MBA Exchange Reviews
About MBA Exchange
5,803
The MBA Exchange is a full service consulting company. In addition to guidance with normal MBA admissions, they also offer support for Executive MBA programs which run on alternate timetables and dual-degree programs such as JD/MBA. They also claim to have the largest staff of any consultation firm, and employee profiles are listed on their site for independent verification. They also claim to have the highest number of admissions as reported by another site, but this cannot be independently verified.
Basics
MBA Exchange has six core services for Full-time and Part-time MBA programs:
- Analysis and Planning helps clients get a better sense of who they are and how that can be used to stand out from the crowd.
- Coaching and Guidance covers the personal interaction with a consultant. Non-English speakers can request the help of a translator to ensure their applications are as perfect as possible.
- Implementation and Support deals with reviews and refinements, with each work typically going through several passes to ensure it’s as good as it can possibly be.
- Interview Preparation, as the name suggests, helps candidates be ready for the often-intense process of being interviewed by schools that want to learn more about them.
- Waitlist Support isn’t always needed, but for students who are put onto the list, the MBA Exchange offers guidance for getting off of it.
- Finally, Miscellaneous Services are available for things like video essays, answering additional questions, and for some schools participating in video conferences.
The MBA Exchange also offers a wide variety of additional services, from GMAT prep and test anxiety counseling to post-admittance background verification and ding analysis.
MBA Exchange Cost and Contact Info
The MBA Exchange does not publish prices on its website, but does claim that it only charges a one-time flat fee for each service. Applicants are asked to send an email to info@mbaexchange.com for more information on pricing or use a contact form on their website at www.mbaexchange.com.
To view how MBA Exchange stacks up, check out the link below:
Ivy – :
Helpful with information regarding MBA studies and college recommendations. Creating opportunity to those who seek to thrive and develop their career.
Adam Larson – :
I love how inclusive they are, embracing diversity and empowering candidates from all backgrounds. Just remember, success depends on your commitment too. In a nutshell, the MBA Exchange rocks! It’s your ticket to unlocking opportunities and acing the business world.
Brendan – :
Overall a great resource for identifying career opportunities that may not be as available relative to what is initially seen from campus/school career resources.
Caroline Macey – :
Lots of helpful info! I would use again.
Mayank Karna – :
Great!
Michelle – :
MBA exchange is a useful platform
Caroline Ludeman – :
Helpful!
Peter – :
MBA Exchange served as a useful resource.
BK – :
great program for applying the MBA. Generally pretty responsive and helpful
Renu Mulay – :
Comprehensive employment outcomes across various business schools helped make informed decision
L W – :
So helpful, so honest. Really worked with me on essay and story.
Sri Harsha Sai Chowdary Gutta – :
ROI is fair. They were quite responsive. It was certainly helpful although I was expecting more in-depth insights and trends into the school and recruitment. Overall it is worth it.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
2023
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Make sure you have stories about diversity, equity and inclusion for your Berkeley Haas interview!
Vivian – :
Overall OK.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business, 2022
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Ross. find culture fit and connect with alumni.
MC – :
ROI is fair. They were quite responsive. It was certainly helpful although I was expecting more in-depth insights and trends into the school and recruitment. Overall it is worth it.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Yale MBA 2022
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
ROI is fair. They were quite responsive. It was certainly helpful although I was expecting more in-depth insights and trends into the school and recruitment. Overall it is worth it.
Juan Pedro Pers – :
The service was expensive but OK. Would hire them again. They were responsive but didn’t have as much insight from this school as I thought they would (they did from other programs).
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Berkeley Haas, 2022
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Make sure you have stories about diversity, equity and inclusion for your Berkeley Haas interview!
Benjamin Richburg – :
The MBA Exchange is a must for anyone interested in MBA programs. Super comprehensive and easy to access valuable information!
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Bethel University 2023
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Stay ahead, make the most of each opportunity to learn!
Jimmy Herrera – :
The MBA Exchange is a full service consulting company. In addition to guidance with normal MBA admissions, they also offer support for Executive MBA programs which run on alternate timetables and dual-degree programs such as JD/MBA.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
UH MBA 2024
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Make sure to be organized with your goals and objectives and how they align with the program that you are applying to.
John Bothe – :
Absolutely great website with a lot of detailed information to help every MBA student.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
SEU MBA, 2022
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
You can do it! If you put your mind to it and work hard, you can accomplish and achieve everything that is before you. You are pursuing an MBA because you have goals, remember those goals, read them everyday. Keeps all of the hard work in perspective!
