My Coach Is The Swiss Army Knife MBA Savior

I found my coach in a pretty dark time where I was working with another full package consultant who was not delivering on the agreed terms, I was tanking the GRE, battling major discriminatory legal issues at work, and feeling overall depleted with less than 2 months to apply for R2.

Immediately upon meeting my coach, her warm energy made me feel seen and offered a sense of emotional safety I did not even realize I needed. The space she held enabled me to re-tap into a renewed sense of reinvigorated inspiration on why I was applying to an MBA, and through her uncanny command of the English language, she began to tease out the best aspects of my background.

I work in an esoteric field in which it can be challenging to find the linguistics to make it ubiquitously relevant to a wide range of individuals. Yet she was always able to translate a garbled 1-minute ramble, into a cogent, specific, and uplifting resume bullet or sentence. Even the mere act of working with her on crafting language allowed me to rebuild a bit of the confidence I had lost and better appreciate all I had to offer.

It can be easy to fall into the trap that working with a consultant who got an MBA or worked on admissions is the best way to go. However, after working with my coach, I realized to bring your best application forward, you need someone that knows how to translate and tease out the best aspects of your profile to a wide audience. Not many possess that conglomerated skillset as it takes someone who is patient in hearing your story, open minded in receiving your story (without an agenda), and creative in helping you tell and tailor the story (rather than artificially force your story into a template).

My coach can do all of that so naturally.

The results after working with her for only a month at the tail end of my application process was, I got interview invites to 5 of the 6 programs I applied for (all T15 or above), and admission offers at 4 programs – including two M7s, and 150K in scholarship offers.

I genuinely believe if I had worked with my coach much earlier in my MBA process, those metrics may have been even higher. Regardless, working with her is an opportunity to re-write your own story and I could not recommend her enough!

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From zero to hero

This is my second year applying for MBAs. in 2021 I applied to MIT, Wharton, Harvard and Stanford with help of another admissions consultant. I was interviewed by HBS and Wharton and got admitted to none. I felt that my applications were superficial and did not reflect my true self, containing what I thought that the schools wanted to see.

Last year (2022) I had Angela’s help to reflect and understand my personal stories and values during the application process, this completely changed the application experience. Moreover, my self-discoveries during this journey will greatly impact decisions in my personal life and career over many years to come. This second time, I applied to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton/Lauder, MIT, Booth, Kellogg and Berkeley. I landed interviews at Stanford, Wharton, Booth, Kellogg and Berkeley. Angela’s interview preparation was invaluable and contributed for my admissions at Booth (with a USD 40k merit scholarship), Kellogg, Berkeley and waitlist spot at Wharton / Lauder.

Finally, I am so supportive of Angela’s & Career Protocol’s work that I have sponsored their services for a dear friend, Ronaldo, from an underprivileged background with aspirations to change education in Brazil. With Career Protocol’s help, he was admitted at MPAs / MPP both at Columbia and the University of Chicago, both of them with extremely generous scholarships.

Carlos Rosis

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From Zero to Hero

I made a promise to never again hire an MBA consultant. I applied to B-school twice. The first time around, I utilized a consultant from a well-known, big name consulting company. I ended up getting dinged by every school I applied to, without an interview. Given the results, I followed up with my consultant and shared my disappointment with the service. What blew my mind was that my consultant refused to take ownership and framed the situation in way where I was at fault. I found this to be incredibly discouraging. After all, MBA consultants are not cheap. If you drop good money, I believe you’re entitled to good results. This experience was clearly not the case, and it tainted my image of MBA consultants. I was less than inclined to take on another one for the next round of applications.

Then came my coach.

I heard positive things about Career Protocol both from online sources and a friend. After researching my options and an initial consultation call with my coach, I decided to jump the gun and work with her. The first great impression she made was her invitation to communicate via webcam, what this demonstrates is her genuine interest in getting to know YOU as a person. Our conversations were never robotic or transactional. It honestly feels like you’re just talking with a friend. What I came to realize is that it is through these interactions that she really gets to the core of who you are, what you value, and where your strengths lie. It’s important to remember that a strong MBA application requires you to be personal and vulnerable. However, the process is still an intimidating task. For many, the question of “what makes me special” constantly runs through our heads. Working with her made me realize that you don’t have to be an ex-navy seal or an MBB consultant to get into a top program. You just need to be… you. She helped to uncover my shining attributes and did an impeccable job of helping me formulate strong essays and preparing me for interviews without distorting my true voice.

