What a great product! I think any applicant needs it to succeed in their MBA journey. Like many, I believe conventional admission consultants are rip-offs...pay over $1k to get one or two applications wrapped up when you're often applying to more than four in any given round. ApplicantLab does a masterful job of giving you all the content you need to succeed in one place all at a very reasonable price point. The write-up on individual programs allowed me to tailor applications to show I truly familiarized myself with the program. In addition, that familiarization allowed me to hit the ground running for interview prep, so I could show interviewers that I did my work. Also, Carin's "down to earth" demeanor let me know that I was getting the real scoop on what these programs look for and how they differentiate from peer competitors. I would recommend this product to anybody who needs a little help in their application journey...don't waste your money on conventional admission consultants! This is what you need!

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Review product strengths text: - Very very cheap (as compared with other consultants) - Provides great structure for the application process - Provides a distillation of the "best-of" applicant advice

Review product recommendations text: - Stories module is sometimes confusing (it is unclear at what level a story should be, esp. when one specific story may have multiple parts) and it could be clearer on how to translate these into stories within the essays - More real sample essays, resumes, etc. could be helpful! - UX sometime confusing within the modules (advice is sometimes formatted differently)

Review text: Applicant Lab provides a fabulous service! for the cost of

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To put it plainly, working with Carin & the entire ApplicantLab team was absolutely fantastic. Not only do I recommend the service as a whole, but I especially recommend the additional consulting services with Carin!

I solicited Carin's feedback on essays for two schools - Kellogg and Booth - and received offers from both. In each case, she went above and beyond to give honest, actionable feedback that I was able to immediately apply…and, in the case of my Kellogg essays, undoubtedly meant the difference between receiving an offer and not!

Since I'd used Carin for my essay reviews in 2020, when I first applied to Kellogg, it was a no-brainer to solicit her feedback again when reapplying. I struggled with the essays this time around, and it showed. Carin demonstrated "tough love," and gave very candid feedback on my first drafts. The difference maker, however, was that she went BACK to the essays I'd sent her nearly TWO YEARS prior, and pointed out elements from those that I could re-incorporate and expound upon. She provided some rewriting recommendations, which helped me quickly identify the necessary edits, and gave some general feedback on how to make my "growth since first applying" really shine in my re-applicant essays (again, having looked at the materials I shared years prior). None of this was in the "job description," but showed how much she really cared about steering me in the right direction. Due wholly to her feedback, I was able to completely transform my essays, and receive the offer of admission I was hoping for. This is just one of the many examples I have of Carin going above-and-beyond to help out.

I have no doubts that Carin's candid feedback played a crucial role in my receiving these 2 M-7 offers. Though I know her sessions are a little more costly, I can wholeheartedly say it makes all the difference.

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I started applying for MBA's around two years ago and used both ApplicantLab and another very popular/well known MBA consulting service for the first year of applications and only used ApplicantLab for the second year (in which I was successful in getting a place). Here are my comments:
- The consultant I was working with (Carin Nelson) was very supportive and every piece of feedback she gave was very specific to me and my application. She was very responsive whenever I had ANY questions about anything which was very useful during stressful times.
- My mock interview with Carin was also the most effective/useful $500ish that I have ever spent with respect to MBA applications. During that 2 hour interview + feedback session I had with her, I learnt more about how to speak in interviews and how to present myself to interviewers than I had ever done during the 2 years that I had worked towards getting accepted into a top MBA programme.
- The other consulting service gave me a fish and ApplicantLab taught me how to fish. I guess my phrasing is cheesy but the way in which ApplicantLab is structured helped me learn how to take ownership of my application and gave me the skills required to present myself in the best way possible. The other consulting service polished my application and story, but I didn't come out that experience feeling as if I could tackle another MBA application-type situation if I was forced to face it once again.
- ApplicantLab's fees for the 1 year membership was less than half of the price charged by the other consulting service for an hour of their time

One caveat I really do have to mention is that with ApplicantLab, you need to have at least some sort of clarity on where you want to apply and what you want to do with your MBA. Perhaps other consultants might be able to help with that but I wouldn't know as I approached the other service after I had figured out my MBA story.

Overall, I think the title of this review summarises my impression of ApplicantLab really well: great support, great value and great advice.

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Applying to MBAs can feel like a second job at times with tons of ambiguity to navigate, but ApplicantLab takes so much of the stress away by bringing loads of transparency and structure to the process. I love how easy the platform is to use, and how it empowered me to approach my applications confidently at my own pace through its wealth of content, advice, and exercises to support every imaginable step and question you would encounter while applying.

I also engaged Carin and Maria's services for personalized essay feedback and interview prep - they are both amazing advisors who provided super honest and actionable feedback in a really personable way. My story definitely came out a lot stronger after their help.

For the price ApplicantLab is charging vs. other consultants, this really is a no brainer - I cannot recommend them enough.

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I found ApplicantLab's services to be incredibly useful. As a career switcher from the public policy sector, I was unsure about how to optimally convey my past experience and need for an MBA to admissions committees. I used ApplicantLab's branding module and resume review services to construct an effective personal brand and "Why MBA?" story that helped me stand out from the pack. I also found ApplicantLab's school-specific essay advice to be very effective in tailoring my supplemental essays. The money that I spent on ApplicantLab has easily paid for itself in multiple acceptance and scholarship offers. I would highly recommend ApplicantLab to any MBA applicant, but especially self-directed career switchers who are curious about how to effectively communicate their "story" throughout the admissions process.

