Great Experience working with TRP
Choosing TRP’s services turned out to be a game-changer for me in my application journey. Even though I thought I was fairly acquainted with the MBA application process, the TRP team’s expertise and guidance added an extra layer of excellence. Their initial exercises and questionnaires were exceptionally thorough, prompting deep reflection on various aspects of my life, dating back to childhood. This groundwork proved invaluable when I sat down to write my essays; I already had a treasure trove of 20-25 stories to draw from.
In the thick of the admissions process, I realized the value of having a team instead of just a single consultant. TRP’s team structure meant that every element of my application (resume, LOR, essays, video essays, and more) underwent thorough scrutiny, revisions, and feedback from multiple perspectives. This ensured that my application stood out in all aspects. When it came to my essays, Dhiraj and Srishti dissected every line multiple times, and I can’t express enough gratitude for their unwavering support. Essay reviews and mock interviews conducted by external members added tremendous value to my application. One thing worth mentioning is that the proactive engagement of the team persisted throughout the application process, extending beyond the submission of my application.
In this journey, my lead consultant, Dhiraj Daryani, has been my biggest support. He’s not just a great mentor but was genuinely invested in my progress. His advice proved beneficial not just in the context of my MBA journey but also had a positive impact on my professional development. Dhiraj always goes above and beyond to support and guide you and is always available when you want to talk; having conversations with him gives you the clarity and strength you need in this gruesome MBA application process. His emphasis on building connections and keeping in constant touch with students and clubs provided me with clarity, firsthand insights, and a network I can count on in the years to come.
Because of the invaluable support of the team, I was able to get into my dream college (Kellogg) and received admits from 2 other programs. Without a doubt, I highly recommend TRP for MBA applications. My experience with Dhiraj and the team was nothing short of amazing.

Thank you TRP Team!
I worked with The Red Pen for a period of ~9 months on 5 MBA applications, and applied to 5-schools independently. Following the onboarding process, I completed an extensive Get To Know You (GTKY) questionnaire probing deeply into my background, career, and MBA aspirations. My Lead Consultant (LC) – Kaushik Reddy – provided detailed feedback that allowed for much greater clarity on my post-MBA goals and formed the basis for (i) my selecting specific MBA programs and (i) outlining STAR stories (to be incorporated into essays and interviews).

Splitting the workload across four themes (resume, application forms, essays, and pointers for recommenders), I benefitted greatly from the support, guidance, and mentorship of the entire team at TRP: Kaushik Reddy, Rachel Roper, Abhishek Kochhar, Smita Shah, and Prerna Nigotiya! Each component involved ~5 drafts on average and exhaustive line-by-line comments, consistently encouraging me to reflect more deeply, clarify my research & motivations, and produce work of much greater quality. After submitting 10 MBA applications in Round 1, I participated in 2 mock interviews with TRP, interviewed at 6 schools, and received 4 offers: Wharton, LBS, Kellogg, and Yale!

These outcomes are a direct result of TRP’s comprehensive application process, guidance, and timelines, that greatly simplifies the rigorous MBA application process. I highly recommend working with The Red Pen to MBA aspirants – I could not have done it without them!

TRP got me into Stanford, Wharton, Booth and others!
The Red Pen’s MBA team has amazing depth across all components and stages of the application process. While working with them on my applications, I felt they were deeply invested in my success and were able to bring out my stories in the best possible way. I think their personal touch and school-specific insights were instrumental in helping me secure admissions to Stanford GSB, Wharton, Booth, Kellogg and Sloan. For folks looking for seasoned application professionals to get into their dream b-school, I couldn’t recommend The Red Pen more!

Special shout-out to Garima Agarwal, Preeti Wadekar, Anju Kesharwani Goela, Ridhi Ghelani and Kim Dixit!

M7 Admissions Consulting with The Red Pen – Montu Gupta
As a reapplicant to M7 business schools, selecting an admissions consultant was a critical decision for me. After thorough consideration and discussions with several consultants, I chose TRP based on their professional approach and ability to resonate with my needs from our very first interaction.

Working with Montu Gupta as my lead consultant was a pivotal experience. Montu’s dedication to understanding and articulating my goals, coupled with his expertise in selecting appropriate schools, was invaluable. His methodical and transparent approach, particularly his emphasis on the “So what?” aspect of my significant achievements and future goals, compelled me to introspect deeply about my ambitions and experiences, clarifying my reasons for pursuing an MBA.

Montu’s guidance was instrumental in my acceptance into Columbia Business School, a milestone that marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in my educational journey.

I extend my sincere thanks to the entire TRP team, including Manik Bhargava, Abhishek Kochhar, Prerna Nigotiya, Divya Sharma, and Pradyot Anand, for their tireless efforts in refining my application, CV, LinkedIn profile, etc.

I wholeheartedly recommend TRP and Montu Gupta to any prospective MBA applicants seeking expert guidance and a personalized approach in navigating the complex admissions process.

Must Recommend: The Red Pen
TLDR: I had a dream M7 school in my mind right from the beginning when I started my school research. I ended up getting admitted into that same school. It would be impossible to achieve that without The Red Pen team – Preeti, Natasha, Ritu, Prerna, Anju, and Kim.

I signed up with The Red Pen based on the recommendation of my friend who got into Wharton last year. I had made multiple switches in my career and was not strong on my extra-curriculars, but regardless had some good highlights in my story as well. Looking at the process, I was unsure about how to approach it and make sure everything was inch perfect. This is where the entire Red Pen team came in. They made me thoroughly analyze my life journey, helping me discover some unique experiences which were crucial in shaping my outlook in life.

Preeti and Natasha helped me write my thoughts into original essays, without ever asking me to follow any standard template. Natasha really helped in bringing out the best of content and Preeti was solid on pointing out any misdirection in my story. It often felt like I was working with two brilliant consultants at once and helped me gather multiple points of view in every interaction.

Ritu did a great job with my resume, making sure all the highlights are carefully captured without wasting too much space. With Preeti’s guidance, my final resume was an optimal balance of professional excellence, academic highlights, and extra-curricular engagements.

Shoutout to Anju, who helped me with the letters of recommendations throughout the journey. One of things I was struggling with was the fact that my recommenders were related to me in similar functional roles and their content had a lot of intersection. Anju made sure that the LoRs were distinct and highlighted different aspects of my contributions.

Lastly, I got waitlisted in Round 1 from my dream school. This is one aspect where Anju really shined. She helped me navigate the waitlist by preparing multiple updates for the admissions committee, which resulted in my acceptance into my dream school.

I would also call out the contributions of Kim, who helped me identify areas of weakness in my interview skills, which reflected in my Round 2 performance.

All in all, I am very happy to have signed up with The Red Pen. They have a great team and make their best attempt to bring out the most unique and original story of a candidate, while ensuring that the story is something that would catch the AdCom’s attention. Highly recommend to anyone who is starting off with their MBA prep. Cheers!