Best MBA Admissions Consultants of 2024

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For more on our ranking and review process, jump down to the bottom of this article to see How We’ve Ranked the Top MBA Admissions Consultants.

If you have decided to hire an admissions consultant, choose carefully. Your relationship with your admissions consultant is going to have a big impact on the trajectory of your education, so you should make the right choice the first time. With test prep and tutors, you can often replace the tutor or retake the course if it doesn’t work out. Hiring a consultant, however, involves spending time developing a relationship. You usually have a limited time to do this, with MBA admission deadlines looming overhead. Your consultant should spend months getting to know you, uncovering your personal story, what motivates you, and why a particular set of schools are a fit. Much of this work is done in the weeks ahead of your admission deadline, and at that point, switching a consultant is likely impossible. Most high-quality consultants will already have filled out their client list by then, and there simply won’t be enough time left to build an effective relationship. You will likely have to wait until the next round of admissions.

Below, we go through each MBA admissions consultant with an overview of their services. We’ve even included some of those firms’ top individual consultants, as reviewed by clients online.

To make sure that you know what you’re getting into as you navigate the world of MBA consulting, we’ll also walk you through exactly how consultants work, and how to organize your search so that whoever you decide on can lead you all the way to your dream school.

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1. Admissionado Best MBA Admissions Consultants

 

OVERALL RATING: ★★★★★

Admissionado has a unique way of putting together an MBA application. They pair each client with an MBA expert consultant as well as a storyteller. In doing this, they are able to take an average applicant and tell their story in a compelling way. We love this style.

Their Deluxe package offers a lot of support, and they offer a few other budget-minded packages and tailored services as well. Bottom line: Admissionado provides a compelling package for all prospective MBA students out there.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ADMISSIONADO

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2. MBA Exchange Admission Consulting

 

OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

The MBA Exchange, founded by Harvard Business School graduate and entrepreneur Dan Bauer, employs dozens of former MBA admissions officers to their staff, (including HBS, Wharton, CBS, MIT Sloan, and more) which is the most impressive roster of former admissions officers experience in the entire MBA admissions landscape.
When it comes to advising, The MBA Exchange opts for a focused-mentor approach. Whereas some firms include dedicated editors throughout the process, the lead consultant at The MBA Exchange acts as a sherpa from beginning to end, dedicated to getting to know each client deeply, in order to achieve the highest quality mentorship. At the final stage of the service, a professional editor is engaged to provide a polish pass, but the heavy lifting has already been done.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MBA EXCHANGE

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3. mbaMission MBA Admissions Consulting Firm

 

OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

mbaMission offers experience and excellent customer service. They have great online reviews and we like their individual approach, where applicants are supported by the entire mbaMission team. However, for the price they offer, we’d expect a little bit more admissions administration experience in their team members; though that’s not to say their team doesn’t know their way around the admissions process.

They offer a free 30-minute consultation with your chosen consultant before a commitment, which is necessary because they ask you to choose your own consultant. We prefer a more extensive matchmaking process than this, but some applicants would rather choose their own individual consultant, and this method can lead to great results and applicants feeling more empowered and confident about their role in the process.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MBAMISSION

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4. Accepted MBA Admissions Consultants

 

OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

Accepted has the most diverse product offering we’ve seen, which we love.

Their team has quite a bit of top-tier admissions committee and director experience, which we also think is a great asset. Each applicant is assigned to one consultant, but has the backing of the entire team, our preferred approach. Still, Accepted lacks some of the a la carte services that other consultant teams offer, such as a career coaching package.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ACCEPTED

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5. Varsity Tutors MBA Consulting Firm

OVERALL RATING:★★★★★

Varsity Tutors offers new students a free consultation and multiple levels of services, from hourly rates to full packages you can purchase for up to 8 schools. Veritas also offers a number of GMAT + admissions packages, so that you can carry their services from the very beginning of your MBA applications.

Many of the online reviews for Varsity Tutors GMAT resources are positive. Veritas excels not only at helping students score what they need on the GMAT but also working to make sure that you have all the resources you need to prepare for your specific school. However, their relative levels of experience, when compared to other major consultant firms, are somewhat low. They have a low number of former MBA admissions officers on their team, and with only 17 years of operation, are also the second youngest company out of the top consultant firms on our list.

