I signed up for 2 schools with Dan, without having much of an idea how to get started. Dan was very helpful in structuring the entire process and working with me from start to finish. From picking schools, to crafting my story, waitlist guidance, and interview prep, Dan was immensely helpful all the way through. Although the process was stressful at times, Dan was always there with guidance and made the overall application process much easier, helping me gain admission to a top 20 program. For anyone considering applying to any of the top rated programs I absolutely recommend consulting services, and if you can definitely go with Dan. He is the best in the business.

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I signed up to work with Melissa for round 2 applications for a 5 school package with the intention of applying to 8 schools. Melissa was amazing throughout the entire process.

At first, as I was pretty clueless of the process and quickly became overwhelmed. Melissa was always available to walk me thought the unknown and help me organize my thoughts. She advised me on which 5 schools out of the 8 she thought would be best for me to include in my package. We initially started with the background questionnaire that helped me explore every area, accomplishment and goal that would be relevant for my application.

During the essay writing process, Melissa helped me select the best experiences to use for my essays and guided me to tell these stories effectively. She was always ahead of time returning her revisions, which I truly appreciated especially during the holidays. Thanks to her dedication and quick turnaround, I was able to get through all the schools I was applying to before the deadlines.

Melissa went above and beyond to ensure I was presenting the best work. One of my essays subject was a little on the controversial side and I wanted to ensure my tone was not angry. I asked her if she thought it sounded angry. She mentioned it was difficult for her to interpret what I had written as angry because she knew me too well by then and could not read the essay impartially. She then reached out to a colleague and had her read the essay to get another person’s perspective.

Melissa was great prepping me for interviews. One of the people interviewing me even mentioned to me that I was the most prepared out of the 6 people he had already interviewed.

Melissa really was AMAZING! A true advocate. She is friendly and easy to talk to, but also honest, forthright and willing to give constructive criticism when necessary.

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Working with Kate was a fantastic experience. I was recommended her services by a friend (Kellogg admit) with whom Kate worked the prior year and I was not disappointed in our partnership. Kate was friendly, honest and, perhaps most importantly, knew when to push back and how to continually drive the process forward.

Kate constantly provided timely advice and feedback, always willing to answer the smallest of questions at the drop of a hat, which provided me comfort during the process – a process which can easily overwhelm. Further, Kate had us sticking to a schedule that made me feel I was never falling behind.

Kate’s support and guidance were holistic in the process. When I was waitlisted at one of my target schools, Kate’s positivity was truly appreciated and I believe her insights into how to handle the process really did drive the positive result I received – admission!

Just like my friend did last year, I’d definitely recommend Kate’s (and mbaMission’s) services. When searching for consultants this time last year, I remember feeling like just another statistic to each of the firms I had consultations with. The conversations were blunt and almost strictly about the numbers (GPA, GMAT, etc.) – that was not the case with Kate. From the beginning, we built a strong relationship and reviewed my holistic story which I knew would lead to the results I was looking for.

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I cannot say enough great things about Lynn! The entire MBA application process was daunting, but with her help, coaching, and process management I was admitted to my top 2 schools (Harvard, Wharton)! She truly gets to know you and quickly understands the common themes that pull your application together. It was so helpful to have a third party point of view on what aspects of my application to emphasize etc. She helped me put my best foot forward for the admissions committees, and I think my entire application would have been different if I had not had her on my side! Thank you Lynn!

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My goal going into the application process was to be accepted into a top business school (M7). I spoke with several advisors before Katharine. Each advisor prior to Katharine told me I should shoot for either a part time program, or a school that was ranked outside of the top 10.

I chose to work with Katharine because she listened to my entire story, and believed that someone with my profile could get into one of my top choices. She had confidence in her ability to shape both the positive aspects and negative aspects of my story in order to achieve my goals. I was also drawn to Katharine because of her positivity and deep knowledge of all of the top MBA programs.

After working with Katharine for several months, we were able to surface pieces of my work experience, volunteer experience, and extracurriculars that represented who I am in the best light. She then helped guide me through each step of the application process. We worked together to decide what I should write about in each of my essays, prepare my recommenders, and fill out my applications. She did an incredible job weaving pieces of my background throughout my applications, and making sure I had a well-balanced story when I applied. Her strong knowledge of what each school was looking for enabled me to curate my story to match each school’s desired student profile. In the end, I was admitted to the M7 program of my choice.

