MBA Crystal Ball Reviews and Testimonials
The goodwill that we've been earning is far more important to us than the money we get for what we do. From the reviews and feedback that we've been getting on the forums, over email and on our
Facebook page, we know one thing for sure. You folks really appreciate the work we've been doing. It gives us the impetus to continue pushing ourselves to gain more of that goodwill.
Our success spans across the top bschool spectrum, including INSEAD, Rotman, Stern, Ross, ISB, Duke, Queens, Georgetown, Kellogg, Wharton, Nanyang, Richard Ivey, Tepper, ESMT, Smeal, Columbia, Broad, Cornell, IIMC, Kelley, Cambridge, Oxford, IMD, Kenan-Flagler, Manchester, Chicago Booth and many more.
Here's a snapshot of some real testimonials from
real people.
"Got into Columbia Business School. Most awesome news that lit up my Diwali"
Trivia: In his earlier attempt, this candidate paid around $7,000 to a US-based consultant for a multi-school package. There were no interview invites then.
"I always thought I was really good at writing but working with you makes me feel like there is a long way to go! The work on this draft was simply awesome and inspiring."
Trivia: This applicant already has a US Ivy League undergrad degree and has tackled the essay/SoP writing process earlier. After working with us, she got an admit from 2 Ivy League Universities, including Wharton (with a GMAT score under 700).
"Admits from Georgetown ($40K scholarship), Marshall ($50K scholarship) & Kelley...interviews from UCLA Anderson & HKUST. So yes we are at 100%"
Trivia: Signed up for MBA MAP + Our Standard 5 school package + Interview prep. Apart from cracking tough schools, in financial terms his investment in MBA Crystal Ball has got him an Rs. 25 lakh return already. Click here to read more
MG bhai,
So some good news. Got admits from Georgetown, Univ of Southern California Marshall and Kelley! So pretty delighted.
Georgetown has offered a $40,000 scholarship and USC Marshall has offered $50,000!!! Details of the Kelley offer will arrive via courier.
Also, received interview invites from UCLA Anderson and HKUST. So yes so far we are 100%.
Thanks to you and Sameer for your impeccable guidance.
- Abhishek
"I DID IT!! I DID IT!!! Admit from UC Irvine (Merage) with a $30,000 USD scholarship."
30 mins later
"Got an admit to Kelley too ROFL!!!! I don't believe it"
Trivia: With a 4 school package, he got a scholarship worth INR 15 Lakh from UC Irvine (Merage). You can't miss his full reaction. Click here to read more
Hi Sameer!! I DID IT!! I DID IT!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!
I got a admit from Merage with a $30,000 USD scholarship. Just now!!
And I want to thank you and MG for all the help, Sameer. Without your MAP advice and MG's help with essays, and the subsequent extra calls and time that you & MG spent on me, I would have never decided on Product management as a career option. It broke a lot of myths and made me think differently about MBA admissions and what the adcom in any school expects. Paul Merage was also a school that you recommended back then when we selected schools. So thank you so much!
30 mins later:
Sameer I dont FREAKIN believe it HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I just got an admit to Kelley too ROFL!!!! I dont believe it!! LMAO!
Trivia: These thoughts were shared over a Facebook chat session at 3:30 am (early morning) when results were coming in. And we thought it would be inappropriate to ask him to focus on grammar, structure and presentation while articulating his emotions.
"Season of happiness! After working with another admissions consulting company last year with no fruitful results, I know now that your MBA service far exceeds others in the market."
Trivia: Ajay got interview calls from all 3 schools he engaged us for - Arizona state University (W.P. Carey), Wisconsin MBA, Fisher (Ohio State University). He got final admits from Fisher (with significant scholarship) & Carey (with Dean's scholarship, 100% fee waiver + graduate assistantship).
Here's his complete MBA admissions journey which involves an 'alien'.
"I GOT AN ADMIT FROM TEPPER!!!! Ecstatic… The feeling hasn’t totally sunk in yet… But, it feels amazing!!!"
