MILITARY APPLICANTS

Avanti Prep has an elite track record of success with applicants transitioning from the military to top MBA programs. Their results are detailed below. If you are a military applicant who is seriously considering working with us, we can even connect you with a former military client or two. Almost all remain in touch — a testament to the "relationships" and "mentorship" noted in many of their reviews.

A few things to keep in mind as you scroll through. First, we believe that we enable our clients to achieve the absolute best possible outcomes given their profiles. Still, several results should surprise you to the upside when you take the applicants' scores into consideration. We really don't think these "overachievements" would have happened with other firms. Our clients would say the same.

Second, please be sure to read the "additional" column for a full picture of the clients' results. For example, you are going to see a lot of Harvards and Booths in the "attends" column. That doesn't mean our clients didn't get into the Whartons and Kelloggs of the world. It simply means that most of our Wharton admits also got into Harvard, and most of our Kellogg admits also got into Booth.

Our military clients' aggregate Harvard/Stanford/Wharton acceptance rate is 78%. The non-admits include a Harvard waitlist by an applicant with a significantly below average GRE, who now attends Booth, and a Wharton ding by an applicant who got into Harvard. Our military clients' aggregate MIT Sloan/Booth/Kellogg acceptance rate is 88%, with the lone non-admit being a Kellogg super-reach.

Finally, while I refer to these as results, reviews, and case studies, they are really only "case studies" in the sense of what military applicants with certain scores and profiles are capable of result-wise if and only if they execute at their very best — that means the highest-quality resumes, essays, recommendations, and interviews — the very best you. We would be privileged to help you get there.

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All reviews are verified by and available on GMAT Club and/or Poets & Quants. Avanti Prep does not provide any incentives to clients for posting reviews.​

 

SORTED BY SIZE OF ENGAGEMENT  -  FOR OPTIMAL VIEWING ON A MOBILE DEVICE, PLEASE TURN YOUR PHONE SIDEWAYS

Enrollment	Interview Prep	Undergrad	GPA	GMAT/GRE	Mil. Years	Attends/ed	Additional	Review
Package (6)	Yes	T20 Public	3.6	730	6	Harvard	Accepted to Booth, Ross, Darden;​Withdrew LBS; Dinged Wharton	Review
Package (4)	Yes	Academy	2.9	680	4	LBS	Waitlisted by Darden; ​​Dinged by INSEAD	Review
Package (2)	Yes	T50 Public	3.5	730	5	Booth	Also accepted to Kellogg (2 for 2); applied to both solo in prior year	Review
Package (2)	Yes	T20 Private	3.8	730	3	Anderson	Also accepted to USC Marshall; only applied to those (2 for 2)	Review
​27 Hours	Yes	Academy	3.8	323	10	Harvard	Also accepted to Stanford, Wharton and Yale (4 for 4)	Review
20 Hours	Yes	Academy	3.9	770	7	Harvard	Also accepted to Wharton and MIT Sloan (3 for 3)	Review
20 Hours	Yes	Academy	3.5	316	7	Booth	Also accepted to Kellogg; Waitlisted HBS/Haas; No dings	-
20 Hours	Yes	Academy	2.5	700	9	Wharton	First waitlisted by Wharton and others with a 660​; Dinged LBS	Review
17 Hours	No	T250 Public	3.2	310	9	Mendoza	Dinged by Kellogg and Haas; other results not provided	-
15 Hours	Yes	Academy	3.4	320	7	Haas	Only applied to Haas as part of a late Round 2 effort (1 for 1)​	-
5 Hours	No	Academy	3.0	650	5	Booth	Also applied to Kellogg and Johnson; results not provided	Review
4 Hours	Case Prep	Academy	2.9	680	4	N/A	Consulting case interview prep during MBA recruiting	Review

Years are shown at time of application. Scholarships are detailed in the applicants' reviews. Most benefited from the GI Bill, and Harvard and Stanford do not offer merit aid, so in a lot of cases scholarships were not even in play.

