mbaMission | MBA Admissions Consultants

Applying to business schools can be a testing experience that requires a lot of self-reflection. I started using Harshad as a pay by the hour consultant to help tighten my stories. After working with him for a few sessions, I realized that I was going to need more help in coming up with my unique stories that would stand out in my applications. I upgraded to the full time package, and it was the best decision and money I spent in the application process.

Harshad has a unique ability to connect with the people he works with. We have only communicated over the phone and email, but I found myself quickly trusting him. I opened up about events in my life that I have told few people. He brought out powerful stories and emotions, some of which I had buried deep down inside myself.

Harshad will also very honest with you and is a great communicator. He will let you know if you produced a strong piece or a piece that needs more work. If he does provide constructive feedback, he does so in a way that never feels personal. I always felt that Harshad was rooting for me every step of the way.

All in all, I cannot recommend Harshad enough. He will bring out the best version of yourself and help you distill that version onto paper.

I was accepted into two great schools, and I have no doubts that Harshad was a big part of me getting into those schools.

When I first started looking into admissions consulting services, I had a specific idea of what I needed. I was confident I was applying to the right schools, but I knew my essay writing skills were a bit weak. I was matched with Kate and my entire experience working with her was very enjoyable. I never imagined how much I would get out of the experience. She was always cognizant of what I needed and was very accountable in the usage of time.

The concise feedback I received on my essays was tailored to my specific concerns. The comments really helped me focus my ideas. By the time I was working on my 5th application, I had a sort of writer’s block. Kate provided the combination of constructive feedback and “cheering section” support that I needed. This 5th application was for the school that I ended up choosing to go to. I am forever grateful for Kate’s help in getting through the application process.

Initially I felt a little intimidated by the idea of working with an MBA admission consultant because I knew that MBA application process is all about deep self-reflection and authentic storytelling. I was not sure if I could truly open up myself to and go through the process with someone I did not know before. But because mbaMission has a great reputation, I decided to give it a try and call them for a free 30-minute consultation. That then led me to Jen, who completely shaped my MBA application experience!

Jen challenged me to go above and beyond in my applications: The very first essay draft I sent to Jen was Stanford’s classic and difficult essay. Jen sent me her written feedback in 2 days and I was totally amazed by her detailed notes and thoughtful critique. And then she called me to walk me through her notes and guided me to think deeply about the “why” part of the question. I already put some serious thoughts into the essay but Jen encouraged me to dive deeper and taught me how to do so. I knew then I had to get Jen’s help for my other schools and decided to purchase packages for all my others schools with Jen!

Jen was always there for me: I had about 2 months to finish 6 schools’ applications and each of the schools asked for something different in their essays and interviews. And as an international student, I was also worried about messing up those cultural nuances in my applications. Jen helped me with every step for every school including essay brainstorming, essay writing, resume polishing, interview preparation, and an additional scholarship application process for one of the schools. Jen was so knowledgeable, responsive, patient, encouraging and honest that I felt extremely comfortable to ask her any questions and share my thoughts/feelings/concerns. I remember I would call her before my interviews to practice some questions or just chat about the interview, and then walked into every interview feeling very confident and fully prepared. I could not imagine getting such amount of guidance and support from anyone else!

Finally I was admitted to 4 top business schools! I am so grateful for everything Jen did and she means much more than an admission counselor to me – She is a true friend and mentor.

I worked with Jen for five hours on my application and interview prep for one school (that I successfully was admitted to!) and it was immensely helpful and very worth the cost. I made sure to have my essays and short answers in good shape by the time I sent them to Jen to get a last eye on them. It was incredibly helpful to have a professional look over these and she was efficient- I got a ton out of only five hours!

Starting from my 30-minute free consultation, Jen provided useful guidance on how to approach school selection, the application process, and positioning myself. Through four applications, I found the structured approach the she provided to the early stages of brainstorming and developing a personal narrative to be particularly helpful. Her essay editing helped me to tell a more focused and impactful story and mock interviews always prepared me very well for the real thing. On a more personal level, Jen was friendly and easy to work with and always had interesting insights into what I was saying about myself and how to make that more clear and forceful. I would certainly recommend her services to anyone applying to business school.

Several friends recommended that I hire an admissions consultant for my apps, so I decided to give the free 30-minute consultation a try. My plan was to shop around different companies and consultants before committing, and my very first consultation was with Melissa. After the first few minutes with her, I was sold and knew that I didn’t need to look any further. After our consultation, the actual thought in my head was, “There’s literally nothing I would change about her and our dynamic, so I might as well end my search here!”

For me, the toughest part of the app process was essay writing. There were stories that I knew I wanted to share, but I couldn’t get the messaging down myself, and especially not within the word limits. Melissa helped guide my thinking to dig deeper, and at the end, my final essays were still very much “me” — MY stories, and in MY words – just told in a MUCH more effective way. Her guidance for my resume and interview preparation was also tremendously helpful and insightful.

Melissa is everything you’d possibly want in a consultant – she’s reliable, personable, and knows what the admissions committee is looking for. I couldn’t be happier with my experience, and she’s one of the first people I called when I got into my dream school! I truly think that I wouldn’t have been able to get into all the schools I did without Melissa on my team.

Anyone in the market for an admissions consultant — save your time and end your search here! I recommend Melissa 100%.

It is an understatement to say I would not have gotten into business school without the help of Nisha from mbaMission. Throughout our one year working together, Nisha was a guide and thought partner I could count on. Her thoughtful feedback, rapid turnarounds, and ability to leverage other mbaMission resources made a huge difference in my candidacy.

Nisha got to know me pretty well, despite just working on an hourly engagement. Thus, she was able to give me personalized feedback at all levels: from clarifying and tightening essay language to guidance on how I could improve my overall applicant profile. Nisha provided this feedback consistently much faster than the 2-day turnaround requirement. To drive this point home: Nisha returned feedback on an essay to me within 24 hrs while on the flight to her wedding. Nisha also went above and beyond by pulling on other mbaMission resources to help me. For example, Nisha asked her colleagues for feedback on one of my video essays and shared valuable content on what specific schools look for, which was not something you could find anywhere else.

In summary, Nisha was an essential partner on my journey to business school, someone I could rely on to have my back at a moment’s notice. I can’t recommend her or mbaMission highly enough!

When I decided to apply to B-School, I debated whether or not to use an admissions consultant. A friend of mine recommended I give mbaMission a try for at least the free 30 minute consultation. After speaking with Melissa in that initial conversation and getting a very positive impression, I decided that I would purchase a couple of hours for a second, and professional opinion on some of my essays. This turned out to be the best decision I made during the application process. My coach/coachee relationship with Melissa snowballed from there and I continued working with her throughout the entire application process because I kept getting so much value out of her feedback.

More than anything, Melissa helped me understand my story on a deeper level and in a way that would resonate on my applications. Furthermore, she helped me discover my potential by forcing me to dig deeper on every essay, resume bullet point, interview prep call, etc. Because I could tell she cared about my dreams and aspirations for business school and beyond, I was able to trust her throughout the entire application process. The value of having a coach and loyal friend (who I knew had my best interest at heart) in my corner while navigating the challenging process of applying to business school was immeasurable.

In addition to the soft skills and intangibles she provided, Melissa is incredibly smart and energetic. Her insight, expertise, and passion provided a much needed boost to my applications. I totally (and have already) recommend working with Melissa to anyone considering applying to business school. She helped me get into my dream school and I couldn’t be more excited about what she helped me accomplish. I look forward to sharing future successes with her for many years to come!

Working with Harshad was hands down the best decision I’ve ever made. Since he would encourage me to “highlight the message early”, here’s the key takeaway from this novel of a review:

Harshad will see you more clearly than you see yourself, and will hold up the mirror until you see what he sees. He’s genuine, invested, empathetic, ruthless, supportive, brilliant, honest, and kind. He is more than worth the investment, and you are making an absolutely massive mistake if you don’t hire him immediately.

