Online MBA Admissions Experts

I've helped over 1000 applicants from around the world get into Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, INSEAD, and every other top program you can name. I’m Ellin Lolis, founder of Ellin Lolis Consulting, a global MBA admissions firm with a 98.9% success rate. I’ve spent the last 10+ years guiding applicants with a proven, step-by-step methodology that simplifies the process and maximizes results. As a certified career coach and award-winning writer, my approach helps you craft a powerful personal brand, connect your story and values to each program, and submit applications that actually get you in. Clients often say I treat their application like my own. That’s because I do. I bring the same level of strategic precision and emotional support to every engagement, pushing you to deliver your best work while helping you stay grounded and confident along the way. I've collaborated with a range of different clients from every continent, including clients with low GMAT scores, 40+, traditional IB/MBB applicants, and even non-traditional applicants like nuclear scientists and sports journalists. For each, I helped them find their unique voice that helped them stand out in the crowded admissions space. If you’re aiming high and want a coach with the track record, tools, and heart to get you there, I’d love to work with you.

I've spent the last 16+ years helping ambitious applicants get into the world's most competitive MBA programs, including Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, MIT Sloan, Yale SOM, and Booth. Across 200+ MBA clients, 95% have been admitted to at least one of their top-choice programs, and over half have received scholarship money. I graduated from NYU Summa Cum Laude with a double major in Economics and English, and earned my MBA from Columbia Business School in 2020, where I focused on Strategy and Entrepreneurship. That gives me a current, first-hand perspective on what M7 adcoms are actually looking for. My career in this work started in Singapore, at a test prep and admissions firm I helped expand into Shanghai, running tutoring and admissions consulting in both markets before coming back to New York to found my own practice. That international background means I'm equally comfortable working with US candidates and applicants from Asia, Europe, and beyond, particularly the kinds of candidates who often have the strongest stories but the hardest time articulating them: finance professionals reinventing themselves, engineers making a pivot, non-traditional career switchers. My work focuses on coherence. Most applicants arrive with strong but scattered material: a real career, real accomplishments, but no through-line. My job is to help you find the narrative that ties it all together, build a school list that's strategic (not aspirational), and turn essays into the strongest part of your application instead of the most stressful. If you want a structured, results-focused partner, let's talk.

I have in depth experience in coaching and mentoring, specifically in the MBA admissions space. I've gone through the process myself with huge success, I've coached prospective students through private coaching, as part of corporate coaching programs, and in support of the HBS admissions process. The reason I think I stand out and have found success as a coach is because I work hard to gain a true understanding of the applicant; to understand their motivations, values, drivers, strengths, and weaknesses. All of that is critical to craft a strong application for elite schools, but maybe more importantly it is critical to provide you the best support that I can. I will be better suited tailor my coaching to your needs, ensure you stay motivated and on track throughout the process, and unlock important insights to make your application stand out.

As a Senior Admissions Consultant at California Ivy Admissions Consultants, I've successfully guided clients into top-tier programs at Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley, Dartmouth, Duke, Yale, UCLA, USC, Cornell and more. My experience on the admissions committee at UCLA has equipped me with insider knowledge of what top programs seek in candidates. With a Juris Doctor from UC Berkeley School of Law and a Master of Arts from UCLA, I bring a unique blend of expertise to the MBA admissions process. Whether you need help with application strategy, essays, or interview preparation, I'm here to help you craft a compelling application. Let's work together to make your MBA dreams a reality!

I've helped over five applicants in the last two years gain admission to Wharton with funding ranging from 25% to full-tuition scholarships, and have coached peers into top 10 MBA and master’s programs—many with significant scholarship offers. I specialize in helping applicants craft compelling, authentic stories that clearly show how an MBA aligns with their personal and professional goals. My expertise in storytelling was sharpened through years of securing nationally competitive fellowships, including the PPIA Junior Summer Institute at Princeton and the Harvard Kennedy School’s PPLC Fellowship. If you’re looking for a coach who will help you connect the dots between your experiences, aspirations, and the MBA journey, I’d love to support you.

