I first heard of Katy when a friend who had worked with her mentioned how generous she was with her time during the initial consultation, going beyond what he had expected from a free consultation. I had the opportunity to see her work in action as we teamed up for an application to my dream school. From basic questions that I'd email off to her at a moment's notice, to long and thorough interview prep sessions, Katy wowed me. She always went above and beyond, never failing to provide timely and discerning feedback and even going so far as to connect me with some of those in her personal network to help me attend a particular class on campus. Her Stanford/Yale/Harvard/McKinsey credentials don't even do her justice. She's a true expert in every sense of the word.

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Katy was an incredible partner in this process. From the brainstorm document, which was a vital tool in crafting my story, to the essays, Katy was an incredible partner in this process and made it significantly easier to pursue. She was great at providing insight into the process and what to expect, and she was a valuable resource for interview prep and waitlist management. One of the key aspects of this was better understanding where my strengths were and how I could manage any weak points of my application. She was an incredible partner to have, and I am immensely grateful for her help. Signing up was one of the best decisions that I made

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My plan to apply to a top Biz school started in 2016. It wasn't until last year that I decided to really figure out what it was going to take to get there. A friend recommended I speak to Katy. In our first 30-min conversation I instantly felt Katy's enthusiasm to help others achieve their MBA goals and also her objective and honest feedback to make sure you understood what that would take. I spoke to many other consultants and none gave me confidence like Katy. For the next four months (albeit a short time frame for apps) we worked diligently on polishing my application. Katy took interest in my personal story, guided me when I felt nervous and motivated to approach applying to business school with determination and optimism. I will be attending my dream school now, and this achievement is in part due to the amazing work and dedication of Katy. Gracias!

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In brief:

Last year, I applied to business school without the help of a consultant and didn’t get in anywhere. This year, with the help of Katharine Lewis from mbaMission, I got into Berkeley Haas with a $80K scholarship, I got into Kellogg’s MMM program, I got waitlisted at Stanford GSB and I accepted my offer of admission at LBS with a £50K scholarship. Below, I will describe why our relationship was so effective, and why I think you should definitely retain her start-to-finish services.

More details about her exceptional service:

Katharine was incredibly supportive throughout the entire process, always going the extra mile because she truly cares about the people she helps. She has well-structured material and she is extremely talented at guiding you, helping you to self-reflect, think about your strengths, and what to showcase in an MBA application. She helped me on selecting between stories to make my story engaging, emotional, but also well-rounded. She then reviewed thoroughly every document I sent her (essays, short answers, and even emails I wanted to send to some alumni to network!). Not only did her help get me into all these schools, but she also taught me a lot of re-applicable skills along the way.

Applying to an MBA is stressful, and having Katharine around gave me confidence in my skills, myself, but also in pushing through hardships. On top of giving me advice, guidance, and reviewing diligently all my material, she also was there to support me emotionally and encourage me. She does not count her hours!

She also was flexible on timelines, always making me feel she prioritized me, answering emails so fast and answering any question I had. Katharine was also very patient and always happy to start-over if I was not 100% happy with an essay. She also is extremely honest and will tell you if she feels an essay needs improvement. This makes her one of the most trustworthy advisors/mentors I’ve ever encountered.

Once I was invited to interview, she helped me prepare for those and made me feel very confident going into interviews. Finally, once I was accepted into many schools, she helped me make my choice and made sure I was entirely certain of my decision. That is true start-to-finish service!

I truly recommend the mbaMission’s complete start-to-finish package with Katharine, as it includes unlimited reviews (believe me this is really important), real knowledge and experience in admission committees (Katharine was on Stanford GSB adm committee and she also knows a ton about Kellogg, HBS, and other schools) to help you "stand out". Katharine goes above and beyond, and the package is worth the price considering how many hours she spent helping me!

More details about me:

For context, I am a French woman who studied business undergrad in Canada and did not speak English before moving to the USA 3 years ago. I worked as a Deloitte consultant in Montreal, and then at Wayfair (e-commerce company) as a category manager for 2 years in the USA. I also created a non-profit aimed at helping entrepreneurs network in the USA. GMAT: 720 (better verbal, lower quant). I have done several things to help me get into a tier 1 MBA, but there are so many people applying with strong profiles! It is Katharine who truly helped me get into those top tier MBAs. Post-MBA, I want to pivot to

a new industry, but also change my career from working in big companies to early-stage startups and even launching my own startup one day.