Okay now I’ll break it down for you:

Statistically speaking, I was shooting far beyond my reach when it came to the schools I wanted to apply to. I spoke with a couple consultants before Harshad who encouraged me to either retake the GMAT (for the fourth time… yeah, no thank you) or lower my expectations. I was pretty discouraged by the time I met Harshad, who had a completely different attitude from everyone else. I knew after only five minutes that if I had any chance of getting into one of these programs, it would be with him. He was nothing but crazy enthusiastic, while still managing to be honest about how it could be an uphill battle.

Harshad and I were in such constant contact during the application process that there were days I talked to him more than my roommate. I’m honestly surprised at the number of ‘Class of 2020’ recommendations on P&Q, because he made me feel like I was his biggest priority and only client. How he managed to have time for my high-maintenance self and his other clients, I’ll never know!

During our initial 1.5 hour ‘brainstorming call’ (i.e. therapy session), he knew just the right questions to ask to break down the walls I had up, and was extremely patient yet persistent with his follow up questions, pushing me to ‘dive deeper’. He then identified a few pieces of my life story that I would have never thought twice about, and helped me realize just how meaningful they were, giving me the tools necessary to craft them into something truly beautiful. I honestly feel like I know myself so much better after this experience – Harshad could easily moonlight as a therapist! He’s not going to let you off easy, and it was like another full-time job getting the essays to the point where they needed to be, but I took solace in the fact that he believed in me so much that he wasn’t going to let me settle for a ‘passable’ essay. He was really ‘in it to win’ with me the whole way, which I always appreciated.

If you’re looking for a consultant that could bridge the gap between giving it to you straight while still being a cheerleader, look no further. Harshad could teach a class on delivering constructive criticism; he ruthlessly tore apart my essays while still managing to make me feel good about it. I’m fairly certain that if/when he reads this, he’d lovingly tell me that this review is all over the place, that he could have relayed the same message in half the words, and that I’m trying to accomplish too much in too little space, but that “I’m an excellent writer and this review has so much potential, so let’s get to work” (how can you not feel good about yourself after that? Seriously, genius).

I ended up getting admitted to my dream school that other consultants previously discouraged me from applying to, and when I got the admissions phone call, the first person I wanted to tell was Harshad. I one hundred percent know that I wouldn’t be where I am now without him. I could not recommend him enough, and feel like this rave review doesn’t even do him justice. Please do yourself a favor and consider this: how amazing would a person have to be to secure this many novel-long rave reviews on P&Q? Schedule your intro call with Harshad and don’t look back – you won’t regret it!

I used hourly services with Jen and it was immensely helpful in my business school application process and a key contributor to my success in admissions! I was initially hesitant to use an admissions consultant, but set up a free 30 minute consultation at the recommendation of a friend. A few minutes into my consultation, I knew I wanted to work with Jen throughout the application process. Right away, she pulled stories out of me to brainstorm essay ideas and provided great advice on which stories I should use for which applications. She was incredibly knowledgeable about the schools I was applying to and helped me tailor my essays, short responses, and resumes accordingly. I am so glad I made the decision to use mbaMission and I would enthusiastically recommend Jen as an admissions consultant throughout the application process!

I had the pleasure of working with Jen Kedrowski for my application to NYU Stern. As someone who was uncertain of his chances into gaining admission, I knew I needed a leg up on the competition. Jen provided me with that extra boost. Her feedback was super helpful in getting my entire application to tell one cohesive story that helped make my overall application stronger. Her work on my essays and resume helped me tell my story while staying within the strict word count guidelines. She also gave me really great ideas on the creative essay that Stern implemented just last year. I would recommend her services to any future MBA applicant looking to help increase their chances of gaining entry into a top tier business school.

Summary: Rachel helped me gain admittance to my dream school, Wharton!  If you are contemplating the benefits of using a consultant, I would tell you to stop thinking about it and begin working with Rachel.  Without Rachel’s guidance and encouragement – I would not have even applied to my first choice school. 
 
My Story:  As I began the application process for MBA programs, I had a few friends suggest that I look to leverage an admissions consultant. Skeptical at first, but figured I had nothing to lose by a conversation, I scheduled two free 30 minute sessions; one with a competitor company and another with Rachel.  As I was pleased with my first conversation with a competitor, I had high expectations before I got on the phone with Rachel.  From the first 5 minutes of my conversation with Rachel, I knew she was the person I wanted to work with.  Not only was Rachel familiar with the information I supplied before my consult – she came with recommendations and suggestions – something I did not expect from a free session. I thought my GMAT score would limit me on gaining acceptance to a top-tier program, but with Rachel’s encouragement, I immediately began working with Rachel on my application and essays to Wharton.
 
Throughout the process, Rachel was my cheerleader, mentor, and personal coach. Rachel was extremely timely on providing thoughtful, candid feedback (in a good way) and challenged me to present my “best self” in my application. Rachel has a brilliant approach to storytelling and creating a coherent narrative.  Rachel took the stress out of the application process for me and helped me achieve my goal of gaining acceptance to a top-tier MBA program. 
 
I cannot thank Rachel enough for encouraging me to apply to my dream school, guiding me throughout the entire process, and helping me gain acceptance.  Rachel exceeded every expectation I had and I would highly recommend Rachel to anyone who is considering applying to business school. 

I cannot express how deeply grateful I am to Jessica for supporting me through the entire MBA process – from the brainstorming sessions, to the essays, and interviews and perhaps more importantly, the life changing conversations. If there is one thing that I can say for certain it is that applying to an MBA program is a journey and not a destination. What Jessica excels at is really allowing you to find your story and craft your journey. There were multiple points in this process where I had to deeply reflect on what my deepest priorities were and Jessica was masterful in helping me through this thinking. In addition, she is an exceptional writer who really simplifies complexity, whilst preserving the integrity of your thinking. As I reflect on my time working with Jessica, I am confident that she has made me a better story teller, but I am as grateful for her endless curiosity, desire and commitment to stretch my thinking, find my deepest values and express them with clarity.

Applied to 5 different schools, four among them were part of the elite M7 group. Not a single ding. Invited to interview from all five of them! Now, I am on my way to enroll at my dream school, Chicago Booth! Yes, my decision to work with Heidi turned out to be a killer deal for me. But the problem with quoting just impressive statistics like these is that they are but a snapshot of a nearly year-long process and very often don’t exactly reveal the entire story. Heidi made me realize that success rates alone don’t define a consultant. It is the experience that counts. Working with Heidi was one of the best and most memorable part of my entire application journey and when I say this I am least guided by the end results. It was a realization that hit me barely a couple of weeks after I started working with her. Patient, diligent, considerate, accommodative, and I can go on with more and more adjectives to describe her. But above all, it was her comforting presence and her cheery outlook that made me feel so self-assured. At no point during the entire process did I even have an iota of doubt about the outcome. Being an Indian male with an engineering background, it was supposed to be insanely difficult to differentiate me from the entire applicant pool. But Heidi managed to do exactly that in style. I still remember the very first call we had, when Heidi, after having read my entire biography, zeroed in on seemingly inconsequential stories of my life as must-haves in all my application essays to differentiate myself from the Indian applicant pool. That statement from her stands out as a remarkable prophecy today. And it was not just about creating quality essays. Being a Booth graduate herself and having been a consultant at one of the Big 3 consulting firms, she’s not just an admissions consultant but a perfect mentor to guide you in your post-MBA goals. I can confidently state today that my business education journey started the very same day I started working with Heidi. Long story short, if you are ever looking for a person who would go beyond being just an admissions consultant and stay with you as a friend/mentor/counsellor to guide you and steer you through the rigorous application process then Heidi is the one you should be looking for. I have extremely fond memories of my application journey only because of Heidi and they are mine to cherish forever!

I am an international candidate and I started working with Kate after recommendation by one of here colleague, and seeing her reviews on Gmatclub and other websites. I can vouch for Kate’s strict adherence to timeline and openness to discuss even the tiniest issue of one’s application. Overall, I can say that Kate has been there for me throughout the season and has been really supportive throughout the process. One advice I would provide to future applicants is that before working with any consultant, do thorough analysis and brainstorming of your goals and reasons for an MBA and then hire a consultant.

