I worked with Helen Summers at mbaMission on 5 school essays, all for the round 1 cycle of applications. Her guidance and input on putting my "best foot forward" with my essays was invaluable and I would highly recommend her to anyone who is considering an admissions consultant.

I was one of those MBA applicants with a unique background. I had a non-business undergrad degree and worked abroad in a non-corporate setting. However, business schools ( I have learned) are most interested in one's leadership capabilities ( still crush your GMAT though :) ), and Helen helped me showcase my own leadership skills with captivating stories. Also, the structure that Helen recommended I use for my essays made my story much more logical in terms of relating my past experiences to my post-MBA career goals.

I was admitted to my #1 choice. Without Helen I know that I would have had 5 dings to reminisce about this year. Instead, I'm on to the next chapter!

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When I started my application, there was quite limited time allowed me to catch up with the first round submission deadline. Angela has a lot of good reviews from GMATClub, therefore I decided to asked her for help. Although occupied with other applicants, she was very kind to offer the help for me. There are two schools in my package and one of them required 3 essays which was a huge amount of work given I only have no more than 2 months.
Starting in mid Jul, Angela helped me from the very beginning including understanding my own strengths and weaknesses, packaging my story that could fit into the essays. She really knew how to dig out my personality and incorporate it into the essays. There are several times I was quite surprised that Angela seemed to know myself better than I did. The turnaround time for Angela was very short so that I could easily manage my submission timeline.
If you think she is just catching some grammar error or rephrasing the wordings, you are wrong. There was one essay Angela felt I was not doing well, which I felt the same way while writing it. She was very 'harsh' to ask me to 're-write' it for several times until she thought it really represented me in the essay.
During the mock interview stage, I was also struggling with some general questions such as why MBA, why this school. I tended to answer it in a general way at the beginning, but Angela also helped me to rephrase the answer to be consistent with my career goal.
It turned out to be a pretty good result for me I n the end. I got admitted to my first priority school and got the merit based scholarship. Really need to give Angela a big thanks here!

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I was referred to Angela through my manager who happened to be a classmate of hers at Booth. I was confident in the content of my story (at the time), yet I had absolutely no idea how to tell it and that’s why I turned to mbaMission. Angela conducted my initial mbaMission review and I knew from the moment I met her she wasn’t going to tell me what I wanted to hear, but rather what I needed to hear. I signed up shortly thereafter and the journey began. Ultimately, I received interviews at two schools, Sloan and Booth, and was admitted to both. Angela turned a daunting and stressful process into a manageable one and as a result I’ll be attending my dream school at Booth next fall! A few points on what I feel made my relationship with Angela successful and more importantly enjoyable:

Direct, honest feedback
When I spoke to Angela during my free 30 minute consultation with mbaMission there was never a sales pitch. Angela gave honest feedback on my application and a fair assessment of my chances at target schools. With that said she wasn’t afraid of a challenge when I decided to apply to some of the most competitive schools without considering a safety. This remained consistent throughout the application process and I always trusted Angela’s feedback because I knew she had my best interests at heart.

Easy to get to know
I still haven’t met Angela in person, yet she knows more about me than some of my closest friends. Angela is an open book and as a result it doesn’t take long to get to know her and get comfortable working with her. In addition, I believe she does everything she can to get to know her consultants as best as she possibly can. She took a genuine interest in my career and personal life while pointing out strengths and unique attributes that I had never taken the time to consider!

She won’t let you settle for less than your best
Angela took my application to a level I never knew was possible. This wasn’t without its frustrations, but that is because Angela was pushing my application to a place that I would not have been able to take it. I remember wanting to scream through my computer after several revisions of my resume thinking there is no way I can do better than this, but Angela’s feedback was always constructive and I can’t help but laugh at my definition of quality compared to what Angela helped me to produce. This high standard never wavered throughout the process and I truly feel that each application I put forward was the absolute best it could have been.

Interview prep was top notch
When I initially signed up for mbaMission I didn’t even realize that interview prep was included for schools where you received an interview invite, however I found this to be one of the most valuable aspects of our relationship. As I mentioned, I had interviews at two schools and was admitted to both. I owe a great deal of that success to Angela who gave incredible advice on storytelling and preparation while also ensuring I was confident heading into each interview.