Cindy Hoang – :
A plethora of useful information to guide you through the process.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
UMich Ross, 2022
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Be yourself in your essays and your interview questions. Don't be afraid of your uniqueness - that's what schools want!
Doug Carder – :
Great website. Really enjoy it!
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Michigan Ross, 2022
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Michigan
Matthew Mac – :
I’ve received a fairly comprehensive help guide full of interesting information.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) Spring 2022
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Be yourself and trust the process
Chelsey DiPanni – :
Great program, prepares for MBA program
MBA Program & Grad Year:
University of La Verne, 2021
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Consult and intern before entering job market. Brush up on statistics and finance equations. Chose concentration early.
Shawn Singh – :
Advice was helpful. And they have a lot of good information to share with you.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
USC Marshall 2022
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Apply Early! Make sure you have everything prepared early. During your interview, come relaxed and with good questions.
CHRISTOPHER LECLAIR – :
HELPED ME PREP WITH THE CORRECT COURSE MATERIALS AND THE HELP WAS AVAILABLE WHENEVER I NEEDED IT.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
ASHFORD UNIVERSITY MBA, 2022 PROJECTED GRADUATE
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
ITS NOT HARD TO APPLY AT ALL. SINCE YOUR PUTTING IN THE EFFORT, COMPLETE ALL THE TASKS ON TIME AND DO NOT FALL BEHIND.
Robert Halpert – :
The website offered good advice and helped me get the process started. Good jumping off point to search for advice, GMAT prep, admissions consultants, etc….
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Cornell 2022
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
It's a lengthy process, take your time and think about the long term.
William McCue – :
The MBA exchange helped refine my application to Cornell’s EMBA/MS in healthcare leadership on very short notice. The site’s CEO, Alex Min, worked with me to make sure all deadlines were met and everything was tailored to the program. They took the time and effort to understand my profile and story to put me in the best position for success. The responses were timely and the content and feedback were outstanding. I was accepted into the program and owe a lot of credit to The MBA Exchange for providing expert guidance
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Cornell EMBA/MS 2022
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Worth every penny to help tailor your application to your work history and future goals
Todd Wirsch – :
MBA Exchange offered some applicable advice and helped me in an initial consultationi, but I, honestly, just felt like another number to them…
MBA Program & Grad Year:
The Wharton School '22
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Their school advice seemed canned and too broad for me.
Luis Richard Larrea – :
I had a really good experience. I found the insight helpful and relevant to my objectives.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Olin Business School, 2020
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Make sure to be organized with your goals and objectives and how they align with the program that you are applying to.
Victor – :
I was very disappointed in my experience with MBA Exchange. I initially paid for a 4 school package with target schools in mind. On the initial kick-off call I was told I should work an additional two years in my target industry before applying. After seeking reimbursement later, I was told I could not get a refund or delay my consulting for more than a year AFTER THEY HAD TOLD ME TO DELAY FOR 2! I frantically made use of their resources (which they were reluctant to provide) and applied in a later round for only 2 schools because of the time crunch. They did a very poor job of following up and would not even let me pay for just a two school package. Overall I’d recommend just having someone review your essays or hire another firm rather than hire these consultants. The essay editing was the only value I found and I much overpaid for this simple service.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Rice | 2021
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Use an essay editing service rather than full consultancy. The biggest impact is made in the essays. A consultancy can't make your GMAT better and interviews are relatively stress-free.
David – :
Did a practice interview and it was good to have to practice questions live and shake off the interview dust. Received helpful feedback from a former MBA admissions staff member at one of the top schools I was applying to.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
HBS / 2019
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Demonstrate what's unique about you
T Powell – :
The company had limited information regarding Executive MBA programs and admissions processes. If looking for a general MBA program is what you’re looking for, this is probably fine. If you’re looking for an executive MBA program then this is not the company for you. Unfortunately it took over 3 contacts in a 4 month period before they realized what I was looking for and informed me they could not be of assistance.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Auburn 2019
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
If looking for a general MBA program is what you're looking for, this is probably fine. If you're looking for an executive MBA program then this is not the company for you.
