mbaMission | MBA Admissions Consultants

Working with Krista Nannery was the single best decision I made in my MBA application journey. I am thrilled to have gotten into my dream school and I am convinced that if it wasn’t for her constant guidance, support, and expertise I would not be in this position.

Essays: Her biggest strength is the environment of trust she creates. This helped me open up to her on my life experiences during the essay brainstorming discussions – the foundation for the essay content. She always offered targeted advice and has the ability to story-tell in an engaging but efficient way. This was especially important for someone like me who had lots to share but struggled to be within the word counts. She constantly went above and beyond on the number of essay drafts and never once missed her 2-day response rule – often responded within a day.

Strategy: Krista’s knowledge of the overall admissions process and the specific schools was helpful throughout the process. She helped put together a target school list based on my profile and interests. When it came to strengthening my improvement areas, she had invaluable suggestions.

Mock interviews: Her questions and feedback during the mock interviews were extremely valuable. Krista recreated an interview environment in those mock interview sessions and her choice of questions depending on the school were spot on. I walked into every interview confident.

Krista was more than a consultant to me – she was a patient guide and caring friend. The application process is exhausting with lots of ups and downs. It’s impossible to put a price on having someone by your side who truly cares about you and your dreams. I strongly recommend working with Krista – it’s the best investment you will make!

Devi is truly outstanding. If you are serious about HBS, and in particular the interview, look no further. Her instinct is spot on, and her insight and candor pushed me to be more confident, more articulate, and more comfortable. She is patient, understanding, and extremely dedicated – she takes her client’s success very seriously. Our two mock interview sessions were extremely productive, and pushed me to get out of my head, to improve, and to sharpen my story and goals. Devi’s extensive knowledge across industries was incredibly valuable. Working with her is not only an opportunity to improve your interview experience, but also to get advice and feedback from an extremely smart, successful HBS alum. She is pragmatic and direct, and pushed me to develop communication skills that I will carry with me for life. Because of Devi’s support with the interview, I was admitted! Thank you Devi!! Regardless of outcome, working with her was money well spent – the clarity and confidence she will bring to your story and goals is invaluable. I cannot recommend Devi enough – she is wonderful, and an absolute pro.

If you are looking to engage an advisor for your applications, Gavriella is the perfect choice. Gavriella helped shape my applications and worked with me to define the strategy, choices and essays that went along with them. Gavriella guided my applications from start to end by brainstorming the topics and inputs to final edits. She is endlessly patient and answered my many many questions with thoughtful, personalized, and useful answers, and provided the right advice all along the way. Without Gavriella’s writing skills and editing, my essays would not have been nearly the same (nor as concise and within the word limit) and without her coaching and guidance, I would not be starting my full-time MBA in the fall. Gavriella is a great choice for hourly and school packages.

I would not be going to business school this fall if it were not for Gavriella Semaya. To say she was instrumental does not come close to capturing how impactful she was in my process. Gavriella is a talented listener, remarkable editor, and an incredibly thoughtful advisor. I was extremely impressed with how quickly Gavriella understood my story and helped me craft a strong and succinct narrative. She did not let me off easy; Gavriella pushed me to think about my goals and articulate how I got to where I am – she guided me down a path of meaningful self-discovery that will serve me well for years to come. In addition to her ability to help me articulate my story and goals, Gavriella has a gift for editing which significantly increased the quality of my applications. Lastly, Gavriella went above and beyond to check in after each interview, she helped me manage the waitlist process and was a valuable sounding board when I made my final decision. I am so grateful to have worked with Gavriella, I cannot recommend her enough. While I am thrilled to be going to school, I am sad that my time with her as an advisor is over!

Harshad is one of those no-nonsense and to-the-point coaches that will help you level up your MBA apps. From the time we first spoke during the free consultation, Harshad was genuine and empathetic with me about my ambitions and how to turn them into reality. His feedback and editing work on the essays was by far the most value-added aspect of the consultation, which turned my VERY rough drafts into essays with substance, relevance, and flow. He is extremely adept at breaking down the essay questions and what the ad coms are looking for in response so that your essay responses are clear and concise. He will work with you to revise your draft as many times as you need (believe me as I needed SEVERAL edits before I felt good about mine). He is extremely professional and responds sooner than the SLA time, and working for long stretches of time to help you meet your deadlines. Overall, his communication style and rigor are ideal and I would recommend him to anyone who is in the market for an MBA admissions consultant!

I needed guidance to narrow down my options and identify the best programs for my profile before I could consider whether or not to purchase admissions consulting services to apply to those programs. Essentially, to understand if the programs I was aiming for were a stretch for my profile (important to invest in support), or if I could reasonably aim for admission with a strong, solid application (i.e. I was a desirable candidate). Jessica was simply excellent. She was direct, informative, astute and patient with my evaluation process. We had 3-4 email exchanges where we bounced around ideas and weighed pros and cons of various programs. I genuinely expected to engage the services of mbaMission by the 2nd email exchange, as I was so impressed with Jessica, versus the 2 other brief phone consults I’d had with other services. But in the end, after I dove back into my program selection with a bit more guiding light, I decided to forge into the application process solo – without paid consult – and was admitted to UCLA FEMBA and HAAS EWMBA. Haas later offered me a place in EMBA, with a scholarship to support switch, and I took the opportunity.

I wrote Jessica to thank her after because our exchange stayed with me. She was excellent. If I’d had any hesitation about the strength of my application or competitive candidacy, I would absolutely have engaged her services to boost my chances of admission.

Profile: Management Consultant at MBB
Nationality: India
GMAT: 750 Q50 V42
Admits: Wharton, MIT Sloan

I onboarded Julie-Anne for my application process after speaking to multiple consultants because I really liked her approach from the off. During our 30-minute free consultation, she understood my profile, background and motivations deeply. She even sent a detailed summary of our discussion along with her preliminary thoughts right after. This really impressed me and stood out for me vs. other consultants.