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Other MBA Admissions Consulting Firms

The top MBA admissions consulting firms listed above all have great things to offer, whether it’s personal 1-on-1 coaching, professional consultants with top-tier admissions experience, or consulting packages that provide unlimited access and extra resources for the GMAT, essay tips, and individual school admissions. Here are some other popular choices for MBA admissions consulting.

6. Menlo Personal MBA Coach

Menlo Personal MBA Coach is a renowned name in the MBA admissions consulting industry. With a team of seasoned MBA graduates from the world’s elite business schools, they bring a wealth of knowledge to the table. Their unique approach focuses on a personalized touch, ensuring that each applicant’s story is told in the most compelling manner.

Recognizing the intricacies of the MBA admissions process, Menlo’s consultants work closely with business school applicants, guiding them at every step. Their expertise is evident in their deep understanding of what MBA admissions officers look for in potential candidates. With a rich history in the admissions consulting industry, Menlo Personal MBA Coach has successfully assisted numerous candidates in securing spots at top-tier institutions.

7. Prep MBA Admissions Consulting

Prep MBA Admissions Consulting stands out for its comprehensive approach to MBA admissions consulting. Their team, comprising experienced MBA graduates, offers insights that stem from firsthand experiences. Recognizing the pivotal role of an MBA admissions consulting firm in shaping a candidate’s future, Prep MBA ensures that every aspect of the application is meticulously crafted.

Their consultants delve deep into understanding the aspirations and strengths of each applicant, ensuring that their narrative aligns with the expectations of the best MBA admissions committees. With years of MBA admissions consulting experience, they have a proven track record of transforming ordinary profiles into extraordinary success stories.

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8. Square One MBA Consulting Firm

Square One MBA Consulting Firm is a beacon of excellence in the realm of MBA admissions consulting. Their holistic approach ensures that every candidate receives tailored guidance, resonating with their unique profile and aspirations. With a team that boasts of personal MBA coaches and alumni from top-tier institutions, Square One has an in-depth understanding of the nuances of the MBA admissions process.

Their consultants are adept at highlighting the strengths of business school applicants, ensuring that their applications resonate with the ethos of the world’s elite business schools. With a commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and professionalism, Square One has carved a niche for itself in the MBA prep school arena.

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MBA Admission Consultant Alternatives

If you are weighing the option of hiring an MBA admissions consultant but cannot decide on one, or if the fees are too high for you at this time, consider some alternatives.

Many students reach out to B-school alumni for advice. Alumni can be a valuable source of information about the culture of the school and the best way for you to present yourself. Current and former MBA admissions officers will often also offer feedback and tips on how to create the best MBA application possible. Many schools have alumni interviewers, and you can try to get in touch with them for free (but limited) advice. Sometimes you’ll find that a source with no personal stake in the game can give some of the best advice, even though they aren’t professionals.
Many of the firms we’ve ranked have individual services that aren’t as expensive as their packages. If you just need some brushing up on your resume or want advice on reapplying to your dream school, take a look at their a la carte packages.
If you are most worried about your GMAT score, consider getting a top GMAT prep course to maximize your score. Have a look at our comparison chart for an in-depth breakdown of each of the top GMAT prep courses and how they stack up against one another.

Check Out Top GMAT Prep Courses

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How We’ve Ranked the Top MBA Admissions Consultants:

After reviewing the top six MBA admissions consultants, we have ranked them based on the following criteria:

Experience

Like any service, there are many reputable providers and others that aren’t. It is often difficult to easily determine which one is which, but one way we’ve found is how long they’ve been in business. One sure way to determine if an MBA admissions consultant is worth the price is if they have been in the business for many years, and if their consultants’ credentials match their price.

Matchmaking Process

Like every MBA candidate, every admissions consultant is different, so it’s important to be matched with someone that works with you. Larger companies will have a large enough team to match you with the right person. If you work with a smaller company, be sure that the individual is a good fit for you and your goals. The matchmaking process should include criteria like target-school expertise, industry alignment, personality, and demographic knowledge.

It is so important to get this right immediately. The consultant-applicant relationship must be strong in order to put together the best application. Consultants typically spend months getting to know the applicant before the application package is completed.

If you decide to work with a smaller company, be sure to interview a few to get a feel for the type of consultant that you need and will be the best fit for you. We have no preference for large companies v. small companies, as long as the relationship works, it works!

