Personal background: International applicant, Female, BB IBD, liberal undergrad, low GMAT(720, which is a weakness compared to the Asian pool), Re-applicant (first tried in R2'2017 but failed), Accomplished a few work and non-work initiatives between R2'2017 to R1'2018 and also got a stronger endorsement from current / previous supervisors

School package - worked on 3 schools (Booth-reapplicant; Wharton-reapplicant; Columbia-Early decision) with Rachel

Rachel is very helpful and patient in helping me go through the application process in 2017. After the "disaster" in the R2'2017, Rachel helped me regain the self-confidence and reshape a better appearance before the AdCom.
Just like what I've done in investment banking, there are a few investment highlights that you should choose Rachel as your admission consultant.

- Efficient and effective working pattern: Rachel is very punctual on turnaround time, which is less than 24 hours. She always uses efficient tools to track our back-and-forth edits and comments; also she is very helpful in addressing any application-related issues and ideas that came into my mind.

- Professional writing as an ex-reporter: As an intl. applicant whose mother tongue is not English, I was worried about my writing. Rachel helped me a lot on this part - she would help rephrase my ideas into a more succinct and native way.

- Great communicator in brainstorming session: Rachel is very proactive in expressing her ideas and comments which she concluded from my prior experiences. I have to admit that applicants sometimes would neglect those shining points which are very valuable from an Adcom's perspective. Rachel is very helpful in giving me guidance to "plunge deeper" into myself.

After initial setback / ding from Columbia Early Decision, Rachel assured me to remain confident and carry out the plan. I feel grateful that our joint efforts finally won me the ticket to four bschools - Kellogg, Berkeley Haas, INSEAD, and Darden. I have decided to go to Kellogg!

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I can't say enough great things about working with Melissa. I did 30 min consultations with a couple of different consultants/companies, and I instantly felt like I "clicked" with Melissa. She was so encouraging and supportive throughout the entire application process- from helping me narrow down my list of schools to apply to, edit my essays, prep for interviews, and come up with a waitlist strategy.
I felt like Melissa really knew the ins and outs of the different programs, and took the time to learn my stories/strengths and how they could be applied to each individual application.
I really looked forward to each conversation we had - she was such a cheerleader and advocate and truly a joy to work with.
I think the results speak for themselves: out of the 6 programs I applied to, I was dinged from 1, waitlisted at 1, and accepted to 4 amazing schools (Fuqua, Ross, Stern, Anderson)! Working with Melissa was definitely the best decision I made throughout the business school application process.

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I was extremely happy working with John Sisk. I purchased 4 hours and used all of that time on application/essay review. He always responded quickly to my emails and questions. He was very honest and always provided constructive criticism which was important to me. He helped me nail down to the specifics in the essays which made them unique to me, which was key. He helped me see things that I was not always able to see. It was not an easy process, but John helped me through every step of the way. I felt very supported by him. Overall, I greatly enjoyed my experience with John and got into my top choice - a top 10 MBA program - because of him.

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I’m an East Asian male working in finance – an over-represented group in business school. Before reaching out to Melissa and mbaMission, I talked to another consulting company and was basically told that I have little chance at the top 10 given my background. While I always appreciate frank advice, I felt extremely disappointed and somewhat upset at the quick judgement since I knew people with similar background who’d made it.

The MBA process was long and stressful so it’s important for me to work with someone who’s honest but who’d have faith in me. During the initial call, Melissa showed just that. She was direct in acknowledging some potential weak spots. But rather than delving into them, Melissa pointed out other parts of my background that are unique and focused the conversation on what I could do to stand out more, starting with making my resume more result-oriented. Immediately I felt she was already on my “team”. Her positivity and problem solving (instead of problem identifying) approach made me feel a lot better going into and throughout the process. Through the ups and downs of the application season, her supports and encouraging words never failed to build up my self-confidence.

In total, we had over 200 email exchanges, and Melissa was always super-fast with her response. The two areas Melissa helped me the most with were with my essays and interview preparation.

First, Melissa understood very well the Adcom’s perspectives and helped me become more confident in bringing out my personality. I had heard the advice “be yourself” countless times; but that’s easier said than done. For example, when telling my stories, I would keep out some character-revealing details thinking they might sound too “geeky” and unimpressive. But Melissa’s enthusiasm with those stories made me realize they are more unique and interesting than I’d thought. That’s another great thing about working with Melissa. With her approach, the application process really became a self-discovery journey. I came out of this process more self-aware and comfortable with who I am than I’d ever been.

