I was accepted this year at HBS and waitlisted at Stanford. The day I found out, I had (stupidly) forgotten to charge my phone, and as I stared at my Harvard acceptance letter, I realized I had about two calls left before my phone was going to die. I called my family, and then I called Katy Lewis. I had to tell her there was no way I could have gotten that letter without her.

Applying to business school is confusing and intimidating, but in every way I needed help, Katy was there. Two years ago, when I first called her for a consultation, she gave me one of the most important pieces of advice I ever got, about how to craft my nontraditional “story” in a way that makes sense to a business school. She has spent time at both HBS and GSB and has actually been an admissions officer there, so she was able to explain how they would see my background and what I would need to do to make it “make sense” to them. Her insight into how these schools worked was invaluable and helped guide my entire application process.

During that first conversation, I also asked Katy if it was better to apply that year or wait till I had a chance to spend time preparing. She was unflinchingly honest, and while everyone around me was saying “oh, go ahead, do it now, you’ll be fine,” she was the voice that advised caution and pointed out the potential pitfalls of applying too soon. It was a harbinger of one of the best parts of working with Katy: she is unfailingly realistic and honest (and also inevitably right). She was the one who told me what I needed to hear about my first GMAT score—retaking it on her advice was one of the best decisions I made. She steered me away from schools that were bad fits and helped me figure out what I most wanted out of my education. And, because I knew she wasn’t afraid to tell me the unvarnished truth, I knew I could really trust her when she encouraged me to take risks. She gave me the courage to apply to top schools despite my concerns about my quant score (which she helped me mitigate) and to move ahead with a relatively unconventional personal essay. Without her encouragement, I’m not sure I would have even applied.

Occasionally I had questions that no website or friend/family member could answer, like whether it was okay for a recommender to write a letter if they had gotten fired, or whether I could integrate a clarification of a bad answer into a post-interview thank you note. Katy’s answers and advice would always come immediately, by phone or by email, reflecting her seasoned understanding of what really matters to schools and what applicants can or should do. Katy was also freakishly accurate as a mock interviewer. Her HBS practice interview style was exactly what I found when I did my real interview a week later, so much so that it basically felt like the same experience.

For two years I have relied on Katy’s judgment and been buoyed by her confidence and kindness. To someone who is starting their own application journey, I can’t say enough about how helpful it is to have her on your side.

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While studying for the GMAT with ManhattanGMAT, I participated in a mbaMission webinar about last minute applications Jessica hosted. After furiously taking notes realizing the wisdom and helpful hints she was providing, I knew instantly I had to work with her. My instinct was confirmed after taking advantage of a 30 minute free consultation with an advisor of your choice mbaMission offers when again I was impressed with Jessica’s knowledge, enthusiasm and encouragement of the application process.

I was applying to executive MBA programs and wanted to go to the best (Wharton). I knew I had the leadership experience and skills they looked for but with a low GMAT score and an average GPA from a tier 3 undergraduate university, it was going to be an uphill battle. Wharton puts such an emphasis on GMAT scores that I estimated there were about 10 spots for those who scored below 650 and the only way I was getting in was to come across as exceptional in every other aspect of my application. This is where Jessica came in. She gave me excellent feedback, ideas and direction. She’s incredibly gifted at helping applicants tell their story and gave great advise for a successful interview. She is also incredibly efficient. I worked with Jessica on an hourly basis and felt she gave me as much attention and care as she does all her clients, regardless of how many applications or hours you're signed up for. She helped me realize my dream (as I just learned of my acceptance) and I will forever be grateful. Thank you Jessica!

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Katy Lewis is great! She gave me invaluable support and advice throughout my admissions process - from overall brainstorming to providing tactical advice on how to choose and approach recommenders. I've worked in a pretty technical and specific line of work, and she helped me translate my background into a compelling story for an admissions committee that doesn't know the field.

I applied to five top-tier schools and was accepted to four schools with generous fellowship funds. For the waitlisted school, Katy continued to coached me on how to approach the admissions office with any steps I could take to improve my chances at getting off the list. (Still waiting to hear, but I had a great meeting with the admissions director following her guidance.)

Equally important: Katy makes you laugh and keep things in perspective! It might sound minor, but I can't stress enough what a difference this made. When I was up late working on the finishing touches on my essays, her support and sense of humor was invaluable!

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It was wonderful working with Dan. He is truly talented at what he does. His support and insight during what has been an arduous journey has made all the difference.
After scoring lower than desired on the GMAT 3 days before the R2 deadline, I first reached out on advice regarding how to write my Extenuating Circumstances essay; it was a rocky moment, and his strategic input was spot-on. We later did mock interviews, which today I found out landed me a spot at a competitive school I'm very excited about. At key junctures I reached out to Dan and got exactly the support I needed, strengthening my sense of confidence and preparedness. And notably, even though Dan had 2 full days to respond to requests, he often responded within hours. It's obvious Dan cares about his clients, and genuinely wants them to succeed. I strongly recommend Dan without hesitation, and look forward to staying in touch with him throughout my career.

