Reapplicant: full scholarship at Columbia (along with offers from Kellogg and UCLA)!

I was a re-applicant. I did my applications on my own last year and can honestly say that within 15 minutes of my free call with Square One, I knew things would be different this time around and wished I'd made the call to them last year. Last year I was arrogant. I'd gone to Harvard undergrad and had an interesting career thus far. Not the greatest GMAT score. But I am from a minority group and thought all that would make up for it. It didn't. And boy was I humbled. I was even more humbled when I talked with Square One. I was so impressed with how much I learned on my first call and how sincerely interested in my success the owner of the firm was. She was a straight shooter with me. It was unlike my other free calls with consulting firms where I felt like I was getting a car salesman job, like I was being told what everyone else is told. With Square One, I could tell the owner put real thought into my situation before talking to me. In fact, they were the ONLY firm who asked to see prior applications before my free call. Now I'll admit I worried that once I started work with my advisor, I would no longer feel like I was in great hands, that my advisor wouldn't measure up and impress me as much the owner did. Kathryn Lucas really is charismatic and knowledgeable. I would have been ok with a slight decrease in quality since her advisors don't own the company, and I can only speak for my personal advisor. He was just as great at Kathryn.

Simply put, Square One Prep's team was instrumental in my getting into Kellogg, UCLA, and Columbia. They helped me break down the application process into manageable steps and put together a narrative of my career path that reflected my strengths and aspirations. They pushed me when I needed it. They were upfront about potential weaknesses, always spot-on when I needed something tweaked in my essays, motivating, and always available when I needed to discuss an approach to my candidacy or just talk to get a new boost of energy. As a result of our work together, in addition to getting into three schools, I received a fellowship (full-tuition scholarship) at Columbia!"