Rajdeep Chimni

poetsandquants.com/consultant/mba-admissions-consultant-rajdeep-chimni

Admissions Gateway is a boutique consulting firm, established in 2007, with a track

record of helping 700+ aspirants realize their dream of attending the top-15 US Business
schools, LBS and INSEAD. What our clients appreciate most about our engagement
model is: ‘living’ the application period with them. Our ‘invested mentoring’ enables
candidates to succeed beyond the applications during Business School and beyond. We
have a team of 5 consultants from the M7 b-schools and work with a limited number of
candidates each year.

Admissions Results:

2017 results: Top-5: 58 admissions, top-10: 113

2016 results: Top-5: 30 admissions, top-10: 94

2015 results: Top-5: 23 admissions, top-10: 84

2017 Highlights:

Harvard/Stanford/Wharton: 32 admissions

Kellogg/Booth: 26 admissions

Columbia/MIT/Tuck: 17 admissions

Ross/Yale/Duke/Darden/Stern etc: 38 admissions

Scholarship Results:

2017 scholarships: Top-20 ~$6M

2016 scholarships: Top-20 ~$4.7M

2015 scholarships: Top-20 ~$3M

We have end-to-end 3 school and 5 school packages.

These cover:
– Profile evaluation and building
– Resume building
– Goals and skill gap
– Why MBA
– School selection
– Networking with our alumni at schools
– Essay guidance
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– Recommendation tips
– Interview prep
– Scholarship guidance and negotiation

Rajdeep is very effective in putting structure and discipline into the application process. I
found it difficult to define the scope of the essays and was overwhelmed by the whole
process. But Rajdeep helped me put a boundary around the ask, and broke down the
essays into milestones which made the task much simpler.

He is a stickler for quality and constantly pushed me beyond my comfort zone to dig
deeper into my stories unless they reflected the necessary leadership qualities. I was
able to think clearly through my career by the end of the process and had much more
clarity on what I want to get out of my MBA.

I always refer him to my friends for their MBA applications and all of them have had
great results as well.

Successfully applying to a B-school was less about my experiences and more about the
takeaways from those experiences that would help me demonstrate that I was MBA
ready.

As easy as it may sound, the process forced me to ask some probing questions and it
became very important for me to be able to structure my answers within the prescribed
word limits. Being from a highly competitive talent pool, I needed strategic help with the
process of working with someone who had a proven track record with Indian applicants.
I came to know about Rajdeep from some of my classmates who had worked with him
and highly recommended him.

The first thing that really stood out for me was Rajdeep’s strategy of building out your
resume before deciding on your schools or even application strategy. This was unlike any
other consultant I had reached out to. We spent a good 10 days fleshing out the resume,
making it as strong as possible. Looking back this was one of the strongest reasons why I
got accepted at LBS.

I remember after the first 2 iterations of my essay with Rajdeep, I was very happy and
satisfied with the effort I had put in and how the essay had shaped out. That’s when he
told me that I needed to come up with a surgeon’s insights vs. a butcher’s perspective.
This line summarizes my experience with Rajdeep wherein I learned to dig deeper,
research harder until I had the essay that was good enough to compete with the best in
the world.

For people who are planning to apply this year, I would recommend that you get in touch
with the consultants out there and then get in touch with Rajdeep. I think that a single
call will help you understand the competitive edge that Rajdeep brings to the table and it
will make your decision much easier.

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A close friend referred me to Admissions Gateway and I was impressed with the track
record, Rajdeep’s structured approach to the process and the word of mouth.

The factor that really stood out in my experience was Rajdeep’s approachability. From
every stage of resume building to essay drafting to interview, Rajdeep was always
reachable and very involved. You can just reach him a WhatsApp away.

His iterative reviews and pointed feedback really pushed me to bring out the best in my
essays. He is always willing to offer help in whatever aspect you may need – be it making
alum connects for mock interviews/essay pointers or providing essay edits, even on a
tight timeline. I got into both Wharton and Booth. I would highly recommend him for his
great job and support!

A friend at Wharton referred me to Rajdeep. Unlike what I had heard from friends about
other consultants, Rajdeep didn’t try to convince me into applying to lower-ranked
schools to improve his success rates. I stood my ground in applying to schools that I
wanted to go to, and Rajdeep supported me in the process and we applied to HBS, GSB,
Wharton, Sloan, Yale SOM and INSEAD.

