CLIENT RESULTS AND TESTIMONIALS
My client results and testimonials for 2008, 2009, and 2010 admission can be found on this page.CLICK HERE FOR 2010
CLICK HERE FOR 2009
CLICK HERE FOR 2008
I am happy to discuss my results for Fall 2002 through Fall 2007, but as this was prior to the time that I established my own consulting business, I will not post them here. References from clients from all previous years can be found at LinkedIn.
My MBA clients (both first-time applicants and reapplicants) are regularly accepted to HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Chicago, Haas, Tuck, Kellogg, UCLA, INSEAD, LBS, IMD, and other top schools.
My LL.M. clients have obtained admission to Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, Cornell, NYU, Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, UC Berkeley, Northwestern, Duke, University of Virginia, and Georgetown Law Schools.
My graduate school clients have been admitted to a great variety of Ph.D. and Masters programs including Public Policy (Harvard Kennedy School of Government), International Relations (Columbia, Fletcher & Georgetown), Finance (London Business School, London School of Economics), Economics (University of Chicago), Engineering (Stanford), Computer Science (Stanford), and Environmental Studies (Yale).
I have provided essay and interview consulting to recipients of the Fulbright Scholarship and the Chevening Scholarship. Both are the premier scholarships of the US and UK respectively and only a handful of applicants make it through the process. Additionally, a number of my clients have received scholarships after admission from their schools.
Finally, some of my initially self-sponsored Japanese clients received company sponsorship after their acceptance to prestigious programs.
2010 Client Results and Testimonials
Overall Comments on the season: Obviously it is still early for most 2010 admission results, but I will post them as they become available.For 2010, I have divided my results into the following tables: MBA Comprehensive Service, MBA Interview-Only
| ACCEPTED TO | TESTIMONIAL (Note: Results for clients who provide testimonials are placed before the results for those who did not) |
| Columbia Business School (J-Term) | (client applied only to CBS) I found Adam through the web. Immediately, I found the advice in his website very helpful. This encouraged me to contact him. I initially wanted to know what had been the weak points in my earlier applications that I had prepared without advice (I had been rejected by two top programs). We started by scheduling a Skype videoconference. Adam thoroughly analyzed my earlier applications and provided me with important tips. I found Adam’s advice key as: 1. Adam knows how admissions officers think. He taught me that it takes more than a great story to get in. Admission officers look for the right fit, demographics, how likely you are to get a job after the MBA, how well you will fit in an internship. He advised me to eliminate all the informal talk (that could be misinterpreted) that I had included in my earlier essays. 2. Adam thinks strategically. All his years in admissions consultancy combined with his Political Science background and interests allowed him to pinpoint my strengths and make the most out of them. As a result of his advice, my essays were more focused in answering the questions while better highlighting my strengths. 3. Adam’s advice is personal. You benefit from the 1 on 1 contact, unlike some admission consultant services that are too commercially oriented (with tons of consultants) and in which you don’t really know who is giving you advice. 4. Adam’s advice does not raise unethical dilemmas. Adam allowed me to better shape my essays using my real life experiences. I did not have to lie about my background to be accepted; but rather, I was more effective at communicating my experiences and goals. I applied Adam’s advice and was able to get in to the only program I applied to: Columbia Business School Full Time MBA! If you are really committed to getting in a Top school, I recommend that you look for advice, and Adam can definitely give it to you! |
| Columbia Business School (J-Term) | I
found Adam’s blog by chance as I was starting my business school
process. His content clearly differentiates him from all the
other MBA admissions blogs out there and I was eager to set up a
preliminary chat with him. Adam is truly a coach. He’s a strategic advisor that you’re glad to have on your side – he chooses his clients based on fit and he takes an incredibly pragmatic approach to the process. He’s candid, to the point, objective, and strategic. Being a natural skeptic, at first I felt compelled to defend my stances. After going through my arguments and realizing that they were not as strong as I thought they were, I realized that that he was not only knowledgeable but strategic and he quickly gained my trust. On the personal side, Adam is honest and completely professional – during calls when we veered off course and started going in tangents about random current events (he’s a pleasure to hold a conversation with), he – without prompting – took those minutes off our “work hours.” Adam is also flexible and unfazed by craziness. When I decided to not apply to a school I’d been working on after visiting the campus, he was glad that I valued fit as much as I did. When I decided mid-course to go with a Columbia j-term, he was unfazed and there when I had one weekend to pull it together for the deadline. There’s much more I can say, but, simply, Adam is the epitome of a great coach. He knows when to push and how to do so in a manner that draws out the best, most driven, most thoughtful, and most unique version of you. And that’s what Ad Coms are looking for. |
