I can not say enough about my experience working with mbaMission consultant, Helen Summers. Helen came highly recommended from a colleague of mine and surely did not disappoint.

My goal was to gain acceptance to Columbia. I had achieved an acceptable GMAT score but knew I would need to really tell my story in a unique way via the application essays. I was aware of the solid reputation mbaMission had and was recommended to Helen by an HBS colleague of hers. I signed up for hourly services.

I do not come from the typical banking/consulting field and was concerned with how that would show through my application. Helen took the time to get to know me, and helped me to better tell my story, and how the Columbia specifically would help me to achieve my goals.

I thought I would quickly use up the hours that I had purchased but Helen was incredibly efficient in reading my essays, marking them up, and sending back with 1-2 days. She was honest and fair with her time and I actually was amazed with how valuable her feedback was, in such a small allotment of time.

She helped me to cut out the "fluff" and effectively illuminate the points I was trying to get across to the admissions team. I appreciated her candor and honest feedback, and can't say enough about her expertise around the admissions process.

I was accepted to Columbia and am incredibly grateful to Helen for all her help along the way.

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I was initially wary of working with a consulting service, especially after I had done a 30 minute intro call with a competing agency, and found that the person I spoke with just wanted me to cough up a sizable amount of money for services I didn't need. But I took a chance on a 30 minute intro call with Dan at mbaMission and, instead of convincing me how terrible my chances were, he rationally and expertly answered questions I had and only during the last 5 minutes did he mention what kinds of services he could provide. I knew then that I wanted to work with him.

My story was already mostly developed by the time I started working with Dan, so I signed up for hourly services, and we worked together on the applications for four schools. He was, at all times, extremely responsive, insightful, and efficient. He was able to coax my absolute best work out of me so that I put together an application I was proud to submit to the schools of my choice.

At times when the process was stressful, and we were emailing drafts back and forth 3-4 times a day, he was always in good spirits and manage expectations and anxiety brilliantly.

I would recommend Dan to anybody. He was always conscientious about how he used my time, and proved himself again and again to be an invaluable resource throughout the process, whether I was freaking out about something I read on a forum or wasn't sure how to describe at length a future that's always subject to some sort of change or preparing for my interview at my top choice school.

Dan's greatest strength is his ability to be blunt yet kind, and never suggest you spin your application into such admissions speak that it doesn't feel like you anymore. He was the best kind of editor in that he was able to consistently push you to the absolute best version of the idea you already had, and make sure you conveyed it clearly and concisely within word limits.

Now that I'm admitted, thinking back, I know that I can't vouch for all admissions consultants, but I would happily vouch for Dan to anyone at anytime. I would work with Dan again in a heartbeat.

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Jessica was an outstanding admissions consultant and her effectiveness, guidance and straightforward counseling gave me the confidence and support to put my best self forward during the admissions process.

I decided to try out a free half-hour consultation with MBA Mission and picked Jessica - in the half hour that we spoke, I gained more insight and guidance in my candidacy as an MBA applicant than I had gained from anybody else combined. She provided feedback on my career goals and told me I needed more specificity, explained what about my background was unique, and shared gaps that she felt could use improvement.

I decided to buy an hourly package from Jessica and spent two hours - one on my resume, and one on my dream school essay. For my resume, Jessica helped my achievements shine through recommendations for a format and how to bring out and articulate impact that I had in my work, as well as helping me consider what helped me stand out next to my peer group. Her resume editing help was second to none, and it truly helped distinguish me from other candidates during the application process AND the interview process, because I had a resume to talk about that I was so excited about!

And for essay feedback - WOW! In only one hour of essay feedback, Jessica was able to help me bring out the best parts of my story through her thoughtful questions and suggestions. I truly believe that her expertise and, truly, her GIFT is in helping you see the best parts of your writing and ideas and bringing that out.

Did I mention how fast Jessica is? She packs SO much knowledge and insight into every single interaction and every single email. She helped me move quickly at a time for me when every hour was crucial - she went above and beyond to get back to me quickly.

I ended up with over $160K in scholarships from two top 5 schools and an admission to my #1 dream school. I couldn't be happier with my experience. Thank you Jessica!

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I found mbaMission through its affiliation with Manhattan Prep, the company I used for my GMAT preparation. Initially, I didn’t plan on hiring a consultant since I was applying to only one school, but after spending several stressful weeks drafting my essays I decided to change course. I selected John based on the very productive 30 minute free consult I had with him.

