mbaMission | MBA Admissions Consultants

Applying for business schools has been of the most time-consuming and emotionally demanding endeavors I have ever set out to do. In light of this, I highly recommend getting help from a qualified, experienced professional. Early on in the process, someone who knew my background well eagerly recommended that I reach out to Katy Lewis from MBAMission. 1 year and 2 admissions offers later (one of which included a full ride and a named scholarship) I can clearly see why. When I first reached out to Katy for a free consultation, her roster for the year was already full, but we clicked instantly, as we discovered that we were both attorneys and had the same passion for business and the international arena. To avoid overfilling her roster, Katy recommended another consultant from MBAMission. In a twist of fate, however, when the other consultant unexpectedly had to withdraw for personal reasons, Katy jumped right in and picked up my case eagerly. She spent a whole weekend getting up to speed on my materials and by Monday morning she was ready to go. Throughout my admissions process, Katy remained heavily invested in my case. I felt comforted to know she really had my back. Katy paid close attention to detail in every material I sent her for review, challenging me in ways that allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and put my best self forward. She was thorough in my interview preparations, allowing me to spot my weaknesses and correct them. Working with Katy ultimately led me to complete and submit business school applications that I was proud of. I knew from the get-go that given my unusual path to business school, my candidacy was going to be a tough sell. But Katy not only saw my potential, but she also allowed it to flourish and really show itself to the schools. Looking back on this process, I can confidently say that there is no one I would rather have in my corner when taking on this defining period of my life.

I can’t give enough praise to Devi for thoroughly prepping me! Her prep also put me in great shape for my Wharton (I got accepted last week!) and Sloan (waiting to hear back in a few days) interviews. To be honest, I was hesitant about getting a consultant’s help at first because I was worried that I’d get “over-polished” and reveal less of my personality at the interview. I was completely wrong! Prepping with Devi made me reflect deeper and I ended up having many anecdotes to share outside the ones I’d already stated in my application. Her prep also helped me identify common themes in my experiences and this awareness let me answer the “why” interview questions comfortably. Finally, Devi’s interview simulation got me in the habit of articulating my answers more concisely and consequently, I was able to cover a lot of ground with my HBS interviewers. She’s really the best!

I first talked to Susan during a free phone consultation, after reading all her positive reviews. These initial 30 minutes convinced me that she would help make my applications stronger, and I decided to work with her for a 3-School package. I had a set list of schools in mind that I wanted to apply to. Although all 3 were reaches, she didn’t encourage me to apply to safety schools. I only had two months to submit my three applications, which was enough given Susan’s punctuality for returning material. She never missed her two-day deadline, and often returned documents ahead of time. She sent back comments on at least 50 versions of my essays and resumes. She was always available for a quick phone meeting when I needed help defining the direction for an essay or understanding a comment. Many reviews describe Susan as being “tough,” and that’s exactly what I needed. I thought at first that I had precise career goals and reasons for getting an MBA, but she challenged my assumptions, thereby making my personal statement clearer. She helped me pinpoint the distinct aspects of my background and personality that I could bring to a business school community. All these elements were extremely helpful for my essays and resume, but she was also great for interview preparation. I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been accepted to my top choice (top-ten program), with a significant scholarship! Susan was instrumental in helping me get there!

In Jeremy, I found a consultant who was deeply committed to my MBA ambitions. While he was impactful in all aspects of my application and ensured that my essays stood out and resume was attention-grabbing, he really made my investment worthwhile when he encouraged me to approach the HR team and ask for funding for my MBA studies. My firm had never sponsored anyone before, but with Jeremy’s guidance, I managed this process and my firm decided to pay for my studies in full. This actually became a difference maker in my application, because I was able to stand out in the application process as my firm’s first-ever sponsored applicant. I was admitted to my top-choice among MBA programs and returned to my firm to fulfill my commitments, meaning that, in the end, tens of thousands of dollars were saved. Now, many years post-MBA graduation, I am running my own business. My MBA was inexpensive and led to a continuous record of success and I feel lucky that I got to work with someone who thought not just about my applications (which were excellent) but also my pocketbook.

I hired Susan Kaplan to help me with my applications for the MBA class of 2021, with excellent results! I applied to 3 business schools and was admitted to 2 (HSW and another top school with $$) and waitlisted at 1 (HSW). I started working on my applications in June with deadlines in September after I completed my GMAT. We started with a review of my target schools and Susan gave me honest feedback about my chances. She helped me go through my personal and professional history and identified ideas for effective essay topics that I wouldn’t have pinpointed on my own. Although I was largely responsible for my application timeline and keeping myself on track, Susan was always prompt with feedback and never missed her review deadlines. I am currently residing abroad and she did a good job of accommodating the time differences with our calls.
Overall, the biggest value I got out of the consultancy was the essay feedback. I come from an engineering background and Susan helped me phrase my stories and experiences in a way that someone from any field could understand. Of course, I did all of the writing, but her comments were invaluable in shaping how I told my stories. She did an excellent job of finding themes that tied experiences from my personal and professional lives together. She pushed me to go much deeper into my motivations and mindset than I would have otherwise. Although I had very strong stats going into the application process, I believe it was my essays that set my application apart. I would highly recommend Susan to any applicants that are looking for open, honest feedback but are also self-motivated and not looking for someone to “mother” them through the process. At the end of the process, I felt like the applications were fully my own, with Susan providing the push and assistance to make them the best work I could produce.

I cannot more highly recommend that for someone even slightly considering applying for an MBA, you speak with Jeremy. You will have a better sense for your true motivations after and, If you decide to apply, will have kicked off your process with the best guide you could find. I contacted Jeremy for help identifying and clarifying the key pieces of my story to articulate to my top choice school through the essay. Jeremy was so incredibly friendly, accommodating, and helpful that I sought more help on two additional applications. I do not suggest pushing up against deadlines but in my case, I had to, and Jeremy worked with me to deliver his feedback over the holidays in time for me to incorporate it. I would not have been admitted to my top choice m7 program without his guidance. Do yourself a favor and reach out.

