I loved working with Harold Simansky! He was prompt and accessible - even over the holidays, which was critical as a round 2 applicant. Harold was generous with his time, and always struck a great balance of practicality, efficiency, and effectiveness in his advice and comments. He went above and beyond in the drafting process by consulting with his colleagues and giving me honest feedback to ensure that I had the strongest application. Strongly recommend the standard package w/Harold for at least 1 school!

I also loved working with Stratus as a whole. Their process was incredibly helpful in thinking through my career trajectory and understanding what I was looking for in my MBA experience. Additionally, the depth of resources that Stratus had to offer was extremely helpful in getting my application right. Being able to receive extra reviews from school specialists and interview prep from alumni was amazing. Great to feel like you have a whole team behind you!

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I was skeptical of using a consulting service at first, but not I can't even picture what I would have done without them! I was walked through the process step-by-step, had someone to bounce ideas off of and get direction when I needed it, and another set of eyes to go over my work whenever I needed it.

Krista was a pleasure to work with. Knowledgeable, communicative, and able to give just the right push to get things done. She had a satisfying answer to every question I had, and her feedback was always great, whether she was proofreading or brainstorming with me.

I highly recommend using the service. The price is steep, but it's well worth the money!

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John/MbaMission was the first admissions consultant company to take the time to look beyond my stats on paper and hear my story/motivations for applying.

I researched and spoke with several similar companies to gage my chances at different programs and heard I needed to readjust my expectations. My less traditional background (major/undergrad institution), and only 3 years of work experience (4 at program start) would rule out top schools. One company even told me "it doesn't matter if you score an 800 on the GMAT, you're not the type of applicant top programs are looking for." However, mbaMission was different.

John was incredibly encouraging, responsive, and attentive throughout the entire process (even just to check in during the decision waiting period). He restored my confidence and helped me tell my story which clearly articulated my personal and professional reasons for wanting an MBA. The result was a clear illustration of not just why I wanted an MBA but also everything I had done to prepare and how it would be pivotal in my career aspirations.

While I was still slightly jaded by the prior feedback I heard, I chose to only apply small number of schools (a couple M7/T5 and one T10) with the intention of waiting and applying next year if needed to a more "realistic" range. However, this was not needed because not only was I accepted (including a scholarship), but I also had a choice of programs. I am thrilled to say I will be headed to an M7/T5 in the fall! I would highly recommend John and mbaMission to anyone going through this process.

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Right from the moment I started working with Harshad on my MBA application journey, he has always been there by my side and motivated me to bring out the best in myself and this helped me build a strong and authentic application – one which wouldn’t have been possible without his support. Harshad treats your success as his own and this trait of his is evident through all his efforts throughout the application process. Harshad always provides constructive criticism and doesn’t hold back from giving you his honest and straightforward opinion and this quality has helped me correct course numerous times be it while editing an essay or preparing for interviews. What makes him the best is that he is relatable! Whenever I have had my self-doubts about the whole MBA process, he has always highlighted my strengths and reassured me that this is indeed possible, often times quoting from his vast experience. His pep talks and positivity has helped me transform into a confident and self-sufficient MBA candidate. I strongly recommend Harshad for anyone looking for a MBA consultant!

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When I first started the MBA application process, I was very confused and had no idea what admissions committees were “looking for.” During my initial calls with Harshad, it became abundantly clear that he was the person I needed to guide me through the process. He was extremely attentive to my concerns about weak points in my profile, and he could provide direct answers to all my questions about various schools, essays, etc.

I could go on and on about my time working with him, but I think it’s best to highlight what I feel are a few of his greatest strengths.

1) He was a friend, not just a consultant. Harshad truly wanted to get to know me as a person. During our initial brainstorming call, he continued to ask follow up questions as we dove deeper into my stories; it was clear he wanted to understand the underlying meaning each one had to me. And this is one of the many ways he was able to push me to write essays that truly reflect who I am as a person. It never felt like he was “working” or “doing his job,” just a friend who genuinely wanted to help me achieve my goals.

2) He didn’t let me settle for “good enough.” There were a number of times throughout the process where I would send Harshad a draft I thought was solid. On paper, the essay was logical and “made sense.” However, Harshad recognized there was significant room for improvement; he knew these essays didn’t cut deep enough. So he pushed me to continue to dive deeper into my stories until I found something that truly reflected who I was and who I am today. On my own, I would never have pushed myself through this process of deep self-reflection. Looking back, my final essays were night and day compared to my earliest drafts.

3) He was a rockstar consultant all around. Harshad went above and beyond his duties as a consultant: as others have mentioned, he consistently provided feedback on my drafts far in advance of his firm’s required timeframes. Furthermore, he is extremely knowledgeable about the application process as well as the similarities and differences between various top MBA programs. He was also instrumental in helping me drastically cut down the word count on my preliminary drafts without losing the true meaning/message behind my stories.

Since I’m sure some people reading this will be interested to hear how things worked out… I am super excited to say that I’ll be attending an M7 school later this year with a 50% scholarship! I absolutely would not have accomplished this without Harshad. I can’t recommend him strongly enough.