Going into the application process, I honestly felt like my profile was fairly mediocre for the schools I was targeting. As a white male from the finance industry and working at a largely unknown company, the competition was abundant/tough and my numbers weren’t anything special. Like many, I was initially reluctant to use a consultant because of the cost; there’s no doubt it’s a big decision. But a good friend referred me to Jessica and told me she was the best in the business and that I had to work with her. The opportunity to go to a top b-school is once in a lifetime and I’d seen it open incredible opportunities for others, so I figured I’d give it my best shot and try to get any edge I could in the application process. After all, I’d already committed to the idea of leaving the workforce for two years and spending my life savings (plus some) on school itself – so might as well do it right.

Now at Columbia Business School, I’m still pinching myself because just a few years ago this didn’t seem like a possibility. And I can say with great certainty that it wouldn’t have been without Jessica’s help. Jessica helped me tell my story in a way that took my borderline profile and made it a standout one. She’s passionate about getting the best out of her clients, and she understands the application process and the perspective of admissions committees better than anyone. Always a straight shooter, she’ll constantly push you and tell you exactly what you need to hear. It wasn’t always fun or comfortable, but I wouldn’t have wanted to do it any other way because it resulted in the best possible application. She’s truly as invested in your success as you are at each and every step of the process – she was just as excited as I was when I got accepted to Columbia. In retrospect, I can’t believe I ever considered going through the application process by myself. If your dream is to attend a top business school but you think it might be a bit of a stretch, then I can not recommend Jessica enough.

I was a very confused MBA aspirant until I spoke to Harshad over the phone for the first time. Harshad spent a lot of time in understanding everything about me via a long brainstorming session. It wasn’t just about career and achievements but also about who I am as a person. He then very intelligently guided me to tell my unique story in a finest way possible. He would review and let me update my essays a thousand times if it needs be till the time it looked like a true winner. I also wanted someone who can be direct with me and provide the correct feedback without any sugar coating, Harshad does it in his own style. More than a consultant, I always felt like Harshad was my mentor. I had a magnificent experience working with him and would truly recommend to anyone who wants to put up a strong MBA application.

My only regret about working with Jessica through the MBA admissions process is that I didn’t commit to starting with her earlier. I come from a non-traditional background (retail/e-commerce) and had few resources to consult about the process, so I was nervous about where to start. I spoke with Jessica in late September, after 5 other consultations and 2 sub-700 GMAT attempts. Jessica helped me feel confident about my non-traditional background and unique experiences, and I felt encouraged by her realistic yet positive outlook. We spent an hour speaking instead of the scheduled 30 minutes. By the end, I felt like I was talking to an old friend. I was blown away by how sharp she is, by her EQ, and by how much she imparted about the admissions process in such a short timeframe.

For the first stage of the Round 2 admissions process, Jessica helped me choose 6 target programs based on my interests and goals, and encouraged me to keep trying on the GMAT since I’d done significantly better on practice tests. I retook the GMAT 2 more times, scoring 730 each time but with a completely unbalanced score. Quant was way too low. Jessica didn’t let me get discouraged and reminded me what I’d shared with her that showed I could handle quant, and helped me create a strategy to showcase this through my application.

Next, we brainstormed for essays. I cannot overstate how helpful it was to use the MBA Mission brainstorming template with Jessica. I spent 20+ hours on the brainstorm, and Jessica read every word. She helped me take a birds eye view of my achievements and experiences to weave cohesive stories that incorporated my all of most pivotal memories, experiences, and achievements. While Jessica cannot “get you in” to your dream school, she knows how to make sure you’ve pulled every lever to give this process your absolute best attempt, leaving nothing off the table to regret later. Jessica helped me with everything from the obvious long-answer essays, to “hidden” essays (eg how to tell the AdComm in 200 characters what your greatest achievement was at your last job), to the meticulous details such as selecting which industry my company really falls under. When you’re investing this much time and money (and soul!) into a process, it’s incredible to have a sounding board like Jessica.

Simultaneously, Jessica helped me create succinct bullet-pointed guides for my recommenders. Since I was coming from a non-traditional background, no one on my team or within my organization had an MBA or had written a recc for someone applying before. My recommenders greatly appreciated this piece!
After the application stage, Jessica helped me prepare for interviews at 2 of the 3 schools that she had helped me with. (I applied to 6 schools in total, and got interviews at 4). My first interview invite was from a school she hadn’t helped me with; she still sent over a webinar link and resources, and I was admitted to that school with a generous fellowship before even interviewing at the others. The fellowship covered all my GMAT expenses + Jessica’s fee… + travel costs for interviews and admit days… and so much more.
Jessica also helped me through some extremely tough moments: handling an inappropriate interviewer situation at a top-choice program (I still got in!), navigating a waitlist, and moving on from rejection. Beyond this, she has been helping me as I decide which program to attend – shockingly, perhaps the most challenging part thus far for me.

All said and done, Jessica’s help allowed me score admission to a top-choice M7 program, an interview at GSB, and a killer fellowship at a top-15 program. I’m also waitlisted at a program with one of the lowest admit rates in the world (fingers crossed!). Thank you to Jessica for your help getting me one step closer to achieving my dreams!

I knew there were a lot of competitors in the MBA admissions consulting space, so I made sure to do my research. On top of reading multiple external reviews and testimonials, I took advantage of each consultant’s test call to get a gut feel. Out of everyone that I talked with, Krista was really the only person that didn’t act like a salesperson. Instead, she took a full hour to understand my background and my aspirations; it was easy to tell that she was caring and would pay attention to you as a person.

This definitely carried over into the entire process of 1.5 years of working with her, from several months before Round 1 all the way to the end of the waitlist process. Here are the highlights of working with Krista:

1) Thoughtful and probing in edits – She made it clear from the beginning that she was not going to be writing the essay herself, but rather that she would be a guide to help probe out my own thoughts and points. This was to emphasize the originality and uniqueness of my essay. In doing so, Krista was always thoughtful when giving updates and edits by posing various hypothetical questions in how to make a point stronger or why a certain point was necessary.
2) Direct and straightforward – at the same time, however, over 15 deep iterations of an essay, Krista wasn’t afraid to be blunt and give objective feedback when needed. She deleted entire sentences and paragraphs when she felt it wasn’t strong or contributed to my overall message, but was not tyrannical about it – she always explained the reasoning behind her edits.
3) Strong preparation for business school interviews – Krista provided extensive preparation for the interviews, including multiple rounds of mock interviews along with deep feedback. Not only did she help me work on the interpersonal aspect with tone and intonation to guide me with the proper delivery, she also cracked down on the concrete content of the answers to the questions to make sure they were well-structured and concise.
4) Maintained a strong personal relationship even after I got admitted into school – she referred me to MBA internship positions for a large financial services firm that she previously worked with.

I highly recommend Krista to anyone really looking for a personalized consultant with great insights into any industry and school.

Things you shouldn’t do during the MBA application process:
– Wait until 3 weeks before the deadline to start your essay
– Not have schools picked out that fit your profile

I took longer than expected to get my GMAT score to where I wanted it to be and as a result Round 1 passed me by and Round 2 was quickly approaching and I freaked out. It’s been ages since I’ve applied to schools and I wanted someone to help me through this process. With only 3 weeks until Round 2 deadlines, many other admissions consultants said that it was impossible to do in such a short timeframe, which was totally understandable given the short notice. I was luckily paired with Harshad and he was certainly the life raft that I needed to complete my application. We started with a brainstorming document where I listed my background and all my experiences. After reading the document and meeting with Harshad, He had a very good idea about who I was and how to present myself to each school. Since we were on a very tight deadline, he gave me a strict timeline and assured me that if I stuck with the timeline we would be on target. He worked tirelessly to provide feedback and edits; some of his turnaround times were less than 1 day! I submitted all 3 of my applications on time and received interviews from all 3. I can honestly say I could not have done this without Harshad keeping me on track and helping me tell my story in a succinct, coherent fashion.

School update: Accepted to all three schools – including a 50% scholarship at a top 25 school!

I’ll keep this short and sweet. When I first reached out to Kate I was skeptical of even using an admissions consultant because honestly it’s quite costly and I didn’t even think my stats were comparable to what you read online. After speaking with her, I realized I needed help and didn’t really understand the admissions process at all, but she gave me confidence that it was actually possible for me to be admitted to a top business school. Overall she steered me in the right direction of what I needed on my apps, she thoroughly read my essays (commented line by line), and helped me craft a story. I already recommended her to a friend to try and would do so again in a heartbeat.

