If you’re reading this review, you’re probably asking yourself the same two questions that I did: Is it really worth thousands of dollars to hire an MBA consultant? And if so, is Susan Kaplan the right consultant to hire? I will do my best to answer both of those questions.

As some background…

I was born and raised in a small, Midwest town in the United States. I attended a good (not great) public university, where I played a Division-1 sport and graduated with a 3.9 GPA. I turned pro after college and played for two years at the minor league level. I then spent six months as an investment banking analyst at a reputable “middle market” firm. I scored 700 on the GMAT (48 quant) and I applied to HBS and Tuck, two schools that were at the top of my range.

1. Is it really worth thousands of dollars to hire an MBA consultant?

The harsh reality is that every individual that gets into a top MBA program inevitably takes that seat from someone else. The process is highly competitive, and preparation is everything. It is also binary – you either get in or you don’t – so the reality is that outcomes determine whether hiring a consultant was money well spent. I looked at it this way: Whether a consultant provided me with 50% or 1% improvement during this process, that could very well be the difference between whether I was admitted and not. I wanted my best chance at success, leaving no stone unturned, so I hired Susan as my consultant from start to finish for both programs.

This is not a simple process that you can accomplish with little to no effort. A consultant will not complete your application for you. Quite honestly, it would be a mistake to approach it with that mindset, especially considering the financial commitment. If you have the means ($), have the foundation/resume to be competitive, and have the time and work ethic to fully commit to this process, you will absolutely benefit from working with an MBA consultant. If you are halfheartedly invested in the process, your money is better spent somewhere else because you are competing against a group of highly distinguished, fully committed applicants.

2. Is Susan Kaplan the right consultant to hire?

The short answer is, with conviction, YES. Susan was instrumental in helping me better understand the MBA application process, HBS and Tuck’s expectations, and how to best present my application to each program. Initially, we spent a significant amount of time identifying my post-MBA goals and which programs would be the best fit for me, both in terms of culture and career development. We then began to craft my story based on my experiences, tailoring this story to each program. We identified the best options for recommendation letters and then started preparing for my essays and additional responses.

Susan provided critical guidance and accountability throughout the entire application process. She provides direct, efficient feedback and is quick at responding to questions. She has “been there, done that” and, thus, makes sure you are prioritizing the appropriate tasks and staying on track with your set timeline. If you are looking for someone to coddle you, Susan should not be your first choice. If you are looking for someone who is passionate, responsive, accountable, and committed to doing what it takes to get you into your dream school, then you are in the right place. When you hit “Submit Application,” you will know that you have given yourself the best chance at success.

Final Review…

I truly believe I was able to put forth my highest quality application possible with Susan’s guidance and accountability. With that said, I look forward to attending my top choice, the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business, in the fall of 2023.

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When it comes to deferred MBA admissions, the competition is fierce, especially for candidates like me from India with a STEM background. I realized that to stand out, I needed the expertise of someone who truly knows the ins and outs of the MBA admissions world. After exploring various admission consultants, Katy stood out from the crowd. During our trial call, her thoroughness and understanding of my background, strengths, and weaknesses blew me away. My gut told me she was the right person to guide me through this journey, and boy, was I right!

Katy took the time to delve deep into my background, helping me uncover my true motivations and connecting the dots between my life experiences and choices. Together, we worked on multiple essay drafts, and her edits were nothing short of amazing. She possesses a nuanced understanding of what top MBA programs are looking for. Thanks to Katy, I became more confident in my writing and found clarity in expressing my thoughts, which was invaluable since English isn't my first language.

Throughout the entire application process, Katy made me feel like more than just a client. She genuinely cared about my success and offered unwavering support, even though we communicated through emails and video calls across different time zones.

But it didn't stop there. Katy also went above and beyond in preparing me for my HBS interview. We conducted numerous mock interviews, and it was incredible how the very first question of the actual interview was something we had practiced. That moment of familiarity eased my nerves and made the interview experience remarkably smooth.

I got accepted into HBS 2+2, and I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to Katy. Not only is she a brilliant mentor, but she has also become a great friend. If you're serious about putting your best foot forward and making your business school dreams come true, I wholeheartedly recommend Katy. She's the real deal!

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Heidi Granner exceeded my expectations as an MBA consultant. She helped me craft clear essays and explore various career paths. She had invaluable insights into crafting a compelling, honest, and persuasive application. Heidi was a source of constant encouragement (especially as I was working under a relatively tight timeline) and also pushed me to produce better work. I feel like I got to know myself better through this process. Thanks to Heidi's guidance, I was accepted to Wharton and will be enrolling this fall. I cannot express enough gratitude for everything Heidi has done. I wholeheartedly recommend her services to anyone pursuing an MBA.