My story was not easy to layout in an MBA application as I changed jobs every 2 years, only had ~4 years of experience, and wanted a different job and industry post-MBA, but Katharine helped me see the storyline and made my application so much better! I applied to 6 schools (all in round 2): Stanford GSB, London Business School, Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, Kellogg MMM Program, and Berkeley Haas. I got 4 interviews: Stanford GSB, London Business School, Kellogg MMM Program, and Berkeley Haas. I finally got the results I mentioned before.

I hope this helps highlight how much Katharine helped me. Believe me, she is the edge to securing several offers from the best B-school worldwide! Don't forget that this investment can lead you to your dream MBA, so 200% worth it!

Cap
London Business School, Kellogg MMM, Berkeley Haas admit, $140K in total merit scholarship awarded and waitlisted at Stanford GSB

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I could not be happier that I worked with Katy and mbaMission. Katy was an amazing partner: she was knowledgeable, motivating, insightful, kind, and everything ran like clockwork. Honestly, she made the process fun.

I am a strong writer, and was initially skeptical of using an admissions consultant. I did a few calls to sense it out, and when I spoke to Katy I immediately knew I wanted to work with her because she (magically) intuitively understood my career experience, interests, and how I was thinking about business school. She had such a deep understanding of the schools I was interested in, I knew she could guide me as I crafted applications.

Katy's help was more profound than essay writing: she helped me see themes in my life and career that I hadn't been able to articulate but are absolutely true. I felt totally authentic through the entire essay-writing process, but I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to write the essays that got me admitted to my top choice schools without her.

Katy was always there when I needed help or advice in the application process, and she reminded me of important timelines while also giving me time and space when I was busy with work. It was as stress-free as possible.

After I got interview invitations Katy was extremely helpful at preparing me -- she went above and beyond, and gave me extra help when I was nervous about one interview. I did interview practice with other people, but working with a professional (and more neutral party than a friend!) was very useful.

Beyond all the tactical admissions help, Katy helped me understand the schools themselves. She knows these places thoroughly, and gave me useful insight into which would be the right fit for me.

Katy is wonderful, and I hope you're lucky enough to work with her!

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My only advice on MBA applications: work with Katharine!

Before signing up with Katharine, I did trials with a couple of other firms and consultants. Katharine stood out immediately. During the 30-min call, she not only understood my strengths and weakness right away, but also gave me genuine advice on what I should be working on. I’ve had consultants told me that there was no way I could get into a top 10 program. But guess what, Katharine helped me get into 3 of the top 10, including my dream school! The conversation and experience with her are just totally different from what I had with other consultants and I could tell immediately that she was the consultant I wanted to work with.

After signing up, I was even more sure that I made the right decision. She believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. From her years after years of experience, she could accurately sum up my strengths and build a stellar narrative of my story that’s both accurate and honest. She saw the strengths in me that I failed to see. And she advised on how to improve the weak areas of my application that eventually became strengths in my candidacy. Instead of being just an MBA consultant, she’s also more like my life mentor. After each and every phone call, I felt like I gained a deeper understanding of myself and just went through a therapy session. To me, that’s the most important part of an MBA application: to reveal my true self and let all my strengths shine through. Her advice is gold and her ability to assess my applications in a holistic view really helped me.

Having Katharine by my side through this MBA journey has been the best decision I’ve made.

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Katharine (Katy) Lewis from mbaMission was integral to my MBA application success. Her advice and guidance helped me to secure offers from three top business schools.

I was recommended to Katy by a friend; however, I didn’t want to commit to the financial outlay until I was sure of the value. Therefore, I arranged a free initial consultation with Katy. Immediately I could see that her vast experience would be incredibly valuable to my application.

Katy goes the extra mile to truly understand who you are as an individual and what is driving your desire to attend business school. She helps to craft an engaging and personable story, ensuring that every aspect of your application is meticulously reviewed and enhanced. Importantly, during our very first session we pin-pointed areas to improve. This allowed me to take action that significantly strengthened my application.

I secured three interviews and the mock interview with Katy was, by far, the most useful preparation. It was instrumental to ensuring that I entered each interview feeling confident, relaxed and prepared.

If you want to get into a top business school, there are three main reasons why I’d highly recommend mbaMission’s complete start-to-finish package with Katy:

1) Unlimited reviews… take Katy up on this and iterate every aspect of your application as many times as you feasibly can… and then some more (other applicants will).
2) Actual adcom experience… Katy was on the admissions team at Stanford GSB!! This is unbelievable insight into how applications are reviewed and how you can “stand out from the crowd”.
3) Improve yourself… Katy’s advice helped me to improve myself and this provided an extra edge to my application.

The above is underpinned by Katy’s incredible personality. She is an awesome person who genuinely cares about your success. I cannot thank her enough for her support during my MBA application journey.

