About Our Services (for GMAT, click here!)

 1.  Will you write my essays for me?

No. We are essay consultants, not ghostwriters, which means we spend quite a bit of time just learning about your life, helping you choose the topic, and creating a verbal outline so that you can go off and create a first draft.  We go back and forth until the essay is great, the t's are crossed, and the i's are dotted. If you are looking for someone to write your essays for you, we're not it. Forster-Thomas is a high-end, high-quality, high-integrity consulting firm.  

2.   What makes Forster-Thomas different?   

There are a lot of services on the web; we are not a web company. We offer a highly personalized service and take a very limited number of clients. We are not an essay mill. We take only the top candidates, and we spend a considerable amount of time with each client, making sure that each client gets the best service possible.

3.  Can you help me choose schools or provide other services?  

We are not merely an editing service; we are a full-service MBA consulting company. We also help you choose your schools, figure out when to apply, how to get off the waitlist and into the school of your choice, and how to write the least number of essays for the most number of schools (we adapt your essays for more than one school, saving you money while still maintaining the level of quality). 

4.  Why should I choose Forster-Thomas over another service?  

It is a very personalized service. You can call us 24/7, Monday through Saturday; you can always get in touch with Evan, who will work with you every step of the way.  And because you want the best storytellers: We can take your “chicken crosses the road” story and turn it into an odyssey of unparalleled proportions.   

5.   I think I can write a good essay. Why should I work with Forster-Thomas?  

It is not just about good writing. Your essays need to be great. You are in an extremely competitive environment, with people who are at the top of their game. You want any edge you can get.  Do you want to shore up every aspect of your application?  You will be more honest with a stranger regarding your life than with someone whom you know well.  We have no emotional connection to you and can be more objective regarding your answers and choice of topics.  We know the right questions to ask.  

6.   Whom will I work with? Will I work with others during the process?  

You will work with one dedicated consultant. Avoid any company that has you working with a variety of consultants. You need someone who knows you intimately and will help you through the entire process. You will never be passed around from consultant to consultant here.  

7.   Do you have ex-admissions officers on staff? Don’t they have the inside scoop on getting in?

If you want to know what admissions officers are looking for, pick up the phone and call the current one, don’t spend money on it. If you want someone who knows what the admissions officers want and has the interview skills to draw the story out of you (and the ability to help you write it), you need a writer/interviewer like Evan or Deb. Admissions officers or ex-admissions officers are great at choosing the right people to make up an entire class. That requires a different expertise than writing a story. Would you go to a general practitioner to operate on your brain?

8.   Do you have any contact with any of the current admissions officers at the Top 20 schools?  

Yes, all of them. Evan is in contact with admissions officers as well as students at those schools. We have a community of current MBA students and post-graduates. What does this mean to you? If you’re looking for a job after graduation, we are your other network. Our relationships are for life.  

9.   What is a Relational Database and how can it help me? What does it do?  

The database takes similarly worded questions and matches them up. We take your wish list of, say, eight schools and narrow them down to the three schools whose questions will cover nearly all of the other essays required by the remaining five schools. This not only saves you time, but money as well. It also helps us help you figure out what are your top choices, what is realistic, and what your “reach” and “safety” schools are. It helps take the crap out of the shoot. It hedges your bets.  

10.  I had a 3.8 GPA at an Ivy League College.  I scored a 740 on my GMAT. I was an analyst at the biggest investment bank on Wall Street.  I think my prospects are excellent. Why should I use an essay service?  

Finance and consulting are the most competitive areas when applying to B-School. Whether there are a hundred other candidates just like you—or only ten like you who are all applying to the same school—you need to distinguish yourself. Forster-Thomas will help you make your story stand out. You need to have a story that will knock the admissions officers off their feet. We can take you there, if you are willing to do the work.  

11.  I have all the prerequisites to get into a Top 20 B-School, but English is my second language, so my writing skills are limited. Can you still help me write a really great essay?  

We can make sure you are understood, as well as pick the topic and build the outline. We make sure your point is made. But these are secondary to your need for someone who can navigate these waters for you. We can help you think in a way you haven’t before. We can help you adapt to the American-style questions and understand what they are looking for.  

12.  I have already written my essays and am just looking for an editing service. Can Forster-Thomas help me?  

Yes, we can help. We have per-hour editing rates. We can help you decide if that is the best course for you. A $50 Read Fee can be applied to any package or service you decide to go with.

About Applying to B-School       back to top

1.   Are my essays really that important? Will they really make a difference to admissions officers? Why are they so important?  

Your essays will tell them who you are. They will know if you’re a visionary, whether you will make a good addition to their class and they will distinguish you from all other similar candidates, with the same GMAT scores and GPAs. Applying to any school, particularly B-school, is a spiritual journey where you are asked to reflect deeply on your life—your past, present and the future you envision. There is nothing basic about those questions. These are fragile issues that reveal who you are and how you think as a human being. We are here to help walk you through that process. We take your hand, take you out of the dark and lead you into the light. We recognize the spiritual journey aspect of the questions. You can tell them what you think they want to hear, or you can tell them the truth—and we can help you tell the truth in a compelling manner.  

2.   I know I want to go to business school, but I’m not sure where I should apply. Can you help me figure out the right schools to apply to?  

We are a full-service organization; we use a number of methods to help you make your choices. These include your goals, personality, developments needs, professional experience, and stats such as grades and GMAT. We also leverage our personal knowledge of the programs (we tour schools each year and meet with admissions officers) to help determine which are your best options. If you are applying to a school that is impossible for you, we will offer other suggestions.   

3.   I spent my college years partying, so my GPA isn’t great. Do I have a shot at getting in to B-school? Can my essays make a difference?

Your essays will help them know you as a whole person, not just a test score or GPA. In no other professional graduate program are the essays more important than in B-school. And why is that? Because great business people are visionaries, are in touch with themselves, are honest with themselves. People who know how to make a difference in the world know how to make a difference in their own lives. If you can convey that to admissions officers, you can ameliorate any blight.  

4.    I’m an artist with no business experience whatsoever, but I want to start a foundation for young artists. Do I even have a chance at getting into B-school?   

You are falling prey to one of the biggest misconceptions about B-school. B-schools are looking for diversity in their classes. You are competing against applicants from similar industries, therefore the pool of candidates like you is likely to be much smaller, thereby increasing your chances of getting in. At the same time, your essays are all the more important because you have to give a rationale for how you can accomplish this and why you are the right person to do it.  

5.   My GMAT score is OK and I had a decent GPA at a small public college. I have good business experience, but with small local companies, not big corporations. Do I still have a chance at getting into a Top 20 B-school?  How can my essays help?  

What matters most is that you’ve done something innovative that you can be proud of in your career. Your essays are your best opportunity to prove you can play in the big leagues—here is where you explain your career vision, and our frontline consulting will help you package your ideas in a way that will impress the Top 20 schools.  

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