28,676Leland Reviews

Nancy has been an invaluable partner in my professional development. Her coaching goes beyond mere skill-building; she truly invests in understanding me as a whole person – my values, aspirations, and even my anxieties. This holistic approach has enabled her to challenge my thinking and problem-solving in ways that resonate deeply. I wholeheartedly recommend her as an executive coach to anyone seeking to unlock their full potential.

EXPERT GUIDANCE LEADING TO 2 M7 ADMISSIONS Background: 30M, India, 760 GMAT, 9+ years in the Tech Industry. We spent 20+ hours together, focusing on everything from reflecting on my story to working on the application and preparing for the interviews. Right from the first call, Greg was super responsive. He was very transparent about the process and took the time to understand my background and goals. I signed up for hourly services with Greg, which was worth every penny. I would not have been able to achieve these results on my own. Result: I applied to Booth and Kellogg, got admitted to both, and received a scholarship offer from Booth.

Above and beyond doesn't do Greg justice. When I started searching for MBA counselors, many started to sound similar - either promising to move mountains, or being pessimistic on my candidacy. As a white American male in Finance from New York, slightly older than the average candidate with a 700 GMAT score and 3.3 GPA, I was realistic about my candidacy, but optimistic with strong essays and direction I could succeed in the process. From Day 1, Greg broke this mold and working with him was by far the best decision I have made throughout the admissions process. Even before engaging, Greg offered to do a quick read through of a draft essay I wrote for a school, offering complimentary comments as part of his free consultation. He was frank about my odds, but optimistic, passionate, and ready to go to battle! Through out, Greg was extremely responsive to all questions. While we engaged on the Tier 2 package for 2 schools, and supplemented that with hourly services to finish the rest (I was very ambitious applying to 8 schools), he did not let the confines of our engagement limit his work - i.e. if an essay needed 30 more minutes than I had purchased, he was genuinely engaged with producing the best results. In addition, Greg structurally went above and beyond in terms of availability and engagement. We began with a kick-off meeting in person - something not typically included in any of the Avanti packages, but he was truly willing to do whatever it took to partner and put our best foot forward. In addition to the numerous additional hours he put in on top of our agreed upon engagement to drive home essays to the finish line, he also provided introductions to people within his network who would add value to my application and, more importantly, my overall business school search process. Greg epitomizes someone who pays-it-forward. The first rounds of revisions really steered the ship, beginning high level with structure and content, while latter reviews brought the full polish to the essays. Greg was always extremely professional, kind, while balancing that with providing strong feedback and getting the best out of me. I can confidently say Greg was the best choice for an admissions counselor, providing A+, institutional caliber service with a bespoke, customized, personal touch. As a result, I received interview invitations to Wharton, Fuqua, Darden, and UNC Kenan-Flagler and am happily enrolled at UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Evan helped give me advice when applying for Visa and helped prepare me for understanding the Visa business and the payments ecosystem. His knowledge on product management is deep and his experience in San Francisco was very valuable for my career growth. Thank you Evan!

2 FOR 2, TOP 10 DREAM SCHOOL ON TIGHT TIMELINE! – Mid-twenties white male (US) – 4 yrs total experience in Strategy/Ops at lesser known F500 companies – GPA 3.4 from top undergrad – GRE: 325 – Only applied to 2 (reach) schools, with low expectations of having to potentially re-apply next year to far more schools… then met Greg. My application journey was a sprint due to my own indecision about whether to pursue my MBA. I had no clue where to start beyond the GMAT, but eventually decided only a couple of months before the round 2 deadline to dedicate myself fully to the application process and to find an admissions consultant to assist in the process. After setting up several introductory calls with admissions consulting firms, I found Greg and could immediately tell that he cared far more about my personal journey and success in the process than any other consultants that I spoke with. This proved true throughout. I decided to purchase the “25 hour” package with Greg, during which he helped brainstorm, applied structure and shared strategies for recommendation requests, resume and essays, interview prep, networking, thank you notes, you name it. Greg was the first to suggest that I switch from the GMAT to GRE, which turned out to be a crucial improvement to my profile. He was ready to work on whatever I thought was most pressing, or guide each session based on what he thought I should be prioritizing most at that point in the application cycle. He is willing to make himself available for consultation at nearly any time of day and is beyond patient, even when I tested the far limits of procrastination before my deadlines. By the end, I got the sense that Greg cared considerably about me as a person and my success in the process, evidenced by his willingness to do whatever it takes to get my apps in, and polished, on time. Greg is incredibly smart, knowledgeable, efficient, patient, and friendly. Greg holds himself to such a high standard as a consultant that he does not charge for any time spent below 100% efficiency. 1 hour sessions regularly drifted toward 90 minutes of pure productivity, only 60 minutes of which he would charge for due to the fact that he somehow expected to be able to complete things faster. Even when the reason for overtime was me distracting him with off-topic items, chit-chat, etc. Truly remarkable. Could not recommend Greg more highly. 1 Top 10 (dream school) and 1 Top 15, all thanks to Greg!

