Graduate School Application Process Overview

The length of the application process varies for each person, spanning anywhere from 6 months to 2 years. The application is a presentation that articulates a clear vision of you, your strengths and weaknesses, your experiences and objectives and the various difficulties you have surmounted throughout your life.

We recommend the basic step-by-step itinerary to a successful application:

  1. Study for the GRE/TOEFL (for non-native English speakers)
  2. Take the GRE/TOEFL (for non-native English speakers)
  3. Gather application forms
  4. Figure out which schools are ideal to apply to. Research potential fits, visit campuses, talk to students and alumni. Schedule an informational interview with an admissions officer if possible
  5. Update and refine your resume
  6. Solicit recommendations
  7. Write application essays for schools you chose to apply for
  8. Complete and gather other application items - personal information, resume, short-answer questions, transcripts, etc.
  9. Proofread and polish application with an intense focus on all details
  10. Send in applications according to deadlines
  11. Prepare for interviews

Graduate School Essays

Essays are your best chance to distinguish yourself among candidates applying to top graduate schools. Take this part of the application seriously, and think a lot about how you want an admissions board to see you. Brainstorm various strategies and pick the one that will best present this image.
Since professional experience is considered important by admissions committees, you should spend at least a couple years gaining job experience before applying. Throughout your essay, depict your professional experience as a unique and captivating one. Very few students admitted to graduate schools have less than two years of professional experience, but more than one might expect do come from backgrounds that might surprise some. By playing up these aspects of your professional experience that are unique, you emphasize experiences that surpass the work someone working in finance or consulting does in their first couple years on the job.

Undergraduate GPA

Your undergraduate GPA plays a smaller-than-expected role in an admission to graduate school. Of course, graduating with honors helps, but even if your undergraduate career was less than spectacular, a top graduate school will still admit you if you present a convincing case. Your essays can elaborate on the reasons why you will have a successful experience at graduate school, and demonstrate your intelligence through a high GRE score.

Graduate School Letters of Recommendation & Interviews

The last parts of a graduate school applications are the letters of recommendation and interviews. Both function similarly to the essay: they provide a space for you to convince an admissions board of your candidacy's worth. Being personable or having convincing recommendations from noteworthy individuals can each make a marked difference, and distinguish you from the candidates you are competing with for admittance to graduate school.

Admissions Consulting Services at a Glance

Essay & Resume Review

  • Single Essay at $150 (up to 800 words), Mini Pack at $200 (Resume & Essay (800 Words or Less) or 2 Essays of 250 Words Each)
  • Essay Review for all essays & resume for 1 school at $450 or for 2 schools at $800;
  • Each additional school: $350
  • Cost of each set of additional 800 words in the same essay: $50; *3 day rush +$75; Weekend Rush +$100
  • Includes grammar & style review, advice on theme & content, 3 exchanges per essay, 5-7 turn around time

A la Carte Services (Special Topics)

  • Application Strategy - Work with our consultants to devise the most effective application strategy that gets you into your top-choice school. ($150/hr, 2 hrs. minimum)
  • Mock Interview - Work with our consultants to prepare for anticipated questions to be expected during an interview. Appropriate for college, graduate (MBA/JD/Masters' Degrees) and jobs. ($150/hr, 2 hrs. minimum)
  • Case Interview - Case interview questions tend to coalesce around specific topics relating to a firm's outlook, such as operational concerns, government regulation, or its market share in relation to the market's size. Prepare first with our consultants to maximize your chances of landing the assignment. ($150/hr, 2 hrs. minimum)
 

Dedicated Packs

  • Dedicated Pack - Includes Personal Assessment; School Selection; Defining Objectives/Goals; Plan Application Roadmap; Application Assistance; Concise Selection of Profound Experiences; Formation of Compelling Resume; Convincing Essays (Unlimited exchanges/edits); Persuasive Recommendation Letters; Refine your Application; Mock Interviews; Scholarship/Loan Applications; Acceptance and Preparation; Waitlist/Deferral Strategy; Re-application Strategy.
  • 1 School - $1900; 2 Schools - $2800; 3 Schools - $3700; 4 Schools - $4600; 5 Schools - $5400

Elite Packs

  • Elite Pack - In addition to everything included in Dedicated Pack, it includes: Guaranteed to work with our most experienced and successful elite consultants; 7 day per week access to elite consultant via Skype/Zoom/WebEx; Prompt turnaround; Access to the most recent database of essays, recommendations, resumes; Unlimited interview preparation; Exclusive strategy session for getting noticed when visiting school or attending information sessions; Live online sessions via Zoom/WebEx where both parties can annotate any documents and share a whiteboard; Unlimited access to the live Zoom/WebEx online recordings related to your application.
  • 1 School: $4000 - 2 Schools: $5000 - 3 Schools: $6000 - 4 Schools: $7000 - 5 Schools: $8000
 

Special Admissions Packs

  • Rejection Analysis Pack - Includes application review, consultation and guidance with our education expert to identify issues & evaluate weaknesses in rejected applications and plan next steps and additional follow-up analysis
  • Waitlist Strategy Pack - Includes application review, consultation and guidance with our education expert to evaluate weaknesses in a waitlisted application, and make recommendations for interim period, and additional follow-up analysis to dramatically increase chances of acceptance
  • Scholarship Application Review Pack - Our consultants will help you identify specific scholarships to apply for, work with you to identify strengths that correlate with the stated objectives of the scholarship and review the applications to ensure your chance of receiving the scholarship is as high as possible

 

 

Special Admissions Pack Payment

 

Recent Grad School Admissions Student Success

"My experience with Tom was extremely positive, and I ended up getting accepted to all three schools that I applied to (with scholarship/fellowship offers to Minnesota and Boston College). I would highly recommend using Tom’s services to anyone, as he seems to have a strong passion for Admissions Consulting. Tom helped ease my nerves about the Admissions process, and ended up being a crucial asset for my application process. Also, I like that he is very upfront and honest when dealing with students (at least in my experience with him). I feel that Tom can help with applications to pretty much any type of graduate program, he seems to generally know what any kind of program would want to see in a candidate."

-Kyle

To register or for more information please email us at [email protected]. For more recent admissions success stories, please visit Student Admissions Testimonial page.