Some firms will use a more decentralized, team-based approach to admissions counseling. While we like the idea of a support team, we prefer each candidate to have a one-on-one relationship with a consultant and have ranked this style higher. We really like firms that offer a dedicated consultant plus the backing of the entire team.

Is Unlimited Truly Unlimited?

Most applicants will apply to between 4 and 6 programs, so choosing a firm that has representation across many schools is important. When ranking MBA admission consultants, we weighted the firms with consultants from many or all of the top programs more heavily than those without. However, if you are only applying to one school, finding the firm or consultant with that school’s expertise is more important than broad experience.

We have come across admissions consultants with no top-tier experience on their team, and for some of the most competitive schools—this can be a disadvantage.

Top-Tier Admissions Committee Representation

Most applications are due around the same time, so MBA admission consultants find themselves incredibly busy during that time of year. If a firm allows individual consultants to take on too many clients at a time, the clients may find that the consultant is not as available as the due date looms.

Some firms expect their consultants to take on more than 20 clients per round. As a result, the consultants are spread too thin and are not able to offer the attention that might be necessary.

We ranked firms higher if they limit the individual consultant’s client load to ensure that each client is given the attention that they deserve. We also rank firms higher if the consultants are not expected to take on every single client sent their way.

Limits on Consultant Load

Most applications are due around the same time, so MBA admission consultants and counselors find themselves incredibly busy during this time. If a firm allows individual consultants to take on many clients at a time, the clients may find that the consultant is not as available as the due date looms.

Some firms expect their consultants to take on more than 20 clients per round. The MBA admissions counselors within a firm are spread too thin and are not able to offer the attention that might be necessary.

We ranked firms higher if they limit the individual consultant’s client load to ensure that each client is given the attention that they deserve. We also rank firms higher if the consultants are not expected to take on every single client sent their way.

Team vs. Individual Approach

Ask any potential admissions consultant what services and resources they offer. Many just offer one consultant, and that’s it. Some will have a decentralized team-based approach. Others will have a point person plus an entire team working with you. This team could include client liaisons (who are available to answer more general questions), former admissions officers with school-specific expertise, and a reviewer to go over your final application package. Additional services like these are incredibly valuable.

We prefer a team headed by an individual consultant, as we’ve found that this offers avdeep relationship necessary for the most success along with additional accountability. Additional eyes on your application, especially from someone with your dream school’s expertise, is invaluable.

Additional Resources

MBA admissions consultant firms should have resources that include prior essays, interview questions, transcripts, guides, and best practices for each school. That way, if you don’t need to purchase a full package, these a la carte services can fulfill your highest-priority needs for a lower price.

Yelp

What do Yelp users have to say? Yelp seems to be one of the only sites without fake reviews (at least not many, and you can usually tell which ones are not entirely scrupulous). When ranking firms, we looked at the quality of reviews over time. We ranked firms with great reviews over the years higher than those with very few or only recent reviews.

Free Evaluation

As we mentioned, MBA admissions consultants are not miracle workers, and they’re not all going to be a perfect fit for you. We rank firms with a free consultation or analysis higher because we think it is necessary to get a feel for the style, experience, and personality before you decide on one. After all, you’ll be spending quite a bit of time talking to them!

What We’ve Left Out

Self-Reported Success Rates

You’ve likely noticed that many MBA admissions consultants advertise their success rates online. We have left these numbers out of our criteria. That is by design. We think that self-reported success rates are often misleading. Almost all consultants advertise a 96%+ success rate, so it isn’t a differentiator.

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FAQs for MBA Admission Consultants

What is an MBA Admission Consultant?

An MBA admission consultant operates either as an individual, a part of a boutique company run by a few experienced experts, or as part of a larger firm with many consultants. They generally provide MBA program direction and application advising, which can include any number of services. Consultants will walk you through every element of today’s MBA admission requirements, which can include essay direction, resume overhaul, and interview prep. Some also provide test prep, and pre- and post-application services, as well as rejection and waitlist planning.  Nowadays, they’ll even help make sure that your social media accounts will hold up to scrutiny from even the strictest admissions committee. Their service offerings help simplify what can be an anxiety-ridden process for many. These various services either come in one large consulting package—which costs more with every school you apply to—or as individual, ‘a la carte’ packages that provide you with specific services for a lower price Consultants help potential MBA applicants put the best spin on their admissions package and tailor the package to what an individual school is looking for. Usually, they are graduates or former admission officers of top-tier MBA programs, but not all consultants have the same experience level. When it comes to hiring an MBA admission consultant, checking out their professional and educational pedigree is a smart first move.