| Columbia Business School (ED) | |
| Columbia Business School (ED) | |
| Columbia Business School (J-Term) | |
| HEC and IE | I
am delighted to gain admission to the MBA program at HEC Paris with a
merit scholarship of 13000 Euros. This would not have been possible
without Adam's expert coaching and guidance. Adam's approach to
admissions consulting is unique. Adam's approach is to place applicant
first and admissions next. During the admissions process, Adam took the
time to understand my profile, my job function, my aims and what I
wanted to achieve through an MBA and helped me come up with a killer
resume and a convincing message to convey to the admissions committee
through my application. Adam's style made me reflect on myself and my
life experiences and helped me build an accurate self portrait of
myself in the essays. Through out the admissions process, Adam was committed and passionate about my success. His critiques of my essay drafts based on his tremendous knowledge of the MBA admissions process were the key to my winning essays. Crafting a winning MBA application takes time and multiple drafts and Adam's insights proved valuable in this process. Adam's scheduling is very flexible. He would usually return my essays with his comments in less than 24 hours. Whenever I felt that I had hit a dead end with an essay and needed to bounce ideas of him, scheduling a Skype session with him was hassle free. Adam's sense of humor and easy going attitude made working with him a pleasure especially while having to deal with the stress of the MBA admissions. With the MBA admissions process getting more and more competitive, it was Adam's encyclopedic knowledge of the admissions game that helped me differentiate myself from the crowd of MBA applicants. His mock interviews gave me the confidence to ace the admissions interviews. Adam is a highly ethical admissions consultant. Candidates write their own essays, the thoughts and thinking is their own. He will work with you irrespective of the number of hours you need, the strength of your profile or your chances of admission to any particular school. Leaders have to rely on knowledgeable experts for advice and counsel before making key decisions. Anyone taking the important decision to invest the time, money and effort to get an MBA from a top ranking school must look to take advantage of Adam's expert knowledge and counsel. |
| Kellogg and Tuck | I have applied in the previous year to 3 b-schools working with another editor and didn't get into any of them. When I started my re-application, I began wondering around the web looking for some advice and essay questions analysis. Adam's blog was clearly standing out with its in-depth detailed discussion of every question of every b-school, with a history of previous years questions, so that one could understand the tendency of the schools and really get into the heads of their adcom officers. I decided to try working with Adam, although frankly I was very skeptical about working with a distant editor whom I didn't know personally. Moreover, although Adam's advices on his blog seemed very concise, smart and logical, I was a little bit confused by the fact that Adam didn't do MBA himself - I thought how could a person without MBA experience know the MBA admission process good enough? Well all my fears drifted away after a couple of our first interactions. Adam gave excellent points regarding my previous year application, pointing on exactly my weaknesses and brining up issues that I wouldn't otherwise think about, but which where really important. For example, the issue of proving to adcom that you will be able to find a job immediately after graduation - such reasoning might play an important role in their decision, because it changes their success statistics. Adam focused more on the content and strategy of the essays, rather than on wording (here I suppose one whose English isn't perfect has to decide whether to leave the language as it is - to make it look more authentic, or to use a corrector for more laconic and smooth language). What I really liked about his advices is that they where straight to the point, without all the "I liked it very much, but here I think you should play with it more" - nothing like this. If he thinks something is wrong, he will just say "This paragraph is nonsense. Throw it away. Instead, write about X, Y and Z". And such comments where always a bulls-eye hit! At some point, after a few iterations if Adam wrote me something like "that's an excellent essay, go ahead with it" - I felt like he didn't do his job! His "devastating" comments are the most useful thing that will help you with your application. On the other hand, of course, getting an "excellent essay" remark from Adam demanded hard work, but felt like being already accepted - and proved to be absolutely right! Moreover, Adam always gave me the feeling that I'm his only client. His response time was in fact much quicker than the response time of my previous editor, who lived in my city! Adam was ALWAYS available and he ALWAYS remembered what I wrote in which essay - that was really great. Again, I compare this to my previous editor - "Emmm... so what was your long-term goal again? And remind me to which schools you apply?". Adam's personal attitude was very very important and helpful. I absolutely recommend Adam to anyone who wants to be accepted to a top MBA program!! |
| Kellogg | |
| London Business School | |
| Oxford | |
| Richard Ivey School of Business | |
| Stanford Sloan Masters | |
| Wharton (Lauder) | When
I was applying to undergraduate schools, I realized the significant
effort that I had invested to achieve high GPAs, SATs, and the like.
