Akiba Smith-Francis / MBA Mission

I offer my highest recommendation to Akiba. I’ll try to sum up my experience with Akiba in 3 brief points.

1. Akiba helped me tell my story with integrity, creativity, and purpose. Always a patient listener, Akiba made the effort to get to know me. This paid off -- her in-depth knowledge of me and my experiences helped her deliver valuable insights throughout the application process. Often times her insights would be pulled and patched from conversations we had months earlier.

2. Akiba didn’t sugar coat anything. I was seeking honest feedback, and that is what I received. I was happy to hear “we need to re-think this… this could be stronger… I don’t really like where you’re going here.” This ‘real’ communication ultimately made my essays stronger. (She also offered tons of positive encouragement throughout the process). She was especially talented at restructuring sentences to lose the fluff and emphasize what was important.

3. I am extremely happy I had to the opportunity to work with Akiba. There is no doubt that my applications were stronger after working with Akiba. My partnership with her earned me interviews at 2 top 10 schools and a sizeable scholarship from a top 15. I am now reviewing offers from multiple schools. If you are going to work with MBA Mission, seek Akiba out. You won’t regret it.