Mennette Larkin

worked with Mennette on my applications to MIT’s MFin and Columbia’s MFE programs, and she was honestly a game changer in the process. With many different prompts, I was feeling a bit all over the place at first. She helped me get organized, kept things moving, and asked the right questions to help me dig deeper and really understand what parts of my story to highlight.

Super grateful for her help. I’d definitely recommend working with her and got admitted to both programs.

I started the application process late in the game, but working with Mennette proved to be a difference maker. She helped me get organized, create a solid plan, and meet a tight deadline. Incredibly responsive, she even worked through the holidays to ensure everything was perfect for my Round 2 submission. Mennette challenged me on my essays, resume, and responses, pushing me to think deeper and refine my message. She has a gift for helping you articulate your thoughts in the clearest, most compelling way. My initial essay responses were, at best, at a Burger King level (no offense to the whopper lovers out there), and with her help, they were upgraded to Carbone status. I highly recommend working with her!

Mennette is easy to work with, responsive, and knows her stuff. The application was arduous for me, I applied to schools in both R1 and R2. Mennette was there every step of the way helping craft a compelling career narrative for each program I applied to. With her help, I was able to plug holes in my application and punch above my weight class. She was also able to provide unique insights on the student experience for each of the T20 MBA programs.

Mennette Larkin was an invaluable asset throughout my MBA application process. Her expertise in crafting compelling narratives for non-traditional candidates like myself was truly impressive. She has a remarkable ability to distill your experiences and aspirations into a clear and impactful story that resonates with admissions committees. Mennette’s deep knowledge of top MBA programs, coupled with her strategic guidance, helped me overcome challenges like low test scores and GPA to gain acceptance to elite programs such as Columbia and Cornell.

Mennette’s knowledge of top MBA programs is extensive. She went above and beyond just school rankings, providing insightful advice on program nuances and the specific fit for my unique background and goals. This helped me craft a targeted application strategy that made a significant difference.

I highly recommend Mennette Larkin to anyone seeking an MBA consultant who is not only knowledgeable but also incredibly supportive and encouraging. She made the entire application process much smoother and more confident.

I can give faith to the fact that Mennette is an absolutely amazing, top-tier, admissions consultant. Having a diverse background within South America, one of my largest regrets during my application is not having started working with Mennette earlier: I think it’s reasonable to work alone at a very early stage to organize your ideas but I recommend you start working with Mennette relatively early, as I found her guidance to be extremely valuable, especially if you are a not very typical profile. Mennette is awesome both in terms of expertise (LORs, essays, general career narrative, etc.) and execution (availability, empathy, persuasiveness, etc.), and she actually has a deep passion and love for her advisory endeavours. I found her through the Poets&Quants listing (not through a referral) and she couldn’t have been more involved and reliable from day 1. 100% recommend Mennette!!

I had the privilege of working with Mennette for my MiM applications, and I couldn’t be more impressed with her expertise and dedication. As an undergrad with limited work experience and average statistics, I was unsure how to make my application stand out. Mennette worked with me, going through numerous drafts of my essays and interview answers. She helped me highlight my strengths and unique qualities, turning my boring life story into a compelling narrative.
She also helped me prepare for my interviews, which were the part of the application process I were most nervous about. I’ve never come out of interviews feeling great, but with her guidance, I felt very prepared and confident going in and coming out of them. I wholeheartedly recommend Mennette to anyone seeking assistance with their applications!

I would absolutely recommend working with Mennette. From my very first conversation with her, the experience felt very personalized. She helped me identify which schools would be a good fit and challenged me to dive deep and truly understand what I was hoping to gain out of business school. Mennette brought a wealth of knowledge about the MBA process in general, as well as specific details about each school’s unique offerings and culture. In reviewing materials, she always provided an honest and thoughtful perspective. She was also a great accountability partner who kept me on track while juggling multiple applications. After working with Mennette, I felt incredibly proud of the materials I submitted and knew that she had helped me put my best foot forward!

Working with Mennette was phenomenal! I went into the application process a bit overwhelmed, but she really broke down the steps and tailored her advice to my specific needs and goals. She helped me understand and articulate my background effectively in my essays, resume, and interviews, and she helped me craft compelling stories that I never would have thought of without her. Mennette’s background working in admissions really shows, as she has a deep knowledge of admissions, and she provides insights that only someone who has worked in the industry would be able to. Mennette was very available and responsive throughout the whole process, and I don’t think I would have had the success that I did without her help along the way.

I worked with Mennette on Booth’s mock interview, and it was tremendously helpful. Not only did she prepare me for the upcoming interview questions(she predicted all the actual interview questions), but she also taught me how to answer questions in a Booth style. I would highly recommender her as your to-go consultant!