I initially did a free 30-minute consultation with Katy. She was very helpful during our chat so I ended up working with her further after that. There were two parts of my application she was extremely helpful with. The first one was brainstorming ideas around what my essays should be about (I applied to HBS and Wharton, and HBS has a notoriously vague prompt). She helped me decide which parts of my story would be interesting to highlight and which parts not so much. Having a third party (Katy) who was great at identifying the best parts of my candidacy and working with me to highlight them was invaluable.
The second aspect Katy was extremely helpful with was interview prep. Katy did an amazing job helping me practice for my interviews. I had talked to some friends who had previously gone through the interview process with these schools and the advice and feedback I was getting from them were contradictory and I was very stressed out. Katy calmed me down and helped me practice for these interviews. If you end up working with her on your applications, make sure she is your main source of truth for the interviews and not some friends who might’ve gone through the process. As she told me “everyone attributes their success to different parts of their application/interview, it doesn’t mean they are right”. If I were to do the process over, I would practice my interviews with Katy and maybe one more trustworthy friend.
Overall, Katy really knows what she is doing and I would highly recommend her. I ended up getting into both HBS and Wharton and am Boston bound this fall!

Working with Jen was both a very helpful and enjoyable experience. She is definitely a pro in this field and working with her was worth the cost. In total, I spent 10 hours with Jen on two applications. We started with brainstorming and narrowing in on which stories to tell. From there she reviewed outlines and multiple drafts of multiple essays, in addition to helping me refine my resume tremendously. I was impressed with how she kept all my essays very focused when I’d stray or ramble a bit- we ended up developing highly effective and efficient essays. Jen is also very responsive to emails and just genuinely pleasant to interact with. Ultimately I was accepted to both of my top European schools with scholarships. Thanks again, Jen!

Not only was I admitted to a Top 10 school, but I was also admitted with a 50% scholarship after working with Debbie. I decided to apply R2 in September, and I never felt overwhelmed working with her despite a four-month deadline. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without her! During our brainstorming session, she helped me frame my work accomplishments in a way that demonstrated my strengths to adcom while also relating them to the schools’ core values. This step proved fundamental to the rest of my application process, and where I found great value working with a consultant. I also really appreciated her extensive knowledge on what each school is looking for in their essays, down to the paragraph. She also helped me identify which schools had similar essays so I could work on some applications on my own. Last but not least, my GRE scores were below average, but Debbie really helped me strengthen other areas of my application to help overcome that. I am so grateful for her help and to be into my top choice school!! I couldn’t recommend her enough.

First, a huge, huge thank you to Kate!!! She helped me overcome several trickier elements about my application to help me land an offer at dream school!! I cannot thank her enough!!

When I started looking seriously into MBA programs I realized that this was going to be a harder task than I had originally thought. As an older white-male in consulting, with a lower GPA, a recent job move, and an aspiration to switch industries, I had many challenges to overcome. I reached out to several consultants in May (ahead of the round 1 deadlines in September), to get a sense of how feasible business school would be. Straight away from the first conversation, Kate stood out in a big way, and I could sense that she would be a great person to work with.

There were several facets that not only made it great to work with Kate but also made the process successful. First, from the moment we first spoke, it was clear that Kate is positive and constructive in the way that she engages with you. I noticed this straight away when I compared the first discussion with Kate to those of other consultants, who had interjected with “you’re not going to get into that school” when I described my situation and goals. Throughout the process, Kate was great at building upon my first thoughts and helping me construct a successful application (e.g., starting from my self-reflections to craft a more succinct and compelling view of who I am). Second, Kate quickly focused on building a great story. She took time to really get to know me in a genuine way, showing a lot of empathy and understanding of who I am throughout the process. From this, we were able to build a unique story from my life experiences. I was really impressed at how much she was able to connect the dots between my life experiences! Third, she was honest and clear about the weaknesses and options for how to address them. In this part, it became very clear that Kate has significant experience with consulting for applications. Her experience and approach gave me confidence that we were addressing the challenges (as noted above) in a systematic manner. Finally, Kate’s positive and constructive nature enabled us to have maintained a fluid, comfortable, and open dialogue, which felt very much like a team/partnership approach to the process. Kate was very open to working with me to develop the work together, often co-creating the way in which we would articulate something about me. It was such a great feeling to be going through the process with someone who knows me well, is invested in success, and works in a positive, constructive, and collaborative way!

So what did all of this translate into? Here were the outcomes of going through the process with Kate. First, I had confidence that I was putting my best foot forward, given that I was teaming with an experienced consultant, who knew me very well, and who was invested in me. Second, I had the belief that what seemed to be an insurmountable goal could become a reality, which in turn drove my motivation. Third, I actually learned a little about myself. By Kate getting to know me so well, she was able to help me articulate myself in a way that I had not thought of before. This, in turn, helped me understand more about who I am as a person, which I will take with me to business school and beyond! For example, she connected a specific part of my childhood experience to my leadership style at work, which helped me understand why I am more effective at leading teams with a certain background (I had not reflected on this before!). While I didn’t touch upon this detail in my application, it is this level of reflection and learning that I think is so important for the admissions process (a lot of the process is about who you are and your story!) and more generally in life! Finally, we had a successful outcome on the applications, getting into my dream school directly during round 1!

If you are considering working with somebody in business school applications, I could not recommend Kate more! It was an absolute joy to partner with her! Through the ups and downs in the process, the humorous and more serious moments, and from beginning to end, she was fantastic to work with, and I look forward to keeping in touch with her!!

Harshad’s strengths are in listening to your story, pulling out the strongest elements, and then capturing that story within the school’s word limit. Take your time with the brainstorming document – the more you can give Harshad about your story and your goals, the more he can help. Above all, he makes you feel like family and that he is rooting for you all the way.

Debbie was extremely instrumental in my admission to NYU Stern, where I was originally wait-listed at. From the initial essay writing preparation stage to the interview practice session, Debbie was always extremely professional and goal-oriented in her approach to helping me with my applications.

During the essay writing phase, I really liked how Debbie took a holistic approach to help me understand my strengths and weaknesses as a candidate and helped me pick out the best life stories that would ultimately be the main focus of my essays. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience working with Debbie. I left our first brainstorming session with a clear story and direction for my essays,

During the interview stage, Debbie practiced with me thoroughly via Skype and helped me with many of the intangibles that are essential for a successful interview. “The delivery is often just as important if not more important than the content”, as she would often remind me throughout these sessions, which was something I couldn’t have agreed with more and really benefited from as a candidate.

