.
Esther and Faisal were also accommodating to my tight timeline. We completed the entire process in just a few short weeks. They were both very responsive to my questions and ready to talk at any time. I strongly recommend Esther and Faisal to anyone who is looking for an MBA consulting team.

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After an initial tough round applying to an MBA, I am grateful to have had Esther and Faisal as my advisors the second time around. Esther has been invaluable in helping me find my voice within my applications and be a better storyteller within my interviews. All the while Faisal consistently encouraged and supported me throughout process as he meticulously polished every aspect of my application. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and have gained invaluable skills that I will continue to use throughout my career. I am happy to say I will be attending one of my top choices this fall!

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Business school was the best decision I made in my life, and I know I could not have gone through the application process without Faisal Khan and Esther Choy. Not only did they teach me about the schools I was applying to, but they taught be a great deal about myself and how to portray myself in the best light. I learned how to tell the right stories in the right way, and this "story-telling" was integral to not only the admissions process, but also to the rest of my life." After school, I will be working as a management consultant, and I know I will use the skills I learned from Esther and Faisal, as well as the MBA degree that they helped me achieve. I highly recommend working with them. Oh, and they're awesome people too!

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At 32 years old with a family and after a difficult 2013 MBA application season, I realized that it was now or never for getting into business school. In 2013 I applied to three northeast schools—Wharton (FT), Columbia (FT), and Stern (FT)—and was ultimately dinged from all three after interviewing at two and being wait-listed at one. I needed an edge to make sure that my next application season was successful and my last. While I spoke with several MBA admission consulting companies, after reaching out to Tyler Cormney of MBA Prep School and having my introductory interview with Esther Choy I knew I had found that edge with MBA Prep School.

After my initial conversation with Esther there were four reasons I selected MBA Prep School and especially Esther Choy and Faisal Khan to coach me for my 2014 application season:
• Their high historical success rate,
• Their school selection strategy aligned with my goals (i.e., diversify among top schools vs. go downstream with schools)
• They had the most collaborative and warm culture among the firms I interviewed (e.g., kicking off the essay writing process Esther said, “now the fun begins”—and she meant it!), and
• As a collaborative team, Esther and Faisal could provide a more rounded perspective regarding my application—Esther described it as getting both the “cup half full” and the “cup half empty” perspective.

While the application process was still a lot of work, it was a lot more fun than my previous go around and I felt more confident having a team supporting me in the process. I even looked forward to our update calls as the brainstorming process was so enjoyable. Some of the areas that Esther and Faisal helped the most were in the following:
• Capturing a compelling MBA vision,
• Brainstorming the most powerful story ideas to differentiate my vision and leadership strengths—with a team based model, this meant I got an extra “outside opinion” early in the process of writing an essay,
• Teaching me that stories can be used in many contexts beyond the most obvious ones and how to structure those stories for the most powerful effect,
• Providing editing recommendations, i.e., pointing out areas warranting elaboration, but especially for suggesting areas to remove content and details to make room for the most powerful story elements, and
• Providing guidance about selecting the most powerful recommenders among my pool of options.

However, beyond the more immediate goal of getting accepted to business school, I feel like working with Esther and Faisal has given me tools that will make me more successful in business. The experience has made me not only both a better writer, but also more able to communicate a compelling vision in broader contexts. Currently working in consulting, I foresee this having immediate benefits with:
• Communicating my personal vision and strengths to colleagues and clients,
• Pitching our company’s vision to clients to win projects,
• Developing compelling client recommendations that clients actually want to read, and
• Creating a more compelling individual performance narrative that allows me to earn a higher performance rating and achieve a more rapid promotion timeline.

Ultimately, I was accepted to all four schools I applied to—Wharton (EMBA), Columbia (EMBA), Kellogg (1Y FT), and Tuck (FT)—and even earned a sizeable scholarship from Kellogg. While I was expecting good things to come out of this application season, after my previous year’s application season performance, I was not expecting this level of success. That’s another of the many reasons I’m so thankful for Esther and Faisal’s help, guidance, and ability to make the process more fun that made this experience so successful and rewarding. If you’re looking to learn the tools that will make you more successful in the b-school application process and in business in general, look no further than Esther Choy and Faisal Khan at MBA Prep School.

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I’d like to start by saying that I am very hesitant to refer to Esther Choy and Faisal Khan as admission consultants. I see them more as mentors and partners that are indispensable in my quest to gain admission to top MBA programs.

Almost everyone who chooses to go through the grueling MBA admission process is motivated, disciplined, and has a successful track record. What differentiates one candidate from another is the way he/she conveys messages. Esther and Faisal helped me to build a compelling and genuine story throughout this process.

Esther started off the process by story mining, refining, and more refining. She constantly pushed me to look beyond the norms and examine myself more thoroughly. I ended up learning more about myself than I ever did. At the same time, she was very careful with not putting words in my mouth, so what I presented to the admission committee was truly my voice.

The next step was to put together an engaging story that resonates. This was where Esther’s gift in storytelling and Faisal’s incredible writing skills came in. Esther started with the basics such as the structure of stories and the art of what to leave out, which made an ordinary event sounded much more interesting and engaging.

While Esther taught me how to communicate effectively, Faisal focused on how to communicate more efficiently. I was amazed by Faisal’s ability to cut down a lengthy essay to something that was very concise without losing its character. The essays demonstrated truly who I am rather than a façade tailored to the MBA admission. Their guidance was instrumental in helping me to convey a powerful message to the admission committee and securing a position at one of the top MBA programs.

However, an acceptance letter from a top MBA program is hardly the most valuable thing that I’ve gained through working with Esther and Faisal. I’ve learned through this process how to communicate effectively and efficiently, and how to connect to my audiences through powerful storytelling. This is something that will benefit me for the rest of my career.

I would highly recommend Esther and Faisal to anyone who is seeking a transforming experience, and who is looking far and beyond the MBA admission process.

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Enlisting the help of Esther Choy and Faisal Khan for my business school admissions process was simply one of the best professional decisions of my life. I firmly believe that without their help, I would not have gotten into a top-5 MBA program. While there are many MBA admissions consultants out there, I believe that Esther and Faisal differentiate themselves in the following ways:

1. Robust client workplan: If I had to mention one item that sets Esther and Faisal apart from other admissions consultants, I would have to say it is their comprehensive client workplan. They rely on a framework that breaks the MBA application process into its discrete components and that is truly the best way to brainstorm and figure out how to portray yourself to the admissions committee.

2. Powerful storytelling process: Not only will Esther and Faisal provide you with timely and detailed feedback to help you polish your essays, but they will also help you craft a compelling story that will touch the admissions officers on an emotional level. They pushed me to edit and re-edit my essays until all of them tied together in a way that my overall application actually had a unified theme and a powerful underlying career purpose.

3. First-hand experience as both students and admissions officers: Esther and Faisal can offer incredible insights into the MBA applications process as they have both attended a top-tier MBA program AND they have both served on a top-tier MBA school's admissions committee. Their unique background offers them a holistic and comprehensive view that was immensely helpful for me. For instance, when I was waitlisted at one of my schools, Esther was able to provide me with some insider knowledge about how the process works behind the scenes and then gave me advice on the best way to proceed.

4. Kindness and generosity: During my MBA application process I was waitlisted at a school that was not part of the our consulting arrangement. Despite this, Esther was kind enough to offer her services in helping me get off the waitlist, free-of-charge, because she cared about me and my future beyond that of a typical admissions consultant.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with the whole admissions process and attribute a lot of my eventual success to the help that Esther and Faisal provided to me. I definitely recommend them if you are looking to take your MBA applications to the next level!

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