I’ve worked with Katy for my “ding” review. As an HBS alum and an ex-admissions person, Katy really understands every detail of how an application will be reviewed by the school. She gives candid and insightful feedback on my application, some of which I’ve never thought about before. She doesn't impose her opinion, but works together with me to explore what is best for me. In the end, she has helped me make what I believe to be the best decision on how I should move forward. I recommend Katy to not only first-time applicants, but also reapplicants who want to sharpen their packages and start again.

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I am what an Admissions Committee might call an "unconventional" MBA candidate - I took no math classes in college, and my career experience was entirely creative. As a result, I decided that having some sort of professional assistance during the application process to help me construct my narrative was going to be a good decision.

After speaking with a few different consulting companies, I came across mbaMission, and more specifically, Kate Richardson's profile. The reviews for both Kate and the company were overwhelmingly positive, and I was pleased to discover that an "Hourly Services" option was offered at a competitive rate ; I basically knew what I wanted to say in my applications and where I wanted to apply, so I didn't need a "package" deal with tons of additional services. I really just needed an additional form of guidance, and more importantly, a voice of reason.

Once I began working with Kate, I found her to be direct, a clear communicator, realistic about my school prospects, and very fast in responding to my questions (of which I had many!). She didn't try to sell me anything unnecessary, and overall, we created a winning application essay that represented me in my best light.

Ultimately, I earned admission to a Top 25 program, and even received scholarship $$$. There is no question that I couldn't have done it without Kate's professional expertise and moral support through such a grueling application process.

If you'd like to find someone to help you with your MBA applications who is extremely knowledgeable about many different programs and will respond directly to your needs with no time wasted, look no further than Kate Richardson at mbaMission.

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My main concern going into the application process was my weak undergraduate GPA. I was referred to MBAmission (and Katy in particular) by a former student of the program that I wanted to apply to - the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. During my initial 30 minute conversation with Katie, she was receptive to my concerns and I felt that she was taking a genuine interest in my story. Speaking with Katy initially was a breath of fresh air and it renewed my sense of confidence in what I wanted to do. After I hung up the phone, I made the decision to move forward with my application despite my concerns. It was a huge benefit having someone with Katy's knowledge and experience on my side and, at the risk of sounding corny, I truly felt like I had a partner on the path to admission.

Katy made sure that I stated my needs up front so that there was no time (or money) wasted in our work together. I made it clear that I wanted her to help me with my essays and resume only and she was totally fine with that. I never once felt like I was getting a sales pitch on additional services or that Katy was pushing for additional time, etc. I've seen some other reviews asserting that this service is only as beneficial as you make it and I'd like to reiterate that point. DO NOT come into this expecting your consultant to do the work for you. They will make suggestions and guide you a long the way, but the work is yours to do.

Once we got started, Katy dug into my history i.e. work experience, reasons for wanting an MBA, etc. She helped me to identify some general themes that centered around my story and that would allow me to best represent myself through my resume and essays. At the conclusion of our time together, I came away with finished essays and a resume that I was really proud of.

I was ultimately accepted into Emory and I can honestly say that it wouldn't have been possible without a partner like Katy on my side.

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I used the hourly service because I mainly need help with proof-reading my essays and finding the right "story" to tell. My consultant has been very responsive to all my questions, and gave many useful comments on where I could provide more context and how I can make the essays clear and powerful. I also used mock group interview service, although it's a bit expensive, it helped to give me an idea of what kind of group dynamic and interaction I expect to experience in the real setting. I appreciate their nice and encouraging style, but I think sometimes they could've been a bit sharper on pointing out where I needed to improve. Overall it's been a positive experience working with mbaMission.

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I first spoke to Krista Nannery in the summer of 2015 when I was interviewing b-school admission consultants for help during 2015-2016 admission cycle (matriculation in Fall of 2016). Right off the bat, in our first call, I found Krista to be extremely warm and pleasant to talk to. She had so many rich perspectives to offer on the admissions process and quickly honed in on the interesting aspects about my life and started giving me thoughts on how to market myself effectively. Given that I had gone through the admissions process unsuccessfully in the previous year, she even went through my prior applications and pointed out what I did wrong in those applications. After interviewing numerous different firms, I ultimately hired mbaMission and Krista for help with four school applications using the “start-to-finish” package.

