In June 2023, I had the pleasure of speaking with Melissa Blakeslee from MBA Mission, among over ten other consultants. Melissa stood out immediately due to her genuine interest and insightful feedback on my MBA application strategy. Unlike others, she invested time to understand my unique background and aspirations, which made our interaction feel less like a transaction and more like a partnership aimed at my success.
Her expertise was invaluable in selecting schools. We targeted three ambitious programs, and I was thrilled to receive admission offers with scholarships from two of them. Melissa’s quick and actionable feedback throughout the application process was crucial, especially given our tight timeline. Even when I decided to add another school to my package last minute, Melissa welcomed the challenge without hesitation. Impressively, she was even responsive during her Christmas vacation, underscoring her dedication to my success.
Post-admission, Melissa has been instrumental in helping me decide which offer to accept. Her ongoing guidance has been a beacon through this significant life decision. I wholeheartedly recommend Melissa to anyone seeking a deeply committed and effective MBA admissions consultant. If you’re looking for someone who will truly care about your journey and outcomes, sign up with Melissa Blakeslee — you won’t regret it!

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I can't say enough good things about my experience with Melissa! She was fantastic to work with throughout the whole process. She helped me determine a target school list based off of culture fit and what aligned with my career goals. She was encouraging but also pragmatic about what schools were realistic targets given my profile and background. I settled on applying to six schools and worked with Melissa on 3 of them.

Once we identified the target schools, the comprehensive brainstorm process greatly helped me refine my story. Her continued support throughout the essay writing process allowed me refine my message without losing my own personal voice. Additionally, the she assisted my LOR writers which helped drastically improve the quality of my rec letters.

The interview prep process was extremely helpful in preparing me and ensured that nothing caught me off-guard during the real interviews.

Overall, the application process was successful as I was admitted into 4/6 schools that I applied to. She advised me on negotiating scholarships and I was able to secure a 50% scholarship from a T15 and a 25% scholarship from a M7 were I will be matriculating at. I am thrilled to be attending my dream school this fall and I don't think that I could have done it without Melissa!

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I’m not exaggerating when I say that working with Melissa changed my life! Melissa’s guidance, effort, and support throughout the MBA application process got me into Wharton, which was one of my dream schools and seemed like an immense reach. Melissa helped me to craft such impactful applications that after applying to ten full-time programs, I was invited to interview at nine of them, and was ultimately accepted to eight (three of which were M7s).

What impressed me the most while working with Melissa was how she was able to take a standard draft of my essay and help me craft it into a remarkable story. Comparing my first drafts to their final versions is truly night and day, and I wouldn’t have been able to write them so effectively if it wasn’t for Melissa. I even received feedback from an admissions officer that my personal essay was one of the most memorable stories she’d read in the past few years. Melissa really understands what the admissions teams are looking for at every school, which is so crucial in a consultant!

On top of her skills in tailoring an application to a specific program, Melissa is also unbelievably attentive. I expected this relationship to be very high-level since Melissa has many clients to tend to throughout the application cycle, but the amount of effort she put into getting to know me and my goals was astonishing. She really does care so much about every one of her clients!

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Melissa is incredibly reliable during the entire process – from the brainstorming period through the final decision. She always provided feedback on documents quicker than expected, she helped set deadlines to keep me on track, she vetted all of my letters of rec and coordinated directly with the writers, she gladly responded to any question I threw her way (and there were so many of them), and she gave honest guidance regarding any school that I asked her about. Given that none of my friends or family members had gone through the MBA application process before, I simply don’t know what I would’ve done without her.

It’s only been a few weeks since I wrapped everything up with Melissa, but I already have two friends that have signed with her for this upcoming application cycle. I can’t stress enough how integral Melissa was to my success – I simply wouldn’t be where I am today without her! She’s gone from being my consultant to being my friend, and I’m excited to gush over my Wharton experience with her these next two years!

