Gatehouse Admissions | MBA Admissions Consultants

I started relatively late on my MBA class of 2024 applications. In fact, Rachel took me in/started to work with me at the beginning of August and I submitted my first round 1 application at the beginning of September, and my second round 1 application mid October. Prior to working with Rachel, I had thought that I had a clear sense and rationale of why business school and potential careers that I could pursue after, but it was clear from initial drafts I shared with Rachel that those reasons were not strong, were not clear enough, and did not make me stand out. From there, I spent some time on Zoom with Rachel and we found a solid thread in my background helping out with my family business which ties nicely to why business school and which industry I would like to explore after, and to think that I wasn’t even going to mention any part of this experience initially (which would have been a huge mistake)!

Rachel turned my applications around and helped me get into the two schools I applied to: Wharton and CBS. To give a sense of my background, I am 3 years out of undergrad (will be 4 years out when I attend business school), I attended Stanford for undergrad and took the GRE one time testing: 162 verbal, 160 quant, 4.0 writing. I work at a quant hedge fund in Business Development and I studied Economics in college.

Rachel is very timely and provides insightful comments. I didn’t even think I needed a consultant initially, but each time after really taking in Rachel’s feedback on my draft and ruminating on where I am going with my essays, I find that my drafts significantly improved from week to week. I admit that it was daunting to receive feedback and markups throughout my essay each time I thought I shared a perfect draft, but working with Rachel got me from a very different place from where I started to when I finally hit submit.

For those of you who are debating on whether you need a consultant, or those of you who are choosing consultants to work with, my experience with Rachel was worth every penny.

I worked with Brooke for ~2 months prior to my HBS application, focusing primarily on my essay and interview prep. With Brooke’s help and thoughtful feedback, I was admitted to Round 1.

Coming into the application process, I had a relatively strong background (3.8 GPA, Ivy League undergrad, 750 GMAT, 2 years in investment banking and 2 years in private equity), but I was worried about piecing together a compelling application story.

Thankfully, I found Brooke to be an incredibly helpful thought partner as I navigated the process. Brooke is honest but constructive and supportive at the same time. I felt confident that with each draft of my essay, Brooke was pushing me to dig deeper into my motivations for pursuing an MBA and be more precise in demonstrating the qualities I wanted HBS to see in me as an applicant. As a result, I devoted more time to reflect on my own story and was able to not only refine my essays but also feel confident that I will start business school with a better sense of my goals and priorities. The mock interview with Brooke also helped me feel more prepared and relaxed during my real HBS interview.

I would highly recommend Brooke to anyone who is looking for genuine feedback on their application and willing to push themselves to reflect more on their experiences and motivations. Brooke is fantastic to work with and a huge asset during the application process!

Brooke was extremely helpful through the MBA application process. I am a fairly generic candidate (750 GMAT, 4.0 GPA, 3 years in MBB consulting) and Brooke helped me identify the parts of my story that were most appealing to an admissions committee. Brooke has a skill for helping you identify the parts of your journey that make you unique and then ensuring they come through in your application. I would absolutely recommend her to a friend or colleague hoping to apply to business school. I ended up being admitted to the Kellogg 1Y program with a bit of a scholarship!

Background: 25-year-old, Latino male living in the US; psych major at top non-Ivy undergrad; 4 years of work experience upon matriculation at large asset manager; 3.5 GPA, 720 GMAT

Results: Admitted to HBS (attending, class of 2024), Booth (with $$$), Kellogg (with $$$), Columbia, and Wharton / Lauder (with $$$)

I heard of Liza from a co-worker who was admitted into top schools with Liza’s help. After speaking to several consultants, it was clear that Liza’s highly structured yet personalized approach was the right fit for me. I particularly liked Liza’s commitment to helping me tell my own story.

Here are a few highlights from my experience:

The first step that you embark on with Liza is completing a lengthy and introspective document that allows you to reflect on your personal, academic, and professional experiences. Moreover, it allows Liza to get to know you. It was important to me that my consultant really understood me so that they could help me put my best foot forward. I was wary of applying general or cliched strategies that wouldn’t be true to myself. Liza understood and shared this vision with me from day 1.

A particularly notable part of my experience with Liza came when I was struggling with my HBS essay. I wrote 4 or 5 first drafts, all of which Liza looked at and commented on, but I was still not comfortable with my work. Where Liza could have pushed me to simply choose one of the drafts and submit it (especially given I still had multiple other R1 apps to complete) she partnered with me in troubleshooting until I wrote an essay I was truly proud of. Throughout this highly stressful period, she truly felt like a partner and a source of calmness and experience.

In summary, I cannot recommend Liza enough – you won’t regret it.

Background: 27-year-old, white female in NYC; English major at top non-Ivy undergrad; 5 years of work experience upon matriculation (1 at marketing agency, 4 at digital research firm); 3.96 GPA, 760 GMAT

Results: Admitted to HBS (attending, class of 2024), Booth (with $$$), Kellogg (with $$$), and Tuck (with $$$)

I first discovered Liza Weale through this very page. Now, one year and several M7 acceptances later, I’m thrilled to be returning here to contribute my own small piece to this ever-growing library of exceptional 5-star reviews for Liza, every word of which she lives up to on a daily basis.

Let me walk you through my experience working with Liza:

After reading these reviews and watching Liza’s admissions videos on YouTube, I decided to reach out for a consultation. I had started my search for consultants early—in January for Round 1 deadlines—so that I would have ample time to “shop around” with many free consultations. However, after meeting with Liza, I knew that wouldn’t be necessary. Anyone who meets Liza will immediately sense that she is incredibly intelligent, kind, and empathetic; that she has her pulse on the MBA admissions world; and that she is a pleasure to work with. I eagerly signed on as a full-service client the next day, and then began convincing my partner to do the same (which, luckily for him, he did).

From day one, Liza had a concrete, phased plan for my applications and kept me progressing according to a detailed timeline. She assessed my strengths and weaknesses as an applicant, and suggested ways to highlight and re-frame them, respectively. She helped me craft an application where every component complimented each other, and together, told a cohesive and compelling story that admissions wouldn’t be able to ignore. Importantly, she kept an eye out for all things cringe: from essay topics to intro sentences to resume bullet points, she saved me by making sure I didn’t turn in anything that could be interpreted as annoying or disingenuous or cliched.

Liza improved the content of my applications 100-fold, but she was also a boon to my mental health during the long process. Every day, she was there for me as a trusted, reliable resource. She answered the frantic questions I emailed her way, and always helped me keep things in perspective. Whether it was my unhealthy fixation on the GMAT or my freak out after my less-than-smooth Kellogg video essay performance, Liza helped quell my insecurities and worries and stay focused on what mattered: the path ahead.

From the start, I had thought about my admissions journey as a team effort, comprised of supportive friends and family, fellow peers, recommenders, mock interviewers, and a consultant. To have the best chances for success, I needed to form the strongest team possible. I believed that meant working with Liza and Gatehouse Admissions. And I was certainly right about that. Thanks to Liza’s unparalleled expertise and unwavering support—and her company’s many resources— I was admitted to my top choice program. Together, we made it happen. Liza changed the direction of my life, and I’m forever grateful to her for that.

Brooke helped me with my round 1 HBS application for the class of 2024. With her help, I was admitted!

Coming into the application process, I had a strong GPA (3.8) and GMAT (760), but I was worried that my relatively generic background and work experience wouldn’t stand out (white male, 2 years MBB consulting + 2 years PE at a middle-market firm in a small market). I was also concerned because while I wanted to work in healthcare after my MBA, I didn’t have the background to prove my passion for the space.

I worked with Brooke for a total of ~12 hours and focused almost exclusively on my HBS essay. Initially, my drafts read like persuasive essays on why I was passionate about healthcare despite only a few professional experiences in the field. As Brooke guided me through the introspective application process (e.g., experience inventory, iterating on drafts, brainstorming phone calls, etc.), she helped me uncover my true motive for wanting to work in healthcare–a deep desire to care for and provide refuge for others. As I began writing about this underlying motive, I found that stories from my upbringing, college years, and professional / leadership experience could showcase the origin, development, and manifestation of this desire while also pointing to healthcare as a logical next step for me in my career. Focusing on this theme felt more personal, authentic, and powerful!

In addition to helping me discover my story, Brooke also pushed me to refine the essay. Draft after draft, as I kept thinking the essay was nearly finished, Brooke helped me identify better ways to “show” my desire to care for others through real experiences instead of just “telling” the admissions committee of this passion. Her “honest, supportive, and demanding” style pushed me to craft a significantly better application than I could have ever produced on my own.

Additionally, after receiving an invitation to interview, I conducted a mock interview with Brooke. The interview resembled the actual interview perfectly, and helped me identify potential areas for questions that I hadn’t considered but may come up. Not surprisingly, the actual interview focused on many of the same areas that Brooke’s mock interview focused on and because of her help I was much better prepared to answer those questions.

On a personal note, I also felt that Brooke and I became close friends throughout the process. I felt like she was truly invested in my success because of an underlying personal friendship in addition to our coach-to-applicant business relationship.

Without a single hesitation, I’d recommend Brooke to any applicant who wants to maximize their odds of success in the application process! She will help you find your unique story and voice so that your application is authentic and powerful. She is extremely skilled and an absolute joy to work with.

I highly recommend working with Hollis! I worked with her hourly and found her extremely easy to work with because she is easy to get along with and a clear communicator (both for planning and editing essays). Initially, Hollis was a great sounding board for coming up with essays ideas – I thought she pushed on the right threads, helping me arrive at themes that not only became great essay topics but also were very true to me. When it came to actually writing the application, Hollis gave great suggestions for areas of focus but also left plenty of room for me to maintain my own voice which was important to me. In addition, although I was only an hourly client, Hollis did a great job with overall application planning and ensuring I was in a good spot throughout the summer to finish the applications by the deadline. I know for sure my applications would have been materially weaker without her help and would recommend her to anyone looking for help on applications.