Throughout the application process, Julie-Anne was always there for me, as a consultant and a mentor. She was thoughtful, creative and a calming presence. On multiple occasions, she went out of her way to help me – such as responding back within less than the prescribed time when I was under pressure. There were times when I was less responsive than I should have been but Julie-Anne ensured I was always on my heels – which was a major reason why I was able to meet all my deadlines. Julie-Anne’s main focus was always ensuring that I put my best foot forward and she ensured that was the case, even if it meant not sticking to the prescribed SLAs at times. For example, if she felt my performance in behavioral interviews was not up to scratch, she kept doing mock interviews till I was able to perform to my best capability.

In addition, I felt MBAMission’s resources were very strong – covering a gamut of information, from brainstorming about your story, to choosing and contacting your recommenders, to getting off the waitlist. I have seen resources from other admissions consultants and I strongly consider MBAMission to be the best of the lot.

In summary, I am very grateful to Julie-Anne for her help and support, and strongly attribute my success in the application process to her.

I signed up for mbaMission’s hourly services in hopes to enhance and practice my interview skills. I was paired to work with Gavriella and she was extremely helpful! She gave me roughly 10-12 questions that are typical questions in a business school interview for me to prepare for and we had mock interviews with those questions. In the first mock interview, I kept stuttering and I was a mess. Gavriella helped me calm down and put the interview into a better perspective so that I wouldn’t be as nervous. We practiced for around 3 hours and I really loved how she was able to show me how to better answer some of my answers and clearly explain what I was trying to say. After the mock interview, she sent me a bunch of other questions that could be asked so that I could review myself. Overall, my experience with Gavriella was very productive and informative, and I highly recommend her to anyone seeking advice when applying to business school. I also was admitted to my top choice school with her help and couldn’t have done it without her!

In our consultation call, Gavriella was very knowledgeable & personable when helping me to prepare my MBA application. Our conversation was organic and her recommendations were always specifically tailored for me. We polished my resume by ensuring that each bullet didn’t merely describe my responsibilities, but actually highlighted the impact of my work and the accomplishments I achieved in each position. Additionally, Gavriella gave suggestions on how to best articulate ambitious & achievable goals in my personal statement as well as how to prepare individualized “context packets” for my recommenders. After our incredibly productive call, she followed up with a detailed email that summarized our conversation, reiterated her key recommendations, and provided additional (free!) resources that would further aid me in my MBA journey. Gavriella’s guidance & insights gave me the clarity & confidence I️ needed to finish my applications & couldn’t recommend her more highly!

Prior to applying this year, I had very little experience with the MBA application process. Michael helped me build the confidence necessary to put my best foot forward. He is extremely professional and was always candid with me. This helped me clearly articulate my unique message and achieve a long-held dream. The application cycle for the class of 2023 was subject to a great deal of change and uncertainty – Michael was responsive, on top of all relevant news, and never missed a deadline. I highly recommend Michael.

I started my MBA admissions process completely overwhelmed, with pieces of the puzzle figured out, but not sure how to fit them together. I had so many questions, which added another layer of stress to an already incredibly stressful process. I spent several months resistant to seeking the help of an admissions consultant due to the price but eventually decided that having the support of someone who knows the MBA admissions process inside and out would be a huge benefit. This decision led me to MBAmission, and to Krista in particular. In my initial consultation call with Krista, I knew she was fantastic! She came into the conversation knowing about my career path to date, and with specific suggestions on when to apply, where to apply, specific aspects of my application that needed strengthening, and how to do so. In a half-hour call, I could tell that she was already invested in seeing me succeed. For the first time in the months I had spent researching and prepping, I walked away with a new sense of confidence and direction that is reflective of my overall experience working with Krista. Over the course of our several months working together, Krista helped me clearly articulate my goal in pursuing an MBA, think about the aspects of my experience/career/personality that made me a unique candidate, consider how to best communicate and structure my story, and much more. I was impressed by her turnaround (so fast!), her editing ability, and knowledge of each school’s application process and preferences. The best part about working with Krista though, in addition to all that I’ve mentioned, was her commitment to my case and to me personally. She was so supportive and encouraging, always checking in on how I was feeling about the process, which pieces were overwhelming, and outside of MBA admissions, how work was going, how I was spending free time, etc. Now a year later, I’ve been admitted to my dream school, and am preparing to attend in the fall. I could not have gotten there without Krista and am beyond grateful for her support! Thinking back to my initial hesitation, I’ll say now with full confidence that working with Krista was the best money that I’ve ever spent and made for a very positive MBA admissions experience.

For me, obtaining an MBA degree from the nation’s top credited school was my dream, and when you desire something so much, you have great motivation but the anxiety and fear of failing also reside throughout your journey. One thing Harshad told me during our initial interview that brought me a sense of assurance was that: “there is no guarantee for the admission, but if you could follow along with my guidance, we will submit the best application we can. ” From that moment, I knew he is the right consultant for me. However, during our partnership, Harshad went above and beyond my expectation. His approach was very systematic, and he spends a lot of time learning about your personality, your highlights, and your distinctions and incorporate those elements into your essays so that you can be the best form of yourself. Harshad is also very friendly, sharing his personal experience and life stories. That was special to have. To me, besides our partnership, I will also describe him as one of my dear friends. 🙂 He always provides candid feedback, and that’s how it should be. Because sometimes the blunt comments are the last catalyst to push yourself to the next level. Let’s be honest, if you can’t even impress your consultant, the chances of making the admission committee like you after just a mundane essay, which they read thousands of them each year are slim to none.

With his help, I was able to make my dream a reality, and I just want to sincerely thank him for all his help along the way. He is the best consultant I have seen, and you will not regret picking him as your admission consultant.

