I hear ya. Some helpful tips for those not familiar with consultants:

What to expect from an Admissions consultant (re-post from a gmat club user)

What, I think, admissions consultants are great for…
1) Help you get disciplined: A good analogy is like having a personal trainer at the gym. You can probably workout by yourself – by researching routines online and then executing them – but most people lack the discipline to do so and having a personal trainer solves that problem. In the same way, an admissions consultant can really get you running on your feet - you've paid them a ton of money and most people will want to get the most "bang for their buck".
2) Help you avoid grammatical or literary errors: This point may not be as applicable to those who already have a good grasp of the English language but for others, this point is particularly important. I must note that no consultant (as far as I know) is going to write your essays for you but they will certainly point out any grammatical errors that you might make.
3) Help you evolve your story: Due to their experience with hundreds of applicants a year, these guys have a lot of ideas in their heads and can really help you evolve your story and tease out new ideas. Admittedly, this part of the process varies from consultant to consultant but by and large, the consultants can help you understand cultural nuances at particular schools and guide you in a certain direction.

What, I think, admissions consultants cannot do…
1) Can’t pick your schools for you: You simply have to do your research and decide on what schools are the best fit given your credentials and your aspirations. I know its hard to do and we all silently pray that there’s a magic bullet but really, your guess is as good as the most seasoned consultants’. I’d recommend that you look at class profiles, read about the schools and then pick around 6-8 schools: 2 difficult, 2 mid-range and 2 safety.
2) Can’t guarantee your admission into any school: Despite all the money involved, its impossible for any consultant to guarantee your admission into any institution. From my own experience, I used the consultants for 2 schools and didn’t end up getting into either of them.

In summary I’d like to say that if you fit the following 3 criteria’s, you probably do not need a consultant to help you out:
1) You’re disciplined
2) You’re writing skills are good
3) You’ve got friends who’ve gone through the MBA process (they can act like sounding boards and can help you evolve your story and tease out ideas)

In my case, I really suffered on the last point and knew absolutely no one who had gone through the process (plus I'm not based in the US which made things harder). That’s why I needed some outside help with this process.


Also... How to get the most use out of a free consultation: https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-admissi ... ml#p909547

Tips very resourceful, I think this is what you need the young student, who is looking for his way ... even though in practice it is not so))