She Makes You Into A Diamond!

Despite a 610 GMAT, a state school background, work experience in only one company, and only applying to two programs because of my fear of being rejected everywhere, I got an acceptance from HBS and waitlisted post interview in the GSB in the most competitive MBA application year!

At my desk, I didn’t consider myself material for the institutions where I thought my goals would flourish – it made me feel sad. However, Career Protocol’s process helped me take a deep introspection of my life and my future. Angela and her team are professional big sisters and brothers who are wise, funny, and knowledgeable in how to best present yourself in your MBA applications. They are good people who care.

Angela worked with me on more than +50 essay re-writes and added +200 comments throughout +3 months in my essays. Her background as a screenwriter helped me craft my story arc across the different elements of the application. She didn’t write sentences for me or gave me a template. She even prohibited me from looking at examples! She thoughtfully guided me to realize the highlights of my life and how to best express them in each part of my application. Even my passion to create the perfect Pisco Sour was included as a small line in my resume. I got questioned by both interviewers in the GSB and HBS about it. Angela knows exactly what detail to add where. She even worked with me in tiny job description boxes that perhaps other consultants don’t consider. There wasn’t a detail that Angela didn’t help me craft.

The essays that I ended up writing and my application inspire me. This is the most important. I’m also happy they inspired the Adcom! In addition, my post-MBA goals have multiplied in ambition and impact. The interview skills I’ve gained in Career Protocol’s program have already opened many doors and I’m no longer nervous. Working with Career Protocol I feel that I did not only create an MBA application but also embarked on a journey towards my dreams. I’m eternally grateful to them!

The highlighted sentences are the ones quoted above.

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!

The highlighted sentences are the ones quoted above.

My Coach & The Confidence Factory

My ROI working with my coach was hands down above and beyond my wildest expectations. I am a non-traditional applicant, mid 30s female, 11 years of work experience at the same company in a sales and business development role, LGBTQ, above-average GPA in social sciences, with a ton of international experience. Prior to embarking on my MBA application journey, I hit rock bottom- I was losing my job, navigating an international move amidst COVID, studying for the GRE, and last but not least, going through a break-up.

Starting with my initial consultation with Angela I could immediately feel the Career Protocol support web and instead of staying in my pity party, she helped me see a way out- a window of opportunity in the usually cursed Round 4/5 application cycle. After thinking about it for a few days I decided to take Angela’s advice to move up my timeline and maximize my opportunities. Before I knew it, I was on the arduous journey to meet R4/5 deadlines, an adventure that would end up being the greatest hustle of my life.

I expected my first discovery call with my coach to be her reading back the stories I had provided on the worksheet, telling me which to write about were, but it was so much more than that. She helped me contextualize from 30,000 feet the impacts of my accomplishments and built up my confidence over time to proudly and loudly wear them as a badge of honor, something that I have struggled with.

She gave me the perspective and framework to dig deep into wounds/painful stories, providing guidance on how and where to leverage them as opportunities highlighting character growth, culture fit, and grit. My coach’s emotional intelligence is through the roof- she was straightforward with me when I needed it and gentle when I was at my most vulnerable. Her ability to see the optimal structure and flow for each essay is a true talent- I never ever in a million years would have ended up with so many fantastic essays in such a short period of time that I was extremely proud of without her help. The first deadline we worked on was only 4 days away when we started the process but she woke up early and stayed up late with me every day to make sure I submitted on time. Working with her massively contributed to rekindling my passion for writing, something that will prove invaluable when I start my program as well as in my personal creative life.

I applied to five schools, all of which had deadlines less than two months away from my first call with Angela. I BOMBED the GRE, falling far below the median scores for all the schools I applied to. As others have mentioned, my coach helped me focus on my stellar work experience and stories to offset my test score, which was absolutely the weakest aspect of my application.

She helped me prep for all my interviews and video essays with several live mock interview sessions and made herself available on multiple occasions so I could run answers by her for specific questions I was preparing for. I ended up with two acceptances (one M7 and one international w/ $) and one T15 waitlist.

2020 has been a year for the books but I am so happy to have tackled it with my coach by my side. She really is so much more than a consultant…a therapist, executive coach, mentor, and most importantly a friend when you need it most, all rolled into one. Thank you!

The highlighted sentences are the ones quoted above.