Who We Are

Eric Hollowaty was a phenomenal advisor throughout the entire application process, going above and beyond routinely to ensure I put my best foot forward in my Round 1 applications. I would highly recommend him to anyone who is debating working with a consultant ahead of their MBA applications.

For background, I am from the Northeast and attended a top 15 U.S. News-ranked university for undergrad (think Duke, Johns Hopkins, UChicago, Northwestern), where I graduated with a liberal arts degree and a 3.9+ GPA. I applied in Round 1 this fall with a 695 GMAT Focus to HBS, GSB, and Wharton with four years of work experience (will be five by matriculation); two years at an investment bank and three years in large-cap private equity. In case helpful context, I had previously applied as a college senior for the 2+2 / deferred admission at HBS / GSB (did not apply with a consultant and had been less rigorous about prepping for GMAT, resulted in rejections without interviews).

I approached the application process with some trepidation about building a profile that would differentiate me from the large pool of candidates applying to the same schools with similar backgrounds. Although I had led a few initiatives outside of my core job responsibilities / through partner organizations over the ~2-year stretch ahead of applying, I wouldn’t say I had some particularly strong non-professional angles (i.e., no Associate Boards, leadership positions with community orgs, etc.). With Eric’s help, however, I was able to build a differentiated application that still described me authentically.

I’d say Eric’s primary value-add can be split across three core buckets, all of which were immensely valuable and critical to my success:

• Initial Ideation: Eric spent hours going through my background with me, teasing out anecdotes and stories that would ultimately form the basis of my applications. Where he is most effective in this process is driving you to think more critically about why something has been impactful or where you have driven change – he doesn’t ‘let you off the hook’ at your initial story, but prompts you to do the second-level thinking that makes your story both unique to you and interesting. Once the essay prompts themselves were released, he would coordinate a 90 minute school-specific ideation session, where we would debate stories to leverage for each prompt. These sessions with Eric were critical – he is unafraid to tell you when an idea is a bad one, saving you the time of writing an essay that ultimately would not land. Further, his excitement over a compelling essay idea is palpable, motivating you to drive forward. In short, he was a crucial sparring partner that helped me land at the best and most relevant narrative possible.
• Essay iteration: Eric was tireless in his support through the drafting process; he thoughtfully reviewed everything I drafted (multiple times), ranging from the long-form essay responses to the 150 character blurbs embedded in the applications. He was unafraid to push me when a draft needed a lot of work, taking the time to even leave voice memos describing where he thought I could improve when a draft particularly missed the mark. Across the three schools, Eric reviewed and commented on nearly 50 iterations of my various essays and short answers – an incredible level of meticulous external review that helped me get my essays into very polished shape well ahead of submission day.
• Interview Preparation post-submission: Eric’s help did not stop after I submitted my applications. When it came time to prepare for interviews, he worked with the same meticulousness, helping me think through both how to prepare broadly and specifically for each school I applied to. Again, Eric was unafraid to give direct but valuable feedback when my answers missed the mark during a mock session. With his support, I walked into my interviews incredibly confident, and even faced several questions that we had gone over in our mocks.

One other note which I think is important in the hectic nature of getting applications submitted – there are no surprises with Eric. He is incredibly communicative, clear, and always available to promptly answer one-off questions that pop up. Importantly, he is also a pleasure to work with, bringing an infectious attitude that made the marathon of MBA application writing feel manageable.

With Eric’s support, I was admitted to both HBS and Wharton this fall. I am 100% confident my applications and profile would have been nowhere near as well-received without his help and support throughout the last year. I feel very fortunate to have worked with him, and strongly recommend him to anyone considering working with him.

  HBS & Wharton Admit

As an applicant to HBS and GSB with a very “traditional” background on paper (Ivy League undergrad with high GPA and GMAT scores, followed by IB at a top bank, followed by large-cap PE), I knew that, although my application would be taken seriously by top programs, I would also be contrasted against a very competitive peer group. Therefore, I needed to be very focused on how I could stand out as a unique applicant.

I spoke with several consultants before Eric, but he immediately stood out in our very first conversation. I felt he had a deep understanding of the issues I faced as an applicant from an overrepresented pool. His level of financial expertise, as a former industry practitioner, was evident from the first minute we spoke. This enabled us to have a deep conversation about my specific goals (for example, different types of PE strategies I was interested in pursuing longer-term) that simply would not have been possible with other consultants. Just from that first meeting—which I’d encourage anyone to take with Eric—I left with new essay ideas that I may have otherwise never contemplated. Eric’s initial thoughts on my positioning as a candidate, including pointing out what he thought could be unique differentiators for me, also made it clear that he had plentiful experience working with candidates with my background.

Gatehouse Admissions (the agency through which I worked with Eric) does charge a premium for its services relative to most other consulting firms. This was top of mind as I considered whether to work with Eric. Ultimately, given the competitive nature of the schools I was applying to (Harvard and Stanford), and knowing several coworkers from my fund who were not accepted despite strong credentials, I decided the premium price was worthwhile for the peace of mind of getting the best possible advice.

I had a fairly long lead time to work on applications, so I ended up working closely with Eric for around seven months. Throughout that period, he exceeded my expectations in all respects.

In our initial discussions about my background, experiences, and interests, I had an initial view of how to present these qualities to the admissions committees—a view that, in hindsight, would not have been differentiated enough. Like many consultants, Eric took the time to understand my initial perspectives. However, he then pushed me to go a level deeper in terms of my motivations, helping me unearth anecdotes I likely would have never otherwise reflected on. One of these anecdotes, which I first mentioned to him offhand without thinking much of it, ended up being featured prominently in my Why Stanford essay after he helped me see how it tied together many other aspects of my story. Another such story became the basis for one of my HBS essays.

When it came time to draft essays, I benefited tremendously from Eric’s feedback. He is not afraid to tell you when an essay needs serious work, but conversely, his excitement is contagious when an essay hits the mark. As someone with a tendency to overthink, knowing that Eric would give me honest, well-informed feedback on every single draft helped me feel comfortable moving on to the next essay rather than continuing to ponder or rework essays that were already of high quality. With a consultant that I did not have as much trust in, I may have continued to iterate. However, because I knew that when Eric told me an essay was “done,” it was actually done, I finished the bulk of my application a month before the deadline, saving me from the major stress I saw other applicants go through in August.

Beyond the formal application tasks within the scope of Eric’s services, he also gave me great advice on topics more tangential to my application. For example, there were a couple of recent instances where I had a choice between different projects I could pursue, and I appreciated Eric’s willingness to offer his opinion on how each could potentially be featured in my application. I don’t think many other consultants would have offered this input with such generosity given that some of my questions may not have technically fallen within Eric’s agreed scope of work, so I greatly appreciated his help.

I was ultimately admitted to both Harvard and Stanford, and I absolutely believe that Eric’s help was a key factor in that outcome. I’m thrilled with the quality of service I received from him and the entire Gatehouse team, and I’ve since recommended other associates at my fund to Eric because I’m confident they’ll have the same positive experience.

  HBS & Stanford GSB Admit