Choosing Mennette as an admission consultant was the best decision I made throughout the MBA application process. Mennette took the time to understand my story, gave me honest and raw feedback, and always responded with suggested edits and comments to my essays within hours. My test scores were below average, so I didn’t feel very confident going in, but Mennette was extremely diligent in helping me craft a unique story that wouldn’t let my scores get in the way. Without Mennette, I certainly wouldn’t have gotten the acceptances and scholarships that I did! Absolutely worth it.

Mennette was referred to me by two veteran friends who found success through her. She was extremely helpful in so many ways as a lost, confused Army Officer. Mennette helped me solidify my goals, create my story, translate military jargon, and most importantly, she kept me on track!

Thanks to Mennette, I will be attending Owen with a full scholarship AND a 30k scholarship. On top of my GI Bill, I’ll be getting paid to go to school!!!

Easily the best money I ever invested, and she gives a military discount!

It was am absolute pleasure to work with Mennette. She was very responsive and provided very honest feedback, clear communication, and effective support during the application process. Mennette guided me along a self reflecting journey and pushed me to delve further into my personal and professional experiences. We went through numerous drafts into a single essay, simply because the essay had yet to reach its full potential to fully reflect me as an applicant and to standout. Mennette had the highest attentiveness to her work and willingness to see everything through hand in hand with me. I developed a partnership in which we could trust each other to be focused and working together towards a clear common objective, i.e. to give me the best chance of admission at the best schools. I recommend her highly to anyone who is willing to put in the work.

Working with Mennette was one of the best decisions I made during the application process. She was always candid with me about my strengths and weaknesses and worked diligently to ensure I was putting my best self forward in the applications. What I appreciated most about working with Mennette was her willingness to have multiple, sometimes difficult, conversations to ensure the finished product was as polished as possible. The introspection required during the process can be difficult, and I appreciate her encouragement along the way. I can confidently say I would not have had such a robust application without her guidance. Mennette, thanks again for helping me achieve a dream.

When I was looking for consultants, I asked one (not Mennette) if they could help me understand why they were so expensive. They literally replied, “We have plenty of clients who pay in full before their first call. Either hire us or don’t.” This is not what you want. You want someone who gets to know YOU – your personality, motivations, desires, and the way your brain works – and helps you convey all that to your target schools. Mennette Larkin does this flawlessly. She’s patient, curious, caring, and holds a high standard. She will not only help you put your best foot forward, but also help you learn about yourself. If you work with Mennette, I guarantee you will put forth stellar, genuine applications. Based on my experience, schools acknowledge that with acceptances. Don’t think twice, hire Mennette.

I talked to several consultants before choosing Mennette, and one of the things that I liked most about her was that, aside from her experience in helping students from more traditional backgrounds, she also had experience helping students from Latin America. I found that very important since we have a lot of things that work differently here so it was great to work with someone who acknowledges those differences.
While working with Mennette, she truly helped me to put the best side of me on every application. When I wrote an essay that could be answered better with another of my stories, she told me about it so that I could make a better choice. I also liked that when I wrote essays that did not seem convincing, she encouraged me to draft the essay with another topic, until it seemed right. Similarly, I appreciated that when I was deciding which story to use for a question, she reached out to another consultant to get his point of view, so I witnessed that she really cared about any advice she gave.

Overall, she was very supportive and responsive throughout the whole process and helped me in a friendly way with all the questions I had.

When I started this process, I knew I was in for an uphill battle. 2020 was supposed to be an extremely competitive year, I was still studying for the GMAT with no score in hand, and my GPA was nothing to write home about. I wasn’t hopeful. Fast forward to December and I was admitted to 4/5 schools with unexpected merit scholarships to 3 of them, including 2 full rides. Mennette made all the difference.

I knew I needed a trusted partner to help me tell my story, so I interviewed a half dozen potential consultants. At first I spoke to people at some of the larger consulting firms (that were nearly twice the price). They made the application process feel even more daunting and inspired zero confidence. Then a friend of mine recommended Mennette.

On the first call, she quelled my concerns and assured me I was a strong candidate and she would help me to tell my story. From there, Mennette struck the perfect balance between encouragement and blunt honesty–both of which I needed. She was clear and confident on which parts of my essays required more work, needed to be redrafted, or should be cut out entirely. Recognizing I had a perfectionist tendency to over-edit, she also knew when to tell me my essays were ready to go and to put the red pen down. She helped me to not only put my best foot forward, but also manage the overwhelming application process from start to finish.

