Personal MBA Coach Admissions Consulting Reviews

Through Personal MBA coach i worked directly with the founder, Scott. That was important for me because i wanted consistency in the consulting i received and i wanted a personalized service, which is probably easier attained when working with a smaller firm. What i noticed about Scott from the first conversation we had was that he was evaluating me as a client as much as i was evaluating him as a consultant. This showed me that he was looking for a client that he knew he could deliver for. And deliver he did. I got into my top choice schools thanks to some really good, transparent and critical reviews of my personal statements. The process wasn't just paper review though, Scott helped me structure my past experiences and shape a coherent future career goal that helped not only on my statements, but also on my personal career track.

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Choosing Scott as my MBA consultant was the best investment I made in preparing for graduate school admissions.
I initially discovered Scott/Personal MBA Coach through a meeting with a recruitment member from the program I would be applying to. He spoke very highly of Scott and his team and recommended that if I needed help with any stage of the application or test preparation to consider Scott.
About a year later at a QS MBA fair, I sat in the different MBA counselor panels and Scott’s presentation and expertise hit the nail on the head for what I was looking to achieve (1) authentically branding myself for an MBA, (2) support and guidance during the application process, and (3) he knew the school I was applying to and could bring a different perspective that I wouldn’t be privy to.
In our first meeting (via phone), he explained the different services and packages, I chose the 1 school application and test prep services package and he outlined what the process would look like moving forward. He was very gracious and helpful in explaining the questions I had and making the plan customizable to what I would need. We set up the timeline to apply and he put me in connection to a tutor on his team to begin test preparations.
The tutor, Shaudi, was extremely helpful, accommodating and resourceful. We met twice a week over skype (using google docs and screen share also) and she was extremely generous with examples and additional material. Having used other test prep services to prep for the GMAT I was wary of signing up for another as I was just ready for it to be an expense that didn’t drive any results but this could not be further than the truth. I wish that I had just spent the money up front to do the tutoring rather than the 8-week group prep course I had done earlier.
I am an extremely type-A, calendar, to-do list driven person and they both were extremely attentive and organized which definitely helped settle my nerves. What I especially appreciated is that they broke the process down into digestible bits. I like to finish all my outstanding items/projects at once, and that approach would not have worked here and Scott and Shaudi organized it in such a way that I knew what was coming and could see how I was making progress each week. I cannot recommend Personal MBA Coach, Scott and Shaudi enough they made my application process go so smoothly and helped remove a great deal of stress I had.

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Scott did a fantastic job preparing me for interviews and creating my resume. I came in with a below average (at best) resume and he did a fantastic job helping me stand out to give me that extra edge. Scott is attentive, quick to respond, professional and provides an experience second to none. Not only did he help me cater my resume towards business school applications but also worked diligently on a resume catered toward the internship I had been pursuing - and was ultimately rewarded. Having used other services (both private and larger "institutional size" programs), I can honestly say he is by far the best.

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I don't write online reviews. Especially not 6 years after the purchase. But Scott deserves an exception.

I knew MBA applications were a long shot for me to begin with. Coming from a no-name international school (not known to the U.S. application dropdown menu), I was hoping that I "had it in me", but at the same time know that I needed to craft the perfect application, most importantly the essays, to stand out.

My first call was into Sandy Kreisberg. My second into Scott. I went with Scott, and never regretted it. The results spoke for themselves: 4 applications (all top schools), 3 admissions, including my dream choice: Stanford GSB.

Scott knows inside out how to tailor your best and hightest-chance-of-success application package. He continually challenged me to craft the unique and authentic essays that opened the doors to the top MBA programs for me. And as if that all was not already a utopia of awesomeness, Scott helped me secure a full-ride scholarship from my national government. I mean, give me a break, Scott.

When I arrived on campus, GSB's (back then) Dean of Admissions Derrick Bolton took me by the side and told me it was my "What Matters Most To You and Why" essay that made the difference. I honestly look at that essay and I think it's the best piece I have ever written in my life. Would have not been the case without Scott.

Beyond essays, Scott is a fountain of wisdom for school selection, general application strategies, resume editing, picking recommenders, and being there for you during the emotional rollercoaster than MBA applications can be. Take my word. I could not think of a better person than Scott to partner up for this journey that can be such a life-changer. Certainly was for me. THANK YOU, SCOTT.

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When I spoke to Scott during my free consultation, what initially made him stand out from the rest is how “straight to the point” he was. He is direct and says it how it is, and I think that’s really important to get the most out of your experience with a consultant.
Scott really helped me put together my story, an area of my application I was struggling with, and helped massively with the essays (A LOT of back and forth emails giving me tips and editing). Do not expect him to come up with content, but he will give you a very clear idea of what schools look for in a candidate (being able to think about the essay from admissions point of view), he will ask the right questions to make sure you get the best out of yourself.
When it came to interview practice, I had mock interviews with him two other members of his team with experience interviewing MBA candidates at top schools. This was extremely beneficial for me; getting detailed feedback from three different people and feeling myself improve every time, by the time my actual interview came round, I was confident!
Scott was always available if I wanted to chat and his response time to my emails was great. It’s much more personal dealing with Scott rather than one of the big companies out there, he genuinely cares and wants to get the best out of you. I got into my target school and I would definitely recommend him to anybody looking to for help with an app!

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Scott is not only a great resource to bounce ideas off of, but also an excellent essay editor. Much of my reason for a consultant was to get a strategy for my application to school. Scott was great at this. However, Scott's strongest suit is his essay editing that I have to believe are second to none. He could take my writing/ideas and really make it all come together. Even after all the hard work I was waitlisted at two of my top choices. Scott was integral in helping me think through strategy and come up with the best ways to continue showing interest without pestering admissions committees. I ended up getting in to both schools. Without Scott, I am confident I would have had the same success. I would highly recommend him.

