Working with Liza was the best decision I made during my business school application process. For those of you who are concerned by the cost of the school packages (I certainly was), I can assure you, it is worth it. I'm a female applicant with a financial services background, with a 710 GMAT score and 3.6 GPA. I worked with Liza on 4 schools and applied to 2 on my own, I interviewed at 4, and was admitted to 2.

Through the application process, the differences across MBA programs became apparent in the variability of applications between schools. I was most concerned with how to tell my story through the different essays/videos/cover letters requested by each institution. Liza helped me navigate this challenge with ease. She is extremely well informed about the different programs (beyond what you can discover with a simple google search), and was able to help me adjust so I put my best foot forward with each application. During brainstorming sessions with Liza, we delved into professional and personal aspects of my life, and she helped me realize consistencies across stories that I likely wouldn't have recognized on my own (for instance, the similarities in relationships I've established at work, with my family, and with my mentee). Liza helped me reflect on the things that are unique to me, and ultimately piece together a genuine narrative about my goals that was far more introspective and impactful than anything I could have imagined when I first embarked on this journey.

Liza helped me stay on track as I completed the the other, time-consuming parts of the applications (short answer responses, short videos, resume), all the while maintaining a consistent story. It is worth noting how useful it was to have Liza there to review essays and other materials several times per week, especially when balancing 6 applications - despite having supportive friends and family, there is no way they could have given my applications the same attention and care as Liza did.

I found the mock interviews to be particularly helpful as well. Liza has years of experience, which is apparent in her line of questioning - her feedback was school-specific and incredibly constructive. I believe I was as prepared as I could have been for each interview.

Since admitted, Liza has continued to guide me through my decision making process - and I'm sure she and I will stay in touch going forward. I am so thankful for Liza's guidance through the application process, and would highly recommend her to anyone considering using a consultant.

Read More

I was originally working with a different consultant who left the firm after reviewing 2 versions of my essays. I was rather uncertain of the outcome at that time since my GMAT score of 720 wasn’t competitive in the Chinese applicant pool. I also come from a non-typical feeder background: engineering degree spending 6 years in market intelligence consulting firm serving the petrochemicals market. Oh, and did I mention I was pregnant during the application process while working full time?
Liza to the rescue! She not only reassured me that my case would be taken care of, she also offered to review my previous version of essays – I had the hourly service so I didn’t feel I lost any time with the transition of consultants. The one thing I appreciated the most during this process was that Liza was very honest when she gave comments and feedbacks, and she always offered her insight on how I could improve my essays. When there were times I was not able to capture the theme, she listed examples and expressions to help me comprehend the concept and execute. As a non-native English speaker, I found this extremely helpful. Liza also helped me prepare my video essay with Kellogg and Yale SOM, as well as my interview with Yale. After each session, I significantly improved the ways I laid out and phrase my answers. I found her feedback very useful (as I got admitted to all the programs I was invited for an interview).
Admission to Kellogg and Booth, plus scholarship from Yale SOM were perfect testimonies of how amazing a consultant Liza is. I don’t think I could have done so many schools in such a short period without Liza’s help. I will highly recommend her to anyone seeking professional help in their MBA application!

Read More

Background: female, French, main experience in food manufacturing

After talking with several admission consultants from different firms, I chose Liza mainly because she seemed to have a great energy and to give honest feedback. I also trusted mbaMission as a firm after reading their useful free guides. The only part I wasn’t very confident about was that my dream school was European and the firm advertised much more about American schools (or so was my impression).

When I started working with Liza, I had already chosen the schools I wanted to apply to but I hadn’t taken the GMAT nor TOEFL (English language test) yet and felt pretty clueless about essay material. And since it was only a few weeks away from the last round deadline, the process was quite intense!

I felt extremely lucky to have Liza. I was especially anxious about 2 things: submitting my application on the last round and not having sufficiently remarkable stories/background. Not only did Liza give me valuable advice and helped me structure my stories, she also cheered me up and boosted my confidence. She has this ability to bring the best out of you - this sometimes means being straightforward in her feedback but always in a caring and constructive way.

One year ago, I didn’t think I stood a chance at getting in my dream school. As I am about to start there this summer, I feel so grateful to have worked with Liza. I obviously highly recommend her!!!