 

EXCELLENT CONSULTANT - THOROUGH AND KNOWLEDGEABLE... ADMITTED TO HBS
​Posted on and independently verified by GMAT Club and Poets & Quants

Background
- White Male (US)
- GPA: Above a 3.5 from Top 20 Liberal Arts College
- GMAT: Above 700
- Previous Role: US Military Officer

When I initially considered applying to business school, I spoke with one of my friends, also a former US military officer, who had been accepted at LBS. He highly recommended that I work with Greg, who was the “best in the business.” I took my friend’s advice, and I am extremely grateful that I did. Greg helped me develop a narrative about my accomplishments and my unique strengths that differentiated me from other applicants. That is the most valuable aspect of having Greg as your consultant – he understands what resonates with admissions officers at individual schools, and he can help you structure your application to highlight your best attributes and show that you can add value to a specific MBA program.

Greg put forth a great amount of time and effort to learn my story: my GPA / educational background, my test scores, my work experience, my interests outside of work, and my past community outreach. He worked with me on several iterations of my resume to make sure it captured all of my relevant and unique experience. His mock interviews reflected the tone and style of each individual school, and he provided feedback that allowed me to craft insightful responses to potential interview questions. Greg’s efforts had an enormous positive impact on my applications, and the results reflect this.

Results: I applied to 6 schools, received interview invites at 5, and was accepted at 4 – HBS, Booth, Ross, Darden. Greg’s effectiveness was demonstrable throughout the process, from start to finish. It is also worth noting that I received scholarships at 3 of the 4 schools to which I was accepted.

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THOROUGH AND THOUGHTFUL: MILITARY APPLICANT HEADING TO TOP INT'L PROGRAM
Posted on and independently verified by GMAT Club and Poets & Quants

​​I come from the military, graduated middle of my class from college with a double major and sub 3.0 GPA, and scored below 700 on my GMAT. I’ve had good military experience, but my low scores, condensed GMAT preparation and lack of familiarity with the professional landscape and business school process didn’t quite set me up for success in my applications. Working with Greg at Avanti Prep helped me overcome all of this and land a spot at my dream school.

I signed up for Avanti Prep’s Tier 3 Package and was thoroughly satisfied and impressed. Over the course of 9 months Greg comprehensively interviewed me to understand my life story and future goals, and assisted me with transforming those personal and professional stories into compelling essays and resume, strong interviews and a complete package to my schools.

From the story and process planning, school selection, school engagement (Greg helped me connect with veterans groups), essay brainstorming, essay and resume reviews, and hours upon hours of video calls and interview prep, Greg was there and fully committed every step of the way. I wholly recommend the Tier 3 Package, as Greg went above and beyond his obligations consistently throughout the journey and put in even more hours to assist me preparing for my interviews for which I had had little to no prior experience. He also helped guide me over countless resume iterations from having essentially no resume to one that’s received superb feedback from senior alumni and admissions personnel along the way.

I cannot stress enough how invaluable Greg was to the process. It takes a lot to win my trust, but through his skill and commitment Greg did just that, and I hope this conveys how highly I regard his work. Greg not only took time to understand my story, but to understand me. My goals and aspirations for school and my future quickly became his. Between my busy work schedule, Greg kept me driving to meet the deadlines I needed to meet. He lives and breathes through his clients’ stories, and he was without a doubt attached emotionally to the success and failures of my application process as any professional would be with their own work. If I could do it over again or recommend him to anyone, there is nobody I trust more to deliver than Greg.

I wholeheartedly endorse Greg to anyone looking to secure an admissions consultant and have already referred several friends to discuss their way forward on their business school journeys. If you are looking for top-tier quality and total commitment, then I recommend you do the same.

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PACKAGE - ACCEPTED TO TWO M7 PROGRAMS WITH LARGE SCHOLARSHIP TO BOTH
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Background:

• White Male – US with military experience
• 5 years work experience mostly in military and <1 year engineering
• GPA: 3.5 Engineering from large public university
• GMAT: 730
• Reapplicant to both schools

Greg’s Dedication:

I fully recommend Greg to any applicant to business school or any person looking for professional advice. I was connected to Greg through the recommendation of a mutual friend and his help guided me through an incredibly stressful time in my life. Beyond gaining acceptance to two of the best MBA programs with large scholarships to both schools, he also helped me through my transition out of the military, navigate several different job offers and strategies, and provided professional advice to help me achieve the best outcome for my situation.

