I did my research when selecting a consultant to help me navigate the MBA admissions process. I read many positive reviews on mbaMission’s Kate Richardson. If this review helps you choose Kate, then I will feel as if I paid it forward!
Kate Richardson is among the best, if not the best. Never did I feel alone during the daunting MBA admissions process. Kate has the unique ability to make you feel like her only client. Kate, of course, provided invaluable feedback during the resume reviews, essay edits and interview prep. But, where I found Kate's guidance most helpful was with the intangibles. For example, no question about logistics or timeline was too small or unimportant for Kate to answer. It was really important for me to have a clear picture of expectations and a manageable schedule to complete all the steps of the application. Kate was a great partner in this. I found Kate was always encouraging while providing realistic perspective. Kate is a serious bright spot throughout the MBA application process. If you want an advocate who will help you realize your goals, look no further than Kate!

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Working with Jessica was my highlight of not only this whole process, but my year. Jessica takes an incredibly stressful, arduous, and long process, and simplifies it into something that is so manageable and easy to follow. Going into working with a consultant, I had no idea what to expect, but Jessica makes you feel so comfortable and right at home from the moment you she picks up your first phone call for the 30 minute free consultation. Just after those 30 minutes, I knew that she was the right person to work with. We connected so easily, and she really expresses her excitement and enthusiasm from the moment you meet her. She is a gold mine of knowledge of every school, and really understands the intricacies of each application and what to highlight to make you shine. I can say without a doubt that I would not have made it to this point without her.

Jessica listens to your story, understands the smallest details, and knows how to ask the right questions to really dive deep and get to the core of what's important. She also never tries to change your story, she only works towards getting every detail out so it sounds as strong as possible. As someone applying on the younger side, I was a bit worried but Jessica was so motivating and encouraging along the way that I really never felt that it was a weakness in my profile. She had encouraging but honest answers to every question I asked, and even was there for me to get me back on track when I was lagging behind in the early stages of essay writing.

Jessica is truly your champion, and supports you like no other. She holds your story and profile so close to her heart and you can see the time, effort, and care she puts into making it become the best it can possibly be. She is tough at times, and is very direct and candid with her feedback -- but this is what I was looking for in a consultant and what I believe made my work the best it could be.

If you want someone who is truly on your team, who supports you through all the highs and lows of the process, and really cares about you, Jessica is all of this, and more. There is no end to what I could say about how great of a consultant, and even more than that, person, she is.

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Kate was an amazing consultant and delivered all the guidance I needed throughout the entire application process. I spoke to a few consultants but I think what separated Kate was I could tell she was not just in it for the business but genuinely cared about her clients.

I ended up getting into my top choice school and attribute a lot of the success to Kate's help. While I used much of the time available for essay editing, Kate was always around to answer any questions that I had. Would 100% recommend anyone who is considering business school to consider Kate as a consultant.

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I would highly recommend Kim to anyone on the fence about hiring an admissions consultant, or unsure of which consultant to work with. I took a chance on Kim and mbaMission after a brief phone consultation, and will be forever grateful that I did. Kim invested an extraordinary amount of time and energy into getting to know me as a candidate (and person), and channeled that understanding into helping me craft an incredibly well-packaged narrative highlighting my strengths and personal brand. Kim guided me through the admissions process every step of the way, acting as a coach, cheerleader, and teammate in one from our kick-off call to the day I received my acceptance letter from CBS. Most importantly, Kim clearly believed in me as a person and cared deeply about my success. As a result, the application I submitted was distinctly my own, rather than a contrived attempt at following some prescribed “CBS formula,” and this fact gave me a great deal of confidence going into my interview. Overall, working with Kim was an overwhelmingly positive experience, and it is safe to say that I would not be headed to my dream school next fall were it not for her guidance.

One final note: I myself was a skeptic of admissions consulting prior to working with Kim and mbaMission. After all, how much value could a consultant really add on top of what I would gain from completing a “self-guided” tour of the latest admissions literature and MBA applicant forums? As it turns out, a great deal. For example: I was by no means the perfect applicant, and had a gaping hole in my application in the form of a 710 GMAT score with a 40 on the quant sub-section (yikes). Although I had decided to hang up my cleats on the GMAT after several failed attempts at improvement, Kim talked me out of testing retirement for one last Hail Mary on the Executive Assessment. After two weeks of brush-up studying, I took the home version of the EA and walked away with a 95th percentile score. Instantly, the biggest weakness of my application transformed into a strength; not only did my EA score represent an improvement on a percentile basis, it also enabled CBS to focus on the other, stronger aspects of my profile, since EA scores aren’t factored into school rankings. Despite the confidence I placed in my own “self-guided” admissions research, I had somehow missed this incredible opportunity that ironically exists somewhat uniquely for CBS (that is, applying with the EA for the full-time program). That Kim was familiar enough with the school to catch this technicality (along with the fact that she was able to coach a very reluctant standardized tester back into the game) speaks volumes about her abilities as a consultant. If you were initially skeptical about bringing in outside help for your applications, I hope that I’ve now convinced you.

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My experience with Kim Hoey at mbamission was amazing! When I was stressed about my past, Kim always encouraged me to look at the positives. With her innovation and experience, she was able to refine my story into a clear and concise narrative. She was always meeting my deadlines and always checking in on me. One thing to point out especially when you are applying to 4 or more schools is that from brainstorming to drafting essays, before you know it, the deadlines are approaching. Kim took the time to create a detailed schedule for me to stay on track. She has a special quality of empathy. I would recommend her to anyone considering an admissions consultant. Last but not least, mbamission is a rockstar firm with many great resources for its clients. Jeremy Shinewald is leading the best team in the industry.

