Question: How will you help me get admitted?

I use a variety of methods for helping clients. One thing that sets me apart from many other consultants is my desire to continually renew my own approach. My blog shows some of those methods. That said, some of the core methods I use to help clients to succeed are below. See my blog for more!

ESSAYS
One important characteristic that has made me a highly effective admissions adviser is that I am a very strong reader. When I read essays, I think about the following (and usually in this order):

Do I believe? If I am not convinced by what I read, I know admissions will not be either. Through effective communication of your goals and experiences we will guarantee that admissions believes you.

Do I care? If I do not become interested in what I am reading I know there is a problem. The problem may be that the essay is simply generic or lacks strategic value or it might be the way a story is being told is boring or it maybe a lack of passion in the writing. Whatever the case, I will identify problems and help you come up with solutions.

Does it sell me? Great essays don’t just need to be believable and interesting, they have to be convincing. You are trying to get admissions to take a specific action after they read your file: admit you or invite you for an interview. Thus, essays must convince them to take action. Admissions has to see why you should be admitted. I will help you understand how to do this and give very specific advice on how to do so.

Do I think what you intended me to think? In writing there is always room for misinterpretation. If you have not effectively interpreted yourself, there is always the possibility that your reader will draw opposite conclusions from what you intended. It is my job to make sure that you understand and correct for all such negative interpretations.

Once your essays have cleared all four stages and been proofread, I will consider them to be done.  Some clients want to go beyond “done” and I am always happy to consider further alterations. Other clients will be satisfied when I say it is done. There is always potential room for further improvement, but at a certain point your will have to finish.

INTERVIEWS
I have a simple and effective method for interview preparation: Over-preparation. The best way to do well in any interview is be prepared for an interview that will be harder than the actual interview. Since 2001, I have been told by grateful clients that my practice interviews were bother realistic and often harder than the real thing and as a result they could confidently handle the real interview. As with essays, I discuss interviews extensively on my blog. Some specific techniques I use:

Interview Strategy Formulation: I will help develop the talking points to help you handle any question you are asked. I use specific procedures for doing this.

Answer Modeling: If you need it, I can model answers for you based on what I know about you. If we have already worked on essays, I will already have a tremendous amount of knowledge about you. While all clients may benefit from modeling, especially those with non-native English speaking ability will find this helpful.

Focus on Presentation: I will give you specific feedback not only on what you say, but your overall presentation skills.

School Specific Interview Practice: I don’t believe in the value of mock interviews that are not school specific. To whatever extent possible, I  make the practices as realistic as possible.

RESUMES
I will help you put together a great resume. I will help you prepare the content to conform to a high professional standard. All professionals greatly benefit from getting advice on their resume content and it is indeed common for people in the US to use resume advising and writing services. I offer a similar kind of service. Some core considerations:
1. What parts of your past will an admissions committee care about?
2. How you can you best show your connection to your intended field of study?
3. What do you want to discuss in an interview? The resume acts as an agenda for many MBA interviews.

RECOMMENDATIONS
I can help you select the appropriate recommenders. Additionally, I can provide advice to you and/or your recommender regarding the content. I treat recommendations the same as essays. I don’t write them, but I am happy to give specific advice on what to do in order to put together a great recommendation. I will also advise you on how to strategically select your recommenders.

APPLICATIONS, WAITLIST LETTERS & OTHER COMMUNICATION WITH ADMISSIONS
I am happy to advise and review everything you send to admissions. I use the same criteria for reading essays (above) when doing so.

Question: What do you offer?

I primarily offer comprehensive admissions consulting services. In addition, I offer interview-only, reapplication, second opinion, and waitlist services.  Most of my clients apply to MBA programs with smaller numbers applying to LL.M., Master of Finance, public policy, EMBA, and Masters of Business programs.

Each of my clients is different and the total number of hours of my time they use varies greatly.  I have some clients who just need 1-5 hours of my time, many who need 5-20 hours, and some who want 20-50 hours for intensive and extensive assistance.

I work with my clients via Zoom and email primarily.  I do not offer any face-to-face services.