Read More

I am fully confident that I would not be starting at Duke’s Fuqua next fall without Liza’s partnership. Going through the application process with Liza will totally transform your perception of what a “great” b-school application looks like. Once you’ve decided to throw your hat in the ring and apply to a handful of elite MBA programs, you’ve likely already accomplished quite a lot in your academic and professional career. The key to the application process is standing out in a sea of thousands of very qualified applicants. I cannot recommend Liza highly enough in that regard. My background includes 3.5 years working in media strategy at an advertising agency (not exactly the picture of a typical applicant), and my stats were decent but certainly weren’t going to blow anyone away at top-tier programs. I worked with Liza on a multi-school package through MBAmission. Liza’s expertise coupled with MBAmission’s resources creates a dynamic combination. Not long after the initial deep dive into my personal attributes and background, I felt Liza knew me as a candidate even better than I knew myself – and it showed. She was able to highlight the experiences that would translate the best for each unique essay topic, and helped me mold a holistic picture of my candidacy throughout each application. I’ll admit, I usually felt pretty good about my first draft essays, but once Liza got her hands on them she was able to push me further than I thought possible in terms of illustrating exactly why I would thrive at each school and beyond. Like I said – she’ll transform your perception of what constitutes a great application. Beyond her knowledge of how to enhance the components of the application packet, Liza was a great partner, motivator, and coach through the daunting process. She challenged me in a manner that was always constructive, while building my confidence in my own candidacy. All in all, every time I hit the “submit” button, or walked out of an interview, I didn’t have to wonder if I’d put forward the best representation of myself because Liza had prepared me to excel in every aspect of the application.

Read More

The luckiest thing during the whole application process is to have Liza as my tour guide as well as cheerleader!

My background doesn’t look impressive: non-top university graduated, engineering major, low GPA, over-represented Chinese, 8-year non-for-profit work experience, not much international experience. I didn’t really know which levels of school I should target at and how to make a case of myself to get in.

But Liza has her way to lighten me up. After we first talked in April, I had a clearer way of how to start. I spent nearly a month to fill in a very detailed questionnaire which helped me review my past experience and find out the special stories that I can tell.

Liza is also outstanding in controlling the schedule. Even before the application essay questions were released, she advised me how to prepare such as researching through the program websites to identify the unique resources and culture, joining webinar or offline events in the city near me, and reaching out to current students, alumni and admission officers to obtain more information and leave a good impression. All of this effort contributed a significant part in writing a relevant and touching essay for the programs I applied to.

Another amazing thing is that Liza is a seasoned professional with solid experience in both consulting and corporate. She could provide sharp insight on my career goal, pointing out the logical weakness of my appeal as well as adding her own experience to enrich my goal essay.

Besides, sometimes you need your friend to tell you your advantages that you are not aware of. Liza is such a friend in the application process. She can help you find out your uniqueness and guide you to tell the story in a more fascinating way. This process actually helped me to build confidence. On the other hand, she is also very honest. She can tell the weaknesses of my essay directly and encourage me to rework. That is important because I can feel she really wants me to work out an excellent one instead of an okay one.

More importantly, as a Chinese (non-native English speaking) applicant, I found it extremely useful to have a US-local consultant to mock interview. And you can also practice the conversation during every meeting and learn the right way to express the idea. Plus, Liza also provided with me my different school’s latest information because they do work as a team in mbaMission and exchange a lot to help applicants.

At last, with Liza’s great help, I got an offer with scholarship from Duke and WL from another M7 school! I think Liza is the very person I should thank as she did help a lot in bringing me such a wonderful result!

Read More

I worked with Liza on an hourly basis (5hr package) and applied to three schools with her help - Oxford Said (decline), UT Austin McCombs (admit with scholarship), and Northwestern Kellogg (waitlisted and then accepted!!!).

My stats: female, brand marketing, 7yrs work experience with 2yr managerial experience, low GRE score, English undergrad degree with limited quant experience.

Liza was incredible to work with. She let me drive my own process given our limited time together, but wasn't shy about highlighting specific areas for focus based on my profile and needs. In the beginning, I needed some help in narrowing my school selection and she was straightforward and honest about the schools I should be targeting based on my goals and stats. She helped me craft my essays by reviewing drafts and was very specific with feedback. Once I applied her feedback to one essay, I learned how to do the rest on my own - and found myself asking, "What would Liza say about this structure?" She also helped prepare me for my interviews by picking up on specific stories I had mentioned and helping me spin them to answer a variety of questions. I was so excited to see how great of a handle she got on my experience and goals in such a short timeframe.

In terms of working with mbaMission on the whole, their prep materials are phenomenal. I got a lot out of the brainstorming document, and know I'll continue to reference my "stories" for job interviews in the future. Their school-specific guides were also detailed and helpful when I wasn't able to tap into my hours with Liza.

