Vantage Point | MBA Admissions Consultants

[The following review has been transferred over from the consultant’s previous profile on P&Q with mbaMission]

I had a great experience with Kim, as she helped me get into all of the top schools that I applied to. From the start, she gave me constructive feedback on all of my essays, and she always responded to my emails promptly. She shared her insights throughout the entire application process and made this a less stressful process on my end.

[The following review has been transferred over from the consultant’s previous profile on P&Q with mbaMission]

Kim was an incredible consultant and I would highly recommend her! I had a tight timeline between the initial application review and submission but was able to meet the deadlines with ease through Kim’s services. She provided thorough feedback on my essays and was not afraid to provide her honest opinion. She helped transform my essays into concise yet interesting stories specific to each school. She also responded to my emails quickly and was extremely flexible, even offering to schedule a mock interview with me late in the evening. Ultimately, I was accepted to both MBA programs that I applied to – thanks, Kim!

[The following review has been transferred over from the consultant’s previous profile on P&Q with mbaMission]

Kim was very responsive and productive with our time together. I enjoyed her efficiency and how quickly she got back to me whenever I had questions.

I learned a lot about the essay-writing process from Kim. I applied to 5 MBA programs on the West Coast and purchased 2 hours of consulting from Kim. I wanted to make sure I was as efficient as possible during my time with her, so I had a few close friends help me out with essay-writing, then had Kim review my first couple drafts in depth. After several revisions, Kim spent valuable time providing comments here and there that was helpful.

I appreciate the time Kim spent with me and I highly recommend her!

[The following review has been transferred over from the consultant’s previous profile on P&Q with mbaMission]

mbaMission is a top-notch consulting service!!! I specifically worked with Kim Leb, who was instrumental in helping me to craft an application that resulted in admission to the MOST selective MBA program. She provided incredible feedback in a laid-back, low-stress format. I would strongly recommend her as she has a great mind for essays and helps you to bring your greatest strengths and stories to the surface.

Overall, the company vastly exceeded all of my expectations. I am a very satisfied customer and would recommend you take a look at MBAMission when considering MBA admissions consultants! You will not be disappointed.

[The following review has been transferred over from the consultant’s previous profile on P&Q with mbaMission]

I connected with Kim a week before submitting five R2 applications. I hadn’t worked with any consultants and was feeling some last-minute FOMO about showing my essays to a professional. Kim was very responsive and efficient with our time, giving me valuable feedback on five essays over two hours. She really helped me cut through a lot of the noise in my essays and present a clearer, more authentic story. I’m much more confident in my essays after the iterations with Kim. Highly recommend her – especially to anyone who is concerned or skeptical about the value of hourly services!

[The following review has been transferred over from the consultant’s previous profile on P&Q with mbaMission]

I started working with Kim Leb less than a month before my first application was due and she was exactly what I needed. Kim helped me organize my schedule for deadlines, brainstorm essays, and prep for on-campus interviews (which I was most apprehensive about).

Kim’s calm and patient demeanor kept me on track without rushing through the process. I submitted all three of my Round 1 applications in on time with a lot less stress thanks to her. And the best part was that I got into all three schools!!

Kim has been an insightful and genuine mentor throughout this wild application process, and I can’t thank her enough for her services. I strongly recommend her to anyone looking for assistance from an MBA admissions consultant.

[The following review has been transferred over from the consultant’s previous profile on P&Q with mbaMission]

Long and short without Kim I would not have gotten into my top choice school. As an applicant, I would say that I was in the middle of the road in terms of my profile. Top tier undergrad university, slightly below average grades, average GRE scores, great professional experience, great extracurriculars, and community involvement. With these variables, I did not know if I was going to be able to make the cut for a top tier program, especially one that was located internationally. To say the least, I was managing my expectations. Then I began to work with Kim and slowly but surely she helped me morph my profile in what I considered “average” to one that got accepted at a premier business school, which just so happened to be my top choice. She helped me to sculpt my profile into one that focused on my strengths and not my weaknesses. I was also incredibly grateful to her for helping think through an “international lens” for those schools which I was applying to out of the country. Once again Kim was invaluable to my application process and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.

[The following review has been transferred over from the consultant’s previous profile on P&Q with mbaMission]

With minimal knowledge about the MBA admissions process and a less-than-ideal resume, I knew that an MBA consultant would give me the best chances of getting accepted into my target school. I could not have asked for a better consultant than Kim Leb. Kim helped me through each step of the application process in a diligent, thoughtful, efficient, and friendly, warm manner. To begin, she highlighted weak areas of my application and gave me helpful suggestions for ways to beef up those parts and address them in my submission. Kim also did an amazing job helping consolidate my thoughts into a coherent video essay that turned out to be far better than I imagined. Usually, when you have an idea in your head about how something will turn out, the reality, unfortunately, is not as great. But with the help of Kim, my video essay actually surpassed my expectations! Kim also helped prep me for all of the interview questions I could expect by holding a mock trial with me over the phone despite a ridiculous 9-hour time change as I was/am living outside the U.S. Kim’s tips, constructive feedback, and words of encouragement truly allowed me to come off the way I had hoped in my interviews despite any nerves I had. Lastly, I had some sensitive areas of my application that I was not sure how to discuss. Kim not only was very understanding, but she gave me the best possible advice on how to go forward with those pieces and helped put to rest any doubts or fears I had. Ultimately, Kim is a very genuine, insightful, and easy person to get along with and she will help in any way possible to help you craft the best version of yourself in your application and interviews.