My comprehensive service can be divided into the following stages:

• Stage 1: Free initial consultation to determine whether we should work together
• Stage 2: Resume, .5-1 hour
• Stage 3: School selection, 0-1 hours
• Stage 4: Essays, first school, 3-5 hours; Subsequent schools, .25-3 hours each
• Stage 5: Recommendations, 0-2 hours for 2-3 recs for 1 school; Subsequent schools, 0-1 hour per school
• Stage 6: Application form, first school .25-1 hour; Subsequent schools, 0-.5 hour
• Stage 7: Interview practice, 1-5 hours
• Stage 8: Assistance with various issues: reapplication, waitlist letters and scholarship essays, 0-1 hour per school

To get started please complete an intake form.

My pricing information can be found here.

Question: Planning to go to graduate school in the future?

Are you seeking advice on future plans to attend graduate school?  If so, I offer personalized coaching for those in college, recent graduates, and anyone else who is considering an MBA or other graduate degree.  Do you ask questions like:

-When should I apply for an MBA?

-Do I need an MBA/graduate degree?

-I’m one to five years away from applying for graduate school?  What can I do now to be a stronger candidate in the future?

I can provide advice, both short and long-term to assist you. To make use of this service, please complete my intake form.

Question: What if I just need help with the interview process?

In addition to providing my comprehensive service clients with interview training, I also offer interview only training. All interview training is via Skype, Facetime, Google, or telephone.

I have a simple and effective method for interview preparation: Over-preparation. The best way to do well in any interview is be prepared for an interview that will be harder than the actual interview is likely to be. Since 2001, I have been told that my practice interviews were  both realistic and yet harder than the real thing and as a result my clients said that they could confidently handle the real interview. As with essays, I discuss interviews extensively on my blog. Some specific techniques I use:

Interview Strategy Formulation: I will help develop the talking points to help you handle any question you are asked. I use specific procedures for doing this during the feedback part of a mock session.

Answer Structuring and Modeling: If you need it, I can help you structure and even model answers for you.

Story Development: I will help you brainstorm effective stories to answer questions that you are not yet comfortable with and/or help you enhance your existing stories.

Focus on Presentation: I will give you specific feedback not only on what you say, but your overall presentation skills.

School Specific Interview Practice: I don’t believe in the value of mock interviews that are not school specific. To whatever extent possible, I make the practices as realistic as possible. I try to provide a set of questions that represent a hard version (when applicable and/or possible) of what an interviewer from the specific school you are applying to is likely to ask.
While I certainly do one-hour mock interview sessions with feedback, I also provide more extended multi-hour training. Depending on your needs, in an initial session, we might begin with an initial diagnostic mock interview for me to determine your strengths and weaknesses and then focus on strategy and answer modeling. Subsequent sessions might consist of more strategy, answer modeling, and mock interviewing. The actual usage pattern varies.

Prices:

Hourly Rate: 50,000 JPY 

Package of 5 hours, 225,000 JPY (additional hours, 45,000 JPY).  I am happy to provide more than 5 hours of training, but most interview-only clients don’t need that. If you think you do, I am happy to help you come up with a bigger training plan.

Worldwide except Japan: All payments are via International Wire Transfer, Wise, Stripe, or PayPal and must be paid in Japanese yen. 

 Japan: Your payment will also be subject to Japanese Consumption Tax and payment is via domestic bank transfer.

To arrange interview practice, please complete my interview intake form.

Question: What are your prices for comprehensive counseling?

Hourly Rate: 50,000 JPY 

Prepaid Package Rate: 5 hours, 225,000 JPY  (additional hours, 45,000 JPY)

Worldwide except Japan: All payments are via International Wire Transfer, Wise, Stripe, or PayPal and must be paid in Japanese yen. 

 Japan: Your payment will also be subject to Japanese Consumption Tax and payment is via domestic bank transfer.

If you plan on using my services on a comprehensive basis (resume, essays, application form, recommendations) for at least one school, I recommend purchasing 5 hours initially.  Once you have purchased a 5-hour package, all subsequent hours will be at the rate of 45,000 per hour. 

Keep in mind that you can always buy more hours as once I agree to work with you for comprehensive services, the total number of hours is based on whatever your needs are.  One of the reasons that I work with a limited number of clients is that I can always provide full service to the clients I work with. 

It is fine to buy more than 5 hours at once, but I don’t incentivize doing so.

