Mission Accomplished - Brian Is The One!

12 months ago I was down in the dumps. After 8 years of riding the self employment rollercoaster my business was getting quiet once again. I had just lost a parent, I was lacking direction and knew I needed a factory reset. I was seeking a path to a more purposeful existence that offered stable employment and long term financial prospects.

I was a 32 year old immigrant with a BA in Communications from a European university and I had no direct corporate experience. I had worked in media production for 8 years taking whatever work came through.

After spending many nights going down rabbit holes looking for inspiration, googling “how to get a good job”, I discovered Career Protocols YouTube page and benefited from a wealth of information that I felt was leading me in the right direction. I had never heard of an MBA or a GRE!

I recognize the ridiculousness of pursuing a $150k degree without a specific career goal but the employment reports were promising and I knew with the right guidance this could be an opportunity to get back on track. I was open to new challenges but didn’t want to completely start from scratch competing with 22 year olds for entry level jobs. I was willing to make the investment in myself to learn new skills which would help me to compete for coveted roles at amazing companies that I currently had no access to. I rolled the dice, made contact with Career Protocol and was matched with Brian Birdwell, aka The Wizard.

Within the first week of working together I knew my investment with CP was going to pay off. The first round of essay edits opened my mind to a whole new way of storytelling and I can’t believe I ever thought I could do it alone. We did a deep dive into my entire background and not only did Brian identify the most impactful events of my life, he wove them into a framework that helped me rediscover my confidence, recognize my achievements and inspired me to reach for the stars.

Brian balances being an absolute professional while also being the chillest dude. He’s a sage and has an unbelievable memory - 2 months into the process he was still recalling details of my background that I had mentioned during our initial discovery call, making for an incredibly personalized experience.

Aside from my age, lack of corporate exposure and unclear career goals, I hadn’t taken a math test in 14 years. I self studied over the Summer and improved immensely but ultimately managed to score below average on the GRE. In hindsight I should have sought professional help here as well. I subsequently took the Executive Assessment, scoring above average, and I used that test score when applicable.

Brian helped to identify programs for which I was a competitive candidate but encouraged me to apply to a range of schools. Despite the initial challenges with my profile we stuck to the plan and I ended up getting admitted to Michigan Ross, NYU Stern, Georgetown, the University of Washington Foster with a scholarship and I was waitlisted at Columbia!

I am immensely proud of what we achieved, particularly because I crafted truly authentic, soul bearing stories that are entirely original and unique to my experiences. Before connecting with Brian I interviewed 2 other admissions consulting firms. One of them told me I didn’t have a chance at top programs and the other pitched a scenario where their team of writers would interview me once and then write my essays for me - a ludicrous proposition. During one MBA school interview the admissions director told me I was one of the best storytellers that had ever applied to their program - wow. Without Brian’s expertise that would never have been possible.

This service is so much more than just essay support. It’s part admissions consulting, interview training, resume refining, school selection, career guidance, community support and at times, therapy. I achieved what I set out to do and learned an arsenal of new skills that I will take with me into my MBA and beyond. I am eternally grateful to Brian, Angela and the Career Protocol community!

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So Much More Than An Admissions Consultant!

I came from a lower socioeconomic status and clawed out of poverty by planning ahead and relying on my community for support. Yet, most people where I come from couldn’t tell you where Harvard is located on a map, and you’d be lucky if they had even heard of Stanford. Despite being a highly qualified deferred enrollment candidate, I didn’t have my community to help me on this one, and I was dreading going on that journey alone -at least, until I met Angela. I would love to say that I shopped around, but truth be told an HBS alum I respect referred her to me and between all the free resources on her website and the immense value she packed into our free 30-minute consultation, I was sold. I selected her 3 school package for HBS 2+2, Stanford Deferred Admission, and Booth Scholars.

I expected to face some imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and self-sabotaging humility during the process. For people like me who’ve spent their entire life being told they don’t deserve a seat at the table, those emotions are a given. I thought that would be the big hurdle I’d need Angela’s help to overcome, but Angela killed it before it could even show up. She had me start by writing the book on my life for her. I expressed everything that I thought could have possibly mattered to the experience of being me and hit send.

