How could I benefit from working with an application consultant? The process of applying to graduate school is one that is unique and requires skills that people do not often have the opportunity to develop through the course of their academic and professional careers. An application consultant can work with you to develop these skills and help you avoid mistakes that are easy to make but can significantly affect the quality of your application. Many people come to the application process with similar sets of goals and experiences; the successful ones are the ones who are able to sell those goals and experiences to the admissions committee in a compelling way. An application consultant can help you to discover your personal/professional selling points and find a way to showcase these unique experiences and goals in a way that can grab the interest of the admissions committee and make you stand out from people with similar characteristics.
How long will the process take? How many sessions will I need? This is a complex question and is one that is impossible to answer without knowing where you are in terms of your own understanding. Someone who already has clear and compelling short- and long-term goals and knows exactly how a graduate degree fits into his/her career plan is coming to the process with a great deal of the work of brainstorming already done. Such a person will likely need less time and fewer sessions than someone who only has a vague idea of his/her goals and need for a graduate degree . I work with people at all stages of the application process, from those just beginning the process of school selection to those who already have complete essay sets for one or more schools. Depending on your individual needs, our time together could be as short as one or two sessions, or it could be thirty or more.
SERVICES
What services do you offer? I provide comprehensive application preparation including:
General application strategy, including school choice, timing, etc. Scholarship applications, including Fulbright and Rotary Resume/CV strategy Resume/CV production Essay strategy and content development Essay polishing (elimination of grammatical, usage, and stylistic errors that significantly impede understanding) Essay word-count reduction Reference/recommendation strategy and review Application form review Interview strategy, preparation, and practice
All services are highly customized to meet the needs of my clients. If there is a service not listed here in which you are interested, please do not hesitate to ask.
What services do you not offer? I do not offer the following services:
Ghostwriting Complete rewriting of existing essays Modification of the work of previous applicants to fit a client's situation Comprehensive essay editing to native-level English (for non-native speakers)
Do you focus only on MBA applications? While the majority of my clients are applying to MBA programs, I have successfully worked with applicants to other graduate programs, including both research and professional Master’s degrees (including Law, Finance, Education, Computer Science, Public Administration, Public Health, Fine Arts, etc) and PhD programs.
Can you help me with my undergraduate or medical school application? I apologize, but these are not services I offer.
You seem to work with a lot of Japanese clients. Do you have experience with applicants from other countries? While the majority of my client base is Japanese, I have worked successfully with a number of applicants from other countries, including China, India, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, France, South Africa, the US, and the UK.
LOGISTICS
How are sessions conducted? In consideration of the ongoing pandemic situation, sessions will be held remotely via Zoom until further notice. If you prefer to use a different remote meeting app, that is certainly possible.
How long does a session last? Generally, a session is 50 minutes; however, comprehensive clients can reserve shorter blocks of time. Longer sessions can be scheduled and it is also possible to extend a session if availability permits.
What about email or editing “sessions”? These are available only to my comprehensive clients and are billed in blocks of 5 minutes, with a minimum of 10 minutes.
How do I pay? Clients purchasing individual sessions or session packages will be sent an invoice, which can be paid by Japanese bank transfer, Stripe, or PayPal. I apologize, but I cannot accept personal checks, cashier’s checks, money orders, or credit card payments not processed by Stripe/PayPal.
Who pays transfer fees? Clients are responsible for all transfer fees.
POLICIES
Is it okay if I use a relative’s/co-worker’s/friend’s application materials from a previous year? I expect my clients to come to the application process with a high level of determination, integrity, and honesty. Most importantly, with the exception of references/recommendations, all materials must be the original work of the client. I reserve the right to terminate association with individuals found to be utilizing plagiarized materials. In such a situation, no refunds will be given.
What do you do with my personal information? Clients’ personal details, including name, contact information, application materials, and correspondence will be kept strictly confidential with the following exception: with permission, I do refer comprehensive application clients to other application consultants for the purposes of interview training. After discussing this with a client and determining that s/he will be referred to one or more of these individuals, information about the client and his/her application will be shared with the consultant(s) to help them better understand the client’s specific interview training needs.
Clients’ application materials are not kept on file after the application season is over. At the end of each application season (generally April), all application materials, both paper and electronic, are disposed of in a secure manner. I do maintain a list of current and past clients (including names, school/employment information, and email addresses), but it is never be shared with outside parties. Past clients wishing to be removed from this list can request removal at any time.
Do you offer any kind of guarantee? I take great pride in developing close working relationships with clients and helping them to develop applications that present themselves to admissions committees in an effective, compelling, and honest manner. The admissions process, however, is complex and involves a broad range of factors, both quantitative and qualitative, making it impossible to predict the exact likelihood of an offer of admission being extended from an institution to a client. Therefore, I cannot and do not guarantee a client’s admission to any institution or program.
What happens if I am dissatisfied with your service? In order for a counselor/client relationship to be truly fruitful, open communication is incredibly important. If a client is dissatisfied at any time, I ask that he or she bring the issue up immediately so I can make every effort to resolve the situation.
In the case that a new client has purchased a session package and determines that my services are not a good fit with his or her needs, a refund of the remainder of the package can be requested as long as no more than two sessions have been used and no more than 14 days have passed since the last session. Used time will be deducted from the refund amount at the “session-by-session” rate. If a client has used more than 2 sessions or it has been more than 14 days since the last session, no refunds will be given.