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I had a fabulous experience working with Melissa. Her biggest strength is how incredibly engaged she is throughout the application process. During my journey, this meant she helped me understand the strengths of different schools, asked thoughtful questions while brainstorming my essay topics, had an impressively quick turnaround time on edits and questions, kindly kept me on track to my deadlines, and followed up after interviews to hear how they went.
The best part of working with Melissa was how thoughtfully she got to know me as a person and how loud of a cheerleader she was throughout my process. Applying to grad school can cause a lot of stress and uncertainty, but Melissa’s confidence and encouragement guided me through the most difficult times of applying. My admissions results are a testament to her skill. I’m deeply grateful for her partnership and will miss our calls while I’m attending HBS this fall!

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Melissa was an unbelievable partner and resource throughout the admissions process. She provided amazing advice and suggestions and was always super quick to provide feedback and answer ad-hoc questions as they came up. Working with Melissa put my mind at ease throughout the essay writing process, filling out application forms, and especially interviewing. Melissa's advice and guidance on how I could best prepare for interviews, and working with her on practice interviews, ensured I was ready to go. I feel that working with Melissa provided tremendous value and allowed me to enhance my applications. I would highly recommend working with her.

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I cannot emphasise enough how much I recommend Melissa as an MBA admission consultant. Working with her was an absolute game-changer! Her expertise, dedication, and support played a crucial role in my admission to all three programs during the final application round.

Melissa truly took the time to understand my unique story, aspirations and goals by deep diving into my background and experiences and ensure it was effectively communicated in every aspect of my application. Melissa’s warm, thoughtful and genuine approach created a safe space where I felt super comfortable sharing my ideas or concerns throughout the process.

Her insightful advice were absolute gold. Melissa provided invaluable feedback, helping me refine my ideas and craft compelling narratives that truly demonstrated my unique story.

Melissa’s commitment to time is unparalleled. I was working on an extremely tight timeframe for the final application round and she always ensured that we stayed on track. Her prompt responses to my inquiries and availability for calls provided me with a sense of reliability that was very comforting.

Melissa genuinely cares, her dedication and belief in my abilities instilled me with great confidence and enthusiasm (especially during interviews) that were instrumental to my success. This is truly one of the best decisions you can make!

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I had the absolute privilege of working with Melissa during a time of immense turmoil in my life, and her unwavering support and expertise proved to be instrumental in my journey towards securing my place at a top 20 business school. I got the 6-school package and from start to finish, she exceeded my expectations and I cannot recommend her enough.

I met Melissa through a former client who was a friend/professional connection who had nothing but incredible things to say about her. After our intro call, I knew that she was going to be perfect for me. Her personality, capabilities, and experiences were exactly what I was looking for in someone to guide me through this process.

One of the standout qualities of Melissa was her exceptional ability to craft a compelling narrative that effectively showcased my strengths and unique experiences. Her experience as former Admissions Director at Rice Jones means she knows what schools want and how to package yourself to best market yourself to admissions committees. I had good scores and grades from undergrad but I hadn’t worked traditionally in years as I had been at home working in a stressful situation at home taking care of a loved one suffering from health issues. While I KNEW this experience was the right thing to do I felt that I had undermined my chances of success by taking such a risk so early in my career. Melissa being the expert at her craft that she is took the time to understand my personal and professional background, and her insights helped me articulate my story in a way that resonated with admissions committees. Her guidance was invaluable, ensuring that my application still stood out among fierce competition while remaining authentic to myself and my story.

It is easy to forget that Melissa is a dedicated Mother and an extremely popular consultant. She delivered feedback and edits well ahead of schedule, allowing me ample time to review and make necessary revisions. Her organization and attention to detail instilled a sense of confidence and peace in me throughout a process that can be discouraging and hectic. I never once felt that I was competing for her attention or that her focus was anywhere else but on me during our times of working together. Her recommendations were never generalized and instead all felt like they were tailored for my personality and situation. It was easy to remain calm knowing Melissa was sweating the details as much as I was.