John's in-depth understanding of who our audience was, the AdCom, and what they were looking for, was a key component to the process that I would not have been able to figure out on my own. Through our discussions, I was able to create focused, well-rounded essays that told my story in a clear and concise way.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of working with John was one that I didn’t initially envision when I hired him - review of my resume. Going into the admissions process, I was pretty happy with it since I had used it on several interviews and assumed it didn’t need many modifications. John recommended I simplify the technical language so as to make it easier for a non-finance person (as the AdCom reviewers might be) to understand. Together we went about simplifying the layout and highlighting some of the more notable accomplishments of my career, which undoubtedly played a part in my acceptance to NYU Stern. I truly belive I wouldn't have gotten in without John's help.

I highly recommend mbaMission and John Sisk to anyone going through the admissions process. While the cost may seem high, I believe it’s worth every penny!

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I can honestly and wholeheartedly say that without the support of Jessica Shklar and mbaMission, my journey throughout the MBA application process, and perhaps even the outcome, would have been quite different. After an “aha” moment, I decided to go full force on a very tight timeline and apply for my Global MBA at Temple University’s Fox School of Business. After speaking with the admissions office regarding deadlines and what was realistic as I pushed forward, I had only two months to complete my application materials, most importantly the two required essays, and study for and take my GMAT.

I dedicated the first month to writing my essays. Having a communications background and six years of professional, full-time working experience, I had in mind the story that I wanted to tell and knew that I could formulate my ideas well enough to get a decent outline. What I knew I would need help with wasn’t grammar or content so much as – am I really giving them what they are asking for? I enlisted the help of a friend of mine who also had success with mbaMission and is starting her MBA program in the fall 2016 at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. My friend recommended Jessica Shklar, saying “she’s the best, but you might not be able to get her because she’s in really high demand.” In a panic for this last minute help, I reached out to mbaMission, and Aimee replied back almost immediately that she would personally check with Jessica regarding availability. As luck should have it, since I only required mbaMission’s a la carte services and because I was catching Jessica slightly prior to peak season, she was kind enough to accept me as a client. During my Manhattan GMAT course, I had the pleasure of meeting mbaMission’s President and Founder, Jeremy Shinewald, when he came to speak to our class. I introduced myself and spoke very highly of my experience with Jessica, which did not at all come as a surprise to him – what did surprise him was that Jessica was able to take me on with her demanding schedule!

Jessica was attentive to my goals and sensitive to my time constraints. With only two hours of her time via electronic communication, she quickly demonstrated an understanding of my writing and my intention, and did not want to alter my story at all. She gave positive reinforcement with useful and enlightened responses that triggered my creativity throughout the writing process, enabling me to reposition significant points and highlight important areas that should have been at the forefront of my essays but were void in my initial drafts, and that were essential to truly answer what was being asked of me. Every edit that I received from Jessica included thoughtful responses, and even questions so that she could understand the story that I was trying to tell, or my thought process on a particular topic. When I would steer off in one direction, Jessica would give me objective feedback that got me back on track. All of this feedback was crucial as I continued to write and edit, and because of Jessica, I am incredibly proud of my final essays. In fact, I am making an effort to continue to embrace the valuable tools that I learned from Jessica today in my writing and communications.

I highly recommend mbaMission’s services, and if you are able to get on Jessica Shklar’s roster, consider yourself one of the lucky and privileged! If I had to do this again – and I’m glad that I don’t – I would have used Jessica’s services for the entire application process. A true professional that means business and cares!

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Last year I applied to four top 15 programs in round one using hourly services with mbaMission's Heidi Granner.

I applied to programs last year following 7 years of work experience in the US military and government. While my undergrad GPA was high and my work experience was solid, my degree was from a relatively unknown regional school and my GRE score was below average for the schools I was targeting. I chose mbaMission because it had been recommended to me by several other veterans who had successfully navigated the admissions process.

Heidi was critical to my admission to my number one pick school. My work experience was a melange of jargon and acronyms that straddled both active duty military and reserve jobs--confusing to say the least. Heidi's unbiased outside perspective enabled me to make my work experience easier to understand for those outside the military/government, and to highlight my unique experience in my resume and essays.

To date, I have not met anyone with my background applying to MBA programs. Heidi gave me perspective on what schools I should target and which schools would be reaches. This greatly increased the efficiency in which I could complete my applications.

Early on in my search for admissions consultants I thought about reaching out to consultants (former military themselves) that specialize in military applicants. However, my personal opinion is that admissions consultants that are former military can sometimes be biased and assume certain work experiences are easily understood by others outside the military. Most adcom members and recruiters are not former military members, and I decided to use a consultant whose experience was the same as what I hoped to achieve after an MBA. Heidi greatly helped me "civilianize" my resume and make it easily understandable.

