When starting my MBA journey to apply to schools, I needed someone to help guide me through the MBA admission process. I wanted to be with someone that had experience and knew inside and out about the admissions committee and how the process worked. My friend encouraged me to seek out a great consultant because even though he had a 730 GMAT score, he was admitted to a less than ideal business school for his score and GPA.

Before starting the process, I reached out to two consultants. With my consultation meeting Faisal, I felt very much at ease with him. I wanted to work with him during this process! I knew I had some marks against me, such as being over the median age of the average student profile, I am 34, and failing a class in my undergraduate school.

It would be an uphill battle attempting to get into certain top 25 MBA programs I was aiming for. In the beginning, Faisal worked with me to create a DNA sheet of who I was. This information really helped with the different essays the different programs asked. Faisal worked with me holistically on how to best craft the essays during the application process. For me, I have a music background which we integrated into the essays and the interviews. He helped me think about my leadership times and my end goals. He was very kind when working with me when I was formulating ideas. My overall timeframe was short; I had less than six weeks from start to submission of the essays at the different universities for round 2 deadlines. Faisal setup dates the deliverables were due. If one sticks to the plan, it was possible to apply to the universities by the round 2 deadlines. This really helped me to have many short-term due dates to be able to submit by the application deadline! I applied to five programs, and I had three interviews. Faisal and his team really helped prepare me for the interview process. When hearing back from the universities, I was accepted to a top 25 MBA program! I am so excited! I know that without Faisal and his team, none of this would be possible. If you are looking for guidance and someone that has years of experience, I would look no more! Faisal works very hard for his clients, and I couldn't be happier.

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A friend recommended MBAPrepSchool to me for the business school application process. I started my MBA journey a little late, but Faisal was able to tailor this process to my needs and timeline so I was still able to apply round 1. I started working with Faisal officially around mid-June of 2022, which was the best decision I’ve made for my application process. I came in without even knowing what programs I wanted to apply to. Faisal really took the time to explain all aspects of the application process and outline key strategies based on my situation. Rather than just look at me as a statistic, Faisal took the effort to know me as a person and kept me in check during the whole process to ensure we are able to meet my application deadlines.

Faisal was very forthright about the whole process and my prospects. I was an Asian male applying to primarily very Asian-heavy programs with mid-600s GMAT score. Especially with the timeline of the applications and my progress at the time, I was not expecting great results. Despite these short-comings, Faisal never shot me down or made me feel like I shouldn’t apply to any of the top programs. In fact, he supported every decision I made but clearly outlined my strengths and weaknesses from an objective perspective. He devised a clear strategic plan and flowchart for me to put my best foot forward. On top of that, Faisal’s personality makes it really easy to open up to him, and therefore working with him during the application process felt like working with a friend. What really impressed me was how he was able to help me clarify my own personal and professional goals through our conversations. During this process, I was able to really figure out why I wanted to get an MBA and what I wanted to get out of it. For me, I think this is the most valuable takeaway.

As of the time of this writing, I have been accepted to both programs I applied for Round 1. One of which is one of my top choices. I even received a sizable scholarship. I can’t thank Faisal enough for his support and guidance during this process. I highly recommend Faisal to anyone who is looking for a knowledgeable, supportive, and personable MBA consultant.

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I worked with Faisal for my applications to b-schools last year after I was referred to him by a friend of mine. I was in the process of finalizing a consultant and was meeting with admissions consulting firms left, right, and center.

The first thing that worked with Faisal was his brutal honesty about my chances. I was a male IT engineer from a non-IIT background applying with a GRE score of 325 (To most, these parameters are as close to a death knell as they can get) and Faisal was extremely candid about the fact. What I absolutely loved about him was that he did not shoot me down exclusively based on my score (like a majority of consultants did) or painted a very rosy picture of my applications (like a lot of others did). Faisal devised a plan for us to develop the application and focus on retaking the GRE in parallel.

Faisal works in an extremely comprehensive manner to craft the applications. Before getting started we worked on an extensive document to flush out all of my important life stories. The questions in the document brought out stories that I almost forgot existed. We then honed in on developing a compelling narrative across applications and together we drafted compelling essays (essays that I’m proud of).

