My only advice on MBA applications: work with Katharine!

Before signing up with Katharine, I did trials with a couple of other firms and consultants. Katharine stood out immediately. During the 30-min call, she not only understood my strengths and weakness right away, but also gave me genuine advice on what I should be working on. I’ve had consultants told me that there was no way I could get into a top 10 program. But guess what, Katharine helped me get into 3 of the top 10, including my dream school! The conversation and experience with her are just totally different from what I had with other consultants and I could tell immediately that she was the consultant I wanted to work with.

After signing up, I was even more sure that I made the right decision. She believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. From her years after years of experience, she could accurately sum up my strengths and build a stellar narrative of my story that’s both accurate and honest. She saw the strengths in me that I failed to see. And she advised on how to improve the weak areas of my application that eventually became strengths in my candidacy. Instead of being just an MBA consultant, she’s also more like my life mentor. After each and every phone call, I felt like I gained a deeper understanding of myself and just went through a therapy session. To me, that’s the most important part of an MBA application: to reveal my true self and let all my strengths shine through. Her advice is gold and her ability to assess my applications in a holistic view really helped me.

Having Katharine by my side through this MBA journey has been the best decision I’ve made.

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As a re-applicant, just the thought of going through the MBA application process again can be stressful. Looking back, it's fair to say that I would not be where I am today without Krista's help and guidance through my R1 application.

Krista's expertise lies in her familiarity with international applicants and their global experiences, as well as her unique ability to "sell" an applicant's candidacy by emphasizing on his/her strengths. I think the application essay is by far the most important item to work with a consultant on , and in that respect, Krista knows exactly what adcoms are looking for and will work with you to bring out your most powerful strengths for the adcoms to consider.

Krista is very quick to respond to emails, has a highly-organized work/turnaround schedule, and is always available through video chat to talk over the most minute of concerns on my application. This means that you will in turn have a highly-organized application schedule as it is in sync with hers. I am a frequent traveler and sometimes had a 15hr time-zone difference with her, but thanks to her organization, it was completely fine. Krista is relentless in editing essay drafts; she will demand nothing less than a state of near-perfection from you. That being said, she is also effective in communicating the reasoning behind every edit.

Throughout the entire process, I firmly believe Krista was invested in my candidacy as much as I was. Thanks to her dedication, I was admitted to 3/3 of my R1 schools (HBS, Sloan, Wharton). Krista, thanks again for everything you've done for me, and all the best on your future endeavors!

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I had such a wonderful experience working with Melissa and mbaMission. When we started the process, I thought I knew what I wanted to write in my essays. Melissa asked questions that totally transformed my essay into a compelling narrative. When I had questions, Melissa answered them candidly and quickly. She always provided me with direct and helpful feedback on my essay, resume, and even testing strategy. Ultimately, I applied to school as the absolute best version of myself, which resulted in my acceptance into HBS, GSB, Wharton, Booth, and Berkeley. Without Melissa, I am confident I wouldn't have gotten accepted into these programs. If you're still searching for a consultant, snag Melissa now before she reaches capacity for the cycle!

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Working with Melissa was an absolute pleasure and was worth every penny spent. I truly believe I wouldn't have gotten in without her help.

She helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses for applying to specific schools, and proactively helped to find ways to cover off those weaknesses and exemplify strengths without being boastful - both of which helped make me more competitive in the admissions process.

Melissa is also excellent at helping make your essay writing as efficient as possible. This helps get more information into your essays while still ensuring it all tells a holistic story. She is really helpful at connecting the dots of your candidacy into personal themes that are also relevant to the school you're applying to.

Finally, she's extremely proactive and responsive to questions specific to your situation. There are no stock answers - everything is tailored to you.

I highly recommend MBA applicants consider her as their consultant.

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Jen has been the best cheerleader to guide me throughout my MBA journey. From our very first call, Jen was super resourceful. She was able to help piece together fragmented life experiences into cohesive stories that exhibited an abundant amount of colour and authenticity. She helped uncover both professional and personal stories that had been completely overlooked, helping create the best possible version of myself on paper! I am not sure if I would have been able to highlight my entire life’s story and post MBA trajectories in merely 500 words without her help! She helped me concisely and thematically express my ideas without me ever losing my personal voice. If I ever make something of myself and have stories worthy of telling the world, Jen would definitely have to be my editor (if she’d have me!!!)

Jen has this smiling voice that always instantaneously put me into a jovial mood as soon as I would hop onto a phone call with her. I remember there had been several instances in which I had become increasingly frustrated with the writing process. As soon as I expressed my concerns, she not only knew exactly what to say to placate those negative thoughts, but she also laid out action items to specifically help tackle those roadblocks. I was fickle about picking the right schools, changing my mind several times. Each change was met with undying patience and supportive advice, ultimately helping me realize that selecting the right schools should be influenced by internal factors of what schools are truly the right fit for you, over external factors. I never had to worry about sounding silly with Jen. No question or idea was ever deemed foolish. She was able to create a supportive environment for me to grow and learn more about myself than I ever had. This was the first time in my life in which I truly enjoyed the journey of a process, and I have Jen to thank for that. Thank you Jen for all that you have done! Jen and I joke that I am a cheerleader for my clients at work, hence the reference in the beginning. Well, Jen has played that role amazingly for me throughout this process. Anyone would be so lucky to have Jen in his/her corner cheering him/her on through to that MBA finish line!

