When is the right time to hire an admissions consultant? Before or after GMAT / GRE?

The number of MBA applicants hiring admissions consultants has been growing rapidly. Estimates are hard to come by, but depending on who you ask you might get an answer ranging from a naïve 10% (from business schools) to an over-optimistic 80% (from consultants).

The reality may be somewhere in between, depending on the caliber of schools you’re aiming for. For the lower ranked programs that aren’t as selective, you may not require a consultant. The value of a consultant becomes more apparent as you go higher in the rankings list.

For the M7 or T10 programs, it may be possible that 4 out of 5 applicants take the help of admission consultants.

This article isn’t about whether you should or shouldn’t hire a consultant.

It’s for the ambitious ones who are aiming for the toughest and most prestigious MBA programs.

It’s for those who are already convinced that a good MBA consultant can add tangible and transformative value to their MBA journey.

Once you’ve decided that you want to go ahead, other than who you should work with, the other big question is – when should you hire a consultant?
 

When’s the right time to hire an admissions consultant?

The answer would vary depending on where you are in your MBA admissions journey and what help you’re looking for. Let’s look at the different stages where you may feel the need for professional help from an expert.
 

For profile building

Most applicants have no idea this can be done. And most admission consultants don’t offer this service either.

But it can be a power move to gain a big advantage over other applicants who start thinking about their profile strengths and weakness a few months before applying. But by then, it’s too late.

MBA Crystal Ball offers an MBA profile building service. The best time to opt for it is 1 year after you’ve graduated and 1-2 years before you plan to apply to MBA programs. That gives us enough time to create a practical and effective strategy to improve your profile.

Assuming you haven’t had a chance to plan so much in advance, that leaves you with no option but to focus on the next step. Ensuring your GMAT / GRE score and MBA applications are top-notch!
 

For MBA application reviews

We have a video that explains the ideal MBA application timeline. It incorporates all the big items on the to-do list, including an option for multiple GMAT / GRE attempts and when to connect with admission consultants.

If you follow it, you will have enough buffer to absorb any unexpected diversions from the recommended path. The key is to start early.
 

Hiring a consultant AFTER you have a GMAT / GRE score

This would be ideal. That’s because you’d have a confirmed score to share with your consultant, who in turn can recommend the most relevant and personalised mix of schools to select that would achieve a good balance of the risks and rewards.

Reach out to consultants at least 4-5 months before the deadlines for the initial discussions.

At MBA Crystal Ball, we start getting signups from applicants right from April-May, for Round 1 deadlines. That allows us to do 2 things – work on the application strategy (using the MBA MAP) and then chalk out a comprehensive execution plan (including application reviews for multiple schools).

The reason it takes several months to do justice to the entire process, is because:

1. Most applicants sign up with us for multiple schools
2. We take up the application for each school sequentially. i.e. we finish one school (takes around 3 weeks) before moving on to the next one.

This approach allows applicants to avoid the rookie mistake in essay writing for subsequent schools.
 

Hiring a consultant BEFORE you have a GMAT / GRE score

We assume a big chunk of MBA applicants reading this article would fall in this category.

This situation can arise when you’re planning hasn’t been optimal. The reasons can vary – late decision to apply, bad luck with test, too much office work. But the end result is the same – you’re now struggling to manage test prep along with MBA applications.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a good situation to be in, because there’s always the risk of having to cut corners with either test prep, or application work, or both.

To help you take the call, here are some pros and cons of hiring a consultant before you have a score.

Pros

1. Your application strategy (positioning, career goals, why MBA etc) are not dependent on your test score. So, you can work on applications along with test prep. The pre-condition is that you have the capacity to juggle your office work, along with test prep and MBA essay work.
2. Boutique consulting companies (like MBA Crystal Ball) have a limited number of consultants, and their bandwidth fills up fast. Signing up early can avoid the disappointment of not being able to work with your favourite team.

Cons

1. If you get a test score that’s higher than expected, there’s every reason to celebrate. But if it drops substantially below the threshold for your target schools, then you’ll be going in with a handicap. Strong essays can help to some extent (you’ll find many low GMAT & GRE success stories on our blog), but they’re not an alternative to very low test scores.
2. Reattempts can eat into the time left, leaving even little time for the crucial application work. You may end up with a strong score in the reattempt, but a rushed, weak application.

So what approach should you choose when you’re running out of time and need to work on both (the test and applications)?

Here’s a simplified approach to help you decide.

Scenario 1: If you are confident of getting your target score (mock scores should give you this confidence) and have enough capacity to manage application work with test prep, you can start working with a consultant.

Scenario 2: If you prefer focusing on one thing at a time, and you’ve been struggling with test prep for several months, avoid adding application work to the mix. Focus completely on test prep, till you believe you cannot improve further.

Regardless of what you decide, do not hesitate to reach out to us (info@mbacrystalball.com), if you’re looking for an objective, external perspective. We work with applicants on both sides of that decision. But the onus of taking the call lies on you!

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