[The following review has been transferred over from the consultant’s previous profile on P&Q with mbaMission]

Kim Leb at mbaMission was incredibly insightful in helping me craft “my story” to portray to MBA programs. Originally, I thought I didn’t need help from a consultant and was rejected from the first school I applied to. I quickly signed up with her and she helped me get into my top choice. The insight she was able to provide into what the ad coms look for was perfect and took my application from average to exceptional. She was available any time to talk through things and calm me down when I started stressing out. I know, without a doubt, I wouldn’t be here without her help and can’t recommend her highly enough.

[The following review has been transferred over from the consultant’s previous profile on P&Q with mbaMission]

After unsuccessfully applying to business school during my senior year in college, I decided to recruit the assistance of a consultant to help me out the second time around. I reached out to a few consultants from other companies and was met with the same disappointing reaction each time. Everyone I spoke to discouraged me from applying and recommended that I wait a few years given the fact that I was a fairly young applicant. I had completed my undergrad only 12 months earlier, and would only have 2 years of full-time work experience at the time of matriculation. I was just about ready to give up on my b-school dreams for the time being, until I spoke to Kim. She took the time to listen to my career goals and understand why I believed the business school was the logical next step in my career. Kim wholeheartedly supported this decision and offered the much-needed encouragement to move forward with my b-school aspirations. She believed in me when nobody else did and guided me through the process from start to finish. I decided to go all in and purchased the complete packages, which proved to be a worthy investment given the numerous hours Kim dedicated to me. She did not give me unrealistic hope, but rather helped manage my expectations by shedding light on my areas of weakness and identifying strategies to overcome these threats to my candidacy. I could tell she was genuinely invested in my applications and took the time to help me select the schools that best aligned with my goals and priorities. She created a structured approach for this otherwise chaotic experience and held me accountable to our established timeline. With Kim’s guidance, I was able to craft a compelling story that was tailored to each program. What I especially appreciated about Kim was that she always provided honest, objective feedback. She did not hesitate to identify any deficiencies in my application materials and offer recommendations and insight into potential solutions. From editing essays to proof-reading applications, to providing interview preparation, Kim served as my coach, mentor, and even therapist at times. Thanks to her, I was accepted into two top-ten schools, despite being four years younger than the average age. As an added benefit, both of these b-schools offered me a partial scholarship. I have no doubt that I would not have been able to accomplish this without the dedication, support, and guidance that Kim provided.

The first time I spoke to Melody I really felt like she made the effort to connect with my story and understand my circumstances. It was an extremely smooth experience working with her and her team because I signed up for their services right before the deadline. The team got back to me always in a timely manner and gave critical feedback on my essays and material. I would encourage anyone considering an MBA consultant to consider Vantage Point.

Anna was a phenomenal help to my MBA application process. She coached me through the entire application, making sure my messaging was consistent across all the aspects of my submission (from the essays to my resume to even my interview). Vantage Point is very well organized and was very helpful providing tips and ideas to ensure my application stood out. I highly recommend Vantage Point, and I highly recommend Anna Baskin.

To realize my dream of being accepted to and elite MBA program, I needed the best MBA Admissions Consultant to guide me and to encourage me throughout the rigorous admissions process.

My military training taught me to prepare, so I diligently researched to find the best possible person. My exhaustive research led me directly to Melody.

I completely trusted her. Melody’s advice, support, and encouragement helped me fulfill my dream of being accepted to The Wharton School and the Kellogg School of Management.

Melody’s expertise enables me to obtain a substantial scholarship at Wharton. So, working with Melody ended up making me money in the long run. This was a huge return on my investment. If your goal is to attend one of the top MBA programs then Melody is your choice.

For context, I worked with Melody on a comprehensive package across multiple schools. From start to finish, Melody went out of her way to provide extraordinarily thoughtful coaching and guidance. The advising process began even before I had opened any applications, or decided on which schools I wanted to apply for. We spent weeks exploring my career goals, MBA goals, personality traits, and past experiences, to refine down a wide list of potential angles to apply from, tailored to which school might receive each angle best. Once we started going back and forth on refined topics, Melody provided the most detailed, insightful, creative, and well-articulated feedback I have ever received. It helped me brainstorm and craft well thought out essays that highlighted the most important facets of my applications and create applications well beyond what I would have otherwise crafted. To be clear, we worked well past version 25 on at least one of my applications, and I truly felt each turn was significantly better than the last. Furthermore, Melody is super nice, friendly, and incredible to work with. She maintained a positive attitude throughout, which helped get through such a daunting process. She certainly earns the highest marks possible and I would recommend her to anybody taking a hard run at applying to business schools.

Alicia was great; easy to schedule calls with, timely in providing high-quality feedback on application materials, quick to adapt to changing ideas and situations (the company, in general, was good at that).

I originally chose Vantage Point after a friend at HBS strongly recommended them. I’m so grateful for that decision, for Anna at Vantage Point really helped give my application a competitive edge. My GPA and GMAT scores were slightly below the average at all the top B schools. Anna helped me to overcome those gaps and articulate my story- immensely helping my essay, application, and interview. Our work paid off, and I was accepted to EVERY school that I applied to. I will be enrolling at HBS in the Fall, and I’m so grateful to Anna. I plan to recommend her and Vantage Point to all of my friends applying to B school next year.

