An MBA is a life transforming experience. It is one of the most important investments of your life and the first step of your journey leading to the realization of all your professional and personal aspirations. The stakes are high with fierce competition. The seats at top business schools are limited. Your mind is surrounded with doubts and hundreds of questions related to your candidacy.
An MBA Admissions Coach is of crucial importance here. A coach is literally like a Mother who will hand hold the aspirant every step of the way. Once an aspirant has made a firm decision regarding their MBA, the coach can help them follow a strict study plan for the GMAT and follow it through. Motivation is a key component crucial in the admissions process and right from the start, under the mentorship of a coach, a candidate can maintain their levels of motivation and charter progress periodically to ace the GMAT and enthusiastically prepare for the applications.Even after a few years of experience, at the MBA admissions stage, many young professionals are confused. They desire an MBA for it means lateral placements, great hike in salary and an opportunity to explore a new career track. However, they are clueless about how to DISTINGUISH the unique aspects of their profile, what their post MBA goals are, how to select the best fit MBA schools and how to approach the MBA Essays. Who can they seek when they have so many questions at this crucial juncture?
The MBA Admissions Coach also leverages their expertise and know-how of the MBA Admissions process to guide the applicant and help them develop their profile and submit winning applications to attract the attention of the admissions committees.
Specifically, here is how the MBA Coach will help:
· You will realize your true goal because of the support and structure provided by your coach.
· Under objective and practical step-by-step coaching, you will realize the best strategy true to your independent profile.
· You will brainstorm exhaustively with your coach to dig deep into your life and come up with your essay anecdotes which you will write and then work upon. The result will be that your application will represent you as YOU are and MARKET you to the admissions committee.
· A coach can identify the areas of improvement in your personality which may pose a problem during the interview phase and work upon them until they are minimized.
· Because of the clarity you will obtain through the coaching process, you will feel more confident and relaxed and thus be in a position to work upon your applications with more conviction. As a result, you will rightfully shine through as a very promising candidate.
It is almost a guarantee that with coaching you will achieve small milestones and take action. You will explore your FULL potential because of the level of accountability and commitment involved. So, it is never too early for hiring an MBA Admissions Coach.
How to find the best one?
Selecting the right MBA Admissions Coach is challenging especially in the face of the sheer numbers of service providers in the market. There are two main kinds of Admissions consulting companies:
· Boutique Admissions Consultants: The coaches work one on one with applicants and generally work with only a selected number of applicants every year.
· Test Preparation Companies which offer Admissions Consulting as an added service: They train a large number of GMAT takers every season and with a strong sales team, convert many of their existing test preparation clients for the Admissions Consulting service.
A candidate can be spoilt of choice especially with such a disparity in the quality and rates of services provided. Some people are naturally drawn to the more popular companies simply because of their easy approachability and omnipresence. In their mind, they relate this to Admissions Success. Other applicants seek smaller outfits which pledge personalized attention. Whatever may be the case, following a few simple guidelines can help you finalize on the right person to help you with the applications:
One of the best tested way to choose your Coach is “Word of Mouth” reference from Family/Friends who have used the services of the Coach/Consultant.
If you are not so lucky here are some points that you should consider:
1. Research on different MBA Admission Consulting Companies to find out the one which suits you best. Every company has a different work methodology and you need to figure out which one will give you the best value in terms of strategizing on your candidature and helping you with the application essays writing and polishing.
2. Insist on speaking to the person who will be working directly with you. Ask them to clearly define how they will help, their qualifications, expertise, experience and success rate.
3. If you choose a bigger company, it is highly probable that application consultants or MBA essay writers are hired on a freelance basis. To avoid being stuck with a relatively raw coach, insist on getting all details of the consultant you are assigned to.
4. Make sure that you connect with your coach. Are they easily accessible, empathetic, prompt and quick to respond? Pay close attention to your gut instinct. Mostly, it is right! If you have doubts about your prospective coach’s ability, look elsewhere.
5 Consider the value you will get in return. Saving a couple of thousand rupees will not help you at all if you do not achieve your goals.
6. Many admissions consulting companies in the US are accredited to professional bodies which have very stringent membership requirements and ethical standards. We should have some similar Associations that accredit Educational Admissions Consultants/Coaches in India as well to maintain quality. If doctors, lawyers, teachers, CAs and other professionals have regulated accrediting bodies, why not Educational Admissions Consultancies? After all we are dealing with peoples ‘careers here.