Jessica was beyond helpful and words cannot describe my appreciation for her. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. She was incredibly responsive, thoughtful, and held me accountable throughout the entire process. She knows exactly when to push and when to encourage. Her talent, experience, and genuine care for my success were all worth every penny. There is so much more that goes into the entire admissions process than I realized, and Jessica does a fantastic job of breaking down each portion into a manageable, organized timeline. Looking back, there is absolutely no way I would have made it into the schools that I did without her.

From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for all of your hard work Jessica!

After taking the GMAT twice, I knew I wasn’t going to score better than a 700, which was in the range of the schools that I was looking at attending but on the low end. I knew that I needed to put together the strongest application possible, so I reached out to mbaMission to work on a 4-school package.

Before talking with Melissa for our free 30-minute consultation, I knew that I wanted to apply to Kellogg but I wasn’t sure what other schools would be realistically in my range. Melissa talked to me about what I was looking for in terms of class size, instruction style and culture and told me to consider Fuqua and Ross. She was encouraging yet realistic and having her help me narrow down what schools to realistically look at and prepare for was incredibly valuable.

Melissa is brilliant at helping you find your unique story to distinguish you from other applicants yet highlight your fit with the school’s mission and culture. She weaved together a narrative made up of disparate and individual stories that I had told her about, tied them together, and then packaged them in a way that appealed to the different schools I was applying to. The way she brought different parts of my life and experiences together that I never would have was creative and natural.

Other than essay writing, the most game-changing thing about working with Melissa was that she revealed the strategy to applying to businesses school in general and to each one individually and together we crafted a strategy for each school. Anyone can write the essays, do the application, and attend an interview, but it’s hard to make sure that every single interaction you have with a school is cohesive, well thought-out and intentional and Melissa helped me with that. She helps you attack the application process so that you are comfortable presenting yourself in the most authentic, confident, and appealing way.

Melissa was a godsend throughout the brutal b-school application process and if there is anything that I would advise applicants and prospective applicants to do in order to achieve the best results is work with Melissa. Throughout working together Melissa was understanding, encouraging, and realistic. At the end of the day there is luck involved in who gets admitted where, but I encourage everyone applying to schools that they think are out of their reach to apply and work with Melissa to put together the best application possible. I can’t recommend her enough!

I would not have gotten into Haas Business School without Jessica – period, dead stop. Her level of expertise and wisdom is unmatched. My first encounter with Jessica was during a webinar, and up until that point, I hadn’t given a personal consultant much thought. I figured I had been reasonably successful in my career and would be able to maneuver the application process myself. Having a few doubts, though, as I wasn’t the traditional candidate for a top business school, I scheduled a free 30 minute consultation. Jessica’s “presence” blew me away. She was all the things you’d want a consultant to be – intelligent, honest, succinct, great listener – but it was her passion and compassion that drew me to her. She’s the real deal, a truly authentic person. After completing my brainstorming homework, I came to our call feeling a bit defeated. I didn’t think there was anything in my story that was unique or compelling enough to get me into a top school. She disagreed and told me what she saw in my story. What she said not only touched my heart, but changed my worldview.

I could go on and on about her work. She’s efficient and quick to respond and brilliant at making sure every single word in your essay provides value. She’s stellar at listening to inarticulate ramblings and finding themes and important points. But most importantly, she’s your most valued thought partner.

To be honest, I hesitated before writing the check to mbaMission. It was a lot of money and I didn’t want to spend it if I’d be able to produce similar work on my own. What I know now is to run, don’t walk, to find yourself a consultant, and secure Jessica if at all possible. I’m in my mid-forties and she is hands down the best money I’ve ever spent. I will be forever grateful for her services.

Kate helps me with my MBA application to UCLA and Berkeley. I don’t have a high GMAT score and need to strengthen my essays and resume to improve my chance to admit to top MBA program. Kate did a great job in coaching me to provide strong details in my essays and succinct my resume. She also responses quickly to my requests with 2 days turnaround time. With Kate strong supports, I am admitted to UCLA this Fall and really looking forward to attending Anderson MBA program. I don’t think I will be accepted to these top MBA program without her help!

No matter where you are in the application process, Jessica Shklar will help you present the best and truest YOU to your dream business school.

Before using mbaMission, I applied to business schools on my own, thinking that I knew best how to present myself to admissions. After receiving only a single interview, I became worried. While I waited for a lone R1 decision, I reached out to several consulting services to see if they could help me on such short notice (R2 deadlines were fast approaching and I had not even started!). In a free one hour consultation, Jessica gave me so much great advice and really captured the essence of what I was trying to say in my application essays but in a more directed approach. Knowing that I was still waiting for a R1 decision, Jessica was never pushy about the services and told me she would help me on short notice as soon as I was ready.

After receiving a rejection, I called Jessica and she immediately developed a plan of action. She helped me hone in on schools to target. We had only 2 weeks to submit applications to six programs! In a whirlwind but incredibly efficient and effective afternoon conversation, Jessica helped me drill into the essays and my stories that would resonate with admissions at each school. In no way did she ever write my essays, but she helped me see the great stories that I didn’t realize I had. This was especially important as a non-traditional applicant (age 33 at matriculation, worked at various blue collar jobs, military reservist). She truly will help you present the best YOU to your dream programs.

Over a busy 2 weeks, Jessica supported me and was always responsive. While I can write so many positive words about Jessica, how immensely helpful, insightful, and just plain great to talk to that she is, the results speak for themselves. My 6 applications led to 6 interviews and then 3 admits and 3 waitlists. Even with such a limited amount of time, she helped me put together my best possible applications. She is an amazing resource and a MUST for any aspiring MBA candidate!

Jessica is a phenomenal admissions counselor. My working relationship with Jessica began over 5 years ago when I applied to the HBS 2+2 program as a college senior. During the initial consultation, Jessica and I immediately clicked and I knew that her knowledge and experience would be invaluable. I chose to go through my 2+2 application without any support and was not admitted. Five years later, I decided to re-apply to MBA programs. I submitted a request for another consultation from mbaMission and, to my surprise, Jessica emailed me back. During our chat, she was very optimistic about my profile and chances for admission. I interviewed seven other admission consultants just to make sure but with Jessica I felt the most comfortable. Over the course of 5 months, Jessica spent many hours helping to refine my application and make sure every aspect was perfect. I couldn’t be happier with the result – I was admitted to my top choice – HBS! Thank you so much Jessica – words cannot express how grateful I am to you. I recommend you highly!

If you are applying to business school you need to work with Jessica. Jessica has intimate knowledge about the process of preparing and applying to b-schools. She is also an amazing story teller. As a non-traditional student, with a very unconventional academic and work background, I was concerned not only about the process but also finding and communicating my unique story in the best way possible to compete with other candidates and to highlight my strengths to the ADComs. After doing my research on several other firms, I decided to work with Jessica and I hired her for the complete start to finish package for each school. I knew that she was a perfect fit for me after the first phone call. She was able to help me navigate the various nuances of writing essays for multiple applications, preparing for interviews and most importantly, keeping me grounded and focused throughout a very intense process. With Jessica’s help and guidance I was admitted into a top 10 business school. I highly recommend her and mbaMission.

If you have the opportunity to work with Jessica, I would highly recommend it – it’s truly worth every penny. I was on the fence about working with a consultant – it’s an expensive investment and up to that point I had done everything on my own.

I knew I wanted to work with Jessica immediately following our consultation. Jessica managed to articulate my story better than I could after just a 30 minute phone call and was also able to point out strengths and weaknesses in my application that I hadn’t thought about before. I felt confident that having Jessica’s years of experience and insight would help me craft a more effective and authentic narrative – and that turned out to be absolutely true.

The three things that I enjoyed most about working with Jessica are:

1.) Her ability to provide quick, candid and pointed feedback – there is no tip-toeing around feedback, she gets to the point quickly and that makes every minute you spend with her very effective and valuable.

2.) Her ability to see trends in your experience/background and help you craft an authentic, powerful story.