I will never forget the zoom call that followed. Like some sort of voodoo, she captured my essence, my story, my core values, and my character-defining moments into a PowerPoint reflection of my identity as it truly exists. She was able to articulate me -without all the lies I told myself, without all the biases of my lived experience, and without all the insecurities that kept me up at night. It left me, a burly manly man, in tears because I felt truly worthy and capable of taking on the challenge that laid ahead of me for the first time in my life.

We wrapped Stanford up quickly, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and my journey came to a screeching halt. I was putting in 12-hour workdays in a hastily converted linen-closet-office. I was quarantined away from my partner. I took on my parents’ financial responsibilities despite worrying about getting laid off myself. What finally brought me to my breaking point was having to say goodbye to my grandmother over Facebook Live while strangers “heart reacted” to her funeral with the same reverence they gave to cat videos. On top of this Stanford was taking their sweet time inviting me to interview, and I was sure I had gotten dinged. I was unable to function, let alone finish my applications.

Yet, Angela was constantly there for me. Not as an admissions consultant, but as a friend, mentor, and quasi grief counselor. When I felt like I was losing my mind she always had wisdom for the moment -providing equal parts actionable advice and compassion. With her help, I fought off depression and took back control over my life -just in time for my Stanford admissions interview invitation to show up. The only complication was that my Stanford alumni interviewer was General Motors CEO and Stanford Board of Trustees member, Mary Barra… Surely, Angela wouldn’t have any experience with that terrifying situation, right? Wrong, she’s had clients get interviewed by her before and gave me the direction I needed to absolutely slay it.

Angela Guido is certainly a voodoo shaman of the human spirit and a magical MBA unicorn, but she has a secret to her success. The truth is she couldn’t care less about whether I got into business school. Her engine is fueled by helping people find lifelong fulfillment, business school admission is the byproduct. I can now proudly wear my “I learned to articulate my life’s purpose, and all I got was this lousy Stanford acceptance letter” t-shirt. Thanks, Angela!

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If you’re overthinking it, talk to Brian

When I started this process in early 2025, I was an engineer at a demanding company, and I was feeling burnt out from test prep. Since none of my peers have MBAs and my network in the MBA world was sparse, I didn’t just need someone to edit essays — I needed a strategist and counselor who could help me spend my time and energy deliberately.

Before working with Brian, I read what felt like every review on Poets & Quants and other admissions sites. I agonized over the decision and at some point I started to become skeptical…how could every consultant have glowing testimonials?

Well, Brian is the real deal.

The process with Brian and Career Protocol started off with heavy introspection and a structured effort to catalog as many life stories as I could. From this, Brian helped me frame and sculpt a cohesive, powerful story from my first blob of word vomit. The essays are unquestionably me — just clearer and more confident. Before, I felt that I could only articulate pieces of my story, though I knew there was something there. But for the first time, I was able to fully articulate it. My positioning didn’t change dramatically; it became clearer, sharper, more dignified.

Brian’s approach is a rare combination of genuine curiosity and pragmatic strategy. He is deeply interested in people and their lived experiences, but he also knows how to frame those experiences with discipline and purpose. Sharing with him parts of my life that I had previously hesitated to write about felt warm and human — never transactional. He pushed me to explore topics I might have avoided and encouraged me to think about my experiences in ways I hadn’t before. Whether it was guidance on networking or perspective on communicating with the adcom, he offered both practical advice and steady judgment.

What surprised me most was how much this process affected my confidence at work. I started showing up with more intentionality and clarity. I felt more grounded in who I was and where I was going. I was promoted after submitting my application but before receiving my admission decision...I genuinely believe the mindset shift from this process played a role.

With Brian in my corner, I applied Round 1 to my top-choice program, was admitted, and ultimately chose not to apply elsewhere because I had already gotten into the school I wanted most. That outcome speaks for itself. I actually paid for two applications and only needed one and would happily do it again for the clarity and confidence I gained.

