mbaMission | MBA Admissions Consultants

If you are looking for the absolute best MBA consultant out there, do not look further than Jeremy. From the initial draft, to interview prep, to decision day my experience working with Jeremy was an absolute pleasure and completely seamless. From the “kick-off” call, you can quickly distinguish the knowledge Jeremy has in all things MBA, the ample experience and school insight that he’ll use to help you get wherever it is you want to go and more importantly the willingness to understand what makes you unique as an MBA applicant. You’ll rapidly see that the extra dollars you are spending to work with Jeremy are worth it given his extraordinary attention to detail, his dedication to making you feel like his only client and his proneness to think outside the box and adapt his knowledge to your story rather than force your application into a traditional mold. You truly will get the best MBA advisor out there and you’ll get to closely interact with a great guy who will most likely become a friend. Even though Jeremy has his own MBA Advisory company, you will not only get the best one-on-one, around-the-clock personalized help out there but also great support on choosing schools that will be the best fit for YOU and your goals. Jeremy was on top of every single aspect of my story and constantly came up with ideas on how to improve my application. Contrary to some other consultants, he encouraged me to apply to any school I wanted to and I didn’t get the sense that he was worried about his overall “batting average”, he just wanted to help me get into my top choice. What makes Jeremy the best is his dedication to your story personally and how he will dive deep into your life and your story and help you craft it into the best application possible. With Jeremy’s help, I got into TWO top-5 schools and will attend my dream school next fall.

As I prepared for the gauntlet that is the MBA application process, I weighed the option of enlisting the services of an MBA admissions consultant. These packages, or hourly services, are a significant investment. It’s important to know what you want to achieve through hiring a consultant. One way to practically ensure you will have a good experience with admissions consulting services would be to work with Melissa Blakeslee. Melissa was an outstanding partner to me throughout the admissions process and was a critical driver of my acceptance into an M7 program. I feel it is common for top MBA applicants to believe in their own infallibility — I myself fall into this trap at times — so let me spell out specifically what value Melissa brought to my process: Melissa helped me clarify my goals. Conversations with Melissa helped me move beyond surface-level goals and drill down with specificity into what I really wanted, what schools would fit those goals, and how to spell those goals out with impact in admissions essays. Melissa challenged me. Like I said, lots of top MBA applicants have had success in their careers and believe in their own infallibility to an extent. When you come to realize the quality of talent in the applicant pool, it becomes clearer how an admissions consultant who will push you to perfect your application in all aspects can be a competitive advantage. For me, Melissa struck the perfect blend of cheerleader and coach — supportive of my progress but critical of my application where I needed it. Melissa has a keen eye toward storytelling — Her past as a brand marketer is evident in her work. She has a natural ability as a storyteller. In my opening call with her, Melissa was able to pick out unique stories from my professional and personal past and perfectly flesh them out into ideas for compelling essays. Absolutely invaluable. Beyond all this — Melissa was timely, efficient, and flexible to work with. I highly recommend her and can’t thank her enough for her role in helping me achieve this dream!

I was hesitant about hiring an admission consultant due to the cost, but decided to sign up for the three-school package after speaking to some of my colleagues and friends. Working with Jen was one of the best decisions I made throughout my MBA application process and I am confident I would not have been admitted to my top choice program if it wasn’t for Jen’s guidance and encouragement. I come from a non-traditional background and Jen took the time to understand my story, helping me develop a competitive application. From the beginning, Jen invested time to really understand my background and experience, which was extremely helpful as we started to review my application essays. Jen was honest and would let me know if she thought a section of application needed improvement. Her support, insight, and genuine personality made the application process less chaotic and working with her was enjoyable. Each email or phone call I had with Jen made feel better about the application process. She truly cares about the people she works with and even took the time to reach out to me when I was impacted by Hurricane Irma (I live in Florida). Jen’s turnaround and response time are incredible and she would provide detailed recommendations and advice within a couple of days. This was especially helpful when I received an invitation to interview. Due to my interviewer’s availability, my interview was in three days and Jen scheduled a mock interview the next day to ensure I was fully prepared. Her guidance and advice was a major value throughout my application process and I highly recommend Jen to anyone applying to an MBA program.

I worked with Susan for nearly the entirety of the past year, through 2 rounds of b-school admissions (which might sound like a bad thing, but read on to learn why!), and highly recommend that you give her a call if you are in the early stages of applying to business school. Your applications will be better for it. I initially applied in the last round of admissions for the Class of 2019, and hired Susan after a 30-minute phone call with another mbaMission consultant who was no longer accepting third round candidates but who heavily endorsed Susan. Going into this final round, Susan was super-candid about my odds of getting accepted (spoiler alert: they were not great). This candor and honesty has been a theme of my work with Susan, and I really appreciated it. I decided to proceed with the final round apps, and Susan was with me every step of the way. She held herself accountable to promised turnaround times, and was often open to expedited reviews as I got into crunch time for certain apps. I applied to three schools in this last round, and was waitlisted at two of them (rejected from one) – which, all things considered, was a pretty good outcome. The brainstorming / career goals exercise, which then flows into outlining first drafts of essays, are such helpful steps that I think set mbaMission and Susan, specifically, apart. Susan pushed me to set realistic and specific goals by tying in my past experiences (personal / professional), identifying knowledge / skills gaps that I needed to fill, and highlighting how specific resources at my target programs are going to help me realize my goals. One of the best parts of working with Susan is how much she pushed me to go one level deeper – always getting to the “how” and the “why” vs. just stating the “what”. Pointing to specific resources and identifying why I want to pursue them and how they fit with my goals made my story much more compelling than just saying which specific resources I was excited about. I would not have gotten to this level without Susan’s guidance. Susan’s feedback not only helped ensure that each aspect of my applications was individually strong, but also that there was an almost tangible common thread / consistent story running through the entire application. I applied again in Round 1 for the Class of 2020, and – after kicking around the “is it worth the money”-question – decided to work with Susan again on my second attempt. Her feedback on my essays and other materials, as well as video components and interview prep was invaluable. I am thrilled that I will be attending a top-10 program (my top choice) in the Fall!

I used Jeremy to apply to 5 programs and was extremely happy with the service i received throughout the entire process. Beyond Jeremy’s professionalism, what impressed me most was his responsiveness and his ability to guide me throughout my essay writing and help me best convey my personality despite not having met me in person even once. Jeremy took the time to understand “my story” and by the end of the process, I truly felt like Jeremy had been a friend of mine for years. It felt like Jeremy was just as invested as I was which made the process that much easier. Jeremy helped me create a timeline in which I could effectively manage my time and submit my applications to each school, which helped alleviate any stress about getting my applications in on time. Jeremy’s intimate knowledge of the school’s programs helped me cater my essays to more of what they’re looking for and I can say with certainty that I would have gone a completely different direction without his guidance. Finally, I appreciated that Jeremy was blunt and realistic and helped set proper expectations. Moreover, Jeremy is just a genuine and good guy. These factors made him easy to trust and it ultimately helped position my essays to be as good as they possibly could have been. Jeremy made himself extremely available, from essay writing to interview prep, and undoubtedly added value in every step along the way. I got admitted to 2 of the schools I applied to. I could not have asked for a better consultant.