3.) Her ability to be your biggest cheerleader when you need it most! Jessica always made herself available when I needed to talk to her and she believed in me every step of the way. As corny as it sounds, this is so important in the application process because there are so many ups and downs and sometimes you just need some encouragement and positivity.

Ultimately, I was accepted to my two top choices. Jessica was a critical in that result!

Working with Nisha was a great experience. She was very friendly and helpful in answering every question that I had. She helped make my essays concise and set in the correct narrative structure. Nisha’s turnaround was quick, it only took her a day to get back to my drafts. In addition to the essays, Nisha helped me practice for my interviews and typical why questions. I would highly recommend Nisha when the deadline was approaching she made herself available during the weekend and got back to me right away when I had questions and made sure I was 100% comfortable before submitting my application. With her help, I was admitted to Chicago Booth.

When I was looking to work with an admissions consultant in the summer to put my best foot forward in the application process, a very good friend of mine, who’d gotten into B school, suggested I take John’s and MBAmission’s help. During my initial conversation, I found John to be refreshingly honest. I knew I was aggressive with my school selection, given my background. John, while mentioning some of the pitfalls with my strategy, told me “You’ve done half the job. Now, leave all the worrying about your odds of getting in to me!” After this, I was convinced to enlist John’s help with the ‘All-in’ package.
Because I was consulting on a project in John’s city, we decided to meet up at a local Starbucks to go over essay outlines for my top choice school. John’s storytelling skills shone through immediately. I could see that he had taken the time to go over my background and stories from the brainstorming document I’d sent to him earlier. I was very impressed with the way John provided structure and detail to my essays, all while introducing ‘hooks’ from my past to keep the reader engaged. At the end of the essay writing process, I was convinced I presented the best version of myself to the admissions committee.
John also helped refine my message and delivery during a 30 minute mock interview over the phone. When the day of the interview came, I was confident of facing any question my interviewer could potentially throw at me. I was eventually accepted into my top choice program. In hindsight, working with John proved to be a great decision. He truly cares about his client’s success. I’m confident, my investment in MBAmisson and John will prove to be a drop in the bucket over the long run.

I had the pleasure of working with Nisha during my MBA application process. As many would attest, this is usually a very stressful process.

I attended an online MBA application workshop conducted by mbaMission, and Nisha was one of the facilitators.

One of my target schools was Michigan Ross, and Nisha is an alum. This, combined with the positive impression she created during the online session, made me choose her as my consultant.

Right from tweaking my resume, to fine tuning my essays, Nisha’s insights, and two cents was invaluable.
She was very helpful, and prompt in her replies/feedback.

I also did mock interviews with her. There again, she tried to simulate the real interviews as much as possible, and this practice made me feel at ease in the real interviews.

I am happy to note that with Nisha’s guidance, I got into all 4 of the top 25 MBA programs that I applied to. (Booth, Ross, Tepper, and Kelley).

And I am going to Ross! GO BLUE!!

I would highly recommend Nisha to any aspiring MBA candidate.

When I took the decision to apply to a Harvard Kennedy School, a year before the application deadline, I contacted a friend of mine, alumni from this school, to get insights from him on the application process. Among the precious advice he gave me, was the fact that I should work with a consultant. American people use consultants despite the fact that they know the system and that they can get lot of information from people around them. So, to him, as a foreign student, working with a consultant was really helpful in his application process but above all, because this consultant was Jessica Shklar. He specifically explained to me that choosing to work with Jessica was also a main factor of success. I immediately requested a 30 minute call with her.
It took me 10 minutes to understand that she was the person I wanted to work with. I am very difficult client (and I told her since the beginning!) because I like to challenge people and make sure that they add value to my work when collaborating with them. I am also very motivated when I have an objective in mind and I can spend entire days and nights thinking about it… hence, bothering people about it and asking endless questions.
I started to work with Jessica around <6 months before the deadline. At that time I had not taken my GMAT test yet and was starting to study it. Working with her in advance was helpful because she provided me with an assessment of my profile and gave me advice on how to improve my weaknesses and strengthen my profile. I remember that she raised two concerns that we would work on to improve my application: quantitative abilities (because of some low grades in finance classes), unprecise professional project (I knew I wanted to have a social impact but I was unable to define a path). For each of them, she gave me guidelines and advice on how to improve the gaps for the coming months. Because I had this assessment well in advance, I was able to prepare an action plan. She looked at my resume and gave me ideas of organizations and positions I might be interested in in the future, given my previous experience and my areas of interest. She even managed to introduce me to people working in some of these organizations to get their feedback.
Thanks to a very loooooonnnng brainstorming document that she asked me to fill in, she got to know me very well. It took me many hours per day during more than a month to complete it. But It helped her a lot to understand my whole story and to provide meaningful and relevant advice during the brainstorming sessions we had.
She also gave me advice to prepare for the TOEFL and GMAT/GRE. I had taken the TOEFL once, a month before contacting Jessica and was 12 points below the required grade, 22 below the preferred one. I had also difficulties to obtain a decent GMAT score. I was scoring in the 500s! She encouraged me to keep going and told me about success stories she witnessed. That positive mind is also key to succeed. She always encourage me when I needed it. This helped me reach my target TOEFL score at the second trial. And she also helped me change my strategy from GMAT to GRE. I obtained a medium score at the latest but my performance was far above that mediocre GMAT score.
Then, we started to work on the essays. At the beginning, I applied to one school, my dream school but after discussions with Jessica, I realized that studying in a school which is not my dream school would be better than staying on my current job. I would not take risks. I decided to add two other schools to my package and we worked on the three of them together. What I like is that she provided me advice without never telling me “you should do this or this”. She will always advise me based on her experience but I will always have the last word. And whatever the solution I chose, she would always support me.
To strengthen my chances of admission, I decided to visit HKS. That time again, she provided me with advice so that I would take more benefit from this visit. She pointed out a few things she knew were important for me and ensured that I would not forget to seek information about them.
For each of the three schools, we designed different essays, with the same basis but she always ensured that we would tailor them to the schools’ specificities. She insisted every time during the reviews to make sure that we’d answer the right questions instead of telling what I wanted them to know (which is something we all tend to do).
She also reviewed my recommenders’ letters, ensuring that they’d be specifically tailored to my specific profile and that my recommenders do not write “one-fit-all” letters.
I appreciated many different things during our collaboration:
– What I like the most is the passion she has for people. Doing her job requires a lot of empathy and she always showed enthusiasm with my story. At some point, I felt like I was not working anymore with a service provider but someone who is really committed to help me succeed;
– How responsive she is: she would always react quickly to quick questions and even, in many instances, send back the essays before the contractual deadline or during her days off;
– She knows the schools: thanks to her long-time experience, she is aware of what the schools are waiting for. Hence you don’t lose time explaining to her the different specificities and requirements- the only thing I did not want was to pay a consultant and have to explain him/her things that are available online; with Jessica, you rather spend your time demonstrating how you are a good fit for the school because she has done her own research;
– She really cares about every part of the application: we worked on about 12 versions of my resume to make it fit the application requirement and strengthen the best parts of my profile and as many versions of the +15 essays I wrote;
– She knows how to set limits: she’ll always tell you when you are going too far and which things are important or not; in my case, I had a tendency to look at every little nitpicky detail of my application and she made me realize that some imperfections are also a sign of authenticity; in the same way, she will never write for you, ensuring that your essays are written in your own voice. But she would write a ton of comments for you to address;
– She wants you to show the best part of yourself but always with honesty. I had some many interesting things to include in the different parts of my application and discovered that some elements I thought to be “normal” where things that could be valued if I take the time to analyze them from different angles; she has the capacity to present your accomplishments in a way that highlights different skills;
– Additionally, she would always put herself in the perspective of an admission committee member and take a fresh look and distance on the application, which is something I appreciated; It sometimes revealed things both of us knew but that were not clear in the application.

Finally, I got admitted to the three schools I applied to, with a scholarship for one of them… and this, despite a medium GRE score and some low grades in Quant classes.
I chose to attend Harvard Kennedy School as it is my first choice.
I am sure this would never had happened without her input and I am very grateful for it. I would not hesitate to recommend her to my friends in the future. And I definitely recommend her to anyone who is interested in working with someone qualified, dynamic and able to provide meaningful and actionable advice.