Refunds: I don’t offer refunds for those who elect my rate of 40,000 JPY per hour. For those who are paying 50,000 JPY per hour, I will refund 50% of your unused balance if requested within in one year from the date of purchase. Any time remaining unused after 1 year from the date of purchase will be considered expired unless you are in the process of actively using it with me. 

Question: Can you help with reapplication?

Yes, I can. I have helped reapplicants gain admission to HBS, Stanford, Wharton, CBS, Chicago, INSEAD and other top MBA programs. For comprehensive service clients who come to me as reapplicants, I customize my service to meet their specific situation. In addition, I offer a stand alone reapplication service:

Reapplication Service
This service is designed for those who want to understand why they were rejected and want to learn from the experience.

If you are interested in using this service, please complete an intake form.

1. I will provide a comprehensive written review of one application: App form, essays, recommendations, and an interview report (if applicable).  I may ask to see additional essays for other schools. 
2. I will provide a  Zoom feedback session of 1 hour.
3. Cost is seasonal:  120,000 JPY for February to June and 150,000 JPY for July to January.

Worldwide except Japan: All payments are via International Wire Transfer, Wise, Stripe, or PayPal and must be paid in Japanese yen. 

 Japan: Your payment will also be subject to Japanese Consumption Tax and payment is via domestic bank transfer.

Please complete an intake form if you are interested in either my comprehensive or stand alone services for reapplicants.

Question: Do you offer second opinion services?

Yes, I do. It is not a substitute for my comprehensive service and depending on my overall schedule, I cannot always offer this service.  This is a one-time service and its use does not guarantee my availability for additional counseling beyond what is indicated here.  For those interested in using this service, I will not provide a free initial consultation, but I am happy to answer any basic questions via email about the service I will provide.

If you are interested in using this service, please complete an intake form.

1. I will provide comprehensive review of one school’s entire application and, if applicable, the essays for other schools. I want to review your full application and recommendations for that one school. If you have multiple applications, I may  want to see the essays for the other schools.

2. All essays, recommendations, and the resume should be submitted in MS Word Format as should substantive content from the application form so that I can easily provide specific feedback on the documents using the editing functions in MS Word. I will spend one hour reviewing and commenting on your application. I will provide both an overall analysis of each piece of the application as well as the application as a whole. I will then send you this written feedback. PLEASE NOTE: The focus of my analysis will be on the quality of the content and its impact on admissions, not on editing. My objective is to give you constructive feedback on what you have written, not to edit your content.

3. After that I will provide Skype/telephone feedback session of 1 hour in length.

4. This service is not a replacement for working intensively with consultant. It is a one-time engagement focused on the evaluation of an application and suggestions for its improvement. This service provides no-follow or additional support.

5. Price is seasonal:

¥150, 000 JPY  from February -June

¥200,000 JPY  from July-January  (Busy season, extremely limited availability)

Worldwide except Japan: All payments are via International Wire Transfer, Wise, Stripe, or PayPal and must be paid in Japanese yen. 

 Japan: Your payment will also be subject to Japanese Consumption Tax and payment is via domestic bank transfer.

Question: Do you offer waitlist counseling?

Yes, I do. This service is designed for those who want to understand why they were waitlisted and what they can do to improve their chances for admissions. Please note that if the school you are waitlisted at does not take additional materials, it  will not benefit you to use this service.

1. I will provide comprehensive review of the waitlisted application. I want to review your full application, recommendations, and, if applicable, also either conduct a short discussion with you on your admissions interview or get a written report about your interview.

2. I will provide suggestions for what issues should be addressed in waitlist letters and other waitlist materials.

3. I will provide Skype/telephone feedback session of 1 hour. This time can be used all at once or used subsequently for review of waitlist essays and/or other waitlist materials.

4. Cost 100,000 JPY.  Subsequent applications cost 10,000 JPY to review. Transactions in Japan subject to sales tax.

Worldwide except Japan: All payments are via International Wire Transfer, Wise, Stripe, or PayPal and must be paid in Japanese yen. 

 Japan: Your payment will also be subject to Japanese Consumption Tax and payment is via domestic bank transfer.

If you are interested in using this service, please complete my intake form.