While researching for consultants in the previous application cycle, I got to know about Poonam; I saw one of her videos with one candidate whom she helped to get into Harvard. I really liked the way she discussed how they went about doing things, and Poonam’s process made sense to me.
I got on a call with Poonam pretty early in March. We had a discussion, and she was able to help me with my doubts, mainly about my comparatively less work experience. What struck me was that she was more concerned with clearing my doubts and getting to know my profile than convincing me to take her up as a consultant.
In our 2.2.5-hour-long counseling session, we went in-depth about my first drafts, the right stories, and the process of how she works. Poonam helped me make my resume more B-school- appropriate. Also, she gave me pointers about my accomplishments that I shared with her in the questionnaire. A majority of our time went into the initial questionnaire, and Poonam made sure that I gave it the importance it needed. Surprisingly, the questionnaire focused on not only my academic/professional achievements but also my personal traits, which proved crucial in the long run as we were able to leverage such traits for a couple of essays.
Out of all the areas, I think organizing my stories in a coherent essay was the area in which Poonam helped me the most. With her help, I was able to flesh out proper essays, which didn’t seem like a collection of random stories put together. I can’t thank Poonam enough for her editing skills. She played a critical part in helping me meet the word limits of the essays without compromising on the stories I wanted to tell mostly. This gave me the confidence to present my stories knowing that Poonam will be able to trim them down to meet the word limits.
Regarding LORs, she helped my recommenders use more concise language and overall structured the points shared by them to be more in line with our stories, highlighting my achievements.
Poonam was always available to answer any questions I had, and she did, in fact, quickly respond to my queries about the essays, stories, and general admission process. She was absolutely fantastic with her response time. Since I started the process a bit late, we only had 1.5 months to cover five B-schools. But I was able to complete all of them properly with time to spare. This wouldn’t have been possible without Poonam’s help, as she instantly responded to all my drafts and queries within 24 hours.
One thing I loved about our time together, and one of the main reasons I wanted to work with Poonam, was the genuine attention she gave to my applications. It didn’t feel like I was just another client whose applications she just wanted to get over with. She was always straightforward and let me know when my drafts weren’t up to the mark. I have received admission offers from ISB and McDonough. Also, I was interviewed by Tuck and Foster and waitlisted by Tepper. I will be joining McDonough in Fall.
I will definitely recommend her to other applicants.
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Reetvik,
