I worked with Susan for nearly the entirety of the past year, through 2 rounds of bschool admissions (which might sound like a bad thing, but read on to learn why!), and highly recommend that you give her a call if you are in the early stages of applying to business school. Your applications will be better for it.

I initially applied in the last round of admissions for the Class of 2019, and hired Susan after a 30-minute phone call with another mbaMission consultant who was no longer accepting third round candidates but who heavily endorsed Susan. Going into this final round, Susan was super-candid about my odds of getting accepted (spoiler alert: they were not great). This candor and honesty has been a theme of my work with Susan, and I really appreciated it. I decided to proceed with the final round apps, and Susan was with me every step of the way. She held herself accountable to promised turnaround times, and was often open to expedited reviews as I got into crunch time for certain apps. I applied to three schools in this last round, and was waitlisted at two of them (rejected from one) – which, all things considered, was a pretty good outcome.

The brainstorming / career goals exercise, which then flows into outlining first drafts of essays, are such helpful steps that I think set mbaMission and Susan, specifically, apart. Susan pushed me to set realistic and specific goals by tying in my past experiences (personal / professional), identifying knowledge / skills gaps that I needed to fill, and highlighting how specific resources at my target programs are going to help me realize my goals. One of the best parts of working with Susan is how much she pushed me to go one level deeper – always getting to the “how” and the “why” vs. just stating the “what”. Pointing to specific resources and identifying why I want to pursue them and how they fit with my goals made my story much more compelling than just saying which specific resources I was excited about. I would not have gotten to this level without Susan’s guidance.

Susan’s feedback not only helped ensure that each aspect of my applications was individually strong, but also that there was an almost tangible common thread / consistent story running through the entire application.

I applied again in Round 1 for the Class of 2020, and – after kicking around the “is it worth the money”-question – decided to work with Susan again on my second attempt. Her feedback on my essays and other materials, as well as video components and interview prep was invaluable. I am thrilled that I will be attending a top-10 program (my top choice) in the Fall!

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I used Jeremy to apply to 5 programs and was extremely happy with the service i received throughout the entire process. Beyond Jeremy's professionalism, what impressed me most was his responsiveness and his ability to guide me throughout my essay writing and help me best convey my personality despite not having met me in person even once. Jeremy took the time to understand "my story" and by the end of the process, I truly felt like Jeremy had been a friend of mine for years. It felt like Jeremy was just as invested as I was which made the process that much easier.

Jeremy helped me create a timeline in which I could effectively manage my time and submit my applications to each school, which helped alleviate any stress about getting my applications in on time.

Jeremy's intimate knowledge of the school's programs helped me cater my essays to more of what they're looking for and I can say with certainty that I would have gone a completely different direction without his guidance. Finally, I appreciated that Jeremy was blunt and realistic and helped set proper expectations. Moreover, Jeremy is just a genuine and good guy. These factors made him easy to trust and it ultimately helped position my essays to be as good as they possibly could have been.

Jeremy made himself extremely available, from essay writing to interview prep, and undoubtedly added value in every step along the way. I could not have asked for a better consultant.

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Jeremy is an outstanding consultant. He's thoughtful, razor-sharp, and most of all, honest.

I'm a re-applicant. I applied for 2017 intake to three top business schools, and got no interviews. One year later, with Jeremy's continued guidance, I applied to four top business schools and was admitted to three, including Harvard and Stanford. If this wasn't enough, I also received significant five-figure fellowship offers from both HBS and the GSB, which greatly exceeded my investment with mbaMission. Now that's ROI.

Jeremy is not cheap; yet he's still under priced.

I wholehearted recommend Jeremy for candidates who want a thought-partner through the application, and need an edge to get into the top schools. He helped at every step: from our 20+ page brainstorming document, through to scholarship applications, and everything in between. Of note, Jeremy is particularly gifted at distilling big ideas into dense, "speedy English". With each draft of my application, I saw significant improvement.