But I only thought of a school's app as a "necessary evil" - just one
of those things that needed to get crossed off... Only after the dings
came in did I realize that I could have succeeded through more work. Fast forward a decade later - I had progressed in my education/profession and now it was time for grad school. I wanted to find a more balanced approach to tackling the application process - and that's how/why I found Adam. Adam's strengths are very clear: -> Informative Blog: Even before I met him, I was impressed by the content on his blog. In his posts, he sincerely recommended that people find "fit" with their schools and not worry excessively about hard statistics, etc. In addition, his essay/goal analyses were right on the money and really helped me produce solid work in my applications. -> Professional Coach: Adam knows the admissions process inside and out based on his years of professional experience and passion for helping his clients. That made life *much* easier as I worked my way through selecting schools, crafting my resume, writing my essays, and preparing for interviews. Adam gave me excellent feedback/advice along the way and didn't back down from pushing me to churn out more rewrites/drafts until we both felt my work was solid. Moreover, Adam exemplifies what ethical coaching is all about because he kept guiding me to achieve more solely based on my own capacity, experience, and work (e.g. he is not an essay editor!). -> Flexible: As his own brand, Adam controls the way he does business. He's flexible to meet on Skype for just five minutes, talk face to face at a cafe (if you're in Tokyo), or even just work things out over email. Also, he's extremely good with with last minute schedule changes and if I had to cancel appointments he was quick to suggest alternative meeting times. -> Friendly: Above all else, Adam is a friendly, good-natured, and easygoing Californian. Sharing my life-shaping experiences with Adam was easy because of his approachable nature. With a challenging year of GMATs, apps, and work it was always great to hear Adam crack a joke or give me an uplifting comment. I'm very honored to have had a chance to meet and work with Adam and will keep in touch with him in the future. Bottom Line: I'd highly recommend Adam to anyone who is ready to work hard and commit themselves to pursue their MBA dreams. Thank you so much, Adam! |
2010 MBA Interview-Only Clients
Highlights only: My interview-only clients have been admitted to HBS (4), Oxford, and IE.2009 Client Results and Testimonials
Overall Comments on the season: The results below indicate counseling done with clients throughout 2008 and into 2009 (and some January 2010) admission. I worked with significantly more clients this year and reached full capacity for Fall 2009 Round 2 applications.For 2009, I have divided my results into the following tables: MBA Comprehensive Service, MBA Interview-Only, LL.M., and Graduate School.
2009 MBA Comprehensive Service Clients
Highlights:5 admitted to Wharton
5 admitted to UCLA
5 admitted to Oxford
4 admitted to Chicago Booth
4 admitted to Kellogg
3 admitted to LBS
3 admitted to Cambridge
2 admitted to HBS (one for Fall 2009, one for 2+2)
2 admitted to Columbia
2 admitted to Duke
2 admitted to Texas McCombs
2 admitted to USC
2 admitted to IE
2 admitted to INSEAD
2 admitted to IESE
1 (different clients) admitted to Berkeley, Cornell, IMD,ISB, Indiana, Stanford, Tuck and Yale
Note: More testimonials and results will be posted soon.
| ACCEPTED TO | TESTIMONIAL (Note: Results for clients who provide testimonials are placed before the results for those who did not) |
2009 MBA Interview-Only Clients
Highlights
only: My
interview-only clients have been admitted to Kellogg (4), Chicago (3),
HBS (2), Wharton (2), UCLA, Cornell, MIT Sloan, Tuck, Duke,
IESE and Emory.
2009 LL.M. Clients
I worked with three LL.M. applicants for Fall 2009 admission.| ADMIITTED | TESTIMONIAL (Note: Not all clients choose to submit testimonials) |
| Harvard Law School, University of Chicago Law School, New York University Law School, and Columbia Law School | (CLIENT IS FROM UZBEKISTAN) Having good credentials is not enough for admission. Majority of applicants for the best schools have the same. The important factor is to put your application materials in such an order that it would shine among hundreds, thousands of them. In such cases very small details such as organization of your resume, proper order of the content of your essay, right selection of future interests play crucial role. What Adam Markus does is to help you understand what kind of students the adcoms would like to have. He walks with you through the intricacies and nuances of the application process for improving your admission chances. Every applicant wishes to have a consultant who would guide him them through application process. Here he is. |
| Fulbright and Harvard Law School | |
| Columbia Law School and Georgetown Law Center |
2009 Graduate School Clients
| ADMIITTED | TESTIMONIAL (Note: Not all clients choose to submit testimonials) |
| London Business School Masters in Finance (also admitted to Chicago MBA) | See testimonial above. |
| Masters: Columbia University (SIPA), Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (MALD), Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service | |
| MSc at the Oxford Internet Institute, Cambridge University MPhil in Modern Society and Global Transformations, and MSc in Communication at LSE. |
2008 Client Results and Testimonials
Overall Comments on the season: As I started my own service in September 2007 after working as counselor for another company from 2001-2007, I had no first round clients for 2008 admission. I worked with a small grouo of clients who produced outstanding results.NOTE: Unless otherwise indicated all clients utilized my comprehensive service (resume, essay, recommendation, and interview counseling).