Finally, while initially discouraged by the wait-list offer, I was even more impressed by Debbie’s ability to keep me motivated and helped me strategize a plan that would ultimately gain me admission to the school. Throughout the application process, she not only delivered to me top-notch professional services, but she actually made me feel that I had a cheerleader in the background that was helping me with every setback. I would wholeheartedly recommend her service to anyone seeking an incredible MBA consultant!

I couldn’t thank Kate enough for her help and support throughout the admissions process. Last summer, after speaking with a number of admissions consulting services, I decided to set up an initial 30-min call with Kate from mbaMission. On that call, Kate analyzed my profile and discussed her thoughts on my application strategy. She wanted me to put my best foot forward and be confident (and not too stressed). For the next six months, we have spent countless hours on essays, short answers, interview preps, etc., and Kate has been instrumental to all that. She has been extremely supportive and always reminded me of any important deadlines or deliverables. I’d highly recommend Kate for your admissions process.

Jeremy was absolutely fantastic to work with! First of all, I was not an ideal candidate as I came to MBA Admissions with a 480 GMAT score but wanted to apply to top schools. A close friend had a great experience with MBA Admissions so I thought I would give them a try. Jeremy was fantastic to work with and I know I wouldn’t have gotten into Cambridge without him. He was very easy to work with, very thoughtful and genuine in his approach. It was evident that he reviewed my profile very thoroughly and remembered what I had written. He was very honest and upfront, yet also very encouraging and willing to do everything in his power to help me succeed. His writing skills are phenomenal, he really helped me organize and put into words my thoughts and stories in a way that was captivating. He always made time for me, even when I needed abrupt help. He even helped provide insight and guidance for the GMAT and even connected me to a great GMAT tutor. The application process turned out to be a lot more tedious than I had expected and he was there every step of the way, from the seemingly less important items to mock interviews. He was always very prompt and responsive. Jeremy has talents out of this world and I’m grateful I was one of the few that got to partake of those. I highly, highly recommend Jeremy and MBA Admissions as a whole. Well worth the money when you get that acceptance offer!

As a career academic and Latin teacher transitioning into sustainability management, I was not your typical MBA applicant. I was making a major career shift and I’m confident that, without Katharine’s guidance, I would not have had the success I did. In just the initial consultation, Katharine helped me create a focused and direct action plan. She guided me through the creation of a narrative that both highlighted my achievements and captured my personality.
Once the applications were in, Katharine led me through mock interviews and the development of an elevator pitch. She boosted my ability to speak with confidence and clarity about my goals. Before interviewing for USC Marshall—to which I was recently accepted!—Katharine provided me with resources for both school-specific and general information and advice. Currently, I’m waitlisted for NYU Stern and Katharine continues to provide support and aid from reviewing update emails to admissions to creating a game plan to get off the waitlist.

When I was considering applying to business school, I reached out to several consultants and got the impression from almost all of them that they would have told me whatever I wanted to hear to get me to pay for their services. Jeremy was the exception. He was the only consultant who seemed to care about not just whether I could get into a top business school but whether getting an MBA would help me achieve my professional ambitions. After counseling me for several months, Jeremy helped me realize that business school was not the right path for me, even though that meant that I wouldn’t become one of his paid clients. Jeremy’s willingness to act against his own self-interest to help me in my career path has given me the utmost respect for his professional and personal integrity. As a fellow industry professional (GMAT Instructor), I recommend Jeremy to all my students and have received universally positive feedback.

I first approached Jeremy in 2012/13 to assist with my MBA admission process. As an international applying to US school, you don’t realize how many nuances there are to process. Jeremy and the mbaMission team were instrumental in helping me make the best application possible. When there were complications on timing due to family circumstances, Jeremy was supportive in helping me revise the timelines. Finally, when it was crunch time (and I finalizing applications for seven schools), I realized how personally invested Jeremy and the mbaMission team was in my success. Jeremy worked over Christmas Eve and Christmas day to help me submit my applications on time – Amazing! The school interview process was very intimidating but Jessica and Jeremy helped prepare me to the point where I looked forward to and enjoyed every interview (eventually got into a top 10 MBA program – UC Berkeley).

In 2015/16 – MBAmission assisted me with MBA recruiting. With lots of career options, I needed to work hard to ensure selecting something that made sense for me long term (career fulfillment, visa sponsorship etc.) mbaMission’s career coach, Angela, helped me develop my recruiting strategy which made it easier for me to demonstrate genuine motivation during my interviews.

I am still happy to be affiliated with mbaMission in 2019. I am currently on a weekly career coaching contract. I am now living in the US and want to continue to be successful without guesswork and mbaMission is helping me accomplish that. I am currently working with Elissa, who has been amazing in helping me overcome the challenges of starting a new role in an early stage team.

mbaMission has a team with diverse experience, which allows you to get the help most tailored to your background and needs – this is one of the reasons why my relationship with the firm has spanned 7 years. Jeremy and mbaMission have played a huge role in helping me get to and settle in the US. I have recommended friends and classmates to the firm. I highly recommend mbaMission to anyone who is contemplating taking this big leap and what to do so successfully!

I worked with Michael to apply to 8 highly competitive full-time MBA programs across Round 1 and Round 2, of which I am attending UCLA Anderson. The process was grueling, but Michael and I charted a course together, working closely to meet the deadlines I set for each application. Michael always responds quickly with pointed questions designed to distill the most important aspects of my story and ensure that they are reflected in my application. Each aspect of the application is crucial and Michael ensures that each component is addressed thoughtfully and holistically captures the candidate that you are. Michael was a pleasure to work with and I would recommend him to anyone applying to business school.

For my MBA Application process, I simply wanted the best. From the get-go when I had my first consultation with Jessica in 2017, I sensed a connection with the person which would become my mentor. At the time Jessica was already fully booked and so combined with her recommendations to improve on my test score as well as wanting to work with her I delayed my application to 2018.

Even before I started working with her she would keep communication with me to follow-up on our first conversation and on how have I had improved since. This behavior, combined with many other exceeded my expectations, I felt she truly cared and was committed to helping me at building the best application I could ever present. And so, I took the Complete Start-to-Finish Package for three (TOP 10) MBA Schools.