Jeremy is an outstanding consultant. He’s thoughtful, razor-sharp, and most of all, honest. I’m a re-applicant. I applied for 2017 intake to three top business schools, and got no interviews. One year later, with Jeremy’s continued guidance, I applied to four top business schools and was admitted to three, including Harvard and Stanford. If this wasn’t enough, I also received significant five-figure fellowship offers from both HBS and the GSB, which greatly exceeded my investment with mbaMission. Now that’s ROI. Jeremy is not cheap; yet he’s still under priced. I wholehearted recommend Jeremy for candidates who want a thought-partner throughout the application, and need an edge to get into the top schools. He helped at every step: from our 20+ page brainstorming document, through to scholarship applications, and everything in between. Of note, Jeremy is particularly gifted at distilling big ideas into dense, “speedy English”. With each draft of my application, I saw significant improvement. I’ve referred my closest friends and colleagues to Jeremy, and they too now see why I won’t stop singing Jeremy’s praises.

I was on the fence about these consultancies generally. I studied and took the GMAT on my own and, confident in my own story, felt I could do the same with essays/applications. Ultimately I decided to go for it as I connected well with Jessica on our initial consultation and didn’t want to miss out on a leg up other applicants may have. I’m glad I did. Without Jessica’s guidance, I would have produced a much weaker application. If you really nail a question – she’s there to help smooth out the details. If you miss on one, she won’t hold back; she’ll let you know you have to throw it away and start over. And she’s right. Working with Jessica gave me confidence in taking risks with my essays that I otherwise wouldn’t have taken. She was there every step of the way, using all the resources available to her (including other consultants at the firm whose expertise was helpful in specific scenarios) to make sure your application is the best it possibly can be. Don’t skip out on this crucial tool during the application process. Relative to the amount of money you’ll spend on your MBA in it’s entirety, a consultant fee is a drop in the bucket.

I worked with Jessica for the R1 Class of 2020 application cycle. She helped me immensely, particularly with my career essay – how to make it not feel contrived, how to showcase my background as a “nontraditional” applicant. There were lots of things I wouldn’t know to do that I ended up doing because of Jessica’s guidance. More than this, Jessica always made me feel that my unique voice could be heard while also fitting into the “box” of what these essays could and should look like. Her editing was extremely helpful, particularly around shortening essays as necessary. Having her as a reliable and trustworthy partner in the essay writing process made me cognizant of time management leading up to deadlines. Jessica came to me through a referral from a previous client and I would absolutely recommend her to any of my friends applying. She is fantastic!

I went into the application process unsure of whether or not I wanted to spend the money on an expensive admissions consultant with the financial burden of business school on the horizon. One 30 minute (free) consultation with Susan was more than enough to convince me that my applications would be significantly more well-rounded with her help. As a non-traditional (engineering) candidate not surrounded by many top level MBA graduates, Susan’s experience navigating the whole process was an absolute difference maker in my application. The documents that mbaMission provides to get student’s backgrounds are very through, but Susan took the time to really get to know me more than just my profile and my test scores, and was able to even suggest how some of my stories could fit into essays even when I didn’t immediately see the fit. She was also able to quickly identify areas where I was weak (post-MBA goals) and spent the necessary time helping me nail those down. Throughout the whole process, it would have been very easy for her to say that my materials were “good enough” and move on to helping another client, but I am convinced that Susan does not have those two words in her vocabulary. She will not let you settle for “good enough”. Even on your 7th revision of an essay, if there is one sentence that might be able to be tweaked just a little, she will provide that feedback. I must have sent Susan 40 drafts of different essays, resumes, recommendation letters, etc., and never once did she miss her promised 2 day deadline. While she does take 1 week off in the fall for vacation, she still reviews materials and met every deadline even through that time period. She is also always available for a quick phone meeting if you need one, and will push you in all the right directions. In other words, while I am sure she helps a good number of applicants, I never once felt that I was being short changed in anyway so that she could help another client or bring on more volume. She was also really helpful in the interview prep and especially preparing for the Video Essay that some schools required. I was very hesitant about the video essay, but after a session with Susan, I left very confident in my game plan. If you are hoping for someone to actually do the hard part of writing your essays, or for a cheerleader through the process, don’t hire Susan. If you are looking for someone who will always push you to submit the very best materials and application possible and provide candid feedback (she will tell you in your first meeting that you have your friends and family to tell you how great you are, she will tell you what you need to hear) that will add to your application, look no further than Susan Kaplan. With Susan’s help, I ended up on the waitlist at a Top-5 program, and accepted at a top-10 school with a significant scholarship, where I will enrolling for my MBA this fall. I would (and have) highly recommend Susan to anyone starting on the process.

I worked with Rachel on a 4 school package for Round 1 in Fall 2017 and had an incredible experience. Rachel was instrumental in my admission to Wharton and Columbia. I was applying to MBA programs while based in the Middle East and traveling globally, and Rachel was incredibly responsive and flexible to my timing needs. I also had a unique story to communicate to MBA programs and Rachel was adept at helping me craft it effectively in a way that would really speak to AdComs. Rachel gives you 110% of her focus in every step of the application, from brainstorming essay ideas to prepping for interviews to choosing between acceptances. I truly don’t think I would have been accepted to my top programs if it wasn’t for Rachel. She makes a very stressful process manageable and makes it her priority to set you up for the most successful outcome possible.

I had a wonderful experience working with Krista Nannery on my applications. The business school application process is a stressful and sometimes lonely experience. Knowing that Krista was in my corner was the only part of this process that actually made things easier and less stressful. Krista was able to understand my story in-depth and guide me to craft a cohesive narrative. For example, with essays, she helped me assess which stories both addressed the prompt and best illustrated my skill set and experience – and then she’d help me elevate that story in my own voice. Her objective perspective on my career and story was helpful in ensuring my application resonated to an unfamiliar audience (adcom) succinctly. Beyond her coaching (and therapist-like counseling), she also ensured I stayed on track from a project-management perspective. She’d push me along when I was spinning for too long on an essay draft. There are so many pieces involved in crafting a compelling application and Krista helped me juggle it all. Working with Krista was a terrific investment. I was accepted to 3 of the 4 schools I applied to, with a 50% scholarship to one of them. I advise my b-school interested friends that I wouldn’t have done the application process any other way.

