Susan McInerny

Senior Admissions Consultant

mbaMission

United States

Net Promoter Score: 10

Consultant Bio

I completed my BA in economics and political science at Yale (for which I have been an admissions interviewer since I graduated) and my MBA at Harvard Business School. Over the past 30 years, I’ve been fortunate to work in investment banking at Morgan Stanley in New York and Los Angeles, in private equity in California, in consulting with BCG, and in the nonprofit sector to advance issues I am passionate about, including education and workforce development (with organizations such as DonorsChoose and Jobs for the Future). I’ve also had the privilege of leading collaboration, conversation, and curated counsel for private communities of Fortune 100 C-suite executives through my work at World 50. This variety of experiences has provided me with a great deal of perspective on the unique and dynamic nature of work and leadership in many industries, insight that I use to help candidates tell compelling stories about where they’ve been and where they want to go—especially when that may involve transitions across sectors.

I genuinely enjoy building relationships and connections, and there is nothing I look forward to more than getting behind resumes and CVs and into what applicants truly care about while helping them to see themselves in a new light. My own story began with my father—who was the first of my Italian family born in this country and who raised us on the pillars of hard work, education, and family—and has stretched to opportunities and experiences he could not have imagined for his daughter. I am passionate about helping others unlock the same kinds of opportunities and believe that the pursuit and achievement of an MBA can be a transformative experience.

I consider the opportunity to serve as a dedicated advocate for each of my clients a true gift, and I treat each application journey as if it were my own. I bring my passion, warmth, candor, and unwavering support to the process of customizing and communicating strategic guidance to every applicant, and in most cases, we both end up gaining a lifelong friend in the process.

Company Information

I got into admissions consulting work as an outgrowth of my passion for mentoring young professionals, which I’ve enjoyed doing for the past three decades. In every industry in which I’ve worked—from investment banking to private equity to consulting to the nonprofit sector—I’ve met incredible young colleagues looking for informal guidance on their career and educational journeys. I cherished the opportunity to get to know them and help them clarify their own goals and paths, and over time, I found myself helping more and more of them apply to business school. Eventually, I realized that I had a far greater passion for enabling the success of those I mentored than I did for my “day job,” and I decided to dedicate myself to doing it full-time.

What I have learned after doing this for applicants from every part of the world and with every conceivable background is that everyone has a unique story to tell—and it is that authentic story that admissions officers are looking for. I’ve worked with dozens of candidates who didn’t believe they were special when we began but who, after completing their applications, had a new level of confidence and appreciation for their own strengths and contributions. There is nothing I enjoy more than helping students recognize the value in themselves and parts of their background that they had previously taken for granted or overlooked. The admissions process is as much about telling your story as it is about connecting the dots within that story in a way that brings you and the path you are charting from your past to your future ambitions into laser-sharp focus. I help my clients do that by listening carefully, probing deeply, and building a meticulous and cohesive strategy for every part of the application. Moreover, I do it in a way that allows them to feel calm and in control of a dynamic and competitive process that, for many, would otherwise become stressful and daunting

Menu of Services and Associated Costs

One-on-one consultation services, comprehensive admissions and school-specific guides, a robust blog, free eBooks, essay analyses, and other valuable resources—visit our Web site to find all that mbaMission offers.

FREE CONSULTATION
Want to know your chances of being admitted to business school? Wondering how to differentiate yourself from other applicants? Sign up for a free, 30-minute consultation with an mbaMission Senior Consultant today!