I've referred my closest friends and colleagues to Jeremy, and they too now see why I won't stop singing Jeremy's praises.

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I was on the fence about these consultancies generally. I studied/took the GMAT on my own and, confident in my own story, felt I could do the same with essays/applications. Ultimately I decided to go for it as I connected well with Jessica on our initial consultation and didn't want to miss out on a leg up other applicants may have.

I'm glad I did. Without Jessica's guidance, I would have produced a much weaker application. If you really nail a question - she's there to help smooth out the details. If you miss on one, she won't hold back; she'll let you know you have to throw it away and start over. And she's right. Working with Jessica gave me confidence in taking risks with my essays that I otherwise wouldn't have taken. She was there every step of the way, using all the resources available to her (including other consultants at the firm whose expertise was helpful in specific scenarios) to make sure your application is the best it possibly can be.

Don't skip out on this crucial tool during the application process. Relative to the amount of money you'll spend on your MBA in it's entirety, a consultant fee is a drop in the bucket.

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I went into the application process unsure of whether or not I wanted to spend the money on an expensive admissions consultant with the financial burden of business school on the horizon. One 30 minute (free) consultation with Susan was more than enough to convince me that my applications would be significantly more well-rounded with her help. As a non-traditional (engineering) candidate not surrounded by many top level MBA graduates, Susan’s experience navigating the whole process was an absolute difference maker in my application.

The documents that mbaMission provides to get student’s backgrounds are very through, but Susan took the time to really get to know me more than just my profile and my test scores, and was able to even suggest how some of my stories could fit into essays even when I didn’t immediately see the fit. She was also able to quickly identify areas where I was weak (post-MBA goals) and spent the necessary time helping me nail those down. Throughout the whole process, it would have been very easy for her to say that my materials were “good enough” and move on to helping another client, but I am convinced that Susan does not have those two words in her vocabulary. She will not let you settle for “good enough”. Even on your 7th revision of an essay, if there is one sentence that might be able to be tweaked just a little, she will provide that feedback.

I must have sent Susan 40 drafts of different essays, resumes, recommendation letters, etc., and never once did she miss her promised 2 day deadline. While she does take 1 week off in the fall for vacation, she still reviews materials and met every deadline even through that time period. She is also always available for a quick phone meeting if you need one, and will push you in all the right directions. In other words, while I am sure she helps a good number of applicants, I never once felt that I was being short changed in anyway so that she could help another client or bring on more volume.

She was also really helpful in the interview prep and especially preparing for the Video Essay that some schools required. I was very hesitant about the video essay, but after a session with Susan, I left very confident in my game plan.

If you are hoping for someone to actually do the hard part of writing your essays, or for a cheerleader through the process, don’t hire Susan. If you are looking for someone who will always push you to submit the very best materials and application possible and provide candid feedback (She will tell you in your first meeting that you have your friends and family to tell you how great you are, she will tell you what you need to hear) that will add to your application, look no further than Susan Kaplan.

With Susan’s help, I ended up on the waitlist at a Top-5 program, and accepted at a top-10 school with a significant scholarship, where I will enrolling for my MBA this fall. I would (and have) highly recommend Susan to anyone starting on the process.

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Rachel was instrumental in my admission to Wharton and Columbia. I was applying to MBA programs while based in the Middle East and traveling globally, and Rachel was incredibly responsive and flexible to my timing needs. I also had a unique story to communicate to MBA programs and Rachel was adept at helping me craft it effectively in a way that would really speak to AdComs. Rachel gives you 110% of her focus in every step of the application, from brainstorming essay ideas to prepping for interviews to choosing between acceptances. I truly don't think I would have been accepted to my top programs if it wasn't for Rachel. She makes a very stressful process manageable and makes it her priority to set you up for the most successful outcome possible.

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I had a wonderful experience working with Krista Nannery on my applications. The business school application process is a stressful and sometimes lonely experience. Knowing that Krista was in my corner was the only part of this process that actually made things easier and less stressful.

