Since 2010, The Art of Applying® team has worked directly with 1000+ applicants from all over the world on getting into their dream schools.
Our clients have earned $20+ million in merit scholarships and fellowships—even though most of them don’t have perfect GPAs, perfect test scores, nor perfectly linear career paths.
Our 8000+ unique monthly website visitors and 7,000+ active monthly newsletter subscribers devour our advice and encouragement.
We were started out of our founder, Kaneisha Grayson’s, HBS apartment, and now have a twelve-year track record, countless celebratory screenshots, and a library of video testimonials on our Youtube channel and here on our blog from our thrilled clients.
We aren’t here to try and see if you might get in; we’re here to help you get amazing life-changing results.
Read below to learn more about our company, and how we can help you through our signature program Application Accelerator®.
Why choose us?
- We have a 10+ year record of outstanding results. We focus on helping our clients get into the best school possible that will help them achieve their professional, academic, and personal goals — even if they aren’t the perfect applicant.
- We don’t charge by the school. You can apply to as many schools and scholarships as you want with our help once you’re a client, regardless of the package. This difference from our competitors is especially important for several reasons. For someone who has a low GPA and/or low test score, you want to apply to more schools than usual to give yourself the best shot at getting into one or two of the most competitive schools. Secondly, when you apply with our expert help to more schools (but not too many), you increase your chances of getting a generous scholarship package that you can then use to negotiate for more scholarship and financial aid.
- We help you apply for scholarships and negotiate for additional scholarship aid and additional financial aid. As mentioned in the previous point, we don’t want you to just get in; we want you to have a clear plan for paying for school. Some of our clients are wealthy through generational inherited wealth and/or through their own professional earnings. However, for those of our clients who are not wealthy, our hands-on help and expertise in negotiating your financial aid package is an essential element of application success.
- You aren’t applying in isolation. You’ll have a dedicated one-on-one consultant assigned to work with you on your application materials. Our consultants aren’t far removed from the realities of applying, being in graduate school, and navigating the post-graduate school job market. In fact, they are all graduates of top business, policy, law, and medical schools. And they all have full-time jobs at impressive companies such as Meta, Amazon, Deloitte, BCG, and more.
- We have outstanding application resources. On top of being able to work with your dedicated consultant and other members of our outstanding consultant team, you will also have access to our teaching modules. You’ll also have access to have informational interviews with our rich network of 1000+ applicants we’ve worked with over the last 10+ years.
Who we work with
Our clients tend to identify with our tribe of “Wild Card applicants” and fall into one or more of these categories:
- passionate but imperfect applicants to Harvard and other top-ranked institutions
- Harvard Kennedy School applicants for the MPP, MPA, MPA Mid-Career, and MPA-ID. No other admissions consulting firm helps more applicants apply and get admitted to Harvard Kennedy School!
- joint degree applicants who want a company that deeply understands the intricacies and nuances of applying to multiple schools across two or more degrees
- international applicant from an emerging economy region with high inequality and high opportunity for social change and social impact
- Neurodivergent: have ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, autism, test anxiety, or other types of neurodiversity
- LGBTQIA and/or non-binary
- people from underrepresented racial/ethnic backgrounds — and we happily accept white clients and achieve outstanding results with them as well — just to be clear. 🙂
- first-generation U.S. citizen and third culture individuals
- first-generation college graduate
- first-generation professional (meaning they are a member of the first generation in their family to go to grad school — like our founder Kaneisha!)
- grew up in a low-income environment (U.S. or international) and have “made it” financially, and are now looking for a way to have a fulfilling, meaningful career where they can also earn and make an impact at their highest potential
How we work with you
Through our signature program Application Accelerator®, we guide you through the process of applying to your dream grad school step by step.
When you enroll in Application Accelerator®, you get the coaching, curriculum, and community you need to successfully apply to the most competitive schools:
- a Game Plan Call with one of our Game Plan Coaches, in which they provide you with a customized test score to aim for, and lay out the plan for your entire application process
- a dedicated consultant with whom you have coaching calls and can ask all of your application-related questions
- a private client portal where you and your consultant keep all of your communication and essay drafts. At The Art of Applying®, we don’t have our clients send emails and drafts back and forth. Everything is kept in one secure place, and we provide a mobile app, desktop app, or browser access to your client portal.
- monthly live workshops hosted by our outstanding admissions consultants on topics such as creating your applicant personal brand, best practices for networking with recent alumni, and tips for negotiating your financial aid package. All workshops are recorded and searchable by text so you can always find the exact information you need.
- Sample Essays, Resumes & Letters of Recommendation: We have a treasure trove of 100+ sample essays, resumes, and letters of recommendation from our former clients who were admitted into your target schools. Many of us learn best by seeing examples of what works, so we make sure that our clients aren’t guessing in the dark about what an outstanding application looks like.
- Q&A Vault with 100+ questions and answers about the application process from our former clients. You can submit questions here, and have our consultants chime in on your situation. It’s a private forum where you know you can trust the guidance you are receiving.
- Final Application Review Process: We have a trained team of consultants who will review your application materials a month before the deadline and give you the green light, yellow light, or red light to apply.
- Client Forum: You’ll join our close-knit community of clients. You can post messages on the community message board, trade tips and strategies, or simply cheer one another on.