FEATURED SERVICES
Complete Start-to-Finish Package
A la Carte Hourly Services
Mock Interview Sessions
Ding Review
Pre-Application Strategy

RESOURCES
Robust blog
Free Interview Primers
Free Personal Statement Guide
Free Selecting Your Target MBA Program eBook
Free Social Media Primer
Business School Insider’s Guides
MBA Admissions Guides
Free monthly online and in-person events

Location: United States

Email: susanmcinerny@mbamission.com

Website: https://www.mbamission.com

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P&Q Consultant Reviews

  • Experienced, Honest, & Excellent!
    2 weeks ago
    Susan was a great consultant. I did the 30min free session with her at the start which helped me understand how many and which universities I should target. After purchasing the hourly sessions, Susan shared a lot of valuable resources she had prepared to help with the essay writing process. She was very efficient with her time, and I got through the majority of essays I needed to with the hours I purchased. In addition, she had a quick response time, enabling me to meet all my deadlines. Her experience shows, and helped my craft a unique story to stand out as a candidate. In addition, she provided great resources so I could prep for the interviews and was easily reachable by mail. In the ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
    All reviews are independently verified by Poets&Quants staff.
  • Susan Is A PHENOMENAL Consultant - Highly Recommend
    4 months ago
    I HIGHLY recommend working with Susan (and have referred her to several of my friends who are applying), as she was a tremendous help to me during the applications (got into HBS and GSB). Susan was an incredible resource during the application process, from helping me formulate my application strategy, to helping me tell my story in a crisp, concise way, to preparing me for the interviews. She provided valuable input and feedback every step of the way, and is incredibly knowledgeable about the application process and the specifics of the MBA programs I applied to. I could tell that she is very invested in my success, and made sure that I was feeling comfortable and confident throughout the process. She is also very responsive to ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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  • Susan Is Simple Put, Incredible!
    4 months ago
    It's hard to overstate what a thoughtful, sharp, responsive, creative, brilliant and kind partner Susan was to me during the MBA admission process. As a non-traditional applicant (practicing physician), Susan was able to quickly identify the most important and impactful aspects of my past and help me weave them into an airtight application. In fact, I refined my own goals through the process of working with her.A Additionally, through helping me put the pieces of my journey together, she helped me feel more empowered about my own story, reminded me of the value of coaching, and helped me to become a better story-teller. As an older applicant, her positivity and encouragement were also instrumental for me. Another highlight was the precise, accurate interview preparation she ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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  • Fantastic MBA Consultant - Susan Helped Me Get Admitted To My First Choice
    4 months ago
    I worked with Susan throughout the application process secure an acceptance from UVA Darden. I did multiple initial free consultations with different MBA consultants, but Susan immediately stood out as superior. I had concerns regarding work experience, standardized test scores, and narrowing top choices, but Susan quickly identified my strengths and most compelling stories to enhance my candidacy. While other MBA consultants highlighted deficiencies in my application, Susan recognized opportunities to distinguish myself and guided me in crafting an application tailored to the specific school. Susan was flexible, professional, honest, and had excellent insight into the unique components of each program. 10/10 I would recommend!!!
    Class of 2026 Admit
    All reviews are independently verified by Poets&Quants staff.
  • Susan Was Instrumental In My Process - I'm So Grateful For Her Help In Getting 3/3 From HSW
    5 months ago
    I have only the most positive things to say about Susan. When I started my MBA journey, I was skeptical about working with a consultant (purely from a cost perspective), but I had an initial call with Susan and immediately realized how much value she would add. Throughout the process she was brilliant to work with: very clear, always knew the right questions to ask, and really helped refine my essay topics. The other highlight was the interview prep: this made such a difference to my confidence going into the interviews. Whilst I’d been thinking about my professional goals for a long while, I basically started my actual application process in mid-August. So this meant I had about a month to do everything, including writing ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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  • Susan Is THE BEST!!
    5 months ago
    I worked with Susan McInerny at mbaMission as an hourly client while preparing my application to the HBS Class of 2026. I’m incredibly excited to say that I was accepted to HBS and that I couldn’t be stronger in my endorsement of Susan!! She helped me transform my application from good to GREAT. As an HBS alum herself, Susan gave me amazing insight into how to best tell my story in a clear and compelling way. She offered invaluable guidance every step of the way from my resume to essays to interview prep. Not only did she help me strengthen my application, but she also instilled in me a confidence about my background, my story, and what I have to offer at these elite programs. ...
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    Class of 2026 Admit
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