Second, Melissa was fantastic at helping me transform my long-winded essay drafts into concise and engaging ones. When I thought there was no way to cut the word count without hurting the content, she did so time and again. On the other hand, when supporting details were lacking, she asked pointed questions and helped me identify relevant examples from my experience that I’d overlooked.

I applied to four top-10 schools, got interview invites from all four, and was admitted to two, one of which is in the top-5. None of those achievements would have been possible without having Melissa as my coach, my project manager, and a supportive friend throughout this process.

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I chose Jessica because, after phone calls with several other consultants from other companies, she—easily—made the best use of the time on the call and had the strongest impact. I was really impressed and inspired and felt confident that she was someone who would provide the most value added. She did not disappoint and was consistently helpful throughout the contract. Even though I was rejected from all seven schools (the most selective, was waitlisted with one of them) that I worked on with her, I would still highly recommend her services, as I was able to take the application materials that I worked on with her feedback, and leverage them successfully for multiple other selective schools. Jessica is professional, gives you honest, experienced, and objective feedback and I believe that her services helped me get accepted to a top choice of mine and with excellent scholarship opportunities at multiple schools. If you have the money, Jessica can help keep the application stress to a minimum which will help keep your work performance and relationships (because of less stress) healthy. Working with her and mbaMission provides a structure that will help you balance work, applications, volunteer work, and your social life. Jessica was always quick to respond to questions and was reliably committed to the two business day turnaround in mbaMission’s contract. Jessica is an intelligent and experienced professional and was a strong asset to have on my team when it came to putting forth the best version of my self during the application process. In hindsight, partnering with Jessica made my application process more deeply introspective, objective, fun, memorable, and meaningful.

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If you are looking for the absolute best MBA consultant out there, do not look further than Jeremy.
From initial draft, to interview prep, to decision day my experience working with Jeremy was an absolute pleasure and completely seamless. From the “kick-off” call, you can quickly distinguish the knowledge Jeremy has in all things MBA, the ample experience and school insight that he’ll use to help you get wherever it is you want to go and more importantly the willingness to understand what makes you unique as an MBA applicant. You’ll rapidly see that the extra dollars you are spending to work with Jeremy are worth it given his extraordinary attention to detail, his dedication to make you feel like his only client and his proneness to think outside the box and adapt his knowledge to your story rather than force your application into a traditional mold. You truly will get the best MBA advisor out there and you’ll get to closely interact with a great guy who will most likely become a friend.
Even though Jeremy has his own MBA Advisory company, you will not only get the best one-on- one, around-the-clock personalized help out there but also great support on choosing schools that will be the best fit for you, not him. Jeremy was on top of every single aspect of my story and constantly came up with ideas on how to improve my application. Contrary to some other consultants, he encouraged me to apply to any school I wanted to and I didn’t get the sense that he was worried about his overall “batting average”, he just wanted to help me get into top choice. What makes Jeremy the best is his dedication to your story personally and how he will dive deep into your life and your story and help you craft it into the best application possible.
With Jeremy’s help I got into two top-5 schools and will attend my dream school next fall.

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Melissa was an invaluable resource for me throughout application process, from brainstorming how to tell my story, to helping me craft compelling essays, to helping me successfully navigate the waitlist process. She knows each school inside and out - I was blown away by her deep knowledge of what differentiates each program and what each admissions committee looks for as a result!

When reviewing my essays, Melissa provided specific feedback from the perspective of the AC, whether calling out an experience that I did not explain in enough detail or helping me narrow my focus in shorter essays. She also helped me recognize how highlighting specific elements of my story created a more powerful explanation for "why Kellogg."

When I was originally waitlisted at Kellogg, Melissa guided me through the difficult process, providing me with tactical next steps about how I should approach each waitlist update strategically and continue to express my interest. Her advice proved to be accurate and invaluable - I was successfully pulled off of the waitlist and admitted to my dream school!

The perfect balance of high level feedback on my story, detailed feedback on essay wording, and moral support through what can be a grueling process - I cannot recommend Melissa highly enough!

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As I prepared for the gauntlet that is the MBA application process, I weighed the option of enlisting the services of an MBA admissions consultant. These packages, or hourly services, are a significant investment. It's important to know what you want to achieve through hiring a consultant.

One way to practically ensure you will have a good experience with admissions consulting services would be to work with Melissa Blakeslee. Melissa was an outstanding partner to me throughout the admissions process and was a critical driver of my acceptance into an M7 program.