I work in finance with a 750 GMAT, 3.8 undergrad GPA and was admitted to the Stanford GSB.

I worked with Brooke for ~3 months ahead of my HBS application and was extremely happy with the assistance she offered. HBS was the only program I applied to and I was admitted in Round 1. As a candidate from an SEC school with strong test scores (760 GMAT/36 ACT/4.0 Engr. GPA) and NY investment banking to private equity, my work with Brooke focused on my essay and the softer aspects of my application. She clearly has extensive experience with each of these areas and was instrumental in the entire process from initial ideation to the many drafts in between. Brooke was honest and direct, which made for a much more efficient process. I also conducted several mock interviews with Brooke, and found these to be incredibly valuable to understanding the best way to articulate experiences specifically in the context of the HBS interviews. If I had to go through the process another time, I wouldn’t hesitate to use Brooke once again.

I had the great pleasure of having Brooke Wheelan as my MBA Admissions consultant as I prepared for my MBA interviews. Coming from the consumer goods/retail industry, I knew that I was facing an uphill battle. Brooke’s experience working as a HBS interviewer for many years gave me a peace of mind that I was getting the best insights into how to prepare and put my best foot forward for my interviews. Brooke was invested in my success and would consistently check-in to ensure that I was on-track with my interview preparation. In addition, she offered clear and actionable feedback on how to best tell my story and worked with me to tie in different parts of my professional and personal-life. With Brooke’s guidance, I was admitted to both HBS and GSB.

I worked with Rachel for about a year starting in the winter of 2020 all the way until my admission in December 2021. I applied to Stanford GSB, HBS and Wharton and have just gotten 2/3 acceptances into HBS and Wharton. I will be pursuing my MBA in the Fall of 2022 at HBS in the class of 2024.

Just to give you a sense of my background, I’m a male with about 5 years of experience including national service in Singapore (2 years). I seemed untraditional coming into the MBA application process and it was pretty scary. I had been working as an Associate in a consumer venture capital fund in Singapore (the fund was quite small – US$400M) after national service, my GRE scores were on par with the HBS / Wharton averages but well below the GSB average – I got a 163V, 163Q. I applied with a 3.67 GPA from an undergraduate business school – I graduated from NYU’s Stern School of Business in 2017 with a BS in Business with concentrations in Finance and Global Business. I also did 2 years of military service in Singapore as part of the Singapore Police Force from 2017-2019 and then joined venture capital from 2019-2021.

So with this rather untraditional background, I wanted to tell a strong story so connected with Rachel to start the process. She is honest, straightforward and hyper-effective in extracting your story. She started me off by answering a number of questions from growing up, to high school, university, and work in what she called an “Experience Inventory” to get an understanding of certain stories and threads in my life and how they have impacted my choices.

From there we pulled from a number of these stories to craft our first draft. Because she is so focused on a hand full of applicants every year, she is a master at understanding your story and how to best position yourself. Through each draft, she will communicate to you if the story you’ve pulled from your experience inventory works or doesn’t and which story you should include instead to create a stronger essay. She gives super-specific advice on everything from resumes to essays to smaller questions on the application because she has done her homework on you and what you have accomplished.

I did feel a bit insecure about the process because of my background – I felt I was climbing an uphill battle vs. consultants or bankers from larger firms but I think what Rachel was best at is helping me gain confidence in my story. She was my biggest champion and was always there whenever I had questions on certain parts of my essay and story.

She had a clear plan for me that we followed through our google sheet and through emails so deadlines were very clear. She was organized and helped me organize myself while balancing work, tests and essays. Interview mocking with her was very helpful as well. She helped provide guides throughout the entire process that included potential questions and how to answer them.

My wife and I are now moving to Boston. It is the absolute best-case scenario given we had wanted to make the transition to the US for a while. I attribute a lot of my application success to Rachel’s help. I could not have done anything without her and am so happy with the money spent. It is a daunting process and sometimes you may feel like the money you spent is not worth it because there are no guarantees. But, Rachel does her best for you 100% of the time – so regardless of the outcome, you will feel like your time spent with her is worth it.

Mariesa was the cheerleader, project manager, and mentor I didn’t know I needed before diving into the application process. Mariesa made sure I understood my strengths and weaknesses, and really helped me identify powerful stories from my life experiences to craft a unique and compelling application package. With a lower GMAT score of 670 (Q41, V41) and subpar grades in quantitative classes (but a 3.5 overall GPA from a T5 undergraduate business school), Mariesa was realistic about my chances at top programs, but made sure I remained positive and pushed myself to see my true potential. She made sure I highlighted my unique CPG startup marketing background – as a marketer herself, she also really understood where I was coming from and made sure I used my niche background to my advantage.

I came into the experience with surface level ideas and Mariesa was able to question certain areas and pushed me to think beyond what I thought I was capable of. She helped me stay true to our deadlines (we were on a compressed 1-month turnaround), was incredibly responsive, and also helped me overcome self-doubt throughout the entire process. I worked with Mariesa on two schools, mainly on my Early Action application to Duke Fuqua. With her help, I was ultimately admitted into the Class of 2024 and even received a scholarship ($XXK)! I truly couldn’t have done it without her dedication to helping me throughout the process and would highly recommend her and the Gatehouse team for your MBA admissions needs!

Background: Male, strong professional record primarily in IB and PE, GMAT: 690.
Results: Accepted to Booth and Wharton (attending Wharton Class of 2023).
Details: Liza was absolutely instrumental throughout my process. As a self-admitted procrastinator, Liza made sure that I was staying on pace and made herself flexible when deadlines were approaching. While beginning my journey, my story was a difficult one to synthesize as I temporarily left finance to help launch a non-profit. Liza helped me intertwine my professional story and personal story to achieve a very compelling narrative. She guided me through the interview process making sure I was ready to answer any question presented to me. She worked tirelessly with me throughout the process and ensured I didn’t give up hope when something didn’t go my way. Ultimately, she exceeded my expectations and allowed me to present myself in the best possible manner to schools. Between her leadership, cheerleading, coaching, and remaining as a trusted partner, I felt that we were a team throughout the process. I can confidently say I would not have had a chance to achieve the results without her guidance. Hiring Liza is the best move you can make in what will be a long and difficult journey and with her at your side, you will be giving yourself the best chance possible to achieve your goals.

I worked with Liza for over a year – through essay editing, applications, and interview prep – before being accepted to HBS. I have an IB + PE background, 730 GMAT, and attended a non-ivy undergraduate university. I don’t think I would have been admitted to business school if it weren’t for Liza. She is an incredible individual who helped inspire, support and guide me through the application process, and I would recommend her to everyone.

My journey through the application process had it all. First, I had no idea what I wanted to write about, or even remotely had an idea of my ‘story.’ I also was feeling the pressure of a Round 1 vs. Round 2 application, as I didn’t have my GMAT completed. Finally, I was questioning my own career path, which didn’t make my application process any easier. Liza stood by me through it all, always willing to jump on the phone to offer support, listen to how these extraneous problems would impact my business school applications, and guide me on the next steps to take.

I knew that I wanted someone that could help me transform my ideas (once they were developed) into an articulate, well-crafted, and concise piece of writing, and Liza did exactly that. I had spent much of the past few years reading, with very little ‘essay-style’ writing, and so I was nervous about how my essays would come together. Liza was a phenomenal help here, helping me turn what I could best classify as ‘word vomit’ into an essay that I was truly proud of.

Liza was able to help me craft my story and essays in such a seamless way because she truly spent the time to understand it. From our first call when we reviewed my ‘experience inventory,’ she asked me thoughtful and deep questions – often ones I hadn’t been asked before – that allowed us both to learn more about my motivations, decisions, and aspirations. She understood my story on a level that I’m not sure anyone else ever truly has and as a result, she helped me reveal details that – together with her exceptional writing ability – made my essays really stand out.

When it came time for interview preparation, Liza went above and beyond. Though we were only scheduled for an hour, we spent nearly two running through interview questions and honing my responses. Simply put, she puts an incredible amount of time and dedication into each of her clients.

If you’re thinking about whether you should hire a consultant, or which consultant you should hire, I can say with conviction — the answer is Liza. I’ve spoken with over ten friends that have used consultants through the application process over the past two years, and from what I’ve gathered, none provided the experience that I had working with Liza (two of these friends also used her and agree!). Because of her, I will be attending HBS. Stop reading reviews, and reach out to Liza!

If you’re reading this and considering hiring Liza Weale for a full-service package, stop what you’re doing and put down your deposit now! Every extra day that you have with her will make a difference and my only regret is not starting my work with her sooner.

Background: Female, ivy undergrad, investing/entrepreneurship
Result: Wharton, GSB and HBS (reapplied)

I went to Liza after hearing her praises from Associates at my PE firm. After working with her on a package basis, all had gotten into HBS, their top choice school. I wasn’t set on getting an MBA until a couple of months before the Round 1 deadline and knew I was in for a rough few weeks between taking (and re-taking) standardized tests and putting together applications. The GSB was my top choice school but I also planned to apply to HBS and Wharton.

Working with Liza was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stressful period. She was clear with her policies upfront and became both the project manager and cheerleader I didn’t even know I needed. No question was too small (i.e. do I need to explain this career transition?) or too big (i.e. which version of this essay do you think best captures my narrative?). I was especially impressed by the way she tactfully gave feedback to my recommenders – including one who’s probably never been on the receiving end of a “markup”. With a 163 GRE (V/M), strong extracurriculars, and a unique career background, I got into Wharton but was ultimately dinged at the GSB and HBS. Liza was there to celebrate and commiserate, alike.

I decided to defer attending business school because of COVID and wanted to take another shot at the GSB. With more time, I knew I could improve my stats and essays. Liza reviewed my materials and offered specific, actionable feedback. I had consultations with a few others in this time hoping to find a new perspective or someone with a lower rate, but no one came close to Liza’s thoughtfulness and tailored advice for the GSB (and HBS). Liza was clearly invested in my success and gave difficult feedback while it felt at times that others were just going through the motions. And thank goodness she did – she saved me from sounding fake, which can definitely happen when you’re itching to finish. With a 750 GMAT, another year of work experience, and fresh essays, I got into the GSB and ultimately HBS (off the WL). I have Liza to wholeheartedly thank!

