OUR STORY
MBA admissions consulting requires a deep interest in people and their stories; a passion for coaching and mentorship; a talent for storytelling and messaging; highly specific knowledge of MBA programs and post-MBA careers; and a willingness to tackle every detail — all to unlock and deliver the best you.

ORIGINS

I founded Avanti Prep in 2017 because my passions, skills, and interests lie at the eclectic intersection described above. Prior to Avanti Prep, I spent two years as an admissions consultant for Critical Square, two years as a student member of admissions at Berkeley-Haas, and eight years in private equity and asset management. My written work has been published in or covered by several leading media outlets. 

At Critical Square, I noticed a trend. I was repeatedly working with applicants who had underwhelming experiences with well-known MBA admissions consulting firms. When we worked together, those very same applicants — with the very same scores and profiles — received multiple acceptances and/or scholarships to similarly ranked schools. You could feel the difference. So I started Avanti Prep.

REPUTATION

Since then, Avanti Prep has evolved into an "elite boutique" — highly regarded for our high touch, personalization, depth of essay, resume, and recommendation reviews ("way more detailed, iterative, and thorough than competitors"), school-specific knowledge, storytelling expertise ("helping clients actually find and articulate their story"), willingness to go above and beyond, and, of course, results.

We have been recognized on Poets & Quants’ top consultant, top client satisfaction score, or top boutique firm lists in six of the past seven years. In 2026, I was ranked the #9 consultant in the U.S., and Avanti Prep was named one of the top boutique firms globally. Still, we remain the industry's "value leader," delivering top-tier quality, service, and outcomes for $200 less per hour than our peers.

DEPTH

The trends I observed during those early years have amplified at Avanti Prep. Clients who previously worked with other firms often tell us they only spoke to their consultant a few times — in a Package, no less. They describe getting charged for a one-hour essay or resume review that contains only a few comments. Or receiving only 30 minutes of interview feedback. We go way, way deeper than this.

Our average three-school Package includes 14 calls — even more if you prefer "live" essay and resume reviews. Our clients describe superior quality as well, reporting that working with Avanti Prep was like "night and day" compared with other firms and that "10 hours were more effective than 40+ hours with my previous consultant." Rather than me cherry-pick examples, please read our reviews!

EXPERIENCE

In doing this full-time, I've been fortunate to become one of the most experienced MBA admissions consultants in the industry. In a market where most consultants operate part-time, that can (literally) equate to 10x, 20x, even 50x the amount of experience. As an example, I've conducted over 350 school-specific Interview Prep sessions — that's over 1,000 hours of live MBA interview coaching alone.

As of 2025, I am one of only 23 MBA admissions consultants with 100+ lifetime Poets & Quants reviews, underscoring my sustained track record in the field. In Morgan Bernstein, Haas's former Head of MBA Admissions, our clients also have the rare opportunity to work with an actual admissions head — itself a key differentiator from firms that "glamorize" their consultants' lower-level adcom experience.

COMMITMENT

Along with level of experience, depth of service, and quality of reviews, another differentiator is that we genuinely care. This shouldn't be unique when you're spending thousands of dollars, but it is. We take your investment very seriously, and we honor the trust you've placed in us by investing our very best in you. Our engagements often become true relationships, and many continue beyond applications.

We are extremely proud that our client reviews consistently highlight themes related not only to masterful essay reviews, resume reviews, and interview prep, but also to our compassion, empathy, mentorship, and personal care — a willingness to go above and beyond — literally, in the form of free service, and emotionally, in the form of listening and coaching — to help you deliver your best and most authentic self.

RESULTS

All of this translates into superior client experiences and results. About 20% of our clients are re-applicants, and half of them previously worked with other admissions consultants or firms — usually with some of the "biggest names" in the industry. This creates a unique point of comparison, and one that we really want to make sure you read through and consider. You can read their detailed reviews here.
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Our lifetime Harvard/Stanford acceptance rate is 42% — nearly 5x the baseline acceptance rate for those two world-leading MBA programs. My lifetime Harvard/Stanford Interview Prep success rate is 78%. This success extends up and down the rankings. And as a boutique firm, we generally achieve these industry-leading results with a "less elite" client base than our biggest competitors.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. Avanti Prep makes no assertions or guarantees regarding client outcomes.