One thing I like was Rajdeep’s commitment. When I needed some extra support in
getting my SOPs reviewed for a scholarship application, Rajdeep was willing to take a
look at it and share some high-level feedback (even though it was outside the purview of
the contract).

The frameworks shared to think through different sections of the application were
useful. Using these frameworks ensured comprehensive coverage of different skills. This
approach is going to be useful in the future as I navigate the job-application process in
the next couple of months.

Rajdeep gave good inputs on essays. One example that stands out is my Wharton essay,
where I had to highlight an impactful experience that is not covered elsewhere in my
application. Because Rajdeep knew my profile and background well, and because he
understood Wharton as a school, Rajdeep quickly suggest an excellent theme/idea that I
could elaborate in my essay – something I wouldn’t have thought through on my own.
While I didn’t get into Wharton eventually (summer waitlist), I have to admit that Rajdeep
helped me take this essay to the next level.

I will be attending INSEAD and look forward to the experience! Would recommend
Rajdeep having been through the process and having seen many of my friends succeed
as well.

A friend at Harvard suggested connecting with Rajdeep and I worked with him on 5 M7
schools. I had an educational experience and gained a lot of insight on how to present
my story in a way I couldn’t have done myself. Time zone differences meant that it was
pretty late in India by the time I was free from work commitments in London. However,
Rajdeep was very flexible and ensured that we left no stone unturned in putting up a
strong application.
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I thought Rajdeep’s resume strategy of thinking from your management’s perspective in
order to tease out the high-level impact of one’s professional achievements was genius.
It’s something that I’ll deploy for years to come.

I received great support on school-selection as well, especially as I was very optimistic on

the number of schools I wanted to target in Round 1, without due regard to time
constraints. Rajdeep’s advice was very practical and ensured that I didn’t apply anywhere
without due preparation.

On goals’ definition, he encouraged me to take my time, while offering great suggestions

based on his thorough understanding of my profile. When it came down to writing the
essays, what stood out was his emphasis on structure. This didn’t just enhance
readability and impact, but made them fungible among each other: I could easily
reprocess the abstract strictures of Essays A & B from School 1 into Essays C & D from
School 2 with the specific research or tuning.

The experience with Rajdeep didn’t just get me into a great B-school but will continue to
hold me in great stead for the future as I believe that storytelling is a key skill required to
excel professionally.

Making a choice for a consultant was a task and I took my time to research the market. I
spoke to Admissions Gateway, Adam Marcus, Jennifer Bloom, MBA Exchange, Menlo
Park, etc. Admissions Gateway stood out on 3 parameters –

1. Result orientation – AG is the only firm that transparently listed their past results and
connected me to past clients.

2. Consultant (Rajdeep) – Though he may come across as too frank, Rajdeep on the first
call was astute with his assessment and didn’t shy from pointing out weaknesses in the
application. It didn’t seem like a sales pitch which a lot of other consultants had.

3. Costs – The costs were competitive in fact they seem to be low for the results and
scholarships people get :).

I would rate my experience working with Rajdeep as great. It took some time to build
chemistry but I could see him putting in extra effort to applications and would continue
to iterate till he felt essays were good to go. On specific parameters –

1. Resume – This is the strongest point. The resume is really well done and presents a
strong leadership story. Rajdeep ensures that the candidate represents himself well in a
pool of international students. Personally, it took me a lot of introspection on how to
position my work in different organizations and Rajdeep helped in framing a coherent
story.

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2. School selection strategy – I would say Rajdeep is fair and factual in his assessment of
schools but the onus is on you to ensure you debate if you don’t agree. I ended up
applying to H/S/W, which he thought was a risky strategy.

3. Goals definition – Rajdeep was clear on a pragmatic approach here and what would
work for different schools based on my profile. His insights are to the point and seem to
work well. I must add, specifically for Wharton, he had a great approach to essays and
the success reflected in the number of interview calls his clients got.

4. Essays – Rajdeep’s approach is structured and clear on how to break the question and
think of your own experiences. For Wharton it was more of a structured approach for
Harvard, he helped in creating a good flow, ensured I balance my language to suit the
school and encouraged me to write a personal / people stories over professional ones.

