After speaking with a handful of consultants at both boutique firms and big name companies, I decided to work with Heidi Granner. Other consultants felt I was too "high risk" to take on as a client since I had a low GMAT, GPA, and only 3 years of experience. Heidi was the first to show compassion and confidence in pulling together a great application. She was realistic in telling me which schools to target and worked with me on my essays on an hourly basis. Since I was applying to 3 schools, the hourly option was best for me. Her turnaround was quick and even ahead of schedule. The improvement from my first draft to my final drafts were incredible. Heidi was forthcoming with opinions if an essay lacked substance but always gave me the option to choose whatever topic I chose. I really appreciated her thoughts and took her edits very seriously. I'd highly recommend working with Heidi on your MBA essays.

Read More

I was referred to Harshad by another mbamission consultant, who spoke highly of him. I used hourly services with Harshad since I needed help with certain aspects of my application, and without a doubt, it was the best decision. After my first two consultations with Harshad, I was impressed by his authenticity, honesty, and willingness to help me. He and I explored all areas of my background to come up with a clear, cohesive story. Harshad recommended a four-pronged strategy that became the foundation for my essays, considerably strengthening my application for the four schools that I applied. I applied in the January round, and I started my application in November of the prior year, leaving me about three months to complete my applications (I already took my standardized tests when I first contacted Harshad). The time to complete my application seemed short and daunting, but Harshad made the experience so much better. We both had a great work rhythm, and Harshad was always responsive to my emails, answering my questions clearly and in detail. In each step of the way, I felt very comfortable and confident working with him.

In the end, I got into all four top schools schools, with significant scholarship money. I’m thrilled about the results, and I truly recommend working with Harshad. Thank you for all of your help!

Read More

Trusting Katy to guide my MBA admission process (written application + interviews) was best decision I could have made. Uber efficient with your time and money. Do everything you can to work with her. Would do it again 100 times out of 100.

Do you know why you want to go to business school? No, why you really want to go to business school?
What about [insert city name] ecosystem makes you want to spend 2 year of graduate school studying there?
Which business school is the best cultural fit for you?
What about your first job made you see the world differently in your second job?

There is no formula here. Personal answers to these questions require conversations with many people you respect and trust; I felt this about Katy after just one call. In addition, I found Katy's MBA specific experience to be invaluable - of being an HBS student herself and seeing thousands of previous successful and non-successful people go through and come out the other side of business school. Katy cared about my success, became my go to thought partner by asking questions like these, and helped me self-discover and articulate moments in my past that make me special and well suited for a particular business school.

I have a unique perspective on MBA consultants because I actually started my journey with an MBA consultant from a different firm - The Admission Advisory Group - it was a horrendous experience DONT GO THERE!. That other consultant pushed a "formula" on me for the written application and told me to wait a year before applying and I would not get in because my application did not fit into their "formula". I was extremely demoralized after that first experience with the other consultant and knew the advice didn't sound right. Now on the other side I know there is no magic formula (don't go looking for one) to get into business school, and I am grateful I found Katy to help me help myself shine.

Lastly, When it came down to interviews, Katy knows the ins and outs of the different styles at various MBA programs. Her mock interviews with me (even on weekends) helped me shorten my answers, focus on my unique aspects, and go into the interviews with confidence.

Read More

I signed up for hourly consulting services with Krista Nannery less than a week before Christmas last year. I was feeling dejected about my MBA prospects, having been waitlisted/denied at the two schools I had applied to in R1, and desperately needed help with my essays for three R2 applications.

From day one Krista was cheery, positive and professional. Her sunny demeanor re-energized me and her enthusiasm for the programs I was applying to reminded me why I started the application process to begin with. What I liked most about working with Krista was the way she seamlessly transitioned between specific, detail oriented feedback on my writing (like punctuation and syntax errors) to very broad, holistic feedback (really making me think through why I picked certain examples for my essays and whether there were better examples I could be using).

She was also incredibly quick with turnaround times, especially considering we were working around the Christmas and New Year holidays. She often returned materials to me well ahead of the stated deadlines for mbaMission consulting.

She also made the consulting process very personal by sharing her own reactions and similar experiences to what I wrote about in my essays.

After my applications were submitted, Krista checked back in for news on interview invites and also gave me helpful guidance on making my final choice once admission decisions came in.

At the end of the day, I ended up getting interview invites at all three schools that Krista helped me apply to, and was admitted to two M7 schools with scholarship money at both. It definitely would not have been possible without Krista!

Read More

Kate is the perfect mix of professionally capable and personable. I have an unconventional background and short WE which made it challenging to apply to top 20 schools. Kate was very patient in the early stages when I was trying to figure out how to tell my story. Here are the things I was impressed by later on as we delved in the application process:

1. Documents: Kate was such a big help in my resume and essay drafting. She really helped me phrase things in a non-technical way without losing their significance. She offered a fresh perspective on the dos and don’ts for business school application for a young applicant who’s only been in the technical field. For my essays (on average 2 essays/school x 5 schools), she made detailed editing and gave valuable input on re-wording, themes and ideas of each essay. I easily went through at least 3-4 drafts with each essay. Kate thoroughly looked through them and responded to my comments on every single draft. The thing with essay writing is, even if you’re extremely savvy in business jargon and good at writing, it’s still nice (& necessary) to have someone else’s perspective on your essays because you should never assume other people (Adcom) would react to what you write the same way you do, and this is where consultants who know how Adcom thinks come in. I got interviews to ALL BUT ONE school I applied to, which I could’ve never done without Kate’s help.