Trivia: Ritwik had applied last year with no offers. This season, apart from Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper), he also got an admit from UNC Kenan Flagler and Simon (Rochester) with a $48,000 scholarship. Read his full MBA admissions story.
"After rejects from all R1 applications, I evaluated my essays with Sameer & MG and made necessary changes to R2 applications. The result? 4 out of 4 admits with scholarships in 3."
Trivia: Water hydrates the body. Drink at least 8 glasses per day. Yeah, we realise this has no connection with the testimonial above. But it's an important health tip, so we thought it was important to share...and to see if you are paying attention. Click here to read more
I hope this recommendation helps those who are in the exact same boat as I was. After scourging multiple websites and forums for the much-needed guidance and direction, I stumbled upon MCB. A call with Sameer and numerous MBA Crystal Ball reviews sealed the deal – and with MCB, I certainly did make the right choice! After rejects from all R1 applications, I evaluated my essays with Sameer & MG and made necessary changes to R2 applications. The result? 4 out of 4 admits with scholarships in 3.
What most MBA applicants lack is perspective – be it the schools, locations, rankings, chances, funding, contacts/networks and most importantly the reality of an MBA. This is where Sameer and MG are so good at what they do; they do not just fill these gaps but help us question and brainstorm the idea behind every thought, word and sentence in our application essays. At the end of all the hard work, you will be pleasantly surprised by the quality of your essays and soon B-schools will want to know more about you! The essays go beyond an essay; they are in fact the building blocks for every interview – be it at the qualifying B-school, the internship or job.
A word of caution, however. If you expect to pay and get ready-made fake essays, do not waste your time (read money) with MCB. There are a number of 'MBA Consulting' firms who do that without much success. If you sign up with MCB, you should be willing to put in your best every time. At the end of the day, it’s like a bank account, the more you invest in it, the more you earn. If you really want an MBA and are willing to work towards it – MBA Crystal Ball is the go-to place.
"MG, I really admire the passion and integrity that you have shown throughout to your work. You guided me and also build a good level of confidence in me"
Trivia: Applied in the most competitive Third round and got multiple admits: Case Western - Weatherhead with merit scholarship of $35,000 (over INR 17 lakh) and University of Buffalo. Click here to read more
Sameer,
Thanks so much for all the support, this would not have been possible without MBA Crystal Ball. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to work with Manish. It was an amazing experience working with him.
Manish,
I really admire the passion and integrity that you have shown throughout to your work. You guided me and also build a good level of confidence in me. Through your pointers the road to my future looks a lot clear to me now. Thanks so much for all you help.
"Excited...got an admission offer from the Judge Business school along with a GBP 5,000 bursary award (~ Rs. 4 lakh)"
Trivia: Sudheer signed up for our MBA Interview package. He got shortlisted for another scholarship. Click here to read more
I am excited to let you know that both my interviews (Cambridge & Oxford) went well and I received an offer of admission a few hours ago from the Judge Business school with a GBP 5,000 bursary award (roughly Rs. 4 lakh) based on my strong candidature. I have also been shortlisted by the admissions committee for the Browne's and Catherine Benavitch scholarships.
A sizeable portion of my success comes from your support & guidance with the interviews. Your interview techniques and questions were incisive, highly customized to my profile and quite comprehensive. With this level of preparation, I was comfortable with fielding all the questions thrown at me at the actual interviews. I also appreciate the fact that you accommodated a brief second mock interview upon my request. Thank you!
- Sudheer R
More reviews for MBA Crystal Ball
Click here to read more
Sameer, I am happy to let you know that I got an admit from
Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) with a
$20,000 scholarship. I feel that a part of my success is due to your very thorough useful critique of the essays and the goals. Thanks a lot for your support during an extremely tough time of the application process, especially MG.
- Raghav K
Dear MG (Magical Genius!)
I'd like to thank you for the help and the guidance you have offered me through out the application process.
I must tell you that the moment I read the essays after final editing I was so confident about the quality that an interview call, I thought, was guaranteed. I was genuinely pleased with the application I submitted and MBA Crystal Ball did play a big part in it. I think the essays also helped a lot in securing the final admit from
ISB.