ESME – :
GREAT TEST PREP AND CONSULTING SERVICE FOR MY MBA APPLICATION! HELPED ME A LOT ESPECIALLY IN MY GAMT TEST TAKING AND PREPARATION. IT HELPED ME GET 730 IN THE FIRST TIME I TOOK THIS TEST. AND IT’S SO FAMILIAR TO THE REAL GMAT TEST THAT I GOT LOTS OF KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE ON HOW TO PRACTICE AND DO MY BEST.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Ross/2019
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
APPLY FOR ROSS! IT'S GREAT!
Aditya Jain – :
MBA Exchange was ok, some of the frameworks were very useful in the planning process such as the Six Pillars. Overall, the consultant had very generic advice, which was not very useful in targeting specific schools. I used MBA prep for 2 schools, but the advice was largely similar. The essay correction felt too generic, and I did get dinged at both schools I originally used MBA Exchange for.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Columbia Business School / 2019
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
MBA Exchange was ok, some of the frameworks were very useful in the planning process such as the Six Pillars. Overall, the consultant had very generic advice, which was not very useful in targeting specific schools.
Andrea – :
The MBA exchange was very helpful and provided me with lots of insights on how to be better prepared and more competitive. I was very pleased to have used this service given that I was able to study in the university that I wanted. I would encourage everyone to have a look to the services provided given that they are very useful and you would be able to achieve your goals. Having said that, I did not use any other services besides MBA exchange but I do believe that they are as high quality as the MBA exchange consulting service.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Rotman / 2017
Jon – :
I hired MBA Exchange for help with two school applications. I found them to be good initially and put on a great show of engagement and competence. However, they were not really committed to helping people get into schools, probably because it is pretty easy to take the checks, make surface level edits to some word documents, and call it a day. That seems obvious from the outset but I thought that perhaps it was just on the applicant to make sure they got the support needed. But I was wrong, and afterall, who could argue with their success rate??
What first bothered me was the the whole dog and pony show that they sold me about how they analyze candidates through a specific lenses and tailor their advice to specific schools. To explain this more fully, when they take on a candidate they have them fill out a sheet with written prompts, and that sheet is supposed to inform how an essay should get structured. I did this and then had two consultants review my essays and iterated with both consultants over several weeks. When we finished, I asked them to explain how the prompts all informed the essays that we had created. Both people were at a loss; it was as if they’d never considered the question. But all the question was asking was how the business model they explained to me applied to what we had done. but they couldn’t make justifications from their initial work about why they had done things to the essays. So what is that they are doing? The process is that they have candidates write up INFORMATION about THEMSELVES, they have an hour long conversation with candidates to get them excited, they have candidates write the essays, they make a couple edits, and then that’s it. Maybe a total time committment of five hours tops for a school (and they made me feel like i was being high maintenance by the way). $4k+ a school.
Maybe it is the case that my consultants were slaving away thinking about what TRULY was the best choice of words for every essay but it sure didn’t seem like it. What it Did seem like was that this company found former MBA students who had worked in their schools’ admissions and the consultants had found a cottage industry where they could edit people’s essays for 20 minutes a day and make a ton of ancillary income. To put this in a value context of what you’re paying for, I would guess that many readers have likely worked with great lawyers from some of the best firms in the country. Those professionals take documents and agonize over how best to form arguments and provide their clients with exhaustive background and rationales for their work. Now think about the rates those people are charging (the lawyers at skadden, cravath, etc), that rate is possibly less than what consultants at the MBA Exchange are charging.
Now you might not listen to that advice because of the success rate that this company boasts of on the site, and that would be totally sensible. After all, financially it’s just a drop in the bucket compared to actually going to school right? However, in my case, They didn’t even bother to contact me to ask if i got into the school that I hired them to help with. so anyone looking at their success rate stats should know that, at best, those success rates are not a complete reflection of their work.