Who Should Hire an MBA Admission Consultant?

Hiring an admission consultant is obviously a monetary investment, but it will also demand a great deal of your time. Considering the commitment required of you, it’s definitely a good idea to spend time considering whether MBA consulting will be worth it for you.

An admission consultant could be of value to you if you find the MBA process daunting or if you want to maximize your chance of success. MBA consultants are there to guide you through the process, help show off your best assets, and spin the not-so-great elements of your admissions package.

For example, consider MBA admission essays. The essay process can be hard, or even near-impossible for plenty of MBA applicants—you have to convey what makes you special and unique, but also what makes you a safe and reliable candidate. Packing all that information within a tight word count is no easy task, but it’s exactly what a good MBA admissions consultant knows how to do well. Items like MBA admission essays are their bread and butter.

If you have a difficult time selling yourself, an MBA consultant can be invaluable. With years of experience under their belts, they’re also great resources to help prepare for problems that you may never have considered.

If you are on the cusp of your desired school’s averages, for instance, you may want to hire an admission consultant to help push the rest of your admissions package to the top of the pile. However, if you scored in the low 600s on your GMAT and your school has a median score of 700+, an admissions counselor may not be the right investment. In that case, spending a little extra on a GMAT prep course to boost that score would probably serve you better. There are resources available for every level of applicant, so check out our other GMAT pages to see which investment makes the most sense for you.

If you do decide that an MBA admission consultant is the way to go, know that prices, experience, and services vary widely. Doing a little up-front research is imperative in selecting an MBA admission consultant. That’s where we come in! To make your MBA consultant search easier, we’ve done  most of the heavy lifting of that research for you.

Will an MBA Consultant Get Me Into a Top Program?

It’s important to manage your expectations of what an admissions consultant can and can’t do. An admissions consultant cannot turn an average MBA applicant into a stellar one, and no amount of spin can bring you up to high MBA admission requirements, such as changing the concrete numbers of your GMAT score. There is no guarantee that hiring an admissions consultant will get you admitted.

While they can’t perform miracles, consultants are able to help you show off your greatest assets, help you sell yourself, and help you address any issues that an admissions officer might question. It might be tough to hear at times, but having an experienced admissions consultant who is realistic about possibilities and gets you into the RIGHT school will turn out better in the long run than someone who pushes for a program that’s out of your reach.

It is also important to realize that they do not apply for you. You still have to put in a considerable amount of time and energy into the application process. Sometimes, a consultant will even have you doing more legwork than you might have done applying on your own; but, they’ll be there to professionally guide you through every step of the process. You will still have to fill out the application, write your essays, request recommendations (and write the post-recommendation thank you note), and interview. The consultant simply guides you through this process and makes sure that you are maximizing your potential.

Many students assume that admission consultants will write their essays for them. While this does happen on occasion, it is first, unethical, and second, potentially damaging to your application. If your admissions essay is considerably better than your standardized test essays, an admissions panel will likely see through it, and reject your application. If it seems to be almost identical in style and structure to other applicants, they might also reject your application. Regardless of how bad you think your writing is, it is never advisable to have someone else write your essay. The consultants that we have reviewed do not write essays on your behalf. They will, however, guide you through the process and advise you on different writing topics. In fact, there’s so much demand for students who need help writing MBA admission essays that some consultants offer specialized essay revision services outside of their standard consulting packages—check out our comparison chart to see which ones do, and which ones don’t.

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Top 9 Best MBA Admission Consultants of 2024

Best MBA Admissions Consultants	Course Feature	1-School Price
Stacy Blackman Consulting	All-in Package	$4,850
Admissionado	Consultant + Storyteller team	$2,185
MBA Exchange	Former M7 Adcom Experience	$4,900
mbaMission	High User Reviews	$4,900
Accepted	25 Years Experience	$4,575
Varsity Tutors	GMAT + Packages	$4,700
Menlo Coaching	B-School Profiles	Variable
Prep MBA	Exclusive Access: 5 Clients Per Year	$5,995
Square One	4-Person Team per Client	$6,400