I had a fantastic experience working with Molly over the entirety of my MBA application process, and her help and guidance was critical in allowing me to put my best application forward. Molly worked with me to focus the many characteristics of my profile, and the overall MBA admissions process, to create a clear, compelling story that allowed me to best express my most relevant attributes to the admissions committees. She forced me to answer tough questions and sharpen the details of every aspect of my application while adding critical guidance and support as I navigated the admissions process. I firmly believe her initial overview of my background and goals, refinement of the materials of my application, and evaluation of my interview skills all served to improve my likelihood of success. I worked with Molly for application to 5 top 10 schools during the round 1 cycle, and I am pleased to report that I was admitted to my top choice (and waitlisted at 2 others)! I would highly recommend Molly to any MBA candidate of all backgrounds. Thank you for all of the help, Molly!

I enlisted the help of Katie from Vantage Point to help shape and finalize my MBA essays. While I had a compelling story to tell, I felt I needed a little guidance to help convey that story clearly to admissions teams. I believe it was Katie’s understanding of the MBA admissions process and what exactly each program valued, that made the difference in clearly demonstrating my fit for each school through my essays. Katie was always prompt in responding and provided thought-provoking feedback. I enjoyed working with her and her generally upbeat attitude! I would definitely recommend Katie and Vantage Point, and certainly, getting 5 acceptances to Top 20 programs speaks for itself as a worthwhile investment!

Working with Melody on a comprehensive multi school package was the best decision I made as I started my MBA application process. Thorough and thoughtful, Melody was instrumental in me crafting and communicating a compelling story based on my background and experiences. She is extremely knowledgeable and had insights and tips for each school that I applied to. Melody strives for perfection – she made sure that I approached each application on its own and is not afraid to go back on her own advice. In addition, she is personable and a lot of fun to work with. She made sure that my personality shone through in my essays. Her mock interviews made me feel confident and comfortable as I walked into the real thing.
She is an excellent communicator and was always prompt with her responses. Knowing that my work was picking back up soon, she even worked double time with me to get my applications in order – an excellent example of her dedication to her clients. Thanks to her advice, I got interviews for 6/7 schools (All top-10) that I applied to and ended up getting multiple admits. I think the results speak for themselves. All in all, I could not have asked for a better guide and friend as I worked through the stressful application process.

Working with Katie and Vantage Point proved to be a great decision for me. Essay editing and the organization of all my application submissions were extremely valuable, but the most essential aspect of our relationship was Katie’s ability to understand my story/ career goals and aid in clearly articulating them throughout my application. Katie was also helpful during school selection, identifying both target and reach programs based on my profile, as well as my future career aspirations.

Overall, I would strongly recommend Katie and Vantage Point to help understand your unique personal brand and to connect your narrative with your post-MBA plans. Be prepared to put in the effort as she will do everything to get you admits to your dream school, but can’t do all the work for you!

Katie was an absolute pleasure to work with. By giving me detailed guidance and revisions for my personal story, resume, and essays, I’m happy to say that I was admitted to Kellogg, MIT, Wharton, and Tuck, with scholarships to 3 of the 4! Even after finalizing the process, Katie followed up multiple times to check in on my success, ask if I had any ensuing questions (including managing a waitlist spot with Stanford), and to congratulate me genuinely after the process was completed. I can’t thank Katie enough for her help and highly recommend her in the future!

I worked with Melody for over a year, from the initial phase of deciding whether to apply to business school, through a successful application to a top 10 program. I found her objective input and feedback to be a tremendous asset throughout the entire application process, both through providing a source of vetting for initial ideas as well as refining key themes and stories. From the outset of our work together, the structured framework she provided was extremely helpful in breaking down an otherwise daunting application process into manageable steps, while ensuring a high level of self-reflection throughout. In addition, coming from a professional background that did not require much creative writing, Melody’s insights were invaluable in translating raw ideas into a final product which was both more personal and well-polished. I would highly recommend her to anyone interested in applying to business school.

Melody was an exception and felt like a real partner in my application process. My MBA journey was off to a bad start, I had applied and got rejected to the only school I really wanted to attend. When I began the reapplication process, I knew I needed help to nail the re-applicant essay. Melody was the perfect partner in this. I reached out to her in late July on helping me with my application but was focused on improving my test scores until early September. I had an application deadline of October 4th leaving me just 3 weeks to perfect my essay. Melody was instrumental in providing quick, direct, and invaluable feedback. There were about 4+ iterations of my essay before we were happy with the final result. With just 3 weeks to work through this, she was incredibly accommodating of my tight timelines and was always incredibly timely in providing feedback. She helped take my essay from a generic story to a thoughtful depiction of me, as a candidate. I submitted my application feeling confident that all aspects of my application were as good as they could be… which definitely contributed to my acceptance! Very excited to be attending one of the top programs in the country this coming year!

Melody was an amazing admissions consultant through the entire process. From helping me think deeper about what I really want to do post-MBA, to providing detailed feedback and edits on my essays, to supporting me through the interview process. I cannot thank her enough for her support, and would highly recommend her based on her experience, professionalism, and personal investment in her client’s success.

I starting working with Katie about one month before the application deadline. I had started filling out the application on my own but quickly realized that I needed some expert guidance to put my best application forward. My advice — don’t waste time trying to do it on your own — just get started from the get-go with one of Vantage Point’s expert consultants.

