Rachel Beck

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

Personal background: International applicant, Female, BB IBD, liberal undergrad, low GMAT (720, which is a weakness compared to the Asian pool), Re-applicant (first tried in R2\’2017 but failed), Accomplished a few work and non-work initiatives between R2\’2017 to R1\’2018 and also got a stronger endorsement from current / previous supervisors School package – worked on 3 schools (Booth-reapplicant; Wharton-reapplicant; Columbia-Early decision) with Rachel. Rachel is very helpful and patient in helping me go through the application process in 2017. After the “disaster” in the R2\’2017, Rachel helped me regain the self-confidence and reshape a better appearance before the AdCom. Just like what I’ve done in investment banking, there are a few investment highlights that you should choose Rachel as your admission consultant. – Efficient and effective working pattern: Rachel is very punctual on turnaround time, which is less than 24 hours. She always uses efficient tools to track our back-and-forth edits and comments; also she is very helpful in addressing any application-related issues and ideas that came into my mind. – Professional writing as an ex-reporter: As an intl. applicant whose mother tongue is not English, I was worried about my writing. Rachel helped me a lot on this part – she would help rephrase my ideas into a more succinct and native way. – Great communicator in brainstorming session: Rachel is very proactive in expressing her ideas and comments which she concluded from my prior experiences. I have to admit that applicants would sometimes neglect those shining points which are very valuable from an Adcom’s perspective. Rachel is very helpful in giving me guidance to “plunge deeper” into myself. After initial setback / ding from Columbia Early Decision, Rachel assured me to remain confident and carry out the plan. I feel grateful that our joint efforts finally won me the ticket to four bschools – Kellogg, Berkeley Haas, INSEAD, and Darden. I have decided to go to Kellogg!

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 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.

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.

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.

Rachel Beck is a fantastic business school application consultant! I spoke with her initially in a free 30-minute consolation, and during that conversation Rachel helped me devise a strategy that was tailored for me, as I was interested in part-time MBA programs. Instead of being eager to simply sign me up as a client, she was honest about my GMAT score and recommended that I boost my score in order to have a better chance at being admitted. A few months later, after getting a better GMAT score, I knew that I could trust Rachel to provide the guidance I needed to navigate the application process. I am a strong writer, but with her expertise Rachel helped me to bring out the most important messages in my essays. I went through numerous drafts of each essay, and she was patient turning them around–and always doing so in a timely manner. I applied to two schools and was admitted at both. Therefore I would strongly recommend Rachel if you are looking for a knowledgeable, hard-working and experienced business school consultant who is an excellent writer, and who gets results for her clients.