I worked with Susan to prepare my school application, and I feel it was a great investment. With work, studying for the GMAT, and a quickly approaching deadline, I had limited time to put all the parts of my application together, and I did not want to waste any of it trying to figure out if I am approaching each step in the best possible way. I wanted to just focus on the content and delivery of each step: essays, resume, short answers, interview, and all the other small things that contribute to your overall application profile. Having Susan guide me throughout the process perfectly fit that goal. I think many of the other reviews already cover her way of working with a client, but I will highlight what stands out. I did all the work, thinking, and writing of the actual content. Susan provided guidance on what a good application would say about an applicant and was able to look at my work and tell me if it’s achieving that goal or not. It also helps to have the outside perspective because you may think what you have written clearly states an idea, but in reality it doesn’t because you, the writer, “fill in” all the gaps subconsciously since it’s coming from your own mind. Susan, though, cannot do that and quickly points out what is not making sense, or you’ll notice if she got the wrong perspective from your work, indicating a rewrite or clarification is necessary. The investment was challenging for me, but I am thinking long-term and believe it will pay off since I got into my target school (and more). Do I think a talented or experienced individual can put together a stellar application without a consultant? Definitely. Can someone find all the application guidance they need through internet sites and forums? Sure. But like any decision you make in life, you need to assess your circumstances and make a well thought-out choice. For my circumstances, it made perfect sense to work with Susan, and she did her part *very well*. I couldn’t have asked for someone better.

I approached the MBA application process with a lot of confidence and focused most of my efforts on GMAT prep. It wasn’t until I actually got into the application process that I realized I needed guidance. I completed the free consultation at MBA Mission and realized that I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I purchased five hours of time with John and we began working on four school applications but it wasn’t until I began writing these essays that I really figured out what I wanted to do post-MBA. This provided my essays with direction and purpose. Without John’s coaching, my essays were pretty vanilla. Now, whenever I write ANYTHING, I envision John’s comment bubbles popping up, telling me “I need more YOU.” John was extremely patient and easy to work with throughout the process. This really minimized the amount of stress surrounding the entire application process. His guidance resulted in my admission to a top MBA program AND the #3 operations institute in the U.S. I highly recommend John and mbaMission. Trust his guidance and you won’t be disappointed.

Nisha was extremely helpful through the entire MBA process- start to finish. All my questions were answered quickly and she took as much time needed to talk through applications. She was a great resource and always supported the decisions I made on applying R1 vs R2 after giving me all the information I could use to make those decisions in an informed manner. Highly recommend Nisha!

I recently worked with Rachel on a 3 school package for Round 1 in the Fall of 2017. I would strongly recommend using Rachel for any candidate considering using an admissions consultant to guide you through the process. Rachel made what is an extremely stressful and hectic process feel very seamless. From our first brainstorm call through submission of the applications, she helps you stay on top of all of your tasks, which can pile up as the process unfolds, while also making sure you are putting on the best impression for admission committees. For me, Rachel’s guidance on the application essays was most critical. Where my essay’s ended versus where they would have been had I had not worked with Rachel is truly night and day. Now, candidates who plan to use a consultant should be aware that you still need to come prepared to work, and work hard. Rachel and other consultants can guide, navigate and keep you organized and on task, but you need to do the work. I ended up getting into my top choice program (Wharton) and will be enrolling in the Fall of 2018. Surely, Rachel’s help was a huge factor for my being admitted to my dream program.

Working with Heidi was a great experience all around. I knew my statistics were strong enough to get me into at least one of my target schools, but the final piece I needed was to strongly tell my story via essays, online applications, and short answer questions. Story telling is definitely not one of my strengths, but through phone conversations and feedback on the different drafts of my essays, Heidi got to know me very well and very effectively helped me strengthen the written portions of my applications. Heidi was extremely prompt in responding to my emails with quick questions, as well as returning the multiple drafts of my essays. I can happily say that I will be attending one of my target programs, and much of the credit belongs to Heidi’s assistance.

Getting into Harvard has been my dream for the last six years. I was worried, however, that I didn’t have that unique story you typically associate with people that get into these universities. Then came Katy, who helped me take a step back and weave the many seemingly unrelated elements of my life into one cohesive story that both provided me with the standout story I never thought I had and quite honestly helped me understand myself better. What I quickly began to appreciate is that Katy doesn’t take a one-size-fits all approach to MBA consulting, she really took the time to know me and then tailored how we tackled the essays based on my background and goals. Beyond that, she was also very knowledgeable about the process answering my many questions with valuable insights from the view of someone who has been an admissions committee member herself. Even though I read virtually ever piece of MBA advice I could get my hands on over the past six years, everything I thought I knew paled in comparison to the insights Katy provided me. Lastly, I can’t overstate how much Katy truly cares about the people she works with. The MBA process can get really stressful at times, but with Katy’s sound advice and kind words, I never felt overwhelmed by the process. I genuinely can’t recommend Katy enough and after comparing my first and final essay drafts, I honestly don’t know what I would have done without her! (Harvard Business School and Columbia Business School Admit)

My message is simple: John was a major contributor to my recent acceptance to a top 10 MBA program. A lot of candidates have the stories and experiences to be competitive, but sculpting those stories into concise personal statements and essays that directly respond to the criteria of various admissions committees is an art – one that John has mastered. I engaged John on an hourly basis (purchased 5 hours through mbaMission). John was referred to me by a colleague who was admitted to a top 10 MBA program and credited John for his success. I had planned to apply to Booth and Kellogg. John initially sent me a brainstorming document with questions to help generate ideas for essays, short answers, and interview prep. We then scheduled a phone call to discuss essay questions. John’s familiarity with these schools and admissions committees was immediately evident. He provided a framework for the essay responses that leveraged my professional and p ersonal strengths. After drafting my essays, John provided feedback to improve certain aspects of my story and focus the story to directly respond to the essay prompts. John also reviewed my resume and short answer responses to focus on my achievements and clearly state my short and long term goals. After successfully executing and submitting the applications, John and I spent our final 30 minutes prepping for interviews. John asked me general interview questions and again helped craft responses that were focused on why the specific MBA program would help my career progression. To anyone considering applying to an MBA program – this initial investment to improve your application is negligible compared to the overall cost of an MBA. I strongly encourage you to make the investment and engage John.

I would not have been admitted to HBS without Katy’s help. She was phenomenal to work with, start to finish, and it was so fun to work with her because it’s clear that she loves her job as a consultant and mentor. A year before I applied, I hired Katy for a two-school prep package and worked with her closely throughout the entire application process. Katy helped me to position my candidacy; structure, review and edit my essays; provided guidance, edits and thoughts on all my short answers; and prepare for interviews. It was a long and intense process but she worked very hard to provide timely feedback and she always made herself available to answer questions. Perhaps what I appreciated the most about Katy is her ability to listen and ask sincere questions to really get to know me. A good consultant cannot help you if they do not know you, and Katy showed a remarkable ability to understand my story quickly. Her ability was most evident at the beginning of the application process when I was trying to identify how to position my candidacy and articulate what really motivates me. Katy was extremely effective at helping me uncover the real ‘why’ behind many of my experiences and life decisions, which was crucial for how I positioned by application and structured my essays. Katy is also very candid and honest. After several weeks of working on my essays, she reviewed them one day and told me they were really boring. It was true, and I’m really glad she let me know. I then completely revamped them with her help and the end product was far superior to what I had initially. All in all, I found Katy to be knowledgeable, experienced, caring, genuine, and a highly effective ‘thought partner’. I recommend her to everyone I know applying and am so glad I used her in my process.