I would recommend Mennette to anyone applying to Business School. The process is a bit of a marathon, but her experience and insight shines through at all the critical inflection points, helping you to strongly cross the finish line.

Mennette recently helped me with my round 2 applications for several full-time MBA programs and I couldn’t have asked for a better consultant! She was incredibly thorough, thoughtful, and diligent in helping me update my resume, craft a unique admissions story, and reviewing my essays and applications. In my work with her, it was evident that she is incredibly knowledgeable and experienced in the MBA admissions process. Her background and qualifications speak for themselves and have granted her a unique perspective on the admissions process. I went into the application process blind, and she successfully helped me navigate this foreign territory. I highly recommend her to any prospective MBA applicants. I cannot speak highly enough of my experience working with her and her abilities.

In September 2019, I was referred to Mennette by my college roommate and knew that I wanted to work with her during our first meeting. While maintaining a 70+ hour week job, I was under high pressure to get my “best self” into my R2 applications. Mennette guided me through a highly valuable and efficient process of introspection, and ultimately motivated me to put my best effort into the dreadful application process. As an international student, I confronted unexpected obstacles due to Covid-19, and Mennette was always a trusted partner for me, making herself available for any type of consultation. I am confident that she will be the best mentor and partner, as she was for me.

Before I chose to work with Mennette, my criteria for a consultant were the following: someone that would be reliable and provide honest feedback, clear communication, and effective support. From the foremost conversation in August 2019, it was evident that she would exceed these criteria. Mennette guided me along an intrapersonal journey and truly pushed me to dig further into my personal and professional experiences. There were times when we’d be ten drafts into a single essay, simply because she knew the essay had yet to reach its full potential. This demonstrated her attentiveness to her work and willingness to see everything through with me. It truly was a partnership in which we could trust each other to be focused and working together towards a common goal.

I achieved a 700 on my GMAT – well below the average of the schools I was admitted to. I was awarded a full-ride merit scholarship to Fuqua and a fellowship to Wharton. I can’t stress enough that these accomplishments would not have happened without Mennette’s efforts.

I first spoke to Mennette a couple of years ago when I was first considering business school. Right from the beginning she was very understanding and made me feel confident.

Last year, 2019, once I was sure I wanted to apply, I talked to other consultants some of which told me they would not work with me until I had a better GMAT score, even before looking at by experience or hearing about my story. Mennette, on the contrary, although she was honest about my GMAT score, she took the time to hear me tell my story, talk about my interests and plans for the future, etc. She definitely understands the holistic MBA admissions process much better than others. She’s been on the admissions committee of a couple of top tiers business schools and always draws on her experience when answering your questions.

Mennette will accompany you each step of the way (even the interviews and post-interview reflection). She is always very responsive and available to chat. She listens to your concerns and helps you get through this very stressful process. She was key in helping me tell my story in a way that would not only reflect who I truly am but also make me stand out.

I am extremely thankful to have been directed to Mennette by a friend, I don’t know if I would have been a successful applicant without her support. I applied to three schools in Round 1: HBS, Wharton-Lauder (MBA/MA joint degree) and Chicago-Booth and got accepted to all three.

I hope everyone who reads this post decides to work with her too!

Mennette was an incredible thought partner throughout my application process, ultimately making the difference in my admission to Fuqua (also received an interview at Haas but was waitlisted). Her dedication and reliability were second to none. I approached Mennette rather late in the summer as I was preparing my rd 1 applications, feeling utterly lost in a sea of early essay drafts, and she found a way to take me on as a client with no spare in quality. I will always value her honesty, which not only brought out the best in me for my essays but also my interviews. She no doubt has a wealth of experience in the process (both in admissions and as a consultant for many years), though it was her partnership that was a key differentiation for me – she was on the edge of her seat waiting to hear from my after decision day. I highly recommend choosing Mennette.

Mennette is fantastic and I cannot recommend her highly enough! After a disastrous round one application cycle where I went 0/5 on schools, I engaged Mennette to do a post-mortem on my round one applications and work with me during round two. I could not be happier that I did as I went 3/3 in round two and will be matriculating this fall.

Her background as an admissions officer was invaluable as she was immediately able to spot an apparent issue on my transcript as well as some peculiarities on my resume. While I didn’t think anything of them, she understood how they might look to an AdCom and encouraged me to clarify them in a supplemental essay – something I hadn’t thought to do previously.

She also took the time to really get to know me and helped me craft a story in my essays that were authentic, compelling and focused. My background (white, male, Ivy Pus undergrad, working in finance) is extremely common among MBA applicants and I had struggled in round one to find a unique way to present myself that was also genuine. Mennette and I spent a lot of time up front discussing my career goals and what motivated them, and ultimately found an angle that worked for me. Throughout the writing process, she was super helpful when trying to edit and condense word counts without sacrificing clarity or flow.