What further sets Melissa apart from others is her ability to create a safe and non-judgmental environment. Despite the insecurities and self-doubt that accompanied this process, she never made me feel judged or inadequate. Her warm and supportive approach made it easy for me to open up and share my ideas or concerns. What is great about Melissa is that she is also going to tell you exactly what you need to hear even if it isn’t what you want at the time. It’s tempting to think your first draft of an essay or initial answer to a practice interview question will be perfect but it is often not and far from it. And Melissa helped ensure only the very best essays and answers to interview questions will be presented when the moment comes. Because of the trust and relationship we developed it was very easy to absorb tough feedback without feeling a need to be defensive. You can TELL just through both her actions and words that she genuinely cares about your success and worked tirelessly to help me achieve my goals.

Working with Melissa was an absolute pleasure, and I cannot recommend her highly enough. If I had to repeat this process I’d hire her all over again without a second thought! She will be the best thing to happen to you in this process.

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Hire Melissa. It’ll be the best decision you make. As another reviewer mentioned, Melissa is in a class of her own. I’m going to Kellogg because of her!!!

After reading reviews of 40+ consultants and interviewing 9 different consultants, I did not hesitate to hire Melissa. She combines her direct work experience of leading an MBA admissions committee at Rice (Jones) with her lived experience as a Kellogg alum. Additionally, after going through the whole process, I can tell you that her approach is incredibly distinct, not just something off the MBAMission shelf. It was clear from the start that Melissa saw me as a person with a distinct and important story, not just another client.

Most consultants told me to apply to 6-8 schools because my GMAT was below average, and I was an older applicant. Melissa worked with me to avoid the “spray and pray” approach, but instead, helped me select schools that aligned most closely with my personal narrative/preferences. We ended up selecting four top-10.

From there, the writing process flowed very naturally. Her feedback was always on time and to the point. She successfully identified when I was drifting from my story or adding “fluff” that makes adcoms fall asleep. Being able to write essays alongside Melissa was a complete gift. Without going into too much detail, Melissa helped me discover parts of myself that will impact my life far beyond the application process. And for that, I am beyond grateful.

To wrap up, I ended up getting into my dream program (Kellogg’s MMM program) and will be headed up to Evanston this year!

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I worked with Melissa for this year's application cycle. I agree with most, if not all, of the other five star reviews on here. My stats aren't stellar, but I was admitted to multiple full-time MBA programs, inclusive of scholarships and two M7s! I would attribute this to Melissa's deep expertise of the admissions process as she was a former applicant, was a former admissions officer, and has helped countless applicants articulate their stories in a thoughtful and compelling manner that adcoms look for. Furthermore, engaging in a consultant is a hefty investment no matter how you slice it, hourly or package. Yes, you want to get results (acceptances)--which I'm confident Melissa will be able to help with--but working with someone who's genuinely a good person and pleasant to work with is something I strongly believe that differentiates Melissa. I never felt put down and always had a feeling of encouragement with Melissa in my corner. Constructively honest, a true partner, and a fantastic communicator, amongst others, I highly recommend working with Melissa!

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Initially overwhelmed with the MBA process, I searched for an admissions consultant that could strengthen my candidacy at my top choices. Melissa was the only consultant that seemed genuinely interested in my story and understanding of my reasons to apply to b-school. For our intro call, she provided constructive feedback on how I could better highlight my accomplishments on my resume and thoroughly answered questions regarding the process. After that call, I was completely sold that Melissa was the partner for me.

Throughout the entire process (brainstorming, essay edits, testing strategy, and interview prep), Melissa was encouraging yet kept me accountable and organized; she’s straight with you (honest without being cut-throat) and open to new ideas/suggestions. Melissa is a story-telling wizard, helping me weave themes/past experiences into a compelling narrative and framing my weaknesses into strengths. She asked thought-provoking questions and challenged me to reflect on how I wished to convey myself to these schools. Through this, my final essays had nuance, authenticity, and personality!

Melissa is top-notch and absolutely instrumental in my success in getting admitted to Chicago Booth. Highly recommend her for professionalism, solid expertise, and trusted partnership throughout the admissions process.

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