TLDR: I highly recommend working with Inspira Futures and have already recommended them to friends and colleagues alike. They are top notch in terms of both skill and effort, and will give everything in helping you do your best in the MBA process. She truly cares about her clients and I believe wants you to succeed irrespective of her own results as a consultant (though her track record is very strong).

I worked with my consultant from Inspira Futures for 7 months and feel very fortunate to have had her guidance throughout this process. Before selecting Inspira Futures, I spoke with consultants from three popular MBA consulting groups and was deciding between working with Inspira Futures and another consultant but ended up going with Inspira Futures as I felt they believed in my candidacy and would give me consistent attention throughout the process. It's hard to know who to pick for such an important role so I hope this review helps another in the position in which I found myself last year!

After working together, my consultant probably knows me and my aspirations as well as my closest friends do. The sheer number of hours spent discussing my background, interests, and goals lent itself to a self-reflective process that allowed me to put my best foot forward and convey my true self to schools. If you are set on business school and planning to apply to multiple schools, working with her on a package basis will make sense for you and allow you to get the most out of her dedicated review process and very thorough feedback. She was extremely honest and you may think you can be hard on yourself but she will be tougher (in a good way!). There are times in the process I felt overwhelmed and dejected but she knows how to keep you motivated and encourage you to do your best work. She will push you to do more than you would have done yourself and you will be grateful for it in the long run.

Below are a few key reasons I'm very happy I worked with Inspira Futures:

-Positive results: I was admitted to five schools (HBS, Wharton, Booth, Kellogg, and Darden) with half and full tuition scholarships at two of the schools

-School knowledge: you will still need to research each school's unique program yourself but they have deep knowledge of all the top schools and this is invaluable in saving you time and helping you to narrow down your schools of focus and then bolster your applications; additionally, they keep their finger on the pulse of MBA admissions more broadly and can provide valuable strategic advice on all areas of your application

-Essays: Brainstorming essays with my consultant was critical in allowing me to convey key personal values in the limited word counts allowed by schools; her comments were well beyond what I would call thorough and it's evident she spends a significant portion of time reading and re-reading your essays to provide the best and clearest feedback possible

-Candor in addressing weaknesses in your candidacy and clear, actionable suggestions to improve those

-Like a good personal trainer, she knows when to push you and when to console and encourage; this is a tricky balance to get right for optimized results but she does it!

-Her genuine interest in and care for you allows her to help you most effectively tell your story to schools

You will improve your candidacy with her help in ways you didn't realize possible, and it will make the difference when it comes down to where you're admitted.

I started working with my consultant at Inspira Futures a month before submitting five R2 applications. I hadn't worked with any consultants and was feeling some last-minute FOMO about showing my essays to a professional. She was very responsive and efficient with our time, giving me valuable feedback on five schools. She really helped me cut through a lot of the noise in my essays and present a clearer, more authentic story. I'm much more confident in my essays after the iterations with her. Highly recommend Inspira - especially to anyone who is concerned or skeptical about the value of consultants!

I worked with Alec on the interview preparation portion of my application to HBS. I can say honestly that without this interview preparation, I would not have been ready for the depth of questions I was asked in my actual interview. This package was a critical part of my preparation, and allowed me to go into the interview feeling confident and prepared. Alec was always just a quick email away if I needed anything, and his service was a key factor in my preparation that ultimately led to an HBS admission. I would recommend Alec and Inspira Futures to any of my peers applying to business school. And can truly say it was 100% worth the money. Thank you Alec!

Working with Inspira Futrures on a comprehensive multi school package was the best decision I made as I started my MBA application process. Thorough and thoughtful, my admissions coach was instrumental in me crafting and communicating a compelling story based on my background and experiences. She is extremely knowledgeable and had insights and tips for each school that I applied to. She strives for perfection - she made sure that I approached each application on its own and is not afraid to go back on her own advice. In addition, she is personable and a lot of fun to work with. She made sure that my personality shone through in my essays. Her mock interviews made me feel confident and comfortable as I walked into the real thing.

She is an excellent communicator and was always prompt with her responses. Knowing that my work was picking back up soon, she even worked double time with me to get my applications in order - an excellent example of her dedication to her clients. Thanks to her advice, I got interviews for 6/7 schools (All top-10) that I applied to and ended up getting multiple admits. I have decided to accept the offer from MIT Sloan as I also secured a scholarship of $52K.

I think the results speak for themselves. All in all, I could not have asked for a better guide and friend as I worked through the stressful application process.