Greg's support turned 2 previous M7 waitlists into admits TLDR- If you want a consultant whom you can trust, who holds a mirror to who you are as a candidate and help you build on your strengths, look no further than Greg! My application journey was a long and difficult one and it became easier since I started working with Greg. I initially came to Greg for helping me get off the waitlist for one school but quickly found myself working with him for other parts of my application as well. Greg will consistently go to great lengths to get things right and have a candid dialogue to keep you motivated throughout the application process. I wholeheartedly recommend Greg as an MBA consultant! My background: For the most part, my (29, F) stats are average: 720 GMAT, 8.5 GPA from T20 undergrad university in India. When I started the application process, I knew that it was not my stats but my story and vision that I would have to lean on to differentiate myself. Also, I did have work experience in the US that could have helped me stand out. Of the 4 schools I applied to in R1 (working with another consultant), I was waitlisted at Haas and Booth and rejected at others. Unclear how to manage the waitlist process, I combed through several videos on Youtube and found Greg's video on waitlist strategy to be most thorough. Shortly after, I reached out to Greg for his hourly services to help me get off the waitlist. I applied to HBS in Round 2 where I leveraged Greg's services for the HBS Interview prep and post-interview reflection. Outcomes: Through Greg's support, I was able to get off the waitlist for both Booth and Haas with $$ scholarship. While I ultimately couldn't get off the HBS waitlist as the class was full by R2, I was extremely grateful to have Greg's counsel through this process. Managing the waitlist process for several schools felt like a very taxing and ambiguous process. Working with Greg helped me break this down into tactical steps and overall made it very manageable. What worked well: I. Diving deep in my story- I beleive what helped me get off the waitlists was Greg's support with my introspection followed by effectively articulating what truly made me unique as a candidate to the schools. For example, in the Booth waitlist video, Greg helped me comb through Booth's website/articles to identify a theme that would be unique and most importantly, true to my story. In the HBS post-interview reflection, because of Greg's guidance, I took a more holistic view into my application to reiterate my strengths vs. the more tactical route I had in mind. This ability of Greg to help a candidate build a deep understanding of themselves and tailor it to specific MBA programs is what helped me stand out in a crowded waitlist field. II. Building a waitlist strategy- We started with poking holes to parts of my application that may have been perceived as weakness by the adcom. During this part, I felt Greg provided feedback in an honest yet candid way. Working backwards to R2 decision dates, we mapped how many updates I can share with each school and the topics each waitlist update would address. Greg recommended that I take GRE (as I had maxed my GMAT attempts for the year) and prep course like Math for Management to establish my quantitative readiness. III. Detailed and thoughtful feedback- There were several times Greg went above and beyond in reviewing my waitlist material. Be it an email that I sent to adcom or my waitlist video for Booth, Greg was willing to review every single part of my waitlist communication to ensure I was giving it my best. What I also noted in the written feedback provided by Greg was that he gave ample context on why he was asking me to reconsider how I had framed a sentence in my waitlist updates. This context was crucial as it became easier to come to consensus and I had a clear view on Greg's recommendation. IV. Empathy- The MBA admission process can make you as a candidate feel very vulnerable. You need people on your side who are rooting for you and are in your corner, even your MBA admission consultant. With Greg, I felt that he was truly committed to help me get to the school of my choice. Almost every session that I booked with him ran over time ( at least 15-20 mins) and yet, Greg was flexible and stayed true to the discussion we were having. I had booked Greg's hourly services and he could have easily charged me for the overtime, but he chose not to. Other context: I had worked with another consultant for the schools that I ended up being waitlisted/rejected. My experience with this other consultant was less than positive (delayed responses, limited feedback and poor interview and waitlist support). Given this, I was keen on finding a consultant who could be transparent, was thoughtful in their feedback and most importantly, cared for my success. Greg was all of this and much more. You won't regret working with Greg as your admission consultant.