I highly recommend working with Jessica if you’re looking to apply to business school. She got me into my dream school, and I genuinely wouldn’t have gotten in without her guidance. Here’s how it played out:

I decided to apply to R2 on a whim, and reached out to Jessica for an initial consult. During our first call, Jessica sought to genuinely understand why I was applying to business school, and what factors differentiated me from the rest of the applicants.

Over the next few months, Jessica acted as a thought-partner in every step of the application process. She would help distill and curate my essays, refine my resume, and even helped me prep for interviews. I was constantly emailing Jessica with questions, and she was exceptionally responsive.

The result was me getting into my #1 school (which I wasn’t even going to apply to as I didn’t see myself as competitive)! There is no question that Jessica helped make my application much more compelling. If you’re thinking about that dream school, go with Jessica.

I am a non-traditional candidate by most measures (mid-30, minority, advance degree, untraditional career goal and non-straight-line experience prior to application). I disclose this much information to underscore this point: your essay and interview prep will be greatly enhanced beyond your expectation once Jessica put her touch on them. She is straightforward, passionate, empathetic, experienced and effective. She guides you through all processes; you should follow her advice because she knows the difference between overpreparation and underpreparation and will definitely draw the line between the two to tailor your need/ability to deliver the results My experience working with her came after an extensive search for consultants. To illustrate my detour before I got to Jessica, I had this one consultant not respond to my email and my (desperate I supposed) willingness to work with her/him after s/he reviewed my resume I initially sent to her/him. I remember I said to myself: I must be a hot potato with a complicated life history that even the professionals are dropping me like one. Do yourself a favor and work with Jessica. -Stanford GSB admit

I could go on and on about why I would recommend Jessica to a close friend or anyone seeking a great admissions consultant.

I could tell them about Jessica’s rapid and methodical brainstorming techniques to help you get great stories out in essays, her speed at getting work returned back to you, her expert editing to get your essay down from a long winded and unpolished essay into a sleek and powerful piece, her passion and dedicated commitment to make you succeed, and her ability to actually make the process FUN.

But really the true reason I would recommend her boils down to one reason and one reason only. She gets the job done. I had a less than stellar GPA and a less than stellar GMAT/GRE and Jessica helped me get into two schools and waitlisted at a third. One being my #1 pick where I will be going this Fall. Enough said!

I worked with Nisha Trivedi through my entire application process. I can honestly say I would not have been admitted to these schools without her help. She does a great job at helping you combine elements into a cohesive story that anyone can understand. She also takes the time to explain her thought process and provide options when selecting statements/stories. I would recommend Nisha to anyone in the process – she can pick up at any point, work with any personality (she’s also worked with two of my friends), and help you deliver the best version for each school!

Harshad was the first person from mbaMission I had reached out to for my free profile evaluation. I had not yet decided on taking anyone’s help. But by the time I finished my 30 minute discussion with Harshad I had already made up my mind. At no point during the call did he appear to cajole me into working with mbaMission. Far from it, his frank and unbiased evaluation of my profile and my chances at my target schools sounded more like a concerned mentor advising his student. He also evaluated my post MBA career interests and suggested me a list of consultants at mbaMission who represented those backgrounds and I ended up working with one of them. But as luck would have it, when my consultant went on a maternity leave after helping me submit my applications for round 1, I was assigned to Harshad for the next phase-the interview phase. Barely a day after I was assigned to him, I got an interview invite from my top target school, Chicago Booth. I had exactly a week’s time to complete another essay as part of the school’s admissions process. That was when I actually experienced what it means to work with Harshad. He’s a no-nonsense person who gets down to business in no time. He quickly reviewed my entire application material including all the essays I had written and became thorough of my complete life history. He set up a call the very next day and helped me brainstorm on how to approach the essay. I was extremely impressed about how thorough he was with all my life stories in barely a day’s time. He immediately asked me to send my first draft and even volunteered to review it over the weekend. The next five days turned out to be the most intense period of my life. I had practically lost track of the number of iterations I had over building up my essay. But Harshad was always available. With turn-around times running in hours instead of days, he quite literally saved the day for me. I was extremely happy and proud with my final submission and I owe a lot to him. He immediately scheduled mock interview sessions with me for all my interview invites. During these sessions, Harshad was a completely different person altogether. His sole intention during those sessions was to boost my confidence and ensure that I didn’t become nervous or anxious. That said he carefully reviewed all my answers and corrected them wherever necessary. My application ended on a happy note with an admissions offer from Chicago Booth, which was my dream school when I started the process in June. I definitely owe a lot to Harshad for his dedication and patience. I strongly recommend him for anyone even remotely considering taking help for their application process.

I highly recommend Harshad to anyone looking for an admissions consultant. His support and guidance was critical to my success, and ultimately contributed to me getting accepted at both Wharton and Kellogg.

Before I was connected to Harshad, I’d spent several months narrowing my list of schools, visiting, thinking about why I wanted to go to school, what matters to me, and what I wanted to do when I grew up. In December, I found myself planning to apply R2 having done a lot of thinking, but with no essays or concrete application progress made. After a 30 min “real talk” consultation with Harshad, I was off. With his support, I turned the many thoughts into compelling coherent applications.

Highlights of the experience:
– Harshad doesn’t mince words, but he explains himself clearly and logically. His first set of comments on my first essay attempt were tough to swallow (but accurate) – this approach let me quickly kick it into gear and start making progress!
– He maintains the integrity and truth of everything his clients write. He helped me edit words out and make suggestions about which approach to take of multiple things I’d try, but he never inserted his own voice into my essays (and would explain when he couldn’t edit something until I worked on it further because it would require him to make decisions about the message)
– When I was holding back and my responses were suffering as a result, Harshad would always kindly but directly call me out. This is how I work best.
– He works like a madman in application crunch time to be there when his clients need him (all hours of the day/night, all days).
– Always provided actionable feedback (both on essays and when we did a mock Kellogg interview). I will carry his interview advice forward for all future job interviews

Because we started working together 4 weeks before my app deadlines, we agreed that it would make the most sense for me to purchase hourly consulting services. Harshad worked very efficiently, leading to cost savings over what I expected. As a consultant myself who bills by the hour, I really appreciated Harshad’s diligence in managing and communicating time he’d spent with me or reviewing my essays.

Harshad cares deeply about his clients and manages to work efficiently while also getting to know people and forming supportive personal connections. He is funny and optimistic and a pleasure to work with.

I had a great experience working with Kate from mbaMission! She was extremely responsive and guided me through everything I asked for. I was never stressed out during the process and felt a lot more confident about my application after working with Kate.

I started off the MBA process early and did a lot of research and prep on my own but decided to try out a free consultation with mbaMission just to see what they had to say. After 30 minutes with Kate, I learned so much about what it really takes to be a strong applicant and realized I had much more work to do.

I used the hourly services because I was already at the resume and essay stage of the process when I first started working with Kate. I was a little worried about using the hourly services given I had no control over how long someone else took to look over my material but Kate was quick and timely with all her responses! I never felt like she was wasting my time and trying to get me to buy more hours.

Kate provided great feedback on both my resume and essays – she gave me tips to help me come up with better examples and stories that really showed the type of candidate I was. Having a third-party, especially one so experienced and smart, read my essays was invaluable. Kate’s unbiased feedback helped me better understand which examples to use for which schools. Her notes were very easy to follow and she also got back to me with feedback way ahead of our set deadlines – allowing me to constantly make updates.

I’m very grateful to Kate for helping me get into one of my top choices. I’m glad I used an admission consultant because Kate’s prior experiences gave me new perspective into how to tackle the process.

