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Helen Summers Reviews

Company: mbaMission

Before joining mbaMission, Helen Summers served as the director of MBA Programs at Management Leadership for Tomorrow—a national nonprofit that guides underrepresented minorities through the business school application process—where she developed curriculum and programming for nearly 1,000 fellows. Helen’s passion for business school admissions began when she was earning her MBA from Harvard Business School (HBS). In recognition of her significant involvement in admissions efforts and outreach there, Helen received the HBS Student Association Award and the Bert King Fellowship. Before attending business school, Helen was a senior financial analyst with Johnson & Johnson (J&J)—during which time she earned her CPA—and began her five years with the company as part of the Financial Leadership Development Program (FLDP). She gained valuable experience through rotations in finance and accounting, managing Motrin Franchise marketing expenses and analyzing the financial impact of new initiatives in the production process of cardiac catheters and stents. As a graduate of FLDP, Helen returned to J&J’s corporate headquarters, where she helped develop a new financial reporting system and managed the $160M budgets of the company’s CEO and CFO. She is a former Division I scholarship tennis player and has completed two Chicago marathons in recent years. Helen now enjoys exploring vegetarian and vegan cooking.

4.9 /5 Average Rating
Based on 61 reviews
March 04, 2022
chaynes

Joined: Mar 04, 2022

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
720 Q44 V44

Helen is the BEST!

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Working with Helen made my business school applications possible. Applying to four schools was a daunting process but Helen was with me every step of the way! Balancing a full time job with applications is challenging but Helen kept me on track. She is organized, responsive, and encouraging. Helen took the time to get to know me as a person which truly brought my essays to life. She helped me take my big and scattered ideas and turn them into compelling essays through direct and actionable feedback. She pushed me to make my essays the best they could possibly be, even when I thought they were "good enough".

She offered invaluable advice on every aspect of the application process from essays to short answers, resume, interview prep, and rec letters. When interview invites and acceptance letters came in, Helen was the first person I told. She was so invested in my success and shared in my joys. Helen is an amazing, positive, and kind person and I feel so privileged to have worked with her!

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February 03, 2022
victoria2376

Joined: Feb 03, 2022

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
740 Q48 V44

Helen Summers - Best Experience You Could Ever Ask For

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I hired Helen as a consultant. I have a fairly common background for business school - good undergraduate college, investment banking and private equity background. Helen did an incredible job of helping me learn to tell my story and differentiate myself among a pool of highly competitive applicants. She has great attention to detail and doesn't take on too many people at once so she can truly dedicate the time to her applicants. She is candid, direct and thoughtful in her responses. I would highly highly highly recommend her to anyone considering. My partner also worked with a consultant from MBA mission and he had an equally incredible experience. Both of our consultants made us a priority, learned about our goals and helped drive highly successful outcomes for us. I truly don't think we could have been able to manage our jobs and do this process without them.

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June 04, 2021
MckenzieHunt

Joined: Jun 04, 2021

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Helen Summers - Game Changer Admissions Consultant!

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I am headed to a top 10 business school and I owe it all to Helen!! As I prepared to apply in Round 2 of 2020, Helen helped me shape my applications to show my pillars of strength and how they aligned with the values of each program. She encouraged me to note my numerous job opportunities as a value add, rather than a deterrent and in one of the most competitive applicant years in a decade, truly guided my story in a way that set me a part. In short, if it were not for her timely responses, thoughtful guidance, and encouraging belief and dedication in helping me as a candidate, I would not be headed to my dream school this fall. I would HIGHLY recommend her and mbaMission to anyone seriously considering an Admissions Consultant.

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April 19, 2021
MBAapplicant000

Joined: Apr 19, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
730 Q49 V40

Helen is a superstar! Can’t recommend her enough

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I found Helen extremely useful for soundboarding all things MBA related - from the admissions process to brainstorming to essay construction to the interview prep! Her knowledge and expertise made me feel at ease and confident in her advice. It took me several iterations before I settled on the topic of my essays but throughout the process Helen was extremely patient and able to help extract the stories that resonated most with me. Her advice never lacked clarity or reason, and I found her warm yet to-the-point style extremely helpful in making progress. Ultimately, I was accepted into both schools I applied for!

