How do you decide which consultant to pair me with?

The short answer is working chemistry — because in our experience, that’s what most reliably drives outcomes.

Matching based on undergraduate background or target schools can matter for less experienced firms. At our level, it matters far less. Every consultant on our team knows the schools, the applicant archetypes, and the strategic terrain thoroughly. What varies isn’t expertise; it’s working style. The question isn’t ‘who knows your background’ but ‘who will think best with you.’

We look at communication style, temperament, how you’re likely to engage in a high-stakes iterative process. When the fit is right, everything moves faster and sharper.

We’re confident making those calls because of how we recruit. Our screening process evaluates work product without résumés — no name, no pedigree, just the quality of thinking — and we’re selective about who joins our team, not for prestige but because the quality of your consultant matters more than anything else we do. The result is a team where we could place any consultant, sight unseen, on the most demanding engagement we’ve ever taken and feel genuinely comfortable. That’s not aspirational — it’s the standard we hold ourselves to.