After looking at the extremely competitive admission statistics for top business schools, I decided to work with consultant Kate Richardson to identify strategies to differentiate myself. I was immediately impressed with Kate during our initial brainstorming session. Kate challenged me to think of a breadth of life, academic, and work experiences that would show why I wanted to attend business school and why I would be a desirable student. This discussion proved instrumental for crafting responses to essay prompts and interview questions.
Throughout the application process, Kate motivated me to write essays that were unique and consistent with my story. During our revision sessions, we would discuss what I wanted the admission committee to learn from my essays and how potential responses would contribute to my overall application. I was also impressed with Kate’s knowledge of top business schools. She had very useful advice about the types of responses that each school would find more compelling.
I am very glad that I opted for the all-inclusive school packages with Kate. While I initially assumed that a consultant would be most valuable for the essays, I did not realize the value in having Kate help me to adapt my resume for a business school application, to prepare me for my interview, and to provide guidance for the myriad of short answer questions on the applications. It was comforting to know that I could email her at any time and receive a quick and detailed response.

I worked with Jessica on an hourly basis on my three applications for Round 1. Jessica is sharp, honest, and really passionate about her clients. The perfect combination for a bschool admissions consultant.

She was incredibly considerate of my time and always made sure we worked on things efficiently. For example, she was honest with me about which essays she thought needed another pass, and which she thought were fine as is. She was upbeat, and was sincerely committed to getting me into my schools.

What I personally appreciated most about Jessica was her ability to talk openly and honestly with me about the parts of my application that gave me a lot of anxiety – the GMAT and my interviews. She logically weighed the pros and cons of retaking the test, and walked me though the admission committee’s mindset during interviews.

I got interviews at all of my schools, and ultimately got to choose from two of them. I cannot thank Jessica enough for her help with my applications, and for helping me remain calm (or, as much as possible) during the process.

Sharing that story is vital to sharing qualities and actions to admissions committees. I knew I was a solid writer, but not much of a storyteller. Nor did I think I had any story worth telling. Afterall, I’m an overrepresented applicant who had a steady upbringing and no apparent struggles through life. What compelling story could I have had to offer?

I knew this was my challenge, and I knew an admissions consultant could help. But I was reluctant to work with one. I would read (and sometimes dismiss) the idea that a consultant could help you unearth stories that you would never think to showcase. Who knows you better than you? But it turns out that some of our most extraordinary life experiences don’t make it on the paper. They seem perfunctory to us (our own lives are always somewhat dull to us). Or time dilutes the struggle we felt. Or perhaps we don’t connect the dots across our major life events and see the broader picture of how our qualities and actions have brought us to where we are today.

Harshad helped me discover my story through intensive brainstorming and essay review. He helped me see incredible personal journeys I had undertaken; obstacles surmounted; and personal qualities, values, and (most importantly) actions that had emerged over my life–qualities that I knew I had to share with admission committees to communicate who I am.

I can include all the obvious about Harshad: he’s extremely quick in responses (earlier than his company guarantees), he’s fun to work with, and he takes a professional yet refreshingly personal interest in being a part of your MBA journey. Most importantly–he’s honest in his feedback. Working with Harshad, he will let you know when you haven’t quite cinched your essay. You’ll know when you’ve been redundant, left a claim unsupported, etc. But you’ll also know when you’ve written a great essay–and Harshad will go down that journey with you right down to the wire.

Harshad helped me showcase my best self in my essays, which resulted in admissions to Booth and two other top MBA programs. I’ll be attending my dream school this Fall, and I can’t thank Harshad enough for journeying with me. I highly endorse Harshad to any applicant who knows they have the right stuff but can’t quite materialize their voice and story onto paper.

After being rejected from all the schools I applied to last year, I felt I needed some professional help to be successful and I’m happy I picked Harshad to guide me through this challenge. With his help I was able to secure 3 offers of admission from some of the top-10 schools with substantial scholarship $$$.
He was incredibly helpful since the first 30 minutes consultation when I immediately appreciated his “we’ll make it happen” attitude. He was capable to identify the weaknesses from my previous applications and provided great insights to help me reflect on my achievements, redefine my career goals and strengthen my personal brand. The opportunity to work with a person who could deeply understand me on a personal level was fundamental to my success: he was truly there to fight this battle with me.
Harshad’s encouraging consultation style helped me to grow confidence in my work, kept me motivated throughout the application and boosted my morale when I was feeling discouraged (and trust me, there will be moments of discouragement!) At the same time I appreciated his frankness in pointing out my errors and his guidance in resolving my weaknesses. He always provided clear and compelling explanations in support of his recommendations so that I could understand the thought process and develop my own critical judgement.
Overall his ability to reshape my profile and develop a customized strategy joined with a great competence as storyteller made him the ideal consultant to work with. I wish I had him on my side on the first application round to avoid the unnecessary pain of failure.

I decided to apply to business school very “late in the game” mid-last summer, with no GMAT score and little direction on how to structure myself as an applicant…but I knew I only wanted to go to a top school. Come in Jeremy Shinewald, who I have since dubbed “half friend, half my MBA consultant” after sticking with me over the past 8 months.

Considering I only finished my GMAT in December and applications were due January 3rd; Jeremy was part of the process through the ups and downs of not hitting the GMAT score we needed, to re-editing application essays (50+ times as the application story evolved) to finally being admitted to my top pick, Wharton.

Not only would I not have been able to apply this year as I was so originally “lost” in the process, I most certainly would not have been able to gain admission to a school like Wharton without Jeremy. He was dedicated and committed, talking me through the process always and was on call. He went above and beyond any consultants “job” – he took my application to heart and took my success personally.

Jeremy is the founder of MBAmission and manages a team of 20+ MBA consultants – the value of his access to this team (he brought in others on the team when needed) and his personal depth of knowledge is incalculable. I never felt like I was his second priority to his firm. In fact, I felt like I was his main priority throughout. I truly can’t emphasize his responsiveness enough. It was clear that he cares very deeply for every client, as the founder of the firm and gets the micro right, letting the macro take care of itself.

When an MBA cost are high and the opportunity cost sometimes even higher, working with a company such as Jeremy’s MBAmission is a no brainer in my book. Presenting yourself as the strongest applicant and bettering your chances to a top school is a long term investment I would make any day. I could not recommend Jeremy more.

With PhD in engineering and working as a researcher, it was tough for me to apply to B schools but even harder was to prepare an application that can justify my career path. When I attended one of Jessica Shklar’s session on admission process, I felt that I should definitely discuss my unique case with her. The best thing about Jessica was she never timed the 30 minute free consultation. She made me feel comfortable and at the same time posed questions that were very critical for the application process. She never pressurized me to sign up with her. Instead she asked me to work on ways to improve my application before even deciding to go with her.
I wanted to apply to only top 5 B-schools. My biggest challenge was that I had no clue how to connect dots from my professional and personal life. Everything looked very discrete and was not sure how to put them as a story in my essays. I think signing up for start to finish package was very useful. Once I reviewed my brainstorming document with Jessica, she knew exactly what examples we should focus on. The advantage of Start to finish package is if you are working on more than one application with a different essay prompt, your consultant already knows the key professional and personal parts of your life from the brainstorming document. Thus, it was easy for Jessica to suggest stories we should be including in essay 1 vs essay 2.
Jessica is very well organized. She not only keeps a track of her time but also ensures that her clients meet their deadlines. I got all my essays with edits from Jessica on or before the expected 2 day deadline. If it is a quick question, Jessica will definitely reply asap. I remember discussing some behavioral questions with her over email before one of the top school’s interview. Even though those were not quick questions, she understood my need and was very willing to respond quickly over emails. Even though it was a professional relation with Jessica, I felt a personal touch.
The other advantage of Start to Finish package is that we also get a chance to do mock interviews. Jessica’s expertise in interview preparation was very helpful. She advised that never practice your answers because you don’t want to memorize your answers. This is very true. The best advice she gave me was to read several behavioral questions and think about multiple scenarios so that I have enough examples from my past to tell during interview. It really worked for me because for one interview question I was asked to tell more than one scenario in which I showed a certain behavior. At that time I did’nt have to take that awkward pause because I already had thought about so many different situations from my professional and personal life. All thanks to Jessica for asking me do this rather than rehearsing my answers.
When I started thinking about signing up with a consultant, things were hazy. I wanted to do MBA from a top B-school but was not sure if I have done enough in my past to get admitted to the schools I want. Jessica helped me at every step of the application process and with her support I got admitted to three top B- schools. Thanks Jessica for making this happen.

