Spark notes:

Gavi is articulate, approachable, pragmatic, and incredibly smart. She removed any intimidation I had about the application process, and helped me cement my story and goals in a way that was strategic, calculated, but also nurturing.

Working with Gavi was like working with a good friend who wants you to succeed, but is not afraid to step back and be real with an honest, third party perspective. Her knowledge of the application nuances between each school was extensive, and she was extremely accommodating and flexible throughout my somewhat accelerated (my own fault) process.

You *will not* regret working with Gavi. I could not have made it through applications and interviews - and into programs! - without her insight, encouragement, and guidance.

Full picture:

Like many others, I decided to apply to MBA programs during a period of uncertainty. I'd already taken the GRE and researched schools, but needed clarity on my story, and direction on how to holistically incorporate my experiences and ambitions. On top of that, I was starting the application process only a month out from R1 deadlines, so everything was accelerated and I was overwhelmed. 

Working with Gavi brought clarity and more - she was truly the calm within the storm in what would have been an otherwise unbearably frenzied process. My biggest obstacle was the overwhelming number of themes I was trying to incorporate, and Gavi's ability to distill them into compelling narrative was invaluable. Her clarity was particularly helpful throughout essay outlining / writing / editing, where she broke down the process into measured, achievable segments that kept me on track and on topic. Gavi has also been incredibly supportive throughout the interview process, sharing previous questions unprompted, helping me strategize, talk through themes, and brainstorm examples of past work and projects.

On top of her extensive insight and skill set, Gavi is extremely invested, caring, and supportive. She offered guidance and reassurance when I was struggling to balance a demanding full-time job with the application process, and - not only put up with, but also helped me work through - the anxiety and stress of the past 6 months. She is a fabulous MBA coach and career coach who genuinely cares about her clients’ success and happiness. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

As stated above, work with Gavi - I cannot recommend her enough.

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I cannot thank Nisha enough for her guidance throughout the entire application process. I say with confidence that working with Nisha was the best decision I made.

Nisha was quick to respond - faster than prescribed - which I found extremely helpful, given the tight timelines for application. She has always been kind to provide guidance/ clarification via email or phone call whenever needed, even outside her normal work hour.

Also, Nisha has a special skill for understanding the heart of an applicant’s story, which, I believe makes her edits crisp and insightful. Her questions/ feedbacks helped me craft interesting stories and highlight unique aspects which I had not thought of.

Lastly, during the mock interview, Nisha provided very detailed feedback on each question & answer. She also asked/ helped me prepare for questions that were not in the mbaMission guidebook – which I found really helpful!

Overall, I am thankful for being able to work with Nisha. I am glad that I met her to get into my dream school – top tier MBA program.

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In spring 2020, I declined five acceptances to MBA programs due to COVID-19. Although I was accepted to my dream school, Wharton, I hoped to reapply and earn a scholarship. With Round 1 deadlines quickly approaching, I questioned whether I should also throw my hat in at Harvard. During my first call with Heidi, she helped me unpack my story, dig deeper, and uncover a side to myself that I had been afraid to share. She assured me that we could create two compelling packages for HBS and Wharton within a few weeks. Her support gave me the confidence to apply to both schools.

When I submitted my essays to Heidi for review, she responded quickly and provided feedback that was tangible and in-line with my personal message. Her comments never took away from my authentic voice and enabled me to create two applications that I was incredibly proud to stand behind. I was accepted to HBS and received a full tuition scholarship to Wharton!

I could not have accomplished this feat without Heidi’s support! In addition to being an excellent admissions consultant, Heidi is a wonderful human being. Her positivity and thoughtfulness are unmatched. I am so grateful for her help and HIGHLY recommend her!

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I cannot say enough positive things about working with Nisha and mbaMission - highly recommend to anyone seeking to gain admission to a top MBA program!

I wasn't initially planning to use an admissions consulting service, but I decided to give mbaMission's free consultation a try (who doesn't like free things?). After reading through all of the consultant bios, I chose to work with Nisha since her professional experience most closely aligned with my intended post-MBA career plans. After exchanging a couple of emails, I sent Nisha a copy of my resume for review -- while I was impressed with her responsiveness, I was still skeptical that I would get much out of our session. BOY WAS I WRONG! As it turns out, Nisha not only provided me with valuable tips and tricks, but she walso asked the right questions to help me better articulate my accomplishments. I knew within the first 15 minutes of my consultation that I wanted to continue working with Nisha throughout my application process.

