Menlo & Alice Bring Humanity To This Process

You won’t find anyone else who brings humanity into this process and has your best interests at heart at all times. I worked with Alice and I was blown away by her level of engagement with my application. What really sets her apart is that she’s not willing to shy away from giving you the hard truth – and sometimes telling you that maybe an MBA isn’t the best thing for you or that your selection of schools doesn’t really match your long-term interests. Her philosophy for the essay was that it is something that needs to reflect my life story and something that I should be proud of decades from now – not something I’m whipping up just for the application. Alice not only holds that high a bar for you but also for herself. We chatted about my story over several hour long calls. Alice patiently listened, probed where appropriate, offered me her perspective on some of the challenges I’ve faced, and teased out key themes from my life. It felt less like brainstorming for essays and more like a mix of life coaching and someone interviewing me for a long-form article in the New Yorker about my narrative arc. Alice is incredibly generous with her time as well. To work on the essays, I met with Alice in Baarn (outside Amsterdam) to brainstorm essay topics, share early drafts, and iterated until she was satisfied. I’d always considered myself fairly savvy about this process as I’d read up a decent amount and talked to enough people to understand how things “really worked”. Working with Alice was humbling because you learn how much more there is to this process from what is shared online. Alice is incredibly savvy, keep abreast of changing dynamics, and give you practical advice to help make your application the best it can be. When some family tragedy struck and I put GMAT and applications to the side, Alice was there with a sympathetic ear and encouragement when I wanted it and with tough love when I needed it. She could shift to a career in motivational speaking and wouldn’t be out of place! When you work with Menlo, you’re not just working with Alice – you’re also working with professional editors and communication coaches to take your essays and interviews to the next level. When there was a wide gulf between my GMAT practice tests and my actual performance, they referred me to a GMAT tutor who was incredible to work with and helped me get over mental blocks while I took the test. True to the meaning of coach, Alice will ensure that you are sharing your story in the best way you can and will teach you skills that you can take away and apply to other aspects of your career instead of just telling you what to do. In addition to helping you with the applications, Menlo also set up lots of events with industry professionals and current students to make sure you’re prepared to succeed at business school once you get there! P.S. It is incredibly competitive to get a slot with Alice, so I highly recommend reaching out early!