This allowed me to make a significant career move nearly doubling my salary while also completing my applications. This assistance was outside of the terms of the Tier 3 Package, but it is representative of the dedication and excellent service Greg provides. Even before I enlisted his services contractually, Greg had already spent 3 hour-long phone calls strategizing with me to determine the best time to apply to school, free of charge. I highly encourage anyone who is remotely curious about business school to contact Greg. He will tell you honestly what he sees is the best option for you.

Our Work on the Application Process:

Specifically when working with Greg on the application process, the Tier 3 package is truly all encompassing. We worked on the two M7 applications together, and they were the only schools to which I applied. I would categorize our work in two phases: pre-application deadline and post-application deadline.

Pre-Application Deadline:

We started with filling out a comprehensive worksheet and then moved into Strategy and Brainstorming calls. After Strategy and Brainstorming, we attacked the process in 5 distinct streams: School Engagement, Resume, Essays, Recommendations, and Short Answers / Application Questions. In each of these streams Greg and I meticulously went over each detail and tried to highlight different portions of my background, experiences and passions to give a complete and honest view to the application reader.

Greg is not only extremely detail oriented in proofreading grammar and word choice, he is also an expert at bringing out nuances in your experience that might easily be overlooked. He can help you discover not only why a certain program is best for you, but also how you would uniquely contribute to that specific program. All of this comes out during several detailed reviews, phone calls and countless emails.

Greg is even a master at helping advise you in your communications with recommenders, thank you notes, and any other correspondence that might be crucial to your application. He is extremely timely in replying to all correspondence and has great organization maintained through independent email threads and calendar invites. And he is active in preparing you for on-campus visits, which can be a key part of an application and play a role in essay questions or future interview questions.

Post-Application Deadline:

Once the applications were submitted the work and Greg’s dedication did not stop. Almost immediately we had to prepare for the next phase of the application, the interviews. The first hurdle was the Kellogg video interview, with three one-minute questions. For the videos, we brainstormed, I mapped out thoughts that Greg reviewed, and then we had a one-hour mock video preparation session until I was comfortable with the format and ready to answer the questions.

We then started preparing for in-person interviews. Greg was extremely flexible when working with my schedule and navigating our time difference. We prepared with 10, one-hour sessions over video call, generally taking the form of 1 mock interview followed by 2 feedback sessions. The mock interviews and questions Greg prepares you with are targeted, detailed and specific to each school. Greg also provided a bank of potential questions, also specific to each school. We spent a long time discussing key points of each question and question type to ensure I had quality and genuine answers. I did not memorize any answers, but when I was in the interviews none of the questions caught be by surprise, and I had very positive experience. Having prepared with Greg, the interviews felt more like a conversation, and I felt 100% confident and prepared.

After completing both interviews, Greg encouraged me to reach out to the connections (current students and alumni) I made during the past few months to update them on my progress. When the results finally came back I again turned to Greg to help navigate the admission offers I received. My first-choice school originally did not offer a scholarship, however my second choice did. Greg helped me shape an email to admissions and encouraged me reach out to my contacts to help get a match from my top choice. The strategy worked and I am excited to start at my top school with a large scholarship in Fall 2020.

Overall:

Working with Greg was an absolute pleasure. He was always on time and responsive, and the personal attention he afforded me was unparalleled. From the time I we first spoke in April 2019 until being accepted almost 12 months later, Greg has always been honest and available. He truly provides a comprehensive service with the Tier 3 Package, and I believe it is absolutely worth the money. My results in going from applying to these schools and others last year and receiving no admission offers to being accepted with a scholarship to two M7 schools speak for themselves, and those results more than justify the investment.