| ADMIITTED | TESTIMONIAL (Note: Not all clients choose to submit testimonials) |
| MBA: Stanford GSB | (CLIENT PREPARED JAPANESE VERSION. I HAD THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION PREPARED) 私 がStanford GSBに合格することができたのは、Adamの優れたカウンセリングのおかげだと思う。遅く準備を始め、TOEFLのスコアも良くない私にとって、GSB など夢のまた夢であり、出願して合格を勝ち取るというのは現実味がなかった。しかし、Adamに励まされ、彼とのカウンセリングを日々目標にすることで、 短期間で最高の結果を生み出すことができた。以下、私が考えるAdamの強みを列挙してみたい。 1. 豊富な知識、学校分析を基にした、的確なアドバイス Adam の豊富な経験、知識に基づくアドバイスは非常に的確である。彼は個人カウンセラーであるが、大手予備校で長年カウンセラーとして勤めた経験があり、実績 /know-howは申し分ない。その上、彼は各ビジネススクールの説明会に頻繁に顔を出し、情報のアップデートを欠かさない。このような日々の努力が彼 の的確なアドバイスに結びついているのだと思う。 一例を挙げると、私は当初、偶然ある程度のGMATの点数が出たことから、まったく準備ができて いないにも関わらず一部の学校に1st roundでの出願を模索していた。彼は私の英語力が足りないことを指摘し、仮にインタビューがきたとしても、インタビューの準備をしなければならないか ら時間が足りない、と言って私を諭した。結果的に、2nd roundのインタビュー対策だけで2月、3月をほとんど費やすこととなったことを考えると、仮に1stで出願して奇跡的にインタビューに呼ばれたとして も、それを2ndの他のアプリケーション作業と平行して準備することは不可能だっただろう(ちなみに、英語力の乏しい私にとってインタビューは最大の関門 であるにもかかわらず、危機感の薄い私は2月に何度もAdamから「You must practice hard」と繰り返しアドバイス(叱咤?)されていたが、これも私の弱点を深く認識した上でのコメントであった。)。 学校分析についても、彼は私 の希望やバックグラウンド(職業、年齢、キャリアビジョン等)を考慮して、最適な学校を紹介してくれた。そもそも彼がいなければGSBも受けていなかった かもしれない。一般的な合格率を見れば敬遠してもっと安全な選択肢をとっていたかもしれないが、彼は合格の可能性を見抜いていた。昨年参加したGSBの学 校説明会の後、Adamから送られてきたメールには、「While very hard to get into, I think you do fit the school very well.」と書かれていたが、今から振り返ると、実に的確なメッセージだったと思う。 2. 幅広いネットワーク 個人カウンセラーということで、最大の不安は周りの状況が分からない、学校の情報が入ってこないという不安かもしれない。しかし、この不安はAdamには 及ばない。前述のように彼は大手予備校で長くカウンセラーをした経験があり、カウンセラー同士の幅広いネットワークを有している。どこそこの学校のインタ ビューインビテーションが始まった等の情報はすぐに入ってくるし、必要であれば他のカウンセラーからセカンドオピニオンをもらうこともできる。実際彼は、 私のインタビューの特訓のために、彼の直接的な利益にはならないにもかかわらず複数のカウンセラーを紹介してくれた。また、彼の元クライアントは様々な学 校に散らばっているので、自分の志望校の在校生やアラムナイを紹介してもらうこともでき、私自信も彼から紹介をしてもらった在校生やアラムナイに大変お世 話になった。 このように、Adamは非常に豊富なネットワークを有しており、それはクライアントに大変心強いサポートを提供してくれるものである。 3. フレキシブル また、Adamは非常にフレキシブルである。私はMBA受験を決意したのが昨年の5、6月頃と遅く、エッセイを書き始め最初にAdamのカウンセリングを 受けたのが9月下旬だったので、受験は時間との戦いだった。仕事も忙しく、予定をたてづらい状況だった。その点、Adamはカウンセリングの日時、場所等 が非常にフレキシブルで、急な予定変更も常識的な範囲内であれば応じてくれ、また予定していた時間をオーバーしてカウンセリングを続けることも可能である (もちろん延長分の料金は支払う必要はあるが。)。カウンセリング手段も、対面、メール、スカイプ等々、こちらの都合に合わせて様々な方法で行うことがで きる。MBA受験生は概して忙しい人が多いので、柔軟・迅速にカウンセリングを受けることができるかどうかは重要なポイントだと思う。 4. コストが安い そのカウンセリングの質の高さにもかかわらず、個人カウンセラーということもありAdamのカウンセリング料金は他の予備校、カウンセラーと比較して良心 的である。彼はクライアントを志望校に送り出すことに至上の喜びを感じており、クライアントを最大限にサポートすることを常に意識している。個人的にそれ ほど予算が多いわけではなかったので、料金をあまり気にせずカウンセリングを受けられるのは助かったし、実際エッセイの質にも影響したと思う。 5. Good Guy 何より、彼はGood Guyである。いつもニコニコして激励をしてくれ、仕事を言い訳にアプリケーション作業が遅れがちな私を合格に導いてくれた。私も、Adamの言うことな ら間違いないと、信頼してカウンセリングを受けることができた。MBA受験という自分を見つめ直す機会に、このような信頼できる相手とアプリケーションプ ロセスを共にできたことに、大変感謝しているし、皆さんにも、一度メールで彼とコンタクトをとって、彼の人柄に触れてfitを確かめて欲しい。 ENGLISH TRANSLATION: I believe the reason why my admission was accepted by Stanford GSB is because of Adam’s excellent counseling. Applying and being admitted by GSB was a very fantastic idea because I started my preparation later than other candidates and my TOEFL score was not good. However, I was encouraged by Adam and I could make the best result in such short time. I would like to list his strength as below: 1) Accurate advice based on extensive knowledge and school analysis Adam’s advice based on his extensive experience and knowledge is very accurate. He is a freelance counselor now but he has long experience at a big prep school as a counselor, so his track record and know-how is proven. Not only that, he often attends at many business school orientations to update information. I think the constant effort he makes results in his accurate advice. For example of his advice, in the beginning, I was looking for a way to apply some schools at 1st round without preparation because luckily I had sufficient GMAT score. He pointed out I did not have enough English skill and admonished me do not apply at that time because I did not have enough preparation time for interview. As a result, I had to spend most of