Thank you so much for your help.
Regards
Avinash
Trivia: His experience level was significantly lower than the ISB class average. Btw, irrespective of what these euphoric reactions convey, there is no magic and no genius. Just a whole lot of well-planned hardwork from both sides.
Sameer, I have a good news to share. I got into
Oxford! I would like to thank you for your support and guidance. I realise that the odds were completely against me last year, as I was applying in the third round to Cambridge. But while working with you on the application, I learned how to make the essays strong and succinct.
I read through your comments again and again while writing the Oxford application this year. The strategy was the same, only the timing was different this time. I am sure that the Oxford admit wouldn't have been possible without your guidance.
- Gaurav Khandelwal
At the start of my application process I talked to a lot of admission consultants before deciding to sign up with MCB after spending a lot of time on the phone with Sameer.
I found the services to be prompt and reliable. I exchanged more than 100 emails with MG sir and each time he responded within 2 days. MG is an expert at finding loopholes in the essays and have excellent suggestions to bring out the best in the essays. I could see a considerable difference between the first drafts and the final application. He provides good insights about finetuning career goals and developing well rounded essays showcasing a holistic profile. Also, MG will always keep you on your toes and send reminders if you happen to slack off.
Not to mention that MCB maintains a totally ethical approach to admission consulting. They will not write your essays but they will make you work very hard on them and force you to do a lot of research. This approach is very helpful for interviews as I felt very confident because I had done my due diligence.
Thanks a lot MCB for my
ISB admit!
- Rahul N
Sameer, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all the guidance and support that you provided me. The journey to admissions and then to US was quite arduous but finally I felt happy to be starting my MBA journey at
Vanderbilt, with God's grace and your support.
Thank you for encouragement and being so patient with me as well as for all the guidance.
- Sandeep
Hi Sameer & MG,
I got my
ISB admission offer yesterday and wanted to thank you guys for all the help during the application process. MG, you are the true master of the ISB application, you not only helped make my essays crisp and effective but also helped me sail through the interview process. I would recommend you guys without any reservations to anyone.
- Vaibhav Gupta
I just had a conversation with an Adcom member and I have cracked
University of Texas (Austin) McCombs !!!
I am pretty excited about it because it has very good networks in the Oil & Gas Industry. Thanks a lot for your help MG and Sameer.
MG, I really appreciate the advise you gave me all throughout the MBA application journey. I just wanted to express my great respect and regards for you.
I know I am going to kick a** in Austin :)
- US MBA Applicant
Hi Sameer,
I must say you are filling what is certainly a very large gap in the process of getting into an MBA. Thanks for talking to me today and clarifying my thought process about what/where/how/why MBA?
Profiling and subsequent categorization of universities can help reduce days and sometimes months of research time to a few minutes of short and crisp details. Furthermore, your extensive knowledge not just about the MBA/schools but also about general career paths and related skill sets is something every applicant can leverage.
I definitely think your advice is well worth the fee involved and would recommend it to other prospective MBA applicants. Given the large pool of Indian applicants, it is critical for us to be at our very best and Sameer is an excellent guide post towards that direction.
Thanks again Sameer. And no, I am not paid for this endorsement. I am just a very happy customer :-)
Source: Businessweek
I have equally talked to a few other admissions consultants but I must say, each time I talked to Sameer I've gotten a lot of valuable information and insight into the whole MBA application process, information that is not found on any of these schools websites or any other websites out there for that matter. Information that only an experienced and knowledgeable consultant like Sameer can have.
After speaking to Sameer I feel confident that all I've got what it takes and know how to go about applying to and get admitted into one of the top business schools. I'll gladly recommend MCB to anybody thinking about applying to Bschools.
- Leonard Mbah Acha (Source: Facebook
Facebook)
Thanks a lot for evaluating my candidacy. I really was not clear about the schools nor the goals before I spoke to you. Plus the overrepresented Indian technical background really made me question what I should be focusing on in the essays. After our long & overnight conversation, I feel ready to start tackling the applications :)
I have talked to a few top US consultants and almost everyone seemed so overpriced for the time they spent on my candidacy. If any Indian is serious about getting into B-school with technical background, Sameer's advice is worth every dime!