SCHOLARSHIPS

One of the most overlooked benefits of working together is increasing your chances of receiving a scholarship. This creates an even more tangible return on your investment — but it only happens when admissions committees see exceptional clarity, authenticity, impact, and school-specific fit in your story. Since 2017, over half (53%) of our clients' admission offers have included merit scholarship funding.

Avanti Prep clients have earned several major named fellowships, including Stanford's ultra-prestigious Knight-Hennessy Scholars, the Joseph Wharton Fellowship, Darden's Jefferson Fellowship, Cornell's Park Fellowship, the Consortium Fellowship, and numerous Forté Fellowships. We've also helped many re-applicants go from no admits with large firms or local consultants to multiple scholarships.
In 2024-25 and 2025-26, our clients' average two-year merit award was $84,176 per school. If anything, these figures are conservative, as some clients do not report final scholarships to us. Data excludes programs that only offer need-based aid and candidates not considered for merit funding due to full sponsorship or GI Bill coverage. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Avanti Prep makes no assertions or guarantees regarding client outcomes.

SAVINGS

This sort of sounds like a department store slogan, but with Avanti Prep, I also believe that you get more for less. Other consultants with 100+ lifetime reviews charge an average of $495 per hour, whereas most of our Founder clients pay $295. That's $200 less per hour. Our average client (33 hours) saves $6,600 (!!) relative to other leading firms — for what we (and they) believe is better service.

Poets & Quants has twice highlighted ​us for this. In 2020, they noted that "Among the top advisors, the least expensive is Greg Guglielmo of Avanti Prep." In 2023, their industry-wide analysis noted that our rates "remain one of the least expensive in the industry." And even then, as so many of our reviews attest, we make it a practice to offer clients special discounts upfront and free service along the way.

APPLICANTS

We work with applicants from all industries and geographies — and unlike other firms, we do not screen for certain scores, profiles, or experiences. In the last three years, 42% of our clients were American, 22% were internationals based in the U.S., and 36% were from abroad. About a quarter of our U.S. clients are from the military. We offer a military discount, and our military-to-MBA track record is elite.

We've helped clients from 43 countries gain admission to 53 programs worldwide. And while our clients are often targeting highly ranked programs​ — since our founding, 20% the apps we've supported were to HSW and 50% were to the M7/LBS/INSEAD — our experience extends well beyond the top tier. We have almost certainly worked with applicants who match your industry, country, and school profile.

TEAM

Our team includes Greg Guglielmo (Founder), who is frequently featured on lists of top consultants and is among the most reviewed MBA admissions consultants worldwide; Morgan Bernstein (Director), who is the former Head of MBA Admissions at Berkeley-Haas; and Senior Consultants including professional writers and storytellers and admissions fellows and interviewers from top-tier MBA programs.

We are a very high-touch, boutique firm — in fact, Greg and/or Morgan are directly involved in the vast majority of our client engagements. We prioritize customization and flexibility, and we are super focused on making sure that you have the right team in place given your budget, timeline, requirements, and needs. To determine the best approach for you, please sign up for a Free Consultation!

SERVICES

We support clients across all elements of the MBA application process, primarily through Hourly Services and High-Touch Packages. We also work with applicants to specialized graduate business programs, including Master of Finance, Financial Engineering, Business Analytics, Marketing, and Management (MiM) — with admits to top MFin (MIT Sloan) and MFE (Haas) programs in 2025/2026.

Our engagements range from a few hours (e.g., standalone Interview Prep or targeted resume/essay reviews) all the way through large, multi-school Packages. We also offer further-discounted ancillary services — well before you apply (Pre-App Advisory), after you submit (Waitlist Support, Scholarship Negotiations), and for students/professionals engaged in job searches and interviews (Career Services).