Recommendation for Katy Lewis

Katy was a godsend in my application process—I’ve said as much many times, to myself and others, over the course of the past year. I have no doubt that my final results would have been starkly different without Katy’s start-to-finish guidance and involvement.

Before starting my applications, I had a prosaic view of the path they would take: write essays, take GMATs, hope for interviews and acceptance letters. Within the first half hour of speaking with Katy, I realized that my applications would be, needed to be, more personal. We started with a “deep dive” into my psyche. Katy wanted to know everything about my professional aspirations, and get to know me as a person, so that we could construct my “story”.

My “story” came a long way from our first phone call. Katy identified unique strengths in my profile, which business schools would love to add to their incoming class—strengths I might have otherwise glanced over. She also illuminated how to buff up weaker portions of my background. By the time we had finished with dozens of essay drafts, my final submission was entirely different—and so much stronger—than anything I could have come up with on my own.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of having Katy as an advisor—aside from being accepted into several top-choice schools—was that she encouraged me to think beyond the application, and towards my future aspirations. Even though she had clearly worked with many, many individuals before me, her guidance was never generic. Unquestionably, she helped me to solidify my long-term professional goals, by pushing me to hone my natural skillsets, and consider how I intend to apply those strengths—as I enter business school, and beyond.

It was a welcome pleasure to have Katy advise me in this process, and I recommend her service to anyone considering, or in the midst of, the MBA application process.