Background:
Male, strong professional background in operations, international candidate.

Results:
Accepted at MIT.

Details:
When I came to Liza, I was exhausted. The MBA application process is exhausting! By that time, I had tried to manage everything by myself. I was a bit hesitant to look for external help. I was not sure about the added value. Nonetheless, with only 4 weeks to the application deadline, I decided to look for external help and give it a shot. I contacted several consultants and the person that I decided to work with was Liza. It was the best decision that I made during this journey. Since our 30 min initial meeting, I was impressed by her analytical and storytelling skills. She identified the relevant points of my story and gave me concrete examples of the things that we could improve about structure and narrative. Sometimes when you are part of the story, it is a bit difficult to see with clarity some things. Liza gave me a new perspective, helped me to realize key facts that I was missing and to extract the best of all my experiences for my application. Specificity is something that I was missing and with the help of Liza this problem was solved. After several essay drafts, I came up with a final version that was a true reflection of my story and my goals. Considering these results, I decided to go on with the interview prep with Liza. Again, it was an excellent decision. The mock interviews with Liza were as tough as the real one of the MBA process. She helped me to find some key areas of improvement, gave me some recommendations and the confidence that I needed to overcome the process. In the end, I was admitted to the MBA program of my dreams! Thank you so much Liza, you are an outstanding professional and person! Very objective, kind and honest. Your guidance and support during this process was key for me. I will always be grateful to you! 🙂

My background:
– BSc (Medical Sciences), 3.5 GPA
– 5 years working in tech/business
– GMAT: 730

Liza has a deep understanding of what b schools are looking for, and she puts in the time and energy to understand your story and craft a narrative that fits you and your target schools. She has fine-tuned a system to take you from 0 to a well-crafted set of applications.

I’ll be going to Berkeley Haas for their FTMBA program this fall, and I am confident it wouldn’t have been possible without Liza’s help. If you want to be confident you put your best foot forward with the right consultant, look no further.

Background: Caucasian male with biomedical engineering and electrical engineering undergraduate degrees, also a master’s in engineering from a Top 10 graduate engineering program. 3.8 GPA and 700 GMAT. Work experience: 6 years working at a Fortune 500 tech company, mostly in very technical engineering roles. Applied to MIT (Sloan) and Harvard (HBS). Accepted to Harvard, round 2 admit.

Liza was fantastic! For most of the MBA application process, I did not hire any consultants, mostly because I didn’t think I had a chance of getting in. However, when I got an interview invitation from HBS, I hired Liza for interview prep. At first, I was set on hiring someone who either was an HBS graduate or someone who had experience working in HBS admissions. However, after reading the amazing reviews Liza had, I decided to go with her, even though she did not go to HBS nor worked in HBS admissions. After working with her, this became irrelevant. Liza was also willing to have a free consultation/chat on the phone with me to discuss first, which other consultants weren’t willing to do considering I only needed interview prep help. From the first time I chatted with her to decision day, Liza was amazing throughout the whole process. She was so knowledgeable and helpful about the HBS interview in particular. Not only did she provide very useful guidance on how to prepare for our mock interview, but our mock interview together was so eerily similar to my actual HBS interview it was insane. No, it wasn’t exactly the same question for question, but the types of questions Liza asked me and the flow of the interview was pretty much identical. I’d even estimate that about half of the questions asked in my actual HBS interview, Liza asked me in my mock interview. Because of Liza, I will be attending HBS in the fall! This speaks to the amount of hard work and dedication she puts in to help prepare her clients for interviews, especially HBS, by reading every single word of your whole application and the essays. On top of this, Liza was always available and willing to answer any last-minute questions I had, and throughout the whole process would check up on me and cheer me on. If you’re trying to figure out who you should hire for an MBA consultant, especially for a mock interview for HBS (or really any other school), stop looking. Hire Liza!

Background: Caucasian Male, 30, 8 years work experience in Media / Entertainment, GMAT: 760, Communications degree from a top 20 Undergrad (3.63 GPA)

Result: Admitted to Kellogg MMM ($), Yale SOM, NYU ($$$$)

I had the pleasure to work with April during the 20-21 admissions cycle and can say without hesitation that she is the reason I am attending business school in six weeks. From start to finish, she and the entire Gatehouse team were supportive, insightful, and (most importantly for me) extremely organized allies that elevated my application beyond what I could have ever done on my own.

For context, I came into this year’s application process relatively late – leaving only two months to prepare six applications (including HBS) after focusing my summer on attaining my target GMAT score. Knowing that I needed someone I could hit the ground running with, I spoke with five different admissions consultants hoping to find the right fit. April immediately stood out. On just our first call, it became evident that April is at once deeply empathetic and practical. In 15 minutes, she was pulling stories out of me that I hadn’t thought about or told in years – specifically probing on areas in both my professional and personal lives that became invaluable building blocks to the narrative I crafted for my applications.

This blend of empathy and practicality would become a running theme throughout our engagement. With a tight timeline and a demanding day job, every day counted. In response, April expertly walked the thin line between being emotionally supportive while keeping me accountable to the almost constant work required to brainstorm, draft, redraft, and polish the 15+ essays I set out to submit. At every step along the way, April was a reliable and thoughtful partner and, even when we were working on multiple different essays, she never once returned a draft late or without constructive feedback that took into account the “whole picture” of my application. To track and grasp the widely disparate elements of my applications and still be able to build cohesive narratives that surfaced the best parts of my story (all while I’m sure doing the same for other clients) was truly remarkable.

All that said, April’s greatest contribution to my admissions process came late in the game. After being admitted to Kellogg MMM (my #1 choice that April had actually brought to my attention during school selection), I was torn between that program and a full ride at NYU. With April’s guidance, I was able to leverage my scholarship at NYU, make a compelling case to Kellogg’s adcoms, and ultimately received a meaningful amount of money at Kellogg – sealing my decision and enabling me to go to a school I had absolutely fallen in love with.

This process can be many things – demanding, frustrating, challenging, and enlightening all at once. Having a consultant like April makes a world of difference. I couldn’t imagine being in the position I am today without her and I wholeheartedly recommend April to anyone looking for a trusted ally in their journey towards business school.

Background: Male, six years of finance experience, 332 GRE, 3.5X GPA from a T20 undergrad, pursuing media/entertainment.
Result: Accepted to four T20s with $$

April is fantastic – she helped me whip up eight applications (three paid, the rest leveraging the material we worked on together) in less than 45 days before R2 application deadlines. It was a herculean task, but April rose to the challenge – at once career coach, admissions dean, crisis manager, and spiritual leader in addition to her normal roles of editor, narrative crafter, mock interviewer, scholarship negotiator, and so much more.

At the most fundamental level, she helped me crystallize what I wanted to get from my MBA, explained some of the key distinctions between the schools I was targeting, and devised a strategy that maximized my ability to reuse the materials we worked on together to cover as much ground as possible on the applications I worked on privately. From there, we began identifying the stories and accomplishments I needed to highlight – I was feeling particularly daunted by the application process and uninspired by my achievements at that point, so we worked tirelessly on framing them properly in my resume and essays, focusing always on the specific actions I took and explaining in detail how the results were meaningful. This was difficult and uncomfortable for me, but April always provided concrete examples of how it should be done and was never shy about letting me know the quality of my work, good or bad.

At the same time, she helped me construct a credible story, reframing what I had initially considered a hodgepodge of unrelated jobs, a year-long unemployment gap, and limited extracurriculars into a carefully curated career plan in which an MBA was the obvious next step, and then helped me sell it confidently in a three-minute package to the seven schools I interviewed with. During our interview prep, we discussed the questions I would most likely receive (which were 90% spot-on), and how I should answer them. She has a keen eye; for example, she noticed I was often unconsciously downplaying my accomplishments to build rapport and avoid seeming arrogant, so we worked together to frame them in a more positive light.

Beyond that, April was incredibly professional, patiently answering my questions, never missing a deadline, and checking in constantly to make sure I was staying on track. She was eminently knowledgeable about the MBA process, and I found that many of the skills and frameworks she taught, like self-reflection via the STARR method, or how to sell yourself in a negotiation, have helped put my upcoming journey into perspective. I came into the MBA application season with a lot of unanswered questions about my career, and under April’s guidance and partnership, I came away with four great opportunities and answers to those questions, and I can’t recommend her enough!

Background: Male, British-Hong Kong dual citizen, 26 y/o; Commercial Manager at a Tech Company in Hong Kong; Undergrad in Public Policy at an Ivy League School

Accepted: London Business School MBA 2023

I was introduced to Liza through a colleague, who also worked with her. I reached out to Liza after I got an interview invite at LBS. We kicked off with a 30-minute consultation, followed by a 60-minute interview prep, supplemented with 3 interview-prep videos.

Ways Liza added value:

(1) Bringing my story/narrative to life: Liza gave me 2 important pointers to bolster my narrative during the interview. Firstly, she urged me to dig deeper into my post-MBA career goals, and really identify the steps I’d take to get there. Taking into consideration my current and past experience, as well as what I hope to gain from LBS, we worked on painting a much clearer picture of my trajectory. Secondly, she pushed me to own up to my weaknesses. I applied with an average quant score. Additionally, I came from a liberal arts/policy education, and my professional experience was sales/client relationship-driven. These weaknesses were brought up during my interview, and I was prepared to address these concerns confidently while highlighting other unique skills I could bring to the table.

(2) Infectious energy: working with Liza was an absolute pleasure – not an overstatement! From the first minute on Zoom, Liza welcomed me with a reassuring smile. She was invested in my stories and responded to my questions warmly. Moreover, she followed up at different stages – before and after the interview and decision release respectively. Her style inspired me to bring an upbeat energy into the interview. The application process was tough in many ways – Liza added so much light. If anything, she assumed the role of a supportive mentor more so than a pure admissions consultant.