I applied for Round 1 through the 2-school package. From the beginning, I really liked Nisha’s honesty and candid feedback. Throughout the process, she constantly provided additional resources for my application. I also started my application process relatively late, but Nisha was very quick and efficient with editing my essays with qualitative feedback. While preparing for my interviews, she provided extra support, since she knew I was very nervous.

Krista was very helpful during the whole process. I decided to work with her right after my free consultation session as she sounded like a really smart and dedicated person, which was exactly what she was. Krista helped me shape up my essays very well, and particularly she helped me narrow down the topics for them according to each of the schools I applied to. Her cheerful personality made the whole process entertaining instead of stressful and when reading essays from friends who were working without consultants I could definitely see the difference her insights made on my own. It was a great experience working with her and I recommend it highly!

Harshad Mali is incredible. With so many moving parts, I started my MBA journey scattered minded and overwhelmed. Honestly, I did not know where to start so I decided to get a consultant. After checking out the tops 3 firms, I settled on mbaMission because they showed a genuine interest even though I had a low GMAT score, which I significantly increased before applying to any school. During the consultation call Harshad and I hit it off and started immediately. Within one call we had a clear path to my goals. Harshad’s work on my essays, resume, and all the typical material needed to complete an application was top notch, as expected, but what really stands out is the support Harshad provides that one can’t merely read about; building my confidence, being available 24/7 during crunch time, digging deep into my stories, and outstanding insight into each program. In fact, that insight played a huge role when I decided on which program to attend. Those are only a few of the many examples, but I think you get the gist. Financially, at this point in my MBA journey, my decision to work with Harshad has been the most critical, however, it has already paid itself back in exceptional dividends. I received scholarship for a few reasons I’m sure, but the offer letter stated one being leadership abilities. In my opinion, I would not have been able to display this ability without Harshad’s dedication to showing my intrinsic strengths via essays. Strengths: Punctual, brilliant message conveyor, organized, high level of empathic intelligence, transparent, honest, easy going, hardworking, has a holistic application approach, and is an all-around nice guy. Just an overall astute consultant. I highly recommend any driven applicant, who wants to win, to schedule a consultation with Harshad. Post script: I can’t help to think while writing this post that Harshad is going to read it and think to himself “Man, I could have said the same thing in half the words.”

I wanted to attend business school, but I had no idea where to start. I asked my network how they got through the process, and all of them recommended using mbaMission. What should have been an incredibly stressful ordeal turned into a streamlined process that kept me confident in my outlook the entire time. Krista responded to questions in a timely manner and was available to talk at reasonable hours. She helped me narrow my list of schools and produce a compelling story for each application. It really felt like she knew me better than myself after our first sessions together. Krista was a pleasure to work with, and I’ve recommended her to everyone I know applying to school in the coming years.

It has been amazing working with Harshad Mali from mbaMission! The quality of the service I received went above and beyond my expectations. I was very tentative about working with a consultant initially for two main reasons – Cost of the service, and I was concerned that the application would get heavily influenced by the consultant’s writing style and personality. But these concerns were put to rest from the time I started working with mbaMission and Harshad Mali. The first big breakthrough happened in the Brainstorming session. Harshad made me talk about my story starting from early childhood, patiently listening for the most part, but every now and then asking me questions to make me think about why I reacted the way I did, and highlighting important values that I had clearly failed to see. Through my conversations, Harshad was able to point out my leadership style and also guide me to pick my best experiences to share in my applications. Following the brainstorming session, my resume and essay writing became much more simple. I was also happy that my essays were my own, and Harshad’s contribution was to pick out the meat from my essays by cutting out extraneous information, so as to help me hit my word limit. Harsahd also brought his school expertise, and shared with me valuable information on labs, clubs, and activities. Because of his help and guidance, I was able to put forward a strong application, and in the end, received an acceptance from both Booth and Kellogg! I’m extremely pleased with my work with Harshad, and would recommend him to anybody wanting to put forward a strong MBA application.

Kate is an incredibly amazing consultant! I was skeptical of paying for application help at first, given the super high cost — but it was honestly worth every penny. I had applied on my own last year, and got waitlisted at my top choice. This year, after realizing that many others got professional application help, I begrudgingly decided to go for the hourly service in the reapplication process. I was pleasantly surprised. Kate pointed out strengths I didn’t know I had, and she really made my application shine. She has uniquely deep insight into the MBA admissions process, and every edit I received back helped focus my narrative. I got in (finally) this time around, and I really think that Kate was what made the huge difference for me. She has also gone above and beyond in the interview prep process — she walked me through the video essay interviews (which I was particularly nervous about – I had bombed the first time I applied), and she gave detailed, useful feedback as we practiced. She also prepped me for the in-person interview, and my actual in-person interview happened to be almost exactly the same as what we had prepped on! My recommendation? Splurge for the application help with Kate, you won’t regret it!

I never planned to pay for an admissions consultant – I just wanted to use the free calls to perfect my resume. But after many calls Harshad stood out to me. He didn’t hit me with a sales pitch, he quickly responded to an email with follow-up questions, and most importantly he demonstrated an interest in and understanding of my profile that the other consultants didn’t. A couple weeks before the R1 deadline I realized I needed help telling my story. I reached out to Harshad and, despite being fully booked, he agreed to take me on as a client. Working with him was as advertised: his emails were always on time (usually early) and the one time we ran into technical difficulties he responded to a 10 PM text message. The two most valuable things he did for me were 1) teach me how to tell a story and 2) give me directional edits. I kept an open mind and found his feedback to be invaluable. By working hard and doing the leg work I felt that we were able to maximize the time I paid for. With his help, I submitted all my applications in time for R1. Although my H/S lottery ticket wasn’t drawn, I was admitted to Wharton and 100% of the M7 and T15 schools I applied to, including some significant scholarships! He even helped me draft a professional scholarship negotiation letter. I do recommend Harshad if you’re willing to put in the leg work. My advice is to be very clear on what you want from him!

Right from the initial free consultation, I wanted to work with Katy. She was more thorough, professional and insightful than the other consultants I spoke with. I was impressed with the level of detail in her follow-up email analysis where she assuaged some of my fears about my candidacy. After signing up for a 2 school start to finish package for Columbia and Booth, she clearly laid out the road map, with information about key checkpoints such as when to start working on the resume, recommendations, short answers, etc. This helped me focus on the right aspects of my application at the right stages. During our brainstorming, Katy helped me to take an introspective view which enabled me to craft compelling essays. She has a great ability to see how various parts of one’s application come together to deliver the best possible impact. I did not have great stats, but I was able to build a strong application around my unique story and solid work experience, thanks to Katy. Her feedback during the mock interview proved vital, and in the end, I was accepted to Booth – a school which I initially thought was out of my league. I can’t thank Katy enough!

