Admissions Consulting

A number of you have asked about Accepted.com's services. There is currently a thread about the value of admissions consulting on the Businessweek Forum. I posted the following (with minor edits) there and am re-posting it here:

You're both asking good questions. Obviously no (honest) consultant can tell you that you will only get into School X if you use their service. But using a good consultant gives you a coach, mentor, and critic. And one who is far more informed and experienced in admissions than you, your spouse, roommate, mother, or even your friend who just got accepted last year.

How much is that extra pair of eyes and experience worth to you? How much is it worth to you to know that you are doing your best to get into your dream school? Obviously the answer is different for different individuals, but if you view the feedback from Accepted.com's clients you will see many volunteered that they felt our service was definitely worth the money and made the difference between thin and fat envelopes.

While I am convinced investing in admissions consulting can have an excellent ROI, I know it can be a significant investment. You need to be comfortable with the consultant and choose the right one for you. I have written about choosing an admissions consultant/editor on my blog and would also like to refer you to an article about the same topic from our newsletter.

You also need to know what you want and make sure the consultant can provide it. If you want advice on choosing appropriate schools given your goals and qualifications, make sure the consultant is experienced not just in one school but with all the schools you are considering. Accepted.com has been advising applicants and editing essays for the last ten years, and has been doing so on the Internet since 1996. We have enormous experience. If you want someone who can mentor you in writing your essays and then edit them, make sure the consultant knows how to write. Just as an art critic may not paint as well as an artist, knowing how to evaluate an application doesn't necessarily mean the evaluator is expert at conveying a story. In addition to having vast admissions experience, Accepted.com's consultants are all professional writers and editors. Almost all have published in one venue or another, and McGraw Hill is publishing one of our consultant's ( Paul Bodine) books on MBA admissions and law school admissions this fall: Great Application Essays for Business School  and Great Personal Statements for Law School . 

Finally, realize that you want a consultant who will work with your admissions needs. By that I mean, the consultant will provide the type and level of service you want. Realize that the latter will probably change as you go through the application process. Accepted.com offers a wide array of admissions consulting and essay editing services to suit your needs. Check out the Accepted Advantage, and if you have questions, please feel free to contact me.