I was dinged from the 3 schools I applied to the previous year without interviews. This left me feeling unmotivated and unworthy of getting into a top program. Then Harshad entered into the picture. Not only did he help me get into the school of my dreams (one I was previously dinged from before), he helped to instill in me the confidence that I truly deserved it and was capable of getting there. Simply put, he believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. So, thank you Harshad. Thank you for the time and energy you put into helping me craft my best stories. Thank you for your patience in my emotional struggles. And thank you for helping me push my limits and get into the school I always knew I belonged at.

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I was very fortunate to be connected with Rachel by a friend whom she had recently guided into the Columbia Business School Class of 2021. As a resident of NYC with no intention of moving, I was very focused on earning admission to CBS. Rachel immediately connected with my story, and unlike several other consultants I had spoken with, she was optimistic about my credentials. Rachel’s process is thorough – she requests a ton of information upfront to better understand the candidate’s background and she is masterful at synthesizing that information into a compelling application tailored for each program. Additionally, her superior knowledge of the CBS admissions process was invaluable for crafting an application that would ultimately resonate with the admissions committee. I was admitted to CBS, and I am forever grateful to Rachel for helping me achieve that outcome.

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I got connected to Rachel rather serendipitously: through a random 30 minute free consultation. I honestly hadn’t considered the idea of using a consultant, but my Kaplan GMAT tutor highly recommended mbamission, so I decided to give the free consultation a shot. I consider myself to be a diligent, organized, and process-oriented person, so naturally I was skeptical of the value that a consultant would add to my application. Spending $5,000+ was out of the question unless I was convinced that a consultant would be an invaluable resource throughout the process. Rachel was that and more – I can honestly say that I would have been lost without her. Within 10 minutes of hanging up our initial consultation, I had committed to working with Rachel.
I was blown away not only by Rachel’s incomparable knowledge of the process and intimate understanding of the characteristics adcoms look for in applicants, but also by her bubbly yet firm demeanor. Rachel was always friendly, but very direct and never one to sugarcoat anything. She gives her honest opinion, even if it is not what you want to hear at the time, but your application is stronger as a result.
Rachel’s main strength is her story telling ability. She has a unique talent of transforming monotonous details into a compelling narrative. Thoroughly prepared for every call, Rachel provided a fresh perspective and it was clear that she was invested in your journey. I relied heavily on Rachel to frame up my story and help articulate the message I was trying to convey.
Rachel began our intro call by saying that she is, “tough, but fair and I might not like her at times.” While there were some instances where she gave some tough feedback, she was an absolute pleasure to work with. And most importantly, I felt that she was truly invested in my success. We were a team and by the end of the process, I felt that we had built a strong professional relationship. She was one of the first people I notified when I got into my top choice and I could tell that she was genuinely thrilled for me. That meant a lot. I couldn’t have done it without you, Rachel!

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I initially wasn't planning on using a consultant due to the financial commitment, but Rachel came highly recommended by a friend who had an incredible experience, and mine was just the same. I am so grateful for Rachel - from our first phone call she not only made me feel like I had the very best guidance but also put me at ease and gave me the confidence that I could achieve my goal (and as a woman with no finance background I was not initially confident going into the MBA application process!) It was clear that Rachel knew all the ins the outs of MBA admissions, and she also made it clear that I would need to work very hard if we worked together, which I was ready for!

Rachel didn't tell me to be someone else on my application - she helped me shape my own story in a compelling way that was completely genuine and "me." The extra leg-work she required with the brainstorming document helped me get to know myself better and realize my MBA goals in the most authentic way, and in turn I ended up submitting an application that I was truly proud of and reflected exactly who I am. Throughout the process Rachel was very honest and I am so grateful for her thoughtful feedback; it was clear that every essay and thought I sent her she reviewed carefully and responded with deep consideration. She was also completely open when I came back with different ideas too - it was a mutual relationship in which we worked together on every element.