If you’re analytical, skeptical, or don’t fit the typical MBA archetype — especially engineers or those navigating imposter syndrome — Brian is exceptional. He brings rigor, childlike curiosity, and grounded optimism that’s hard to beat.

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The Unicorn Consultant You Didn’t Think Existed, DOES!

Just a few clicks searching “MBA applications” on the internet draws up all sorts of fearmongering threads, posts and video analysis of the US business school process. Couple that with rankings, financial costs, and a plethora of consultant choices, “overwhelmed” is the understatement of the century. Filling out CP’s comprehensive form which asked about my professional experience, stats AND preferred TV show humour– I knew I arrived at the right place.

As an applicant on the ‘older-side’ from a recruitment background looking to pivot into something that was not investment banking, my coach expertly investigated (what felt like my soul!) and asked all the insightful, non-judgemental questions that guided me to a long-term goal I felt confident in. She was the fun, responsible, older sister who gassed me up when I was feeling insecure, helped me draw out my story in gentle nudges, and coaxed me to use active language in my writing. This language shift influenced my confidence in re-telling my stories during interviews and my self-talk of who I am and where I am going.

Her decorated background of working with international applicants or Americans living abroad, plus having actually having worked IN admissions and on the other side, put me all at ease.

What I love about my coach is that she saw me as a human and not just a cog in the proverbial business school wheel. A particular low point during the application process was a momentary blast of FOMO I had in the middle of the night when I was ready to purchase thousands of dollars’ worth of plane tickets to visit all the schools I was applying to. She immediately coaxed me off the ledge- when everyone around me was saying to pull the trigger. I’m so glad she did. With the other suggested strategies, I was able to land 3/6 acceptances and ALL with scholarships from T10-T15 schools. I had a 3.4 GPA with a Humanities degree and a 333 GRE.

When I got the from my dream school, admissions verbatim said my application was “one of the best” they had ever read, and they read lots of essays! Had my coach not spent as much time and care scrutinizing every sentence of my application, there’s no way I could have landed a full-ride from my dream school.

I cannot thank her enough. If you’re on the fence about working with her, I’ll leave you with this: RUN, don’t walk!!!! (to her of course!!)

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Give Yourself The Best Shot By Working With Angela

When I started my MBA process, I was overwhelmed, and lost, and had 5 months total before the Round 2 deadline. I knew my dream schools were GSB, HBS, and Wharton. I had no idea how to approach the GRE, who to ask for rec letters, or what my essays should look like.

Fast forward a few months, I had three admit letters in hand from all of my top schools.

What happened in the middle? A lot of things. But the single most important decision I made was to work with Angela.

After our first call, I knew I wanted to work with her. I was originally very skeptical about working with an MBA consultant. But she knew the MBA landscape in and out, was immediately candid about my prospects, and exactly what I needed to get done by which dates to give me the best chances at going to business school. And beyond all of this, she was friendly and great to talk to, and a fantastic sounding board for all the questions I had.

We worked through so much together, but my biggest take away was surprisingly not the application that I turned in (and was proud of!). It was understanding my own career trajectory. As we talked through my goals and objectives to write about and speak about in the interviews, I also started to unearth components of my professional and personal life that I’d never really considered and held to the light.

Another thing to note was Angela’s deep understanding of MBA applications. I had read dozens of books on MBA applications and thought I understood best practices. But Angela challenged me on many of these generic assumptions. I followed her advice, though it was sometimes hard to work against what I saw in every public essay, forum, and article online. This paid off: two of the schools I was admitted to speaking specifically about how unique my essays were.

We all have unique journeys and unique futures ahead of us. But if you’re looking to show the best and most authentically compelling version of yourself to admissions committees, my only advice is to consider working with Angela and the Career Protocol team.