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Two years after working with Jessica, as I’m about to graduate from my MBA, I am still seeing what a value she has been to me, not only in the MBA application process, but in job recruiting and post-MBA as well. In my job search, the HR director for a multi-national company repeated over the phone how powerful and impactful my resume is. 85% of the resume is directly from what Jessica and I worked on, and for the other 15% I have updated since then using the skills and messaging she taught me. Additionally I have used a lot of points and messaging from the essays we crafted together for cover letters to companies and top consulting companies (MBB) that I got interviews for.

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Jessica took a huge interest in my success and went through my application with a fine tooth comb. Jessica also made me feel less stressed throughout the process. Jessica's greatest skill is packaging your story and her attention to detail. I really appreciated her candid feedback throughout the application process. She was super responsive and I was able to use some of the materials from our sessions and MBAmission for other applications which was helpful (note a lot of the MBAmission resources are available for free on the website so you can access them there). I would recommend Jessica for other applicants navigating the process for the first time.

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I could tell from the very first time I spoke with Jessica, during my initial mbaMission phone consultation, that she’s extremely knowledgeable and experienced. Right after that initial phone call, I knew that if I were to hire a consultant that it would have to be her, so I immediately put myself on her list of upcoming clients (she fills up fast).

Even though the school packages are pretty expensive, once I started working with Jessica I knew I had made the right decision. None of the advice she gave me was ever cookie cutter, and she has the experience of having worked with countless clients over many years. This wealth of experience proved valuable on multiple occasions, as I had to navigate a few confusing situations and bumps on the road during my MBA application journey. If I hadn’t had Jessica to lean on, I’m not sure if I would have figured everything out.

Not only is Jessica extremely knowledgeable about the schools and the admissions process, but she’s also a master storyteller. You have to put in all the work, obviously, but Jessica provides endless feedback, suggestions, and input along the way. She was always there when I needed to ask how a certain section of my essay sounded or whether there was a better way to convey a certain point. And she doesn’t beat around the bush—if she thinks an essay needs work, she’ll tell you. I really appreciated that she was direct and straightforward, because I think a lot of other consultants (or friends, family members, etc) just tell you what they think you want to hear. In addition, even though I was living overseas in a totally different time zone, Jessica was always quick to respond and on time with everything, which is really important when the deadlines are so tight.

Throughout the process, I grew to see Jessica as a trusted friend. After all, the MBA application process involves deep introspection and takes place over a fairly long period of time, so I felt like we really got to know each other. I can’t recommend her highly enough, and anyone would be lucky to work with her. In the end, I got accepted to several top programs (and Jessica was once again helpful with bouncing ideas back and forth when deciding which school to attend). I’m excited to attend one of the top MBA programs this fall, and if I could go back in time I would absolutely hire Jessica again.

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If you are looking for a consultant who is an excellent communicator and has deep experience bringing together successful applications, look no further than Jessica Shklar at mbamission. She knows how to get applicants admitted into the nation’s top programs.

Her expertise resonated in every interaction with me, as she helped me focus my attention on the most important tasks and helped me polish my application. Her experience and ability to communicate her thoughts clearly are worth every penny and cannot be emphasized enough. I am a busy person and cannot afford to waste time on numerous iterations of my resume, essays, or general profile. Building on Jessica’s feedback, I was able to expeditiously polish all the above—which in some cases involved cosmetic fixes and in others broad rewrites. Jessica’s ability to quickly hone in on the important elements of the application and succinctly communicate how “ready” any particular deliverable was made working with her a pleasure.

I was extremely busy throughout the process and had to rely heavily on Jessica’s organization. Having done this numerous times, she has a birds-eye view of the process that helped me meet my deadlines and refine my approach to items such as recommender selection and interview questions in a timely manner.

I ended up getting accepted to Wharton and did not have to spend time applying elsewhere. Thanks to Jessica, I knew what to expect, got prescient feedback on my application and expectations, and was accepted into my first-choice school. If you are on the fence, don’t be. Call her and let her help you make your wishes a reality.

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Katharine (Katy) Lewis from mbaMission was integral to my MBA application success. Her advice and guidance helped me to secure offers from three top business schools.

I was recommended to Katy by a friend; however, I didn’t want to commit to the financial outlay until I was sure of the value. Therefore, I arranged a free initial consultation with Katy. Immediately I could see that her vast experience would be incredibly valuable to my application.

Katy goes the extra mile to truly understand who you are as an individual and what is driving your desire to attend business school. She helps to craft an engaging and personable story, ensuring that every aspect of your application is meticulously reviewed and enhanced. Importantly, during our very first session we pin-pointed areas to improve. This allowed me to take action that significantly strengthened my application.

I secured three interviews and the mock interview with Katy was, by far, the most useful preparation. It was instrumental to ensuring that I entered each interview feeling confident, relaxed and prepared.

If you want to get into a top business school, there are three main reasons why I’d highly recommend mbaMission’s complete start-to-finish package with Katy:

1) Unlimited reviews… take Katy up on this and iterate every aspect of your application as many times as you feasibly can… and then some more (other applicants will).
2) Actual adcom experience… Katy was on the admissions team at Stanford GSB!! This is unbelievable insight into how applications are reviewed and how you can “stand out from the crowd”.
3) Improve yourself… Katy’s advice helped me to improve myself and this provided an extra edge to my application.

The above is underpinned by Katy’s incredible personality. She is an awesome person who genuinely cares about your success. I cannot thank her enough for her support during my MBA application journey.

Best of luck with your application.

David,

Berkeley Haas, NYU Stern & Chicago Booth Admit

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