I worked with Rachel Beck on a two-school package (CBS and Stern). I will preface my review by saying that I applied to business school from a nontraditional background (with no real “name brand” experience under my belt but interesting and unique work experience) and with stats that are not quite at the levels that CBS and Stern look for (700 with weak quant and a 3.54 from a decently ranked liberal arts college).

Rachel did an excellent job at pulling out what she thought was interesting from my profile and building my story from there. Working with an admissions consultant is quite time consuming at first because your consultant will need to get to know you on a very personal level. It is the intimate details and examples that count when you are writing your essays so be prepared for that. Rachel was really able to “get” me based on the “life story” that I put together for her and together we were able to craft my story into something that made sense from an admissions standpoint. One thing that she was able to do exceptionally well was find examples of leadership in my profile. I was having great difficulty with this and was worried that it would sink my entire candidacy but Rachel was able to demonstrate to me how my past achievements showed leadership.

Rachel will not write the essays for you but she will give you prompts to get you going in a direction that meshes well with your overall story. Rachel has a background in Journalism (MA/MBA from Columbia Journalism School and CBS and very extensive experience in business journalism) so she really knows how to say a lot with very few words. Where it would take me thirty words to say something in an essay it would take her maybe twelve tops…this was extremely helpful when she was editing my essays for clarity. This is an extremely valuable skill that very, very few people have and is of the utmost importance when writing admissions essays.

I was very worried about my interview (hadn’t interviewed for anything in about 6 years) but it really only took one hour-long phone call with Rachel to get my answers straight. It is very important that you practice the interview questions on your own and with other people – don’t depend on your consultant to hold your hand the entire way through.

One of the most important benefits of having an admissions consultant is that they will keep you on schedule and the money that you spent on the consultant will keep you very motivated to put you best foot forward.

I ended up being admitted to Columbia Business School (Early Decision) Class of 2017. It was my top choice and I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome. Rachel and I also put together a great Stern application – won’t be spending $225 to submit that one though!

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I signed up for a four school package with Rachel at mbaMission.

In March of 2012, I called mbaMission for a free consultation. I had just secured a high GMAT score, and while I thought it might be enough to get me into a top school, they pointed out that I was weak in my career and extra-curriculars. After hearing this, I decided to wait a year and work on these weaknesses, while seriously considering whether I wanted to sign up for one of mbaMission’s full school packages.

After a lot of research, I signed up for the service, and chose Rachel based on her background and reviews.

Rachel was the perfect choice. The most challenging part of the process for me was becoming comfortable talking about myself, but through extensive free-writes, Rachel forced me to dig deeper into my past and pull out things that would enhance my story. She never hesitated to honestly critique my essay drafts, and she helped me avoid topics that would have been detrimental to my application. The mock interview she gave me was also crucial. Some of my intuitive responses were the opposite of what an admissions committee would want to hear, and I definitely would have answered some of the real interview questions poorly without her guidance.

But none of that compares to what Rachel really helped me with – my story. For over a year, I had planned on applying to school with a finance / consulting angle, thinking that this would improve my chances of acceptance. Fortunately, Rachel caught this early and explained that the finance / consulting angle would actually hurt my chances because that pool of applicants is far more competitive. Instead, Rachel drew from my free-writes and my past and encouraged me to apply with a focus on media, which I am genuinely passionate about. Not only did Rachel improve my chances of acceptance, but she also helped me retool my career focus to something I truly wanted.

I was accepted to Columbia early decision. I recommend mbaMission and Rachel to anyone pursuing a top school.

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