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April 15, 2021
arm92

Joined: Apr 15, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
660 Q47 V35 (Online)

Highly recommend Helen Summers! Admitted into HBS!

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I worked with Helen Summers on my application for HBS and GSB. I was accepted into HBS and interviewed for GSB.

For me it was important to have someone who resonated with me, had experience with the schools I was applying for and could be candid in their feedback...Helen for me ticked all of these boxes!! She was very energetic, super easy to work with and gave very direct and candid feedback when I was going off on a tangent in my essays/short-answers. I also recommended Helen to my partner who has been admitted into both HBS and GSB!

Although the financial commitment to hire a consultant can be very daunting (I personally thought about it A LOT before committing), Helen helped me to ensure every part of my application was at its best, which gave me a huge peace of mind knowing that I was putting forward my best application.

Good luck!

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April 12, 2021
stang21

Joined: Apr 02, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
750 Q51 V40

VERY enjoyable and rewarding experience with Helen Summers

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Helen was very patient in guiding me through the whole process. She was super responsive to emails and I got feedback usually the same day/next day. She was also very flexible with phone calls, even if I was just perplexed or wanted a quick mock. Overall, I found Helen's style to be encouraging, frank and not pressuring at all, which worked well for me. She really helped steer me in the right general direction and was able to spot interesting elements from my drafts to make sure I've highlighted them. I got into both M7 schools I worked with Helen, and definitely couldn't have done this without her help!

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April 03, 2021
codytranbarger

Joined: Apr 03, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
710 Q47 V41

Getting Into HBS with mbaMission

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I worked with Helen Summers from mbaMission on an hourly basis for my application to HBS for the Class of 2023. I'm happy to say that I was admitted, and as happy to endorse Helen and the mbaMission team. As an HBS alum herself, Helen's perspective was instrumental in honing and framing my story throughout the entire process, from the application to the essay to the interview / reflection. Furthermore, she was professional, responsive, and incredibly supportive along the way - we've even kept in touch well after my acceptance. I simply could not recommend Helen / mbaMission more strongly for anyone considering a consulting service for MBA applications.

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April 01, 2021
Hawkenlord

Joined: Apr 01, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
670 Q46 V36 (Online)

Helen Summers - Results Speak for Themselves

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I worked with Helen for over a year and would not have been able to finish the application process without her. The brainstorming session with Helen was critical as she took the time to understand who I am as a professional and where my true passions lie. With her help, I was able to convey my "story" clearly to the admissions committees. My interview prep with Helen helped me gain the confidence needed to outperform my own expectations. I was accepted at both Harvard and Wharton. Helen is not afraid to tell it to you straight and if you're willing to listen, your application will come out very strong. I highly recommend her.

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February 25, 2021
apasternak

Joined: Feb 25, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Amazing Experience With Helen Summers - Highly Recommend

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I worked with Helen for ~3.5 months on three different b-school applications. Over this time period I also became a first-time dad, and broke my hand and had a large surgery on it. While these types of life occurrences happen to everyone and often derail plans and processes, Helen kept me on top of my applications and deadlines and enabled me to submit all three applications for R1. Helen was incredibly straightforward to work with, and did not beat around the bush when she thought my essays / short answer questions needed work and were not up to par. Helen was excellent at providing insightful advice on how to make my application better, and was super helpful for the interview processes as well. I ended up getting into 2/3 schools, including my #1 school!

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February 18, 2021
christianb115

Joined: Feb 18, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Helen was the best!

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Helen really pushed me to think outside the box in identifying my story. She was very encouraging about ideas that had legs, and was honest about those that weren't really going anywhere. She was very quick to respond to questions and provided fantastic feedback on all my essays that kept the big picture in mind. This is a process of self discovery, and Helen was a wonderful guide throughout. The application and testing process is definitely tough, but Helen's structured approach kept me ahead of deadlines and helped me feel very confident in my applications and interviews. I would absolutely recommend Helen and MBAmission to anyone applying to schools!

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13 Older and Non-Verified Reviews for Helen Summers
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