I knew that my case was challenging as an international coming from an unusual background with a mix of professional experience, and in addition, my GMAT score (just below 700) was not my stronger aspect. Nevertheless, I trusted Jessica, she knew exactly what to do and was with me throughout the whole process. Jessica‘s personality is straight to the point, there is no waste of time, and she will tell you when things are not right, she definitely puts the time (going over nine drafts for one of the essays), and is pretty much always available (I remember sending her a quick question e-mail at midnight and a couple of minutes later received an answer – WOW!). She is knowledgeable and knows how to help you build the best story of yourself.

I realize that having a consultant for MBA applications is expensive and so before making such commitment make sure that you do your research, for me it was simple, I wanted to be with the greatest, that is why I chose Jessica and the results speak for themselves! I have been accepted to my second and third choice (both Top 10) with a +50% scholarship at both, and I am waitlisted R1 at my number 1 choice (which was a huge reach considering my scores).

With Susan’s help, I was admitted to a top business school and I am 100% certain I couldn’t have done it without her.

I come from an overrepresented applicant pool and knew I needed a lot of help to build a compelling story that stood out to admissions committees. In our 30-minute intro conversation, she gave me honest and direct feedback on my profile and I was impressed by how much she pushed me to reflect in just a short call. I tested other admissions consulting companies as well but came back to Susan as I knew she would keep me laser focused on refining my story. Her program started with a deep dive on every facet of my profile and personal background and after she invested who knows how much time, we were able to put together the building blocks of my application. Over the next few months, I honestly can’t count how many essay and resume revisions she helped me with. Each time, she pushed me to further distill my thoughts into the most impactful messages that would resonate specifically to the schools I was applying to. I am incredibly grateful for Susan’s help throughout the process and highly recommend her for any applicant.

I had Susan during the initial free phone consultation and hired her for a two school package. With her help, I got into 1 of the top 10 schools she helped with and accepted at 2 other Top 10 programs I applied to on the side, admission successes for which I heavily relied on my essay work and application strategies from my work with Susan. Susan is great at identifying and pulling out stories for your essays. First and foremost, she helps you identify your “story” and makes you stick with this story throughout. In this aspect, her marketing background shines through. She really pushes you to be introspective and think about what stories you want to tell in your personal statements. For essays related to “why this school” she ensures that you do your research and, most importantly, is the reinforcement to make sure your story is cohesive and stays on track. Susan also promptly replies to emails and inquiries. My advice for those deciding to hire a consultant is to really think about your post-MBA goals and story (personal/professional). If you believe you need help developing these, then hire Susan! I would also add for the cost-sensitive customers, do some research about your top choice schools – particularly focusing on what their essay questions are and what they look for in their applicants. If you are hiring her for a 2-school + package, I would hire for schools that are unique in their application processes and student qualities — this should help you get the most bang for your buck.

Applying to business school is a stressful and challenging process that requires a lot of commitment and reflection in order to have a successful outcome. I wanted to hire a consultant that would not only support my goals but also set realistic expectations throughout the process. After an introduction call with Melissa, I felt she was the perfect fit for me. I immediately felt I was talking to a close friend. There are not enough words to describe why deciding to work with Melissa has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. Melissa was honest, responsive, supportive, and motivating every step of the way.
Melissa really excelled every step of the process. Here are some observations:
Brainstorming. This is the backbone of the application process. During this stage, you have to self-reflect about every milestone in your life and write about them in a brainstorming document. Even though I drafted a very detailed brainstorming document, Melissa asked me multiple follow-up questions, genuinely showing her interest in getting to know me better and understand my story. Melissa was of great help to me when it came to deciding which program to apply to – she even proposed me to apply to a program I thought it was a reach for me (this shows her interest in obtaining the best outcome for the applicant and not in improving her personal stats).
Essays. Melissa made the essay writing easy, efficient, and fun. I really appreciated how Melissa constantly pushed me to dig deeper into the details of my story. During this stage, she was always fast at turning over reviewed essay drafts (much faster than the 48-hour stipulated turnaround). I liked that Melissa was forthcoming and honest when she felt an essay wasn’t strong enough or required a fresh start.
Interviews. Melissa and I had one-hour prep sessions before each interview. These sessions were extremely helpful as it gave me a lot of confidence and made me feel comfortable by the time I walked into the interviews. Melissa helped me prepare my answers in advance and taught me how to adapt my answers to specific questions.
You can’t go wrong with Melissa. She was largely responsible for my successful outcome. With Melissa’s guidance, I was admitted to Kellogg, Booth, and Fuqua.

I found mbaMission through a friend and engaged Jeremy initially because I did not even know if an MBA could be an option for me. I was an older applicant at the time and was considering all options: full time, part time, EMBA. Jeremy never pushed me to one or the other but armed me with the information to make my choice. In the end, I found an EMBA program that was a perfect fit for my career and for my family business. I appreciated that he took a lot of time with me to help me make the right decision. He was frank about what to expect from an EMBA program and even advised me about how to manage the program itself to get the most out of it. I thought that this went above and beyond. I was truly only expecting help with the application itself. In this respect, Jeremy was excellent. I hadn’t constructed a resume in years and he made my resume sparkle. I hadn’t written an essay in years and he brought out my personality and achievements. I hadn’t gotten a recommendation and didn’t know where to turn, but we found creative solutions to this problem. I hadn’t interviewed, but I was ready. I got into my first choice of EMBA program. it made a huge difference in my career and the fate of our business. I have recommended Jeremy and mbaMission to anyone who says “MBA.” It is a prudent investment.

To say that Jessica Shklar made miracles to get me into Wharton, Colombia and Yael is an understatement, I am an out of the box non-traditional applicant, to say the least. I have severe dyslexia with middle of the pack scores. Jessica found the diamond in the rough fleshed out what turned out to be an incredible story and an undeniably amazing application. It was clear throughout the process how much time she was devoting to my application as she knew my story better than me! She was so helpful, professional and kind that I am genuinely sad that the process is over. I look forward to keeping in touch with my new friend.

The Beginning:

Once I decided I wanted to apply to the top full-time MBA programs, I reached out to several highly-rated admissions consulting firms. After numerous conversations and profile evaluations, I chose to work with Heidi. To me, Heidi checked all the boxes and more: MBA grad (Chicago Booth), admissions committee experience (Chicago Booth), impressive background (MBB consulting), and exceptional reviews. But most importantly, during our initial phone call, I felt a strong connection with Heidi and believed she had a genuine interest in me and my goals.

