Getting into a top MBA program has always been a dream for me and definitely could not have achieved it without Gavriella.
At first I really did not know much what to expect going into the admissions process with a consultant.
I was afraid they would not be able to completely understand me, my story, goals, strengths, weaknesses, reasons for taking certain decisions, etc.

Gavriella did an enormous effort in really getting to know me through discussion of a 20+ page document that asked all about me and later on kept discussing for hours and hours.
I genuinely felt she wanted to help me achieve my goals, not what was easier, not what would look better, but what really aligned to my goals.

In discussing my options on where to apply she was extremely instrumental in maintaining my hopes and motivation high, while at the same time being realistic with me during the entire process.

To me, what I valued and appreciated the most, was that during the entire timeline, she kept me aware of main deadlines, laid out the entire process clearly, guided me through each step and pushed me when it was more necessary.

At a moment, I felt Gavriella knew me even more than I knew myself, and identified which were my best stories and what differentiated me the most from other candidates.

When giving suggestions and ideas, and telling me what I should or shouldn’t do, she was always very respectful and made sure to hear me out beforehand.

I enjoyed tremendously working with Gavriella, I was really impressed by how much I was looking forward to each meeting with her and contributed to getting me excited about my MBA applications.

I was impressed by her work ethic, her responsibility and the impeccable attention she gave to me, answering emails at midnight, on weekends, etc.

I genuinely felt Gavriella cared about my application process in a deeper way than just as a customer, she was always very cordial and kind and really made a difference in what can become a really stressful process.

Read More

Partnering with Gavriella altered the course of my life; if you are looking for application partnership, business school preparation and intangibles that will develop you as a person, please read below.

I partnered with Gavriella on a 3 school package through mbaMission.

We applied to (and I got into):
1. Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management
2. University of Chicago - Booth School of Business
3. I choose not to apply after getting into Kellogg and Booth.

Gavriella is simply amazing. I cannot put into words the way she impacted my life, changed my life and was an invaluable aspect to this application process. Look no further for application partnership.

These applications are extremely stringent and encompass a recap of your whole life story that you then have to turn into an application that appeals and speaks to admissions teams. Admissions teams get hundreds if not thousands of applications so how do you stand out, how do you get noticed? In the two months that we worked together, Gavriella was incredibly thorough, we communicated almost daily and she taught me so much about myself in this process. Honestly estimating, there were at least 300 valuable pieces to this application that Gavriella provided.

When writing your story in these applications, an external source is very helpful. Gavriella went FAR beyond that. She read the 20 page narrative I wrote, picked out the big ideas and small details and we brought together an incredible application.
This was applied to my resume reworking, 2+ essays, recommendation essays, short answer questions, optional essays, application interviews and everywhere else in this application.

After we completed the two STRONG applications, Gavriella's assistance through the interview process was invaluable. In these interviews, you have a very short window to convey your life story, what's important to you, what you like about the specific schools, how you will make an impact, what your presence at the school will be, how you've thought about this next step (grad school), and so, so much more. Without her help, my interviews would have been completely different, completely.

She took my "weaker points" and turned them into strengths, making my application very strong and well-rounded.

What truly impressed me is through this process with Gavriella, she taught me so much about myself. Can you list your short term and long term goals in 20 seconds, with complete clarity, using the right verbiage and conveying exactly what you feel to an admissions team? I couldn't before, but that is one of hundreds of examples of Gavriella's help. She brings so much information to the table that it felt like I was already in business school. She familiarized me with the business school "language" and terminology. She prepared me for business school more than anyone has (and trust me, I have incredible resources by my side).

You're not going to be able to find these things in books, in articles or by reading about the application; you just can't. You could read a thousand pages about how to complete a business school application and it wouldn't touch the value that Gavriella brought to my process, wouldn't even get close, at all.

What you're going to get from Gavriella is not just the best possible chance for success, but you're going to get things out of working with her that will last you a lifetime. Gavriella is brilliant and knows this space better than anyone and her expertise is astounding, she knows everything and I mean everything. In addition to expertise, Gavriella brings a passion and care for your application that will change your life, as it did mine. It is very rare to find someone who has incredibly refined excellence in both expertise AND passion/EQ/emotional intelligence and awareness.

I will say it again, Gavriella changed my life. If you are looking for an application partner, please, please do not look any further. Please, please sign up with her immediately and I promise that you will have made the BEST decision.

My biggest dream for the past three years came true, I am pursuing my MBA at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management and I could not have done it without Gavriella.

Read More

Working with Gavriella was one of the best decisions I made during my MBA application process. Thanks to her exceptional guidance, I was accepted into all five of the top MBA programs I applied to. Gavriella was instrumental in helping me in articulating my story on paper.

I was especially impressed with her responsiveness and availability, which were crucial given my tight deadlines and demanding work schedule. Gavriella genuinely cares about her clients. She took the time to understand my background and showed a sincere interest in my future goals.

Her support extended beyond just the application process. When I was deciding between two schools, her advice helped me make the best decision considering my future aspirations. I really recommend working with Gavriella!

Read More

I was accepted to both Wharton and Columbia Business School, a testament to the invaluable assistance provided by Gavriella Semaya. Coming from an international background, this was my first application to a U.S. school. Gavriella was always available to answer any questions about the process with patience and clarity. Working with her was a genuinely rewarding experience. She maintained utmost professionalism throughout the process and was consistently prompt and attentive to all inquiries. Gavriella excels at expertly highlighting the unique aspects of personal stories and possesses a deep understanding of what universities are looking for in candidates. She effectively bolsters confidence in one's background and abilities. Based on my personal experience, I highly recommend working with her for any MBA application.