I was a little nervous about using a consultant for my application. I started with 2 hours with Gavriella. She is very honest, dedicated, and smart. She never missed any of the commitments. In a 30 mins zoom call; she understood my background goals and came up with great suggestions on where I can improve my application further. I could feel the difference in my application quality right away and felt confident before applying itself. She even helped me with my professional resume. Got admitted to all my dream schools and picked my top choice in G7. I highly recommend her to anybody without a doubt.

Gavriella was incredibly helpful in enabling me to pump out 4 last-minute applications in under 7 days…over the holidays to boot! Her effort to understand the distinguishing features of my personal narrative in such a short time frame coupled with her ability to decisively and effectively cull my verbosity were essential to allowing me to convey the most compelling features of my candidacy.

The flexibility in structuring the use of my hours was also very helpful as the areas of my application requiring review and the level of depth required were quite fluid. Despite this, we were able to work together to ensure we were able to achieve proper treatment all around.

Gavriella was also a tremendous resource in navigating the interview and waitlist processes going above and beyond the call of duty. Her provision of guiding resources, as well as continued Q&A support, helped quell some of the uncertainty and allowed me to feel prepared and confident in my approach during those anxiety-ridden weeks.

In the end, thanks to Gavriella’s help, I was able to gain admission to Wharton with a >50% scholarship and a place on the waitlist at GSB. Would recommend her in a second to anyone embarking on the MBA app journey and would only recommend that you give yourself (and her) more time!

While I was initially hesitant to hire a consultant, I can say that it was completely well worth the cost to work with mbaMission and, most importantly, with Nisha!

I signed up for free consultations with mbaMission and Stacy Blackman Consulting to hopefully gain some additional insight. Admittedly, I wasn’t the most organized when going into these consultations, but I had trouble connecting with the consultant from SBC and frankly found her to be condescending and rude. I wasn’t sure if I was asking her “dumb” questions, but she certainly made me feel that way.

In late August, I had my mbaMission consultation with Nisha, and, while I was equally as disorganized as I was with SBC, my experience with Nisha was completely different. I asked her the same “dumb” questions, but she was patient and left me feeling reassured. I told her that I was unsure that I wanted to move forward with purchasing a package, and she was completely understanding. She never pressured me and followed up our call with helpful resources. Over the next couple of months following the consultation, I tried to rely on free resources but quickly became overwhelmed with all of the different (and sometimes contradictory) advice floating around and needed to have feedback and advice that would be tailored to me.

In early November, I finally signed up for the Complete Start-to-Finish package for two schools with Nisha, and it was an amazing decision! I was worried about only having two months to work on my applications and essays, but I ended up completing everything before the deadline.

During the entire process, Nisha was warm, encouraging, responsive, and wise–Everything that you need from someone helping you with this important journey. I had a MILLION questions, sometimes about the tiniest things, and she was continuously patient and gave great advice. Most importantly, she helped me zero in on my career goal, as I wasn’t 100% sure before starting this process.

She provided invaluable guidance and input on the applications and essays but did so in a way where the essays still sounded like me and were authentic to who I am. After I received an interview invitation, I received that same counsel for the next step of the process. In all, Nisha helped me feel more confident not only about my profile but also about myself.

Now that I’ve completed the process, I can happily say that I’ve been accepted to my dream school and am confident that I wouldn’t have been able to get here without Nisha.

I was beyond satisfied with the experience I had working with Jen – she was instrumental in elevating and helping me create a standout application. I decided to work with Jen as I was applying solely to international MBA programs, and she has extensive background working with schools abroad and personal experience from her studies at Judge. In addition to being a wealth of knowledge about the admissions process and what schools are looking for, Jen is incredibly thoughtful and supportive. She took the time to get to know me and my motivations for applying for an MBA, recommended potential schools to look into and was available and willing to answer all of my questions throughout the process. She successfully helped me craft a compelling story across my essays and CV, providing meaningful feedback across these aspects as well as during the interview prep phase. As a result, I’ll be attending a top 10 global school in January 2022. My acceptance would not have happened without Jen’s thoughtfulness and creativity – I highly recommend working with her.

There are no words to express the level of appreciation that I have for Melissa and the dedication that she put forth to my application process. Melissa went far beyond the call of an admissions consultant and approached the application process in stride with me. Her previous experience as an admissions director provides a unique and unbelievably valuable lens to the application process. Melissa helped me decompose what was a cumbersome and daunting process and compartmentalize it into digestible pieces, creating a focused and purpose-driven timeline to success.

I can say, without a shadow of a doubt in my mind, I would not have achieved the same level of success throughout the application process if it was not for her guidance, support, and level-headedness. Saying I am immensely grateful for my time with her still falls short of the appreciation I have.

If you are looking for a consultant who has the experience and expertise to guide you through what feels like a daunting journey, look no further than Melissa!

Kate was extremely helpful throughout the application process, from being a sounding board to ideate the best ways to present my candidacy, all the way through being a quasi-therapist on decision days! She went above and beyond when it came to caring and making sure that I was presenting the best version of myself possible. I would highly recommend her to anyone else.

My brother recommended Michael to me after working with him on his own MBA apps last year, and could not be more grateful for the suggestion. Honestly Michael’s guidance and the mbaMission resources were crucial for helping me navigate the stressful/challenging process. I came into the process without a clear sense of what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go, and Michael helped me articulate my interests and craft a compelling narrative for my application, and how to use each component of the process to help me make the best case for myself.

I genuinely believe I would not have been admitted without the help of Gavriella. I began the MBA process incredibly naïve and completely overwhelmed.

I initially enlisted Gavriella’s help for a two-school package. However, the immediate value and impact of her services convinced me to expand my package to include a third school. I only wish I could have used her help for all my applications!