I interviewed three other MBA consulting firms, but only Rachel at mbaMission clearly pointed out my weaknesses during the one-hour consultation. Her confidence, background in Journalism and being a CBS grad herself really made her stand out from others. After the consultation, I decided to sign up for the one school package with Rachel and was accepted to CBS couple months later. Rachel was amazing to work with from start to finish. She was very organized and set up clear expectations at the very beginning. I was very stressful during the brainstorming process but it’s Rachel who helped me to pick out the most critical pieces of experience, crafted them into story and connected them throughout my application. She knows how to tackle the essays well and understands what admission officers are looking for. She is not only an phenomenal writer but an incredible story teller. Throughout the process, Rachel was always supportive, honest and critical. She replied to emails, questions and essay drafts promptly and provided candid feedback. When it came to interview preparation, Rachel herself was once an interviewer so she was able to provide lots of useful tips. We had a mock interview over the phone and I was able to receive real-time feedback, which really helped me to succeed at the actual interview. Overall, it’s a great experience working with Rachel and it wouldn’t have been possible without her.

Harshad was wonderful to work with. He was prompt, direct and helpful. While I only purchased a few hours of his time, he spent time getting to know me and my strengths. I had a terrible first draft of one essay. Harshad was direct with his feedback and have extremely useful comments about how to improve and where I should focus my efforts. We had 4 rounds of comments, and each time, I feel that my essay significantly improved. He really encouraged me to dig deep into why I was applying to school, and politely told me which paragraphs were not value adds and recommended their removal.

I purchased hourly services from Kate and she was extremely helpful! Kate helped edit and finalize the draft of my top choice school’s application essay. Kate made the most of every minute that I purchased from her, and she always got back to me via email very quickly. Kate helped me tailor the essay to the school, and after working with Kate, I felt confident that the essay was one of the strongest parts of my application. I would highly recommend working with Kate!

Krista Nannery is a great admissions consultant and truly provided me the support to get into my dream school! I don’t think I could have put together such a high quality application or would have handled it the way I did without her. I can’t recommend her enough. First, Krista is extremely competent. She’s thorough in her comments on my material, and always gives me such high quality feedback; I’m also so amazed how she always manages to do it within mbamission’s two day turnover timeline (sometimes earlier). She also writes extremely well – she has an amazing way of cutting down your words without letting go of any substantive content (and in fact making your material tighter and cleaer), and has this way of bringing out your personality in your writing. Importantly, Krista is creative – I love how she can magically transform my boring essay outlines into such colourful stories to capture the AdCom’s attention. Second, Krista i s experienced with the MBA Admissions process, and could provide me with such great, wise advice (not to mention emotional support) to handle situations I encountered in the admissions process. She gave me great feedback for my interviews (e.g. how to structure my answers, the tone to maintain in my interviews, the length of my answers etc.) – I definitely wouldn’t have performed as well on my interviews without her feedback. I also encountered distressing situations during the process, including when my interviewer didn’t respond to me and took a while to submit his feedback, but Krista provided me wise advice on how to coolly handle this situation, and even emotional support. Third, Krista is just such a wonderful person to work with, and truly made this painful MBA admissions process more pleasant for me. She’s funny, personable and passionate about her job, and I felt that she genuinely cared about her clients. I found it easy to talk to her on a whole range of issues I was concerned about over the phone, and she would always patiently address them. She was also enjoyable to speak to because of her bubbly personality, and would have interesting stories to share about her own MBA experience and previous jobs. If you’re thinking of engaging an admissions consultant, I would confidently endorse and recommend Krista. I genuinely think she has all the skills and qualities that make a great admissions consultant, plus also great experience to help you navigate the admissions process.

After working with Debbie on my applications, I was admitted to a top 10 MBA program! Debbie helped me with applying to 10 schools in only 1.5 months! I realized late in the game that I wanted to apply in Round 1, and I approached mbaMission to be paired with a consultant who could help me with my applications. I was very fortunate to have been paired with Debbie! For my first school, I had already prepared drafts by myself. I gave these to Debbie for review and confidently told her that these drafts were “near final” and only needed a quick read before submission. To my surprise, Debbie told me that my drafts needed a complete rewrite. I was shocked but appreciated her candidness and honesty. In the next week, I heavily relied on Debbie to provide feedback on my drafts. What I like about Debbie’s style is that she didn’t sugarcoat anything, always pushed me to reflect deeper on my experiences, and provided good advice to help me be more succinct in my writing. In my essays, I sometimes found myself getting lost in the details that the writing lacked the “so what?” factor. Debbie would redirect my attention to focus on the big picture and tell me to cut content if necessary. Further, her flexibility and positive attitude helped calm me down in times of stress and focus on the execution of the applications. After finishing my first application with Debbie, we had developed a great working relationship, and the rest of my 10 applications went rather smoothly. As a demanding client, I sent her at least 3 essays to review every day (Each school had 2-3 essays, so in total it was about 30 essays that I had sent her way). She always provided prompt, detailed and high-quality feedback. I even wondered how she was able to do all of this in so little time! Debbie is great at all aspects of the application, from helping me brainstorm ideas to outlining the actual essay and providing feedback. She was available through phone, skype, and email. I even did a mock interview with her over Skype two days before my actual interview and it made a tremendous difference. Before the interview, I was stuttering on the basic questions such as “Walk me through your resume”. But she gave me helpful feedback that allowed me to structure my answers and practice effectively, which made me feel confident going into my interview. In conclusion, Debbie is a stellar, seasoned, and top-notch consultant. Completing applications for 10 schools in 1.5 months was a daunting task, but Debbie maximized the limited time we had to help me craft stellar essays. If you work with Debbie, she will make sure that you are always submitting your best work! There were times when I submitted drafts that were weak, and Debbie held me accountable by asking me to rewrite the entire essay or think of new experiences to write about. I greatly enjoyed working with Debbie and definitely recommend with flying colors!

Kate was instrumental in helping me craft my story for my MBA applications. I did not have a business background and she helped me make my experience marketable and relevant for an MBA admissions committee. Having a professional available for feedback on all aspects of the application really streamlined the process, and Kate was always quick to respond with quality insights. I avoided countless hours of research and essay tinkering with Kate’s knowledge and unbiased input. Kate was always provided objective feedback in a friendly manner, making the introspection and reflection and enjoyable process. I would highly recommend Kate for admissions consulting services.