Working with Heidi:

Heidi did an excellent job of turning what can be an overwhelming process into a manageable game plan. She was with me every step of the way. When we were brainstorming for essay content, she left no stone unturned. Her feedback on my essays, resume, and short answers were clear and invaluable. She was also a terrific mock interviewer. Additionally, Heidi suggested certain activities that I believe helped strengthen my candidacy.

For me, the MBA journey has been a time of deep reflection. I felt very comfortable working with Heidi and never had second thoughts about running an idea by her or sharing a story I never told anyone. In fact, she now probably knows me better than most of my friends do!

The Result:

I was accepted to my dream school (M7) and will be attending this fall! I truly believe Heidi helped maximize my chances of getting into an MBA program. Heidi is not only an amazing admissions consultant but also an incredible mentor and person. I feel very fortunate to have worked with her. I highly recommend Heidi!

Susan is truly an invaluable asset in the MBA admissions process. I was very nervous going into the process, as I was coming to the table with a non-traditional educational background (social sciences undergrad degree), a non-quantitative job, and good, but not amazing, test scores. From the beginning, Susan worked tirelessly to get to know me on a personal level and what was unique about me; using her background in marketing, she refers to herself as your “personal brand manager” throughout the process. As we prepared my applications, she consistently questioned and challenged my assumptions about my motivations for getting an MBA and my future career plans to help me narrow down my exact goals, which helped immensely during essay writing, networking with the schools, and interviewing. As other reviewers mentioned, Susan is tough, but in my opinion, in the best way possible. She puts so much time and effort into making your application the absolute best it can be with copious thoughtful comments and revisions to essays and pointed questions during brainstorming and interview prep. At every step of the process, Susan was by my side, simultaneously pushing me forward and cheering me on.

Thanks to Susan’s help, I was accepted to 3 out of the 3 schools I applied to with her, two of which we both agreed were reaches and one where I received a full ride. Every time I found out I got in somewhere, Susan was one of the first people I wanted to tell. If you’re considering getting a consultant to go through this process (which I absolutely believe you should), I would 110% recommend hiring Susan!

We live in a globalized, competitive world. If you’re going to spend $150K and 2 years of the prime of your life on an MBA, you’d be crazy not to seek out the best adviser and guide for gaining admittance to a top business school.
John was a wealth of information. He took the time to understand my personal background and goals and coached me on the most appropriate schools. He knew exactly how to maximize my chances of admission (not always obvious).
John was a motivator. He made sure I stayed on track and capitalized on every opportunity to increase my odds of success.

I highly, highly recommend John and have referred many of my closest friends to him.

I had trial consultations with three other firms and wasn’t satisfied with their processes or their overt salesmanship. Katy was the first admissions consultant who took the time to fully read and digest my resume and story of why I wanted an MBA without trying to push a package. She understood me and my non-traditional story immediately and had first-hand experience with the schools to which I was applying. So, after I was invited to interview at Berkeley Haas, I purchased a mock interview specifically with her. One of the greatest things about her is that she remembered speaking to me 3 months prior during our trial consultation and was genuinely excited that I got an interview.

She sent me prep work before our mock interview to help me understand the intricacies of the Haas interview as well as general b-school interviewing tips from her own experiences. During our mock interview, she took the time to ask me many more questions than my real interviewer would, ensuring no stone was left unturned. She actively took notes and gave suggestions on how to improve answers and what to stay away from. After the mock interview, she sent me several pages of extremely detailed notes on my own responses and all of the critical talking points we spoke about that I needed to hit. My real interview with Berkeley Haas went fantastic thanks to her prep and I was accepted to the program (as well as UCLA Anderson). I strongly recommend Katharine Lewis to anyone who needs help figuring things out or someone to practice interviewing with. She’s a true professional who actually cares about your success. I will be attending Berkeley Haas in the fall thanks to her!

Bottom line: Jeremy’s intuition about compelling storytelling, drive to get down to business, and clear personal attachment to my success was my secret admissions weapon this year. His focused, deliberate approach put me in as strong a position to succeed as I can have imagined. Consider him a friend, confidant, and someone I’ll always be grateful to for helping me find direction and zero in on my own story as I transition careers.

I connected with MBAMission in late June 2018 before submitting applications with early September deadlines. I would be in a far-off land with limited free time and intermittent ability to communicate during July and August, so was looking for direction to keep me on task. Jeremy was still able to effectively, before and during this travel, keep me on track and guide my un-focused understanding of my own experiences and last-minute GRE prep. He struck the perfect balance between humble and assertive, respecting elements of my story I felt strongly about while ensuring I stayed on message about the compelling aspects of my package.

I attribute to him effective enough focus in my written materials such that I was invited to interview with HBS Round 1 and admitted to Northwestern’s JD/MBA, UVA Darden, and Cornell Johnson (the four MBA programs I applied to). While Jeremy’s experience and expertise spoke for themselves to me, he was able to predict several fairly specific lines of questioning in my HBS interview. Through draft after draft of essays, he forced me to develop deep enough understanding of my target programs such that I was confident in interviews to speak to it.

Will continue to enthusiastically refer prospective clients to work with Jeremy – I count the decision to work with him as one of the smartest investments I’ve ever made.

From the first time I spoke with Jessica, I could tell that she genuinely cared about not only helping me get into a great business school but also letting my true character and personality come through in my applications. I realized immediately that I was working with a professional and I found it particularly reassuring to be receiving guidance from someone who really understands the admissions process and the expectations of each admissions team. I knew generally what I was going to write about in my applications but the advice Jessica offered on how to structure my ideas and concisely articulate my story was extremely valuable. I also have a pretty unconventional professional background and Jessica helped me to navigate this in my applications and highlight my unique work experience and qualities. By the end of this long and crazy process, I was admitted to one of my top choice schools, thanks in large part to working with Jessica!