Best of luck with your application.

David,

Berkeley Haas, NYU Stern & Chicago Booth Admit

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Katy was fantastic to work with! I was referred to her by family. I personally had a complicated personal narrative, a non-linear career, etc., and she really helped me tell that story in a very clear and compelling way via the process she set up, from brainstorming to drafting to comments to finished essays and then several mock interviews. Katy was extremely accessible and I’m a pretty demanding client - she did numerous calls with me and really wanted to get to know me, deeply understand me, what makes me tick, how to convey my passions throughout my whole application process, and was very responsive to questions/drafts over email. This is extremely important in order to build a stronger profile. She also had a deep understanding of what each school looks for and the nuances/differences between them, what is overused by applicants when explaining why that particular school and what are the hidden professors/gems about each program, which goes far beyond what you'd be able to find on a website (and maybe even if you talk to current students?) and makes you stand out as having "done your homework" (and saves you a lot of time and hassle). At the end of the day, these schools get tons of qualified candidates, and it is incredibly important for these schools to know that you are choosing them based on what they have to offer and how that fits with your personal narrative as much as they eventually choose you. It obviously worked out great as I got into 2 of the 3 top schools (H/S/W), which is way beyond my ceiling with my stats that most would consider mediocre in terms of the averages these programs tend to admit. I'd highly recommend anyone to work with her...she knows her stuff and you will undoubtedly improve your odds and strengthen your profile!

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When I received an invitation to interview at my dream school (HBS), I was in shock. On the one hand, I was proud for surviving the toughest filter in the application process. On the other hand, I felt very anxious figuring out how to nail this interview (especially since I had already failed the interview at other three top-tier business schools).

Today, I am happy to report that I was admitted into Harvard Business School. I owe this accomplishment in great part to Katy Lewis, who became my mentor throughout the interview process, and prepared me to crush it. More specifically, Katy helped me in three ways:

1. We did 2 mock interviews before my real interview at HBS. As a Latin American candidate, who speaks English as a second language, these mock interviews helped me to relax and get comfortable telling my story in English.
2. Katy knows very well how HBS admission officers conduct their interviews, and what kind of questions they like to ask. Therefore, practicing with her helped to reflect on the answer to several questions that were actually asked in the real interview.
3. Finally, Katy provided me with very detailed feedback at the end of each mock interview, pinpointing the answers in which I had an opportunity for improvement. I really appreciate how honest and direct she was. In some cases, she helped me to strengthen my wording in order to communicate my story in a more crisp and clear manner. In other cases, we restructured my entire answer because the message I was conveying was not helping me to build up my case.

Overall, I am thankful for finding Katy and being able to work with her. Before our sessions, I was tired of reading over and over again about the importance of “being myself” and “enjoying” the interview process without actually understanding what these clichés meant. I regret not having Katy’s guidance throughout my first three interviews with other schools. I am glad that I met her just in time to get into my dream school.

I highly recommend her!

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As someone without a unique background, when I first started planning for my business school applications, I knew that I wanted to use the absolute best admissions consultant in the industry. I conducted extensive research, vetting senior consultants at many of the well-known admissions consulting firms, and then I found Katy. What drew me to Katy was her personal expertise with my top choice schools (Stanford, Harvard), an approach focused on deep personal reflection and thematic synthesis, and her track record of success. After our first phone call, I was sure that I had the very best thought partner available in the industry at my side.

Katy and I began working together by brainstorming a detailed framework that examined a wide range of my life experiences. From there, Katy was instrumental in helping me make connections across disparate parts of my experiences, allowing me to tease out compelling nuances that highlighted my unique decision making processes and internal motivations. As the outline of my essays took shape, Katy worked closely with me to think through trade-offs around what messages to focus on, how to succinctly and powerfully express these messages within constrained word counts, and ensure that every aspect of the application summed to whole that was more than the sum of its parts. And what was especially helpful about Katy is that she applied a rigorous intensity of feedback to not just my essays, but to all parts of my application, including my resume, preparation for my recommenders, and my interview preparation. By the end of all of our iteration and preparation together, I had confidence that I was expressing my best possible self to the admissions committees.

With Katy’s counsel, I applied to both Stanford and Harvard, and was accepted to both schools in round 1.

Looking back on these 12 months, I can say with confidence that working with Katy was one of the best professional decisions that I have ever made. I believe that Katy’s storytelling acumen, tactical experience borne from her decades of advising, and her willingness to go the extra mile for her clients quite simply make Katy the leading admissions consultant in the industry – period.

If you are seeking to be accepted into a top business school, I cannot recommend Katy enough.

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