While I have had the plan of attaining my MBA since high school, only recently did I have an idea of why I wanted to do so. Allan helped me immensely in crafting my story for the application process especially considering my non traditional (engineering) background. He provided me with an unbiased opinion of areas to improve to give me the greatest results from the process. While I had done my own research initially into application strategy, Allan helped to clarify the goal of each individual piece, i.e. what I should be communicating in the essays or how to present myself in the interview. Even from the initial sessions I could tell that Allan was concerned with my success throughout the entire application process. Allan is also extremely knowledgeable about the different programs' strengths and weaknesses, providing observations that are not biased by the lens of current students or the admissions office. This led me to apply to programs that I had not originally considered. Overall I cannot recommend Allan enough!

Getting into Harvard Business School Business School feels like a dream come true. My consultant was really nice and ready to connect whenever I felt stuck.

Choosing to work with the Inspira Team at first was not an easy decision given the significant upfront investment, but now that I am through the process, I see that I would not have been able to be successful in this process without them. The ROI is incredibly high, I can assure you.

Back in July 2020, I decided that I was going to start from scratch and apply to business school Round 2. I had never really considered b-school before then, and needed a resource to help advise me through the process, end to end (GMAT, understanding the various schools / differentiation, essays, application, recommendations etc), This was critical for me because of my 80 plus hour work weeks. Arush and the team delivered and they were always accessible.

Where Inspira is different and provides real value is the upfront investment that THEY make in getting to you know as a candidate. It is invaluable for a candidate to have an advisor that knows how best to craft the candidate's story, even better than the candidate him/herself.

Having an "all you can eat" package with a team (not just one person) that knows a candidate intimately was a tremendous value for me. The team (i) helped me to develop a study plan for my GMAT, (ii) provided what felt like unlimited turns on my essays, and (iii) engaged with my recommenders to help them write the best possible recommendations, which ultimately built a very strong application package.

I am proud to say that I have been accepted to an M7 (Class of 2023) during what is widely known as a highly competitive year. There is no way I could have done it without the Inspira team.

I had the great pleasure of working with Inspira Futures for my five business school applications. I had conversations with quite a few consultants from various companies but I felt most comfortable with Inspira Futures as they gave me honest feedback and great advice from the onset.

As I run a start-up and was quite young at the time, I was matched with a consultant who came with a similar background. She recommended that I push my application to the following year. She thought I would have a lot more to show which would greatly increase my chances.

I worked with her through the entire application process. From picking schools to going over my, CV, essays and finally sending off my applications. She was always happy to jump on a call with me whenever I was confused or unsure of anything along the way. When I received interview invites she set up mock interviews in order to ensure that I felt ready.

I was worried about my GMAT score of 640 but with her guidance on how to best tell my story, I was able to overcome this challenge. I have been admitted to three great schools and even received a scholarship at one of them.

I'm so glad that I worked with Inspira Futures and would highly recommend them to anyone applying to business school.

I can't thank Inspira Futures enough for her help with my application to Kellogg. Inspira Futures helped me clarify my narrative and develop a strategy on how to highlight my strong points. I highly recommend that you reach out to Inspira Futures for any area you feel you need guidance. Their team is extremely patient and responsive, you'll have an opportunity to brainstorm your application and ask any questions you may have.

If you're thinking about submitting your application, do yourself a big favor and chat with Inspira Futures first, at a minimum, you'll have the benefit of having an expert double check for any potential hiccups.

Thanks again Inspira Futures!

If you're going to hire a consultant, hire Allan. He also always kept his word and was very responsive, kind, and fair. I was hesitant to hire a consultant at first, but after speaking with him I knew I had made the right choice. From day 1, Allan was a value add and clearly very smart, and really helped me craft the best possible version of my story. He will not do the work for you but will guide you towards your best work product and help your authentic voice shine through, which is really the best you can ask for in an admissions consultant! He also was super helpful in continuing to offer his support even after I was admitted to HBS and looking for pre-MBA internships.

Highly recommend Allan and Inspira Futures, they are best admissions consultant in the business!

I had the chance to work with Inspira Futures, and I can say that their help was critical to me ultimately getting into Stanford.

I found that my application consultant's guidance through preparation of my materials and the subsequent formation of an application strategy gave crucial structure and nuance to developing my candidacy for b-school.

There were times where we disagreed on content to be included, and where I initially became frustrated by our differences in viewpoint and/or opinion. However, she did an excellent job of listening to my frustrations when we disagreed, and then presenting her case. More often than not, I agreed with her fully articulated viewpoint.

