This is simply not true!

Free email support for clarifying questions is included with your ApplicantLab subscription!

And it always has been.

On every screen of ApplicantLab, in the lower right-hand corner is a chat box icon where you can submit any questions, comments, clarifications, or concerns you encounter along ANY step of the process.

When you first enter your question, we’ll first see if anything in our FAQ might already answer it – after all, we can keep prices low for everyone if things are as “self-serve” as possible!

However, if your question isn’t already answered by the ApplicantLab FAQs, don’t worry:

You can send us an email message with your question, and we (professional admissions consultants) will strive to get back to you within 3 business days (often much sooner).

We are more than happy to answer quick questions that may arise, especially from candidates facing relatively unique challenges or circumstances along the way.

• If at any point you feel that the advice in ApplicantLab does not cover some nuance that’s applicable to you, please e-mail us!
• If at any point, you see something in ApplicantLab that seems outdated / incomplete (most commonly, if a school has changed an essay question and the new question is not in the Lab), please e-mail us!

Examples of the types of questions we are happy to answer over email (not a complete list!!!):

• “I’ve already read the advice on choosing a recommender, but I’m still confused between person X and Person Y?”
• “The essay question for School X seems to have changed – here’s what it is now. Can you please update it?” (OF COURSE WE CAN!!!)
• “I realize that you can’t possibly support every school out there, but I’m applying to Unsupported School X, and its essays questions are the following… do other schools out there have similar advice, and if so, which ones should I look at for guidance?” (We’re happy to guide you anyway, even if it’s a school with a lot less demand!)
• “For my primary leadership essay topics, I’ve already read the advice a couple of times but I’m still having trouble choosing between (a high-level description of) Anecdote A or Anecdote B. Which one sounds more promising?” (quick “gut check” advice like this is fine – obviously, actual essay reviews require a lot more time and thus are a separate service)
• “Earlier in my career, I had to do Unpleasant Thing X – will this reflect poorly on me, and if so, how can I mitigate it?”
• “I currently work in the Uncommon Industry or Non-Traditional Job space. Here is a relevant fact about working there – – for example, it has a really flat hierarchy and so we do not get title changes with our promotions. How can I best convey my career growth?”

That having been said, any question that will take more than a few minutes to answer is probably best left for one of our 1-on-1 add-on services; that way, you can be sure that you’re getting someone’s undivided attention for things that require more focus!

Examples of the types of questions that are more appropriate for our affordable add-on services such as a “Sanity Check”, “Essay Review”, Mock Interview, etc.:

• Is my resume truly as strong as it can be?
  • Is the wording impactful, does it grab attention, and does it fully convey what I’ve done?
  • Is it clear where I work, what I do, and most importantly of all: why it matters?
• For my Career Vision, I’m not sure if I should say that I want to [stay in field X] or [pivot to field Y]: which story makes the most sense for admissions purposes?
• Here is my essay: is it hitting the right notes? Does it have enough detail? Too much detail? Have I fully conveyed my role? Is my leadership explained in a satisfactory way, or is it still unclear, or, even worse, does it make me look arrogant?

The good news is, we charge a lot less for these services than other admissions consulting services do — not because we pay our consultants less (they are worth just as much, if not more, since they’ve already gone through the Lab’s advice as applicants and now again as Alumni Consultants) — we pay them the same (if not more!), but we keep a much, much smaller percentage for the company. That is, other firms keep 50% of what they charge you — we keep a MUCH lower percentage, which is why consulting services with us cost less.

Not sure if your question is one that can be answered via our standard e-mail support, or if it requires more effort and therefore an add-on service? Drop us a note with your question and find out! 🙂