All-In 'Plan Ahead' Package - Part I
'Plan Ahead' Part I: This service - the first of 2 parts (and 2 payments) - saves your spot on my roster for the following season, locks in the current pricing before any annual increases, and reserves (on average) roughly 1 hour of consulting time per month from signup all the way until you're ready to start your process. This early-bird stage of your comprehensive consulting service includes our kick-off call, where we'll talk extensively about your background, the brag sheet you'll fill out, and start the process of identifying and putting together your overall application strategy and personal narrative. The fee for Part I is half the current price for a 1-school comprehensive service ($4000) plus $1500 for the Plan Ahead package ($5500 total). When you do start the process (beginning with resume revision, then moving on to recommender selection/prep), roughly 4-5 months before the deadlines you're targeting, you'll just need to choose the number of schools you'll want my help with and sign up for the second part of your package. The fee for Part II is the second half of the current 1-school comprehensive service (another $4000) plus the package price for each additional school (i.e. $4000 for 1 school, $6000 for 2, $8000 for 3, etc...). ----------------------------- While the range of services covered in my comprehensive package is the same as that of leading consulting firms, I limit my client roster to a much smaller number (~10 applicants vs 25-35+), allowing far more individual focus and a 'whatever it takes' approach to producing the strongest and most compelling application possible. This package includes: • Strategizing application approach • Discussing methods of augmenting candidacy • Advising on school selection strategy • Review and edit of CV • Guidance on recommender selection and recommender 'guidance packets' • Brainstorming and assisting in development of essay concepts and structure • Editing/final polish of essays • Guidance and polishing of application data forms • Interview preparation and 2 mock interviews • Assistance with waitlist update letters and strategy, if needed This package does not include any limit on iterations, such as the number of drafts. As a full-time professional consultant committed to helping a small number of applicants develop the strongest possible material, I do whatever it takes to maximize your chances for admission. I’ve worked extensively with all types of applicants from all over the world, from military combat veterans and individuals with non-traditional backgrounds in entertainment and government to accomplished professionals in technology, investment banking, management consulting, VC and PE. I particularly enjoy working with a wide variety of applicants each round who have an acute need to stand out in highly competitive applicant pools.
What's included
Over the years, I’ve learned that taking certain key steps in a certain order makes the application process flow more smoothly and efficiently, maximizing quality while avoiding wasted time. I like to start with each applicant filling out a brag sheet, then scheduling an intensive ‘kick-off call’ to discuss a wide range of influences, life choices and other themes, usually resulting in a goldmine of insights, behavioral patterns, differentiators, and possible essay themes. From there, I like to focus on resume revision, then pivot to the ‘recommender selection/prep’ process, and then work on whatever other odds and ends need further attention, such as the short- or long-term professional goal story. By this point, we’ll both have done so much probing, high-quality thinking that we’ll be in excellent shape to start brainstorming and outlining the most difficult essays for the first application we tackle. As for process, I find that both calls and offline feedback are indispensable. For essay brainstorming and other challenging collaboration-intensive aspects of the process, nothing beats a live call. On the other hand, when suggesting a long list of edits on a new draft, taking the time to explain each issue and suggest specific fixes in writing is helpful for me, and my clients find that having ample time to review and think about this carefully prepared feedback is the most helpful and efficient for them. We can always schedule a call to discuss any questions, concerns, doubts, or even just to review our progress. Typically, my clients tend to schedule calls every 5-10 days, while trading revisions and feedback via email throughout the process. I handle everyday communications through email, and I find that our progress is optimized when clients send me complete revisions (and full sets of questions, if any) that reflect as much of my prior feedback as possible, rather than incomplete ‘just to see if I’m on the right track’ revisions. After we finalize the content for each main piece of an application, e.g. resume, essays, app form content, I like to do a final polish on all of it to make sure everything fits the required word limits and to address any issues with writing mechanics. As always, the more careful thought and hard work you put into this process yourself, the more I can help you make your ideas and final output even more compelling, often to the point where we’re both proud of what you’ve created and we can’t wait for you to submit it.
- Resume: review, guidance, final polish
- Recommendations: guidance on selection and creation/refinement of recommender prep packets
- Application essays: overall strategy, brainstorming, story selection, outlining guidance, feedback on multiple drafts, final polish/trimming
- Application data forms: overall guidance, feedback on content, final polish
- Interview prep + 2 mock interview
- Waitlist strategy and update letters during waitlist period (if applicable)
Meet your expert
Andy P.
500+ S/H/W admits, 750+ M7 admits, 25 yrs experience, only 10 clients/round
Best advice for applicants: “From over 20 years of working with applicants, training other coaches, and navigating client-satisfaction challenges at a top coaching firm, I can pinpoint the one area where all applicants need more help than they realize: storytelling. It starts with stepping through an intensive introspection process to identify your core differentiators and the optimal version of your story. Then, just as critically, it involves developing and executing your story in a way that resonates best with Admissions Committee readers. Nothing like this is taught in any MBA program, and it’s a completely different skill set from evaluating hundreds of applications as AdCom readers do. Every time I’ve worked with a re-applicant, or someone who was unhappy with their original coach and switched to me mid-process, the problem was always inadequate storytelling.” Background: Born and raised in New England, Andy studied economics at Stanford, where he took several second-year MBA courses at the Stanford GSB and served as a writing tutor for the university’s most rigorous and selective humanities track. After graduation, he worked at an e-commerce startup and was promoted to Program Manager for Online & End-User Marketing. Eager to focus more on storytelling and creative expression, he wrote his first screenplay and signed with a Hollywood literary agency. When Andy began coaching, he immediately enjoyed the combination of strategic marketing and audience-targeted storytelling. Since 2002, Andy has worked with three top-rated consulting firms. He co-designed the editing service for one firm, worked as a re-match consultant for clients unable to continue progressing with their original consultant, and served as the sole ‘essay doctor’ for the entire firm (100+ consultants) for clients concerned about the quality of their essays. He continues to mentor new consultants and teach workshops on essay development, while also supporting Stanford’s admission team as an alumni interviewer. Andy specializes in helping clients in crowded applicant pools dig deeper to identify their most compelling mix of differentiating, MBA-relevant strengths, and then optimally convey those strengths through superior storytelling. He has helped applicants gain admission to every top business school in the world, including Stanford, HBS, Wharton, Kellogg, Columbia, INSEAD, LBS, Haas, Sloan, Booth, Yale, Tuck, Duke, and Stern.