Overall, Liza’s USP is her warmth and energy, rooted in practical advice. I highly recommend Liza.

Background: Male, Engineering Undergrad, 4 years work experience (Consulting & Private Equity), ~Median GMAT for top MBA programs.

Admitted: HBS & GSB

TLDR: I absolutely recommend Brooke — she will push you to create the best application you can and be a partner throughout the process!

I cannot recommend Brooke more strongly! She was absolutely instrumental to my success. Brooke helped guide me through the application process, ensuring that my application stood out and accurately captured my personality and aspirations. I will try to capture just a couple of the ways in which Brooke helped me succeed and made the application process less brutal:

(1) My first session with Brooke was worth 20 hours of my own time. I had spent weeks trying to think through my application before finally reaching out to Brooke. In the first 30 minutes, Brooke was able to help me shape my story in a way that I never would have been able to on my own. Her experienced perspective helped me see how others would view my essays and what I needed to spend more time thinking about.

(2) Thought Partner — Brooke is a thought partner who helps craft your story! I was very worried that working with a consultant would make my essay inauthentic but Brooke did the exact opposite. She pushed me to construct my story by asking targeted questions which forced me to think and helped hone my writing so it captured my voice. I found brainstorming with Brooke to be fun and incredibly helpful.

(3) On Task– I started late and was crunched for time but Brooke made sure to keep me on task and focused on the most important components of my application, sequencing them in order so that they built on each other. This is very tactical but important. Brooke understands that you may be working 80 hours a week and helps you make thoughtful trade-offs/prioritize ruthlessly

(4) Thoughtful feedback — Brooke’s feedback on everything is incredibly thorough. Whether it is your 100 character responses, resume, or essays — she always spends the time to read, re-read and contemplate what you have sent. The feedback she provides is actionable and she is always willing to provide additional context to help you get to the right place.

(5) Efficient and Responsive– Brooke is incredibly efficient and is always upfront about her capacity and when she needs to receive something to get feedback to you. She helps set deadlines but also understands that it can’t always happen and is accommodating whenever she can be.

Without Brooke, there is little question in my mind that I would not have gotten into the top tier programs which I was targeting and would have been miserable trying to. She made the process easier, more enjoyable (though it is still an application), and has demonstrated results. Cannot sing her praises enough and am incredibly appreciative of her help throughout the process.

My only regret is that I had not started with Brooke earlier in the process. Start now before she books up!

Background: Male, 6 years work experience in banking ops role, average GMAT score.

Result: Accepted to INSEAD

As a first-time applicant, I found the MBA application process daunting, and to have someone like Rachel as a knowledge resource was extremely helpful. Rachel helped me organize my thoughts and provided amazing feedback that I would not have without her as my consultant.

While brainstorming content for the essay topics, she had a great sense of the qualities that my dream school looked for in its candidates and provided excellent guidance on the aspects of my background that would put my best foot forward. She was instrumental in helping me shape a tight story for my MBA candidacy. When my essays missed the mark, Rachel gave me candid, specific feedback ranging from what topics required further elaboration to which achievements best reflected my motivations. She was also an excellent aid through the interview process, helping tidy up my responses to the challenge questions and providing feedback before my actual interviews.

Finally, she was responsive even on weekends when I, unfortunately, had to push back deadlines due to my hectic work schedule. She also advised me on correspondences with my backup schools, even though she was not obligated to. These seemingly small acts made me feel that she was truly committed to my success.

I would recommend Rachel to anyone looking for a top-notch consultant. I could not imagine going through it without her, and I am thankful that I had the chance to work with her.

Background: male, career in finance (IB + PE) and couple years of operating experience at a startup; older than the average MBA candidate.

Result: accepted to three M7s.

Like many here, Liza came highly recommended from a friend, and as an older MBA candidate, I wanted to work with the best as this application cycle was likely the last window for me based on my age. In what turned out to be a year no one will ever forget with a dramatic change in the MBA admissions landscape, I can confidently say that Liza came through.

Essays / broader application: in tying together a less traditional path, Liza’s provided instrumental feedback on how to present my narrative across my application. This started with the pre-application work and the genuine interest she took in understanding my journey to date and where I hoped to end up. Once we got to the essays, it was incredible how much she was able to recall and use it to push me to add depth and greater meaning to my responses, all while making sure each and every word counted.

Letters of recommendation: one of my recommenders was not as familiar with this process. In discussing why I thought he would be a good recommender and the projects we worked on, she provided specific tips to help coax the best out of him, while staying true to the theme I was presenting.

Interviews: I was 3 for 3 in terms of being accepted to the schools I interviewed with. I credit this to Liza as she knows the high bar that interviewers expect and ensures you are ready by doing some serious and comprehensive interview prep. You can be confident that no matter what curve ball your interviewer throws at you, you will have a thoughtful response ready. Also, for schools that require an additional essay/video, Liza makes sure it is in top form and presents another side of you that the admissions committee has not yet seen in your application.

It has been a pleasure working with Liza. She is a phenomenal coach who will get the best out of you and you can rest easy knowing that you will be submitting your best application to these very selective institutions. Good luck!

Background: Male, Private Equity/Investment Banking background, CS degree from liberal arts school, 326 GRE. Results: Accepted at HBS, waitlisted at Haas. Rejected: Stanford, Wharton, MIT. In what was a challenging and dynamic year, Liza was a steady and helpful guiding presence on my application journey. We started working together in March, right before the world shut down and all testing times were delayed. Liza was right there to reassure me and reduce my application anxiety while she herself was launching a business during a pandemic – talk about a leader! Liza was instrumental in helping me develop a strong story and compelling narrative in my essays and interviews. Liza’s creativity and compassion are what differentiates her. She knows how to weave what may seem like disparate parts of your life into a full picture for schools. We worked collaboratively on one essay for over two months – whittling down a 2000-word, jumbled group of stories to a concise 800-word essay that put my passions on display. I would highly recommend her for anyone who is serious about applying to the best schools!

Background: Female, marketing in the technology industry with a creative academic background
Results: Accepted Kellogg, Booth, CBS

Working with Liza was integral for my MBA application process. Throughout every stage of the process, from early conversations to officially committing to a school, Liza was a thoughtful partner, cheerleader, advisor, listener, and friend. Responsive, professional, and creative, Liza brought to the table all the tips and strategies to guide me in putting my best foot forward.

Liza’s feedback was always genuine and actionable and pushed me to truly be introspective and analyze my professional and personal goals and motivations. Her open and honest questions and advice challenged me to think outside the box and unraveled deeper answers for essay questions and interview prep, ultimately a huge value add. The self-reflection that I did under Liza’s guidance has proven to be incredibly helpful even beyond the MBA application process.

Hand-in-hand with stellar essay feedback and interview prep, and equally as important, Liza showcased unwavering support and enthusiasm for me and my work. The MBA application process is a long one, one where I often felt the stress and strain. Through it all, Liza was a dependable and reliable confidante, quelling worries and providing real insights that not just offered comfort, but helped address doubts. Even after committing to my top choice school, Liza continues to follow up and offer any support she can.

I wholeheartedly recommend Liza as a consultant; she is someone who will root for you and your success from the beginning to forever.

Background: caucasian male, strong GPA/average GRE, econ/bus major at a liberal arts school, background in strategy/marketing for a medium-sized manufacturer.

Results: Accepted: HBS (I worked with Gatehouse Admissions on 4 applications – accepted to 3 of 4).

I worked with Brooke for my HBS interview – and had great success with her. Brooke’s mock gave me a sense of the reality of 30 minutes of an HBS interview – she was professional, had carefully read through my resume and HBS application, and made it feel like the “real thing”. Afterward, Brooke called me after collecting her thoughts and gave me a lot of helpful pointers – everything from certain mannerisms/word use changes to the overall storyline and narrative preparation. What I appreciated about Brooke was that she was very honest and frank in an encouraging way. She helped me remove some of the “glossiness” of my answers that was me over-performing and pulled out more authenticity from my story. She also helped me to gauge which examples would most effectively answer various questions. I knew what was strong and what was weak from Brooke’s perspective. She also provided several documents and articles to prepare with beforehand, as well as some HBS-specific insights post-interview that were immensely helpful.
I will note: the questions I faced in the HBS interview were not in the same vein as what Brooke asked (different interviewers, different questions!). But I actually think that may have been to my benefit because when the interviewer gave me any slightly more open-ended questions, I was able to reference other themes that I thought were important. In addition, I think my answers were sharper, cleaner, but with more authenticity given my practice interview. Brooke got me into the mindset of answering questions quickly, thoughtfully, and with perspective.

Background: strong GPA/average GRE, econ/bus major at a liberal arts school, caucasian male, background in strategy and marketing for a medium-sized manufacturer.
Results: Accepted: HBS, Kellogg, Tuck Rejected: GSB

The short version: Liza kept me purposeful, focused, and sane in this process, and she pushed me to get to my own personal “why” for business school as well as the storyline for the business school apps themselves. Having Liza as support throughout the process didn’t mean that applying was a breeze, but rather that I felt a sense of confidence, reassurance, and coaching that I know changed the course of my business school future. Perhaps most importantly to me, I didn’t want a school to accept a packaged version of myself that wasn’t accurate/honest. When my applications were submitted, I felt confident that this was my story in my voice – and that mattered to me. Liza took the time to make that possible. She is one of those people that has a unique gift for storytelling and editing which she combines with a strong work ethic and faithful commitment to the client. She does not cheat with her craft – I never felt like I was simply another drop in the bucket to her. If you’re going to spend the dollars, go with Liza.

