Case Study 2: English Female Banker working in Banking Industry

Clearly I could have struggled through the application process on my own, and still had a chance of getting in to my choice schools.

However, without EXPARTUS®, firstly the whole process would have been much more stressful.

Secondly, I really don’t think my essays would have been anywhere near as compelling and insightful as they actually turned out to be.

The Challenge: Clearly I could have struggled through the application process on my own, and still had a chance of getting in to my choice schools. However, without EXPARTUS®, firstly the whole process would have been much more stressful, and secondly, I really don’t think my essays would have been anywhere near as compelling and insightful as they actually turned out to be.

The EXPARTUS® Solution: EXPARTUS® provided me with reassurance that my application was going to be the best it could be. Yes, it might not have been the best application out there, and certainly there was no guarantee of my getting into my choice schools. However, without EXPARTUS®, I would not have known what standard was good enough. I wouldn’t have known when to stop working on the application, and when to stop worrying about it. Having an advisor to assure me when something was good enough and when it needed more work, was really fantastic, as otherwise I would have had no benchmark against which to judge the quality of my application.

Often when people ask their friends / the schools themselves, “what does my application need to be successful”, they are given wishy-washy answers. For example, “what score do I need to get on the GMAT” or, “are these essays good enough”, or, “i don’t have xyz type of experience, does this matter” – I’ve seen these questions asked in business school presentations a number of times, and never heard an answer that doesn’t sit on the fence. With EXPARTUS®, I was able to ask these questions and get straight answers every time. The EXPARTUS® advisors’ level of understanding about the whole application process was fantastic, and having the perspective of someone who has sat on the “other” side and actually judged the applications themselves, was incredibly helpful.

I was also really impressed by the level of professionalism at EXPARTUS®. I was initially concerned that there was no obvious reason why EXPARTUS® should care about my application, given that I had paid upfront with obviously no guarantee of results. However, these concerns were completely misplaced. I always felt that my EXPARTUS® advisor was giving my application all the attention it needed and that the service I received was completely personalised and tailored to my needs. My advisor was always extremely accessible, and given that there was no charging by the hour, I felt that the EXPARTUS® services were always completely at my disposal.

Finally, I felt that the EXPARTUS® emphasis on branding was incredibly important. Not only did it make it much easier for me to write my essays, as I knew which points I was trying to stress to the admissions committees, but also, having someone provide an outside perspective on the things I have done in my life was a real eye-opener. This may sound a bit cheesy, but working with my advisor actually really helped me to understand myself – what my values are, my strengths and my weaknesses. Similarly, I realised that some of the things I had done, that I thought were minor, were in fact real accomplishments, and vice versa. Overall, I feel that working with EXPARTUS® has made me much more aware of who I am, what my selling points are, and what I can work on. Clearly this was important for the business school application, but in addition, I feel I have learnt a lot about myself that I can apply to any other occasion when I need to convince people of my abilities eg. future job applications and interviews.

The Outcome: So was it worth the money? Definitely. Applying to business school is certainly not simple whichever way you do it, but EXPARTUS® certainly made it a whole lot easier. Without the EX
PARTUS® input, I think the whole ordeal would have been a never-ending process for me, with continual stress and anxiety. Instead, it turned out to be an experience which provided me with new insight into myself and of course a place in the school of my dreams, HBS – thank you!!