I ended up with a T20 admit with a ~$45k scholarship. I can’t recommend Faisal enough. Post admit, Faisal has continued to mentor me and advise me on a host of things. I barely noticed when he stopped being the consultant and become a treasured mentor who had my best interests in mind.

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I worked with Faisal as a reapplicant during the 2021 application cycle, and it was the best decision I made in the entire pre-MBA process. In brief, Faisal is a true professional who delivered on what he promised and exceeded my expectations at every step.

What impressed me right from the start is how quickly Faisal peeled back the onion layers to really understand me - my motivations, my experiences and ambitions. After our second conversation and a thoughtful questionnaire, I felt that Faisal already knew me, at least in certain respects, on a deep level that's typically reserved for close friends and family. We literally covered some topics that I had never spoken about before, let alone thought would be relevant to an MBA application. And that is the secret sauce. A week into working with Faisal, we had already established the core material that I would use to write a deeply personal application and stand out in a sea of other traditional applicants.

Because I was reapplying, we also spent time at the outset determining what areas I would need to strengthen and how I would strategically show growth and reflection in the short turnaround time from my application the year prior. This was extremely valuable, and Faisal quickly homed in on a number of areas for improvement. He pushed me to add credibility to my career switching ambitions, ensuring I had a cohesive through line from my early experiences to my post-MBA plans while demonstrating that Booth was the perfect school to help me reach my goals. Through the many rounds of essay drafting and editing, Faisal was truly masterful at pushing me to sharpen my responses and draw from the well of core material that we established early on. Faisal helped me turn a good application (waitlisted the prior year) into an undeniable application, accepted round one.

Before I started working with Faisal, he made it clear what I could expect from him. He said that I would need to commit to the process of introspection, be open to feedback and invest the time needed to craft impactful essays. In return he promised that when I hit the submit button on my application, I would be turning in a product that was the absolute best representation of myself. This is exactly what I experienced, and it's the reason that I would strongly recommend Faisal to a friend or anyone else who would benefit from working with a consultant.

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Coming into the 2021 application cycle, I realized my profile, while having some solid attributes, also had a couple of “weaker” points. Therefore, I wanted to work with a consultant who would help me tell the best story in my applications. Faisal was recommended to me by a friend of mine who had been successful previously in his b-school applications. I talked to him along with four other consultants/agencies and felt more at peace with Faisal. While others focused on raw stats, Faisal was more interested in my story.
After narrowing down the list of schools, he pushed me to reflect and come up with my “brand” narrative. His input on which points were more impactful than others was incredibly helpful. I am not a strong writer and knew that I needed the most help with the essays. Faisal really delivered the bang for the buck here with his impressive storytelling technique while keeping “my voice”. He was always super responsive and got back to me within 2-3 days. It always felt like he was your application “partner” and he was as excited about the application as you were. I also did a couple of mock interviews with him and received some actionable feedback. I was really excited to have received admits from LBS, Fuqua, and McCombs – all thanks to Faisal’s incredible storytelling inputs, mentorship, and guidance, and a little bit of luck!

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As an international applicant from an overrepresented country/background & an average GPA I knew that getting accepted to a top B-school would not be an easy task. I started my search for a consultant about 3 months before the application deadlines.
Right from my first conversation with Faisal, I was convinced that he was the right choice. He took a genuine interest in my goals and helped me build my application from the ground up. His extensive experience was very valuable in everything from school selection to filling out the application form.
Faisal helped me see the experiences and life-stories that make me unique and helped me articulate a strong & convincing story. At no point did he sway my narrative, instead, he acted like a coach and a mentor - guiding me and asking me introspective questions that made me understand myself better. At the end of the application process and through Faisal’s guidance, I can say with certainty that I am a far better writer than I was one year ago, and I have developed a clear understanding for my future career goals.
Despite the competition being cut-throat this year (2020 - record high number of applicants), I was accepted to one of the top schools in my list. I highly recommend Faisal to anyone looking for a strong MBA coach.