There were a couple of occasions when I was under extraordinary time constraints and needed help outside of business hours. My previous consultant wouldn’t consider speaking to me after hours. However, when I explained my circumstances to my coach, she carved out some evening and weekend time to accommodate my situation. Before submitting my applications, we reviewed each one together, ensuring that they were clean and ready to go and that we both felt great about them.

The first round of applications, I applied to four schools and got zero acceptances. This time around, I applied to seven schools and got six acceptances (M7 included). I also got multiple scholarship offers, including a full ride plus stipend for my top school!

My perception of MBA consultants has changed. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe that there are a lot of bad consultants out there. But there are a few kick-ass consultants out there who will truly be invested in you and unlock your potential. Just a few. She is one of them.

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From Boo-Hoo To Booth

What a difference. That was all I could think after wrapping up my first call with Angela. My MBA application wounds were still fresh, having just been rejected by all of my top choice schools. I had worked with one of the “big name” MBA consulting firms on my applications, and while my consultant was helpful editing my essays for grammar and clarity, they didn’t push me on the real meat of my content. I certainly didn’t feel I got value for the money I spent. I decided if I was going to re-apply, I needed to find someone who could really make a difference in my application. From the first call with Angela, I knew she would make that difference.

Angela’s client portal was super organized and filled with helpful materials that she guided me through (I could tell it was built by a former consultant!) But the MOST important thing that Angela did was take time from the very beginning to really get to know ME. And because she really knew me, she could push me to make sure my authentic voice was coming through in my materials. Sometimes I would write something that seemed fine to me, but she would say “Hey, this doesn’t really sound like you” or “This kind of makes you seem like X, but I feel like you’re actually more Y so let’s adjust”. In the end, I felt great about my applications and was completely at peace with what I submitted. I KNEW that I had distilled my life and personality into my materials, and it was up to the schools to decide if I was the right person for their class.

I ended up getting waitlisted by my top choice school, and Angela continued to be incredibly supportive and helpful as we outlined a waitlist strategy. When the phone call finally came informing me that I was admitted to Booth, the dark application clouds that had hung over my life for a solid two years parted – I made it! There were no significant changes in my application (no new job, no higher scores, etc.) versus the previous year – outside of the content – where Angela was able to push me to find MY voice. And it made all the difference.

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Brian The Wizard - Work With Him!

I was a re-applicant sitting on 4 waitlists from R2 in 2024, and it was quite a challenge to say something new altogether while putting my application together for R1 again! I had maxed out on GMAT/ GRE, and I felt I needed a fresh approach and perspective for my stories. A friend introduced me to Brian in May 2024 and rest is history – I’m thrilled to say I’m now admitted to Kellogg! Although I revisited many of the same stories I had already shared, I learnt so much about how to tell my story, the concept of “SHOW, DON’T TELL”, my accomplishments, and my values. The fresh approach and a new lens made all the difference! Another thing I really appreciated was how organized everything was with Brian. His standard 48-hour turnaround kept the momentum going, and he matched my pace perfectly – a stark contrast to the experience I had with the consultant from previous year. And to top it off, Brian’s direct feedback helped me better prepare for interviews as well. By the end of my submissions, I felt a genuine sense of satisfaction and fulfilment that had eluded me in my prior applications.

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Brian The Magician

I still can’t believe how meaningful and game-changer Brian’s counseling was for my MBA admission process. The bottom line: I got a scholarship of $70k at Haas and admission to my dream program at London Business School.

My MBA admission process started with another consultant who was very discouraging because of my low GRE scores. He told me not to even waste my time with LBS and suggested Florida instead…

But then I met Angela and Career Protocol. She matched me with Brian and my journey started. Working with Career Protocol and Brian was a transformative experience for me – they coached me to know myself better and my self-esteem grew a lot through the process. I started unsure of what value I would add to the class and I finished with a clear understanding of what matters to me and the value that my experiences have to offer to my classmates.

The Awesome Sauce call (or kick-off call), where Brian presented my life story back to me, was particularly meaningful. It helped me realize how much people mean to me, how passionate and also empathetic I am, and how one of my biggest strengths is in connecting with people.