When all was over, we managed to complete 6 applications to top tier MBA programs, and I managed to get the result I wanted a spot at Stanford GSB!!

Thanks Inspira Futures!

Even though I had great GMAT scores and a high undergraduate GPA, I was worried my application essays were too straightforward. The Inspira team helped me take my essays from a summarization of my resume to a more personal narrative. I'm still in awe that I get to go to The Wharton School!

I knew the second that I hung up from my 30-minute free consultation with Julie that I would be comparing every future consultation to Inspira's.

As a bit of a nontraditional candidate - slightly older, atypical work experience, broad range of targeted domestic and international schools - I had decided that enlisting the help of an admissions consultant would allow me to market my unique story more effectively than I could do alone.

In that initial call, Julie highlighted his extraordinary sense of perception by drilling down to the essence of my story (culled from the limited questionnaire I had completed) while offering a multitude of compelling ways to position my candidacy. She also tempered his words with a healthy dose of reality, reminding me that my profile also presented a few pinch points that would need to be addressed. Energized by the possibilities and encouraged by the direct and honest approach, I knew even before completing a round robin of free consultations that hiring Inspira would be key in facilitating and complementing my admissions journey.

Four offers (and a scholarship) on four applications later, facilitating and complementing don't even begin to describe the experience of working with Inspira.

First, my consultant employed an extremely successful process of self-reflection and contemplation that enabled me to think critically about who I am as a person before even completing a school selection, much less starting an application. Upon completion, I found that I was both intellectually and emotionally prepared to begin the application process, and I cannot understate the importance of the latter.

Second, and perhaps of most value, he placed a high premium on my ability to truly internalize my future goals, both short and long term: defining, redefining, and understanding the process to achieve them. I was continually challenged to conduct industry research and connect with the recognized leaders in my field in order to synthesize and realize my future trajectory, and can now say that I now have more clarity about the path before me than ever before.

Finally, he is totally and completely thorough - I once joked that he was worth his fee simply because, as an American, he called attention to my oversight in formatting an essay into A4 for one of my European schools. Nonetheless, in each of my four applications, he ensured that I took real pride in the final product; I never once clicked "submit" without feeling that there was nothing more that could have been done to make an application better. It was unbelievably liberating to know that even if my applications ultimately proved unsuccessful that I would find comfort in having submitted such polished work.

Ultimately, my time with him was a transformative and life-affirming journey of self-reflection. I am truly appreciative of his time, talent, and investment in my success, and I eagerly look forward to begin the next chapter of my life in a top MBA program with the confidence of purpose that he instilled in me.

Samantha was crucial to my application process. She really pushed me when I started to doubt myself and always provided valuable feedback. We took a lot of time upfront to hone my story based on my unique experiences and my future goals. So, when it came to the essays and interviewers I had a strong sense of my story and goals. Samantha's experience with non-traditional students and her understanding of what reviewers were looking for helped me feel confident going into the application and interview process.

In addition, Samantha is extremely flexible when it comes to scheduling review times. I had an unexpected family emergency while preparing for Round 1 applications, and she was incredibly understanding and scheduled review times that were reasonable for my situation and to meet my application deadlines.

Samantha, also helped me focus in on the kind of school I wanted to attend. She helped me see which characteristics and elements were important to me and my goals and helped me find the right fit. I am happy to say that I was accepted into Stanford GSB!

I am grateful to have worked with Samantha and to have learned from her expertise. Her enthusiastic energy is contagious and refreshing. Her positive attitude and ability to calm me down during this entire process was just as vital as the actual content of my applications. I highly recommend Samantha to anyone looking for a true partner during their application process. Thank you Samantha - you're a rock star!

I got to work early on my MBA applications (maybe a little too early), but Allan was incredibly supportive and helpful all the way through. He was always available to discuss my application and provided candid and insightful advice. I worked with Allan on applications to Columbia, UVA Darden, and Duke Fuqua. I was admitted to Columbia and Darden and received an interview with Fuqua. The MBA application process is stressful enough as it is, but Allan helped to streamline everything and gave me peace of mind; I don't think I would've had as much success without Allan's help. If you're looking for an MBA coach, and I suggest that you do, I fully recommend Allan and Inspira Futures!

I would like to convey my appreciation for my project team at Inspira. As a veteran, I will recommend Inspira Futures to every vet who is thinking about business school. The best recommendation comes from great service, and Inspira absolutely provided that. I was accepted to a top 5 program with a 660 GMAT. On top of that, I received at 40% merit scholarship.