February and March for interview preparation, I guess it was impossible to prepare for the interview during preparing other application for the 2nd round even I was invited for the interview (incidentally, the interview process was the biggest problem because of my poor English ability, I still was not aware enough, then. In February, Adam continuously told me “You must practice” because he recognized my weak point. On school analysis, he recommended the best school for me based on my preference and my background (age, career vision and so on.) If I did not meet Adam, I might not have applied GSB to begin with. I could pass this option to just looking at the average passing rate to be safe, but Adam could see my possibility to pass the school. After attending the GSB admission orientation, he sent me an email said “While very hard to get into, I think you do fit the school very well.” After all, I think it was very accurate message. 2) Wide Network You may be not comfortable considering him a freelance counselor because you assume he cannot understand all other candidates’ situation and cannot get updated school information. However, you need to not worry about them for Adam. As I wrote in the last paragraph, he has very wide network with other counselors from his long experience. He can get information like when the interview invitation started by which schools and if you need, you can get the second opinion from other counselors through him. He actually introduced me some counselors for my interview preparation. Addition to that, his former clients are in various schools and he can introduce the target schools’ students and alumni. I am also the one that he introduced to them and they were very supportive to me. Like this, he has very wide and rich network and it supports very strong mental support to his clients. 3) Flexible Adam is also very flexible. The time I made a decision to take MBA exam in either May or June in the last year and started and it was very late. I started to take Adam’s counseling in the end of last September for my essay writing. Admission process was a struggle against time. I was busy with my work so it was difficult to make schedule. However Adam was very flexible with the time schedule and meeting place, he responded the changes if it is considerable and he was able to continue the counseling after original scheduled time. His counseling was given through meeting, email, skype and so on, and I could choose the way upon my request. Since the MBA candidates are very busy people, it is critical that you can take counseling flexible and quickly. 4) Cost performance Even his counseling quality is so high, because he is a freelance counselor, his counseling charge is reasonable compared to other preparation schools. He finds supreme joy to send his clients to their first choice schools and focus on support them as much as possible. It was helpful that I did not have to be worry about the counseling bill and I believe it effected the quality of my essay. 5) Good Guy Most of all, he is a good guy. He always encouraged me with smile and lead me to the goal even my process was often delayed than schedule because of my work. I could take his counseling with big trust because I know he is right. I am quite thankful to share the application process which is another chance to review myself with him. I also recommend you to contact him via email to arrange a meeting so you can know him in person. |
| MBA: HBS (3rd Round), LBS, SIMON (Client also turned down interviews at Texas and Cornell) | |