Having successfully gone through the process now, I can easily say that hiring Krista is one of the best investments I’ve ever made. While she helped in a variety of ways – the following areas really stood out:

1) She was intimately familiar with the process

Having been part of admissions committees, Krista was intimately familiar with how most admissions committees think and what they like and dislike in applications. This allowed her to astutely point out the flaws in my application that could cause concern for admissions committees, and the strengths of my application that I should make sure to highlight. For the potential gaps in my application, she even gave me advice on steps I could take to remediate those gaps and strengthen my application. Her perspectives here really helped us come up with a strong application strategy and story for the four schools that I ended up applying to

2) She came up with really creative ways for me to tell my story

Through the brainstorming process, Krista took the time to really understand me as a person and get a feel for what my passions are and what makes me tick. She reviewed my 20 page brainstorming document (one of the essential steps of the mbaMission process is a brainstorming process that they make applicants go through) and came back to me with several really detailed questions about my background.
Once I had answered all of her questions, she started coming up with a variety of neat ideas for me to showcase certain aspects of my story. I’m generally not a big fan of writing, but the way Krista helped me showcase my stories actually made the entire process A LOT of fun for me. Thanks to her, I was able to write some of the strongest essays I’ve ever written and ended up truly enjoying the entire application process.

3) She was a true thought partner

Throughout the application process, Krista was a thought partner for me in every sense. Whenever I was spinning on an essay, she would get on the phone with me immediately to give me ideas and quickly get me back on track. I’m not sure whether she was doing a lot of prep before each one of these calls, or if this just comes naturally to her, but on every phone conversation we were having about a certain essay – she had at least 3 – 4 good ideas on what I could mention in that essay to make it impactful and leave a good impression. I was so impressed at the end of each conversation, and so happy with the ideas and the direction I got from her. This kept me from spinning and allowed me to end up with strong essays quickly. The previous year, when I had applied unsuccessfully to schools, I was averaging between 17 to 20 iterations on each essay before getting it to final. Working with Krista this time around, I had a strong essay completely finalized by the 4th iteration at the latest. I have a tendency to overthink things and get in my own way at times, Krista prevented me from doing any of that and kept me efficient and on track at all times.

4) She was timely

I can’t stress this one enough. I was initially a little worried about the fact that Krista was based in London (I’m based in New York), but the time difference here ended up being a true blessing. MbaMission promises a 2-day turnaround on all essays, but most of the time Krista responded ahead of schedule. Generally, I would send her an essay in the evening, and because of the time difference, I would have it back in my inbox with rich feedback by the time I woke up the next morning. I have a really demanding job and it’s hard for me to get away from work during the day sometimes to have personal calls. Because of this time difference, I was able to wake up earlier in the morning some days and have a call with Krista before going into work. This was just yet another benefit that kept me on track and on schedule.

Throughout the process, I felt as though I was Krista’s only client. I consider her to be not only a consultant that I hired, but a mentor and a friend that I will continue to reach out to in the future for advice. I’m happy to say that with her help, I got into several Top 10 schools and will be attending Berkeley-Haas this fall. I highly recommend mbaMission and Krista Nannery for anyone going through the application process.

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I am an international applicant and decided to work with mbaMission all based on the google research. I was originally looking for someone native and experienced that could help me polish my essays but what happened after was a fantastic and rewarding life experience.
I was matched with Kate Richardson, a very expeirenced associate from mbaMission. She was very nice and patient from our first talk. I felt so comforted that I found someone I could ask for help and expressed my anxiety during the application process. Kate helped me so much on my self-positiong of my choices for schools and gave me helpful advices on my future career planning. Even standing from the point of an international student, I felt Kate very professional handling all the questions, which truly helped me a lot during the application. My application process was not as smooth as I expected and I got waitlisted and rejected from my dreaming schools but Kate was always there helping me analyze and get out of the desperate situation. Finally I got the offers from several schools out of my package. And Kate was very nice to help me list the all the pros and cons and gave me useful advices objectively.
I appreciate her very much for everything she has ever done for me during the process and now I would like to recommend her as the first choice of MBA consulting associate for all the international students.

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I knew I wanted to work with an admissions consultant, so when I started the process, I took advantage of the 30 minute free consultation most consulting firms offered and "interviewed" several of them, including Stacy Blackman, Stratus Prep, Expartus, Veritas and mbaMission. I ended up choosing mbaMission based on fit.