Stats – male, reapplicant, career pivot.
My favorite thing about Julie-Anne is her no-nonsense approach and her willingness to help with all aspects of an application. After speaking with her during a free consultation, I knew she’d be extremely valuable during the application process. She doesn’t sugar coat, and her honesty was very important as I honed my application. With her guidance and expertise, she was able to help me turn an application that was getting me nowhere into several acceptances at top programs.
There cannot be enough said about the power of another set of eyes, especially ones as sharp as Julie-Anne’s. She can be as detail-oriented or high-level as you need her to be, and she truly cares about the success of those she helps. I couldn’t recommend her highly enough.

I attended a mbaMission webinar about Harvard Business School’s 2+2 program. It was a fairly small group (less than 10 people) and it was at 9 PM but Jessica Shklar was able to keep the presentation engaging and relevant. She provided specific examples to show the differences between a strong and weak essay. She was extremely attentive to the specific group’s needs by answering all of our questions.
I felt like she was able to provide immense help to my application despite the fact that I had done an extreme amount of research on the MBA admissions process at Harvard Business School, especially the 2+2 program. I decided to follow up with a 30-minute consultation with Jessica to discuss my profile. Within that half hour, she was able to help me craft a narrative for my holistic application and even provided me with structural tips on my essay – without even reading my essay. She wasn’t afraid to point out the weakness of my application, which I’m glad she did because I have heard of some admissions consultants who do their best to only make their clients happy. I wanted someone who was honest and catered to my profile, which she was able to do!

Over the past two weeks, I’ve just finished my MBA interviews with HBS, Wharton, and Oxford. As most of you know, each of these interviews are very different in approach and I finished each feeling very confident and also incredibly thankful that Katy had helped me prepare for each of them. Katy went above and beyond to prepare for each mock interview with me with specific questions tailored to me and based on the tendencies of my interviewer – I can point to specific questions in each of my actual interviews where I am really glad that I not only got to rehearse my answers with Katy but also brainstormed with her to refine them.

Taking a step back, this is the second year in a row that I’ve worked with Katy. She has become a friend to me personally and a mentor to me beyond this business school application process. Beyond the tactical of my essays and how to work with my recommenders (which Katy has done an unbelievably great job), Katy helped nudge me toward my most transformative career decision (and self-discovery) between last year’s application cycle and this year’s. I am very proud of the person I’ve developed into because of Katy’s help. Most importantly, I personally feel how much Katy genuinely cares about me and my success as a friend, from the way we chat and from how often I feel my warm appreciation of “you didn’t have to do all this for me but you did!”

I will sum this up by saying – three years ago when I reached out to Katy, I was privately cynical about MBA consultants in general, but I knew an MBA is so important to me that I couldn’t take the risk. BEST DECISION EVER THAT I DIDN’T EVEN FULLY KNOW THEN. Whew!

My advice – I still don’t know about MBA consultants in general, BUT DO NOT MISS OUT ON KATY! SHE IS THE BEST!

I’m one of those people who like to do a lot of research before committing to a company/service/etc. I spoke to quite a few consulting companies and I’m so glad I was able to find Jessica and MBA mission in the end. As an “older” applicant, the other companies that I spoke to seemed to be using this “fear-based” model to sell their services – making me feel terrible about my odds and my candidacy at the top schools first, then offering their services to help me out. I didn’t realize that’s what they were doing until I had my first phone call with Jessica, who was so enthusiastic, encouraging, and genuine about her thoughts on my candidacy. I knew right away that I’d want to work with her. She didn’t have any spots available for R1 so I signed up to work with her on R2 on two of my dream schools, which was the best decision I made during this application process.

From day 1 of working together, I could just tell that Jessica is an absolute genius. For several months I had been trying to come up with a thread for my essay, but I just couldn’t figure out how to connect the dots and I felt lost. But Jessica was able to do that in ONE DAY – I sent in my brainstorming document and the very next day during our phone call she was able to come up with a genius thread that connects all the dots and showcases my strengths in a very compelling way. She goes so deep during the brainstorming part and asks the right questions to uncover all the aspects, then on the spot she could come up with a theme for the essay. I was blown away by how good she was. I remember getting off that phone call feeling super excited about writing the essay (which is very rare because I always hated writing) and I had to call my best friend to share how thrilled I was to have found Jessica and how great her ideas for my essay were.

I always thought I had to write 8-10 drafts of essays before I could get it to a “top school quality”, but I was wrong on that because Jessica is so good at helping me frame up the essay (paragraph by paragraph) that I got to a final version quality within only 3 drafts. She’s just that good!

Jessica is very professional and caring. She always turns around things and answers questions very quickly. When you are working with her, you can just feel that she’s not just another consultant for you, but she’s truly on this journey with you – she cheers you on during the tough and stressful times, goes above and beyond to make your application shine, she was like this awesome big sister that I never had and I’ve never even met her! Just a few days before the applications deadline, I had a family emergency, everything was like my worst nightmare. Jessica was an angel and helped me out so much during those days. Her comforting words really helped me grieve during the most stressful time. She turned around my items just a couple hours after I sent them to her to allow me to focus on my family and grieving. I was in such terrible shape and I honestly don’t think I would’ve gotten my applications through without her help.

Perhaps the best part of working with Jessica was that I have learned so much about myself throughout this process. She really helped me see myself from a new perspective and get more clarity on who I am and what I want to do with life and not just with an MBA. In the end, I realized crafting the essays, the stories, the post-MBA goals wasn’t just about getting into the dream schools anymore, it was more about asking the deep, tough questions to myself and figuring out who I truly want to be. And I’m forever grateful for Jessica for that. I got an interview invite to my dream school and now working on the interview prep.

Jessica is all around top-notch. I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have worked with her.

Words cannot express how amazing Jessica was during my business school process! I had applied the year earlier to schools and did not get into a program that I wanted to attend. Having worked with a consultant in the past I was extremely skeptical of what mbaMission could bring to the table. Jessica was introduced by a friend who was ecstatic about getting into Booth when he originally had been targeting schools in the 10-20 ranking range.

The 30 minutes complimentary phone call was a game changer. Jessica was on point, had a clear strategy, and it was immediately apparent that this was going to be a different experience. I wish I had known her one year earlier. I quickly recognized that if I wanted to get into a business program it would only be with Jessica’s help improving my mediocre application. I had a solid 10 years of work experience but a low GPA and a low GMAT! Jessica was amazing during the brainstorming and essay writing sessions that identified a clear message and story we wanted to share. Jessica was extremely responsive, thoughtful, and supportive as we tracked multiple applications. She pushed me and held me accountable throughout the entire process.

