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Jessica Shklar Reviews

Company: mbaMission

After graduating from Harvard College with a degree in anthropology, Jessica Shklar worked in nonprofit education, first doing curriculum development for an adult education center and then in the admissions office of a small university in Los Angeles, where she advised applicants to both the undergraduate college and several graduate programs, including business school. While there, she developed and delivered workshops around the country on Selecting the Right College and How to Write an Effective Application Essay. Having been accepted to every business school to which she applied, including Stanford, Kellogg and Yale, Jessica ultimately chose to attend HBS, where she completed her MBA with distinction (graduating in the top 10%). After starting work, she volunteered in the New York City public school system, helping high school seniors with their college applications. She has worked at several Fortune 100 companies, including American Express and JPMorgan Chase, where she was the quality leader and a senior vice president for Chase Home Finance. Jessica is also a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, with specific expertise in Six Sigma deployment and initialization.

Source: http://www.mbamission.com/about/?display=team&name=jessica-shklar

5.0 /5 Average Rating
Based on 200 reviews
March 30, 2022
Red723

Joined: Mar 23, 2022

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
720 Q46 V42

Jessica Shklar: the best.

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After reading reviews online and hearing from peers, I decided to use Jessica for a multi-school package and was blown away with the overall process and results.

Beyond her strategic thinking, industry expertise, and phenomenal writing skills, I was most impressed by Jessica's working style and work ethic. I come from a client services industry and was quite taken back by how incredibly efficient and productive Jessica was (e.g., responding to emails, turning around revisions, hoping on the phone to provide feedback, etc.).

The other thing that I really appreciated about Jessica was her candor. She is very direct with the feedback and recommendations she provides. There were sometimes when she outright told me she disagreed with my ideas--that may sound harsh, but that was exactly the type of partnership I was hoping for. I wanted her to push and challenge me. She did not disappoint.

Jessica was an outstanding thought-partner on MBA applications. I candidly don't think I would've had my success without her. My only regret is not signing up for her sooner--she fills up quick!

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March 26, 2022
dnakarting

Joined: Dec 24, 2015

Posts: 1

Kudos: 4

Getting Admited into MIT - Jessica Shklar

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I got in touch with jessica and she was one of the best mba consultants I spoke to (and I spoke to plenty). The thing that was so impressive about working with her is that in the first call you'll have with her, instead of selling you how great their services are, or how many students they helped get into ivy league, she focused the conversation entirely about you. Who are you, what can I help you, why do you want to do this and repeat back what you are saying and suddenly you gain a deeper level of clarity. jessica is one of those people that will get straight to the point and bring you from where you are to where you need to be. Clarity is power and jessica certainly brings that to the table.

I was impressed with her approach even from the first call. I worked with jessica on my application and she was quick to give me the right direction to pursue and prevent me from going down irrelevant rabbit holes. 5 star rating and i wish i could have given more.

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February 28, 2022
delaneyk

Joined: Feb 28, 2022

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Jessica is a Brainstorming and Strategy Expert!

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Coming from the K-12 education world, I was nervous to apply to business school because of my nontraditional and nonquantitative background. After speaking to several companies and consultants, I decided to work with Jessica because of her well-established track record and sharp expertise that came across in just one 30 minute call. Since I was 18 months away from my R1 deadlines, she first gave me specific, long-term advice to enhance my candidacy.

Once in the admissions cycle, I worked with Jessica to apply to 4 reach schools in the comprehensive package. She spent time learning my history to help me craft my experiences into a cohesive story for each application. Jessica was extremely responsive to all of my questions and gave pointed strategic advice for each school.

Jessica’s strategic guidance and brainstorming assistance allowed me to feel 100% confident that I was submitting the best applications I could. Having Jessica by my side reduced an incredible amount of stress from the application process. With her support, I’ll be attending MIT Sloan with a generous merit scholarship!

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February 09, 2022
NatanelG

Joined: Feb 09, 2022

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Jessica has all the answers

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Diving into the MBA Application Process can be daunting. There are so many different parts of the application (GMAT / GRE, recommendations letter, essays...) that it is easy to get lost in the middle of it.
However, having Jessica there to guide me made everything much more manageable and made my efforts much more effective. I had a million questions all the time, and Jessica always had an answer ready for each one of them.
Jessica is extremely knowledgeable and inspires confidence. I am very happy to have worked with her and learned from her, and strongly urge anyone thinking about applying to an MBA to do the same.