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Talking to Katharine was a pleasure - from the first call, she listened to me to understand my story. She was able to pick up on small details in my life to mention in my essay that I didn't think of but that really added a lot to the overall story!

Her knowledge and familiarity with the top schools is far and away the most impressive of anyone I have talked to throughout this process (consultants, admissions officers, alumni). As an HBS alum and a Stanford GBS essay reader, she was already well prepared to be a successful consultant. But her contact with clients over the last few years has made her even more qualified – her clients made up 2% of the incoming HBS class last year! The fact that one out of every 50 students used her is the strongest testament I can see to her knowledge and skill.

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Needless to say applying for business school is incredibly daunting. As a potential applicant I put years...years...into preparing a competitive profile and making sure I had all the measurables necessary to be considered at some of the best schools in the country (M7s). Yet those are the basics, everyone applying to those schools has 700+ GMATs and 3.5+ GPAs with incredible work experience while finding time to volunteer and make an impact socially.

That's where Rachel made all the difference in the world. I spoke with roughly a dozen advisers - using the free 30min consults they all offer - and you should too. But after you do, you'll come to the same conclusion I did - Rachel Beck will clearly make a difference in your applications. From the beginning I felt like she took the time to understand me, my background, and how my application and story could be different and make an impact with admissions committees. She helped me succinctly explain, and in the most effective way possible, describe the unique perspective I could bring to any MBA classroom (not an easy task for someone with a finance background, and even more challenging as I didn't work at a typical M7 feeder bank/hedge fund/PE shop).

Throughout the entire application process, she was incredibly responsive, efficient, and there to answer any questions I had along the way. She provided clear guidance and critiques to my essays and also provided amazing interview prep leaving me confident that I was fully prepared when I was called back for my interviews - of which there were many, given the incredible perspective and direction she provided on my applications.

Looking back, I know I would not have been as successful without her. She simply provided the insight I needed in order to understand what admissions committees were looking for and helped frame my individual story so that I could make the best impression possible.

I got into the school of my dreams and matriculate this fall, and it wouldn't have been possible without her.

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I worked with Jen Kedrowski for my EMBA application. We started with the background questionnaire and she spent around 1.5hr over phone with me probing into details on the answers I provided and highlighting key points that I should consider while writing my essays. I had 4 essays to write for my application. Her input, thought process, suggestions and edits made my essays stand out. She is very responsive and met timeline SLAs defined by mbaMission; and in some instances she exceeded expectations in meeting the timeframes. She would listen to my views and respond to my questions very patiently. There were times when we went back and forth and she was very patient in working with me to bring the best in my essays. She also helped me with resume review and overall application review.

She is always transparent on time spent supporting me as it was critical in the hourly pattern.

Overall, I strongly recommend Jen for anyone who is looking for honest and candid input in preparation to the Business School. I truly enjoyed working with her.

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mbaMission was recommended to me by one of my mentors and its ala-carte offering was just what I needed. My aim was to get into one of the top B-schools in the world and like most others, I had access to basic information and was conversant with the admissions process elements. However, no one in my friends’ circle or peer group had been to any of the top B-schools. I needed someone who had relevant experience and knew what it may take to get into one of those B-schools. Though there is no recipe or formula to get into any of these schools but the value of advice from someone who has been through the process himself/ herself and has successfully guided a lot of others should not be underestimated. Most of mbaMission consultants have done their MBAs from top B-schools and are subject matter experts of the process. Ms. Melissa Merchant, a Kellogg alumnus, was my consultant. Her dedication, commitment and involvement was commendable and extremely reassuring. I found her recommendations and suggestions spot-on and truly useful. With a full-time job, I wrote a lot of my essays in the eleventh hour. Melissa was extremely responsive and there were multiple occasions when she had to put in long spells of extra hours and with very little prior intimation. It was heartening to see this level of commitment. A lot of consultants around give generic feedback, derive their recommendations and inputs from sources that are otherwise freely available on the web and offer very little insight. Unlike these consultants, Melissa took time to understand the nuances of my profile and coached me along the way. She helped me perform to the best of my abilities and guess what, I made it to one of my dream schools. What I loved about her was that she never offered to write the essays for me or tried to change who I was. But she encouraged me to be myself and to be a better version of myself. While there are some hygiene factors that need to be in place, but what differentiates one candidate from another is not the similarities but the differences. Melissa helped me maintain my originality and helped me explore sides of myself that I did not even know existed. I guess that it is safe to say that by the end of the process she knew more about me than a lot of my closest friends will ever do. Her insights will stay with me forever and certainly transcend the MBA admission process. Each time I am asked to share my experiences or need to appear for any interview, I will remember to go through her feedback and suggestions because she did not give me a fish to eat but she taught me how to fish. Thanks a lot Melissa. :)