She is equal parts teacher, strategist, therapist, and friend. She dove headfirst into my chaotic mess of a story, helping turn it into a coherent narrative that accurately depicted me and my experiences. Understanding who I am also allowed her to guide me to apply to programs aligned with my interest and post MBA goals that I had failed to consider.

From there, she proved instrumental in assisting me in articulating my story logically, thoughtfully, and compellingly. When interviews came, I was extremely nervous. The preparation she helped me with gave me confidence and empowered me.

If that wasn’t enough, she genuinely cared about me and my outcome. I distinctly remember email exchanges with her anxiously waiting for decisions alongside me. She celebrated my admittances AND helped me through rejections.

I cannot speak more highly of Gavriella.

After prospecting several business school consulting firms, I had my introductory conversation with Melissa and knew right away that she was in a class of her own. I initially did not gain acceptance to any of the programs that I applied to the first time around, so I decided to hire Melissa for my reapplication process.

If I could describe her consulting style in one word, it would be a partnership. The MBA application process can be a very individualistic and lonely process, however, Melissa ensures that she is with you every step of the way. From initial brainstorming sessions, outlining essay messaging, to admissions interview prep; she provides honest and constructive feedback to best position you for the admissions process.

I would recommend Melissa to ANY prospective admissions consulting client. I am confident that I would not have gained admission to both Ross and Booth without her help.

I would recommend Nisha to anyone applying to business school! I worked with her on a 2-school package. Initially, I was incredibly overwhelmed and intimidated by the application process. However, Nisha’s calm and friendly demeanor eliminated much of the stress. She was very responsive, always willing to jump on a call and listen. Nisha was also very organized, helping me to stay on track and prioritize particular aspects of my applications. Nisha asked curious and intelligent questions that helped me articulate my experience and goals in a thoughtful way. Most importantly, she really listened to my questions and concerns. She supported me every step of the way. When I was accepted to my top school, Nisha was the first person I wanted to tell!

I was an international applicant with a very non-traditional background. I applied to 5 schools (HSW+MIT+Booth) with Katy and received tremendous support from her on my applications. I have to admit that sometimes I sent her materials very close to the deadlines but she managed to work on that. As I saw the uncertainty for the internationals this admission cycle in the US, I also applied to INSEAD on my own and was admitted. I didn’t get into one of 5 US schools with Katy but I used the materials for my INSEAD application, and she provided a mock interview for INSEAD. I highly recommend Katy, even for non-traditional candidates.

Going into the application process, I was a bit intimidated that I didn’t fit the ‘traditional’ applicant profile, but from the first time I met with Krista, she helped to dismiss these doubts and I was confident she was the perfect partner to help me navigate this process. I connected with Krista’s warmth and kind demeanor, but also appreciated her firmness at times to push me towards optimal success. She specifically encouraged me to stay diligent in my efforts to raise my GRE score until I was able to achieve a score I needed and we felt confident in, which I believe ultimately played a role in my success.

Krista has a productive partnership style – she is very responsive and instructive over e-mail and uses video meetings when necessary. I left each meeting with Krista clear on my next steps and she made it easy to follow a timeline that felt realistic, but ensured we were going to hit our key deadlines. Her feedback style was constructive, yet encouraging and she always explained her thoughts and was open to talking them through so that I felt comfortable with the direction we were proceeding in.

I greatly appreciated Krista’s breadth of knowledge on each of the schools I was applying to and that she was able to guide me on how to best tailor my story for each school specifically. With my resume, she greatly helped me re-shape it to highlight my industry expertise and encouraged me to weaponize anything that made me unique. She made me feel confident in my story and candidacy and was diligent in going through drafts of essays to ensure they were where they needed to be at submission time.

In Krista you get so much more than a consultant – you get a mentor who is genuinely invested in this process with you. More than anything, I am grateful for Krista’s patience, encouragement, the confidence she instilled in me, and the areas she pushed me to improve. Krista’s commitment to her clients is further expressed in the excitement and happiness she feels when they succeed. Having achieved great results with acceptances to three schools, including my top choice in Wharton, I would strongly recommend Krista to anyone who is embarking on this admissions journey.

After struggling with my essays for a whole month, I decided to get a consultant to help me improve them. Choosing Heidi was one of the best decisions that I’d made in my application process.

She first helped me realign my career goal with what I’ve accomplished and what might be more possible. Then, we started working on my essays and resumes. She was very insightful, always asking the right questions to keep pushing me to reflect on myself, to dig deeper into my stories, and to realize what I want to highlight and what is unnecessary. In addition, she knew very well how to motivate others, and turned the painful writing/revising into a smooth process.

With her help, my essays became a lot more compact and compelling. I got multiple M7 offers, including my dream school Wharton. This won’t happen without her help and support! I highly recommend Heidi to anyone who is considering an application consultant.

Working with Harold was the best decision I made during the MBA application process. The work we did together was absolutely instrumental in getting accepted into several of the top business schools in the country.

I highly recommend Harold Simansky for his hourly services. Through Harold’s resume and essay reviews, I was accepted with a scholarship to Booth, Kellogg, Tuck, and Columbia.

Harold was extremely timely and communicative. His reviews – even when it was a busy season for round 2 – were extremely efficient. When I had an urgent request due to an upcoming deadline, Harold was understanding and was quick to prioritize my work.

In terms of the feedback, it was clear that Harold had extensive experience in reviewing essays and tailoring them to each school. The essay feedback was very helpful and prescriptive, allowing me to quickly edit and turnaround versions. Harold even shared my essays and resume with other reviewers at mbaMission for no charge. I really felt that I received more value than what I was paying for!

