I worked with mbaMission and Devi Vallabhaneni for the 2020 MBA application cycle (2021 start). I recommend going with a start-to-finish package as Devi was an amazing resource throughout the entire application process.
To begin, Devi and I walked through just about every detail of my personal and professional life and educational background. Devi then helped me to extract stories that would make the most impact in an application, even though I may have overlooked these myself. Devi and I spent the most time on my essays and resume. She helped me to trim parts of essays that would not be seen as important to admissions committees and make my resume more quantifiable and impact oriented.
I found that Devi’s background and familiarity with the schools to which I wanted to apply and my desired post-MBA career were particularly helpful. It goes without saying that Devi was always punctual and thoughtful. She was straight forward and did not tell me what I wanted to hear but what I needed to hear. Her guidance and help led to being accepted into on of my top program choices, and for that, I am super thankful to her and the mbaMission process. I certainly found the cost of the start-to-finish package to worth it.

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I can highly recommend Heidi Granner and mbaMission to any applicant looking for guidance throughout the MBA application process and having doubts about the strength of their profile. For the context, I'm an international student with certain profile strengths, but quite a few issues to overcome or mitigate (age/I'll be in my mid-30s upon graduation, non-posh and trendy finance background, number of pre-MBA employers, ok but not stellar Gmat, non-MBA recommenders etc.). Working with Heidi was definitely one of the best, if not the best decision I have made during my pre-MBA journey. She provided an invaluable guidance throughout the process, from narrowing down the list of target schools to brainstorming on essay topics, packaging the career story and specific achievements into a comprehensive but easily digestible narrative, and preparing to various interviews. Despite the frenzy of the pandemic, deferrals offered to quite a few international students last year, and my own skepticism about my chances of admission, I managed to achieve an 80% success rate on my applications to T15 schools on the first try. Of course, using a consultant requires a lot of time and effort invested into the process, but professional support definitely pays off, and I am very happy with the achieved results. I would refer my friends and colleagues thinking about an MBA in the US to Heidi without any hesitation.

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I'm the first one in my entire family and immediate friend group to apply to business school. I had heard some general advice to apply to business school with a consultant so I decided to talk to multiple services including mbaMission.

I decided to take a consultation phone call with Cat Ho. Immediately her thoroughness and dedication were noticeable. She had already read my profile and had a plan of action in place that she explained thoroughly. Over the next few days, she diligently answered all the questions I had over email. In contrast, most other consultants either never reached out to me or condescendingly boasted about their previous admits. I decided to take a chance with Cat and signed up for the 3-school package.

Cat promised to be very honest and authentic. In every brainstorming session for each school that we had, she would do research or discuss her own experiences at Wharton, and then succinctly outline what experiences she felt in her opinion I should highlight based on each prompt. After outlines, she would respond punctually with multiple drafts per essay, short answer, and resume. Working with her seemed like immediately being a part of a well-oiled machine. She would parallelize applications so that no evening went to waste, and she was always available to jump on a call.

With Cat’s help, I got an interview at Wharton and HBS (⅔ of the schools I applied to). Cat immediately jumped into mock interviews. All the while she would send topical guides from mbaMission that were super helpful. The mock interviews with her were extremely useful and really helped me get over my nerves.

Two weeks ago, with Cat’s help, I got into both HBS and Wharton. Cat was extremely helpful even afterward sitting down with me and evaluating my options and discussing ways to finance my MBA. I honestly could not have done it without her help.

I recommend Cat and mbaMission to anyone who is looking to get into any school. Although she’s a Wharton grad, she knew every application like the back of her hand. She is an extraordinarily organized, driven, dedicated, genuine, and kind person. If Cat is your consultant, your application and future are in good hands.

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I worked with Heidi ahead of my round 1 applications to four schools. I wanted someone to help me thoughtfully structure the process, plan goals and deadlines, serve as a sounding board and just in general help me take a very programmatic approach to the daunting task of applying to business school. I also wanted someone who could help me maximize my strengths while minimizing my weaknesses. I can say with certainty that I got exactly what I was hoping for in working with Heidi. She was organized, detailed, thoughtful, responsive, and helpful in both brainstorming/big ideas, interview prep, and the nitty gritty of essay writing. She was also considerate and just a generally compassionate person, which was really important for me as I had some difficult backstory to explain in my applications. The hard work and effort was validated as I was accepted at 3/4 schools, including 2 obvious reaches in the M7. I would highly recommend Heidi to any prospective student looking to add more intellectual and procedural horsepower to their application process. It made a huge difference.

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Michael is literally the best, very professional, never missed a deadline, and overall, just a good mensch. I'm fortunate I got a hold of this guy; he's helped tremendously and did not shy away from giving me his honest opinion on how I may best present myself, which I very much appreciated. 1) I highly recommend hiring a consultant if you wish to be admitted to the top 7 as it is simply such a big help, and to anyone, who is considering hiring a consultant suggest you hire Michael, can't go wrong, he's a good guy and an even better Consultant.

