Liza Weale/mbaMission

The entire MBA application process was scary and overwhelming to me; I came from a non-traditional background and I didn't see myself as a strong MBA candidate. I was struggling with my GMAT score and knew I had to compensate with the rest of my application. However, this was difficult to do when I lacked the confidence to emphasize my skills in my resume and essays. In my head I would downplay my accomplishments and couldn't really find what was “special” about me in reviewing my resume and professional experience.

With this in mind, I decided to sign up for mbaMission's services to help me with the process. It seemed like a good investment from reading other's reviews and knowing that there was one specific school that I was interested in. I knew that it would also help keep me on track with editing/writing my essays and help me avoid submitting my applications last minute.

I had an initial phone consult with Liza Weale and found her to be extremely friendly and encouraging; I already felt more confident about myself after speaking to her for 30 minutes. Her friendliness did not mean she was not direct with me; she told me where I needed to improve and how I needed to adjust my thinking. After filling out a basic questionnaire of my accomplishments and descriptions of my work and personal experiences, Liza helped me find a common thread/theme that would set me apart from other applicants. If it had not been for Liza I would have been blind to these positive experiences and traits.

I went through several drafts of each of my essays. As many other reviewers have said- mbaMission's consultants do not write your essay for you; you have to put in the work yourself. What they will do is help you think differently about what you are trying to say and make sure you think about what you're writing from the perspective of AdComm. Throughout the essay writing process Liza was always prompt and thorough in her advice. I often had follow up or random questions, and I never hesitated to reach out to her for advice; I never once felt that she was annoyed or impatient with me.

Once I received an interview invitation, Liza conducted a mock interview with me. She was extremely honest with her feedback and I felt well prepared before my interview.

Overall, I can say that working with Liza was the best decision I made in the MBA application process. It was one of the most worthwhile investments I have made- not only for the edge I gained with my application, but for the encouragement, support and confidence she gave me (and the confidence is really a long term benefit). I felt like she was my biggest cheerleader throughout the process; whenever I felt down or discouraged, she was there to support me and keep me positive. It was also her encouragement that made me attempt the GMAT one more time- resulting in a significantly higher score than my previous attempts (and more in line with my practice scores) and likely my acceptance into my first choice MBA program.