Even still, I believe there was more value to Greg’s service than just a better application. I learned about myself. I discovered what my career passions truly are and focused my professional goals. I improved my writing technique, my interview skills, and my business communication acumen. In those ways enlisting Greg’s services gave me crash course in pre-business school preparation. I feel ready and excited to start in Fall 2020, and thanks to our work together, I have developed crucial skills to help me in the recruiting process.

I give Greg my highest recommendation and could not be happier with the experience and results.

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2 FOR 2 TO TOP 20 SCHOOLS WITH FULL RIDES TO BOTH
​Posted on and independently verified by Poets & Quants

Background: White male with four years of US Military Experience. I knew I was applying only to LA-based programs. Still, in October, I was starting the entire process, including any GMAT study, intending to apply round 2 to Anderson and Marshall. Undergraduate GPA was above both schools’ average in a humanities program from a well-ranked non-Ivy.

Since I knew I was applying to LA schools, I didn’t need Beau’s help with school selection, but I did need his help with getting my application on track since I was starting so late. I had several conversations with admissions consultants, but all the ones I talked to gave equivocating answers on how they might help me do so much in so little time. Some even told me it would be borderline impossible and said they were not confident they could help me get ready by round 2. When I asked Beau the same questions, he told me it wouldn’t be easy but that what I needed was a roadmap that would allow me to focus as much of my attention as possible on the GMAT. His response resonated with me, and the next day I signed up for the Tier 3, 2 school package with Avanti Prep with Beau as the consultant.

Within 10 minutes of signing up with Avanti prep, Beau and Greg sent me an intake form and scheduled an onboarding call. Beau built a roadmap for me in excel after discussing GMAT study strategies that listed critical milestones in my GMAT studying, like when to take practice tests and scheduled when I needed to have each essay done.

This roadmap was the key to my success in the application process. I went from feeling completely overwhelmed about everything I needed to get done in the less than 3-month timeline I had before applications were due to seeing every step of the process laid out in Excel and realizing that, while difficult, it was indeed possible.

Beau ensured that all of my efforts outside of GMAT study were as focused and efficient as possible. He had pointers for connecting with students, staring at blank pages when I started each essay, and even how to begin developing my short-term goal of simply earning an MBA into a long-term plan that I’m excited to accomplish and could articulate to admissions committees.

Ultimately, I was able to go from 0 study, 0 research in early October to a 730 GMAT and two applications I was incredibly proud of in early January. Those applications earned me admission and full-ride scholarships to both Anderson and Marshall. I could not have done any of that in such a short amount of time without Beau constantly pointing me in the right direction.

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ACCEPTED AT HARVARD, STANFORD, WHARTON, AND YALE - GREG HAS PHENOMENAL ATTENTION TO DETAIL!
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Military veteran headed to HBS after an extremely successful R1 MBA admissions cycle – accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, and Yale. A fellow college alum recommended I work with Greg during my MBA admissions cycle to help with school selection, resume building, essay critiquing, and interview preparation.

While Greg is an astute essay reviewer, his personal mentorship of me was invaluable. This includes connecting me with other men and women has worked to help expose me to different career fields…all in the effort to crafting a career progression story for me which fits for me and answers the “Why MBA, Why Now” question – as a military member, I thought the answer to this question was pretty simple, but Greg helped me answer it in a way that was specific to me, my goals, and my work history – and matched with each school’s special characteristics.
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My experience with Greg far exceeded my expectations. I recommend him to all military veterans who are seeking for application guidance in the midst their civilian transition. I know Greg will be a friend during my career and I expect to stay connected with him down the road, both to help others he works with and receive sound career advice.

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GREG HAS THE MAGIC TOUCH: ADMITTED TO HBS, WHARTON, AND SLOAN
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​White male, military, high GMAT and GPA. I thought I knew what it took to write a good essay, and then I met Greg. His thorough review of my essays and our conversations allowed me to build clear narratives and maximize the value of all of my experiences. Working with him truly 'leveled-up' every aspect of my application. As a result, I went 3/3 for interviews and acceptance at all the schools I applied, and will attend HBS. This would not have been possible without Greg.