I can't recommend Liza enough. She has an infectious enthusiasm and is truly an expert at what she does! We immediately developed a rapport and I feel like she was incredibly invested in my journey even though I was only an hourly client. If you are looking for a truly invested "coach" through this arduous process, Liza is definitely your gal.

Read More

The best decision I made throughout this whole MBA application process was choosing to work with Liza. I was admitted (R2) to 5 schools with scholarships at all 5, including full scholarships at 4 of the 5. I will be heading to Wharton this fall, with a full scholarship, and there is absolutely no way I could have done it without Liza.

I am a female applicant with a more traditional profile, coming from a financial services background, and with a 750 GMAT and 3.4 GPA. I started studying for the GMAT pretty late in the game, in August for round 2 application deadlines, so I was juggling GMAT stress with the need to make sure my applications were moving along. I ended up completing the two at the same time (end of December), which I highly recommend that you try to NOT do -- save yourself the extra stress and get the GMAT done early! It was all thanks to Liza though that I was able to get through it successfully; she not only encouraged me throughout the GMAT journey, but also made sure that I was getting my essays drafted/revised, my recommendations in, etc. to make sure I was producing quality work throughout the rest of my application as well.

Going into the application process, my biggest concern was figuring out how to best present my story. After reading through my initial Brainstorming document, Liza was able to expertly sift through my rambling stream of consciousness to pinpoint the key things that I had mentioned that represented essential aspects of who I am, which I hadn't even realized when writing them down. That drove further self-reflection that helped me to identify my fundamental values (and where they came from) and highlighted the things that I really care about, which is what then really made my "why an MBA" story real, and gave it meaning and authenticity.

Liza helped me transform my essays into narratives better than anything I could have hoped for going into the writing process. It was certainly up to me write all the content and make it meaningful and genuine, but Liza helped me to make sure I was picking the right topics, addressing the points that mattered, and tell the story in a way that was interesting and would catch the reader’s attention. She really challenged me to think and re-think about the things that I was writing, and revise, revise, revise. By the end product, I can confidently say that those essays are the best things I’ve ever written.

Liza also helped me make my resume really shine. When it came time for me to request my letters of recommendations, she made herself available to my recommenders to answer questions and provide thoughts and feedback, which my recommenders found to be extremely valuable. When interview invites came, I was invited to interview with all of the schools that I had applied to. Almost all of the interviews needed to be completed in the month of February, so I thought it was a hectic month for me, but it must have been a chaotic time for Liza. Never once throughout the whole process did she make me feel like I was competing with other clients for her time; she made me feel like her top priority whenever I needed her. Liza coached me through all of the interviews and pushed me to deliver my stories confidently and effectively. The toughest challenge for me, in the whole application process, was the Wharton TBD interview. About a week before the interview, I was at a point where I was feeling really discouraged and intimidated by the caliber of other applicants that I was up against. When I shared my doubts with her, Liza got on the phone with me right away, and she not only provided the support and encouragement that I needed, but also came armed with a slew of concrete suggestions, tips for responses, thoughts on topics, etc. Through that she really gave me the boost of confidence that I needed to go in and crush it. I could not have been more ecstatic with how the interview turned out, and in the end things turned out as best as they could have with not only an offer of admission, but a full scholarship as well.

I cannot recommend Liza enough. I am certain that I would not have gotten the same results without her and working with her has led me to a fully life-changing outcome. If there is anything you can do to give yourself the best chance of success through this process, it is to have Liza by your side!

Read More

I worked with Liza on three schools (full package): Columbia, Cambridge, and Oxford.

With Liza's help, I got in to Columbia Business School (Full-time MBA). I also got interview invites from Cambridge and Oxford - I rejected these because I got Columbia.

My stats: 720 GMAT, Male, 29 years old, Non-URM, Lawyer (Mergers & Acquisitions) at a boutique law firm in Asia, have been practicing M&A law for 5 years.

Liza is a fantastic admissions consultant who came highly recommended from friends who had worked with her previously - these friends were admitted into HBS/Wharton/Stanford with Liza's help.

Now, having worked with Liza myself, I strongly recommend that you consider working with her on your business school applications.

July 2017, I was gearing up to apply to Columbia, which was my first choice. I knew I was going to be a late applicant (Round 3) given that I had not yet hit my target 700+ GMAT score. I finally hit my 720 GMAT late December, and started working with Liza soon after for a target submission to Columbia by end of January. Given that I was a Round 3 applicant, I knew that the odds were not in my favour.