I’ve applied for a few T20 business schools’ MBA program in Round 2 for 2023 admission, and I have been admitted to my top choice school with a scholarship offer that is way more than I could ever dream of.
My experience of working with Gavriella has been amazing from beginning to end. As an older applicant (mid 30’s) with a non-traditional background, I had a lot of doubt about myself when I started the MBA journey. Gavriella did a great job to be there for me and to build my confidence. She was very caring and passionate — a very good listener and a genuine friend who made me feel comfortable to share my stories and put trust in her. I felt so lucky to have her during the whole process.
The best part of my experience with Gavriella is that, instead of trying to fit in any typical category or image, she worked with me to create a unique strategy to present my true self. She guided me to look back into my life/work experience, to reflect and to find a connection between my past and future goals.
She was always approachable, answered my inquires right away, and more often gave back more than I could’ve asked. Whether it was with essay drafting, recommendations, school networking, interview prep, or actions after submission, she always thought ahead and offered me insight to guide me through the key turning points in the application timeline.
My result is beyond what I have expected, and I am extremely grateful for Gavriella’s generous assistance.

Kate was a tremendous help throughout my application and instrumental in me getting into a top-ranked school. From the first consultation, she was really professional and patient with me as I figured out my best path forward. I did the 3 school start to finish package and applied during round 2. I had come in with a bit lower GRE scores and she helped me feel more confident about my application and craft a story that would resonate with AdCom teams. I had started working with her in October and we hit the ground running. The whole process felt extremely collaborative and she was always available to answer all of my questions or a quick chat to calm my nerves!

I have been thinking about getting an MBA for a while because as a project manager, I thought my projects would be more successful if my company had strong organizational support, but I do not know how to build a strong and effective organization. After talking with an alumnus from my Master’s program, he strongly recommended Krista to help me with my applications.

Krista helped me position myself and picked the best school combination for me. Before talking with her, MIT was the only school on my list. After reviewing my profile (an international female with 10 years of experience in manufacturing and an engineering background), Krista suggested adding Fuqua and Tepper. Because of my undergraduate GPA (3.0), Krista suggested I take a class, Math for Management through UC Berkley online to strengthen my profile. I got an A, a great improvement for my understanding of math and also good for my applications.

Krista helped me improve my resume tremendously. The final version is the 7th revision. After sending Krista my brainstorming document, we started the back-and-forth exercise to keep modifying and improving my resume. Her smart questions made me dig deeper. For example, for my project manager role, I only mentioned “led project team”, but Krista asked me things like “How many people did you manage and what did they do?”, “Do you know the male/female ratio in the company? How many project managers are there? “, “How many people did you manage?”, and “What about international work?” Because I am working in a male-dominated industry, I am the only female project manager in the company. But before Krista asked me these questions, I did not notice how unique I was and how impressive my job was!

My hobbies? First time, I simply put running. Then Krista replied ‘I think you probably have more hobbies than what you listed! Think about this and add more! Ok, I sat back and told myself, “Yes, I like watercolor painting, practicing piano, doing home crafts.”

There were times I hoped Krista would take a nap and not reply to my email so quickly, so I can get a little bit of time to relax. She was the one on top of everything and I knew as long as I followed her pace and suggestions, she would guide me to my dream school.

Krista also helped me pick the best people to write recommendations for me. At the beginning, I planned to get recommendation letters from my previous boss and a staff member from my Master’s program as I was hoping to keep my application quiet, so my job will not be jeopardized. After talking with Krista, she pointed me to the right direction: I should pick up someone from my current employer because I am applying for an MBA – Admissions is looking for candidates with strong business skills and potential, not volunteer experience. I took Krista’s suggestion and had a very candid conversation with one of my employer’s vice presidents. Surprisingly, he did not hesitate to support me and was excited to write me the recommendation letter. The resulting letter was really strong. Krista mentioned she loved the letter as the VP provided detailed information about his working experience with me and the strength of my candidacy.
Krista also stuck with me through all the ups and downs. It has been a long time since Krista and I we worked together, from September 2020 until May 2021. For sure, Krista went far beyond her responsibility. Krista was always at my side. When I got the MIT interview invitation, I shared the great news with her immediately. When I got the offer from Duke, Krista was the first one I messaged as I knew she would be as happy I as was. At a few points during my application process, I worried I could not get enrolled this year, Krista showed her empathy to me and at the same time, pushed me to improve my candidacy, take another Executive Assessment test and look for more leadership roles.
Krista set a great example to me to never give up. When I took my 2nd EA exam, I only improved 3 points and was disappointed, Krista told me every point counts and business schools like to see people keep trying. Krista is right. When the Fuqua admissions office called me, the woman told me that I did exactly what they expect a candidate to do – keep trying.
Krista and I we had a lot of fun work together and she helped me to know myself much better. One of Fuqua’s essays is ‘25 random things about yourself”. I scratched my head and was not sure where to start. Krista told me she wanted to see at least 35 random things! That is so demanding! But that was the right thing to do, because we can have a bigger pool to pick the best 25 things. Krista suggested that I search for suggestions and feedback from my friends and coworkers. It was a fun and surprising experience; I got so much feedback from the people around me. their points of views really surprised me. After the 1st draft, Krista and I started to go through each single item on my list and picked and chose the best ones to show the unique side of me.
By looking back the whole application process, the word I heard from Krista the most is “impressive”. Krista made me realize the accomplishments and feel more confident in myself. I highly recommend her as your consultant

I will open this by saying beyond being a great consultant for your application, Gavriella is a wonderful person. I came to meet Gavriella through a free consultation (as I am sure many others do), and I have done this with other consultants, so I had experience in this. What I found was not a pushy salesperson, instead, someone who asked the ‘right’ questions. She asked me why I wanted to go to the programs I specifically brought up, she asked me what my biggest concerns were and what I thought my unique attributes were (because on paper I was at best an average candidate, if not below average) and at the end of our brief interaction, she candidly told me what she thought of my application and profile, what schools were the best fit, and what I could do if money were no object. I am also a relatively simple person, who loves analogies, and her analogies and explanations were so clear and relatable – my experience with her was one of the best interactions I have had with someone providing a service.