Filled in the holes in my application
I can still remember Angela asking me some basic questions on our first call and I quickly realized how incomplete my story was. I knew I wanted to go to B-School, but I couldn’t articulate why! Angela was quick to offer advice and resources to help nail down a compelling story while at the same time helping me take a long and hard look at why I was going to B-School. This proved extremely beneficial and by the time I got to the interview process I was telling my story like I had been planning it since childhood. It boosted my confidence, but also reaffirmed my decision to attend B-School. This isn’t limited to the application process as I feel more prepared to start B-School thanks to the advice Angela provided on career prospects.

Without reservation I would recommend Angela to anyone looking to get the absolute best out of themselves. Words do not do justice for what Angela helped me to achieve and without a doubt in my mind she can do the same for you. If you are serious about B-School and ready for someone to take you to a whole new level while sharing some great laughs and amazing stories along the way then Angela is the consultant for you!!!

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First, I will start by saying that I was a humanities major and definitely a nontraditional candidate. I couldn't decide whether or not I wanted to hire a consultant, and I'm SO glad I did, and I'm SO glad I went with Angela, in particular. She really lives up to all of the amazing testimonials, and I'm positive I wouldn't have gotten into my first choice school (M7) without her help.

Angela was outstanding at both helping me figure out who I was and what was important to me. While I had a sense of these things, Angela really helped me hone my sense of myself, then craft a compelling narrative that conveyed that information. She had a unique skill for simultaneously understanding what made me different, as a nontraditional student, as well as what aspects of my job and extracurriculars would be applicable to a business career. She also helped me hyperfocus on my goals, and what I wanted. Especially as a career switcher, I wasn't sure exactly what area of marketing I'd like to explore in school, but she forced me to really think about what I wanted for my future and to convey that quickly and effectively.

I was so impressed by how deeply knowledgeable Angela was about the admissions process, and about each school's wants/needs. She had an incredibly nuanced understanding of what each school was looking for, and helped me shape targeted essays. We worked on essays for three different schools, and each of those collection of essays highlighted different strengths and facets of my personality. She never pushed me to be someone else, or to say what the schools wanted to hear--rather, she helped me understand how I would fit into each school's culture, and how to express that clearly and concisely to each school. My essays would never have been as targeted, focused, or relevant without Angela's guidance.

Throughout the process, she was very honest about my strengths and weaknesses. For example, I had a free consultation with a different consultant, who said my GMAT score wouldn't be a problem and I wouldn't need to retake the test. However, Angela took a closer look at my score (which skewed heavily in favor of verbal), and told me that it was in my best interest to get my quant score up, as it would be a stumbling block at the top schools. This sort of honesty and critical analysis of my application was ESSENTIAL in my understanding where I was strong, where I was weak, and where I needed to devote my energies to present the best application possible.

I also have to say that Angela was just a joy to work with, as a person. She was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, clear-headed, friendly, and extremely responsive. It was so easy to get a hold of her, even when it was for a brief question, or when I needed someone to talk me down from a minor panic.

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About 15 months ago, I was a regular high school teacher who hardly knew what an MBA was -- it was certainly never a part of my long-term plans. I had seen those three letters strung together, but I had no familiarity with the extent to which admissions was highly competitive, the opportunities this degree offered to radically transform my career, and the amount of labor that the application process would require.

After a couple of months of initial research, I knew that the MBA would be a good option for me, so I was considering whether to hire an admissions consulting service. I was at first skeptical of the value proposition and the extent to which they could ultimately improve my chances of gaining admission to my target schools. However, after an initial consultation with MBA Mission, I became certain that I wanted their help in order to maximize my chances of being admitted. Helen's background and experience speaks for itself, and the support she would give me over the following months was indispensable.

First and foremost, Helen is enthusiastic and authentic in her desire to help. During our initial brainstorming session she was warm and affable, and she really pushed me to think deeply and express myself clearly about the most subtle nuances of my personal history and experience. This primed me for success during the application process, and she would repeat these behaviors as we prepared to tackle each successive application (we worked on 4 total together).

However, do not take her kindness for weakness. Helen was a warm and enthusiastic supporter, but she never showed satisfaction when I did not deserve it. While there were some initial essay drafts for which she showed enthusiasm, there were quite a few where she frankly told me that my concept was off or my writing was inadequate. Further, she was a stickler for details -- I recall one essay for which she pushed me to write nine total drafts, several times demonstrating dissatisfaction over word choice in one mere phrase or sentence.