I learned a lot about myself through the application process. The process allows you to dig deep and think about who you are and what you want to do later in life. Katharine helps guide you through that journey, and I think that is something very special about her that sets her apart from other advisors. Ultimately, she and I put together a story that was very genuine and represented exactly who I am and what my future goals were. I believe admissions really “got” me, that that’s why they admitted me. I’m certain that Katharine can bring that out in you as well.

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Hi am proud to provide my highest recommendation for Lynn Moloney. I came to Lynn slightly disorganized and highly optimistic about the number of schools I could apply to during the short period of time I left myself. Moreover, I had a challenging goal as I wanted to pursue a dual MBA/MPH (Masters in Public Health), which wasn’t formally offered by my target schools, during the Round 2 application window. Despite the tight timeline, Lynn helped me get into both of my dream programs: Harvard’s MBA and Yale’s MPH. Lynn had a perfect balance of professionalism and genuine care for my success. She took the time upfront to get to know me and my background in great detail so that we were able to breeze through the application process. Thanks to Lynn, I felt as though all my applications were completely authentic which made the interview process enjoyable.

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Whether you think you need a consultant or not, everyone, and I mean everyone, should at least have a free consultation. There is no special formula to guarantee admission, but having someone with experience is invaluable. I truly believe that Rachel and I put together my best possible candidacy.

This isn't Rachel's first rodeo and mbaMission definitely takes notes on attributes, application approaches and experiences that has made past candidates successful - so when Rachel makes a suggestion, it comes with insight and knowledge that only someone with experience can provide. It's OK to disagree with Rachel and she is very open to your opinion, but at the same time trust her.

The application process is a marathon, not a sprint, and you two are a team. Rachel takes time to fully digest your life story - from childhood to the time of your candidacy - in order to highlight themes, interesting facts and other strong points. In order for you two to be successful at putting together your best application, the appropriate time is needed for the process to work. Rachel maintains constant communication throughout the process to help guide you as you construct your application(s).

Interview preparation in general is awkward. No matter how bad you want cancel the Skype interview prep with Rachel, fight through it. Nailing the actual interview with the school is so important and there is a fine line between sounding like a robot - and having automated responses - and being well-versed in the practice of interviews. Rachel provides great advice on how to structure responses (yes, even the order for sub-bullets of a response) to help the response flow smoothly or tease future responses, which may help guide the interview in your favor.

Highly recommend reaching out to Rachel if you're new to the MBA application process. Also, starting the application process in April or May will help. You will be surprised how fast spots fill and how detailed this process will be. Most likely you will be working full-time through it all, so allow time for Rachel to do her work and try not submit a first draft a week before the deadline. Rachel and I had 10+ drafts on everything. I think the results from my applications are objective proof of the time and care that the team, Rachel and I, put into everything.

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I was extremely busy at my work during the admission season, and knew very little about admission process when the application deadline was only around 3 months away. So I chose to get Debbie Choy's help. I summarized some most important insights from Debbie as below, which turned out to be very true and helped me to be very efficient during the process.
1. Recommendation of what schools or programs suit me best;
2. What the admission offices are looking for from applicants, and what makes the applicant different from others;
3. How to write essays that present yourself better;
4. Debbie controlled the application schedules very well. She always gave responses within the time as she promised, and would also check in me when I was a little behind on things that needed to be done;
5. Debbie also had a mock interview with me, which turned out to be very similar to what I experienced in real. It made me very prepared and confident during the interview.
Overall speaking, Debbie has a very clear, easy and sense-making process for you to follow in order to complete the admission process. I felt it was just a matter of time and process to get admitted by your dream school, as long as you follow her process. I strongly recommended you to use Debbie's help if you would like to maximize your acceptance possibility, and make your process as easy as possible.

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Initially I felt a little intimidated by the idea of working with an MBA admission consultant because I knew that MBA application process is all about deep self-reflection and authentic storytelling. I was not sure if I could truly open up myself to and go through the process with someone I did not know before. But because mbaMission has a great reputation, I decided to give it a try and called them for a free 30-minute consultation. That then led me to Jen, who completely shaped my MBA application experience!

