With over 20 years of experience in MBA admissions consulting and a background in journalism and the arts, Margaret’s sharp critical eye, exceptional storytelling ability, and no-nonsense attitude have consistently earned her high praise from clients.
Read on to learn more about Margaret’s approach and what she can offer to ambitious MBA applicants.
Margaret holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MA from New York University, and spent a long stretch of her early career working in production at Condé Nast Publications.
Her 20+ years of admissions consulting experience have given Margaret extensive practice adapting her humanities skillset to the unique challenges of the MBA application. She’s the perfect complement to candidates with more quantitative backgrounds who are more at home with numbers than narrative: tech professionals, investment bankers, PE associates.
Margaret helps applicants with no affinity for writing about themselves to process the raw data—test scores, impressive roles and achievements listed on your resume—into a deeper, more compelling story, digging into their true motivations:
“One of the first things we do when we work together is sit down and go deeply into who you are. We’ll cover your background, your roots, your professional achievements, your personal highlights, your challenges, your aspirations, why your mindset aligns with the values and perspective of the school you’re applying to. It’s a full-immersion process.”
Margaret will not let you fall short of your potential.
She fully believes in her clients and pushes them to be ambitious rather than limiting themselves to what’s safe. She will encourage you to select the schools you’re genuinely excited to attend, without padding the list with an excess of “safeties.”
Over the years, Margaret has worked successfully with many clients shooting exclusively for the most elite programs in the world—those targeting only M7 schools, or even only Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton.
“When I work with a client,” says Margaret, “I assume from the get-go that yes, you are the applicant they’re looking for. We use the components of your application to deliver this message.”
The perfectionism Margaret brings to the written materials extends throughout the application process. She’s entirely willing to throw out a strategy, idea, or angle that isn’t working out and start over from scratch, rather than making the best of a flawed approach.
Margaret’s coaching style is built on unflinching honesty and deep personal engagement. She knows that hollow reassurances result in weak applications. When you ask a question, expect a thoughtful, sincere answer with no sugar coating.
Take, for example, Margaret’s description of the AdCom app review process: “Imagine that your application is being read at, say, 11 a.m. on a Tuesday. The reader has burned through a few hundred applications already, the caffeine is wearing off, most of the week still lies before them, and lunch is an hour away. So you’re competing with Starbucks and sushi as well as with your fellow applicants. Recognizing this, how can you deliver your message in a way that maximizes the real attention span of the reader, tells your story clearly and straightforwardly, is interesting and honest, but doesn’t try the reader’s patience?”
Margaret’s straight talk—combined with her sense of humor and personal warmth—has always been the key to her clients’ success.
Having worked with a number of clients on tight timelines or struggling with application anxiety, Margaret knows how to manage your time—and your nerves—effectively.
She provides a steady, empathetic, but invariably candid perspective on your progress. Without mincing words about the hard work ahead of you, she’ll keep you focused on the tasks you actually need to worry about at a given moment.
Margaret keeps her clients afloat in high-pressure moments with a combination of sober advice, quick responses to any uncertainties, and clear structure, breaking down seemingly overwhelming workloads into manageable steps.
Jarrett Brandon Early, MBA 