My consultant was Debbie Choy. I worked with her on a 4 school package for round 2. I personally applied to 5 schools and also the Consortium (an application on its own) and was admitted into 4 schools (waitlisted at the 5th) as well as the Consortium.

Debbie was instrumental to my success. She worn several hats and served as my:

1) Project Manager - the business school application process was extremely overwhelming and had a lot of to do's. Debbie structured the process in a manageable way and was by my side through every step of the process.

2) Supporter/Advocate - I didn't have much confidence going into the process. I didn't have a spectacular GMAT score or an impressive background. However, Debbie was able to help me tell my stories in a compelling way. I never felt uncomfortable around Debbie. Even when I felt like my essay was poorly written or my interview prep answers were not good enough, Debbie always cheered me on while providing constructive feedback and teaching me how to improve. Before I started the process, I was prepared for not getting into any schools, and I told myself that I would be happy getting into 1 out of the 5 schools I applied to. It was a true surprise when I found out that I was accepted into almost all the schools I applied to, some with scholarships.

Overall, I had a pleasant working relationship with Debbie. I would be happy to recommend her to anyone!

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I worked with Dan on a 3 school package, two of my schools were a stretch due to my low GMAT score, which made me doubt if i should even apply. I was also nervous about spending a ton of money hiring a consultant only to not get in anywhere. After talking with Dan he pointed out that the rest of my application was strong and to attempt the GRE to see if that would ease my application. We worked through essays interviews and even through the wait list approach when I was wait-listed at my top two schools. I am happy to say that in the end I was accepted to all three programs I applied to and I wouldn't have been if it weren't for Dan's support and advice through this process. My money was well spent! If you have any doubts in your application I would recommend hiring a consultant they help you from start to finish all essays interview prep etc. and more importantly help you find the right way to make your application stand out.

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I recently decided to attend UCLA Anderson this fall for the MBA Class of 2018, and with Kate Richardson's help from MBA Mission was awarded a $60,000 scholarship as well.

I applied to several schools, and going into it alone before deciding to hire the help of a consultant, I was pretty clueless about what I wanted to write about in my essays as well as about other factors.

Right off the bat, Kate was extremely easy to talk to, and after learning more about me, pointed me in the right direction with regards to my essays, while she also helped give me a clear sense of my goals that helped determine which school and programs I'd eventually apply to.

For me, Kate's biggest strength was the help she gave me with my essay writing. Kate is an extremely strong writer, but also a great creative thinker. I can honestly say that Kate helped me materialize some ideas for how to structure my essays that I would never have considered on my own.

Usually I hate writing, but working alongside Kate, it became a fun challenge to come up with unique and insightful ways of expressing myself through pen and paper.

I'm extremely pleased with how the entire MBA application process went and how Kate helped me every step of the way, and I'm happy to recommend her MBA consultancy services to anyone who might be thinking of applying in the near future.

Thanks,

Tim

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The GMAT was my biggest obstacle. After finally getting the score that I wanted by the end of October, I felt leagues behind my peers in terms of timing. Here I was, with R1 deadlines long past and 5 daunting applications to complete in less than 2 months. I was in a panic. I was against the idea of using a consultant at first, but my best friend recommended MBAMission. She stressed that MBAMission doesn't do the work for you, but creates a roadmap to guide you through the stress of applications.

After talking to Krista on the phone, I was sold. She was sharp, resourceful, eloquent, and most of all - versatile. When I told her my unique passions and career aspirations, she didn't try to mold me into the perfect candidate; instead, she worked with me to enhance what makes me different. Throughout the process, Krista gave me complete freedom in terms choosing topics I wanted to write about. She encouraged me to come up with ideas that reflected personal aspects of my life and provided constructive criticism and insightful feedback. Because of Krista, I was able to dig several layers deeper and be true to myself, rather than putting together an application to "impress".

Having Krista was imperative to getting everything done on time. Although we had a tight deadline, she never made me feel stressed. On the contrary, we were a fantastic, symbiotic team. She would turnaround comments within a day and get on the phone whenever needed.

I can confidently say that the outcome is better than I ever expected. I got into all the schools I applied to R2 and am now going to my dream school in the fall!

At the end if it all, I consider Krista not only a fantastic consultant, but a mentor and a great friend. I highly recommend her and MBAmission to anyone going through the stresses of the application process.

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