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John was meant to be an MBA Admissions Consultant. His level of care and how committed he is to each client is unparalleled. He communicates feedback thoroughly and in a timely manner. He makes sure to check in and has a ton of patience when working with you. I had a bit of a quick turnaround and he made sure to let me know on a regular basis that we were pacing well and that all will be alright. He really develops a rapport with you and helps you see a clear way to tell your story. I could not be where I am at today without John.

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Choosing to work with Harshad has been a blessing. From the start, he was genuinely interested in my story and believed that I could be admitted into a top school, even though I didn’t have quite the same conviction. He is thoughtful, patient, detail-oriented and direct. Of all his qualities, I most appreciated his respectful directness, as it enabled us to have an open and honest dialogue which increased our efficiency and improved the quality of my application.

Harshad’s belief in my candidacy instilled a sense of confidence I hadn’t previously exhibited. His unique introspective style challenged me to dig deep and create a compelling narrative for my essays, while also helping me realize why I want to truly pursue an MBA. This, coupled with his ability to create a powerful story helped transform my essays and changed the way in which I approach storytelling. He was also able to successfully change my interview style through our mock interviews. These new skills were not only critical in curating a successful application but will be pivotal in my career going forward.

In conclusion, Harshad has been both a consultant and a mentor. Outside of our work on essays, he consistently made time to discuss strategy, give advice and provide guidance on my future. I am certain there are many knowledgeable consultants out there, however very few have the ability to connect personally and share such a genuine interest in their client’s success. Harshad always went above and beyond and helped me get into three great schools – Yale SOM, INSEAD and NYU Stern. These schools would have been quite a reach had I worked alone. The process is undoubtedly pricey, but it has been the best investment I have ever made. I can’t recommend Harshad highly enough!

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Debbie's professionalism and expertise throughout the application process were truly exceptional. She demonstrated a deep understanding of the admissions landscape and skillfully guided me through each step. Her personalized strategies and attention to detail greatly strengthened my application.

Debbie's organizational skills, responsiveness, and insightful feedback were also invaluable. She helped me present my strengths effectively, and her genuine support and motivation made the journey enjoyable. I was worried initially as I was not good at taking standard tests. Thanks to her guidance, I eventually got admitted into M7 - an achievement I attribute to her expertise.

I wholeheartedly recommend Debbie to anyone seeking an admission consultant. Her professionalism, expertise, and personalized approach make her an outstanding choice. I am immensely grateful for her assistance in achieving this significant milestone in my career.

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I recently had the pleasure of working with John on three full-time MBA applications (2022-2023 application cycle, start-to-finish package, all M7 programs), and could not be more pleased with my experience. John is the ultimate professional – thoughtful, responsive, knowledgeable, and encouraging – though what struck me the most was his ability to extract crucial details from various (seemingly unrelated) personal and professional experiences, and distill those into a concise, cohesive narrative that perfectly highlighted my strengths and potential at business school and beyond. It is worth noting that prior to engaging with John, I actually applied to a fourth program during R1, and the differences between my unassisted application and the applications that I worked on with John are startling. Most importantly, the narrative that John and I crafted together is actually more authentic and compelling than the story I was able to tell on my own. Because of this, I truly feel that I put my best foot forward with each program, and I strongly doubt that I would be in the position that I am without John’s guidance and support.

Despite working under a slightly compressed timeline, John helped me prepare three very thorough / polished MBA applications in advance of various R2 deadlines, ultimately resulting in my admission to both CBS and Booth. Though a difficult decision (which John thoughtfully helped me navigate), I eventually / excitedly accepted my offer from CBS, who also offered me a very generous (and unexpected!) merit-based scholarship. I could not be more thrilled with this outcome, which I firmly believe would not have been achievable had John and I not worked together.

TL;DR: my experience with John was overwhelmingly positive, and I would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone considering this type of service. Thank you, John!

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Summary: Jessica’s exceptional storytelling skills, professionalism, efficiency, and phenomenal mentorship and coaching, which will impact your personal and professional life beyond the MBA application process, make her the best consultant. She is undoubtedly the highlight of my MBA application process. I highly recommend contacting Jessica if you plan to apply for business school.