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Applying to 3 schools at once with only 2 months to prepare and using GMAT waiver, I was very insecure with my application hence looking for the most efficient tool / resources to help me with my application process. I was suggested to try Applicantlab by a friend and it was hands down one of the best advices ever.

The materials available in the dashboard are very structured and comprehensive. The contents are easy to comprehend and I found the videos to be very fun to watch. The framework and brainstorming questions are really useful to help applicants build the overall MBA stories and motivation that are crucial for essays and even interviews later on.

On top of the dashboard, I used the additional services such as resume review (by one of the alumni -- Luqzan), essay review and mock interview (both by Carin). Not only did they give super constructive inputs, they were also very friendly and responsive to answer any questions we had.

Thanks to Applicantlab, I got admitted to all the 3 schools I applied to (MIT Sloan, Ross, and Darden) and all with scholarships (1 full ride). I'd highly recommend Applicantlab to any MBA applicants who are looking for inexpensive resources with high quality.

Kudos to the team!

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Having done consultations with almost every admissions consultant out there (and after even paying a hefty sum for one!) I finally found ApplicantLab. I found their information and advice to be by far the most helpful of any pricey consultant that I spoke to. Their user interface is incredibly easy to use, and they were an invaluable help to me as I researched schools, refined my story and resume, and drafted essays. I was incredibly delighted by my outcomes (admits to Stern, Haas, LBS, Kellogg, Yale, Tuck, UCLA and McCombs—as well as generous scholarships from many of them and one full ride!) and I couldn’t have done it without ApplicantLab and Carin.

The self-introspection and questions they ask about your experience and interests really allow you to identify what is unique about your story and uncover ways to tell that story in a way that is compelling to the admissions committee. I also found that their information and advice on essays was incredibly well-researched and supported, rather than just based on one consultant’s opinion or anecdotal experience. The informational videos and write-ups for how to outline essays really streamlined the process for me, and I’m sure were the reason I was able to get admits at 8 schools!
In addition to all the information on ApplicantLab’s service, the Sanity Checks and Strategic Essay Reviews I booked with Carin really helped me polish my story and make my essays shine. I found that her advice on one of my essays was often applicable to several of them, and she really helped me showcase my strengths and personality to the admissions committee. I honestly couldn’t have done it without her!


I also think that ApplicantLab’s process for reviewing a user’s resume and career vision for the Sanity check most closely aligns with the experience of the admissions committee—brief and to the point! The fact that they are able to review more applicant’s stories than an hourly admissions consultant gives them a better perspective as well, which also came through during the strategic essay reviews.

Overall, it was money extremely well-spent, and I couldn’t be happier with my outcomes!

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Coming in with a below-average GMAT for my target schools, I was really nervous heading into the application process. A few of the reviews I read said other traditional admissions consultants discouraged applicants from applying to certain schools with certain scores, so I was hesitant to use them. A friend of mine suggested ApplicantLab not for just the incredibly affordable price relative to other consultants, but for how friendly and positive the team was.

The self-guided modules that Maria provided were extremely thorough - a lot more than I was expecting. On top of that, it was extremely well-organized, she linked the resources each school provided all in one spot for convenience, which definitely sped up the essay-writing process for me.

I worked with Carin mostly on my strategic essays and a mock interview. I was nervous about not being able to speak with her live (though we did for the mock interview, Carin is such a treat!) but the video format worked just as well. The feedback I got was tactical and constructive.

I am certain I wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for ApplicantLab (and special shoutout to Carin!), and I couldn't recommend them more.

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During R2 of the 2020/21 cycle, I - a non-traditional, outlier, international applicant - applied to eight business schools and relied on ApplicantLab's fantastic platform to organise my narrative, stories, past experiences, and achievements. This affordable platform, which provides quality service in a fraction of the cost of its competitors, allows its users to learn how to appreciate their strengths and address their weaknesses while engaging them with the many pieces that would make each unique application (both the written portion and the interview) successful. ApplicantLab made my application process more manageable, acquainted me with the different schools I applied to (e.g., their program, their written application, interviews), and laid out the appropriate strategy to tackle each application given my profile, and every school is looking for. The level of service Maria, Carin, and the three alumni on the roster deliver is exceptional. I do not think you can beat ApplicantLab's offering, given the price, the quality of content, and the guidance they provide, alongside the flexibility and accessibility the platform allows. I was delighted with my outcomes, and I have no doubt ApplicantLab played a significant role in attaining them.

Besides the platform, I also used some of the supplementary services very targeted way, working with an alumnus on a Sanity Check, another alumnus on one application, and Carin to polish my Wharton & Lauder essays before submitting them. I appreciated the level of commitment and dedication she and the alumni exhibited throughout the process. Carin was highly responsive, was invested in my candidacy despite the fact we did not work extensively, and even made sure to add a special slot for me so that she could make a final review of my material. Her professionalism and experience as an admission consultant were evident as well. The feedback she provided was always candid, concise, and actionable. She highlighted the strong portion of the essays and precisely what was missing to make them even more robust, referencing specific resources. Besides working with her directly on my essays, she and the rest of the ApplicantLab staff were always accessible to answer specific questions about the different applications and provided solid advice throughout the process with no additional cost.

I highly recommend Carin in particular and ApplicantLab in general. Even if your essays are in good shape, they will provide you with encouragement and constructive feedback to make sure you submit the best application possible. Carin and her colleagues were over the moon when I told them that I was accepted to Wharton/Lauder with substantial fellowships to both programmes, indicating how invested they were in my candidacy and how rewarding it was to work with ApplicantLab during the application process.

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