In the end, it was Jessica’s recommendation to add another program to the list that landed me at the Stanford GSB. I would not be at the GSB if it had not been for Jessica’s help and guidance, for which I am forever grateful.

My daughter recommended Jessica to me. At first, I thought that I did not need consulting service because I had more than 20 years business leadership experience in top global IT companies in SAP, Oracle, Dell, Fujitsu, Compaq, and DEC. After the first 30 minute call with her, Jessica changed my opinion completely. She reviewed my profile with very much deeper insights. She supported me to know more about who I am, what I want and how I should do for my goal. And she recommended several programs fitted to me shortly after our talk. I am very impressive in her rich experience and expertise in admission consulting and her quick and strategic thinking and professional consulting methodology. Then I purchased Jessica’s hourly services and experienced more about Jessica’s great value to my application and career development. I believe I could not have gotten the offer from London Business School “Sloan Master in Leadership and Strategy” without Jessica’s strong and prompt supports. After I joined the Sloan program, I found that more than 60% of our classmates are master holders and there are several Ph.D. holders. Most of my classmates have more than 20 years of management experience. Jessica supported me to analyze my strength and weakness, how to present myself, how to write good essays in a short time. My recommendation to other EMBA, Sloan program and executive program applicants is that Jessica’s excellent consulting service is valuable to your time and money although you are senior and experienced in business management.

Jessica has been a great admission consultant. I have worked with Jessica for more than a year for my MBA application and re-application. She is very interested in learning about my stories and provides valuable insights on how my stories can fit into essays. Also, with extensive experience in admission consulting, she shares specific knowledge about the business programs I’m interested in and gives specific suggestions about the schools. I appreciate her help, and recommend her without any hesitation!

I feel very fortunate to have worked with Jessica Shklar from MBA Mission this year. She was kind, direct and helpful from the start and I don’t think I would have survived the grueling admissions process without her. Beginning with our 30-minute consultation, she helped me to understand what made me unique and how to bring my previous experiences together into a cohesive and powerful story. She helped me substantially with the essays and short answers and helped me feel confident with the package I put together. She was also prompt in answering any question I had, no matter how small. I would not hesitate to work with Jessica again and have already recommended her to close friends who are considering applying to MBA programs.

Before Jessica, I was like a lost duck. I had no idea what I should be doing to prepare my application for business school and I had no idea how to navigate the entire process. Luckily, I contacted her far enough in advance so that we could discuss a plan. After our initial discussion I was definitely overwhelmed by how much I needed to do but at the same time, Jessica made it all seem much more manageable and took much of the stress out of the process. I came in with a low GPA so I really didn’t have that high of expectations. Jessica helped me to formulate my story in a way that brought out the best aspects of myself that I hadn’t even considered. Yes, she was fantastic at helping me bring out my voice in my essays and preparing me for my interviews but it was the discussions with her about my life experiences that really stood out to me. She forced me to be introspective in a way that I had never been and helped me to take a hard look at my life and relate my past experiences to what I wanted to do moving forward. Without her, I would have never even known where to start. People say “you don’t know what you don’t know” and with the application process, this was very true for me. I went from having low expectations of getting a scholarship to a top 5 school. Jessica, THANK YOU!

Jessica was critical in my admission to HBS—I truly feel I couldn’t have done it without her. I first spoke to Jessica during a 30-minute free consultation (I did these with all of the major companies). Right off the bat I felt Jessica truly believed in me, was my main cheerleader, and was invested in making me successful.

I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better experience working with Jessica. I was very daunted by the business school application process and how to tell my story (I had a series of jobs that seemed unrelated on paper and wasn’t sure about my career goals). I was blown away by our first brainstorming session—Jessica has the unique ability to ask the right questions and is a gifted storyteller–I left our first brainstorming session with a clear story and direction for my HBS essay (none of which I had planned to write about!)

Jessica reviewed every word on my application including my resume, essays, and short answer with incredible detail and care. Her promptness and thoughtfulness while editing were simply incredible—she pushed me to think, clarify my goals, and suggested major improvements, all while preserving my voice. She kept me on track and stopped me from second guessing myself, all while making sure I was truly proud of and happy with every single thing I turned into the schools.

Once the applications were all submitted and I heard back regarding interviews, Jessica was critical in helping me prep for those as well.
I give Jessica my highest possible recommendation—she’s sincere, cares about her clients, and extremely good at what she does.

Thank you so much, Jessica! I really appreciate it!

I have used Jeremy’s services myself and have recommended him to my GMAT students.

Jeremy used his experience and insight to help me craft my story (not create an inauthentic story) that would best resonate with my target school. He asks relevant and helpful questions that assisted me in the creation of my application. He has seemingly unlimited interest and enthusiasm about his work, which is helping you tell your message to get into school.

The students that I have referred to Jeremy only have positive things to say about him.

It’s at the very least worth a free consultation with him!

Coming off a zero admit season I was desperately seeking good advice and counsel for my reapplication season. As part of my search, I reviewed the list of consultants on the mbaMission website and decided to set up a 30 min complimentary call with Melissa. I was intrigued by her experience leading the admissions committee at an actual business school and wanted to get her thoughts on my candidacy and approach.
While I decided to go with an Indian consultant for a school package due to budgetary constraints, I didn’t want to miss out on Melissa’s expertise and decided to go for hourly services with her.

I loved Melissa’s direct but positive & encouraging approach to my questions, and while initially, I was apprehensive about how the whole “hourly” service will work, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of value I was able to derive from it. I used Melissa’s expertise in fine-tuning my resume, reviewing essays for a couple of schools, getting answers to miscellaneous questions, and I finished it with a mock interview. For those who may be apprehensive about spending 4-5K to get such expert advice as a full package, I’d say the “hourly service” is a great way to not miss out on some very valuable support and guidance.

Melissa’s feedback on essays and story structure was crucial (especially for Fuqua’s 25 things) and she also suggested some super edits to resume bullets which were minor changes but greatly increased the impact of the bullets. The mock interview was also very helpful as we focused on pace and tone apart from the stories. I also sought her advice on things like interviewing with alum vs on campus and it was reassuring to make those decisions knowing that I was not doing it alone.