I believe that if you are like me and want this experience to be as enjoyable as it can be – I know it is a nervous time, but at this point, you have done all the heavy lifting, now it’s about articulating it well – then I would recommend Gavriella. Her ability to be candid and honest, while also being a pleasure to work with is unparalleled by anyone I have met in any other sector. Moreover, her generosity, be it in time or reviewing materials extends far beyond expectations.

I know I did not hit on things you probably were expecting to read in this review, but I feel if you’re going to trust a person to help you make this life-changing decision, you need to understand their character, and I can tell you Gavriela’s character, effort, and devotion to her clients is unmatched.

If I could share my name and information I would, because I believe that strongly in her ability to support you.

Nisha’s understanding of the process was incredible. She knew exactly what steps to take and what was necessary at each step in order to achieve the results needed. She was not only knowledgeable but cared about how the process ended up. From essay writing to the interview she made me feel like I was going to succeed and helped me highlight my best attributes.

I chose to work with Krista Nannery because I was a non-traditional MBA candidate and new to the application process. I’m so glad I did. Krista was there for me every step of the way. From the start, Krista took a sincere interest in me. She took the time to learn about my career history and my future goals, and was invaluable in helping me refine my personal narrative, particularly about why I was applying to specific MBA programs. She was great with turnaround times, always enthusiastic, and extremely knowledgeable about the entire application process. I especially appreciated her feedback during my interview prep. My decision to work with Krista was well worth the investment. I was admitted to several T15 programs and received large scholarship offers from two: an extraordinary return on investment. I highly recommend Krista Nannery.

I had the opportunity to work with Krista after I got rejected for all my target schools using other consulting services. After I started working with her I immediately saw the difference and felt way more confident.

Krista focused on every detail of my application, even those that I had never considered important. She also kept me on track of the timeline which sometimes flybys but more importantly she also gave me a lot of feedback that sometimes other consultants try to sugarcoat but as an applicant is important to be aware of, especially in my case since I come from a usually overrepresented pool (finance). She also made a lot of suggestions that I am sure played a pivotal role in my application.

Now I can happily say that I´ll be attending my dream school (Wharton) and received two other offers from great schools. But I am sure that I would not have done it without Krista´s help. She genuinely cared about my application process and all the high and lows that it represented. I am always going to be grateful to Krista for helping me achieve one of my dreams.

Jen was absolutely fantastic to work with. She is generous with her time, expert in all aspects of the application, and there to answer any questions about any aspect of the process, no matter how small. She got to know me far beyond my resume and helped me uncover parts of my story I never thought to highlight to the admissions committee. She did an expert job helping me craft a compelling story and maximize every word in each essay, every line of my resume, and every minute of my interviews. Jen’s help got me into both of the programs we worked on together, including one where I’d been previously unsuccessful. I doubt I would have been as successful without Jen’s encouragement and expert guidance.

I started the MBA application process, hiring Jen as my admissions consultant almost exactly a year ago, having no idea what my final list of schools to apply to would be or where I would end up! After a year of self-reflection, countless essay drafts, and tons of anxiety in the meantime, I am so happy to be attending one of my top schools (Kellogg) in the fall!
Jen took the time to understand who I am and what I want out of an MBA program and career and helped me learn these things about myself as well. She is great at pulling the most compelling aspects of a candidate out through discovery sessions and helping weave them throughout your application to make a cohesive and compelling story. She knows this industry up and down and is very familiar with how to present an applicant in the most compelling way for each individual school. Many other consultants are very knowledgeable as well; however, what made Jen stand out from all the rest was her supportive and understanding nature. I felt like we were in this together and my success was her success. We had many long conversations about what schools would be the best fit for me versus what schools I was best qualified for as a candidate. We talked about options to improve my application and what parts of myself were most important for me to showcase.
I worked with Jen on a 4 school package and ended up adding on a 5th school. Most of my schools were M7s and I got rejected from a few, with Jen there to support me; however, my Kellogg acceptance made this whole process worth it! In the days leading up to Kellogg releasing their decisions in December 2020, I kept re-reading my application and the Kellogg website and I realized that everything I showcased in my Kellogg application perfectly aligned with what the school was asking for in their essays and in their students’ values and attributes– I have no doubt that Jen was instrumental in me crafting an application that reflected the core values of Kellogg and made me stand out as an applicant. Admissions consultants are a big investment, one that I was nervous about but looking back, I am confident that this investment was the key to my success!

As a somewhat unconventional applicant, I wasn’t sure what to expect from an MBA consultant. Any trepidation I might have had vanished after my first call with Gavriella, however. It was clear from the first day that she would be an invaluable asset going forward. She helped weave my disparate work experience into a compelling narrative, hone in on a more curated target list of schools, and provided excellent interview prep which left me in great shape for all of the interviews that subsequently arose. Working with Gavriella went a long way in taking the stress out of the application/interview process, and it was clear to me early on that she was operating with my best interest in mind, not her own. To anyone reading this who is in need of an Admission Consultant – go with Gavriella if she’s available. You won’t regret it!

In July 2020, I started working with MBA Mission to further refine my MBA story and profile. I would have never have dreamed that I am now admitted to my top choice, HBS, for the Class of 2023.

The team at MBAMission and Devi have been invaluable throughout the process. I opted for Devi after hearing and reading glowing recommendations, and I was not disappointed. Her demeanor and candor provided invaluable feedback that prepared for the HBS interview process. She provided great clarity on the types of stories that would resonate, and her personalized recommendations were actionable (which was not always the case with other consultants)

After three interviews with Devi, I felt prepared and confident to ace my interview.