| MBA: University of Chicago and Dartmouth Tuck | (CLIENT WROTE BOTH JAPANESE AND ENGLISH VERSIONS) アダム・マーカスは多様なタイプのMBA志願者との経験とそれに培われた専門知識を持つエッセイ/インタビュー・カウンセラーです。 エッ セイ、レジュメの作成は非常に個人的なプロセスであり、内面的に成熟し、現実的で卒直なフィードバックを提供出来るメンターの存在があなたの internal journeyに必要です。アダムはその点でエキスパートだと思います。彼は私がエッセイで表現し、アピールすべき資質について対話を重ねて引き出し、私 がそれについて感じている漠然とした考えを先入観に左右されない鋭い洞察力を以って正確に言葉で表現する手助けをしてくれました。文学や法律にあかるい彼 は私が言葉での表現の壁に行き当たった時に最も的確な表現のヒントを提供してくれました。アダムは代筆(ゴースト・ライティング)をしたり、彼の考えを押 し付けたりせずにface to face(メールでのやり取りを含む)の徹底的な議論を通して私が自分自身を見つめ直すよう辛抱強く導き、AdComに私の価値を効果的に伝えるためのポ イントを明確にする手助けをしてくれました。 アダムは夫々のMBAスクールの価値観を知り尽くしているというカウンセラーとしての強みを 持っています。彼は常にMBA校の最新の動向を把握しており、戦略的なアプローチを練る為に頻繁にAdComとコミュニケーションをとっていますが、それ に加えて彼の専門知識と豊富な経験のお陰で効果的にインタビューヘの準備が出来ました。加えて、私はアダムを高いプロとしての責任感・倫理観に於いて推薦 します。アダムは常にアプリカントのために彼自身の時間を確保し、質問には遅くても翌日迄に返事をしてくれました。彼は万全の準備、レヴューを行い的確な 評価を行ってくれるため、常にエッセイの内容、または自分自身について新しい発見がありました。 段階がひとプロセス進んだ後に、エッセイ /インタビューの練習のために週に一度ミーティングを行いました。 日本時間夜にはSkypeでコンタクトが頻繁に取れました。セッションは主にCafé Miyamaで行いましたが、ここは貸会議室もあり、ちょっとした商談などに利用されるということで、ワイヤレス環境、静かさ、便利さに於いて十分な環境 でした。自宅で学校についての情報をインターネットまたは彼のブログから得たあと、ターゲット校の分析を私のプロファイルとのfitという面から行いまし た。彼は各校についての私の可能性に対して率直なコメントを述べ、私は十分納得の行く選択をすることが出来ました。結果としてはChicago GSB、Dartmouth Tuckに合格という納得の行くものが出せました。彼はエッセイ/インタビューの準備プロセスをスポーツに例えます。アプリケーションの作成には作戦、 ハードワーク、エネルギー、精神力、反復練習全てが必須ですが、良きペースメーカーであり、最も信頼できるコーチを選んでこそ貫徹出来たのかも知れないと 思います。何より助かったのは彼がハイセンスなユーモアの持ち主であり、つらいプロセスを楽しいものにしてくれた事です。自信を持って彼を推薦します! Adam Markus has guided me through the application process with his expertise backed by his practical work experience with diverse types of MBA applicants in the past. Creating essay and resume is quite a personal process and it is crucial that you find a person who can offer you insightful and realistic perspective and navigate you through your internal journey, with candid feedback - and this is how Adam can help you. He has unbiased insight about people which really helped me to uncover what I needed to bring out about myself and verbalize precisely the way I felt about it. His articulation helped me so much to express myself in a best way I had difficult time verbalizing. It does not mean he writes for you or put words into your mouth, but he guides you over a thorough discussion. He helped me to write points clearly to communicate my value effectively to AdCom. Adam knows what is add-value or not to each MBA school. His expertise and rich experience, as well as his frequent research on AdCom/school greatly helped for us to strategically approach essay/interview. I can also recommend you Adam for his punctuality and high work ethic. Adam made himself available frequently and always got back to me by next day, at latest. He did come back with full preparation and every time there was a new discovery on my side about my essay or myself. I met him once a week to discuss essay or to practice interview once the phase moved on to next step. He was available in the night (Japan time) over Skype. We mostly did the session at Café Miyama where business meetings are often held, and I liked this style. I would do school research myself or read his blog, and we discussed our analysis on the target schools. He gave me honest comments about my candidacy to each school, and I could make right choices. I got into Chicago and TUCK, and I am very happy with the result. I will be attending Chicago. He describes essay/interview prep process as a sport – with repetitive practice, strategy, hard work, energy, toughness all required, and I think that I tagged with the best coach. Also, he has good sense of humor, which is very important to get over with the entire essay experience! |