Read More

I'm an Asian male applicant with average to below-average GMAT score for HSW (was worried about this). I am also extremely picky (spoke to ~10 consultants before going with Gavriella based on strong recommendation from friend at HBS who had worked with her). My personality is also the highly proactive and detail-oriented type, so it was important that I worked with someone who is highly communicative/responsive as well and wouldn't make me feel like I'm being too demanding when I'm asking questions that I feel are necessary for me to know to feel confident in our process.

Gavriella was the perfect consultant for me. Three things I'd like to highlight. (1) She was very practical and always gave it to me straight. I'm the type to want the honest truth. I'd want to know my chances at a certain school so I don't waste resources. I'd also want to know how bad or good my essay draft is so I can revamp efficiently. (2) She is an impressive writer and storyteller. My HBS friend mentioned this as the main reason she had liked Gavriella and I can confirm this. (3) She is highly communicative. This was important to me as mentioned above. She'd also always make time for me for Zoom calls on the day of. She certainly made me feel like I was one of 1-3 clients when she probably did have more because she's so highly demanded. I do know she makes sure to take less than she can take on so she can dedicate herself fully to her clients. (4) I know I said 3 things but one more...she passed the vibe check...! You spend so much time with your consultant especially if you do an all-in package so I think it's so important you work with someone pleasant and with whom you'd, for example, grab dinner with. 4 months after my Wharton acceptance, I still think about how fun it'd be to treat Gavriella and her beautiful kids for a dinner (or Toys r Us) with the merit-based scholarship money she helped me earn. Unfortunately we do not live in the same city :)

I told her BEFORE the results came out that the ROI on my investment had already checked out, largely because her process helped me better understand what I want to do professionally and find confidence.

I strongly recommend Gavriella. If you're on the fence and would like to speak with me directly about my experience, please feel free to reach out to Gavriella and we can discuss setting something up.

Read More

I'm so glad I made the decision to work with Gavriella for my MBA applications! She was so incredibly helpful with making sure I stayed on track with drafting and completing my applications. She always sent me information in advance to make sure I felt prepared for the next step of the application / interview process. I felt very prepared by the time I was interviewing, and it really was all thanks to her. Even after getting accepted to all of the programs I applied to, she was very willing to talk through my options with me - after chatting with her, I was confident that I had made the right decision for myself! Would highly recommend working with Gavriella!!

Read More

It was a great decision to work with Gavriella! I was accepted at both HBS and Wharton. She was a tremendous help in putting together my application, and particularly in effectively using the essays to tell my story. I reached out to her under a time crunch, and Gavriella was able to quickly identify the unifying thread in my past experiences and help me highlight the accomplishments I was most proud of. She is timely and attentive. Not only is she great at what she does, she is also kind, encouraging, and supportive. Her support extended beyond my admissions - I was torn between the two schools and she gave me helpful advice in making the decision that was best for me. I would highly recommend working with Gavriella - you will absolutely not regret it!

Read More

Working with Gavriella was incredible and I recommend her a consultant for a couple of reasons:

1. Professional and timely responses - Gavriella was extremely professional and responded to my emails, gave me resume feedback and edited my essays all in a timely manner so that I could follow the timeline we sett and make sure I was happy with my application well before the deadlines.

2. Relevant feedback - Gavriella gave me relevant feedback based off of my post-MBA goals and what schools I wanted to go to. She didn't try to fit me in a box but worked with my story and helped me shape the right version of me that I wanted to present to the admissions committees.

3. Comfortable & Friendly - Some consultants are really hard to approach and can be really intimidating. Some of them I even felt discouraged from applying or I felt that I wasn't good enough! But Gavriella never made me feel that way. She was supportive and a friendly face through out the whole process. It felt good that I could rely on her to answer any of my questions.

Not only did I get into my dream school of Columbia, I also got a scholarship!

Read More

Working with Gavriella was the single best decision I have ever made! She helped me out every step of the way during my application process. I signed up for the 3-school package - GSB, HBS, and Wharton. With Gavriella's help, I got interview invites from both HBS and Wharton, and I ended up accepting the offer from HBS.

Gavriella was extremely supportive and helpful throughout the process. She helped me stay focused and responded quickly during the overwhelming application process. She's great at paying attention to details and shaping your story. Plus, she genuinely cares about your success.

Not only is Gavriella amazing at what she does, but she's also really nice to work with. She listens to you and values your ideas, making sure they come through in your application. She's a great communicator and really understands where you're coming from.

On top of helping me with these 3 applications, Gavriella also gave me some great advice for my Sloan MIT application, which I was working on by myself. Thanks to her help, I got an interview invite for Sloan MIT too!

Overall, Gavriella was amazing to work with, and I'd definitely recommend her to anyone looking for help with their applications.

Read More

The MBA process can be very intimidating and overwhelming, but Gavriella made me feel at ease and ultimately helped me secure admission into my top choice, Columbia Business School!

She provided very quick feedback on any and all questions that I had and even supported me through higher-level conversations about my future career, I have always been a bit skeptical about MBA consultants from other reviews by friends, but Gavriella truly went ABOVE AND BEYOND to help me! She genuinely cares about her students and truly wants to see them succeed. I highly recommend you work with her, she's the best!!!! 10/10

Read More