"Shailu is an exceptional Organization Development Consultant, delivering transformative results through expert guidance, empathetic support and strategic insights. With unparalleled expertise, Shailu effectively diagnoses organizational needs, fosters collaborative cultures and empowers leaders to drive change. Through personalized coaching, she enhances self-awareness, confidence and leadership capabilities. Shailu Sethia's dedication, passion and impactful interventions have significantly improved the organization's performance, productivity and employee engagement. I highly recommend her!"

Sailu is an exceptional coach who brings clarity, confidence, and results to every session. Her thoughtful approach and expertise make her a great choice for anyone looking to grow and achieve their goals. I highly recommend her!

Nancy coached a small group of us during a 2024 Leadership Development Exchange program. I learned a lot from her experiences and stories, and her supportive coaching style. She was able to ask kind and thoughtful questions that kept us thinking and staying accountable for our career journeys. If I could work with Nancy every day I would!!

Uphill Battle to Tuck Let me curb some fears of working with an application consultant before I get started…. Greg Guglielmo was WORTH EVERY PENNY in this entire process. I came into application season with a GPA and GMAT score that are both slightly below average for the schools I was looking at. I knew it would be an uphill battle to get where I wanted. I chose to work with Greg at Avanti Prep because I knew I would need all the help I could get to have the most polished applications I could. It didn’t hurt that he came strongly recommended from a friend of mine who just started b-school last fall. I’m a married Midwest man who had to consider my budget in the application process, so I chose to only work with Greg on one school and hoped that I could get some carry-over benefit for my other applications. My target schools were Kellogg, Tuck, Sloan and Fuqua. After talking it through with Greg, we decided to work together on Kellogg. This worked very well because most of its deadlines were ahead of the other schools. When we started off, Greg got to know me on a very personal level through scheduled phone calls and emails to framework how I would present myself to the admissions committee. After that, we got to work on my resume. I had no idea how much work my resume needed. I had a ton of industry lingo that had to come out and simplified my accomplishments into something admissions committees could understand. Greg was always very pointed and specific about what he wanted me to fix. Once we both felt comfortable with my resume, we got to work on the essays. I’m not a gifted writer, so Greg was a huge help in this department. Greg went as many rounds as we needed to get my essays looking their best. He never took more than a day or two to get my essays edited and sent back. After my essays were in tip top shape, Greg was more than willing to spend time on the phone to discuss the rest of my application (LT and ST goals, international exp, extracurricular activities, etc.). Greg also helped me with a mock interview and gave me pointers for the video essay which proved invaluable. He helped shape some of my answers for typical interview questions in ways that I hadn’t thought of but made perfect sense. Greg was also extremely accommodating for a very late letter of recommendation. One of my recommenders procrastinated too much; however, Greg was able to turn around a review of his LOR the day of the deadline. The Spillover Effect: Although I only had Greg help me with one application, my work with him substantially improved my other three applications. My goals were in much better form than they would have otherwise been. I know my essays were not near the same quality, but they too were much better off. With a 710 GMAT and 3.37 GPA, I’m in at Tuck and have an interview scheduled with MIT later next month. I can confidently say that I would not be where I am right now without Greg’s help at Avanti Prep. His personalized touch, responsiveness, thoroughness and skill should put Avanti Prep at the top of your list.