| MBA: IMD, INSEAD, Cambridge Judge, and Oxford Said | (Client was admitted to all schools he applied to. Client wrote both Japanese and English versions of his testimonial) アダム・マーカス氏を優れたエッセー/インタビュー・カウンセラーとして推薦します。 私の先輩(USスクールの現役MBA学生)がアダムにコンタクトするよう進めてくれたのが、そもそものきっかけでした。初回の無料カウンセリング・セッションを受けた時点で、私はすぐさまアダムにカウンセラーをお願いしました。 私がGMAT及びTOEFLの勉強を始めたのは比較的遅く2007年9月でしたが、彼は辛抱強く私の話を聴き、状況を理解してくれました。また、その後の長い長い受験プロセスを通じて、明るく(時には厳しく!!)支えてくれました。 彼は良きカウンセラーとして必要な様々な才能を備えていると思いますが、その中でも彼のエッセーの設問を分析する力、そしてエッセーの中身についての適切なアドバイスが一番の強みだと思います。 彼のカウンセリングは非常にシンプルですが、強力です。彼は顧客の考えを深めさせながら、中身を考えさせ、エッセーを書き直し、ブラッシュアップするよう促します。決して彼の考え方や書き方を強制することはありません。 従っ て、顧客は自ら進んで動く必要があり、かつ辛抱強く何度も考え・書き直すことが求められます。忙しいビジネスパーソンにとって決して容易ではありません が、これによって自分のエッセーに高い説得力と現実感が加わったと思います。これらの要素は単に文法的な正しさといったことより、はるかに重要な(エッ セーにおける)要素だと思います。また彼のインタビューのセッションも実践的で役に立ちました。 アダムのカウンセリングを通じて、単なるMBA入学のための準備ではなく、自分の過去、未来をより深く考えるチャンスにめぐり合えることと思います。 I strongly recommend Adam Markus as the capable essay/ interview counselor. One of my seniors (an MBA student in U.S.) first suggested me to contact with Adam. When I started the first free counseling session with Adam, I immediately decided to ask Adam to work as my counselor. Although I started my prep for GMAT and TOELF relatively late, in September 2007, he carefully listened to me and understood the situation. Also he cheerfully (sometimes strictly!!) supported me over the long lasting process of application. Without his great contribution, I could not receive the offers from the schools that I applied to. Though I firmly believe that he has a lot of required talents as the good counselor, his strong analysis of essay questions and accurate guidance on essay contents are his best strengths. His counseling style is very simple but strong. He lets clients consider, re-write and brush up essays by facilitating clients’ thinking. He does not force his mind-set or writing style. Therefore a client needs to be very proactive and patient to consider and re-write essays repeatedly. Although this is not easy process for busy business persons, it added high persuasiveness and reality to essays. I believe those elements in essays are very important rather than mere grammatical correctness. I need to note that his interview training was very practical and helpful too. Not as a mere preparation for MBA admissions, I suppose you can obtain good chances to reflect on your past and future through his counseling. |
| MBA: LBS and NYU Stern | (Client is a native English speaker) Adam is both a knowledgeable consultant as well as an individual with great integrity. His feedback and suggestions on essays was invaluable to my admission to top business schools. While many consultants pay attention to stylistic details of essays, Adam is very content-driven, which gives his clients a significant advantage. Highly recommended. |
| MBA: Duke Fuqua | (Client wrote both Japanese and English versions) Adam MarkusをMBA出願コンサルタントとして推薦します。私自身、MBA出願にあたり、学校選定からレジュメ/出願エッセイ作成、インタビュートレーニングに至るまで彼のサービスを利用し、満足のいく結果を得ることができました。 特 に彼のエッセイカウンセリングは秀逸です。エッセイに盛り込む題材の選定では、自分の資質を効果的に表現できるエピソードを職務経験や課外活動から掘り起 こすための気付きやアイディアを得ることが出来ました。その中でも印象深いのが「大学時代に行った、女子高の音楽部でのコーチ経験」です。自分では出願 エッセイとして適切とは思いも寄らないテーマでさえ、彼の助言を元にリーダーシップ/チームワークを端的に語るエピソードに仕上げることが出来ました。 また、Adamは長年の経験から各校の審査基準/傾向を熟知しており、エピソードのエッセイ課題への落とし込み・エッセイの仕上げ段階で は学校ごとにエピソードの使い分け・文章構成や表現方法の工夫まで、きめの細かい指摘を受けました。彼のフィードバックは非常に率直であり、「ダメなもの はダメ!」とエッセイ原稿やアイディアの良し悪しもその場で明確に伝えられますが、批判に終始せずその対応策もセットで提示されることもあり、不愉快に感 じたことはありません。日本文化への理解や時折のユーモアも交えつつ、終始和やかな雰囲気でカウンセリングを受けることが出来ました。 彼 のサービス品質の高さはインタビュートレーニングにも当てはまります。学校ごとの面接時の着眼点・形式(面接官がAdmission or Alumni、Reviewed(=面接官は予め出願書類を熟知) or Blind(=面接官はレジュメのみ参照))の違いを踏まえた本番さながらの練習を積むことが出来ました。また、回答内容の構成、アピールポイントの効果 的な表現方法から口癖・しぐさまで、インタビュー時のデリバリーを高めるためのアドバイスを受けました。私は元々日本語のものでさえ面接に苦手意識を持っ ていましたが、彼とのトレーニングと自己練習を繰り返すことで、インタビューでのデリバリーに自信を持てるようになりました。MBA出願を終えた今、この トレーニングの成果はMBA後の就職活動でも活かせるものと確信しています。 MBA出願は多大な苦労を伴うプロセスですが、Adamは経験豊富なプロのカウンセラーとして、また良き戦友として出願者をサポートし、成功に導いてくれることを請け合います。 