I ended up purchasing an hourly package so that I could work with Nisha as I drafted my essays. For context, my essay drafts were in decent shape at the time we began working together, but Nisha really helped me get to the point where I was telling my own story in a unique and engaging way in each essay. I appreciated that Nisha did not try to "change" my story or put words in my mouth that would make my application inauthentic, albeit stronger; she provided insightful suggestions on how I could best articulate both my story and my goals.

Nisha also provided invaluable guidance on what each school was looking for in the essays in terms of the topics/themes to address. I probably would have ended up with very different (read: weaker) essays had we not had those conversations. I really appreciated Nisha's ability to provide strategic direction when it came to the content of the essays, as well as her attention to detail (e.g, grammer, word choice) when it came to proofreading my final drafts.

Additionally, I was very impressed with Nisha's quick turnaround time and the depth of her reviews -- she usually sent comments and suggestions within 24 hours of receiving a draft. We exchanged several drafts of each essay (average of 3 essays per school, I applied to 5 schools) in a relatively short time frame so that I could meet all of the RD1 deadlines. I was also very impressed (and pleased and thankful) that Nisha was able to clear her schedule ,with very little notice, to help me prep for my first interview (which came weeks before I was expecting to hear back). She walked me though a mock behavioral interview and then spent a significant amount of time debriefing my performance and giving me frameworks to make my responses stronger. I was able to apply those framworks to confidently answer every question thrown at me during my interview!

Ultimately, I gained admission to each of the MBA programs* I applied to w/significant scholarships. I have no doubt that Nisha played an integral role in strengthing my application and making it stand out.

Thank you, Nisha!!

*Applied to Tuck, Darden, Fuqua, Johnson, Stern

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TL;DR: Debbie helped me get into HBS (my top choice) and MIT Sloan, and got waitlisted for Stanford GSB. I applied to only these three schools, and I have no doubt these results wouldn't have been possible without Debbie's insight and feedback on my essays and applications.

I first talked to Debbie over phone to see which service was the better option for me. Debbie walked me through the details for hourly and package options and at the end I decided to proceed with hourly service bc of my limited budget.

I started working on the applications around mid August and was very concerned about the limited time I had until R1 deadlines. Debbie ensured me that I still had time to bring up solid applications if I focused on them. I started working on my essays and had no idea what to write, and even if I wrote something, I was totally insecure and in doubt about the contents and the fact that they might be unsuitable for an MBA application. I went through many rounds of reviews with Debbie—removed many contents from my first drafts, added new contents, and improved whatever I had first—significantly improving my essays at the end. Debbie’s comments and feedback gave me a huge peace of mind about both my essays' contents and the their format, style. I can safely say that without Debbie’s comments and insight, there’s absolutely no way I could have achieved the results I got from these three schools.
Debbie was very easy to work, patience, positive, and flexible in the process. As mentioned before I started working my applications too late and there were many instances when I needed high-level feedback on the same day. Debbie was ALWAYS open to quick, high-level questions on certain applications questions I had or something specific in the essays I had doubt on. I remember I had MANY high-level questions just 1 or 2 days before HBS, GSB, and MIT deadlines. I sent my questions to Debbie through email and she always got back to me by the end of the same day. This alone was a HUGE help. Also, mbaMission has a policy that they would review the essay drafts within 2 days after sending them to the consultant. There were a few occasions that I needed my draft gotten back to me the same day or in just one day. Debbie showed flexibility on this when it was close to the deadline and gave the drafts back to me earlier than she had to. Again, a great help and peace of mind before final submissions.
In summary, Debbie was a huge help and source of direction both on my essays and my application questions. My experience with an MBA consultant and results I got couldn’t have been better.

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I worked with Debbie for a very short amount of time – initial consultation and 2 hours of edits - but she provided me much more than I expected out of such a short time!