I applied to every top MBA program in the country without a consultant and got into all five: Stanford GSB, HBS, Wharton, Booth, and MIT Sloan. Merit scholarships from each. Multiple full rides. GRE: 99th percentile after four weeks of prep. Five for five. I was admitted as one of the youngest members of the Stanford GSB Class of 2027. I hold multiple campus leadership roles, and outside of Stanford I serve as an Appointed Advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom. Previously, I was an executive at a YCombinator-backed AI startup and the founding analyst of Accenture Strategy's Private Equity practice. My partner and co-coach is a JD/MBA at Wharton/Penn and a former McKinsey consultant. My own path to business school was anything but linear. I had a mix of experiences across tech, consulting, startups, and government, and I know what it takes to turn a complex background into a story admissions committees fight over. I've coached 15+ students on MBA admissions and career coaching, and am a multiple fellowship-winning writer, so I work with you hands-on from narrative strategy through final essay polish. I specialize in: - Applicants with non-traditional or complex backgrounds - Career switchers (tech to finance, consulting to startups, etc.) - International applicants targeting M7 programs - Deferred enrollment programs (HBS 2+2, Stanford deferred, etc.) - Scholarship and financial aid strategy and negotiation - Essay writing, editing, and narrative positioning - Full-cycle application management (school selection through interview prep) - GRE/GMAT test strategy and planning - Re-applicant strategy and repositioning - Interview preparation for MBA admissions Additionally, I can help with: - Post-MBA career strategy (tech, consulting, startups, PE/VC) - Consulting recruiting and case interview prep - Resume and LinkedIn optimization - Career and professional mentorship

My applicants have been admitted to schools including GSB, HBS, Wharton, Sloan, Kellogg, Ross, Cornell, Booth, Haas, Columbia, & Rice. Across first-time applicants, reapplicants, and deferred applicants, they have received hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships. Aside from my experience coaching MBA candidates, I have spent my post-GSB time consulting for founders, early-stage startups, and investors across for-profit and non-profit spaces globally. This has allowed me to uniquely guide current or aspiring entrepreneurs and investors throughout the application process and, for numerous clients, beyond as I’ve continued to be a resource helping to navigate questions regarding financial aid, maximizing the MBA experience, internships, and post-MBA careers. The application process is not easy and for most, including myself when I applied, it’s straight up stressful. I work closely with a limited number of clients, creating bespoke coaching experiences for each, building trust and bringing clarity to an opaque process. I believe this approach has helped my applicants be successful. Whether you’re coming from a traditional background or not, regardless of your test scores or application ‘gaps,’ if you’re interested in showing the best version of you possible and having someone fully on your team along the way please reach out.

As an IESE Business School and Imperial College London alumni (scoring in Top 10% of my classes, respectively), my MBA coaching journey began in 2020 after my experience at Harvard Business School’s Summer Venture in Management program, where I coached ambitious undergrads through their Deferred MBA Programs, securing admits from: MIT Sloan, Yale SOM, HBS 2+2, and Moelis Advance Access for Wharton. Since 2020, I have cultivated an MBA/MiM/Master coaching toolkit that encompasses: goals-first, logic-first, culture-fit first sense of executive and corporate storytelling for the M7 universities in the United States and for the top executive programs in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and greater-Asia. Now, I coach a selective clientele all over the world, with recent success stories involving international admits to UChicago Booth (with 60% scholarship), most notably. Over the past two years, I have learned the inner workings of every top program, helping a roster of 15+ (and counting) clients gain admission into their dream schools.

Student admissions reader at Kellogg and alumni interviewer. Have assisted 15+ students for admissions consulting over 4+ years with success at Kellogg, Columbia, Yale, Ross, Duke, Darden & LBS

As a former Stanford student-athlete current McKinsey consultant, I have helped prospective students with similar backgrounds craft their essays and narrative on why they should be admitted into top business schools.