From a logistical standpoint, Mennette was quick and responsive even over the holidays, which was instrumental in allowing me to churn out three applications in approximately three weeks. On top of all that, she stayed engaged with me throughout the entire process helping me prep for interviews and prepare supplemental essays as well as providing advice and input as I made my decision.

I have already referred Mennette to one of my friends and would recommend her without hesitation to anyone thinking of applying to business school.

Mennette was an invaluable resource for me during my MBA application process. She is honest, reliable, and encouraging. Even during my intro chat, she was giving me advice on how to highlight my professional accomplishments on my resume. From there, she was able to help me focus on how to best highlight the strengths of my candidacy through essays and interviews. If I had to do this process again, I would absolutely work with Mennette again! I will be recommending her to friends and colleagues.

I had a wonderful experience working with Mennette on business school applications and got into my top-choice program. Coming from a non-traditional background with modest stats (700 GMAT/3.3 GPA), I was not super confident in those aspects of my applicant profile and knew my essays and interview would be important to showcase other strengths and experiences to get into my top choices. Mennette spent a lot of time getting to know me to learn about my interests and accomplishments, both small and large. Our discussions helped me figure out what was worth highlighting vs not. There were several things I wasn’t planning to mention at all in my apps that Mennette felt were actually unique and interesting to my story, so I was very grateful for her perspective, which I trusted based on her extensive experience in MBA app evaluation.

Throughout the process, Mennette had realistic/accurate insights on my chances at my target schools. After getting to know me, she opened my eyes to programs she thought I would like that I hadn’t considered before. She really knows her stuff about each program and what they’re looking for.

Mennette is an excellent editor and helped me make sure every piece of my application was clear, concise yet thorough, and authentic. She’s tough and pushed me to work very hard to produce my absolute best work; she’ll be honest when something is sub-par but was always very encouraging.

She was generally very quick to respond and would let me know in advance if she was traveling or less available certain days so I could plan accordingly.

I worked with Mennette for graduate school admissions (with a successful outcome) and had a very positive experience.

Mennette is thoughtful, dedicated and responsive. When I had questions or wanted to sound ideas, she was always quick to give feedback throughout the admissions process. I found Mennette spent considerable effort to understand my personality and experiences in order to recommend the most important areas of focus for my application.

I would definitely recommend working with Mennette for graduate admissions, and I will certainly be recommending her to my friends/colleagues in the future.

Mennette was instrumental in helping me get admitted into my two dream programs. I was also waitlisted at another, and probably couldn’t convert, but decided not to pursue.

I come from an overly represented background (Asian American in Finance) with average stats (3.3 GPA and 740 GMAT), so it was an uphill battle no matter how you cut it. I also have embarrassingly high targets, and only applied to 4 programs…all M7’s. I spent about two months working on my essays before realizing that I was going nowhere and needed additional help, and am so glad that I chanced onto Mennette.

Her background in AdCom was absolutely critical. She helped me bring out certain aspects of my story that I didn’t feel to be significant, but in hindsight and after meeting other admits at Kellogg and Columbia, I now realize why they were crucial to include. Moreover, her direct and honest feedback was exactly what I needed to tell my story and to make it effective. She’s tough and has high standards, but she won’t quit on you no matter how many edits you need or how busy she becomes.

For what it’s worth, I also referred Mennette to one of my best friends, who was also admitted to the top school of his choice.

Highly, HIGHLY recommended.

I’m an older reapplicant with a mix of traditional and non-traditional experience, and I’ve had a fantastic experience working with Mennette. She has been supportive and responsive throughout my entire application process, from deciding which schools to target to navigating scholarship offers. I’m fortunate to have been admitted to four great programs, one of which has offered almost $100K in scholarships.

I spent months on my own spinning my wheels before starting with Mennette. She quickly helped me connect my experiences and tell my story in a way that felt authentic to me and would resonate with admissions committees. Applications were stressful and time-consuming, and I left less time that I should have before deadlines. Mennette was attentive and provided feedback and guidance literally around the clock to help me put my best applications together. She strikes the perfect balance between being kind and encouraging and pushing you to do your best work when you’re not quite there yet.

Mennette had a great sense for what each school is looking for and has particularly deep knowledge about Booth. She also has a great network of other admissions consultants that she draws on for special situations, such as preparing for a school’s interview process, putting together a strategy to get off a school’s wait list, and thinking about how to approach a specific school to match a scholarship.

You should consider yourself lucky if you can get on her list, and I’d suggest starting the process as early as possible.