Working with Gavriella totally exceeded my expectations. The process was really smooth and although we were short of time she connected with my story immediately and helped me outline it in the best way possible. She was very detailed-oriented and precise with her contributions… It was the third eye I needed to accomplish a well-rounded application. She was very efficient and we even had the opportunity to check other essays! After submitting everything we kept in touch, a fact that made me notice she was very diligent with her work.
I was skeptical of acquiring this kind of service but it was an investment I’ll never regret. I totally recommend MBA Mission and Gavriella.

I suspect many MBA applicants view the admissions consulting business with a fair measure of cynicism. I certainly did. The upfront cost is high, most firms market comparable services at a similar price point, and online reviews are almost uniformly positive. Yet, after my first conversation with Katy Lewis, I immediately realized she would be a valuable partner and advisor. I am now fortunate to also call her a friend.

I write this testimonial as someone who was accepted to Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton in a historically competitive admissions cycle. Even if I did not achieve these incredible outcomes, I would value Katy’s services equally highly. Katy has received dozens of testimonials speaking to her personality, work ethic, dedication, and value for interview preparation. I wholeheartedly agree with these reviews. I now want to highlight some additional facets of Katy’s work that, while less obvious, are perhaps even more important.

Katy’s education and experience seem custom-tailored to her present role. She unites the strategic thinking of a McKinsey consultant with the discerning and critical eye of an attorney. As an HBS alum and former member of the Stanford GSB admission committee, she brings a true depth of understanding to the application process. Moreover, Katy has years of experience working with clients specifically targeting the top three MBA programs in the country. Carefully read the bios of admissions consultants from other firms; buried in a sea of self-congratulatory superlatives you might find one or two relevant substantive experiences. With Katy, every relevant skill set and experience is brought into play. If you are serious about optimizing your chances, why compromise?

Katy demonstrated a sophisticated and enthusiastic understanding of my background and career aspirations. Though we do not share a similar professional background, Katy immediately and intuitively grasped the “narrative arc” uniting my educational and professional experiences. This ability allowed Katy to provide individualized, thoughtful, and nuanced advice specific to my situation. Thus, contrary to prevailing wisdom, Katy advised me to apply in round 2, which proved to be a shrewd (and very beneficial) decision. Any consultant can provide generic advice about the various components of the application (essay, recommenders, employment, etc…) Katy’s value was most evident in those ambiguous situations that ultimately come down to a matter of sound judgment.

Katy was incredibly proactive at all stages of the application process. She volunteered to reach out to my letter writers to provide some insight into the MBA admissions process. As I come from a non-traditional background, my recommenders had never written a letter of recommendation for admission to business school. Understanding the admissions criteria helped my recommenders more effectively communicate their sentiments. Perhaps most importantly, I felt like my own voice, style, and values, and motivations were clearly present in each and every application. At no point did Katy attempt to “package” my unique story into a template.

Returning to my skepticism regarding admissions consultants, I do suspect that in 99% of cases they are ineffectual or downright harmful. Katy Lewis is the other 1%.

The answer is YES! When I got the HBS offer finally, there were too many people I want to say thank you to. Among them, I think the critical person is my HBS mock interviewer Devi Vallabhaneni. I feel so lucky to know her from another HBS alumni, who also got huge help from Devi. He told me that Devi is very effective and sharp. I booked Devi’s mock session immediately. Although I only had one week left for my HBS interview, Devi still helped me arrange two mock sessions with a qualified interval for me. I extremely enjoyed the mock sessions with Devi and her mock questions did happen in the real interview. One of the answers that Devi guided me in also impressed my real interviewer of HBS because the real interviewer sent a congratulations letter to me and mentioned that answer. Without Devi’s help and encouragement, I cannot improve so effectively and quickly. Devi told me the secret of the interview. I felt so satisfied and happy after my real interview because I prepared almost every question and I knew my answers were sharpened by Devi’s professional advice. It’s Devi that helped me perform well and got HBS offer!
If you see this, trust me, Devi is the best and the highest ROI investment in your MBA application journey!

Devi’s encouragement and coaching through the stressful and unfamiliar interview process was pivotal in my acceptance to eight MBA programs. I had to push myself out of my comfort zone throughout the MBA application journey, and especially during the interview process. Her help and feedback were the first steps for me to build confidence with spontaneous speaking and selling myself, and have given me the confidence to continue to improve in this area as I pursue an MBA. I highly recommend her services!

Working with Harshad was a pleasure from the beginning. I met with Harshad on an initial call to review my profile, goals, and target schools. I immediately decided to work with Harshad based on the thoughtfulness, experience, and candor he demonstrated on our call.

I worked with Harshad to improve my resume and to review essays for a number of applications to top-20 FTMBA programs. Throughout our partnership together, I was very impressed with Harshad’s candid feedback, strategic guidance, and timeliness.

First and foremost, Harshad is immensely helpful as a consultant because he is direct with his feedback. This saved me a lot of precious time as an applicant during the arduous application process because it allowed me to easily digest the review commentary and to make necessary changes where needed. In some cases, this even meant scrapping an essay topic and starting from scratch — but ultimately, through our partnership, I learned this was much better than wasting precious time trying to resuscitate an essay that was not addressing the prompt.

Additionally, Harshad provided guidance throughout the application process that allowed me to make the most of the consultation hours I purchased. MBA Mission/Harshad are incredibly organized. Harshad shared a number of MBA Mission resources right off the bat that laid out effective expectations. In addition, Harshad provided guidance on our initial call based on where to start, how to schedule around deadlines, and how to get the most from our partnership.

Lastly, Harshad is incredibly timely and generous with his time as a consultant. The application process is incredibly arduous. As an experienced consultant, Harshad was able to consistently turn around comprehensive essay feedback in a timely manner. I am incredibly grateful for Harshad’s help and inherent sense of urgency while reviewing essays. Working with Harshad took (some) stress out of the overall process.

