Monica is fantastic!

I decided to work with an admissions consultant mainly to (1) help me tell my overall story in the best way possible, and (2) keep me on track as I was applying to 6 schools all in Round 1. Overall, I was looking for support and a formalized structure to help me through what is by and large a pretty overwhelming process.

I purchased a two-school package and prioritized my top 2 schools of the 6 I applied to. Here are the primary ways that Monica helped me:

(1) Essay brainstorming and editing / refinement process: Going into the MBA admissions process, I knew the gist of what my story would be and had a lot of possible personal and work experiences to pull from. However, where Monica played a huge role was pushing my brainstorming process and lending her admissions expertise to determining the appropriate pairing of specific school essay prompts to the right stories. She also provided very on-point feedback -- through multiple rounds of essay edits -- to sharpen each essay so that it directly answered the prompt and very distinctly highlighted particular strengths or takeaways that would shine in an MBA admissions context (which is different from what most people think is typically "good essay" writing). She would call me out when my writing could be better, but my original voice and intent were never compromised. I believe that Monica really took my essays from good to great, and that was where her guidance helped me the most.

(2) Structure and guidance throughout the entire admissions process: Working with Monica as well as MBA Mission helped to provide a very clear structure and timeline through the entire process, from brainstorming --> essay writing --> interview prep --> post-interview strategy. In addition to the standard MBA Mission resources that you're given (which are all excellent), Monica provides her own tailored guides and supports. Interview prep was also great with Monica, since she delivered necessary feedback in a way that was warm and empathetic, yet still called out clearly what improvements could be made.

(3) Overall support and positive attitude: Throughout the entire process, Monica struck a great balance of providing guidance and insightful, firm recommendations while also maintaining positivity and serving as a supportive sounding board. It was important to me to work with someone whom I could trust and who I enjoyed working with, especially given how stressful the admissions process is. She felt more like a coach and thought partner as opposed to a consultant.

Result: I applied to 6 schools (all ranked in the top 12), interviewed at 5 and was accepted at all schools that I interviewed with, including the two that Monica helped me with. I will be starting at my dream school with a full scholarship in the fall and couldn't be more thrilled. For the other 4 schools that I did not work directly with Monica/MBA Mission on, I wrote slightly different essays but was able to translate overall concepts from Monica's essay feedback and her interview preparation to those programs as well.

Overall, I really enjoyed working with Monica. She was very thorough with her feedback, responsive to all of my emails and questions, and thoughtful about her edits and advice. I'm incredibly grateful to have worked with her through the admissions process.