I feel it is common for top MBA applicants to believe in their own infallibility -- I myself fall into this trap at times -- so let me spell out specifically what value Melissa brought to my process:

-Melissa helped me clarify my goals: Conversations with Melissa helped me move beyond surface-level goals and drill down with specificity into what I really wanted, what schools would fit those goals, and how to spell those goals out with impact in admissions essays
-Melissa challenged me: Like I said, lots of top MBA applicants have had success in their careers and believe in their own infallibility to an extent. When you come to realize the quality of talent in the applicant pool, it becomes clearer how an admissions consultant who will push you to perfect your application in all aspects can be a competitive advantage. For me, Melissa struck the perfect blend of cheerleader and coach -- supportive of my progress but critical of my application where I needed it.
-Melissa has a keen eye toward storytelling -- Her past as a brand marketer is evident in her work. She has a natural ability as a storyteller. In my opening call with her, Melissa was able to pick out unique stories from my professional and personal past and perfectly flesh them out into ideas for compelling essays. Absolutely invaluable.

Beyond all this -- Melissa was timely, efficient, and flexible to work with. I highly recommend her and can't thank her enough for her role in helping me achieve this dream!

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I was hesitant about hiring an admission consultant due to the cost, but decided to sign up for the three-school package after speaking to some of my colleagues and friends. Working with Jen was one of the best decisions I made throughout my MBA application process and I am confident I would not have been admitted to my top choice program if it wasn’t for Jen’s guidance and encouragement. I come from a non-traditional background and Jen took the time to understand my story, helping me develop a competitive application.

From the beginning, Jen invested time to really understand my background and experience, which was extremely helpful as we started to review my application essays. Jen was honest and would let me know if she thought a section of application needed improvement. Her support, insight, and genuine personality made the application process less chaotic and working with her was enjoyable. Each email or phone call I had with Jen made feel better about the application process. She truly cares about the people she works with and even took the time to reach out to me when I was impacted by Hurricane Irma (I live in Florida).

Jen’s turnaround and response time are incredible and she would provide detailed recommendations and advice within a couple of days. This was especially helpful when I received an invitation to interview. Due to my interviewer’s availability, my interview was in three days and Jen scheduled a mock interview the next day to ensure I was fully prepared. Her guidance and advice was a major value throughout my application process and I highly recommend Jen to anyone applying to an MBA program.

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I worked with Susan for nearly the entirety of the past year, through 2 rounds of bschool admissions (which might sound like a bad thing, but read on to learn why!), and highly recommend that you give her a call if you are in the early stages of applying to business school. Your applications will be better for it.

I initially applied in the last round of admissions for the Class of 2019, and hired Susan after a 30-minute phone call with another mbaMission consultant who was no longer accepting third round candidates but who heavily endorsed Susan. Going into this final round, Susan was super-candid about my odds of getting accepted (spoiler alert: they were not great). This candor and honesty has been a theme of my work with Susan, and I really appreciated it. I decided to proceed with the final round apps, and Susan was with me every step of the way. She held herself accountable to promised turnaround times, and was often open to expedited reviews as I got into crunch time for certain apps. I applied to three schools in this last round, and was waitlisted at two of them (rejected from one) – which, all things considered, was a pretty good outcome.

The brainstorming / career goals exercise, which then flows into outlining first drafts of essays, are such helpful steps that I think set mbaMission and Susan, specifically, apart. Susan pushed me to set realistic and specific goals by tying in my past experiences (personal / professional), identifying knowledge / skills gaps that I needed to fill, and highlighting how specific resources at my target programs are going to help me realize my goals. One of the best parts of working with Susan is how much she pushed me to go one level deeper – always getting to the “how” and the “why” vs. just stating the “what”. Pointing to specific resources and identifying why I want to pursue them and how they fit with my goals made my story much more compelling than just saying which specific resources I was excited about. I would not have gotten to this level without Susan’s guidance.

Susan’s feedback not only helped ensure that each aspect of my applications was individually strong, but also that there was an almost tangible common thread / consistent story running through the entire application.

I applied again in Round 1 for the Class of 2020, and – after kicking around the “is it worth the money”-question – decided to work with Susan again on my second attempt. Her feedback on my essays and other materials, as well as video components and interview prep was invaluable. I am thrilled that I will be attending a top-10 program (my top choice) in the Fall!

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