Katie took the time upfront to understand my work and academic experiences. At the start, I couldn’t clearly articulate “Why MBA?” but she did a great job of helping me craft a concise and accurate story. Revamping the resume from a traditional one to a b-school one was a strong point for Katie, and she gave me a couple great ideas for the essay. Katie held me accountable to self-imposed deadlines, helped manage my stress and exceeded my overall expectations. She was super responsive, provided great feedback and ideas and used our time efficiently. This was a worthwhile experience and I would not have had nearly as strong an application without working with Vantage Point and Katie.

I applied to business school in Round 1 this year and am very glad that I had the opportunity to work with Hannah, at Vantage Point. I will be attending Harvard Business School this fall and I would highly recommend working with Hannah to anyone applying.
Experiencing an essay based admission process for the first time, I had no idea about the school’s expectations from my essays. Also, I had less than than the average number of years of work ex for my target schools, which made me anxious.
My reasons for choosing Vantage Point were two-fold:
1. Personalized attention – I had an initial call with Melody and in 30 minutes she not only understood my profile well but also gave me pointers on how to present myself well in my applications to highlight my strengths and balance my weaknesses.
2. Cost effective – Although most top consultants are priced roughly the same, Vantage Point was at the lower end of the spectrum.
When I first started working with Hannah, I had initial drafts of my essays but quickly realized I was nowhere close to being submission-ready. Hannah knows exactly what each school is looking for and gave me very clear points on how to shape my essays for each. She also helped me rework and rewrite my essays so that they addressed 1) the highlights of my relatively short work ex, 2) my personality/interests, 3) my professional goals, 4) and how the schools would help get me there. Hannah’s ‘tough-love’ really forced me to dig deeper and write essays that truly captured the essence of my experiences, where I am now & where I want to go next. The transformation of my initial drafts before working with her to the final drafts after was truly amazing.

As you can tell from other reviews, Melody Jones is an absolutely incredible MBA consultant. I believe that any good consultant can work with a strong candidate with a great GPA, great GMAT, great story, etc. but it takes a truly exceptional consultant to be able to work with a candidate that has large weaknesses in her application (like I did) and turn the candidate into not only a strong applicant but an accepted applicant. Melody is that truly exceptional consultant.

Melody’s patience and understanding are second to none, and she will diligently go through your story with you so that she understands every aspect of who you are and what you want to be. It is this depth of understanding, coupled with her insanely creative mindset, that allows Melody to partner with you to seamlessly develop a cohesive and realistic story.

If at any point you are confused or uncertain during the stressful application process, Melody will be your rock. She is honest and direct when she feels you are heading in the wrong direction and supportive and caring when she knows you just need someone to understand the stress you feel.

There are a million more things I can say about Melody, but what it all comes down to is: Melody was my partner. She was everything I could have ever asked for in a consultant, and I trusted her with everything. That trust paid off :).

So, if you’re looking for a partner in this process, you know who to call!

Melody (VantagePoint consultant) provided an excellent service which ensured that I got accepted to the school of my choosing (LBS) while minimizing friction in the process. LBS was the only school I chose to apply to hence our collaboration was fully geared towards LBS adcom requirements.
Melody is a very insightful person with a very clear perspective on how the admission process should be run in order to be successful– a clear sign of experience/expertise. While ensuring a super pleasant dialogue, Melody will know when to challenge the status quo and push to hit milestones. Melody was very structured and managed the timeline very well, which was the most important contribution that I was looking for.
Being a good consultant, Melody kicked off the advisory relationship with in-depth interviews. Melody provided a very tailored set of objectives/milestones for me to hit to really improve my profile before applying. Networking with past/current students was one important avenue that I explored thanks to her advice.
I recommend Melody and VP full-heartedly because of a very high level of professionalism, result-driven approach as well as supportive culture (for those tough moments where you will inevitably worry too much about your GMAT score, essay, etc).

I did not enjoy applying to business school. There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty inherent to the process and each school varies greatly in both deliverables and expectations.

That said, I did enjoy working with Melody Jones at Vantage Point. It is largely due to her amazing efforts that I was ultimately admitted to Stanford GSB, Columbia Business School, and the Cal Berkeley Haas School of Business. The reality is that I did not believe I would get into any of these schools and all credit goes to both the process and diligence of people like Melody at Vantage Point for helping me flesh out and articulate a coherent, authentic story.

This last point is perhaps most important as I think the tendency for most (at least me) is to write what one believes an adcom wants to hear. Melody and her team were particularly adept at helping me find and express the best version of my personal truth in my essays. This took many drafts and much patience and Melody is exceptionally disciplined and responsive and consistently provided meaningful feedback to keep things moving forward.

The fact that this specific service included a review from an expert at a given school helped me fine tune my application prior to submission and ensure that nothing was missed along the way. These services are expensive, but I can say without hesitation that Vantage Point represents a worthwhile investment in the future of any applicant.

I can’t say enough how great it was to work the Melody. My MBA journey started off disorganized, unsure and confusing. I’ve had an interesting (and very unconventional) career to this point and wasn’t quite sure how to staple it all together. I have about as many red flags that one could imagine: two job gaps, eh GMAT and GPA, and switched jobs a few months before the Round 1 deadline. Despite a stressful new job and all these headwinds, Melody was super *accommodating* (can’t emphasize this enough) with me throughout this entire process. She guided me on how to craft my story, clean up my resume, and write compelling essays. We must have gone through at least 10+ drafts on my first essay before I finally hit submit. The word limits force you to be careful with how you craft your essays, but Melody’s feedback is blunt (with the best intentions) and really make you get to the point. The service is expensive, but it’s an investment. It’s a stressful process and you only get out of it what you put into it. Thank you for everything, Melody!!

