Non-traditional Applicant Success Story

I am technically a nontraditional applicant; I’ve been a nurse for 8+ years. I knew my competition for business school would be steep, but I knew that to give me the best odds hiring a consultancy was the best way to go.

In choosing which consultancy I took many free consultations. Each one ranged from 15-30 minutes, except one. That was with Kathryn at SquareOne Prep (SOP). During my initial call she listened with intent, she was transparent, but most of all, after hearing my story she told me she believed I could make the leap to business school. No other consultancy gave me this feeling and belief. Afterwards, she offered to take another call with me if I had anymore questions, but that initial call combined with SOP’s team-based approach wrapped up my decision.

Being nontraditional and not truly understanding all the avenues b-school would open up, SOP’s career narrative was integral to my entire application process. Luis was my career narrative advisor. He guided me through an intuitive and research heavy process that took time, but ultimately paid off. It gave me directions I ideally want my career to go. The goals he helped me establish were high but believable and also true to who I was. This process was as much about figuring out my goals as it was learning more about myself and what I want to accomplish in life.

Finding the right advisor to work with is an important part of choosing a consultancy. With SOP I was able to interview many advisors, all of whom had multiple years of experience working with prospective students. All of them were established in their careers and former b-school grads with high accomplishments pre and post b-school. The diversity of their trades and functions allowed me to find an advisor in an industry I am interested in, which aided my essay and resume development. I ended up choosing Collin, whose career is in an industry I want to end up in. His knowledge and experience in this industry helped during the career narrative piece, school selection, and also brainstorming sessions where we discussed my career in healthcare which he is very familiar with. He was transparent and efficient, and pushed me with each essay. I truly enjoyed working with Collin and highly recommend choosing him as your advisor.

What I think is most important when looking for a consultancy is looking for a team that pushes you to your limits and helps you reach your max. The team at SOP does just that and what they are incredible at doing is extracting the best of your abilities, stories, and insights and putting that into a cohesive story that turns out to be your application. You as a prospective student have the history and have done the work in the past, but SOP will help you realize the significance, the importance, and the potential of your past and make it work for your future.

Choosing a consultancy is an investment in yourself and your future. Choose a team that is as invested in your future as you are. For me SOP was that team and with their knowledge, resources, and skills I received an admit to a top 15 school! The work I did with them in 2021 has put me on a path that will forever change my life.