From the very beginning of the experience, mbaMission treated me with exceptional courtesy and respect. After the free 30 minute consultation, I did a “fit call” with Harshad Mali- that call confirmed to me that Harshad was the exact right consultant for me. Things to know about Harshad: 1) Harshad has detailed knowledge of school statistics, and an understanding of broad admissions trends. Harshad helped me get my game plan together to apply to four schools in short order and provided me feedback on historical trends of acceptance rates by round, by school. He even gathered other consultant opinions on my resume; 2) Harshad will push you until you have a cohesive product that is the best representation of you and your story. Just a week before the deadline, together Harshad and I started my Ross essay over from scratch because my previous version was not developing strongly enough. This was the best possible thing he could have guided me to do, rather than moving forward with a weak concept; 3) Harshad seamlessly understands scheduling, priorities, and the “admissions tempo”. Harshad ALWAYS provided great feedback on my deliverables and questions within 48 hours or less. On New Year’s Eve, we exchanged essay versions by the hour. He knew when we had to push to hit key productivity gateways, and let me have time to breathe between each of my applications, with consideration to the ones on which we were not partnered. When a hurricane destroyed my car and residence, Harshad was completely empathetic to my situation, urging me to focus on my life adjustments, and was encouraging throughout. He genuinely cared; 4) Harshad was a true partner in the process. Throughout the essay-writing journey, he gave me his edits to ensure that my voice was not lost before further editing/trimming was done. I had ultimate stylistic control, though Harshad proved to be the master of grammar! Also, when at the last minute I decided to partner on Harvard instead of Stanford, Harshad was in complete support and immediately started focusing our efforts on that best possible essay and short answers; 5) Harshad’s candid feedback, support, and knowledge will give you confidence in the entire process, from choosing schools to after the interview, and receiving offers. Harshad was with me every step of the way. The price tag on the school packages is a hefty one, but my experience with Harshad and mbaMission exceeded my expectations and helped me bridge the gap and translate my military career into something of value to the admission committees. As a result, I was admitted to my top two choices, the Ross School of Business and the Stanford Graduate School of Business (decisions, decisions)! Applying to an MBA program and making the transition can be grueling and daunting, so don’t do it alone. I’d recommend Harshad to anyone.

As a non-traditional student with very few personal MBA connections, the application process seemed incredibly daunting. After being recommended to Jessica by another non-traditional applicant who received admission at Wharton, I was undoubtedly impressed by what she brought to the application process. Not only was I accepted to the school of my (and my wife’s) dreams, Jessica brought a layer to the application process I would have never discovered on my own. The sheer magnitude of self-discovery, through her method of consulting, not only helped me evaluate what I wanted from a school and how to write my applications accordingly, but what I want to accomplish both during and post-MBA. Her insights not only helped me receive admission, but helped me draw a better picture of who I am for my job hunting efforts and beyond. I would strongly recommend Jessica to anyone looking to apply to a top MBA program, especially a non-traditional candidate.

Harshad took over helping me with my applications when his colleague went on paternity leave. He hit the ground running, was incredibly responsive, and helped me shape the final version of my Wharton essay in the 36 hours before it was due. I nearly started from scratch at that point, and Harshad was supportive and cool under pressure. He absolutely delivered. We went back and forth on many drafts, even in a short amount of time, and my Wharton application was ultimately successful. I thank Harshad for all his valuable inputs and editing.

I chose John as my admissions consultant because I read that he liked storytelling and would help me tell my story to the Admissions Committee convincingly and authentically. He absolutely delivered. John and I went talked through my approach to the essays, and he guided me to craft my experiences in a structured way that would allow the Admissions Committee to find what they were looking for. We went back and forth on many drafts, and John pushed me to a winning draft of one of my Wharton essays. When John went on paternity leave, he ensured that I was in good hands to finish off the Wharton application (which eventually gained me admission).

Working with Kate during the MBA application process was nothing short of a fantastic experience! I signed up for a complete start-to-finish package with her, and would highly recommend it. From brainstorming, to essay writing, to mock interviews, Kate was with me every step of the way, and she made the journey so much less stressful. When I first spoke with Kate, I knew I had the grades, the test scores and the work experience for my top choice MBA program, but I had no idea how I was going to “tell my story”. The mbaMission Brainstorming guide and my 90-minute session with Kate really helped me reflect on experiences that shaped my education and career so far. Kate had this incredible way of helping me connect stories and experiences from my past to my future goals, and before I knew it, I had already outlines for all of my essays. I usually dread essay writing, but with Kate, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Her suggestions were always so useful – she constantly probed me to dig deeper and explain “why” a program was right for me, or “why” an experience from my work was relevant. Additionally, I felt so much more prepared for my real interview once Kate completed a mock interview with me. She certainly helped calm my nerves and gave me constructive feedback that I could apply when the real interview rolled around. I am so grateful to Kate for helping me turn my MBA dream into reality! She was an amazing support system and I would encourage future applicants reading this to choose to work with her too.

I am an international applicant, a non-native English speaker with non-traditional background (Physical Therapy). Working in the healthcare industry for 4+ years I decided to go back to school for exploring management roles in my industry. It was a big and a bold step for me to consider applying to a top 5 part-time MBA program as I have no business background in school and in my professional career. I was looking for an admissions consulting firm with a strong industry reputation and MBA mission stood out in the all the online forums (GMAT Club, Beat the GMAT) . I narrowed down to Kate as she graduated from one of my target school (Chicago Booth) and I was confident she would be able to assess my profile and my fit for the school as a Booth alumni. She also helped me to decide between applying to full-time vs. part-time programs and my chances of getting accepted into them. Kate was very thoughtful in her approach and told me from Day 1 that getting into my target school is a realistic goal if I work hard. She was able to understand and market my story in a way I could not have done it myself. I was able to highlight my leadership potential which I always thought as my weak area and career accomplishments from a quant perspective. Working on my resume inorder to make it b-school specific was the most valuable service from the package. As an international student, my profile had many challenging and unique experiences (some of which seemed irrelevant to me in the beginning) and Kate was able to highlight them in my essays. Kate was prompt on providing her feedback on my essays and was very open to change some of her suggestions if I did not agree on them.I was fortunate to get accepted in both Kellogg and Booth weekend MBA programs and ultimately chose Booth. Kate went over my career goals and my fit with both programs and helped me to decide on my final pick. I would highly recommend Kate to prospective MBA applicants students especially working professionals.