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January 07, 2022
amm1

Joined: Aug 11, 2020

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
760 Q49 V45

Do yourself a favor, work with Jessica :)

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Working with Jessica was a pleasure and got me into my dream MBA program. If you need someone to help you with HBS or Stanford, look no further. Jessica is kind and witty, speaking with her is always a pleasure. She really helped me piece together a convincing narrative in the extremely short time we had to prepare. Her biggest value was helping me dissect and stitch back together my previous experiences into a simple yet powerful story. She was also great at helping me refine my essays, very responsive and had super quick turnaround times. She also made my application experience much smoother and less stressful. I recommend her 100%.

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January 04, 2022
ankita080393

Joined: Jan 04, 2022

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

A Wharton and Columbia invite because Jessica didn't give up!

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It is a lie if anyone says they have achieved what they have, alone. For my admits to Columbia and now Wharton (with the Joseph Wharton Fellowship) the credit goes to Jessica.

We started this journey a year back. I had no prior experience of writing applications but was hyper excited about the process. I had done dozen of calls with companies, counsellors (India and International) but couldn't decide on which one to go forward with. But when I talked to her it felt like I was talking to myself. She was attentive, effective and very professional about her work.

When you are a little successful in life you start dreaming about Ivy Leagues but reality is quite different. I was over confident and as much as I believed I will get through I required someone who would keep me grounded and focussed on the process. Her guidelines, deadlines, notes and homework was absolutely spot on. It kept me on my toes and made sure I met deadlines.

But what was spectacular was when I started getting rejects. I couldn't find anyone as personally invested in my failure as she was. She wouldn't leave any stone unturned to keep sending updates, share her learnings and in no way let me give up or belittle myself.

From Essay writing where she knows how to strategically put content, not miss on any part of the profile yet not make it look like mess to the recommendations which she diligently reviewed and was blatant to point out if they turned unprofessional. Her clarity of thought was what ran the show and I proudly say, I couldn't have done it alone.

I was fortunate to have found the best counsellor but now also a dear friend whom I cannot wait to meet in person.

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December 14, 2021
Donner123

Joined: Feb 23, 2020

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Jessica is INCREDIBLE

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Working with Jessica was my highlight of not only this whole process, but my year. Jessica takes an incredibly stressful, arduous, and long process, and simplifies it into something that is so manageable and easy to follow. Going into working with a consultant, I had no idea what to expect, but Jessica makes you feel so comfortable and right at home from the moment you she picks up your first phone call for the 30 minute free consultation. Just after those 30 minutes, I knew that she was the right person to work with. We connected so easily, and she really expresses her excitement and enthusiasm from the moment you meet her. She is a gold mine of knowledge of every school, and really understands the intricacies of each application and what to highlight to make you shine. I can say without a doubt that I would not have made it to this point without her.

Jessica listens to your story, understands the smallest details, and knows how to ask the right questions to really dive deep and get to the core of what's important. She also never tries to change your story, she only works towards getting every detail out so it sounds as strong as possible. As someone applying on the younger side, I was a bit worried but Jessica was so motivating and encouraging along the way that I really never felt that it was a weakness in my profile. She had encouraging but honest answers to every question I asked, and even was there for me to get me back on track when I was lagging behind in the early stages of essay writing.

Jessica is truly your champion, and supports you like no other. She holds your story and profile so close to her heart and you can see the time, effort, and care she puts into making it become the best it can possibly be. She is tough at times, and is very direct and candid with her feedback -- but this is what I was looking for in a consultant and what I believe made my work the best it could be.

If you want someone who is truly on your team, who supports you through all the highs and lows of the process, and really cares about you, Jessica is all of this, and more. There is no end to what I could say about how great of a consultant, and even more than that, person, she is.

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October 18, 2021
Will2020

Joined: Jan 24, 2017

Posts: 141

Kudos: 46

The Queen of Strategy for MBA Applications

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Dear Future Admitted Students,

First and foremost, as a reapplicant in the MBA process and an extremely curious person, I have read a lot of information about all aspects covering the application process from the most reliable sources, such as GMAT Club, Poets & Quants, mbaMission, and others. It’s valid to mention that I have joined, easily, more than 40 online events from a lot of schools and third-party webinars, including Centre Court. Second, I have worked with 3 different admissions consultants in the 2020-21 applications cycle, in which I applied for 7 schools, to only get waitlisted (Haas).

