After failing to secure an admit from the top US business schools in 2020, I almost gave up hope. I was ready to go 1-tier down from M7 to T15 in 2021 cycle as I thought that getting into an M7 with my profile wouldn’t be possible. My profile was strong in terms of leadership experience and basic stats, but I had issues related to higher age and work-experience (34 years of age & 10 years of work-ex at matriculation), with an MBA degree from India already. Plus, being an ORM Male candidate from India did not help my case.

All the admission consultants that I had spoken to both in 2020 and 2021 cycle told me to play safe: either apply to FT European programs, or look outside the most competitive set of schools (M7) in the US. However, Adam was different in many ways: I got to know about him from a very reliable friend, and from the outset, my experience of working with Adam was fantastic – as my friend had personally vouched for.

Unlike other consultants, who were very sales-oriented during the initial short conversation, Adam was a thorough professional. He spent an hour (for free) understanding my background and my last year applications, trying to get a sense of who I am and how I function. He was very candid in terms of issues in my profile and told me the risks & rewards of applying to top-tier US schools. He evaluated my chances of success and laid out a game plan that we could follow – applying to M7 schools in R1 and a few T15 in R2 if things don’t work out. He spent enough time with me on his way of doing things and the process that he follows. Once he saw the fit, he was ready to bet on me as I was going for a very ambitious set of schools during R1 (just 3 schools because of my low budget). His genuineness and authenticity won me over, and I decided to sign-up with him even though my budget was an issue as I spent upwards of $8,000 in the last admissions cycle. Rest is history – I got into a FT (2Y) M7 school with a $40K merit scholarship.

In  my view, Adam is your go-to-admissions consultant for the following reasons:

1. a) Adam is highly strategic and intelligent:More than anything else, after working with him, you will come out of the entire application process more self-aware – well aware of your strengths, weaknesses, personality traits, etc. He takes a “coaching approach” and helps you become better as you go from one draft to another, helping you to learn the skills rather than spoon-feeding stuff. He has an uncanny ability to pick out the best themes from your life, and he invests disproportionate amount of time with his clients to get to know them at a deeper level – and this level of authenticity and depth comes through in the application and essays. He is not afraid to keep things fresh – he takes risks and experiments with various positioning themes to help you stand out. To cite an example, in 2020 cycle, I used a combination of 3 consultants (2 for application process + 1 additional for the interview prep), but when I worked with Adam, my essays still improved by a mile – his fundamental approach to essays & interview prep is very different. It is not at all an exaggeration when I say that he is one of the most intelligent people I have met in my life.

1. b) Adam is a thorough professional:He is sincere, diligent, highly responsive, and has an impeccable work-ethic. He is extremely well planned, with a very elaborate and well-planned calendar for the whole year laid out in advance so that you could plan your stuff accordingly. He is extremely responsive on emails, giving you on the on-spot replies to your basic queries and doubts. For example, as you start filling application forms, you will have tons of small queries & doubts on employer & education fields, and it really helps to have someone hand-hold you. He cares about your application as it were his own, and this in my view, really differentiates him from other top consultants – his personal involvement and ownership towards his clients.  He is also very ethical – and accounts time for his services (hourly-service model) in a very client-friendly mode.  I can personally vouch for the fact that he charged me less as compared to the actual amount of time that he invested in me.

1. c)Adam takes a very individualized approach to your narrative and application:Like I mentioned before, he gets to know his contacts on a very personal level: He takes a limited number of clients every year around 40 to 45 (could easily double the number if he wanted to) and invests a lot of time in them. This reflects in your application and interviews. By virtue of having worked with clients all across the globe, he has a global view of your competition and what your USPs could be, helping you differentiate in the competition pool.

1. d) Adam brings with him deep industry knowledge:With 20+ years of domain experience, he understands what each school looks for and how to position your story to each school differently. He also has deep contacts within the admissions consulting industry and helps you pair with his partners for interview preparation according to your unique needs and issues.

1. e)To top it all, Adam is also a great human being:I developed a personal bond with him as I could see his time and investment in seeing me succeed. He was like a mentor to me who coached and guided me and was there for me when things became a bit rough – as they will when you really aim for the crème de la crème. He went above and beyond than what was required to see me successful – he spent almost an hour with me (without charging me) calming my nerves before the Wharton TBD.

There is a lot of misinformation in the admissions consulting industry. There are big brands and players who market themselves a lot on sites like P&Q, GMAT club, etc. and claim disproportionate success but nobody tells you that they place their bets only on perfect candidates. Adam is a rare individual who has the capability to make an underdog win if he agrees to take that person in – for whatever reason. Overall, I would say that if you are serious and hard-working, with enough oomph in your profile, Adam could be the difference between you getting into your dream school vs. not securing an admit at all. He is a one-man army. If he is ready to work with you, you cannot go wrong with him. Period.