Other companies have worked with friends of mine for a fourth of the price. And those friends have been perfectly happy with the level of service and support they got.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Undecided / 2019
erABB1003 – :
I had an amazing experience with Rebecca Maescher at the MBA Exchange. I was skeptical of investing in a admissions consultant at first, but my friend urged me to do it. Without her, I am not certain I would have been as successful in the admissions process. Although I am a strong writer, she helped me refine my stories and the key points that I should convey in my essay. Furthermore, the work that i did with her also helped me in the recruiting process. I had already done a lot of the thinking about what skills I brought to the table during the admissions process and was able to leverage those when talking to future employers.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
UVA Darden/2018
Vanon – :
Many people say the MBA is transformative. My transformation started over a year before the first MBA class: that is when I started working together with mba exchange. I am a re-applicant and my essays pre- and post-MBA EXCHANGE are simply incomparable. But it is not only my essays and my overall application, but also I changed thanks to their guidance and mentoring. My mba exchange consultant was very fast, clear and candid. I also had the chance to meet her in person, she is extremely nice. She can also give great mental support whenever I felt insecure or started to panic over a tiny detail in my application. Both my GPA and my GMAT are way below average, yet I made it to top M7 schools and I couldn’t have done it without mba exchange.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Undecided/2019
jesscole – :
The MBA Exchange GMAT test prep was extremely helpful in preparing for the gmat test. Both the review materials and consulting directly from people allowed me to score very well and lead to my eventual admittance into Columbia Business school’s MBA program for the fall of 2017. When i speak with younger individuals who are considering going through a program that will help them study for the GMAt test, i always recommend the mba exchange because i know that it offers the most genuine help you can receive for a test as rigorous and difficult as the GMAT. thanks to the mba exchange, i was able to get accepted into my number 1 choice school program.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Columbia/2019
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
i applied to several schools and was denied several times, but through rigorous studying and retaking the gmat test, i was able to gain entry into my number one school choice, columbia business school.
David – :
MBA Exchange was fantastic, Heather did a great job guiding me through the process and most importantly asked me the probing questions that helped take my application to the next level. I would highly recommend exploring their services!
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Cornell - Johnson 2018
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Know yourself - All of the top-tier MBA programs offer really compelling opportunities, but you need to know who you are and what you want in order to make the most of the MBA experience (and convince the ADCOM that you belong).
Flora R – :
Very detailed information and gave me the guidelines I need to apply
MBA Program & Grad Year:
University of Northwestern St. Paul/ 2018
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Check out the school info session to get a feel of the school and your gut feelings will tell you which school is the best. don't just go for price but also school mission and style
Michael Didyk – :
Excellent program, great tips to rock the most important test of your life
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Columbia Business School/2015
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Visit campuses to assess your personal fit for you and your goals, dont just go by the rankings.
Courtney – :
I used this site for finding internships…. It was very useful and detailed!
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Syracuse University
D – :
I hired a consultant through this service and it was a waste of money. Would strongly recommend choosing someone else. Not very professional and I did not agree with most of the advice they gave me for my applications, but went along with it anyway. I got into no schools when I used them and 2 years later reapplied and was accepted to several top schools.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
UCLA / 2017
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Know specific firms you want to work for after school and name them in your essays. Make sure they recruit from the school you're applying to.
S Khan – :
I used it for my essay and application and was ver well supported through all the stages of the process.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
SBS 2017
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Find your stories and relate them to the essays.
Kim – :
Overpriced for level of help received in service. I feel that all places give you about a similar level of help with applications no matter which place you go with. My advice is find an affordable service. Despite paying a lot its not like the help I got was super valuable; felt like I overpaid.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
IU 2018
Jeremy – :
The website contained a variety of information on a number of different internship opportunities. It proved to be extremely helpful and a valuable resource
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Kelley School of Business / 2017
Your MBA Application & School Advice:
Do your best! Even if you have to retake the GMAT - Do it! Even though it costs several hundred dollars, it could save you thousands in tuition
Stan – :
I used MBAExchange to help with my application, essays, and interviews. My MBAExchange counselor was superb. He definitely seemed to understand what MBA programs look for in their candidates and was able to give very thoughtful and structured advice on how to shape my application. The process and many of the tools involved emphasized personal reflection on my personal story, strengths and weaknesses, and goals. Only after determining those things to a satisfactory extent did we start thinking about my application. It was frustrating at times to spend so much time on the process when I just wanted to start working on my application, but in the end, I think it resulted in a much stronger application.
On the downside, MBAExchange was pretty expensive – at least in my opinion – and I’m not entirely sure if it was worth it from a pure cost-benefit perspective. Additionally, their structured approach seemed effective for schools with more standard applications but not so much for more ambiguous application requirements. The example here was when I wrote my “What matters most to you, and why?” essay for stanford GSB, I found my counselor to be of very little help.
MBA Program & Grad Year:
UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business / 2017
LauRa – :
Great course
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Smith - uNiversity of mAryland
Chris – :
Contains a great deal of information from all over, which is useful
MBA Program & Grad Year:
Olin, WUSTL 2016