Thanks again Sameer, and keep up the good work.
PS: Do not take the answers as universally true. Sameer analyzed all the options at a great detail before he recommended one. Good luck!
Source: Businessweek
Hi All,
I would like to give feedback on the MBACRYSTALBALL process.
- Sameer guruji is very kind and patient. After you give a feedback form and have a small telephonic Q&A session, you get the mystical MBA MAP report in a day (or two). Some say Djinns from Tirunelveli make it, some say a pdf creator running on infinite monkey theorem and others cite a BPO in Gurgaon. I say, the origin does not matter, but the content is usually well organised and relevant.
- Going by the feedback time which is super fast, I will go with the Djinns of Tirunelveli.
- There is a feedback session after the report is created. This is truly paisa vasool. The secrets of the adcoms are passed on in true Guru Shishya parampara from Sameer's mouth to our ears. Questions are answered patiently and great feedback on all points are covered.
- I think the service pays for itself (or more) because the money you save in just 1 application, for a program which is not a great fit, is almost what it costs for this service. And the suggestions from Sameer are usually helpful in considering some B schools which you never though would be a great fit..
MBA MAP is truly worthwhile. Just go for it, I say...!
Source: GMAT Club
In the last one 6 months I have spoken to various admission consultants but really did not find what i was looking for. I have been following Sameer's post on various forums for some time so one day i decided to connect with him. During my various conversations I found him to be very genuine and also very polite (unlike some admissions consultants who think they are God's gift to MBA aspirants).
I would highly recommend him if you are looking for help in your app process
Source: GMAT Club
I would like to comment on my experience with Sameer & MBA Crystal Ball:
After reading the business week forum, I decided to use the MBA crystal ball report for evaluating my profile. At the moment, I was in the middle of my application, having applied to a few stretch schools and getting rejects. The report was extremely useful in terms of understanding my profile & giving me feedback about my stretch, reach & safe schools. One thing to note was that the advice was biased towards getting the candidate to the best school possible as opposed to the usual advice from consultants who try to play safe and never ask candidates to go for the stars.
After getting an interview call from one of my stretch schools, I contacted Sameer for a mock interview. Again, Sameer took the time to read all my essays & customized the interview to make very realistic. This was a good experience and a major confidence booster. I ended up getting an admit from that stretch school and am going to matriculate this fall!
A big thanks to Sameer & MBA Crystal ball!
Source: Facebook
Thanks MG, your help with essays and interview really helped me in cracking the code for ISB.
Source: Pagalguy
MBA Interview Prep Reviews
I highly recommend MCB's interview prep services. I had a mock interview organised and it gave me a tremendous confidence boost to crack my actual interview. Also I was familiar with almost all questions as Sameer had addressed them in the mocks.
- He delves into the grey areas of your profile very well and really picks out the minutiae which turn out to have significant impact
- Customization depending on your school. Its up to you if you want a generic prep or a specific prep
- Gives you some creative inputs which are actually useful during your interview to pitch
- The curve-balls he throws at you make it a high pressure interview in parts, despite the great lengths Sameer goes to make you feel comfortable. It's good to be prepared for all varieties of questions
- He throws in some case study problems etc.
After the process, he provides inputs covering everything - highs and lows on your career, academics and even language accent etc. It is affordable and the turnaround time is super quick.
Source: GMAT Club
Here's a testimonial from someone who did not work with us.
Hi Sameer,
Thank you for your always honest advice and putting my well being ahead of your commercial interests in all our interactions.
I did not buy any of your products or services but benefited immensely from my interactions with you.
I thought through my goals and repositioned myself within the company. I feel more satisfied now.
Respect you.
Regards
Rohit
We'll keep it short for this page. If you have the patience, you'll find a ton more to wade through on the Facebook page and the other discussion forums.