I highly recommend Malvika and Vantage Point to anyone who is considering hiring an MBA admissions consultant.
I spoke to 3 different companies through their free consultations. Of the three, Vantage Point was clearly willing to offer the most time and most personalized experience. It was also reassuring to be referred by a friend who had a successful experience with the company as well.
After discussing my background, school selection, and strategy with Melody (one of the co-founders), I was assigned to work full-time with Malvika. This was largely because of my intention to transition careers, which Malvika had done in her past as well. She helped identify the experiences in my past that helped explain this transition to be the next logical step. In addition to highlighting my most valuable strengths, Malvika helped me recognize the potential weaknesses of my profile and how to mitigate these weaknesses. She was always extremely candid, which is something I asked for in our initial conversation. Malvika was also very responsive. She would quickly answer emails/texts and could generally jump on a call within 24 hours for more complex questions. She never made me feel like I was bugging her or asking a ridiculous question.
My resume, essays, and interview prep greatly benefitted from Malvika’s advice and knowledge of the application process. I ultimately applied to five top-15 schools. She consulted on 3 applications – of which I had 2 admits and withdrew the third application after being accepted to my top choice. Of the 2 applications she did not consult me on, I went 0/2. Again, I highly recommend Malvika for anyone still on the fence about hiring an admissions consultant.

I started working with Katherine in July of 2018 for round 1 applications. I was immediately drawn to her background in real estate (a field I’m interested in), her dedicated work ethic, and driven personality. During our initial call, she took the time to ask personalized questions to get to know me. I liked how Katherine continually “pushed me” to stop using b-school buzz words and helped me be very specific on my short-term and long-term goals and how business school would help me achieved them. I ended up purchasing the 3-school inclusive package and then bought additional hours for my other applications. We started with revising my resume (something I didn’t even know needed editing) to show how I made an impact in each role rather than describing the job. When writing my essays, her comments really helped me to eliminate the “fluff” and be more direct while still allowing my personality to come through. In some essays, I wrote about a personal and delicate situation in my life, and I really respected how Katherine was sensitive to that and did not exploit this experience for the sake of a dramatic essay. I appreciated how timely and professional Katherine was throughout this process. She had a very quick turnaround with essay comments/revisions – her efficiency left us with plenty of time with the purchased hours! She also helped me prep for interviews, leverage a scholarship offer, narrow down schools and seek financial aid. Overall, Katherine exceeded my expectations and helped me immensely throughout this process! I have decided to go to Berkeley Haas and can’t thank Katherine enough for helping me get here!

Initially skeptical about using an admissions consultant, I knew I made the right decision shortly after beginning to work with Katie. VantagePoint’s approach really helps you think about, craft, and articulate your story in a unique way.
I think a huge part of this was that Katie took the time up front to get to know me personally, which informed her advice throughout the process – from school selection to essays, letters of recommendation, interviews, etc.
Another huge plus for me was her responsiveness. As a consultant traveling every week, my schedule is often unpredictable and Katie was both incredibly responsive (always getting back within 1-2 days max, and often the same day) and flexible, willing to make something work if I felt like we needed to discuss something.
I highly recommend Katie and VantagePoint for anyone that is concerned about working with a larger firm and not getting enough time and individual feedback from their consultant.

I had a great experience working with Molly. I was reapplying this year and wanted to make sure I was putting the best application forward. Molly helped me take all of the swirling ideas and plans in my head and create a crisp, compelling, and most importantly, authentic story. I am coming from the non-profit industry and want to stay in social justice long term. I had spoken to other consultants who thought I should downplay that passion and drive in favor of a more traditional post MBA path, but Molly encouraged me to lean into what made me unique as a candidate and be bold in my aspirations. She gave clear constructive feedback, pushed my thinking when I needed it, and gave me pep talks when I was stuck.
I did the one school package with her, and then added in about 4 other hours of help with my essays for other schools. I was very happy with the results. I applied to 5 top 15 schools. I ended up getting into my top 3 choices, with full or almost full scholarships at 2 of them. I highly recommend Molly!

Choosing Vantage Point and Melody as my admissions consultant for my CBS application was the best decision I ever made. I originally entered the process feeling a bit uneasy with my average stats and my ability to stand out from a crowded pool of applicants possessing a similar background. Beginning immediately with our first phone call, Melody understood my goals and pinpointed the exact areas I had to improve on. We worked through numerous drafts of developing all aspects of my story, while also showcasing the unique qualities of my profile where her experience proved to be most impactful. She was always available through phone call/email despite being across the country. I highly recommend the Comprehensive Package because I was able to maximize my output while working a demanding job schedule and the interview prep gave me confidence heading into the real thing. I truly cannot express enough gratitude for the honest and thoughtful work Melody and her team dedicate themselves to.

Melody was a fantastic resource and cannot recommend her enough! I worked with her on an hourly basis since I decided to use a consultant relatively late in the process (I had already written first drafts of all of the essays). Melody was tremendously helpful in helping me refine my story and ensuring that every word of each essay and my resume supported that story. Her feedback was always constructive and relevant and reflected a high level of detail despite me being an hourly client. Furthermore, Melody is extremely professional: she initiated an introductory phone call to discuss my goals, accommodated my timelines, clearly communicated how much time each request would take, and never tried to up-sell me. She was also following up with me throughout the interview process and offered support and tips. Thanks to Melody I got into 3 of the 4 Top 10 schools I applied to (including my dream school) and was awarded one full merit-based scholarship!