Overall, Rachel was on my team from day one and was a very helpful resource in not only the essay writing but navigating recommendations, formatting my resume, connecting with the school in an appropriate way, staying calm with the test, and prepping for the interview. She was the perfect amount involved and I could not have asked for a better coach/mentor. I also know I will stay in touch with her as I navigate my MBA experience, which in itself shows what a warm, supportive and genuinely kind person she is.

I highly recommend Rachel to anybody who is driven towards an MBA goal; the time and care she took to guide me is priceless and I could not be prouder of the results from this process.

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I would highly recommend both mbaMission and the specific consultant I utilized (Daniel Richards) for perspective MBA applicants.

The Beginning: I set up free consultations with 3 consultants at 3 different firms based on reviews. Dan was the first consultant I spoke to and the other 2 didn't come close to meeting his bar - Dan made sure to make our free consultation about ME, my needs, my interests, he provided me with a solid action plan and recommendations going forward. The other two agencies spent the 30 minutes selling me on their services in a generic pitch.

The Middle: After hiring Dan he provided me with excellent recommendations and feedback from each part of the application - from ironing out my post-MBA goals, to helping me select schools, to meeting with me in person (he's in DC, i'm in NYC), writing (MANY) rounds of essays, and everything in between. All of our communication was quick, straight forward, specific, and actionable. Dan is not afraid to be blunt in his feedback which I personally appreciated greatly - the purpose of a consultant is not to build up your ego but to be realistic and help you present the best version of yourself in an application, which Dan does beautifully.

The End: Came sooner than expected for me because I was accepted into my top choice program which was my first application! Throughout the entire processes and while (impatiently) waiting for a rolling application decision Dan was reassuring. Every single piece of advice and timing estimates from schools he provided was spot on. When deciding if I should continue applying to alternate programs he provided extremely realistic and honest feedback.

Working with Dan and mbaMission eased the arduous task of applying to top tier MBA programs in Round 1. Moreover, while waiting for a decision Dan would check in which truly made me feel like we were in this together. I sincerely thank mbaMission and specifically Dan for a wonderful experience!

Tip - if you're going to work with a consultant start early. I began in February for summer-2019 applications which allowed us plenty of time to talk about things I could change, i.e. taking the HBS CORe course before applications started

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Heidi is an exceptionally talented consultant, and it was truly a privilege to work with her through my MBA application cycle. To anyone considering an application consultant, I cannot recommend her enough. I'm thrilled to say that, with her help, I've been accepted to a dream reach school.

I was a low-GPA and GMAT applicant, and I applied to programs R3-R4 where acceptance probabilities were already low. In order to secure an acceptance offer, I knew I had to differentiate myself through essays, recommendations, networking, and my interview. In short: I needed help conveying the value I would bring to a program, because I definitely wasn't going to be accepted to a top program on my scores alone.

Heidi helped me brand myself as a top-tier candidate. Brainstorming with Heidi was a master class in self reflection, and she was quick to pull valuable skills, accomplishments, and traits from my life experience and work history that the admissions committees would find valuable. I also needed a consultant to hold me to the highest standard in my essays: she guided me through countless revisions until we produced the absolute best products.

Heidi also provided valuable counsel to my recommenders, and with Heidi's help they were best able to quantify my analytic achievements and demonstrated leadership in a manner that showed high career potential with an MBA. Finally, I credit my successful interviews to our mock interviews and preparation.

The MBA application is stressful and challenging on its own. If you hire Heidi, however, you'll find a valuable and experienced partner to navigate the process and refine your application to its best possible form. I can confidently say I would not be at my dream school today without her help!

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I have worked with Heidi Granner for the most part, and Jen Kedrowski helped me with interviews preparations at the end, as Heidi was leaving on a maternity leave.

As i mentioned, engaging with Mbamission was one of the best decisions i have made during this year. I am impressed with the level of professionalism, passion, and dedication Heidi showed throughout the process, and with way Jen hopped at the end and made me feel confident at the interviews.

Not only did i feel calm and guided throughout the process, but Heidi always found the right words of encouragement - something that tremendously helped mentally to pull through (job complex situations).

