Worth all that money I paid, and then some

Originally I was pretty set on not paying for an admissions consultant. I had done a lot of research on schools, had a good career goals story and am a strong writer. But a couple of top B-school graduates I respect told me I wouldn't regret hiring one.

So I did a few free 30 minute consultations, and when I spoke with Melissa (Blakeslee) at mbaMission, I was immediately impressed. Besides her credentials (graduated from Kellogg, director of admissions at Rice), she quickly grasped what I was looking for in an MBA program and in a consultant, and we built rapport quickly. I really enjoyed telling her my story, both professional and personal, and getting her guidance on what would make the most compelling material in essays. After discussion with Melissa, I changed two of my essay topics, and I'm so glad I did because the examples I ended up using were more concrete and interesting. Her essay edits were incisive and kicked me in butt a couple of times, but hey, that's what I was paying her the big $$$ for.

Additionally, Melissa was a great resource to talk to for career and MBA program advice. She has an insiders' perspective on comparing Tier 1 to Tier 2 schools, understands the regional differences for recruiting and gave me non-biased, motivating advice on where to go after my acceptance letters came in (i.e. it wasn't just "go to the best ranked school you get into, period")

In the end I was accepted to Kellogg w/o $, Darden w/$$, Rice w/$$$ and got dinged at Harvard. Do I think I could have gotten into these schools w/o Melissa? Possibly, yes. Do I think my odds went way up because my essays were way stronger? Yes. Do I think I was able to make a more confident final decision on where to go (Darden) because of Melissa's advice ? Absolutely. She was responsive, met every expectation and is a highly intelligent, authentic person who gives straight answers. 5 stars all-around.