That being said, as I have an atypical profile, I engaged pretty seriously in finding the BEST person to help me, so I decided to give a shot to mbaMission. After reading the profiles and watching ALL video presentations at the site, I finally picked JESSICA SHKLAR to be my consultant. In the very first minutes of the call, being really empathetic with my goals, she laser-focused on rearing my story and on which aspects of my previous applications to improve. It was pretty impressive to see her in action, since in 30 min, she had already laid a plan and rationale to best present me to the adcom. Indeed, this is a CRITICAL part of the process, because the candidate will have to address this logic not only in the essays, but also, in some interview questions. For instance, “walk me through your resume”, “tell me about yourself”, “how did you get to this point of your career”, and others.

Another point that is truly vital, if not the MOST one, is the school’s selection. Certainly, this is a scary part of the process, because the candidate wants to pick her/ his dream school, but be realistic in getting accepted. Jessica, continuing exceptionally proactive and encouraging, sent me an email in less than 20 min after our call, laying out the best schools for me. To my surprise, she hand-picked schools and programs that are in the top 10 schools of US News. She remarkably maximized my chances by doing so.

In a nutshell, in my point of view, MBA applications are all about strategy and Jessica has extraordinary interpersonal and “MBA skills” to address all the candidate’s needs to land a spot in one’s dream school. She constantly impressed me with her ability to provide feedback in a direct, candid, and fast manner. Also, she responded to general questions exceedingly reliably and timely. Noticeably, I was pleasantly surprised with how effectively she dug into my personal and professional background to help me present my goals and storyline. Additionally, she was able to set an application strategy efficiently and successfully, landing me a spot in my dream school. By the way, I’m still waiting for the decision of 2 more schools, both top 10.

Ultimately, I highly recommend Jessica and mbaMission to anyone both looking to apply to a competitive MBA program and searching to have a joyful application experience. Trust me, it makes all the difference. I, definitely, would not have made it without her guidance, insights, and genuine support. As Isaac Newton said: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

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June 19, 2021
brwolf

Joined: Jun 19, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Professional, knowledgeable - highly recommend

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I needed guidance to narrow down my options and identify the best programs for my profile, before I could consider whether or not to purchase admissions consulting services to apply to those programs. Essentially, to understand if the programs I was aiming for were a stretch for my profile (important to invest in support), or if I could reasonably aim for admission with a strong, solid application (i.e. I was a desirable candidate). Jessica was simply excellent. She was direct, informative, astute and patient with my evaluation process. We had 3-4 email exchanges where we bounced around ideas and weighed pro and cons of various programs. I genuinely expected to engage the services of mbaMission by the 2nd email exchange, as I was so impressed with Jessica, versus the 2 other brief phone consults I'd had with other services. But in the end, after I dove back into my program selection with a bit more guiding light, I decided to forge into the application process solo - without paid consult - and was admitted to UCLA FEMBA and HAAS EWMBA. Haas later offered me a place in EMBA, with a scholarship to support switch, and I took the opportunity.

I wrote Jessica to thank her after, because our exchange stayed with me. She was excellent. If I'd had any hesitation about the strength of my application or competitive candidacy, I would absolutely have engaged her services to boost my chances of admission.

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April 14, 2021
PMBA2023

Joined: Apr 14, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
760 Q50 V42

Experience of interview preparation with Jessica

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I partnered with Jessica during my reapplication process to prepare for the HBS interview and post-interview reflection. Her contributions were critical in me getting admitted to HBS.

I first spoke with Jessica when I was putting together my essay for HBS reapplication. While I came to the 30-minute free consultation with multiple, half-baked ideas, Jessica quickly grasped the essence of the story I wanted to convey and shared a couple of powerful narratives to shape my story better. She cut through the noise and helped me find the central theme for my essay. As a reapplicant, I had a bunch of questions that she answered extremely patiently and more importantly, candidly.

I reached out to Jessica again once I got invited to interview with HBS for interview preparation. During the mock interview, Jessica's diligence and preparation were visible as her questions covered the depth and breadth of my application. She has a great pulse of the admission committees’ though process and some of the mock interview questions came up in my final interview! Her feedback was well-rounded, focusing on the content of my answers as well as the softer aspects of communication. Thanks to her I felt confident walking into the interview.

However, the thing that stood out the most for me was Jessica's "at-cause professionalism". In a process that can be stressful due to tight timelines, she ensured timely discussions and delivery of deliverables. Even the one instance where she was unavailable, she let me know months in advance and ensured that I was tagged to another consultant for support. Jessica always went out of her way to share material/suggestions, irrespective of whether I was working with her or not.

While we worked together for only a few months, I wish I had come to her in my first year of applications. She is a wonderful thought partner to have by your side as you navigate through B-school applications.

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