Melody Jones at Vantage Point MBA is a wonderful consultant and I am very fortunate to have worked with her.

Firstly, if you are on the fence about hiring a consultant in general, I was in the same boat last year and I highly recommend pulling the trigger and going for it. When I first decided to apply to business school, I had never even heard of an admission consultant. The concept was foreign to me and as such I was reluctant to pay up for one. However, once I started my essays, I realized that they were nowhere near the standard required for the schools I was targeting. I was really struggling to express my “story” in a cohesive and compelling manner. Given that the MBA is such a large investment overall, I wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t be leaving anything on the table, and I ultimately decided to bring in a professional.

I researched most of the firms and interviewed consultants from each of them, but I was immediately drawn to Vantage Point due to its smaller size, which I felt would be most conducive to a genuine, personalized experience. When I spoke with Melody on the phone, I just knew that she was the one. Not only is Melody brilliant, but she is friendly and down-to-earth. I felt like she really understood where I was coming from and where I wanted to go. Having Melody in my corner curbed my anxiety tremendously and increased my confidence – that alone was worth every penny.

I had a 700 GMAT and not-so-great GPA and I was applying to some of the very best schools. On our kick-off call, Melody kept it real with me and was upfront about where my weaknesses were (later, she helped me develop a game-plan to directly address each of these challenges), but she NEVER attempted to discourage me from applying to the programs I’d set my sights on. I believe that it is crucial to work with a balanced consultant like Melody, who makes a point to manage your expectations but then puts in an insane amount of effort to elevate your application to the highest possible level as if your weaknesses didn’t exist.

Melody is an MBA expert and if I hadn’t worked with her, I’m certain my application strategy would have been all wrong. Admissions folks only spend ~15 minutes reviewing your entire application and I was surprised to learn that most of them do not have business backgrounds. Therefore, you must present yourself and your materials in a way that is drastically different from a job interview, for example. MBA essay-writing requires a significant amount of introspection and Melody possesses the rare skill of helping you spin life experiences (that to you may seem mundane) into captivating stories. Melody worked tirelessly to help me put together seriously killer essays (I’m talking 10+ drafts each). She will not do any of the work for you, but she asks very pointed questions that force you to dig deeper and she will not let you off the hook until every single sentence is perfect. There were many occasions when, after 5-8 drafts, I thought my essay had finally reached perfection and I had mentally checked out of it, only to receive yet another completely red version from Melody. I cannot stress this enough — if you work with Melody, she will not simply check the box by providing a few iterations of useful feedback. Rather, she will be totally personally invested in you and your success. On that front, this review would not be complete without a shout out to Katherine Canning, who graduated from Wharton and works in my industry. She took time out of her vacation (!!) to do a final, last-minute review of my Wharton essays before submission. The consultants at Vantage Point are passionate about what they do and are seriously dedicated to you.

Finally, pretty late in the process, I realized that one of my 4 target schools actually wasn’t the best fit for me and I decided to switch it out for another top 10 school (which I will be attending in the fall!!) just a few weeks before the deadline. I NEVER would have had the courage to take such a big turn so close to the end without Melody’s encouragement. When it came time for interviews, Melody held several mock interviews with me. I went from being terribly awkward during the first mock interview to absolutely rocking it at the real thing! Also worth mentioning that throughout the process, I experienced several SNAFUs (the kind you never expect to happen), and if I didn’t have Melody to guide me and calm me down, I would have had a meltdown and handled the situation incorrectly.

TLDR: Do something special for yourself this year and hire Melody Jones from Vantage Point MBA!

To start, Molly was a critical component of my MBA application process. Without her help, I do not think I would have put forth nearly as strong of an application and ultimately would not have had the acceptances I received.
I came to Molly as a re-applicant. She first helped with a complete evaluation and worked with me to reposition my profile. Following this, I primarily worked with her on my essays and then on interview prep. Throughout the process, Molly was very forthcoming with constructive criticism and did not hold back any of her thoughts. This candid feedback was what really elevated my application and was critical to getting the best application to adcom. Molly was also very timely in her responses and throughout my time with her, I felt that she was ‘invested’ in my success.
At the end of the day, I was admitted to 4 schools (including my top choice) and waitlisted to a 5th. I also received scholarships from 2 of the schools. For reference, I only applied to top 15 programs.
Overall, I could not speak more highly of her and would recommend any applicant to work with her! Thank you, Molly!

I’d first admit that I am one of those who couldn’t do this without a consultant. Trained as a scientist, I knew I needed someone from the business world to polish my application package and to take the anxiety out of the process through discussions.
I had another consultant before Molly. During that time, the vision for my application was less clear and I was falling behind the schedule. It got the point that I thought I was not going to make it and I hated the process. That’s when I was introduced to Molly. Molly helped me make everything happen and she’s even turned the application process into something almost enjoyable. She first streamlined my application plan while giving me the necessary confidence to finish all the work in time. She was very responsive and usually gets back to me in just a few hours. Above all, her insight helped me find and highlight the most relevant information in my application. By the time I submitted my applications, I knew I did my best and I have shown my best of readiness for business school.
Highly recommend!