Liza was a fantastic motivator and made the daunting MBA application process a lot more manageable. For example, she was always supportive and patient with me, despite my anxiousness. It was a pleasure to work with Liza.

Liza was also very clear in crafting my overall application strategy which comprised such components as the 1. essays, 2. CV, 3. recommendation letters, 4. short answer questions, and 5. interviews. Liza gave each of these components an incredible amount of attention - nothing slipped through the cracks.

A special strength of Liza's is her ability to tease out the best qualities in an applicant. Coming from a relatively "non-traditional" background (law), my initial concern was that an admissions consultant would not be able to flesh out my stories / experiences in law adequately. I was wrong. Liza picked up on my experiences in law and translated them into tangible MBA qualities that I was able to illustrate in my essays and interviews. Liza is NOT your average admissions consultant - she is, quite frankly, the best.

Looking back on my MBA application journey, and the fantastic results I got, I am certain that I could not have gotten Columbia without Liza's help.

Liza changed my life for the better and I cannot recommend her enough.

Read More

I highly recommend Liza! I have no doubt that I could not have done it without Liza. I came to her with less than a month left to go before the R2 deadline and was not confident that I would be able to get all the work I needed to get done and be able to be thoughtful about it. After talking to Liza though my disposition immediately changed - I not only felt confident in myself but knew that together we could develop the tools to help me be successful.

I did the single school package for round 2 admission to HBS, to which I was accepted. My background is an ivy league undergraduate education, bulge bracket IB analyst, and upper middle market PE associate.

As with all mbaMission consultants, we started by going through a brainstorming session where I wrote down and then discussed almost all aspects of my background. After I put together the comprehensive document, we took over an hour to discuss. It was clear immediately that she had spent a significant amount of time reading and understanding my story and who I really was as a person. She asked insightful questions that not only helped her understand me better but also helped me understand myself! I knew from that point that I had found a great match in Liza and that we would be able to craft an excellent story.

Using our brainstorming session as a base she helped me to weave together a thoughtful and cohesive story about my background. She helped me to showcase parts of my background that I was proud of, but perhaps had not come to mind at first or didn't fit into the original framework I had developed. She was highly organized, thorough and thoughtful. She was also very patient with me as we iterated back and forth in quick succession (as I only had 3 weeks to complete my application!). If you are trying to get things done and tap into a wealth of knowledge and expertise I highly recommend Liza. She is not a hand holder - she will push you to discover yourself and understand who you are for yourself. However you will not be alone through the journey. She will also help guide you and provide expertise and insight into how the admissions officers will be thinking about your application.

I've already recommended Liza to many of my friends who are applying for the Class of 2021 and think you'd be crazy not to use her!

Read More

I did the full school packages with Liza for my round 2 applications to HBS and GSB. I am very grateful to have been admitted to both schools (and was admitted to Wharton with a generous merit scholarship leveraging material from the other two applications). I truly could not have done it without Liza.
Though I come from what’s probably a more favorable background (top Ivy undergrad, 3.8 GPA in STEM, 760 GMAT, untraditional career experience – banking/PE/startup) – if those exist in this process – my story would not have come together had it not been for Liza. I cannot speak more highly of her and the trust she enabled us to build during our time working together. Liza displays a rare combination of attributes that may seem contradictory: the ability to provide both high-level and in-the-weeds guidance; the propensity for both professionalism and genuine kindness towards her clients.
Liza has the shrewd ability to cut through all the noise and weave together key themes in your life that you yourself were not even aware of to get to an essay topic. Liza really got to know me during the brainstorming process and I grew to trust her so that we could discuss the most personal of topics. Her help doesn’t stop at idea conception – she provided invaluable structural, grammatical, and aesthetic input during the entire essay writing process. I can’t count the number of times she posited something so insightful that I could only respond “Wow, you know me better than I know myself!”
Equally as important, Liza actually made the entire process fun (or at least not painful!). A few months in, I had a self-imposed mini freakout about my essay topics that almost derailed the writing process. Instead of getting upset that I was costing her more time or just brushing it aside, Liza genuinely cared about why I was feeling insecure and tried to address the root of the problem. Both her strength and care for me helped guide me back on track. It truly feels like she’s a supporter and rock to lean on throughout the process – from the “good luck!!” emails she’d send before interview and decision notifications to debriefing with her after every major step of the way.
All in all, I cannot imagine a better person to work with through what’s an intellectually and emotionally draining process, and I think many people including myself can truly attribute their success to Liza.

Read More