The process was labor intensive -- just as it should be. In applying to top MBA programs, I wanted to present myself as clearly and positively as possible so that the admissions officers could see the benefits of adding me to their program. I decided to hire an admissions consultant because I wanted the best possible chance of accomplishing that task. If there is someone better than Helen for the job, I'd be truly surprised. I thought that her advice and support throughout the process was top-notch and worth every penny.

As a result of her support, I gained admission to three top-10 programs (one being an M7), all of which offered generous scholarships. I am incredibly grateful for the support I received, and I would strongly encourage anyone who reads this review to consider her.

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I found that working with Krista was a very beneficial experience that was well worth the investment. She assisted me in fine tuning, organizing, and getting the most out of my essays. She was also very helpful in preparing for the admissions interviews. I appreciated that she shared her knowledge regarding the admissions process and more importantly how I could get this most out of my application.

The hourly services exceeded my expectations and I would highly recommend working with her. By having a mock interview with her, I was more confident in communicating my story, explaining why I was applying to the specific schools, and where I wanted to eventually take my career. Great experience!

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I started off my MBA journey pretty naive and unsure about how to approach the process. I was impressed by mbaMission from the get-go, and I was paired with Susan Kaplan who I worked with for my 4 school package (to which I added another school in the middle of the process.)

Working with Susan was, in a good way, like being in an MBA admissions bootcamp. It was not an easy process by any means. You will need to do a lot of research on your own, and as most reviewers say, the consultant will never do the work for you (which is good!) so be prepared to work pretty hard, and be rest assured that it will pay off in the end. Susan was extremely focused on helping me get to the results that I wanted, and she wasn't afraid to dish out some tough love in order to help me achieve them.

I thought I had everything figured out for my (round 1) applications. However Susan helped me understand that a major concern in my candidacy was the lack of concrete post-MBA career goals. She pushed me to research roles I was interested in (that were realistic and achievable given my current experience) and tie them back to the resources offered at each of the schools I was targeting. I poured a lot of information into our initial brainstorming session, and she was able to extract the meaningful components that I eventually used to complete the 7 essays I worked with her on. She actually helped me learn more about myself in the process.

The essays themselves were brutal, but Susan never once missed a deadline or returned my drafts late. In fact, she occasionally even returned them ahead of time so that I would have a little extra time to work on them. She was never afraid to tell me to scrap an entire section out of my essay, in which case she would provide more detailed feedback to help me get my points across more effectively. Whether it was getting an expedited review through, or adding in a school 3 weeks before its application deadline, Susan was very accommodating and understanding of why I needed the extra help. We went through almost 10 drafts for one of the schools and she worked tirelessly to help me answer the question exactly as the school would like me to.

Susan was also very proactive with my interview prep. I had 4 interviews, and even though I felt more and more comfortable with each one, she still ensured that I had a mock interview with her for each school so that I was able to handle the questions effectively.

I ended up getting into 3 out of the 5 schools I applied to (including a top 10 school), with one of the schools offering me a substantial scholarship. I am currently waitlisted at another school, and Susan has stuck by me even through the waitlist process by helping me understand what the school needed and working with me on crafting an effective waitlist update letter. She was always one of the first people I reached out to when I received every one of my decisions, and I am certainly very happy with the results.

Overall, working with Susan was hard work but very worth it. While the sensitive side of me had some difficulty with the tough love, I knew that that was what I had hired a consultant for - someone to give me the cold hard facts so I could get through this grueling process successfully.

On a more general note - I found mbaMission to be extremely focused on the client, and not so much on giving acceptance metrics or other marketing figures to draw people in. They know that you're already shelling out a lot of money for their services, and I never perceived them trying to upsell in any way. They have excellent resources (start-to-finish guide, school insider guides, interview primers), and their newsletter is actually really helpful too. Highly recommend these guys (and Susan)!

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I worked with Krista Nannery during round one of the 2015-2016 admissions cycle on applications to four schools through a “Start-to-Finish” package.

While Krista’s guidance and support was exceptional throughout the application process, I believe the following points would be of particular interest to individuals contemplating working with her:

1) She helped me convey my story authentically.

Prior to engaging a consultant, I found it rather difficult to assess through self-reflection what attributes and anecdotes were most important to my personal narrative. I had mentally succumbed to the notion that there was a model candidate for each school and that the unspoken goal of the application process was to spin my story to fit a specific mold. Krista as an individual and mbaMission as a firm overwhelmingly reject that philosophy.