The long version:
Introduction: I first spoke with Liza a year before I started working with her for a free, 30-minute info session. From that moment I saw her ability to listen well and respond with very helpful commentary. I knew then that if I was going to use a consultant, it would be her.
The start of the process: Liza and I talked through how many schools I would work with her, what I was looking for, and next steps. Liza responded to any feelings of uncertainty with thoughtfulness and confidence and helped me see a path through the year ahead.
The experience inventory: I poured my heart and soul into the kickoff document that Liza uses, and when we had our first phone call, I was shocked by Liza’s intricate knowledge of a 25+ page document about my life. She not only had many follow-up questions, but also had a plan of where to start. Impact: My storyline for the schools picked up on my subtle nuances of my life and personality.
Essay writing: Liza does not give up and does not settle for what she feels will not be effective. No joke: I wrote 3 versions of an essay that Liza kept pushing back on. She finally got me back on the phone, and pushed me to really answer the simple question the school was asking. I then trusted Liza with some pretty personal details of my life – and Liza engaged thoughtfully and then helped me begin writing from there (and I trust her explicitly). I would not have had the confidence and finesse to include the level of reflection and thoughtfulness that ultimately filled my essays: that’s the magic of Liza. Ultimately, I was able to relay my experiences and dreams in a simple manner that sounded like it was me telling the story in written form. Highly effective.
Also, she never missed a deadline across easily 50+ emails going back and forth. Know this: the two-day turnaround means a two-day turnaround with Liza during the week – just remember to plan your work out for yourself to utilize her most effectively!
Letter of Recommendation prep: Liza’s specialized process I believe really helped make my letters competitive (my managers do not write MBA LoRs frequently, and I think her guidance was critical in bringing these up to par). I will note: I never saw my LoRs personally, and I never wrote on behalf of my letter writers – the process is an ethical one.
Application review: Liza poured over every single word of every single piece of my application. No stone was left unturned. Even after months since we had first reviewed my life story, she would reference something from my original inventory that I’d forgotten to mention. I was starting to get tired in the application process a bit but Liza helped me stay engaged here and remained high energy.
Interview prep: Liza was brilliant here – in no way did I feel that my responses were micro-managed/overly prepped. Instead, Liza helped me to approach my own narrative with the schools in mind but without fundamentally changing my own way of answering the question. She called me out when I started to sound “fake” or like I was trying too hard – and she helped me return to a place of authenticity. I will also say, Liza referred me to one of her Gatehouse Admissions colleagues, Brooke Wheelan, for a second interview for HBS, and I’m very thankful for that interview as well.
Overall: Liza has a positivity that is infectious, and several times I just emailed her with a personal status check of how I was feeling in the process. Every time her perspective was invaluable and motivating. I am excited for this journey, and I feel more comfortable in my own personal “why” for spending the next two years in an MBA due to Liza. Go with Liza!

Liza is terrific and I don’t think I would have been admitted into the programs I applied to without her help. I have relatively strong stats (3.9 GPA and 750 GMAT) but still I knew it was a crapshoot at some of the top programs like GSB and HBS. I worked extensively with Liza for over an entire year and was able to get admitted into both schools. She really was there for every type of question I could have ever needed help with in addition to the essays, which she really broke down and pushed me on. Her honesty and transparency was key and she didn’t sugarcoat things to make me feel better – she cared about the result and optimizing my chances of getting admitted and I couldn’t be more thankful for having the oppty to work with her. You can’t do any better than Liza when it comes to consultants. Thank you Liza!!

Background: Traditional (consulting) and nontraditional (public policy) professional experience, female, average test score; average GPA
Accepted: Harvard, Stanford, Tuck, and Fuqua
Applied: R1

Liza is the best. I strongly recommend her. She is thoughtful about her feedback and willing to go above and beyond. Liza has great advice and knows her stuff. I wish I had engaged her earlier in the application process; she could have saved me a lot of excess stress.

I was not planning on working with an MBA consultant. I wrote my essays on my own and hoped for the best. When I got the interviews, I went through Tuck and GSB on my own. The HBS interview is a different beast. I tried to prepare on my own (e.g., googled questions), but I didn’t feel ready. I looked at different MBA consulting firms to see if someone could help me practice. I thoroughly reviewed about 6 firms and realized that Gatehouse has the competitive advantage of having someone who had been on the HBS admissions committee. When I connected with Liza I was initially disappointed that she wasn’t the former HBS admissions counselor. Liza understood that and laid out the ways she could support me. I chose to go to Liza because she was genuine. She wasn’t pressuring me to accept her services because she wanted another client; she really cared about helping me get the right support for my application.

When I did my practice interview, I was only planning on chatting with Liza for an hour – our conversation turned into an hour and a half session and there were several follow-up emails afterwards. Liza had done a thorough review of my application and poked at the areas she thought needed more context. She pushed me to think about types of questions HBS could ask me in my interview and helped me refine the way I gave my answers. She also had actionable feedback on how to improve my delivery.

Background: Caucasian male with accounting degree from central US state school
Work Experience: IB / PE
GMAT: 730
Result: HBS admittance & acceptance. Also admitted to CBS, dinged at Wharton & Booth

Liza provided guidance throughout the process, but most importantly, she pushed me to reveal sensitive things in my essays (particularly HBS, which is much more open-ended) that I would have NEVER done without her encouragement. She was hyper engaged and frequently followed up to make sure I was on track to meet deadlines. Liza seemed like she was constantly thinking about my story/essays and would frequently come up with value-added ideas even after I would have considered the essay done – trust me this is a good thing.

These things undoubtedly made the difference in my application: she helped me stand out from a huge pool of applicants that have similar stats and backgrounds (likely many of you reading this). Highly recommend working with Liza. I’d also encourage you to start working with her early, as I did, so you can fully leverage her expertise.

Background: Mix of traditional (banking) and nontraditional (governmental) professional experience, male, average test score with lower than ideal GPA
Accepted: Harvard, Kellogg, McCombs
Liza was recommended to me by a friend and we started working together several months before R1 deadlines. I am extremely grateful to have been able to work with Liza and was thoroughly pleased with her expertise, advice, responsiveness, and professionalism. She is the perfect blend of coach, friend, and therapist and exactly who you want by your side if you are willing to put in the work. Liza pushed me early on in the process to dig deep into my personal history and experience so that she could have a holistic view of me as a person, and she pointed out the aspects of my experiences that were worth writing about. She absolutely fine-tuned the story of my candidacy, and was there every step of the way through multitudes of essay revisions, application question help, interview prep, and even video application questions. She even pushed me to take an extra online course to demonstrate my commitment to my grades. I cannot recommend her highly enough, and I don’t want to think about where I would have been in this process without her guidance.

Background: Male, financial services background, top 20 undergrad b-school, average test results, and GPA.

Results: Accepted to CBS.

I had been unsatisfied with a previous admissions consultant when I was introduced to Rachel near my application deadline. Initially, I was nervous to switch and reinvest time and money at this late stage, but it was the best decision I could have ever made.

I could not recommend Rachel more highly. She was extremely proactive, efficient, and effective throughout the application process. She helped identify the key elements of my personal narrative and was exceedingly honest in providing feedback on my essays and resume. She pushed me to perform at my best and I ended up with a finished product I could not have been happier with. I felt she truly cared about my outcome and went above and beyond for me.

Background: CPA-4 years at Deloitte Tax in Financial Services. Penn State Undergrad, MAcc. 700 GMAT/ 3.8 GPA

I couldn’t recommend Brett more highly! When I applied to business school, he helped me determine what were my most compelling themes, fun facts, and stories which I should highlight from my background and work experience. He then helped me weave all of it into a cohesive story to take the Admissions committee on a vision quest. This helped me write compelling and successful essays. I was admitted and look forward to attending UVA Darden. I am very grateful for Brett’s help. Brett also was great in prepping me for my interview, matter of fact Liza Weale (Gatehouse Founder) even joined the zoom session to provide her two cents completely voluntarily. Brett even did an additional interview prep for me at no additional cost, just so I could get my confidence up through dry runs. Brett’s review style is great, he makes you really think and paint a picture when writing essays.

Background: Female, International, bulge bracket banking, Megafund PE
Accepted: Wharton, Harvard (Admitted)

To say Liza was pivotal throughout my business school application process would be a disservice. No review, personal testimony or reference would do Liza or her work justice. I could not have asked for a better support system, friend and consultant.

A few highlights from my experience:

1) Selection Process:
Liza came to me recommended by an acquaintance and is very well known in the New York community. I was diligent and interviewed 8 different consultants but followed my gut and selected Liza as I felt she could not only be supportive but keep me accountable.

2) Working Style:
Liza is supportive, engaging and firm. She approaches the application process in an organized fashion and as stringent as the schedule sounds – it is TRULY going to produce the best work product and showcase the best you. At first, the turnaround times and general timelines felt challenging with my schedule (I typically did most work on the weekends) but I adjusted to a cadence in which I was consistently working on one document while Liza reviewed another. Trust me – it works with any schedule!

3) Timelines:
Liza is dependable and consistent. She never ONCE missed a deadline and the quality of the work product was consistent. Trust me when I say this is rare, I watched my partner go through the process with a consultant missing both of these qualities and it makes a stressful time, that much more challenging.

4) Essay Feedback:
Liza’s essay support is phenomenal; she pushes you to SHOW the reader what you did, as opposed to tell them. This sounds basic but incredibly hard to do by yourself. This alone is worth every investment.

5) Other:
Liza has perfected her craft. Her strategy, advice, and feedback can be helpful to ANY working style. I was disorganized, last minute and have limited experience writing essays, however, Liza’s ability to help you put your best foot forward, regardless of your background or experience is unbeatable.

After having worked hard for a few years, I knew that I wanted to put my best foot forward when applying to business school. Liza Weale at mbaMission helped me achieve this goal, and I wholeheartedly recommend her to other MBA applicants. You really won’t go wrong – with Liza’s top-notch feedback and unwavering support, you can be assured that you will have the confidence needed to produce a high-quality application.