Krista was able to understand my story in-depth and guide me to craft a cohesive narrative. For example, with essays, she helped me assess which stories both addressed the prompt and best illustrated my skill set and experience - and then she’d help me elevate that story in my own voice. Her objective perspective on my career and story was helpful in ensuring my application resonated to an unfamiliar audience (adcom) succinctly.

Beyond her coaching (and therapist-like counseling), she also ensured I stayed on track from a project-management perspective. She’d push me along when I was spinning for too long on an essay draft. There are so many pieces involved in crafting a compelling application and Krista helped me juggle it all.

Working with Krista was a terrific investment. I was accepted to 3 of the 4 schools I applied to, with a 50% scholarship to one of them. I advise my b-school interested friends that I wouldn’t have done the application process any other way.

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I worked with Susan to prepare my school application, and I feel it was a great investment. With work, studying for the GMAT, and a quickly approaching deadline, I had limited time to put all the parts of my application together, and I did not want to waste any of it trying to figure out if I am approaching each step in the best possible way. I wanted to just focus on the content and delivery of each step: essays, resume, short answers, interview, and all the other small things that contribute to your overall application profile. Having Susan guide me throughout the process perfectly fit that goal.

I think many of the other reviews already cover her way of working with a client, but I will highlight what stands out. I did all the work, thinking, and writing of the actual content. Susan provided guidance on what a good application would say about an applicant and was able to look at my work and tell me if it’s achieving that goal or not. It also helps to have the outside perspective because you may think what you have written clearly states an idea, but in reality it doesn’t because you, the writer, “fill in” all the gaps subconsciously since it’s coming from your own mind. Susan, though, cannot do that and quickly points out what is not making sense, or you’ll notice if she got the wrong perspective from your work, indicating a rewrite or clarification is necessary.

The investment was challenging for me, but I am thinking long-term and believe it will pay off since I got into my target school (and more). Do I think a talented or experienced individual can put together a stellar application without a consultant? Definitely. Can someone find all the application guidance they need through internet sites and forums? Sure. But like any decision you make in life, you need to assess your circumstances and make a well thought-out choice. For my circumstances, it made perfect sense to work with Susan, and she did her part *very well*. I couldn’t have asked for someone better.

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I approached the MBA application process with a lot of confidence and focused most of my efforts on GMAT prep. It wasn’t until I actually got into the application process that I realized I needed guidance. I completed the free consultation at MBA Mission and realized that I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

I purchased five hours of time with John and we began working on four school applications but it wasn’t until I began writing these essays that I really figured out what I wanted to do post-MBA. This provided my essays with direction and purpose. Without John’s coaching, my essays were pretty vanilla. Now, whenever I write ANYTHING, I envision John’s comment bubbles popping up, telling me “I need more YOU.”

John was extremely patient and easy to work with throughout the process. This really minimized the amount of stress surrounding the entire application process. His guidance resulted in my admission to a top MBA program AND the #3 operations institute in the U.S.

I highly recommend John and mbaMission. Trust their guidance and you won’t be disappointed.

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I recently worked with Rachel on a 3 school package for Round 1 in the Fall of 2017. I would strongly recommend using Rachel for any candidate considering using an admissions consultant to guide you through the process.

Rachel made what is an extremely stressful and hectic process feel very seamless. From our first brainstorm call through submission of the applications, she helps you stay on top of all of your tasks, which can pile up as the process unfolds, while also making sure you are putting on the best impression for admission committees. For me, Rachel's guidance on the application essays was most critical. Where my essay's ended versus where they would have been had I had not worked with Rachel is truly night and day.

Now, candidates who plan to use a consultant should be aware that you still need to come prepared to work, and work hard. Rachel and other consultants can guide, navigate and keep you organized and on task, but you need to do the work.

I ended up getting into my top choice program and will be enrolling in the Fall of 2018. Surely, Rachel's help was a huge factor for my being admitted to my dream program.

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