Jessica is an amazingly incredible mentor, coacher, motivator, and so much more than just an MBA consultant. Before my free consultation with Jessica, I spoke with a few other consulting firms. Coming from a non-traditional background, most consultants asked me to complete pre-MBA courses or study/work abroad before applying to Business School. By the time I was going to have my call with Jessica, I was already demotivated by how all the other consultants talked about my weaknesses and how I won’t be able to get admitted to any Business School without signing on with them. I was incredibly impressed by how Jessica went more in-depth, sought to understand my strengths, and helped me promote those rather than looking for my weaknesses and trying to scare me into signing on with them. I was surprised how Jessica used the 30-minute window to encourage me and give me a game plan without waiting till I signed up with her, unlike the previous consultants who always ended the conversation mid-point, prompting me to sign up with them to hear the rest. She highlighted that there is no universally accepted “ideal candidate” for a business school, and I am indeed a unique applicant, but it shouldn’t be a bad thing but a good thing. She even emailed me after our meeting explaining why she thought I should apply and even went above and beyond to share my story with a couple of her colleagues to support her feedback.

Her work ethic makes you comfortable relying on her. She reviewed some of my urgent materials even though she was on vacation. She got back to my quick questions within minutes and always gave feedback on my application materials well before the deadlines. You notice her love and passion for what she does immediately after starting to work with her. The dedication and effort she put into my application made me feel she wanted me to get into my dream school as much as I did. Sometimes I felt like I was her only client with the attention she gave me. This proves how dedicated she is to each of her clients and how exceptional she is in managing her time among all her clients to ensure no one is left behind.

Jessica is an astonishing storyteller and has an impeccable ability to draw out relevant information from you to create a unique essay. Once you sign up with MBAMission, you will be given the “Brainstorming” document, among other things. The brainstorming file is where you will get the chance to tell your life story. All the significant events in your life from childhood to now so the consultant you are working with will learn about you and strategize how to articulate your story to the admissions committee. After completing the brainstorming file, which was a 22-page file in my case, my stories were all over the place, and I couldn’t have been more confused about what I should write in my essays. I had so many different stories which I wanted to tell in my application, but I couldn’t imagine how all these would fit in or how the flow would be. During our first brainstorming call, I realized how in-depth Jessica had studied my story and even had many follow-up questions. The story, which I once thought was all over the place, was creatively and strategically articulated into a beautiful piece by Jessica at the end of our call. She raised many questions during the essay writing process, which prompted me to think differently and creatively. Her intelligent questions encourage you to think about your life differently, which will reflect creatively in your essays.

Don’t think twice! She’s the best MBA coach you can work with, without any doubt!

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Before I had my initial consultation with Jessica, I met with three other admissions consulting firms. I found those sessions discouraging, as they didn’t like my chances at my target schools, but also frustrating because they based their forecasts on my outdated resume, demographic and the fact that I didn’t go to an Ivy or come from an MBA feeder company. They focused on what I didn’t have. Jessica, on the other hand, took an entirely different approach. She had researched my company ahead of time and took the time to ask me questions about my background. She wanted the consultation to be a value-add for me and took the time to answer my many questions. At the end of the session, she said that she thought I was a strong candidate for my target schools and explained her rationale.

Two days later, I signed on to work with Jessica and she was extremely helpful throughout the entire process. She had confidence in my ability to succeed, which gave me the confidence I needed. Jessica has a wealth of knowledge of all things MBA admissions. Whenever I asked her a question, I got a well-thought-out answer, informed by her experience seeing what worked or didn’t for the hundreds of applicants she’s worked with. Jessica took the time to understand my background by reading every word of my 25 page brainstorming document. She then mapped that to her wealth of experience to give me extremely valuable advice. Applying to business school is a mountain of work on top of a full-time job. Jessica kept me on course. She helped me stay organized to ensure I had time to submit my best work for each component of my applications.

I ended up getting into Stanford GSB, Booth and Kellogg and am incredibly grateful for all of Jessica’s advice throughout my MBA admissions journey.

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After rigorously interviewing nine highly-recommended MBA admission consultants (not an exaggeration), it became evident from the outset that Debbie was, by all means, the superior choice: her efficiency, support, and results-oriented approach made her stand out. She adeptly pinpointed the most compelling aspects of my narrative and professional track record, and accurately helped my find out which schools I would resonate most with.

Churning out that final draft with Debbie was no walk in the park - it was hard work but it was worth it! Debbie was always a step ahead, spotting improvements that I'd honestly never have thought of. She's got this mind-blowing expertise for finding the little tweaks that make a huge difference - did I already mention that she has a HUGE attention to detail? And each time, her suggestions were spot on, adding some serious improvements to my application. Honestly, by the time we pulled our final masterpiece out of the "oven", it was an MBA application that I felt super proud of - Which helped me get accepted into M7!

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