I did a tremendous amount of research and spoke with over a dozen consultants before I was very luckily referred to Jessica. After our first conversation, I felt uplifted, and I knew she was the consultant I wanted to partner with. Jessica genuinely supported my goals to apply to the top MBA programs and was dedicated during the entire process. Jessica is efficient and effective – she provided an agenda at the beginning of our talks, and we discussed and tackled those items during each session, spending additional time at the end for my specific questions. The resume support was tremendous. We went through six or seven iterations, and the final product was a complete transformation from the first draft in format, language, and theme. As a military veteran, I really struggled talking and writing about myself. Thankfully, I had Jessica to discuss my stories with and bounce ideas off of. After each of our brainstorming sessions, she helped me to identify the most defining, powerful, and compelling stories from my background, and we strategized how to approach questions for each school. As I worked through essays, Jessica provided honest, specific feedback and very fast turnarounds. Not only was she the mentor and coach that I needed, she is also an excellent teacher, and I learned to become a much better communicator through this entire process. I applied to GSB, HBS, Wharton, Kellogg, Haas, and CBS. I received interview offers at five of the schools, was accepted to four, and wait-listed at one. There is no way I would have accomplished my dreams without Jessica. On a closing note, going into the application process as an older candidate with a low GPA, I felt my goals were lofty and my chances, realistically, were slim. However, I didn’t want to leave anything on the table. Regardless of the outcome, I knew that this investment was going to be worth every penny. It has proved to be so much more than I would have ever thought. Not only did the start-to-finish packages and mock interviews prepare me for the business school application and interview process, it has also prepared me for pre-MBA summer program and internship applications. All the tools that I learned to use when writing my essays and preparing for interviews have been invaluable even after acceptance to business school. Make the investment to work with Jessica. It is hands down the most helpful thing you can do to prepare for business school applications AND beyond.

I was introduced to Katharine (Katy) Lewis by a good friend who worked with her throughout the 2014 application cycle. This applicant was ecstatic to have accepted an offer to Stanford GSB and admitted to many other top schools; she could not have been more excited to recommend Katy and get me started with the application process. As part of the free initial 30 minute consultation (in January 2016), Katy reviewed my resume and discussed my work history, professional goals and interests, and initial school thoughts. My main concern was that I hadn’t achieved a GMAT score I thought was competitive enough; Katy re-assured me to keep going and check back around April / May to re-assess the situation. Once it reached April, I still hadn’t finished my testing but decided to move forward with the process in order to stay well ahead of the round 1 submission timeline. Katy was more than gracious to accept me as a client and start the process while still re-assuring me that the testing would never be an issue as long as I kept trying. I purchased the “complete start-to-finish” package for 3 schools: HBS, Stanford GSB, and Dartmouth Tuck. HBS and Stanford were my top choices; I was slightly unsure about Dartmouth Tuck and ended up changing this school once my final school decisions were due. A few thoughts on each stage of the process: Brainstorming: This is the starting point for all applications and consisted of a detailed questionnaire and a few brainstorming calls to solidify the overall arch to my application. It was initially a bit overwhelming — I needed to provide very detailed commentary on my overall background, from childhood to my current professional environment — but after diving in, it ended up being the most interesting part of the entire process. Portions of my personal history that I thought were relatively inconsequential ended up providing the best starting point for essays; Katy constantly reminded me of this. Her level of enthusiasm for my background and anecdotes gave me such confidence that I was a strong candidate – it made my essay writing process one of self-discovery rather than a chore. School Choice / Application Round: I ended up missing round 1 deadlines due to my testing and reset my priorities to round 2; during that time, I decided to add a handful of schools through the Consortium common application and Katy was able to help me pick and choose which schools I’d be most competitive as an applicant. I ended up choosing Stanford GSB and HBS, and through the Consortium common application I chose Yale, Cornell, UVA Darden, UC Berkeley Haas, and NYU. I was amazed by Katy’s level of knowledge for each school; she’s personally spent time at each of them and can talk for hours about the pros and cons for each school. Aside from that, she was always willing to put me in touch with a former client or contact so that I could get a better sense first-hand sense of each program. Career Goals / Personal Interests: Business school has always been a goal but I had some difficulty verbalizing my post-MBA goals. I’ve spent the last 7 years in the Risk Management division of a large Investment Bank and I did not want to give any impression that I wanted to return to a traditional banking or consulting type of role following graduation. Katy was instrumental in helping me solidify my vision for a logical career path following b-school. This was incredibly important as most (not all) interviews will dig deep here. Katy helped me focus in on a forward-looking vision that was based on my experience and a logical next step that I could believe in my head as I was interviewing. Essays / Final Applications: Submission of the final applications was hectic given the number of schools I was applying to but Katy never missed a deadline and always had feedback that proved invaluable. The essay writing process was iterative and she never altered or made direct changes to any of my written submissions; instead, she would provide comments on ways to re-think certain aspects or strengthen ideas that seemed thin in the context of my overall candidacy. At any point in time, I was free to ‘reject’ her suggestions if I didn’t feel comfortable but I never found that to be the case. At the outset I thought I’d dread writing the essays just given the number I had to do (~14); however, the extensive brainstorming process made it super simple to pair certain personal stories with essay prompts to the point that they almost wrote themselves. I’d perhaps have 4-5 total revisions per essay on those that I cared the most about. Interviews: I was absolutely thrilled and quite frankly couldn’t believe that I received interview invitations from HBS, UC Berkeley Haas, Yale, NYU, and Cornell. Every single school has a different approach; you may meet with any combination of current students, admissions committee members, and alumni. Katy was instrumental in helping me prep and I was never blindsided by the interviews that we prepared for. When all was said and done, I received admissions offers from HBS, Haas, Yale, and Cornell; the result could not have been more positive and I ended up choosing my top-choice of HBS! On a personal note, my relationship with Katy went from client to personal confidant. She was always there to keep my nerves in check and re-assure me when I was doubting myself. Her positive attitude and willingness to chat, at ANY time of the day, made this incredibly long journey surprisingly enjoyable. She was even gracious enough to invite my boyfriend and I to her home when we were in her neck of the woods. In short, this review could never summarize how incredibly instrumental Katy has been throughout this (lengthy) stage in my life. I knew she would get results, but I’m still completely blown away by how positive the results turned out in my case. Some friends of mine have recently expressed a faint interest in b-school themselves and, as a result, I’ve gone out of my way to have them at least speak with her. I would hate for anyone to miss an opportunity to work with such an incredibly talented and caring person.

I worked with Nisha & MBA Mission through the hourly package – as I had already narrowed down my schools and had an idea of what my application would look like. After spending some time understanding my goals and motivation for an MBA, we started outlining the stories that I wanted to tell in each of my essays. Nisha really helped me get my thoughts together and put them down in an essay in a clear and concise way. Nisha was very responsive even through the critical holiday season (I had applied in round 2 – in December/January) and her insights were extremely helpful. I was waitlisted at one of my top choices, and Nisha was extremely helpful in sending additional updates, which eventually helped me get in!

I worked with Harshad to apply for b-school in late 2016, and really appreciated all of his help and work! Due to taking the GMAT later than expected I had a short timeframe to get my applications done (about a month), and Harshad worked tirelessly in order to ensure that he provided advice quickly and efficiently. After undergoing the initial brainstorming for my applications, Harshad was able to analyze and boil down my various experiences in order to suggest an essay path forward that properly highlighted my best qualities to admissions. Even during a short timeframe (and over the holidays) Harshad responded almost immediately to every request or e-mail I sent. He was always available for a call in order to go through potential ideas or changes, and he was available 7 days a week. His edits of my writing were a lifesaver and he really helped me focus my message in all of essays and applications. He was 100% committed to helping me achieve my goals, and I ended up gaining admission to the school that I applied to! I would recommend Harshad to anyone who is applying to b-school. He was a great help, both in the admissions process and in providing great advice on all aspects of the b-school decision.