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Angela Helped Me Far Beyond Getting Into GSB

Honestly, I sought Angela’s help because I knew I didn’t know a whole lot about B-School applications, coming from a career in the Navy. I knew I needed help because I didn’t know where to start. I found Angela through MBAmo, and boy, did she turn my preconceived notions upside down! I reached out to other consultants, and they literally wanted to know only numbers before they would even agree to work with me, and many told me they would not help me with an M7 with my stats. Angela asked me one thing: do you want to make the world a better place? And she only promised me one thing: I am going to help you figure out how to tell your story. She didn’t promise me the answers, or tell me what to write that would get me in; she simply told me that she would help me do some discernment to distill my story and then apply it to the difference I want to make in the world. Turns out, that helped me in more ways than one. Not only was I eventually admitted to Stanford GSB, but I came out of the process much more confident in myself and who I am. While transitioning out of the Navy, I was full of doubts about if I was even making the right decision to leave for business school. Angela’s process was almost like therapy to help me gain that confidence back and use it to define the impact I want to have on the world. The cherry on top is that I am heading to my number one choice school, Stanford GSB, to continue this journey!

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My North-Star & Probably Yours As Well

MBA applications, no matter who tells you what, are daunting. There are loads of constraints and knowledge asymmetry points: Colleges to choose? My fit? Branding myself? Maximizing impact in limited space? The process was even more complicated as an Indian male which may be the most over-represented applicant pool. It took me two years to climb this mountain of “fear of applying” and I attribute my success wholeheartedly to my coach. In 2018 I was browsing Poets&Quants review of Admission Consultants and Career Protocol’s setup made me inquisitive. They were very unique in marketing themselves and seemed fun. I decided to take the plunge after a free consultation and from then on my coach became, literally, my best friend. She didn’t tinker with my personality rather she encouraged me to understand myself and introspect who I was at the core. This is essentially what makes her different to all other admission consultants. Unpacking your authenticity is the key to a successful application and I can attest working with her not only helped me gain admission (Yale!!!, MIT/Tuck/Darden Waitlist) but also helped set the stepping stone for success in B-School. Now I know why I want to do an MBA and what I would like my future to be. She was available to me at every moment (even on an hour’s notice) and I cannot stress how important she will be in your MBA application. I applied to four universities and received overwhelmingly positive feedback on my interviews across all. She will be there for you right from choosing the colleges, deciphering yourself, calming you during panic attacks, clicking the submit button, fretting over interview nervousness to raising the toast on your acceptance. Truly a North-star.

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My Best Friend & Mentor From Across The Globe!

Coming from a nontraditional background and with little to none resources due to my niche profession and where I live, I did extensive research after deciding to apply for an international MBA. Luckily, I soon discovered Career Protocol’s YouTube channel, and it turned out to be not only textbook material but a life-changing opportunity. After partnering up with my coach, I quickly discovered that the support and guidance I got exceeded from the MBA applications to my personal growth.

While juggling between work and GMAT preps, the online sessions with her were my favorite moments. It was a safe space to share all my ambitions, doubts, and life stories. She did a great job of letting me do me and at the same time showing me a whole new perspective toward myself. I gained confidence and a deeper understanding of who I am and what I want in life. Through the dozens of essay revisions for each of the three schools I’ve applied to with her, I found myself laid out on paper in the most beautiful way, showcasing my bravery and ambitions, and most importantly it was all authentic me.

I’ve acquired so many tools that I could take along to benefit my MBA journey and future career goals. I learned how to network, how to fight for my rights, and how to be a persuasive storyteller. Living away from the capital of my country, I benefited a lot while networking with numerous alumni and seniors in the same industry. I even got myself a pre-MBA internship role while reaching out. The whole process has always focused on my individuality, and I was always the priority. I felt even more so during the process of choosing schools. My coach gave me a lot of advice specifically tailored to my situation and even offered some flexibility.

I am really grateful to have my coach along the way. And with her support and guidance, I was successfully admitted to INSEAD and waitlisted by UCLA. The whole experience with her empowered me to be ready for all the challenges ahead. I can’t wait to share my ups and even downs in my B-school life with her and work on my future career goals with an amazing kick-off.

Yen-jung Chen

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