With Harshad’s guidance, I was accepted to two Top 20 US schools and was awarded a significant scholarship despite my sub-3 GPA. Thank you again, Harshad!

What started as a mentoring-mentee relationship turned into almost a friendship by the end. Devi truly connected with me to learn more about my background and how that can help me in my interview. Every step of the way, she encouraged me to be my true self, and guess what, it worked!
Her tips are priceless. Her advice on your story is second to none!

Applying to M7 business schools with a below-average GMAT score can be an intimidating process. I reached out to several consultants when starting my applications and heard a common response: “you have virtually no chance of being accepted to your target schools with that score”. Michael was the one consultant that seemed to take a more optimistic approach to my candidacy and background. From the beginning of our time working together, he always focused on the positive aspects of my candidacy and worked tirelessly with me to creatively emphasize my strengths. For these reasons, I would highly recommend Michael’s services to anyone, but especially someone who is a bit intimidated by the process. I would not have landed my spot at Booth without him!

Jessica has been an amazing guide! She was recommended to me by a former MIT Sloan grad and I did not look back. I applied to only one school and started applying c. 3 weeks before the deadline – and yet I managed to get an offer.

She worked with me intensely during the application and figured out my story much better than I could put down in words! I had used a different consultant in a previous application, which was cheaper, but the care and attention that Jessica provided was honestly amazing and I would definitely say, you get your money’s worth.

I am quite sure that without her help, I would have not gotten in – would highly recommend!

As many prospective students will quickly find out, top MBA programs really want to hear your story and there is no better person than Katy to help you with the introspection process. She has this unique ability to get to know you as a person and help get that authentic self across to the admissions committee. Together, we were able to brainstorm specific themes of my life, how they were important to me, and communicated those in my essays.

Through all of her help, I was able to secure R1 interviews at 6 top programs – Stanford GSB, HBS, Booth, Kellogg, Tuck, and Yale. She spent a lot of time prepping me for my interviews and provided her perspectives on each of the different programs.

Because of Katy’s help, I was able to secure multiple offers and ultimately accepted my offer to attend Stanford GSB. I truly cannot recommend Katy enough as an admissions consultant and now as a friend!

My first encounter with Nisha was through one of mbaMission’s free online workshops. I was quickly drawn to Nisha’s bright personality and her passion for helping applicants realize their MBA aspirations. As I listened to Nisha present, it became clear to me that she had extensive knowledge of the application process and experience working with many different types of candidates.

Shortly after the session, I decided to purchase the Start-to-Finish package and I’m so grateful that I chose Nisha as my MBA consultant. Right from the start, Nisha provided great insight into the application process and worked with me to come up with a detailed game plan for my applications. I was very impressed with how much time and effort Nisha put into getting to know me and understanding my background as well as my motivations for pursuing an MBA.

Nisha always came well prepared to our discussions and it was very easy to have an open conversation with her. I really appreciated how Nisha pushed me to dig deep and self-reflect on my experiences, helping me to make the most of my stories. She gave targeted feedback throughout the essay writing process and was extremely responsive, answering any questions that I had along the way. Nisha was also incredibly helpful in my interview preparation; she advised me on the different types of interview styles that I could expect to see and ran me through mock interviews that closely simulated my actual interviews. Practicing my stories with Nisha and incorporating her feedback helped me feel confident and much more comfortable during my live interviews.

Overall, Nisha far exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend working with her to any applicants beginning their MBA journey. With her guidance, I was able to get into one of my top programs and I can’t thank her enough for all her support throughout my applications!

I worked with Devi from MBAMisson for the R2 2021 app cycle. I was applying to the top 7, schools. I ended up getting interviews for Harvard, INSEAD, and Chicago. I received an offer from INSEAD.

I delayed getting a consultant until the very last minute, thinking that I was able to go through this process on my own. The truth is, there is a lot of general information out there, but without a consultant, it is hard to narrow down the specific advice relevant to your application. Thankfully, the team at MBAMission was able to match me with Devi pretty close to the deadline (12/24). Although it was the holiday season, Devi put in work every day to make sure that my application was as strong as possible. She didn’t have to do that, and I really appreciate it.

What I liked most with Devi, is that she will push you to the very end. Her feedback was candid and straight to the point. Admissions consultants are expensive. I appreciated her sensitivity to time and straightforwardness. In the two weeks that I worked with her, I managed to squeeze in over 5 revisions for my essays, and I applied to 6 schools. It really was a lot of work. In all honestly, I was sleep-deprived and exhausted by the end of the process. Without Devi telling me that there was still room for improvement, I wouldn’t have been able to push myself that hard. Revision #5 on my Harvard essay was done 4 hours before the deadline. It was Devi that pushed me to rewrite that damn thing one more time.

Harvard is my dream school. But in truth, my credentials are a bit weak. I did manage to get an interview but was not able to get the offer. Despite this, I don’t regret any second spent working with Devi. I am 100% confident, that without her help, I would not have gotten that interview in the first place. Devi knows her stuff very well. I look at the essays I wrote before and after her help, it really is a world of difference. If anyone reading this is interested, PM me, and I will show you the before and after.

Overall, despite my disappointing outcome, I still highly recommend working with Devi. The interview experience alone has given me the self-confidence that I am the so-called ‘Harvard calibre’. And I’m sure, this sort of self-confidence will continue to pay dividends for the rest of my career. Thank you, Devi.

Best of luck with your applications.

I worked with Jen for 4 R2 applications and can honestly say I could not have done it without her. Jen’s knowledge of the MBA application process is 2nd to none and she really takes time getting her clients on a personal level! I really enjoyed my time working with her and would recommend her to anybody looking for any help applying to B school. With Jen’s help, I was accepted into my 3 top schools with scholarship opportunities!