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I recently heard back from my dream school (a top 7 US News program): an admit to their Full-Time MBA Class of 2023 with a sizeable scholarship!!! To put this result and Faisal’s contribution to it into perspective: I succeeded as a reapplicant, at one of the most selective business schools globally, in an unprecedentedly competitive admissions year and reduced number of seats due to deferrals (thanks to COVID19). It was only due to Faisal that I was able to overcome these impossible odds.

Coming into my second application cycle, having had decent success the first time around (two T15 admits with partial scholarships), I was looking to work with a consultant who could help elevate my applications to the next level for a shot at M7/T10 schools. I spoke to several consultants, most of whom did not seem confident that I could get into an M7/T10 school with my profile. Some were even hesitant to work with me since I already had two admits with scholarships from the previous year, and they perhaps saw more downsides than upsides in this endeavor for them.

After speaking to Faisal for the first time, I immediately knew that I wanted to work with him. What impressed me about him was that he showed great empathy and understanding when listening to my background, experiences, and goals. On top of that, Faisal’s experience as an admissions team member at Booth reflected his knowledge of what it takes to get into an M7 program.

In terms of school selection, Faisal struck the delicate balance between helping set realistic expectations through his openness and, at the same time, ensuring that I was applying to the schools that I’d really want to attend. In contrast, most consultants will ‘nudge’ you to apply to schools where you have better chances of being admitted so they can keep their records intact. Faisal didn’t discourage me from applying even to Stanford and Wharton, which even I knew were ‘extreme reach’ schools for me. We also decided to apply to three other M7 programs where I was a reapplicant (most other consultants tried to sway me away from reapplying since it’s always a high-risk proposition).

I also liked that Faisal works with a much smaller number of people (usually 4-5), compared to some of the other full-time consultants who take on 12-15 applicants each round. I knew that this would guarantee that I was getting the personalized attention that I wanted for my applications.

Once we started working, I could see why Faisal has enjoyed such an impressive success as an admissions consultant. Instead of immediately plunging into essay writing and building application packages, Faisal guided me for the first few weeks to dig deeper and helped me articulate a personal brand story that was authentic, unique, and powerful. Once I started writing the essays, I’d always get feedback that led to significant improvements to my drafts without taking the authenticity or uniqueness away, a testament to Faisal’s exceptional story-telling skills. We went through at least three (and sometimes even up to five) drafts for each of the essays I wrote for the six schools, and I never even once felt that Faisal wasn’t 100% committed to improving my essays and resume. He even took the time to review my application forms to ensure that all parts of my app were up to the mark.

On top of that, Faisal’s project management skills are top-notch. He always responded within the 72-hour turnaround time (and sometimes even earlier) that he had committed when we started working. Thanks to all this, I was able to submit six competitive applications in Round 1, with an admit + scholarship at my dream school as the result.

Business school admissions can be incredibly challenging. You want to work with a thorough professional with ample experience and past success who is willing to personally commit to and invest in your success, just as a friend would. If you go with Faisal, you will get all this and more!

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My experience working with Faisal was absolutely fantastic and I could not have asked for a more supportive, responsive, experienced and professional mentor. I currently work in private equity (previously worked in investment banking), with the objective of applying to several top US MBA programs (R1 and R2) for the Class of 2020. I had high aspirations but came from an overrepresented background. Additionally, I lacked direction as to my rationale to pursue an MBA (e.g. “why me? “why now?” “what will an MBA do for my career?”)

After working closely with Faisal for 9 months, I’m proud to say that I received admission to my first choice (top 5 US ranking) and second choice!

Faisal’s close mentorship and logical approach to drawing from all aspects of my life (professional and personal) to help form a clear and persuasive story was beyond anything I could have imagined. His focus on precision and tailoring my message to each school kept me focused and built my self-confidence every step of the way. Lastly, Faisal’s organization, responsiveness and commitment to school deadlines was exactly what I was looking for in a mentor and consultant.

This process was truly life changing not only from the perspective of receiving admission to a school that I could have only dreamed of, but helping me understand myself better and mapping a professional pathway that will allow me to achieve my short and long-term goals.

I can confidently recommend Faisal and wish future candidates the best of luck in their application endeavors.