Heidi was always punctual, professional, and knew exactly how to better structure your responses, allowing the essays to stay personal and authentic, yet answering admission committees questions within the strict word limit.
Towards the (happy) end of my journey, Jen helped me to prep for the interviews. She was also amazing in the way she gave me feedback and guiding to further preparation.

I had a feeling that the whole process was very well thought through initially, and later tailored to each student - via timeline, collecting best personal stories, and adjusting working style. Overall, this was, i think, a life-changing experience for me and application would have been so much more complicated, stressful, lengthier and error prone.

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I used the Complete Package for one school with Jessica and really regretted buying that. I chose her because of all the amazing reviews posted here, but now I doubted how many of the reviews really came from real happy clients. I got dinged with no interview for the school I had her help with the application, but I got nearly full scholarship for the school I built the application myself. Both schools are top schools so it is somehow fair enough to compare. For anyone intends to use Jessica's service, please really consider my experience with her:
PROs:
- On-time turnaround
- Helpful with 1-2 first review of the essay
CONs:
- I received far less customized advice than I expected from a ~$5K package. For example, when I send the application form (not the essay), I will received the reviewed document with most of the revisions related to wording or grammar. But those wording and grammar revisions will not help me get admitted. It should be the advice such as with all the information I gave her about me, which info I should or should not choose to put in the application. Or if I showed myself as an entrepreneur, I should be aware that the valuation of my start-up is the key for the school to judge, etc. I never got her advice on the important details to make my application become a stronger one even after I tried to ask several times. All I could get was just revisions on essay, but the essay I wrote myself got me nearly full scholarship anyway so that kind of support from her was really not that helpful for me. I was very disappointed that her service is just similar to or even worse than what I got from my friends' help.
- No point using the complete package which is a big investment. I found the helpful thing she gave is mostly about 2 first reviews for my essay. For other tasks in the process, I was very disappointed. My mock interview with her is only 20 min long (and I can only have one mock interview with that package). Her comments for that was something like I did well already, no need for much improvement. That kind of comment was terrible, seriously I did not spend ~$5K for that. I found out that the mock interviews I had with other MBA students were extremely far more helpful and customized to my case than from her.

In general, I found that Jessica's service was totally not worth my investment. If you intend to choose her because of all the flattering reviews here, please be more skeptical.

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Harshad's help was incredible and put me in a position to choose between offers from Top 10 schools. I don't believe I would have been as successful without his help, and here are his strengths to support why -

1) He is exceptional at distilling your experiences and actions into clear and compelling messages that can be understood by admissions committees. For someone who has a tendency to dive right into the complexities of situations, this was incredibly helpful.

2) As other reviews have stated, his feedback is concise, direct, insightful, and constructive. He regularly suggested course corrections that ended up producing excellent application materials.

3) He is an incredibly hard worker who has your best interests in mind. He always provided feedback in a very timely manner and rest assured that when crunch time comes, he will not be the bottleneck in the process.

4) While he frequently does have strong views on materials, he was always more than happy to get on the phone for additional brainstorming and to thoroughly go over any questions or doubts I had. This combination of conviction with the willingness to discuss how to improve upon his suggestions further by taking them in new directions is a powerful combination that ensured materials were completed efficiently and effectively.

In addition to all of the skills and traits mentioned above, perhaps what I have valued most is his persistent realism and optimism. While he does not sugar coat anything, he always sees a path to success and is clear about what it will require. I have absolutely no doubts about recommending that you hire Harshad. I am thankful I did.

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I had a challenging story to communicate (white male, finance background, weak GMAT, career pivot, location pivot, etc.) but Julie did an amazing job of working with me to craft a compelling and unique story for each MBA program that I considered. In addition, I was an extremely demanding client (applied to nine top MBA programs) yet Julie always rose the occasion when deadlines arrived. She went above and beyond for me several times throughout the application process and I am very thankful that I selected her as my consultant. Highly recommend to any MBA candidates looking at hiring a consultant!

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