Had an excellent experience working with Alicia and with Vantage Point! I was pretty skeptical of admissions consultants when I reached out, but my initial chat with Melody (Vantage founder) and correspondence made me feel way less pressured than I did in speaking to larger firms that were just trying to upsell me some package that I didn’t really need (had been waitlisted year before so was at least close to understanding what to do). Alicia was very warm and delivered feedback in a constructive, optimistic way that made it easy to take her advice! Very glad to have gone to a small firm that clearly cares about their clients! As for Alicia, her feedback as a re-applicant to be less formal and let my personality shine through a bit more, critiques on how to restructure my resume, and the awesome advice on bringing a “hook” to my essay writing all made me feel so much more confident this year about the process! Also as a former CBS adcom, her insider knowledge of what CBS cares about and how to highlight my future contributions to them made this feel like a slam dunk. She was able to draw my attention to things that I would have never thought about in my previous app and I felt like an expert on this process by the time I clicked submit! She was very available and did not make me feel like I was less of a priority by not buying some giant comprehensive package. Would highly recommend!!!!

I worked with Katherine on my round 2 application for HBS, MIT Sloan, Haas Berkeley and Yale SOM. I was accepted to all four schools with substantial scholarships – and could not have done it without her!
As background, I come from a non-traditional background (global health) and had a mediocre GMAT score, with a low quant score. I had applied to a few of the schools last year and was rejected without an interview. I had worked with another consulting company but felt that the consultant was often rushing or didn’t seem as invested.
My experience with Katherine was completely different. She spent a lot of time with me upfront to carve a compelling narrative that was true to who I am. Throughout the process, she kept me on message and was always there when I had any questions or concerns. She was also proactive in helping me mitigate any “weak points” in my application. (Side note: Katherine is super-efficient – I don’t know how she does it!)
Most importantly, throughout the process, I felt that Katherine, Meredith, Melody and the rest of the Vantage Point team truly cared about me and helping me reach my goals.
I would HIGHLY recommend the Vantage Point team – trust me, you won’t regret it!

Eileen was the best consultant I could have worked with and I’m so happy to be heading to the perfect school for my career next steps. I recommend her 100%.

Context: As a non-traditional applicant (for reference – history undergrad, self-employed out of college, now marketing at a small nonprofit), working with Eileen was extremely helpful. Very few people in my network were familiar with business school or had an MBA, not to mention how competitive the process is these days. Eileen allowed me to focus on what matters most rather than sifting through a lot of (not always trustworthy) information online. She also worked super hard to accommodate my short timeline applying for R2; I hired Eileen in early October, hadn’t taken the GMAT, and she helped me reach the deadline to submit apps for 3 schools by early January (and I took a 2.5-week international trip in Dec!). I hustled, and she hustled just as much.

Process and experience: Eileen is really on top of her game; she was prompt, willing to help, insightful, and thoughtful in her work. I’d say if you know what you need and ask for it, Eileen will pretty much never say no. There were several instances where she went above and beyond, leveraging Vantage Point to help me find answers to my toughest questions. Eileen is also both honest and positive, so every time I talked with her I felt motivated and excited about my prospects— which is what you need in order to keep going in the midst of this grind. Sometimes I wish she were my life consultant. 🙂 As far as my application materials, Eileen was an excellent editor. She added value in making sure I described my experiences in a way that a typical adcom member would understand and feel compelled to read more. The result was my feeling 100% confident that I submitted the best representation of my experience, myself, and my vision for the future to each school— and that’s really all you can hope for.

Final note on non-traditional backgrounds: If you’re looking to hire a consultant because of a nontraditional background, I’d say look no further. Eileen helped me own the value of my work experience and my intentional decision-making, and provided incredible support as I articulated my reasons for attending b-school. Top schools are looking for certain qualities in applicants and she helped me make sure those came through in my application while staying very true to who I am and my story. Sometimes it’s challenging to know how to speak to your strengths with both precision and humility, and Eileen was excellent with this type of language. I could not have done this without her and I am so incredibly grateful for her expertise and hard work.

Thanks to Eileen, I’m going to Yale and it is the perfect school for my story and my goals.

I applied to business school in Round 2 this year and am very glad that I had the opportunity to work with Katherine — I was admitted to both Wharton (my top choice!) and London Business School. I would highly recommend her to anyone considering applying.
When I first started working with Katherine, I had initial drafts of my essays but quickly realized I was nowhere close to being submission-ready. Katherine knows exactly what each school is looking for and gave me a very clear understanding of how to shape my essays for each. She also helped me completely rework and rewrite my essays so that they addressed 1) my past experiences, 2) my personality / interests, 3) my professional goals, 4) and how the schools would help get me there. She helped me really dig deeper and write essays that truly capture where I am now & where I want to go next. The transformation of my initial drafts before working with her to the final drafts after was truly night & day. I truly could not have done it without her help!

I am so thankful to have worked with Katherine as a comprehensive client throughout the MBA admissions process! I applied to 5 M7 schools in Round 1 and am happy to say that I was admitted to 3 (2 with substantial scholarship!) I come from a traditional pre-MBA background and have a below average GMAT score, so initially was considering not even applying to these schools. I probably spoke with almost every MBA consulting firm and I felt like they all tried to fit my background into a box and encouraged me to apply to a number of “safety” schools. Katherine was the only consultant that I spoke with that actually put in the effort to help me craft my story in a unique / compelling way. She had confidence in me and encouraged me to apply to the reach schools that I was most excited about.
During the process, Katherine surpassed my expectations for an MBA admissions consultant. I had so many questions during the 7 months we worked together, from choosing my recommenders to negotiating scholarships, and she provided thoughtful and prompt feedback every step of the way. Her advice on the essays was a complete game-changer. I had no idea what was appropriate to include in a business school essay and am positive that my essays would not have been nearly as personal / effective in helping me to stand out without her guidance.
I honestly never expected to have this outcome and am confident that I could not have done it without Katherine! I felt like she was personally invested in my success and I know I would not have gotten that with another consultant. I definitely recommend her to anyone going through the MBA admissions process.