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I worked with Debbie on a two-school package and it was a great choice - I would highly recommend her to anyone! I ended up being accepted to HBS and could not have done it without her help. Debbie provided extremely helpful direction and careful revision for the essays that we worked on, and her ideas and structures translated to other schools' essays as well, making the entire application process much more manageable. HBS was actually not one of the schools we worked on together, but Debbie was still happy to provide high-level guidance on how to structure my essay, which I deeply appreciated.

Debbie was always very responsive and happy to address specific questions on my essays as nitpicky as fine-tuning phrasing or grammatical issues. I came to Debbie with countless iterations of my essays and she worked with me to refine them until we were both satisfied. I also cannot stress enough how helpful Debbie was with the recommendation process, from selecting recommenders to helping them understand what skills and areas AdComs are typically looking for. Finally, when it came to interviews, Debbie's advice was spot on. My interviewer actually called me after my acceptance to say that the AdCom was impressed with my answers, specifically in the areas that Debbie told me to focus on. Without her guidance I would not have been nearly as well-prepared and confident going into my interviews!

More broadly, the MBAMission approach is extremely thorough and sets you up for success throughout the application process. The brainstorming document encourages you to deeply reflect on your experiences across all dimensions and consider how best to present yourself in your application. I ended up working with Debbie because we come from similar professional backgrounds, having both worked in finance and consulting, and also because of her considerate and thoughtful working style. I cannot recommend Debbie enough - she is awesome and will bring out the best in you!

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Cat was consistently helpful throughout the process.
The essay brainstorming format of MBAmission and Cat's style of engagement was enjoyable. She is a good listener and repeats back to you what she has heard in a way that helps you formulate and refine your thoughts. Throughout the essay writing and editing, she gave me very clear feedback, so the process was always moving forward. She warned me of all the small short answer questions I'd need to answer in each part of an application and worked with me to craft concise responses. Cat is easy to work with and eminently helpful. I would certainly recommend working with her to future applicants.

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To sum it up:
Rachel is very kind, peaceful, and patient. Yet, she is very honest, straightforward, and blunt. Basically, she is the perfect person to advice you.

The longer version:
Meeting Rachel made my application experience much smoother and thanks to her I got into my dream Ivy League school. The highlights of my admission process with Rachel:
1. Already over our first phone call, Rachel provided me with a lot of valuable information and a strategic plan.
2. Rachel assisted me with some unique insights based on her legendary experience - not only as a consultant but also as a journalist
3. The most amazing part - Rachel did give me the space for being myself and I feel like she assisted me with delivering who I am to the admission committee in the best way possible.
4. Very importantly - the communication with Rachel was FANTASTIC. For me, this was a key for succeeding in the admission process.
5. Rachel is not a salesperson or money-oriented. It is very easy to feel that her intentions are pure and that the applicant's best interest is in front of her eyes the whole time.

Highly highly recommended. If you want to maximize your chances to get into your dream school - do yourself a favor and partner with Rachel.

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Let me start by saying that if I had not used a consultant, and specifically John Sisk, I would not be sitting in the fortunate position I am today with an admittance to an M7 school. I worked with John throughout 2020 on a start to finish package for three M7 schools. I am confident that his support, knowledge, and experience are what put my profile over the top.

From the very first brainstorming session I could immediately see the value John brought to the table. In our first 60 minute conversation, he was able to take my jumbled work/volunteer/leadership experience and my future goals and mold it into a cohesive story that we would ultimately grow into my story for all three applications. I gained the most value out of the multiple rounds of essay review. It was truly amazing to watch my stories in my essays become extremely polished and convey the real explanation of what I am trying to achieve through an MBA.

Lastly, John's interview prep was also immensely useful, but maybe in a less traditional sense. I am coming from a sales/BusDev work background where I frequently interact with individuals outside my organization. Being able to have someone like John, who knows this process inside and out, tell me to not stress too much because he could recognize that I was prepared and conversationally ready, helped me stay calm and articulate in the real interview.

Every step of the way, John helped take my profile up a notch and I know that without his support, I would not be in the fortunate position I am today. Thanks again John!

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Review for Michael Guttman from mbamission. I worked with Michael using the complete start to finish package from mbamission. He really helped in brainstorming all possible scenarios to create the best story for my essays. He was very knowledgeable about the whole application process and knew what I should highlight. I was thrilled with how my essays turned out. Also, Michael was always very prompt in answering queries related to the application. I credit Michael for my admit from Chicago Booth School of Business which was 1st in my list of schools. I definitely recommend him to get the best possible application.

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