Ultimately, I got into my first choice and withdrew my other applications. mbaMission and Heidi Granner exceeded my expectations and I would highly recommend them.

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My overall experience with Kate was amazing. We worked together mostly on my essays and I can say she has such a creative out of the box way of thinking that really challenged me to make sure that I was giving it my best. I appreciated all of her feedback and felt as though she kept digging deeper to get to my bigger story and helped me unravel it all in my essays. She also is very prompt and will get back to you as soon as she can with even a small question.

I had my heart set on a specific program and was concerned that my quantitative score on my GMAT and my grades throughout my undergraduate program in the quantitative classes would make it difficult for me to get into an MBA program. She helped me figure out how to express my strengths and also touch on my quantitative weaknesses. I feel as though that really helped me to be able to explain these weaknesses rather than avoid them.

Kate and I also did some work on my resume and interview prep. My resume now is very clear and concise and anyone looking at it would be able to understand what I have accomplished without having to ask follow up questions. The interview prep was very helpful because it helped to calm my nerves and keep me on track.

Overall, it was a great experience and I am so excited that I was admitted into my top school! I would recommend Kate to anyone interested in an admissions consultant!

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I was late to the application process and was applying to only one school 3rd round, shooting for the moon knowing the odds were against me. And I honestly don't think I would have gotten in without Melissa's help on my essays.

I had the "stories" of both of my essays down, but what Melissa helped me with was to consolidate and focus/expand on what I viewed as details in the story, but actually were distinguishing factors for who I am as a person and applicant, rather than the overall "story". Her point view coming directly from the seat of the AdCom is invaluable to be able to highlight these character qualities I would have glossed over, instead focusing on the overall story. For example, my original essay said: I tried new things. Melissa helped me to turn that into: swimming across shark infested beaches, traveled to several third world countries, and signed up for new running clubs. By reframing what I was trying to say and extracting these descriptive details she was able to highlight my passion for adventure, exploration, and fearlessness and show more of who I am and what I would bring to campus. She was able to extract at least three adjectives to describe me when my original sentence gave zero.

I know my essays would not have fully shown who I am as a person and what sets me apart from the rest of the application pool without Melissa's guidance and ability to more effectively demonstrate what I was trying to convey. I would recommend her to ANYONE for any part of the process and was actually excited to work with her the following year had I not gotten accepted!

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I worked with Jessica for one of my applications for Round 1 of 2015. I initially selected her for my free 30 minute review because of the similar nature of our work backgrounds. After those 30 minutes, I was fully assured that she would help my story shine through in my essay.

Throughout our brainstorming and editing process, Jessica did a phenomenal job of explaining to me why she thought different elements of my background should or should not play a more prominent role. And, due to the potentially controversial nature of my essay, she took some of her own time to vett it with co-workers, eventually coming up with advice on how to better describe the learning experience I underwent. Her creativity throughout the process cannot be overstated.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Jessica because she had (and still has) a vested interest in my success. She enthusiastically answered questions as mundane as "Is this in line with typical interview attire?" and provided a great sounding board for assuaging my initial concerns post-interview. And though Jessica is relentlessly positive, she still remains honest. She was quick to point out areas for improvement or application faux pas I was committing.

Even though Jessica and I discussed only one of my applications, I was able to use knowledge I gleaned from our talks and apply it to my other applications. As a result of our work together, I earned admittance to four of the five schools to which I applied (including the one we focused on), while earning a place on the wait list on the fifth. I have no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't have been nearly as successful without her help.

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I spent around 10 hours with John over the course of several months to work on application essays. John was fantastic during the application process. He was a great resource from providing a sounding board for essay ideas to guiding me during the interview processes.

Brainstorming: In the beginning, there were so many times when I was getting frustrated about finding a story. I knew I had a story, but I wasn't sure how to find a specific one. John was able to ask the right questions and probe my answers to help me come up with essay topics.

Essays: Since I had been out of touch with writing essays for years, he also gave me great feedback on ways to tighten my writing style and approach. I didn't think this was going to be an experience I would gain from the application process, but I learned how to communicate much more efficiently from John.

Interviews: I wish I had asked John for mock interview help, but he provided some great material on prepping for the interviews. I used those to structure my interview answers.

Waitlist: Despite my disappointment in getting waitlisted at one of the schools, John remained optimistic and helped me navigate the waitlist process. I used the tips he gave me to reach out to the admissions committee.

While we never spoke on the phone, John's response time over email was great. He usually responded within 2-3 days of my emails. John was such a huge help during the application process, and I couldn't have survived it without his support.

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