Choosing an MBA coach
Comparing a few firms before you choose? Good.
It's a big investment, and the right fit matters more than the best-known name. Here's what we'd want you to know before you pick anyone, including the questions to ask every firm you talk to, us included.
How to Choose Your MBA Coach: ten questions to ask any coach, the answers to listen for, and a test drive. A free download.
Questions to ask every firm
Ask all of them. Here are our answers, so you have something to compare against.
Who exactly will be my coach?
A dedicated senior coach, matched to you. Within two business days of payment we offer you a kickoff call with them.
How many clients does that coach take?
At most 10 a round and 20 a year, and most carry about 5 a round. As far as we know, that's the lowest cap in the industry.
How do you count your success rate?
We publish both rates and the method: since 2018, 93.1% of clients who applied earned at least one admit, and 99.1% did when you leave out only clients who chose not to follow our school-portfolio guidance and were turned down everywhere.
Who writes the essays?
You do. We coach you to find and tell your own story. We don't ghostwrite, for anyone.
What if my coach isn't the right fit?
Ask for a second coach. If neither fits and you tell us within seven days of paying, you get a full refund. We call it the 7-Day Coach Fit Reserve.
What exactly am I buying?
Everything in your package is listed before you pay, and the list comes with your order in a dated PDF.
What's different about us
We started as Career Protocol, a career coaching practice, and Angela recruited, hired, and trained MBAs joining BCG before she coached MBA applicants. So your coaching covers the career and the soft skills an MBA is for, not only the application. It's also why we publish the Career Report: every two years we clean up the top U.S. schools' employment reports and give them away. As far as we know, we're the only firm that does.
Coaching, not consulting, since 2008. Every client starts with our reflective You Discovery™ process and a coach-created Life Story PowerPoint to take stock of your life and career to date. Then your coach guides you to find and tell your own story in your own words, so it sounds like you on paper and in the interview.
We're mentoring not transacting. In a blind study of 1,636 Poets&Quants reviews across six firms, 77% of ours describe a personal relationship with the coach, against 11% to 36% at the other five. This means your coach cares about your success beyond admission. Many of our clients call us friends. Read the study.
Every client joins our client and alumni community. In bonus group coaching sessions to deepen your understanding of key soft skills, many led by Angela, you learn and chat with other applicants on the same road, so the journey feels less lonely and a lot more connected.
We're a strong fit if
- You're making a real pivot, or your story needs building before it can be told.
- You're in a crowded applicant pool and need to read as one specific person.
- Your path is unusual and you want it read as a strength.
- You want to write your own essays, and get better at telling your story for interviews and beyond.
- You're aiming high, at the M7, the top 15, an EMBA, part-time, or a top program in Europe.
You may not need us if
- You want someone to write the essays for you. We don't do that.
- Your story is already clear and you only want a final polish. A Power Hour or a toolkit may be all you need.
- What stands between you and business school is information. Our free guides, the Momentum Club, and the Career Report cost nothing.
On the call, we'll tell you which of these you are.
Read the comparisons
Each one is checked against the other firm's own site and dated, so you can see what's changed.
- Is an MBA admissions consultant worth it?
- MBA admissions support: every option, free to full service
- What MBA consulting clients actually say: a blind study of 1,636 reviews
- mbaMission vs. MBA Protocol
- Stacy Blackman vs. MBA Protocol
- Fortuna Admissions vs. MBA Protocol
- Menlo Coaching vs. MBA Protocol
- Personal MBA Coach vs. MBA Protocol
- I built MBA Protocol around relationships. Then I checked whether it worked.
Want to compare us properly? In 25 free minutes you'll hear where you stand and what we'd do first. Nobody will ask you to decide anything on the call.