Brian also gave me the best advice for handling the GRE and helped me stop going crazy with it. During the whole process, he was optimistic and realistic. Not discouraging and not just a cheerleader for taking the biggest risks with the schools I applied to. Brian pushed me to chase my dreams and also to hedge with some other schools (though not Florida).

One thing I’d say to people getting started with applications is to change their mindset from “how can I make these adcoms like me” to “how can I be most myself”, and that was one of the most important mindset changes that I developed thanks to Career Protocol.

I will forever be grateful to Brian and Angela.

Thanks CP!

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Angela Will Give You 11/10 Results & More

I was weighing between Career Protocol (“CP”) and another big-name MBA consulting firm. I ended up going with the other MBA consulting firm because I had a misconception that CP’s brand of kindness would somehow result in less “tough” and honest feedback.

I was so disappointed with the other MBA consulting firm as after paying five figures, four months passed, and I had received only one 40-minute call in spite of my many email requests to connect for more. Luckily, CP’s MBA Catalyst program reversed and saved my very soured MBA process.

CP’s resume process is worth the entire price point of the MBA catalyst program (and you get much more than just that!). CP had a methodical coaching style which gave you the tools to make each bullet ubiquitously relatable to a range of audiences, while preserving specificity. However, the real power of the CP MBA Catalyst program is it leverages the power of community (other MBA applicants). Imagine if you could find a consultant that gives you 1-1 advice while also creating a way less toxic reddit for you to have all your last minute “silly” questions answered, that is CP.

CP on a whole never gate keeps knowledge to maintain a false competitive edge within an increasingly oversaturated MBA consultant market. This is because CP’s real value-add is an impenetrable understanding on how to unlock anyone’s story and make it marketable through accentuating your uniqueness in a style that resonates with all.

CP prioritizes marketing YOU because they care, rather than many other consulting firms which market themselves to ultimately increase their profit. Therefore, given MBA consulting is an extremely amorphous profession, I implore everyone to put a premium on the character and quality of the consultants they are running diligence on, over “credentials / pedigree”. Worth noting CP has both.

In the end, it is the intrinsic motivation of the consultant to help others, that will ensure that you as the client, receive robust help that is not riddled with short cuts as there is ultimately no consequence for a consulting firm to disappear or give you lazy “advice” once you ultimately wire them your lump sum. Angela and her team are beyond qualified in both pedigree and character. Their product is the result of years of compounding observations of what applicants need. Therefore, being a part of CP is like having a question answered every single day, that you did not even realize you had.

However, CP never rests on their laurels, they are always constantly innovating to stay above the curve and through all of their focused innovative growth centered around ultimately better serving the client, they maintain an unshakeable value of radical kindness that permeates through out every single program of theirs and every interaction.

I made a major misjudgment when I realized that Career Protocol’s “kindness” does not equate in false coddling, but means they invest more into seeing the nuanced difficult feedback you need to hear AND figuring out a clear yet respectful way to communicate it to you.

The greatest gift CP gives you are the tools to break your stale self-image through exposing you to see how your unique strengths translate into value-added leadership potential, i.e., why you are a great business school candidate.

You will not regret going with this consulting firm because they provide you with way more than just a strong MBA application, they offer you growth you never anticipated and a community to cheer you on during your journey.

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My Coach Helped Me Find My Voice & Feel Empowered

The year before I worked with another admissions consultant and felt no real connection when I was telling my story and my fears, I felt misunderstood. Unfortunately, I had no offers from the three schools I applied to and decided to wait another year and try again. I focused on rethinking my application plan, improving my GMAT score and asking for help! I had my first intro zoom with my coach and bonded immediately; I knew we would be a great team.

As an investment banker working long hours, I had little time to focus on my MBA goals, I needed a coach that could help me pave the path for my application and guide me through the process and help me shape my story one step at a time with an organized framework.

As an international candidate with a lower-than-average GMAT score I was really scared of rejection and of not being able to tell my story in so little space. My coach helped me share my ideas, my goals, and my view of the world in an empowered authentic way. I felt she listened and understood what I had to say and what I was doing.

We had so much fun in the interview prep-sessions and I learned a lot of tricks to show my confident self (in writing and in video). I knew I was showing my potential to the schools.

I’m happy to say that I had a 100% hit-ratio. I was accepted into two amazing schools (both M7 MBAs), and I was offered a Merit based Scholarship from one of the two schools!

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