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Though I was late to the game (1 month from final deadlines) Scott Edinburg and his team at Personal MBA Coach were down for the challenge and jumped right in with me to make the most of my expedited timeframe. Working with the Personal MBA Coach team I was able to create succinct and impactful applications that were leagues above what I could have done on my own. I was invited to interview with both of the programs I applied to and, again, Personal MBA Coach was there to set up mock interviews with admissions personnel at top-ranked universities. I was recently accepted into my #1 program choice and could not be happier I chose to work with Scott and the Personal MBA Coach team.

I highly recommend them to anyone who wants to pursue their MBA education and is not afraid to jump in head first, follow their lead, and put in the work necessary to make the best application they possibly can.

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I've never considered admissions consultants, even 5 months into the application process. I honestly thought they were a waste of money, and anyone with some common sense and have successfully applied to top schools before (that requires essay writing) should be enough.

A good friend of mine who was helping me through the process asked me if I wanted to chat with Scott. Since the 15 min call was free, I called Scott and shared with him my story. To my surprise, he did not sugar coat his points of reservation, and was very forward about what aspects was not working. His honesty is refreshing. At no point in the conversation did I feel that he was courting me for his services. He was already serving me.

I only had budget for one or two schools. He recommended that we work together on the school that has the highest admit rate, because I was aiming to get into any top program in this application season. I chose to work with him on my reach school instead (with one of the lowest acceptance rates in the world). When I told him my school selection, he was nothing but supportive. I was worried that because I chose the hardest school to get into, he would not work as hard with me as he would otherwise, since I'm risking his "96% success rate.", but he was so professional, and gave me great guidance along the way.

Here are some things I really liked about Scott
- Readily Available. His turnaround times are crazy awesome. We burned through 5 or 6 drafts for three separate essays within a span of 2 weeks (15 drafts in total within 14 days). And I'm talking about serious edits with a lot of thought put in. This was during the short lull between R1 and R2. But when crunch time hits, he was still replying at an impressive rate of t+36 hours at the latest. You literally cannot find this anywhere else in the market.

-Honesty: Mentinoed this before, but he gives you good reason as to why an idea would not work. So whenever he greenlighted my story or essays, I knew I got something solid.

-Industry specific insights: This is probably the greatest value add of Scott. Throughout the process, you, as an applicant, will need guidance on more than just the essays. I remember just hitting Scott up for random questions like "which picture should I use for my application?" or "do you think I should write to alums to put in good word for me?" Scott can give school specific insights, and that helped a lot.

End result: I got interview invitations from 2 of HSW, and got an offer from one of them and a merit based fellowship.

Scott is worth every penny. And he's not even the most expensive consultant out there!

Scott- if you are reading this, thanks again.

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I decided to apply for MBA late in June, and to make the GMAT that I took 5 years ago count, I had to go for round 1, which left me with only 2-3 months to complete the whole thing. I talked to several friends who had MBA experience, and figured hiring a consultant would be very helpful in my case.

I did not know where to start, so I googled. After visiting a few forums, I collected a few names, including both big names with a large team of consultants, as well as smaller shops like Personal MBA Coach. After completing several free consulting sessions, it was almost no brainer to go with Scott. The big firms are super good at marketing, followed up warmly with you, but at the end, you were just talking to sales guys. You don't even know who would end up being your consultant. With Scott, it was pretty simple, what you see is what you get. I liked that he was very straightforward with the pros and cons in my profile after initial review, and he has had a lot of success with top 10 programs which are definitely my targets.

Throughout the process, Scott was very responsive. He's working really hard and I have seen him replying to my message anytime of the day. The promised turnaround is 24 hours but was usually much sooner that. He never shy away from honest opinions, but at the same time was receptive to ideas. At the end of the day, I know it was essay and I need to own it, but Scott has definitely provided a lot of valuable advice, from how to tell a story, to which word to choose.

When it comes to mock interview, he has a great network and was able to find interviewers that actually went to the school that I applied for.

I was very satisfied with the results. I applied for 2 top ten programs that I like and got offers from both. Without Scott's help, I'm not sure I could pull all these off in such a compressed timeline. His dedicated and personal approach definitely made a big difference!

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Accepted: CBS ED (full tuition)
Services Used: Comprehensive package for CBS

My application was unique in that Scott and I started the application one month before the deadline. After the initial free profile discussion with Scott, I found him to be down-to-earth, knowledgeable, and seemed to genuinely care about his clients (vs larger companies). I encourage everyone on the fence about admissions consultants to give Scott a call and test the waters.

Once I decided to go with him, Scott expedited our approach given my timeline, of course while still covering key aspects and providing top quality feedback, usually within 18 hours. Generally speaking, the first step was to fill out some forms and provide more background information on myself (typical resume history, interests, and motivations). A day or so later, we scheduled a call for Scott to really learn more about me. Scott takes into account almost everything in your life (or everything your willing to share) in crafting the perfect story for you. When all that is done, we worked together to create outlines for the essay. I think I had at least 8+ edits on 3 essays with Scott. This is really what you’re paying for – world class story crafting services with unlimited edits until both of you feel comfortable with the execution. Might I say that Scott delivers constructive criticism the way it is without the sugar coat, and is ultimately what should be provided.

All in all, very happy Scott was involved in my application process. My first drafts, the ones without Scott’s help, were terrible in retrospect. I know many are skeptical about admission consultants, but the upfront fee is nothing compared to potential scholarships or rejections. Give Scott a call to make your application standout.

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