Krista put forth great effort in our initial brainstorming session to gain a comprehensive understanding of who I am, both personally and professionally. An intent listener, she pressed me for further details on a family experience that I briefly mentioned and had not previously shared in any great detail, even with my closest friends. After continued exploration, this story provided the foundation for my application to several schools.

Krista did not hesitate to tell me when she did not believe my writing was presenting a genuine account of my complete self. In the end, she helped me truly find my voice and communicate the compelling aspects of my candidacy in a manner that was cogent and cohesive.

2) She pushed me to write concisely.

While I consider myself to be a fairly effective writer, I am often unnecessarily verbose. As such, conveying numerous and seemingly disparate stories under a limited word count was one of the most daunting challenges of the application process for me. Krista’s extensive corporate experience has left her with a keen ability to use words and structure sentences efficiently. She helped me condense my writing while at the same time making it more powerful and evocative. Essays where I thought I would only be able to relay one or two stories suddenly accommodated three or four. Consequently, I was able to paint the fullest possible portrait of myself and maximize the potential of every written component of my application, including my essays, resume and short answer responses.

3) She allowed me see the big picture.

As a self-described perfectionist, the subjective nature of the essay composition process had the potential to drive me absolutely crazy and lead to writer’s block, which would have been fatal under a schedule in which I needed to complete four applications in just over a month. Krista leveraged her past experience as an application reader to help me focus my efforts on the elements of my application that would be truly decisive from the perspective of an admissions committee. She relentlessly pushed me to improve essays and short answer responses where I wasn’t putting my best foot forward but also helped me avoid wasting time on trivial details after I had already accomplished my goal.

4) Her feedback and support was direct and consistently accretive.

Drafting applications, especially when working with a consultant, is an inherently iterative process. Every time I sent Krista a new draft of a document, she provided me with concrete strategic steps I could take to improve it. Given her quick turnaround times for reviewing documents, it was evident to me that she was constantly thinking about my application even when she didn’t have it in hand, which further demonstrates her commitment to her clients.

Krista genuinely cared about me personally and I always felt like I was her only client. Whenever we spoke, I never felt rushed and always had her undivided attention. Her commentary was thorough, encouraging, genuine and actionable. She believed in me with high expectations for what I could achieve. As much as I worked diligently on my applications to leave admissions committees with a positive impression, I also did not want to let down Krista and always strove to ensure that my efforts were commensurate with hers.


I will be happily attending Booth this fall and enthusiastically recommend Krista to future MBA applicants.

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I had a fantastic experience with the Stratus Prep team's counsellor Harold Simansky. He helped me build my story authentically and comprehensively and identify my goals through introspection exercises. He helped me ensure that my experience before b school through my story was in perfect sync with my post MBA goals. Next, I was also supported through the b school search process. Considering the number of b schools and all the varied rankings available, I felt Harold's advice was invaluable during the b-school selection stage given my specific career goals and personal inclinations. Next, when it came down to the essay editing process, his support was timely and exceptional with every edit till the final essay was ready. Harold also collaborated with his team mates whenever there was a need and I must thank Vinod for his great advice during the essay editing process. During the interview stage, I got a mock interview done with Harold which was very helpful and increased my confidence immensely. I also received a lot of questions to practice with. All in all, my experience was outstanding with the Stratus Prep team and with the counsellor Harold in particular ---the result ---I got into my first choice B school with a pretty average gmat score!

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Through her expert, customized and prompt advice and her warm, welcoming demeanor, Katy Lewis helped me put the finishing touches on my HBS application.

In a short time, Katy developed a deep understanding of my personality and story. She also enhanced my understanding of the cultures of the top MBA programs, which cemented HBS as my top choice (I didn't even apply to GSB). Through our conversations, Katy helped me refine my essay in a way that much better represented my story and themes.

Also, Katy's mock HBS interview was essential! During our mock interview, Katy asked many of the questions that my HBS interviewer ultimately asked. Katy helped channel my nervousness into excitement, which made me feel much more at ease during my actual interview.

Also worth noting: MBA Mission's preparatory materials are impressive and comprehensive. They gather all sorts of extremely helpful info -- including school marketing materials, applicant testimonials, past questions, and MBA Mission's own 10-15 page school summary -- all in a digestible packet. I reviewed this packet many times as I finalized my application and prepared for my interview.

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