During my mbaMission free consulting session with Liza, I was struck by her enthusiasm for my accomplishments, as well as by her thoughtful comments on how I could further strengthen my profile. In a session with another company, the consultant tried to highlight how I was not a ‘rockstar’ and how it would have been more preferable if some of my experiences had been slightly different. I was appreciative of how Liza focused on what I had already achieved, and feel that her previous experiences in consulting and marketing helped her think creatively about how to shape my profile without sacrificing its integrity.

As I delved deeper into the lengthy, daunting application process, I was even more grateful to have Liza as my ‘constant’ – whether selecting schools, editing my resume, brainstorming for essays, briefing recommenders, or even deciding between schools after I was accepted. Despite a busy application season, Liza was always prompt in providing feedback and available to meet outside of my work hours. During the brainstorming process, she pushed me to come up with more examples by asking probing questions. In the process, Liza got a thorough understanding of my background and motivations, and I uncovered stories that I had initially overlooked as minor points!

Liza’s patience shined through during the essay writing process. She encouraged me to screen multiple ideas and even look at the same story from multiple angles before producing my outline and essay draft. Although I struggled initially, Liza’s encouragement and guidance helped me get out of my comfort zone and powerfully show (rather than tell) my story. Draft after draft (believe me, there were many), she provided candid, detailed feedback such that I was able to craft essays that not only highlighted my strengths but that I was comfortable with.

Working with Liza was an extremely rewarding experience, beyond just the acceptances to top MBA programs. Liza enriched my overall self-reflection process and helped me build a strong sense of confidence before entering business school.

Background: Male, URM, Ivy undergrad (Finance Major), 6 years work experience (3 yrs banking, 3 yrs corporate development), 7XX GMAT and undergrad GPA in the ballpark of MBA medians for the schools I applied to
Applied and admitted to: Stanford GSB, HBS, and Wharton

Liza came highly recommended by various friends who had used her services, and by the end of our initial consultation, it was clear why: she listens, asks the tough questions, is incredibly thoughtful, and is patient and supportive. I did not feel rushed during the consultation and Liza even followed up afterward with a debrief email that provided additional feedback on my overall candidacy (incl. areas that I could strengthen) as well as various resources that I could reference. Given how much introspection the MBA process requires, Liza’s approach makes her incredibly effective at helping applicants find/craft their story and gain admission to the most selective business schools.

Since I was a bit price-conscious, I only worked with Liza on my GSB application. However, given how detailed the GSB application is, I was able to leverage the same content for my other 2 applications. Liza did a fantastic job of helping me connect the dots between elements of my past, who I am now, and what I aspire to do in the future. She was able to give me very honest, specific feedback, and pressure test statements that I made about my motivations. Quite candidly, it was initially a frustrating process — my first essay drafts were missing the mark, and Liza pushed me to dig deeper and really tease out how the various things I’ve done are linked to a set of specific motivations. Beyond just helping me submit a top-notch application, this process of introspection and self-discovery has given me greater clarity of who I am and what I want to do going forward. People spend their whole lives trying to answer this question and discover themselves, so I really appreciated partnering with Liza to work through this.

Working with Liza on mock interviews was also incredibly helpful. During the GSB mock, we covered a number of the questions that I was ultimately asked during my actual interview. She also did a great job of imitating the cadence and atmosphere of a GSB interview. My understanding is that her HBS mocks are more fast-paced to reflect the style of HBS interviewers. This all goes to show that she knows the process and schools quite well.

Lastly, Liza is incredibly professional and brings an amazing amount of energy to every call, email, or redline you receive from her! She’s well organized, very attentive to review deadlines, and is also quite responsive. If you stick to Liza’s prescribed deadlines, you won’t be scrambling the last minute to finish up your applications and you’ll feel great when you finally hit submit. Liza’s spots fill up fast so highly recommend booking her early in the process — you won’t regret it!

Liza was tremendously helpful in my admission to my top school choice. I procrastinated greatly in writing my essays for Round 2 applications, and in the final 12 days before applications were due (also the week of Christmas/New Years), I sent an S.O.S. to mbaMission requesting tutor help, not expecting that any tutor would have the capacity to help me.

When I was matched with Liza, I could not have asked for a better experience. Because I was paying extra for an expedited turnaround, Liza got right down to business and helped me devise an action plan leading up to the final deadlines. I spent the next 10 days emailing back and forth with her, bouncing ideas and drafts around. Liza was 100% responsive, helpful, creative, committed, and genuine, and she was monumental in helping me refine my essays to perfection. She also made the process fun. Most notably, Liza kept in touch with me after I submitted my applications; she helped me prep for the interview, sent me a “thinking of you” note on interview day, and on decision day, and when I was waitlisted, she stuck with me. Liza helped me strategize my efforts to tackle the waitlist process, which after three months, proved successful.

At the end of this process, not only have I gained admission to my top choice program, but I also feel like I have gained a true friend who is interested in my success. I highly recommend Liza to anyone looking for help, even in a pinch, because you will not get better treatment or a better experience, or find a better friend, anywhere. Thank you, Liza!

I’m an international applicant from a tech background who’s engaged Liza for my HBS interview. I am happy to share that I’ve been accepted to HBS! Liza’s not only very knowledgeable and experienced but has also been so incredibly helpful and empathetic throughout my interaction with her. The mock interview helped a lot – Liza’s honest and encouraging about my rooms for improvement. She addressed my areas of concern too, giving me tips on how to be more effective and confident in my communication.

Although technically Liza’s supposed to help me just for the interview, she’s generous enough to also entertain all my other questions in relation to my application. It really helps to have a one-to-one channel for moral support and to clarify my doubts, given my status as an international applicant who’s unfamiliar with the US system. I would highly recommend Liza to anyone who’s looking to go through the same process.

Background: Female, Associate at Large PE firm Admitted: HBS

Liza came highly recommended to me by multiple colleagues. Despite being “late” to hire a consultant given my desire to apply round 1, Liza was prompt to respond and we spoke a few days after I reached out. Liza’s incredibly thoughtful yet matter-of-fact approach to our conversation struck me and I hired her without speaking with any other consultants!

My biggest concern as an applicant coming from a large PE firm was that a consultant would strip away the personality in my application and my voice in what ended up being a very personal essay. Liza assuaged my fears immediately – I was in awe of her ability to listen to my stories, read my essay drafts, and then provide helpful revision advice that actually helped my personality come across more clearly. She wasn’t afraid to support me putting my truest, most authentic self out there in a way that was clear, authentic, and confident (but not arrogant).

Liza is not only an excellent writer and communicator who will help you polish your writing and interviewing skills, but what really sets her apart from others in this industry is that she is a good listener and has a keen ability to get to know you quickly. I have heard horror stories of friends who have spent thousands on consultants who fail to provide a personalized experience — mixing up their clients, taking a long time to provide feedback on materials, and when they do finally respond, giving advice that is at best generic. The business school application requires a level of introspection that many of us try to avoid as we navigate pressure-filled professional lives, and Liza is that sherpa who knows how to carefully guide you through a reflection of where you came from, why you are the way you are, and what you want out of life and out of business school. She is so thoughtful and insightful that at times I felt like I was her only client!

Finally, I really appreciated how organized and professional Liza is; she is very good about setting expectations and guidelines early on and sticking to them (as I mentioned before, I’ve heard horror stories from friends…) At the beginning of the process, she establishes a week-by-week plan of what needs to be done, and when, which is helpful as many of us juggle busy careers and personal lives.

I am thrilled to be attending Harvard Business School starting this fall and I know that I would not have this opportunity without Liza’s support and guidance. I cannot recommend her enough!

Background: International (work in USA), Female, Consultant
Admitted: HBS

Liza is the absolute best!

I started working with Liza to prepare for my interviews and she has been an amazing source of guidance and support. I was debating whether I need help with interviews and which consultant to pick but after one call with Liza, I knew that I had to work with her. She was positive and genuine and very thorough in her questions. In addition, the friend who referred me had nothing but amazing things to say about her. While I didn’t work with her as my primary consultant, I know that she would have been invaluable throughout the whole process.

She conducted a mock HBS interview and the actual interview ended up having very similar questions to what Liza asked me. She not only gave me very pointed strategic advice but perhaps more importantly gave me the confidence and reassurance I needed. She also helped me prep for behavioral/story-type questions for my other interviews. Liza showed me how to take the stories that I found uneventful and showcase them in a way that highlights my strong characteristics. She reassured me that I could show my vulnerabilities too.

Although I only worked with her on the interview part of the process, she was there for me every step of the way. She gave me encouragement before my interview and checked in with me right after. Liza clearly cares about the people she works with and is an expert in her craft. She remembers the smallest details you mention in the calls and gives advice from a very experienced point of view. I would recommend Liza in a heartbeat!

Background: Male (no diversity). Top business undergrad. Senior Associate at PE fund. Below average GMAT. Outcome: Deferred HBS, Admitted Wharton.

I began thinking about the business school application process at the start of my second year in private equity, or about 1 year prior to applications being due (for reference I had already signed on to stay at my company for the third year). I was unsure whether to use a consultant since I consider myself to be organized and relatively decent creative writer. I reached out to Liza directly via an introduction from a former coworker of mine who had used Liza 1 year prior (accepted to both HBS and GSB). I interviewed Liza and maybe 3-4 other consultants (all recommendations from current + former coworkers), and decided that signing up with Liza was an absolute no brainer. I’ll try to boil this down to the reasons that I think are most applicable to someone of my profile looking to sign on an MBA consultant:

1. Cost (General): I understand that for some of you reading this, signing up with a business school consultant may be financially prohibitive. But for those of you who are willing to fork up an additional few $k (on top of the c.$100-200k MBA cost), my view is that doing so is extremely worthwhile. I personally was contemplating whether the cost for a consultant was justified, but after working with Liza, I am certain that the outcome of my application was leaps and bounds better and more targeted towards a seasoned admissions committee than it would have been otherwise working on my own (again, coming from someone who got straight A’s in English / writing throughout school and who admittedly has a bit of a “writing ego” – a lot of this is not just “am I a good writer” or “do I have an interesting story”, but also “do I really know exactly what the admissions folks are looking for?” My sense is that the answer is more nuanced than you/I may think). So from a cost perspective, again, if able to afford, I view this as a no brainer drop in the bucket cost relative to the broader MBA program expense, to ensure your application is as stellar as possible. But this is a highly debated topic so I understand if there are others that may feel differently.