After a round of rejection, I had one free consultation with Melody. Melody is an excellent listener and was able to take all of the information I gave her and focused in on a handful of ways I could quickly improve my applications. I wholeheartedly believe that her advice on how to frame a particular weakness in my application helped me get into every school I applied to in the subsequent round, including to an M7 school. Melody helped me describe why I struggled in one college quant course in a way that seemed natural, whereas my previous writing on the subject likely came off as excuse-making. It says a lot about the company’s integrity that they have refused even token compensation from me, even though the short time I spent with Melody was so impactful.

Katherine was incredibly helpful from step 1 through the end. I only applied to HBS and Wharton, and got interviews with both. I am very happy to say that I will be enrolling in my dream school (Wharton) in the fall! I have no doubt that working with Katherine greatly increased my chances of landing the interview. Not only did she help me gather my own thoughts on if the timing was right for me to apply, she helped me decide which schools I should apply to, and how I should position myself as a candidate. Katherine is a no-bullshit kind of person who will not waste your time – which I’m grateful for given that I paid it all out of pocket. If I hadn’t been accepted this year, I would certainly rehire her next year for the process all over again.

Melody is an exceptional admissions consultant. I signed on for the Comprehensive Package and added on two other schools. We have worked together for over a year, as I began my b-school application journey early on. Melody was very helpful in helping me craft and hone my story, and she really pushed me to elevate my resume and essays to the next level required for acceptance into a top business school program. She fully understands what AdCom is looking for at each individual program, which really helps as you go through the various drafts of your essays. My GMAT scores came in a bit later than I’d hoped but Melody was extremely flexible in working through all of my essays in a condensed period of time. She also made herself available to chat anytime I felt stuck and encouraged me when I felt frustrated with the process (let’s be real, the application process is incredibly stressful). I will be heading to an M7 school in the fall with scholarship, and couldn’t have done it without Melody. This is a worthwhile investment and I’d recommend Melody to anyone thinking about applying to business school. Major props to Melody for making my dreams come true!

I had a lot of anxiety about applying for MBAs. I come from a nontraditional professional background, I’m older than most candidates, and I was not fully clear about my post-MBA goals. I took meetings with 5 other consultants and found them all to be shockingly pushy, quick to talk over me, and eager to focus on my weaknesses.

I had basically decided to go it alone when I took a final meeting with Eileen, and my whole outlook shifted. Eileen is an unparalleled listener, truly intersted in helping her clients develop their own voice and story rather than simply imposing a MBA archetype on them. She met me where I was and was extremely sensitive to my financial restrictions, hustling to make use of every minute of our time together and working overtime to get my edits back to me as quickly as possible. She is a gifted writer and editor able to turn my sometimes rambling thoughts into powerful prose. I always looked forward to our sessions, even when I knew she might deliver some tough love, and deeply appreciated that she approached my application with an open mind about how to make my story uniquely shine. Additionally, Eileen is an true interview master and I’m so happy I coached with her before meeting with schools.

Thanks to Eileen, I was accepted to my top choice program, Kellogg’s MMM dual-degree. I could not have done it without Eileen’s wisdom, organizational mastery, and constant encouragement.

I’m so thankful for Melody’s guidance and support throughout this process. I had initially begun visiting schools and crafting my personal statement for pursuing an MBA without a consultant. While I thought I had a decent educational background (college, GPA) and GMAT score, I wasn’t confident in the quality of my essays. Fortunately, through online research, I found Melody at Vantage Point. During our initial call, we aligned on how far along I was on my applications and school selection process, and she immediately worked with me to strengthen and shape my core story. I admit I was a bit nervous about how much attention I would receive as an hourly client compared to others with more comprehensive services, but I was highly impressed with Melody’s invaluable insight, along with her timely and honest feedback. I was out of practice with my essay writing skills and Melody challenged me to write in different ways that were true to my voice, yet more concise and compelling, which I believe helped to differentiate my application. I was thrilled to have gotten into one of my top choices and am appreciative of Melody’s support along the way.

I decided to apply to business school fairly late in the game (6 weeks before my first application was due). I had fortunately taken the GMAT a few years prior, but I knew I had a long way to go in order to hit my deadline: crafting a story, resume, essays, recommendations, etc. Faced with a daunting task, I determined that using a consultant would be highly beneficial. After speaking with a number of firms, I chose Katherine and Vantage Point because they took time to get to know me, did not have a one-size-fits-all approach, and encouraged me to apply to the schools I wanted. Katherine was instrumental in keeping me on track, offering me sound advice, and helping me reach my full potential. In just over a month, we established a credible story and produced essays that were, in my opinion, excellent (I hadn’t written much more than an email in 5+ years). I ultimately applied to 3 top programs with Katherine’s assistance and am happy to say that I received substantial scholarship to 1 of the 3 (I knew the others were a stretch at the onset). There is no way that I would have had the same outcome without her help – I can recommend Katherine and Vantage Point without hesitation.