The process, in full.
Every principle I apply is published here — a benchmark you can use to compare, or to run yourself.
Each phase has a clear checkpoint.
- 016–8 weeks
Foundation
Deep career-trajectory analysis, short- and long-term goals, a 40–60 story bank, a rewritten resume, a school-level research playbook and a shortlist of no more than seven schools chosen for fit not brand.
You dothe raw thinking, the story recall, the alumni conversations.
I dothe structure, the tests, the pushback, the research framework.
Time from you6–8 hours per week.Clears whenYour goals, narrative, resume and shortlist hang together as one argument a stranger could summarise in a sentence. - 02~3 weeks per school
Application build
I build the argument, you write every draft. Iteration against the six essay laws, cross-essay coherence, recommender briefs and scholarship essays — all held to the same rigour.
You doevery draft, every rewrite. I don't ghostwrite. Brief and follow up with your recommenders.
I dostructure the argument, pressure-test every claim, run each draft through the checklist.
Time from you8–12 hours per week during essay windows.Clears whenEvery essay clears the checklist before it leaves your file. - 03Final week per school
Submission
A final gap analysis, full pre-submission QA, locked essays, school-specific resumes, finalised recommender letters and a full application-form check. Then submit.
You dosubmit.
I dothe gap analysis and the full pre-submission audit.
Time from you2–3 hours per school.Clears whenYour applications are consistent across schools and differentiated within each one.
Essay rules.
Open with a visual, never a summary.
A career summary answers what you are. A visual drops the reader into a moment where you were becoming that thing. The first is disposable. The second is unforgettable.
Every essay reveals a new dimension.
If essay 2 confirms what essay 1 said, one of them is redundant. Each essay is a different angle on the same person — not the same angle repeated.
Specificity beats adjectives.
"Impactful", "strategic", "innovative" — these are the reader's evaluation of you, not your evidence. Delete every adjective and replace it with what actually happened.
Every paragraph answers "so what?"
A paragraph that describes a thing without telling me why it mattered is a paragraph you're paying for with word count. Cut it or earn it.
Vulnerability makes achievement credible.
An applicant who has never made a wrong call sounds like an applicant who has never made a real call. Show a decision where you had to change your mind — the achievement lands harder afterwards.
Be the agent, not the victim.
"It happened to me" is a story about circumstance. "I chose" is a story about you. Every essay is written in the active voice of a person making decisions.
The starting point.
The baseline every engagement begins from — before a single essay is drafted.
- 01
Three alumni conversations per school on your shortlist.
- 02
Two named professors per school whose work actually maps to your goals.
- 03
A structured school research database as your reference set — not a Google search.
- 04
No AI-drafted prose. AI is used to brainstorm and stress-test ideas, not to write.
Four years on the LBS interview panel, applied to your prep.
Between 2021 and 2024 I evaluated candidates for London Business School. What I share here is not what was said in the room — it's what actually matters in it.
- 01
Goals, why MBA, why now, why this school — stress-tested until each answer holds up under a follow-up you didn't rehearse for.
- 02
The CV walk-through is the interview. Every bullet must survive being read out loud with a follow-up after each line.
- 03
Panels want real answers, not polished ones. The strongest candidates pause two seconds before speaking.
- 04
You will be asked something you can't answer. How you handle that is the interview.
Prep with me: recorded mock interviews, CV pressure-tested line by line, and the questions you can't answer rehearsed until they don't rattle you.
The refusals are as important as the practices.
- 01
I don't write your essays.
- 02
I don't use AI to draft prose. It's for pressure-testing, never writing.
- 03
I don't run a team. Every session is with me — no juniors, no handoffs.
- 04
I don't guarantee outcomes. Anyone who does is selling something other than admissions.
“Surbhi provided outstanding guidance during my MBA application process. Her structured approach significantly improved my work, offering a distinctive insider's perspective on the programme.”
“She patiently and diligently went about uncovering the pros and cons of my profile. Then, she went into the specifics of action items that I could work on for LBS.”
“She patiently addressed all my queries and shared practical nuances about what makes a strong profile stand out. What I found most valuable was her ability to suggest clear, actionable next steps, which gave me a much better sense of direction.”