When I had an initial session with Debbie, I knew mbaMission/ Debbie would be the right choice because she was familiar with application strategies based on my background (international student, finance) and I loved her positive attitude! However, I ended up deciding on a different consultant because I wanted to have someone in the same time zone to reach out to whenever necessary. Later, I had a couple of occasions in which I question my consultant’s essay and resume style, so I asked Debbie for a second opinion on my resume and essays only for my top choice school, Wharton. She got my "story" from my resume/essays and gave me some hints on how to convey real episodes that lead to my future goal.

I would highly recommend working with Debbie – even for a short hourly service – to anyone who is looking for a consultant. I couldn’t have made it to Wharton without her help!

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I was initially recommended to MBAmission by a colleague, but I was unsure as to who I should work with and a couple of people recommended Michael because of his expertise in translating experience and career aspirations into a compelling application. In the initial 30-minute free consultation, Michael helped me set clear goals, create a work plan, and answered my most pressing doubts. This convinced me he was the person I wanted to work with in the application process. Michael helped me tell my story in the best manner possible and then pushed me to go beyond what I had originally planned, making my application much stronger. In the end, I got into UC Berkeley which was my number one choice for a school and with a scholarship to boot! This would not have been possible without Michael’s dedicated guidance and help. With the scholarship, Michael’s fees more than paid for themselves. I strongly recommend him to anyone looking to get into a competitive program.

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When I began my journey of looking for an MBA admissions consultant, I was told multiple times to hold off and wait to apply till I had a better GMAT score. However, when I met Devi Vallabhaneni with mbaMission, my experience with her was different. She looked at my overall profile and told me where I needed to focus on - aka, my GMAT score. She advised me on how to make my application show that I was strong in quant through things such as my work experience and recommendations since my GMAT score was not portraying that.

Additionally, I struggled with the timing of when to submit my application. I was moving from India to the states in the midst of the pandemic and didn't know if I had it in me to go for round 1. Devi helped me pace myself and set achievable goals so that I could meet the round 1 deadline.

Where Devi helped me the most (which, in my opinion, was not her responsibility, but she did from the goodness of her heart) was the in between of submitting my application, going through interviews, and waiting to hear back from the school. I was extremely anxious, like extremely. Devi lifted me up every time we talked. She reminded me of my strengths and encouraged me to stay optimistic.

Sure enough, I got into the only school I applied to, my dream school - London Business School. And when my anxiety set in about thinking that LBS may have given me a handout and that I did not match up to my peers, I got a scholarship for half my tuition, which solidified my candidacy even more.

Devi not only helped me get into my dream school but also helped me map out my future to achieve my full potential.

As you can see, I highly recommend mbaMission and Devi Vallabhaneni.

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I had the pleasure of working with Heidi Granner in the summer and fall of 2020. The process of applying was daunting, but Heidi made the process seamless and enjoyable! I was matched with Heidi early on and was immediately impressed by her credentials and knowledge. After the initial consultation, I did not initiate the application process for several months after our initial consultation however, Heidi was immediately responsive and eager to work with me during a seemingly busy time.

Heidi was an insightful, proactive, and professional consultant. Her admissions knowledge led me to discover the right target schools given my professional background, test scores (lower), and career goals. Originally, I thought my “dream” schools were X, Y & Z, but Heidi steered me in a direction that perfectly aligned with my career goals. I had a lower GMAT/GRE score than I had hoped for, but Heidi helped me navigate these waters well. In the essay portions of the application, she provided honest and thorough feedback and certainly helped me to learn more about myself in the process.

Heidi provided the tools to maximize my chances of acceptance each step of the way. This expertise was invaluable and am forever thankful! With her guidance, I was accepted into a M7 MBA program and my dream school. I would 100% recommend Heidi as an MBA consultant and fortunate we had the opportunity to work with her. She is an amazing mentor and person.

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I highly recommend Cat from mbaMission. I used the hourly service with Cat to review my resume and four essays for my top school. All of Cat's edits were articulate, accurate, and really took my application to the next level. Cat was extremely responsive and efficient. I really appreciated her authenticity, organization, and calm demeanor. I did a few trials with other consulting companies and felt that I was often being compared to other applicants or judged on factors I couldn't control (i.e. my undergraduate school), however with Cat there was no comparison or judgment throughout any of our time together. I felt so confident submitting my application after having Cat review it and was accepted Early Action. I could not have done it without her!

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