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Rachel was invaluable in my application process. I applied to only one M7 program and can’t fathom the quality difference between my final application and the one I had started out with on my own.
Business school applications are like training for a marathon and Rachel was the best coach I could have asked for. She took the time to learn about my past, present and future in all aspects of my life, not just educational/professional. She was always honest yet gave me the opportunity to push back when I felt strongly about something. She was warm, inquisitive, and sympathetic.
Rachel always responded well-within the guaranteed time, even on vacation. She held me to deadlines without being too pushy and was able to pivot with our strategy when we hit a roadblock. We are both perfectionists; I had comfort knowing I could ask her opinion on anything, no matter how small.
When I told Rachel about my acceptance, she was genuinely as excited about the news as I was. I would recommend her to anyone looking to apply to a top-tier MBA.

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I work in investment management and will be attending a part-time weekend MBA program. I worked with Kate on a two school package and she was an incredible resource in making my applications as strong as possible.

She helped me narrow in on the strengths to highlight in my applications but also helped me identify my weaknesses and developed a plan to address them. One of my key weaknesses was a lack of community engagement.

Kate kept me on task throughout the process. Her help in tailoring my story and providing constructive feedback on my writing resulted in extremely strong essays.

We did mock interviews that made me much more prepared and confident in my interviews. Ultimately I got into both of the schools that I applied to and both offered me merit scholarships that exceeded my expectations. Going into my MBA applications, I was somewhat naive to the process and all that it entailed. Kate helped me navigate all of it and prepared me better than I ever could have on my own.

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I worked with Debbie on the 3 School Package. She was an excellent partner throughout the MBA Admission process.

Our beginning sessions were focused on shaping my holistic story that I would tell admissions. She spent the time to get to know who I was to better recommend what my essays and resume should highlight. This was a critical step that we took before diving into the deliverables and made the rest of the process much smoother and effective.

Debbie was immensely helpful in the editing process - she provided effective feedback in a timely manner and was always available to help answer all the questions I had through the admissions process.

I would highly recommend Debbie to anyone who wants to pursue their MBA!

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I reached out to mbaMission for a free consultation under the recommendation of my GMAT tutor from Manhattan Prep before my final GMAT exam. Speaking to a consultant before taking the GMAT exam proved to be more beneficial than initially thought as it allowed me to set realistic expectations for my target/dream school and my target score.
During my free consultation, Gavriella objectively reviewed my application strengths and weaknesses and affirmed my belief that my target score was indeed in line with my target program as well as free resources/tips to start getting in MBA programs' radar (this was a good 5-6 months before round 1 deadline)
The free 30 min consultation led me to engage in an hourly service with Gavriella to aid in my application for my target program. Through out the process, Gavriella abided by mbaMission's turnaround guarantee and was extremely responsive to little questions.
I ended up finished preparing for my application a good 1 month prior to round 1 deadline and recently just received my offer of admission to my target program.

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Dear Future Admitted Students,

First and foremost, as a reapplicant in the MBA process and an extremely curious person, I have read a lot of information about all aspects covering the application process from the most reliable sources, such as GMAT Club, Poets & Quants, mbaMission, and others. It’s valid to mention that I have joined, easily, more than 40 online events from a lot of schools and third-party webinars, including Centre Court. Second, I have worked with 3 different admissions consultants in the 2020-21 applications cycle, in which I applied for 7 schools, to only get waitlisted (Haas).

That being said, as I have an atypical profile, I engaged pretty seriously in finding the BEST person to help me, so I decided to give a shot to mbaMission. After reading the profiles and watching ALL video presentations at the site, I finally picked JESSICA SHKLAR to be my consultant. In the very first minutes of the call, being really empathetic with my goals, she laser-focused on rearing my story and on which aspects of my previous applications to improve. It was pretty impressive to see her in action, since in 30 min, she had already laid a plan and rationale to best present me to the adcom. Indeed, this is a CRITICAL part of the process, because the candidate will have to address this logic not only in the essays, but also, in some interview questions. For instance, “walk me through your resume”, “tell me about yourself”, “how did you get to this point of your career”, and others.

Another point that is truly vital, if not the MOST one, is the school’s selection. Certainly, this is a scary part of the process, because the candidate wants to pick her/ his dream school, but be realistic in getting accepted. Jessica, continuing exceptionally proactive and encouraging, sent me an email in less than 20 min after our call, laying out the best schools for me. To my surprise, she hand-picked schools and programs that are in the top 10 schools of US News. She remarkably maximized my chances by doing so.

In a nutshell, in my point of view, MBA applications are all about strategy and Jessica has extraordinary interpersonal and “MBA skills” to address all the candidate’s needs to land a spot in one’s dream school. She constantly impressed me with her ability to provide feedback in a direct, candid, and fast manner. Also, she responded to general questions exceedingly reliably and timely. Noticeably, I was pleasantly surprised with how effectively she dug into my personal and professional background to help me present my goals and storyline. Additionally, she was able to set an application strategy efficiently and successfully, landing me a spot in my dream school. By the way, I’m still waiting for the decision of 2 more schools, both top 10.

Ultimately, I highly recommend Jessica and mbaMission to anyone both looking to apply to a competitive MBA program and searching to have a joyful application experience. Trust me, it makes all the difference. I, definitely, would not have made it without her guidance, insights, and genuine support. As Isaac Newton said: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

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