If somebody would consider applying for top-notch MBA programs, I would confidently recommend Adam Markus as an admission counselor. I utilized his counseling services for whole my MBA application from school selection, resume writing, essay counseling to interview training. And I’ve obtained a successful result thanks to his help. His essay counseling was excellent. He was so creative and inquisitive that he helped me find my episodes out of my professional and personal experiences to tell my abilities and achievements effectively in my essays. One of the most impressive stories was about my coaching experience for a girl’s high school music club. Although firstly I had thought it would be just a trivial topic, according to his advice I could make it a significant episode to tell my leadership. Adam is familiar with different admission criteria and tendencies of each business school based on his long experiences. I received his detail feedback on my essays to write in different styles for different schools about selection of topics, essay structure and expression. His feedback was so honest and direct that he mentioned “NG” for my no-good essay drafts and ideas. However, he did not only deny what I prepared but also he always provided me with solution, such as alternative idea and new perspective. So I didn’t feel frustrated or unprofessional against his counseling. Rather I enjoyed working with him in a friendly atmosphere. His interview training was also high quality one. I took mock interviews, which were prepared well according to each school’s admission criteria, style (reviewed or blind), interviewee (alumni or admission), and past interview reports. I also received advices to improve my delivery, such as my answer’s structure, effectiveness of presentation, and habit of saying. Actually, I recognized my weakness on interviews even in my first language Japanese. Now, as the result of his training and my practices, I’m sure I’ve improved my interview delivery so that it must also be applicable to my post-MBA recruiting activities. I assure that Adam help an MBA applicant for the entire process of strenuous MBA application as a professional counselor, a mentor and an encouraging supporter. |
| MBA: HEC (Client also turned down an interview at INSEAD) | 私がINSEADのインタビュー(辞退)まで進むことができ、最終的にHEC-Parisへの入学を決断することが出来たのはAdamの熱心なご指導があったからだと思っています。 受験校選出やGMATのスコアメイキングで苦戦していた中、幅広いネットワークの中からAlumniやGMATの教師を紹介してくださり、 また、豊富な経験や情報に基づき適切なアドバイスをして下さいました。 エッセイ作成時においても、ただ英文添削をするだけでなく、アドミッションの視点からより効果的なエッセイを作成するため、 対面もしくは電話で決して自分の意見は押し付けないものの、より完成度の高いエッセイを作り上げるために幾度もエッセイのテーマや考察の深さにつき指摘をしてくれました。 だからこそ、Adamが "good!"と言ってくれた時には本当に安心することが出来ました。 Adamとの話し合いを通してこそ、本来の自分をしっかりとエッセイの中で表現することができたと信じています。 何より、Adamのユーモアのセンスに溢れ、信頼できる人柄がMBA受験生活においては心の支えでした。 私は心からAdamに感謝しており、MBAを志している方にはぜひ一度Adamとのカウンセリングをされることをお薦めしたいと思います。 |
| MBA: University of Michigan Global MBA (GMBA) | アダム・マーカス氏、推薦状 アダム・マーカス氏はMBA受験のプロセスに関して、優れたカウンセラーである。 ま ずなにより、MBA受験のプロセスについて熟知している感がある。私は学校選び、エッセー作成、インタビュー対策をお願いしたが、各プロセスにおいて的確 な助言をしていただけた。特にエッセー、インタビューに関しては、それぞれの質問の意図や解釈、またそれに回答するにあたっての戦略、方向づけを、大変明 快に理解させていただいたと思う。 また、彼は対話のプロであろうと思う。彼のアドバイスは、単純に「ああ書いたら良い、こう言ったら良い」という具体的な場合もあるが、それだけではなく、対話の中で「なるほど自分の考えはこうであったか!」という言葉をひきだしてもらえたように思う。 ミ シガンGMBAのクラスメートに話を聞く限り、合格者のTOEFL、GMATの点数は、過去にないほど高い印象を受けているが、私の点数はまれに見る低さ であった。それにも関らず合格できたのは、アダム・マーカス氏のカウンセリングのおかげによるところが非常に大きかったと確信している。また、カウンセリ ングプロセスを通して感じ、考えたことは、今後のキャリアプラン形成に大いに役立つものであった。今後の氏の活躍を信じて止まない。 |
| MBA: INSEAD | |
| MBA: USC IBEAR | |
| MBA: Duke Fuqua and UCLA | |
| Columbia University (SIPA), UC Berkeley MPP, Johns Hopkins University MA in International Relations (SAIS), MIT MS in Technology and Policy Program, Duke University MPP, University of Michigan MPP | |
| Columbia University (SIPA) and Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (MALD) | |
| MBA INTERVIEW-ONLY CLIENT: HBS | |
| MBA INTERVIEW-ONLY CLIENT: MIT Sloan 2-year MBA | |
| MBA INTERVIEW-ONLY CLIENT: UC Berkeley Haas | |
| MBA INTERVIEW-ONLY CLIENT: INSEAD | |
| MBA INTERVIEW-ONLY CLIENT: Manchester Business School | |
| Ph.D. essays, resume, and writing sample only: University of California, San Diego’s Ph.D. Program in Art History, Theory & Criticism |