Some other points –

1. Turnaround time – This was good. Typically 24-48 hrs.

2. Informal engagement – Rajdeep always seemed available on Whatsapp or call and this
was helpful to bounce quick ideas off. He once also spoke to me at 2 am which I am sure
no other firm would encourage or do.

I feel Rajdeep is genuinely invested in the process and cares about maximizing results. I
made it to H ($106k scholarship) and W ($75k scholarship) – joining Harvard.

Having pivoted from banking to consulting early in my career, I found Rajdeep’s advice
very helpful to uncover and articulate my goals in a structured manner. His guidance
helped me create a resume that presented my experiences in the best light and ensured
that I approach the entire application process with a positive attitude. I especially
appreciated the honest feedback I always received, as it helped me pick schools that
would be the best fit for my goals.

I was traveling quite often during my applications, but never felt disconnected from the
process due to Rajdeep’s flexibility on timing. He was easily accessible on calls and texts
when needed. Focused on the New York area, I applied to three schools and gained
admission to Stern with a full scholarship. Thanks for all the support and guidance!

Colleagues who gained admission to Harvard and Kellogg referred me to Rajdeep. We

started out with building my Resume. Rajdeep understood my work experience and
helped me present it in the most impactful way by bringing clarity to my role and impact
on each project. He further helped me decide the critical points to emphasize.

This was followed by the definition of the goals. Here, Rajdeep helped me tune my
thoughts to come up with a logical, consistent and practical story which would provide a
solid foundation for a compelling story based on my work experience.

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For the essays, we identified my most impactful work experiences and customized each
school’s essays to highlight different aspects. For example – Kellogg requires an essay
demonstrating brave leadership. While I had a couple of compelling leadership projects
to talk about, Rajdeep helped me identify a project where I helped move a business out
of the crisis which displayed that I could be brave enough to take super challenging
projects. This story was not highlighted in my previous essays and we went on to draft a
new essay for this question. My experience shows that Rajdeep goes a long way to put
one’s best foot forward for each school.

For my HBS application, Rajdeep went to painstaking lengths to help me tune even my
short application questions to answer in a concise and impactful way, supporting me in
the minute details of my application to make sure that we left no stone unturned. For my
HBS essay, he helped me think about two of my key stories – one from college and the
other from Abbott in greater detail, helping me write a holistic story about my life and
career. His inputs around making the story more fleshed out and highlighting some finer
details of my experience added depth to my essay. I got into HBS with $100K+ and
Kellogg with $120K!

Another consultant referred me to Rajdeep, which I thought was rare. I had a busy work
and travel schedule so I started working on my applications only in Round 2 and that too
in December! I would have liked to have applied to more schools but given the time I
targeted 4.

Rajdeep’s honest feedback and guidance through the process was invaluable. He was
available at short notice and helped me manage my hectic schedule and craft good
applications. Even though we had less time, he pushed me to think clearly and research
all aspects to make a compelling application. It was comforting to have him available and
he was willing to go over multiple iterations till we both were satisfied with the outcome.

Rajdeep understands the values and the lens through which the school is evaluating
your application. Even in this short period, I gained admission to Wharton (matriculated),
Booth – $40K scholarship and LBS – £30K scholarship. He has a great ability to help you
structure your applications and execute them under time pressure.

I was initially wary of working with consultants. I knew what I wanted which was not just
essay editing help or someone who could fit me into types of schools but wanted
someone who could help me make strategic decisions covering my professional history,
building my profile and then targeting the schools.

When I spoke to people about Rajdeep, they gave me excellent feedback about his very
structured approach, individual attention and some credentials in helping students to
top US B-schools.

One of the biggest positives of working with Rajdeep was that he helped me address
certain key challenges in my profile. For instance, I had a 710 GMAT score which is on the
lower side to target the top schools I had on my list.
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He suggested a good strategy of breaking my list into safe, reach and stretch schools for
Round 1 and I got into Ross and then in R2 I targeted higher schools like Kellogg, Tuck
and Booth, and this prep really helped me set the bar high and prepare for R2.

What also helped was the interview prep. Since Rajdeep was working with me on a daily
basis he was well aware of my profile. However, after prep, he also made me do a mock
with someone who wasn’t familiar with my profile and that prepared me for what I would
be facing during the actual interview.

I applied to 5 schools and got into 3, one with $50K scholarship. I am finally attending
Kellogg which has been my dream school from Day 1 and looking back I know this would
not have been possible without Rajdeep’s help!!

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