I am so thankful to have worked with Samantha as a comprehensive client throughout the MBA admissions process! I applied to 5 M7 schools in Round 1 and am happy to say that I was admitted to 3 (2 with substantial scholarship!) I come from a traditional pre-MBA background and have a below average GMAT score, so initially was considering not even applying to these schools. I probably spoke with almost every MBA consulting firm and I felt like they all tried to fit my background into a box and encouraged me to apply to a number of "safety" schools. Samantha was the only consultant that I spoke with that actually put in the effort to help me craft my story in a unique / compelling way. She had confidence in me and encouraged me to apply to the reach schools that I was most excited about.

During the process, Samantha surpassed my expectations for an MBA admissions consultant. I had so many questions during the ~7 months we worked together, from choosing my recommenders to negotiating scholarships, and she provided thoughtful and prompt feedback every step of the way. Her advice on the essays was a complete game-changer. I had no idea what was appropriate to include in a business school essay and am positive that my essays would not have been nearly as personal / effective in helping me to stand out without her guidance.

I honestly never expected to get into HBS and am confident that I could not have done it without Samantha! I felt like she was personally invested in my success and I know I would not have gotten that with another consultant. I definitely recommend her to anyone going through the MBA admissions process.

When I started the application process early summer of last year, I was looking for someone with a critical eye, good grasp of what schools wanted, ability to help me create a good narrative and highlight what was needed out of my experience and extracurriculars to emphasize my story, and ability to push myself out of my comfort zone. I came from an engineering background (with a few lower grades on my transcript that I felt could keep me out of the top schools) with extremely technical work experience and no formal leadership.

Working with Inspira Futures, I was able to fully reflect and create a cohesive story that made sense for my background and for my future goals. My counselor helped me understand what to highlight and what to de-emphasize, especially coming from a technical background, in my resume and essays. He helped craft an optional essay that helped explain my academic background and lower GPA. He was critical and discerning in his edits, making sure that I was saying what I needed to and not being too vague or "on" with my language. He was also great to work with on my interview prep - making sure that I was working through highlighting my strengths and exactly answering the intended questions. I felt like my essays were strong, polished, and represented me well. He also pushed me to research the schools in-depth, which helped with essay creation and the interviews, since I truly felt like I knew each school in and out by the time I submitted my application.

With his help, I was admitted to four M7 schools - Stanford, Booth, Wharton and Columbia, waitlisted at HBS, and received partial scholarships at almost every school. This is an outcome I would have never thought possible looking solely at my stats coming into the application process - with his help, I was able to showcase my best qualities and gain admissions to some great schools.

My profile:
Asian, Female
~4 years in Consulting
710 GMAT
Chatted with 5+ companies and ~7 consultants and ultimately chose Raquel!
Acceptances: HBS and Haas (with $23K scholarship)

The application process is arduous and there's a lot of consultants to choose from. I chose Raquel because she is someone who will be there in the trenches with you and help you become a storytelling master. Here are the 2 key reasons you should choose her-

1) Best Storyteller I've Met:
A lot of applicants are stellar but can't showcase it on paper. Raquel helped me bring my story to life by helping me cut out the fluff to draw on different aspects of my stories that'd pull at the heartstrings more. She helped me see my own stories in a new light and told me how AdComm is likely to view it. You'll definitely need a consultant to help you do this because your everyday friends/colleagues just aren't going to be as invested in you as a consultant would.

2) Unparalleled Thoroughness: Raquel always prepped for our calls. In our brainstorming session, she already had ideas on how my story should be structured and explained to me why she suggested each edit. Some consultants could just make changes without explaining....but then you wouldn't learn how to improve for your other apps. Another aspect is that she helped catch errors in my app. She helped catch small nuances and numbers that didn't tick and tie. You'll be so trenched in the app that sometimes it's easy to lose track on what you've updated!

Raquel is truly the ONLY person who will dedicate that much effort into helping you achieve your dreams (aside from yourself).

I decided to work with Inspira Futures last summer after my friend recommended working with them after being admitted to HBS. Since then, Inspira team has been a true pleasure to work with. Although I had super busy schedules (I was getting married, studying for the GMAT, and working a demanding schedule), my admissions counselor helped me pace out my application prep to give me enough time and guidance to create my storyline, update my resume, write my essays, etc. without (much) additional stress to my already-hectic life. I don't think I could've made it thus far without Inspira's overwhelming support throughout the 6+ months. And now, I've been admitted to my dream school - Stanford GSB, and I am so so excited! Thank you for your help, Inspira Fututres!