Thrilled I partnered with Krista Nannery – Admitted to HBS/Booth

I had a wonderful experience with Krista Nannery – who helped me navigate every step of the MBA admissions process – and get me into my #1 choice. The experience Krista brought the table was clear: she has a successful corporate background and years of MBA admissions consulting. She was a value add at every step of the process.

My undergrad was from a non-target school and I currently working in a ‘niche’ industry – so I wanted to partner with an experienced consultant who could help me put my best foot forward. I spoke with several other firms – but felt like I was solely in a sales pitch. In contrast, in my first meeting with Krista Nannery we were down to business! We did a resume review, goal discussion, and began our game plan. After our intro, I partnered with Krista on a 3-school start to finish package.

In our first few meetings, Krista spent time to really get to know me and my goals. Through our brainstorming exercise, she worked closely with me to review prior experience, undergrad background, and involvement to help form a cohesive story and find areas worth highlighting in MBA applications. Krista also gave tangible, near-term recommendations for ways to bolster my ‘outside of work’ involvement. As part of the package, Krista shared the full library of mbaMission materials (i.e., detailed school overviews, interview guides, etc.).

A less glamorous, but important part of the MBA process was the GMAT. Krista worked with me by reviewing my practice scores for each section, and ultimately recommending a switch to the GRE (the right choice for me!). She gave specific advice on a study plan / where to spend my prep time to get the scores into the ‘sweet spot’ for my target schools (hint – worth taking the real test more than once).

Coming into the process, I was most nervous about the essays. Fortunately, this was one of Krista’s strongest areas. For each school, we had a full hour discussion to talk through the prompt and form initial views on the essay / stories to highlight (each school looks for different elements and need to be tailored). Krista approached this exercise in a highly structured manner – which helped me think about what was most important and how could I convey my strongest areas (without missing any critical elements). In every draft / iteration, it was clear Krista puts significant thought into her feedback – and she consistently challenged me in areas where I could add more detail or enhance elements of my essays. There is limited ‘real estate’ in the MBA applications (essays & short answers) so every word matters – Krista truly challenged me to use the space wisely and her input was critical in forming the final product.

After receiving interview invitations, Krista was hands on in the preparation and we had mock interviews for each school. She prepped me with details from her prior applicants, predicted specific questions I might get based on my application (correctly!), and gave personalized feedback on interview style. She focused on how I could communicate my story in a concise and effective manner.

The MBA admissions process can be long and complicated (and can be stressful while working a busy job). Having Krista as a partner through the process helped keep me on track and reduce a lot of stress. At every step of the chain, Krista was highly responsive and always adding value. Krista was kind and genuinely wanted to see me succeed – and I have been thrilled to directly recommend Krista to my close friends who are applying for MBA programs this year.