I originally chose to work with Harshad because he has a reputation for being detail oriented and unapologetically direct. I knew that if I wanted to put my best application effort forward, I would need to work with someone who was constructively critical, and consistently honest and straightforward with feedback. I was not disappointed – and while Harshad does exhibit all of those qualities, he is somehow able to concurrently be supportive and encouraging, as well. From the very beginning I was appreciative of Harshad’s thorough nature, as he continually referenced details from my extremely lengthy intake materials. Similarly, I was struck by his ability to recall and suggest anecdotes that I had written about in previous drafts – even weeks or months later! Throughout the process he helped me to connect the dots of my story and align my past personal and work experiences to my future short and long term goals – guiding me in crafting my interests and experiences into a coherent narrative even I did not visualize at first. As we worked together Harshad always met his promised turnaround timelines and even sent reminders and updates about deadlines. Harshad also has a wealth of information to share about school culture from previous clients, in addition to insight to prepare for interviews. Overall, I felt that Harshad’s working style not only pushed me to submit the best applications possible, but also allowed me to more acutely conceptualize my own story and goals. Ultimately I was accepted to my first choice program, and could not be happier with my results. I would highly recommend Harshad to anyone who is serious about putting in the time and work to achieve the best possible results.

I worked with Melissa Blakeslee on a 4-school package and it was a phenomenal experience overall. I started the process extremely early, signing up with Melissa months before essays were even released. Beginning with the free consultation, I could immediately tell that she was focused on giving me as much value as she could. I felt that we immediately clicked because of her passion, knowledge about the programs, and sincerity.

Melissa coached me through the GMAT process (I scored a 710, and one month later a 740) and was very honest about how my score would play a role in my overall application profile. Once I hit a 740 she candidly told me the time investment to score higher would not be justified for the returns it would get me and we focused our efforts elsewhere.

Throughout the school selection process we spoke at least twice a week via email (frequently more), and Melissa was always extremely responsive to phone call requests. We weighed each school’s pros and cons as they related to me and my personality. She even set up phone calls to go over each school after I visited them and learn what my impressions were. That was truly the best thing about Melissa – she took the time to learn who I was and what I wanted. And to be perfectly frank, I didn’t even know what I wanted. We figured it out together.

As we worked through essays Melissa was a fantastic resource. Her edits were concise and thoughtful. We probably went through 4-6 iterations of the first essay, and then really flew through the next ones as I learned the process. We had an hour long brainstorming session for each one (did I mention how available she was?) that really focused on crafting a compelling story for each school. Melissa has a deep understanding of what each school is looking for.

As I received interview invites Melissa also scheduled mock interview phone calls that were very helpful. I’ve always been great at interviews but she gave me tips and tricks to really hit the points interviewers are looking for. Despite those tips being a huge help, I would say the best thing Melissa did was talk me off the ledge as I got nervous beforehand. Her calming reassurances showed that she truly cared about me and my success.

I could go on and on about how great Melissa is, but just sign up with her already. The results speak for themselves. I was accepted into every school I applied to (Kellogg, Ross, Darden, and Tuck) with significant scholarship offers at all but Tuck. I’ll be attending Kellogg in the fall and could not be happier about my decision to hire Melissa. As great as she is at her job, she’s also a fantastic person that I am still in frequent contact with and consider a great friend. If you want more than just an essay editor or someone who reiterates advice you can freely find online, choose Melissa!

I was unfamiliar with the MBA application process and decided to choose mbaMission (Jessica) to guide me from start to finish. I evaluated several consultants at the time and, after talking with Jessica, I felt that she was the right person! In the 30-minute free session, Jessica tried to help me as much as she could within the time limit. If you have a chance to evaluate many consultants, you will certainly know that the free session is actually the marketing session. However, this is not the case for Jessica. I bought 5 school start-to-finish package and eventually got interview at HBS (post-interview waitlisted and dinged), Wharton (admitted), and Booth (admitted). So in this review, I would like to tell you 3 key points about Jessica that eventually led to my successful applications.

1. Identification of Meaningful Personal Stories

In my case, I was able to list out personal stories that really shaped my life but, at first, connection among them was relatively weak. Hence, I was so tempted to write about my job, initially. Jessica was an expert in identifying meaningful personal stories and she would keep asking you to explain those stores in details. During the process, you would start to realize by yourself how much impact those events were. In the end, a few personal stories represented the core part of my essays and were used for 4 schools (out of 5) and accounted for at least 70% of word counts. I wrote only 1 paragraph about my job for each essay and its role was to support my personal stories.

2. On-Time Delivery and Perfection

Jessica always commented my drafts, on time, and she would not stop doing it until the essays are perfect. She would ask you to write as much as possible up 50% more than maximum word counts and gave you tons of comments that, sometimes, took me a week or so to address. This is a very efficient process. You overwrite it first and then remove certain parts, one by one, so, in the process, you will see the big picture and force yourself to consider each point in depth. You would likely run out of energy before she does. On each school, I worked with her at least 8-12 drafts. And even my final draft sometimes still had her pending comments that I needed to remove because of limited space.

3) Genuine and Authentic

My essay got me an interview at HBS so it was great, although I couldn’t convert the interview to the offer. The essay question was “Introduce yourself to classmates” and was the great opportunity to show your personality so I wrote it in a very personalized and funny way, while mentioning some of my achievements but not too many (imagine you brag for 10 minutes. How could that be interesting to your classmates?). Before I submitted my essay, I sent the essay to my boss (and my recommender) for review. And he said “this essay is so authentic. It feels like you are speaking to me….. It’s alive”. Jessica helped me set the tone for my essay and, in my opinion, I like HBS essay the most.

So in my opinion, I strongly recommend Jessica. You need experts who can look into your stories and express independent opinions. During MBA application, you will burn out. So better invest now and get the best shot.

I was a non-traditional applicant with a liberal arts major from an Ivy and work experience in startups. I’m a female Asian-American. The weaknesses I knew I had to overcome were a sub-3.5 GPA, lack of quantitative background, and scattered work history due to the nature of the startup world.

As I searched for a consultant, the first mistake I made in the application process was seeking a consultant with a high “success rate.” After all, my ultimate goal wasn’t to write a bunch of essays; it was to be admitted to my dream school! When I spoke to Jessica, she made me realize that the firms that boast about their numbers push applicants towards safety schools in the interest of keeping their numbers high. She politely explained that her own success rate included having countless clients who felt as though they were her only client, glowing testimonials, and half of her business from referrals. The fact that her own incentives were in line with mine, not against them, was a refreshing break from other consultants – many of which told me straight up that I had no chance at my dream schools, so I shouldn’t even try.

When I asked Jessica about my weaknesses, she was nothing but positive. Unlike other consultants, who continued to harp on the fact that it would be difficult to overcome the GPA and work history, Jessica instead focused on my upward trend in grades and how fascinating the work I did in each of my jobs was. She encouraged me to apply to my dream schools. I could feel her genuine excitement upon hearing my story. This is what sold me.

Our first brainstorming session was unforgettable. I’d prepared a 22-page document full of answers to questions about my upbringing, work history, and personal values – not just my numbers and resume points. Jessica read every single page in order to touch upon the most poignant details about my life in our conversation. She eventually drew so much “content” out of me (that I didn’t even know I had!) that we were able to come up with an outline for a very personal story.

This story ended up forming the foundation of our relationship. For three months, I’d lock myself in my room to finish a draft, send them to Jessica, anxiously wait for her response, open her document full of thoughtful and honest edits that matched my own effort, and repeat. I was shocked by how far every draft progressed. In just 6 drafts, my essay went from scattered to polished. I’m confident I couldn’t find another person that puts as much care into her review as Jessica does, especially considering how personal the story was to me.

In the end, I used the final essay as my main introduction for 5 out of 6 applications to Top 10 schools. I secured 3 interviews, was accepted to all 3 with Jessica’s help (2 with scholarship), and I’m now at Wharton – a dream!

Before I had secured any interviews, I told Jessica that no matter the outcome, she had helped me be more introspective about myself than ever before. The story she helped me write helped me come to terms with something I hadn’t had the courage to face. If you work with Jessica, you’ll be getting so much more than an acceptance letter to business school.