2. Her Track Record: before joining private equity, I previously worked for 3 years at a boutique investment bank. I probably need 3 (maybe 4) hands to count the number of my former co-workers from that bank that have used Liza for business school applications over the past several years. The reason why working with Liza has become such a rite of passage for those from my old firm is, at face value, the unarguable results she produces. I’m pretty sure that all of my former co-workers that have worked with Liza in the past ended up getting into at least one of their top choices (typically HBS, GSB or Wharton). I, of course, don’t want to mistake correlation vs causation here (i.e. many of these individuals were likely stellar candidates on their own accord). But given how competitive the application process has become over the past few years (I’ve witnessed many rejections of other top tier candidates), I’d be remiss not to attribute a non-immaterial portion of many of these successes to Liza’s “magic touch” during the application process.

3. Her Insight: Liza has been working as an MBA consultant for over a decade, and as a result of that has deep insight into specifically what each admissions committee is seeking for a given background. I.e. for myself – what might help me stand out as a relatively generic non-diverse male private equity candidate? I found this particularly relevant for HBS, GSB, and Wharton. The two essays I’d say we spent the most time on were i) GSB’s “What matters most to you and why” and ii) “What more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for HBS?”. I started by compiling a 20-page brainstorming document that contained all my “stories” from growing up, high school, college, etc. The goal was to resurface some of my deepest most personal stories (“what makes me tick?”) that would be most helpful in presenting my candidacy to an admissions committee of a top MBA program. Liza read every page. Over the course of many months, Liza focused me on which stories were better to showcase vs others, and pulled out key motifs/themes that seemed present across each of them. (For me – the key theme we found was my underlying longing for experimenting / not being afraid to do things differently). Moving from brainstorming document (finalized call it mid-April) to the final draft of HBS/GSB essays took 4-5 months of relentless reflection and substantial re-working. I am confident that the finished product is what granted me acceptance into Wharton and Deferral from HBS despite a well-below-average GMAT score for my application cohort + non-diverse background.

4. Her Energy and Enthusiasm: throughout the application process, Liza became much more than just my consultant. She became a great friend and life coach. The spring and summer I spent writing applications was admittedly pretty rough. I had to sit inside during countless sunny Saturday’s and Sunday’s to brainstorm / write essays, on top of an already demanding job. During that time, Liza helped me stay positive through her energetic and buoyant tone during each and every one of our phone calls and embedded within each of her redlined essay comments. Liza isn’t afraid to “think out loud” on the page which I thought was immensely helpful and motivational (i.e. “I like this, but we can make it better! Something along the lines of ‘XYZ’”), and always gave credit when due (“wow, what an improvement! Love this!”). She also isn’t afraid to hold your hand when you get writer’s block, and take you down a path that might possibly lead somewhere great, just to keep the ball rolling. These anecdotes may seem small/generic, but really do add up during a long and grueling application process. It’s important to select a consultant with a contagious energy that will help you get through all the long hours, and that is as invested in your application success and general well-being during the process (and post-process as well) as Liza is. I have no doubt we’ll remain in touch for many years to come.

I can only speak to my background, my experiences, and the experiences of my peers. But if you are coming from an investment banking or PE background with the goal of gaining acceptance into a top MBA program, Liza is nothing short of an incredible option from a track record and personality perspective. And if you do find after your intro call with Liza that she is the right fit for you, I’d make sure to sign up with her early on in the process – her spots tend to fill up quickly.

Background: Male, Finance undergrad, associate at VC firm
Admitted: HBS

Go with Liza!

If you’re contemplating working with a consultant during your application process, it’s likely because you know that the applications are not to be underestimated. And given that, you cannot find a better choice than Liza. I was candidly on the fence of whether or not to work with a consultant, but after my initial consultation with Liza, I knew I only had one choice.

I worked with Liza over the course of 6 months, but it was after our initial brainstorming session that I felt like she knew me. Throughout our time together, Liza would consistently reference topics or conversations we covered in our first session together. And that was why she was so impactful for me. Ultimately, I was crafting my own story, but Liza knew the prodding questions to ask – she brought out the details in my story that truly showed who I am.

Liza’s support and cheery disposition always brightened my day. Whenever we hopped on the phone together, whether it was to brainstorm essay topics or to conduct a mock interview, I always left our conversation feeling confident. The on-campus interviews were a particularly daunting part of the process for me, but Liza’s feedback gave me a framework on which to concentrate, and her positive reassurance made me feel ready. The quick email on the morning of a big day with positive vibes was always helpful too…

If you’re applying to just one school or a handful, the application process is time-consuming. Liza, though, distills everything into digestible pieces. There will no doubt be a number of iterations until you get to the final product (for your resume, essays, and/or responses to application questions). But, speaking to my process, with each turn, Liza’s feedback was targeted and impactful. Liza guided me to the “a-ha” moment, the instant I knew I nailed my story.

I don’t know how many other applicants Liza worked with, but I always felt that I was given individual attention. Liza is always there, to answer a one-off question or to have a longer form conversation. Most important to me, though, was that I knew Liza was invested in seeing me succeed. Without Liza, I know I wouldn’t have felt as confident submitting an application as I did.

If you choose to work with Liza (you absolutely should), you’ll have someone in your corner that will challenge you and is wholly devoted to your success. Quite simply, if you’re looking to present the best version of yourself, go with Liza!

Background: Male, top undergrad, real estate development/construction industry

I owe a huge part of my three acceptances to top schools (with scholarships!!) to Liza. This review doesn’t begin to cover how much I appreciate her help throughout this long but rewarding process. However, I hope it gives future applicants some insight into the journey and encourages those serious about presenting their best business school applications to work with Liza.

I came to Liza knowing that getting into a top MBA program would be a stretch given certain components of my profile. I had worked for very small, entrepreneurial companies in an industry that is an atypical precursor to MBA. Additionally, I was not on the best terms with a previous employer. I told her in my initial call that I was going to be a challenge! However, Liza never let me think for a second that I wasn’t capable of getting to where I wanted to be. Instead, she encouraged me to see my unique background as an asset and focus my efforts on what I could control in the application.

Initially, we examined themes ranging from my childhood through college and professional life. I felt comfortable sharing so much with her because she was truly interested in getting to know me and created an open line of communication. Liza helped me create powerful essays from these themes by identifying specific examples that demonstrate my achievements to date and leadership potential. She was also a tremendous resource with application logistics and developing a strategy behind presenting components of my background, interests, and goals, locating wherein each application I could present my many facets.

Furthermore, Liza kept me in check – beyond just a schedule/flow of work kind of way. Yes, Liza was very direct with creating a game plan from day one, setting target dates, and being responsive to all of my essay drafts. What I mean is that Liza kept me focused on my message in every possible opportunity in the application. What connected me further to Liza was her commitment to showcasing my authentic self and core values. For one of my essays, Liza encouraged me to run with an idea that I was afraid was too “personal” for a business school application. Without her guidance, I would not have had the courage or ability to execute on what I now believe to be a valuable part of my journey to an MBA. After multiple drafts, the essay turned out to be the one I’m most proud of across all applications and got me accepted to my top choice school.

The MBA application process can be very exhausting and stressful but also reflective and constructive. Beyond these acceptances, I feel that I’ve achieved greater clarity towards what I want in the next steps in my career and life. It was not easy though and comes with answering tough questions and taking time for uncomfortable introspection. Liza is going to guide you to really do this work which I believe got me into these programs. I wouldn’t have been as disciplined or successful in this process without Liza’s positive attitude and direct counsel. You want her on your team!

Having Liza as my consultant was HUGE for me. By way of background, I am a male applicant with a less traditional career path, Liza helped me utilize my story in an effective way. She helped me identify my strengths as a candidate and provided amazing feedback that I would not have had without her as my consultant. The MBA application can be daunting but it helps tremendously to have someone like Liza who knows all the ins and out of the process and can provide great recommendations regardless of the question. I know without a doubt that Liza’s work helped me get into the school of my dreams. I simply could not have done it without her.

I looked at other consultants but couldn’t really find one that ‘clicked.’ After doing the introductory call, I knew immediately that Liza was the person I needed to make my candidacy the most competitive. This was the best decision I could have made!

Liza is always available; has tremendous knowledge of all the schools and the process in general; is a joy to work with; and most of all is dedicated completely to making sure your application is the best possible. I cannot recommend enough!

To say that Liza has been an integral resource and partner to me throughout this process is an understatement. She made the daunting process of applying to an MBA much easier and more fun, particularly her eagerness and passion to help bring out the best in me. I’ll highlight several that particularly stood out:

1. Liza’s uplifting energy has been very helpful throughout this stressful process. Applying to MBA is often daunting, but Liza’s passion and eagerness were a huge motivating factor.
2. Always readily available via email or call. Liza and I even met in person for our initial discussion on our initial ‘brainstorming’ doc, which was over 15 pages long!
3. Liza took the time to get to know me as a person and helped me connect the dots of recurring themes in my life to craft compelling stories.
4. Providing the type of essay feedback that would push for more details; the resulting stories would come out so much more ‘alive.’
5. Interview coaching was also extremely helpful. Liza completely upended the way I answered interview questions by crafting them in a much more refined yet concise way. This enabled me to go into my interviews feeling much more confident and prepared.
6. Liza also would check in with me from time to time just to make sure I am doing okay and she also sent me messages right before my interviews to wish me luck!
7. Also, never missing a deadline (48-hour turnaround — without exception)

All in all, Liza was such a great partner throughout the application process. I ended up getting into Tuck and was waitlisted at Kellogg (For context: I am a female applicant working in the financial services sector and I have below-average GMAT and GPA for both of these schools).