After burying myself under a pile of B-School essays, application materials and interview questions I realized I needed help and that came in the form of John Sisk at mbaMission. In our initial consultation session, he explained to me that applying to B-School is a marathon, not a sprint, and he was going to be there each and every mile along the way. The “Start-to-Finish” package was the right one for me as I was applying to six schools and had no idea how to even begin. John stepped right in to give me guidance on school selection and got my wheels turning on how to conceptualize my “story” for the various B-School essays. Over the next few months thoughts turned into well-articulated essays alongside a perfected resume. Even though I was already personable and social, John turned me into a better interviewer through expert advice and practice. These are just a few examples of how John will light the path for you to forge ahead. Through thick and thin, John will be there to guide you across the finish line. He certainly helped me achieve my dreams of getting into a top tier MBA program and he can do the same for you. I highly recommend his services and feel confident leaving you in his hands.

Kate greatly exceeded my expectations. At first, I was reluctant to hire a consulting service as I was afraid of getting a cookie-cutter approach resulting in a bland application. However, Kate took the time to understand what I wanted to say, was straight with me when I was being repetitive, and helped me suggesting edits while keeping my voice intact throughout the application. Furthermore, as it often happens, I had little time left to submit my application and was very thankful that Kate responded to all my inquiries promptly and comprehensively according to a scheduled she shared with me at the start of the engagement. Other consultants I spoke to briefly wanted to “force” me into applying to certain schools whereas Kate helped me polish my essays to accurately show what I liked of each school and how I felt I fit in. I am very happy with the outcome and feel proud of my applications for I know I drafted 100% of the content that got me accepted, but Kate’s input was instrumental in polishing my essays and ensuring all my messaged were received as clearly as possible.

I genuinely enjoyed working with Kate because she genuinely cared about my unique story and encouraged me to apply for top MBA programs despite my low GMAT score. Kate laid out a structured plan to address low GMAT verbal by recommending that I take a communication class and obtain an A to demonstrate my verbal proficiency and boost my entire candidacy. Throughout the entire process, Kate was extremely phenomenal at helping me structure my MBA resume and incorporate specific and important aspects of my story into my essays, which flowed like a conversation. She will promptly return all my draft essays with detailed improvements that helped me articulate my MBA goals in a succinct manner. I was absolutely thrilled to work with her and I ended up getting into one of my dream schools. I whole-heartedly recommend her for your MBA application experience. She is extremely knowledgeable and makes the application process easier than studying for the GMAT.

I used mbaMission basically because of the referral from ManhattanGMAT. My initial contact was actually with a different consultant than the one I used, it was with Liza Weale. She truly inspired me to not let my low GPA set me back from top programs. It took me however about another year to really start my application process (with GMAT and all) and unfortunately by that time she was fully committed. Thanks to her interactions with me, she was able to refer me to someone she felt would be a good fit: Rachel Beck. She was indeed right! During those 12 months of prepping, I also had decided to no longer pursue a full-time MBA, but rather an Executive MBA, for reasons that don’t need to be listed here, but that none are out of the ordinary. Rachel, a Columbia graduate, was very quick to get to know me, my ambitions, my weaknesses and fears, and from there start the essay writing process. Overall, the experience was great. It took me however a session or two to understand that the consultants are not going to lead you into every single step – you need to take the initiative a lot of the times, and come up with the questions/thoughts/essays for them to answer/review. There are two important areas where Rachel’s value-add came to life that really marked my application: 1: The main essay. I was very inspired in my first write-up. I over-wrote, but that was fine with me. I was in the zone. I thought I had a keeper… Until she reviewed it. I had not written what I was expected to talk about. Without her, I would have completely choked on this essay. It takes an experienced set of eyes to really know what they’re looking for – and she was exactly that. 2: The essay about ‘what else’ – this is where she marked the difference. The subject we came up with together really touched a nerve to the AdCom – and it even came up in my interview! It was a great experience and definitely the way to go to build a winning application.

Working with Heidi was a phenomenal experience. Through the hourly service package, Heidi and I were able to prioritize our time to improve the areas of my application in order to gain admission into the top 25 business schools. She helped me highlight my accomplishments and prepare an application that would show who I am as a person. Heidi reviewed all my essays and resume, and her feedback highlighted the positives while giving constructive feedback. She pushed me to think about my experiences and helped me present them in the logical way. In addition, she pushed me as a writer and I learned to better articulate and show my story. I submitted 5 applications during the round 2 deadline. I was invited to interview with all 5 of the schools. Once I received the interview notifications, Heidi helped me prepare for my interviews through a mock Skype interview. Ultimately, I was admitted into two schools, waitlisted at two schools, and denied admission into one. Best of all, one of the schools I was admitted to was my first choice, and I will be attending that school in the fall. Heidi was truly wonderful to work with and I highly recommend her! Thank you for all of your help Heidi!

One of the best decisions I made in the application process was getting a consultant, and Jessica is by far the best and most knowledgeable consultant I spoke to. Starting off the MBA process and being a non-traditional candidate, I was unsure on how to sell myself to top MBA programs; however, Jessica guided me through the application process and gave me the confidence to excel. Ultimately, I was accepted into my dream school, which I highly contribute to Jessica’s thoughtfulness and patience throughout the process. A few reasons I think Jessica is the best in the industry: –She gives honest feedback, and pushes you to stay on-track. I really appreciated this quality, especially when writing each of my business school essays. –She has a gift for story-telling. During each call and essay edit, Jessica helped me extract and build upon the most important ideas of each story, which was very helpful. When writing about ourselves, we often think every aspect of our story is vital to write down; however, Jessica is a master at helping you condense but still answer the essay questions thoughtfully. –She is very timely, and turns around work quickly. I was so impressed with Jessica’s ability to turn very high-quality work around fast. Jessica is amazing, and I highly recommend her to anyone applying to business school.

John was a pleasure to work with and helped me manage an incredibly stressful waitlist process. After completing applications without an admissions consultant I found myself waitlisted (after interview) at Stanford GSB, MIT Sloan, and Wharton. John provided a logical and informed process to address my scenario and successfully navigate the waitlist. Even though the schools publically posted that they didn’t need additional information, John helped me find ways to positively communicate to them and tip the needle in my favor. I found him to be responsive, and he always provided value added advice. My only regret is not hiring John as my admissions consultant earlier so I could have avoided the waitlist process in the first place! I can honestly say that without John’s wisdom and coaching I’d be going through the admissions process all over again. Because of him I’ll be attending Stanford GSB in the fall!