Jen challenged me to go above and beyond in my applications: The very first essay draft I sent to Jen was Stanford’s classic and difficult essay. Jen sent me her written feedback in 2 days and I was totally amazed by her detailed notes and thoughtful critique. And then she called me to walk me through her notes and guided me to think deeply about the “why” part of the question. I already put some serious thoughts into the essay but Jen encouraged me to dive deeper and taught me how to do so. I knew then I had to get Jen’s help for my other schools and decided to purchase packages for all my others schools with Jen!

Jen was always there for me: I had about 2 months to finish 6 schools’ applications and each of the schools asked for something different in their essays and interviews. And as an international student, I was also worried about messing up those cultural nuances in my applications. Jen helped me with every step for every school including essay brainstorming, essay editing, resume polishing, interview preparation, and an additional scholarship application process for one of the schools. Jen was so knowledgeable, responsive, patient, encouraging and honest that I felt extremely comfortable to ask her any questions and share my thoughts/feelings/concerns. I remember I would call her before my interviews to practice some questions or just chat about the interview, and then walked into every interview feeling very confident and fully prepared. I could not imagine getting such amount of guidance and support from anyone else!

Finally I was admitted to 4 top business schools! I am so grateful for everything Jen did and she means much more than an admission counselor to me – She is a true friend and mentor.

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To the reader, I’ve sat in your shoes and faced the uncertainty of whether or not I would get any benefit from an admissions consultant after committing a lot of money upfront. I had read the horror stories online and had friends with negative experiences. I did the 30 minute free consultations with a few firms to narrow down my selection. I promise that, if you choose Melissa, you’ll have a terrific experience. I worked with Melissa on a five school package and all five schools I applied to were M7 schools. In addition I was working on a very tight timeframe – we started working together in mid-November and I hadn’t taken the GMAT. Yet with Melissa’s encouragement, support and help I was able to submit all five applications and was admitted to three M7 schools including with a significant fellowship and scholarship. I’m delighted to be attending my dream business school in the fall and Melissa was the driving force behind that. I can’t recommend her highly enough.

This is why you should hire Melissa:
1) Dedication: Melissa is completely dedicated to her clients. Given I was applying to five top schools all in the second round, Melissa and I were working right up to the early January deadlines. She was sending me edits on drafts on 26th December, New Year’s Eve and on New Year’s Day. You can ignore mbaMission’s statement that consultants reply in two days and don’t email you on holidays – Melissa replies much faster than that and is very flexible if you have deadlines. She is always happy to have calls. We had everything from two hour long brainstorming sessions to email exchanges over the wording of a 50 word short answer question. We’ve had multiple calls over school decisions and mock interviews. In short, you’re hiring someone who will partner with you through this arduous process.

2) Expertise: Her Kellogg MBA and experience as Executive Director of Admissions at Rice’s MBA program speak for themselves. She has the expertise and track record to guide you through everything from school selection to essay editing to interviewing. She will challenge you and give you frank feedback on your candidacy. She has seen it all and so can always help you.

3) Support and Encouragement: I can promise you that taking the GMAT and applying to business schools while working at a demanding job will be difficult and you will be faced with setbacks. I was concerned because I was an older candidate from a very competitive applicant pool applying in the second round to the best MBA programs in the world. Melissa gave me the encouragement and support to realise that my candidacy could stand-out and that I could be successful even on a tight timeframe. She also gave me the confidence that I didn’t need a safety school.

4) Essay Topic Selection and Editing: The essays are a key piece of the application and it’s where Melissa added significant value. She helped me select topics that showcased my unique strengths. She constantly pushed me in each mock draft I sent her to “show rather than tell” and use examples about how I could have an impact. She tailored each essay to each school I applied to. Melissa is excellent at decoding the sometimes cryptic essay questions to ensure that you’re answering in the right way.

5) Mock Interviews: Melissa is great at giving you mock interviews. I felt so well prepared going into every interview I had. Melissa even gave me a separate mock interview after a mock team based discussion to ensure I was prepared for other parts of the school’s interview. I walked out of every interview thinking I had really excelled and that Melissa had put me in a position to succeed.

In conclusion, hire Melissa. She’s going to be your best advocate in a very trying process. She has the skills and expertise to ensure you put your best foot forward. She has the dedication to meet any deadline and provide her insight on any question, no matter how great or small it is. She has the personality to encourage you to keep pushing ahead. Hiring Melissa was the best decision I made as part of the process and it will be the best decision you make.

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