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Working with Harshad throughout the application process was extremely rewarding. I had a very unique and difficult timeline/situation, but Harshad worked with me through it all and supported me during each phase of the process. Harshad is an amazing storyteller; he was able to bring out my best qualities and help me put them into words to show the AdCom what I could bring to a program. He is able to do this because he takes the necessary time to get to know his clients and he is a diligent listener. Harshad was not just interested in my professional background; he cared about what motivated me, he asked questions about my family, my childhood, everything. Personally, my favorite aspect of Harshad was his honesty. As someone who did not have much time to waste, I really appreciated his direct approach--it showed me how much he cared about the quality of my applications and that he knew the quality of work I was capable of.

With the help of Harshad, I was able to land 4 admits to top 10 schools and I know for a fact that I would not be where I am today without him. I signed up with Harshad thinking of him as a consultant, and I am leaving the process thinking of him as a friend. Thank you, Harshad!

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I’m 30+ years old. I went to a small state school. I was out of a job for 15+ months. Before my current career, I worked blue-collar jobs. My GRE quant was <65%. I had a family tragedy in the middle of the application cycle.

Despite ALL that, with Jessica’s extraordinary guidance, these are my results:

Applied: Stanford, Harvard (MBA & MPP), Wharton, MIT, Berkeley, Yale, Virginia, UCLA, UNC, Georgetown
Interview invites: EVERY. SINGLE. SCHOOL!
Outcomes: 9 admits!!! 1 waitlist & 1 ding. Candidly, both non-admits were cuz I screwed up the interviews. C’est la vie :)
Funding offered: $257K (from various schools)
Attending: Joint Stanford MBA and Harvard MPP (with amazing named fellowship)

The results speak for themselves, but I'd like to share more about Jessica.

At heart, Jessica is a storyteller. She took a block of stone (over 30 pages of my stories/vignettes and hours of phone calls), and helped me sculpt a masterpiece.

One story highlights many of her strengths: for the GSB essay, I was struggling for an opener. Jessica mentioned a short phrase I’d written in my 30+ brainstorming pages. And voila, I had an intro which tied the whole essay together.

This small story shows her eye for detail, her work ethic, and most importantly, her tradecraft of shaping narratives that both tug at the heartstrings and engage the intellect.

To me, the goal of an application -- something more subtle than the explicit goal of getting accepted -- is getting the Adcom members to be YOUR advocate. Jessica understands that. And that is exactly what we did. The amazing and humbling outcomes I’ve had were only possible with Jessica on my team.

I enjoyed working with Jessica so much that, crazy as it sounds, I actually miss the hellish application process! That speaks volumes in itself.

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After taking the GMAT, I was a bit lost in terms of where, to begin with, the application process. I couldn’t decide how to best position my non-traditional healthcare background.

Nisha helped me tell my story more effectively and challenged me to be introspective about why I am pursuing my MBA. Working with her helped me to more clearly define my short and long-term goals, which became imperative not only for applications, but also for business school meet-and-greet events and, later on, interviews. Throughout the entire process, Nisha was prompt, encouraging and thoughtful in her feedback. I applied to 4 schools and was accepted to three with varying merit-based scholarships (including my “reach” school!), and am wait-listed at the fourth. I believe I would not have come nearly this far if not for Nisha’s guidance.

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To kick off this review, I will say I am not the most straight forward candidate. I have a sub-par (<2.5) GPA, no alternative transcript, and 3 years of work experience at a no-name tech firm.

Every MBA consultant either turned me away, insisted that I apply to part-time programs, or asked that I apply to lower ranked schools. However, I was determined to join a full-time top 20 program and needed a coach to guide me through the process.

Harshad was exactly that and much more. Right from the start he was honest and let me know that if I wanted to punch above my weight, I'd have to approach the process swinging, and that he would help guide me through it. Harshad was always available at a moment's notice and truly helped me refine and craft my essays, story, and pitch. Harshad truly is an awesome story-teller and can really bring out a top notch applicant in anyone he works with.

In the end I not only gained admission to a top 20 full-time program, but I did so with a bloody full scholarship! To this day I can't believe it. Looking back at my essays that I attempted to write before I met Harshad and comparing them to my completed essays after working with Harshad, it is clear that there is no way I would be where I am today without him.

To anyone thinking about working with Harshad - biting the bullet and hiring him saved me two years worth of MBA tuition (>$120k in tuition fees!); unbelievable!

I would recommend Harshad to anyone who is going through the application process. There is no doubt Harshad will put you on the path to achieving your goals!

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Rachel was recommended by a friend who loved working with her. My experience was exactly the same! From the beginning she was very professional, knowledgable, and honest (which is something I really appreciated). She truly helped me figure out the ins and outs of the whole application process which can be very daunting, and she constantly checked on me to make sure things were going according to plan. She pushed me to work hard and I really appreciate all her help. I’ve recommended her to a few friends thinking about their MBA and I suggest if you’re curious at all about getting an MBA, to schedule a call with her. As I mentioned, she’s very honest and will let you know if she can help you or not.

Thank you, Rachel!

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