Background: female, Ivy League undergrad, banking + PE
Results: accepted to HBS and GSB

I was referred to Liza by multiple friends who had used her in prior years with great success. After our intro call it was immediately clear that Liza was my “must-have” consultant. I was just thankful that she still had spots available to work with me!

I can say definitively that working with Liza was the best investment I made during my MBA admissions journey. She served as a thought partner, sounding board, cheerleader, and mentor throughout my application process, and I could not recommend her more.

Liza stands out among a number of dimensions:
1. SHE FINDS YOUR STORY: Liza was relentless in helping me find and showcase my story. She knew exactly the questions to ask and threads to pull on to tease out my unique personal and professional experiences. Going into the process, I was not used to writing about myself. Liza fostered an environment for safe, but deep personal exploration. She helped uncover stories I had forgotten about and helped me translate those experiences into compelling essays. By the time I submitted my apps, I felt that they were truly “me” on paper, thanks to Liza

2. SHE JUST GETS IT: From the very beginning, I felt that Liza had a deep understanding of my background. She had worked with many folks from banking/PE previously, and I felt that she “got” me and knew how to help me stand out among this pool of applicants

3. UNPARALLELED HONESTY AND THOUGHTFULNESS: Liza takes great pride in her work and holds both herself and her applicants to high standards. She put real time, thought, and energy into reviewing every piece of work that I put forth – from the brainstorming doc to essays to short answers. Her comments always explained both WHAT she was thinking and WHY. And she was very honest and direct. In the final days before one of my applications was due, Liza kindly but directly told me that she thought a section of my essay still wasn’t working – and then spent a few hours and multiple more drafts helping me MEANINGFULLY improve it. When Liza told me that my essays were “good to go,” I know that she meant it

4. NAILS THE PROCESS: Liza just nails everything related to organization, deadlines, timing, etc. She is very responsive to emails, never missed a single essay revision deadline, and did an amazing job keeping ME on track

Thank you Liza for helping me realize my MBA goals. I couldn’t have done it without you and couldn’t recommend you more!

Background: Male, Engineering Undergrad/Grad, Software Engineer at a FAANG company
Admitted: MIT Sloan, Stanford GSB.

I struggle to express just how incredible Liza was during this entire process. I’ll start by saying she is a wonderful person. I started quite late and was honestly very hesitant as a result, but from the first introductory phone call with Liza she was incredibly reassuring, understanding, and ready to formulate a game plan that worked well with my tight timeline. I especially enjoyed Liza’s positive vibe and her uncanny ability to guide while ensuring that my own narrative was represented throughout my entire application, telling my authentic story was important to me, so I appreciated her holistic approach very much.

By virtue of Liza’s genuine interest in my story and her follow up “why” questions whenever we met, I became much better at telling my story (by the time I got to the 1-minute video for MIT’s app, I was an expert at articulating who I was). Updates were frequent and feedback was fast! I honestly couldn’t ask for better help.

Most importantly, all throughout the application process, I got the sense that Liza really, truly enjoys what she does, and brings every bit of her energy to helping her clients achieve their goals of admission to a top MBA program. She made what seemed a daunting process one of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had. I highly recommend Liza as an admissions consultant, she helped me realize I could tackle the infamous “what matters most” essay and get admitted to Stanford GSB, for that I am eternally grateful. Thank you.

*SHE WILL HELP YOU CRAFT YOUR BEST PACKAGE POSSIBLE!*

I’m a 10 year veteran with a below 700 GMAT. I knew I would need to craft my best package possible in order to be competitive for R2 submissions. I applied to Kellogg (D), Wharton (A), and HBS (A – attended). I began working on my applications around July and had already written my essays and resume by the time I approached Liza in October.

Even though I had engaged peers and alumni from all three schools to provide feedback on my essays and resume, I still felt uneasy with the feedback I received. My peers knew me well and had a military background – I felt I needed to engage someone with a keen eye and a different background. That’s when I reached out to MBAmission.

I got lucky by picking Liza Weale – after reading her background, she seemed like someone I would want to work with, a decision I don’t regret. She was able to relate to me, teach me new skills, keep me positive, and above all – provide an honest estimate of her services.

Liza Weale is a military brat (an endearing word to those that grew up traveling the country and world, base to base), so she had the perfect mix between knowing enough about the military to understand some context – but not enough to read past jargon. It was this balance that allowed her to provide hard-hitting insight into my stories. If something made no sense – she’d give it to me straight. It really forced me to reflect on my stories in a way I could not have done on my own. This paid dividends when I interviewed at HBS. She is also extremely sharp and succinct. I had fears working over the phone – having done many teleconferences, I know what a waste of time they can turn out to be, but she was able to make every minute count. One phone call in my mind equated to 50 emails (be prepared to take copious notes when you call her!) Working with her opened my eyes to the caliber of professionals that I would potentially work with after earning an MBA. She was EXACTLY the kind of person I was seeking.

Liza Weale played the role of teacher. Regardless of the outcome of my application – I knew I was walking away from this experience a better writer. She opened my eyes to the “Show don’t Tell” technique of writing. This skill set has translated into my profession and has helped me teach others to write better too.

Liza Weale played the role of a support network. Few of my friends could understand the stress I felt or the odds I was up against. There were times when I doubted my own package – knowing that I was outside the median in almost every category tracked. She was always positive, over email and the phone – even when providing tough feedback. Her positive attitude never wavered and it helped crush any doubt that began to creep into my head.

Above all – Liza Weale is honest. I was willing to pay for the much more expensive deluxe service package. But after she had a chance to review my brainstorming document, essays, and resume, she recommended the hourly rate – recognizing I would not need hours and hours of her assistance. I do give myself credit – I had to play my part too – I was receptive to her insights and did the hard work of crafting and re-crafting my essays. She was acted as a rudder – providing steering direction toward my goals.

***COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY IF LIZA WEALE HAS AVAILABILITY TO HELP YOU!***
I am giving her name to all my friends who decide to pursue an MBA as well.

When I had my free consultation with the admissions company Liza previously worked with, I was on the fence about working with the company in the future. To be candid, my initial (free trial) consultant and I didn’t click. She was tough and to the point, and I knew I needed a cheerleader. A quick chat with the founder informed me that I was able to be matched with the consultant best suited to my style for powering through seven (yes, seven) MBA applications to top 20 programs. When I told him I wanted a cheerleader; someone who would constantly encourage me with the power of positive energy, he immediately said: “You need Liza!”

He could not have been more right. Liza is upbeat, peppy, realistic, and encouraging. Her tone is always cheerful and bright, powering through long calls discussing every accomplishment and story I have from my undergrad, career and personal life. I work long hours, and she was always able to accommodate my schedule by meeting at 7:30 or 8:00 am, in the evenings, or on weekends. She helped me pick my stories and truly unearth the key points from each, all the while providing both positive and constructive feedback. When Liza sends comments back on essays, she’ll also include little notes like “love this part” or “great point!” That’s just the kind of person she is. Her 48-hour-or-less turnaround time was impeccable, powering me through three round one applications and almost four round two applications.

When I received interview invites, her mock interviews truly prepared me for the real thing. She wasn’t afraid to tell me where I needed to improve and study up, highlighting how to ace a “why xyz school” question after I completely bombed the question in our mock interview.

When I was dinged from my first school, I emailed Liza in a panic: “Do I need to apply to some lower ranked schools for safety? Am I going to get in anywhere?” Liza talked me down, reassuring me that I would get in somewhere, while still researching some additional safety school options, should I choose to go that route. Her overall knowledge of the MBA programs helped solidify my school list, despite my constantly changing thoughts, and made me feel confident in my ability to be admitted to a top school .

With Liza’s help, I was able to gain admittance to a top five program and a top fifteen program (with a full ride!) during round one, halting the additional applications I was working on.

Liza even helped me when I was on the fence between the two options, gathering information from her coworkers about how to approach gently negotiating for scholarship money and having calls with me to weigh my options. She advised me to look at recruiting data at both schools and to think of the bigger financial picture post-MBA than just the cost of the MBA itself.

Almost a year after I started studying for the GMAT, I submitted my deposit for a top 5 MBA program. I could not have done it without Liza’s help; hiring her is so much more than hiring a consultant. It’s a true investment in your future.

When I first began looking at the application process I was overwhelmed by the amount of work in front of me. I planned to work on my business school applications without the aid of an admissions consultant, but I decided to sign up for a free 30-minute consultation with Liza Weale and mbaMission. I came into the meeting hoping for guidance on some tricky questions I was facing and I was blown away by how prepared, informative and fun to talk to Liza was. I decided then and there that I had to work with Liza and I couldn’t be happier with that decision!!

I worked with Liza on three start-to-finish applications and I’m thrilled to be heading to my first choice (Columbia) in the fall! Throughout the entire process, Liza was invaluable and in my corner, whether we were completely overhauling my resume, tweaking the 10th draft of an essay or thinking about the best way to answer short answer questions. Liza would regularly send me thoughts or suggestions even when I didn’t ask her and having an expert to bounce difficult questions off was an amazing resource. After only a few weeks I really felt like we were a team.

Liza also wasn’t afraid to challenge my thinking and really push me to improve my applications. I wrote what I believed to be a very strong essay and Liza showed me that I could much more effectively represent myself if I went in a different direction. When it came time to approach my recommenders Liza was so helpful in organizing my communication with them and making sure I got their full support, which turned out to be essential in my applications. And then when interviews came around, I was so prepared based on my work with Liza that I was completely comfortable and confident in what turned out to be an hour and a half interview that sealed my admission. I never could have been so effective if Liza hadn’t known exactly what questions to be ready for and helped me thoughtfully answer them in a way that was true to who I am.

If I had it to do all over again I would work with Liza in a heartbeat. I have already recommended her to my close friends and couldn’t imagine going through this process without her. She delivered in a big way for me both in terms of getting me through the grueling application process and also the great results!