For those of you skeptical about working with consultants (I know I was at first), Greg is worth every penny.

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​​MILITARY OFFICER ACCEPTED INTO WHARTON DESPITE 2.5 UNDERGRAD GPA
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• US military with 10 years of experience
• GPA: 2.5 from a service academy
• GMAT: Initial 660; retest once waitlisted 700

I wholeheartedly recommend Avanti prep to anyone serious about earning admission into a top MBA program.

I learned about Avanti Prep from review on GMAT club. After reaching out to multiple admission consulting services, I chose Avanti because of their prompt and personal responses to my email inquiries. I couldn’t be more impressed and pleased with the services they provided over the following months! I made the right choice. Through the entire application and waitlist process, I worked closely with Beau and felt like we were a team pushing towards the same goal. I initially purchased ten hours of counseling then bought another ten as I was highly impressed with our results and progress.

I applied in round 2 to six business schools and completed my applications while deployed to Afghanistan. I took the GMAT a couple of days before deploying and earned a 660. Though I had a decade of leadership experience in the military, I knew my 80th percentile GMAT and 2.5 undergrad GPA would present severe obstacles to my candidacy for a top 20 MBA program. I applied to one M7 school (Wharton), my reach school; I also applied to three other top 20 schools, one school in Europe, and one top 50 school.

First, Beau and I worked closely on my resume, which I had to create from scratch. I sent drafts to Beau, and he would make edits and recommendations before we met virtually. During our virtual sessions, Beau challenged me to make every line and word of my resume count; the improvement between my initial draft and final resume was immense! Beau and I followed a similar process for each essay, 11 in total. He provided copious insights about each school’s application review process and helped me understand in-depth what each school was looking for in a candidate’s essays and resume. Working with Beau also helped me better refine my own MBA goals.

My applications earned interview invitations to five of the six schools. Beau helped coach me through interview prep, and we held a mock interview as a culminating event.

Through this entire process, Beau was highly responsive and accommodating. My job as a deployed officer was time-consuming; Beau made every effort to work with my demanding schedule. He even once met with me at 5am EST because that was the only time I had available.

Following the interviews, I was accepted into one school and waitlisted at the other four (the one school in Europe did not accept me). Beau explained the waitlist process to me and recommended strategies to continue correspondence with each school and improve my candidacy. Beau and Greg even convinced me to use my two-week leave period after deployment to prepare for and retake the GMAT- a decision that was well worth the effort. I earned a 700, and acceptance into Wharton a few weeks later.

The MBA application landscape is complicated and competitive. Having Avanti Prep with me through the process made a huge difference; I do not believe I would have earned acceptance into any school, let alone Wharton, without their expert counsel.

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VETERAN TO CHICAGO BOOTH '24
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Background: 5+ years of military experience, GMAT: 650, GPA: 3.02, African American male. In my experience with Greg in late 2021, I was extremely busy training in the military to prepare for deployment while also trying to complete my applications in time for Round 2. I was told about Greg and Avanti's service late in my process and despite the time crunch, GREG WORKED A MIRACLE! Greg worked directly with me to review and refine my essays for multiple schools and ensured my application was the caliber needed to have a chance to be admitted. Without Greg's help, I am not sure if I would be here at Chicago - Booth today!

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CONSULTING CASE INTERVIEW PREP: BEAU TOOK ME FROM 0 TO 100
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I am an MBA candidate at one of the top-ranked international MBA programs. I previously served in the military, worked with Avanti Prep during my application process, and had a phenomenal experience doing so. I had a similarly superb experience working with Avanti Prep on consulting case interview prep as a first-year MBA.

Beau Gresham was an excellent instructor. He was especially helpful in understanding that I came from a non-business background, that I had no fundamental knowledge of case interviews (or any business interviews for that matter), and that I had relatively little business training as it was still my first semester. He took the time to assess where I was, and then tailored his approach in a way I could digest.
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Within two weeks, my confidence and preparation were totally transformed, and I was ready for final rounds of MBB interviews at competitive international offices. There is no way I would have been in the position to be successful without Beau and Avanti Prep.

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