I had final offers from Chicago Booth, Kellogg & Duke Fuqua and I have no qualms in admitting that Melissa had a material effect in ensuring these great results.

Prepping for the GMAT and GRE (I took both) was an exhausting process. I’ve always been a solid student (GPA 3.8), but I kept missing the mark on these standardized tests. I wasn’t very happy with my scores and was thinking of applying round 3, to start school in fall 2018. Melissa was instrumental in my decision to wait, get the best scores I possibly could, not rush the essays, and apply round 1, in order to start school in fall 2019. I followed her advice and will be starting school in about 6 months at USC Marshall. Her honest assessment of my candidacy was so appreciated. I’m very glad I waited to apply and took her advice.

When it came to essays, I didn’t know where to begin. I was so drained from the studying process. Melissa really helped me hone my focus, and again, her honesty was greatly appreciated. One of my essays was so far away from where it needed to be that Melissa declined to give notes on it, and instead suggested that I start over with a different approach (she specified the approach). I was paying hourly, so I’m very grateful that she didn’t waste time correcting an essay that was so poor to begin with.

Melissa is awesome in terms of communication, time management, and giving helpful, honest feedback. I would highly, HIGHLY recommend.

Even if her rate was twice as much, I wouldn’t hesitate to hire her again.

Aside from being incredibly motivating and brilliant, Jessica truly cares about her clients’ success. Like most, I was hesitant about using a consultant but once we had our phone consultation, I knew she would be invaluable! Speaking to Jessica for that 30 minutes changed my outlook on the MBA application process and I immediately signed up for a 5 hour package. Right form the start, she encouraged me to capitalize on my non-traditional background, pushing me (in a good way) to market myself as an asset to better schools than what I had initially come to her with. Thanks to her, my resume was so well refined that I received a GMAT waiver from a top school; considering my strictly arts background, this was a miracle. She helped me focus my creative mind to write more factual and direct essays, while still allowing room for personality in my writing. Her mock interview literally had me sweating bullets but was so effective that the real ones felt like a breeze. Through it all, she responded quickly, honestly, and intelligently.

I can’t recommend her highly enough!

Melissa is a thoughtful, caring, and diligent consultant who will put you in the best position possible to get accepted to your dream MBA program. Melissa was able to extract insights about me and my story throughout the process that I would never have been able to surface on my own. She is an extremely talented essay editor and knows what admissions committees are looking for when they read your personal statements. Without her, my essays would have been much weaker, and I’m not sure I would have gotten the results I did.

More importantly, Melissa provides deeply caring and personalized mentorship. She was always extremely accessible and knew my story inside and out, despite working with many other clients at the same time. She is a straight-shooter and gives actionable feedback, which also means that when she tells you how awesome something is, she means it! She is very honest and pushes her clients in all the right ways. I can’t say enough good things about Melissa.

These guys helped me with my application to grad school at Columbia. It was a roll-up-your-sleeves, get in the weeds kind of approach and was truly impactful in my ability to complete the assignments and get accepted. Rather than doing the work for me, they enabled me to think deeply about my journey, and bring my best self to the writing, editing and submission process. Their coaching was really invaluable and I’d recommend it wholeheartedly.

I applied to MBA programs in 2008, without the assistance of Jeremy and mbaMission, and did not even get interviews at any of my target schools. I applied again in 2009, and what a world of difference! I was admitted to two of the three schools to which I applied. Jeremy and mbaMission are clearly the experts in MBA admissions consulting, and they were invaluable at every stage of the process. He and mbaMission are like having an expert caddie with you on the golf course. They know the admissions landscape, all the school processes, the tricks and nuances and how to make sure an applicant presents him or herself as well as possible in applications and interviews. Additionally, Jeremy was always very responsive and very honest. His counsel and guidance were invaluable. Plus, he is an incredibly nice person, and someone to whom I would strongly encourage anyone thinking about applying to a top MBA program talk!

Katharine was critical in my preparation for business school applications! Her schedule fills up, so I locked her in as a consultant in January of 2016, when applications were not submitted until September of 2016.

In my case, Katharine’s most influential interactions happened early in the process. She was the perfect river guide in self-reflection and discovery. Who am I? What people, events, and decisions have made me this way? What drives me? What do I want? I think I wrote up about 30+ pages of personal history before our first full working session. She knew more about me than most people ever do.

Because of her influence I felt like I was able to tap into my most authentic self and write genuine, compelling essays. This led to admission to Stanford, Wharton, and Kellogg. Harvard declined to interview. I matriculated at the GSB and will graduate this year!

Give Katharine a call and see if she’s a fit for you! I’m soooo glad I did.

I come from a non-traditional background and wanted to add a consultant to help tailor my profile. I shopped around and after a few consultations, it was abundantly clear that Nisha not only was incredibly competent but also very reasonable, understanding and supportive. She was always incredibly quick to respond to email and regularly turned around redline requests quicker than the advertised 48 hour window. Her ability to highlight strong aspects of an essay and guide me to expand on stronger points is second to none. I think my favorite aspect of working with Nisha is how quickly I came to trust her opinion on any application related matter. I applied to 4 schools and was accepted to all 4 and was even awarded a scholarship at one of my reaches- where I will be attending. I am confident that this would never have happened without Nisha’s help. She’s also got an incredible wealth of knowledge on MBA programs. Lastly, she’s a friendly person who I enjoyed talking to. All in all an incredible experience. Hire her ASAP!

A few years ago, I chose another consultant over mbaMission and didn’t get anywhere. Last year, by overwhelming recommendation, I decided to work with Jeremy on my EMBA application. At the time, I had my doubts because being a business owner myself, I wasn’t sure if two Type A personality working together was a good idea. Those doubts quickly faded away when the work started. J always scheduled calls with me that accommodated my ever changing time zone and during each call, he not only listened but also extracted the essence of my stories which helped the application writing process tremendously. I’m full of stories but I am possibly the worst person alive at telling my own stories. After countless calls and email exchanges, J helped me craft a number of compelling applications that resulted in multiple acceptance from M7 school. One of which even called me personally before decision deadline to deliver the congratulatory news and shared with me how much she enjoyed reading my application and my stories. Now I have to write on my own again without first an edit by J, it feels weird.