It is time to apply to business school. And you are worried about the
competition. Your friend, Ricardo, has hired a consultant to help him prepare his b-school
applications. He has successfully located someone who appears to know all the 'ins and
outs' of applying, and has offered to help him write some 'winning' essays.
Should you consider hiring your friend's consultant? What are the
advantages? What are the disadvantages?
On the plus side, there’s the general knowledge that consultants have of
MBA programs. Some have even worked for an admissions office and are familiar
with how candidates are evaluated.
On the downside, consultants can so finely tune your essays that
your own personal voice is lost. Or, even worse, your essays may read like they
were written by multiple authors.
Admissions staff reading your application will gain little, if any,
insight into the true you. And they may question the authenticity of your work,
calling your integrity and admissibility into question.
While a consultant may seem like a quicker route to your MBA
destination, he or she can be expensive and not without pitfalls. So, if you
are do use a consultant, use him or her in an advisory capacity – as a sounding
board and someone with whom to discuss your thoughts and ideas. If you are
unable to find a suitable coach or choose not to use one, do not be concerned.
All the resources you need to present the best application possible are readily
available.
Virtual resources to guide you in your MBA preparation include the
websites listed along the left-hand navigation bar of this blog; websites of
individual business schools; mba.com, managed
by the General Management Admissions Council (GMAC), an organization supporting
business schools; and applicant and student blogs (don't forget to view our MBA Student Voice Blog,
accessible via the right-hand navigation bar on this page).
You may also learn about b-schools and the application process
through campus visits (view our campus visit program), attending forums such as The MBA Tour or QS World Tour where representatives of
hundreds of schools from around the world are interested in meeting and talking
with you, as well as receptions and other events sponsored by individual
schools and/or groups of schools (view a list of our worldwide events).
As you prepare your application(s) to business school(s), keep this one thing
in mind: most MBA programs select the best applicants to their programs rather
than the best applications. Spend less
time on 'impression management' and devote more energy to letting us admissions officers
get to know the genuine you.
