Adam Markus is a FANTASTIC admissions consultant. His help was crucial during my application process. I recommend Adam to anyone thinking about hiring an admissions consultant. You will be extremely happy with the decision. Here’s why:
Adam knows the admissions game cold. He has over ten years of graduate admissions consulting experience which allows him to provide a valuable perspective for approaching each application. For example, in our first meeting I described a somewhat unrealistic long-term goal. Adam explained why it did not make sense given my past experiences. Bottomline, Adam will give you the best chance to win admission into a top school.
Adam provides direct, impactful, and prompt feedback. He is straightforward, but his criticism is never coming from a negative place; it is always constructive. Adam’s feedback is impactful. His comments were essential for choosing my best stories to present in essays. He is not writing essays for you but his suggestions are thoughtful and compelling. In the end, your essays will be better. Adam is also extremely prompt. This was one of my favorite things about working with him! He would always return an essay within a day or two. To me, this characteristic shows that Adam genuinely cares about his clients’ success.
Adam has a large network of admissions consultants. He can utilize this network to help you prepare for interviews. I hired one to help me and was very satisfied with the additional practice and fresh perspective on my strengths and weaknesses.
Adam’s fee structure is fantastic. Other consulting services charge you a large up-front fixed fee. Their fees are driven by the number of applications you want to work on. Doesn’t matter how long you work with the consultant on the application, you pay one price. Conversely, Adam charges based upon the number of hours you want work with him. In my opinion, this is a better model for the typical applicant. I found there to be diminishing returns to working with a consultant after my first application was completed. I had written my best stories already, practiced my interviews, approached my recommenders, etc. While a consultant can still help formulate strategy for new schools and different essay/interview questions, I did not need as much help after my first app was finished. Adam’s model is also much more flexible allowing you to focus on areas (essays, interviews, general strategy, recommendations, etc.) where you need the most help without being limited to just one application. Adam also gave me a refund for the hours that I did not use without me even having to ask. I believe this is a testament to his strong character. Adam is a very good guy.