2. Content: Kate is REALLY thoughtful and efficient in her communication. For example, I’d tell her my concerns, and she’d respond with her take on the issue and multiple solutions to resolve the problem. This pattern persisted all the way from September to April, from drafting essays, attending events, to selecting letter writers, communicating with schools, and then to waitlist strategies and negotiating scholarships! Even when I didn’t ask, if she had material that she knew would be of help to me, she’d send them to me. She takes client’s concerns seriously which I appreciated. Kate also doesn’t beat around the bush if something does not look right. She gives honest, direct and constructive feedback every time. Remember you’re paying thousands of dollars for quality, which is content in the most efficient way possible, and Kate lives up to that expectation.

3. Timeliness: Kate never failed to be responsive. This is something I was really touched by. Around the Holiday seasons when according to mbaMission schedule or her vacation, she didn’t need to respond to any emails, she swiftly responded to my inquiries (not document editing) because a lot of R2 deadlines were right around the corner. She had in mind the schools I was applying to and understood my priority. This is not to say that you should submit documents and expect her to edit them for you when she’s on vacation! The fact that she checked her email AND RESPONDED with thoughtful feedback within a day really showed that she cared, and I appreciated that.

I'm very happy with the result and glad Kate was there throughout the whole thing. Highly recommend Kate for those in need of guidance along the way!

Read More

I was a little late in the game as I only started the process in August. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to work with Kate throughout the process (brainstorming, essay editing, interview preps and mocks, etc). She was very good at identifying my strength and right stories to tell. She was very responsive and always offered good ideas. As an international student with an OK GMAT (730), differentiating my profile was the key, and she did a great job on that. I was admitted to Booth!

If you are trying to differentiate yourself in application, I highly recommend Kate! She will exceed your expectation!

Read More

Harshad and I started working together in August and he helped me through two rounds and applications to seven schools. I can honestly say this feat would have been impossible without him. Fundamentally, he is a warm and kind person who has just the right touch of honesty and pragmatism to keep you focused on what really matters. He is extremely efficient and is more than willing to help you under tight deadlines, which for me was crucial in round 2 where a number of deadlines were back to back. His approach helped me discover a lot about myself and he really pushed me to dig deep and develop unique and interesting ways of defining who I am within each school's vastly different essays.

Harshad made me a better writer and helped me write great essays. He never injected his voice into my content, but simply helped flush out my own ideas in compelling narratives. I felt confident that my essays were the best I could have done and I am not entirely sure what that peace of mind is worth.

Best of all, Harshad's hard work helped me get interviews at every single school I applied to, which was a difficult feat given my competitive but not stellar GMAT.

Four admits, two waitlists (hopefully admits), and one rejection (after an interview) later, you could say Harshad was worth every penny. I am still deciding between two of my dream schools (both in the top 10) and I know I wouldn't be in this position without Harshad. I would highly recommend his consulting services to anyone.

Read More

Working with Jen was both a very helpful and enjoyable experience. She is definitely a pro in this field and working with her was worth the cost. In total I spent 10 hours with Jen on two applications. We started with brainstorming and narrowing in on which stories to tell. From there she reviewed outlines and multiple drafts of multiple essays, in addition to helping me refine my resume tremendously. I was impressed with how she kept all my essays very focused when I'd stray or ramble a bit- we ended up developing highly effective and efficient essays. Jen is also very responsive to emails and just genuinely pleasant to interact with. Ultimately I was accepted to both of my top European schools with scholarships. Thanks again Jen!

Read More

The application process is awful, but you have to commit to it. It’s nearly impossible if you don’t have a support system that’s pushing you, encouraging you and supporting you. Harshad is incredible. In the midst of all the self-doubting, he’s there to remind you why you are embarking on this journey. He gets you excited about the prospects, and with it, motivates you to put your best application forward. He’s incredibly wise and his advice has been unparalleled to anyone else I’ve spoken during this application process. He is able to shape your story in a way that makes so much sense that you wonder how you didn’t come up with it yourself — that’s how natural it flows and that’s a huge + in applications. His tips on crafting the story and guidance on the daunting essays are truly what helped me get to where I am now. I would not be where I am now without Harshad. He is so excellent at identifying which schools would be a good fit for you. If you have decided to embark on this MBA journey with all the potential loans in the future, this initial investment is essential. You will not regret it. There are so many consultants out there, but I can honestly say that this is was the best experience and I could not have imagined having to work with anyone better.

Read More

I initially did a free 30-minute consultation with Katy. She was very helpful during our chat so I ended up working with her further after that. There were two parts of my application she was extremely helpful with. The first one was brainstorming ideas around what my essays should be about (I applied to HBS and Wharton, and HBS has a notoriously vague prompt). She helped me decide which parts of my story would be interesting to highlight and which parts not so much. Having a third party (Katy) who was great at identifying best parts of my candidacy and working with me to highlight them was invaluable.
The second aspect Katy was extremely helpful with was interview prep. Katy did an amazing job helping me practice my interviews. I had talked to some friends who had previously gone through the interview process and the advice I was getting from them was stressing me out. Katy calmed me down and helped me practice for these interviews. If you end up working with her on your application process, make sure she is your main source of truth for the interviews and not some friends who might’ve gone through the process. As she told me “everyone attributes their success to different parts of their application/interview, it doesn’t mean they are right”. If I were to do the process over, I would practice my interviews with Katy and maybe one more trustworthy friend.
Overall, Katy really knows what she is doing and I would highly recommend her. I ended up getting into both HBS and Wharton and am Boston bound this fall!

Read More