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I came into the MBA admissions process as a novice – nobody in my family had applied to business school and neither had any of my close friends – and the one thing I did know was that I would need help!

After being recommended to reach out to MBA Prep School by a friend of a friend who had worked with them and been accepted to a highly ranked school, I was still a bit skeptical. Would working with a consultant really be something that would be valuable? What sort of help was I getting? How were they going to help me?

After our first initial call, Faisal helped me to allay my doubts – not only would MBA Prep School help develop my essays but their approach was a rigorous bottoms-up analysis which focused first on career coaching not merely essay editing. We spent our first few sessions talking about my goals and career aspirations using exercises to help me to discover the strengths and experiences that would help me stand out from my peers as well as shore up potential weaknesses as well.

I think was actually the most valuable part of the whole application process and even if I hadn’t applied to business school I think this would have been very worthwhile.

After condensing an amorphous cloud of thoughts, perceptions, and dreams into a coherent narrative, Faisal and I set to work on developing my essays. Faisal is an excellent editor, allowing my voice to come through while giving helpful hints on how best to craft a story. Faisal gives room to disagree and while he is not afraid to give tough criticism I never felt that he didn’t have my best interests at heart. I applied to 5 schools and each essay received as many revisions as they needed.

By the time I submitted my applications I felt not only did I have excellent essays but also a much stronger conception of my own career trajectory and a clear road map for achieving my dreams.

Out of the five schools I applied to, I was accepted to two and will be attending Kellogg this fall. I was completely satisfied with the help I received from Faisal and the MBA Prep School and strongly recommend reaching out to them if you have doubts about applying to business schools and wish to take your MBA application to the next level!

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I worked with Faisal in the hopes of joining a full-time program in the fall of 2020. I chose to work with a consultant because when I had applied by myself the previous year, I had been denied from all six full-time MBA programs that I had applied to without any interview invites even though I felt I had competitive experiences and a GMAT score above the averages for all the programs.

I chose MBAPrepSchool for one main reason – they didn’t treat me as just another customer to put into a preset program, but rather an individual with specific needs. I talked to several different companies before making my decision, but only MBAPrepSchool (and specifically Mariah) asked me to send essays from my previous application and used it to prep for my intro meeting with them. That hour-long meeting was followed up with a personalized list of specific consultants and why they thought they would be a great fit for me. One of the people who was suggested was Faisal. As an engineer that was struggling with how to relate my technical expertise into business terms, it was pretty clear he would be perfect for me with his background in engineering along with experience in admissions at an M7 program.

I began working directly with Faisal about seven months before application deadlines. For the first couple of months, we worked on understanding my life story and how that fit into my career goals. After that, we started narrowing down which programs would make sense for me to apply to and I eventually chose Stanford, Kellogg, Sloan & Darden. Though I gave myself seven months to work on my applications, Faisal still helped me focus on what all needed to get done and I ended up spending time on most weeknights on my application and it definitely made a big difference in the end.

One area where Faisal made the biggest difference was in my essays. I went through at least 3 revisions of each essay for each of the schools with some of the longer ones having 6-8 versions. Faisal’s ability to let my voice shine through my applications while helping me sculpt my message was invaluable. He also set specific requirements for himself (feedback within 72 hours on anything I submitted to him for review) and stuck to it. One thing I especially appreciate in hindsight is that Faisal never tried to make a decision for me (which schools to apply to, which life stories to use in my essays, etc), but rather helped by providing guidance on how to think through the problems and as a result become more intentional in my choices.

When I sent out my applications, I knew everything in my application – the essays, recommendations, education, and work information, etc. – was leagues beyond what I had submitted the previous year. While I had personal advancements that played a factor in this, the largest change was working with Faisal.

I ended up interviewing at Stanford, Kellogg, and Darden. I was then accepted into Kellogg and Darden with scholarships at each while being waitlisted at Stanford. I simply could not have imagined this being a possibility after I had been rejected from six programs just a year earlier.

By the end of the MBA application cycle, Faisal became more than just a consultant. In fact, when I got the good news for my acceptances, he was the first person I contacted after my family to tell the good news.

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