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Katy Lewis is a total rock star in my book. I started the MBA application process with no intent of hiring a consultant, as I felt that I had a good grasp on my career goals and was afraid that an advisor would take the authenticity out of my application. I just plainly didn’t think an advisor would be worth the cost.
My mind was opened when a close friend, who is now a first year at HBS, told me about what a fantastic experience she had had working with Katy. Looking back now, I am so glad that my mind was changed - Katy truly made all the difference in my application process. She is undeniably brilliant and has incredible emotional intelligence. As such, she made very tangible contributions in several areas which I still feel that, no matter how much time and effort I exerted, I would not have been able to do nearly as well on my own:
- Story development:
o This is where she really amazed me. She is an incredibly good listener, and was really good at connecting the dots between various parts of my childhood/background and personal characteristics/values/goals, in ways that were often amusingly and surprisingly insightful. She was also incredibly helpful in determining which details to keep (of course, they all seemed relevant to me), not only to stay within word counts but also to make my story more clear and impactful. At the same time, I really appreciated that Katy was very aware of not over-editing, ensuring my essays were still (despite her many edits) completely “in my own voice”.
- Big picture guidance:
o Personally, a big value add from Katy was the comfort I took her level of experience. I had not ever read a “successful” (or any) MBA application, and it put me very much at ease to know that she really knew what an “ok” versus “good” versus “stellar” application looked like.
- Insightful knowledge of MBA programs:
o I relied heavily on Katy’s deep knowledge of the programs I was considering (Harvard, Stanford, UVA Darden). She not only attended two of these schools herself but has clearly made it a priority to stay well informed of the pros/cons/changes/course offerings/etc at each –from the perspective of “what it takes to get in” as well as what students are a best fit for each program. When ultimately choosing a school to attend in the end, I really valued her nuanced thoughts and guidance, particularly given how well I felt she knew me.
A few other points that I wanted to quickly make are:
- Efficiency / value:
o I hate to bring up money so blatantly, but can’t help but comment on the cost side of things. Clearly working with an MBA advisor is not an inexpensive decision, however I can very honestly say that Katy never once made me feel as though she was doing something to bill more hours. In fact, I felt much the opposite – on many occasions, I was shocked by the relatively little time she recorded spending on some incredibly helpful feedback (I still don’t think she could has possibly have done several of these that quickly…).
- Dedication:
o Katy is undeniably dedicated to her clients and its clear she does it out of a deep and authentic desire for each of them to succeed. This was evident from certain things such as her quick response time and late nights (in the week leading up to a submission deadline, she was pulling hours that would intimidate a young i-banker!), but I was most impressed by the extent to which she was clearly working this hard because she really cared. She was always very focused on providing the above-and-beyond emotional support that most determined applicants are bound to need in what is, at many times, a taxing and stressful process. For me she went above and beyond by hopping on the phone last minute and providing un-prompted updates on interesting from-the-grapevine intel. She even made a point to meet me in San Francisco on her own time when I was in the area one weekend.
Above and beyond these things, Katy was also just incredibly enjoyable to work with. She very quickly became more of a mentor and friend than an MBA advisor. She has an extremely compassionate and giving spirit which comes through in how much she cares about each of her clients. The MBA application process was overall a great personal reflection opportunity, and Katy definitely made it all the more rewarding and enjoyable.

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I highly recommend Katherine (Katy) Lewis from mbaMission for her warmth, clarity and insider understanding of the admission process. Here is a little bit about how I found Katy - and how she helped me land a seat in the Berkeley Haas EWMBA program:

ManhattanGMAT offered a free 30 minute phone conversation with mbaMission and I was assigned to Katy - an incredibly accomplished consultant with a background in law, management consulting and admissions, and a resume featuring blue chip names like Yale, Harvard, McKinsey, Stanford and Berkeley. Given my comparatively modest background, I was anxious - but Katy immediately put me at ease with her warmth and friendly openness. When we first connected, I instantly liked Katy and felt comfortable talking with her!

Over the 30 minutes of our call, we covered my background, goals, GMAT score and target programs. Katy was then able to share which schools she thought would best align with my past experience and future career plans - and she didn’t just share the usual stuff you can garner from marketing materials - but rather, a real in-depth perspective on what these programs are like and which types of students succeed within them. This “insider’s peek” helped me clear up a lot of the confusion and noise that I was sifting through while trying to figure out which school would be best for me.

I ultimately decided to apply to the Berkeley Haas EWMBA program. And given the success of our first call, I engaged with Katy using mbaMission’s a la carte service - about three hours worth of consulting to focus specifically on my essays.

To kick things off, Katy sent me a brainstorming document that guided me me though a series of questions about my childhood, college and professional experiences. The document’s prompts encouraged me to probe my memory and remember things from my past that had fallen off the radar - but that could be helpful when thinking about my application. I then submitted this brainstorming document to Katy.

And this is where the magic happened.

Before we even had our next call, Katy thoroughly reviewed the answers I had provided, looked up my undergrad alma mater’s website, explored the companies that I had worked for and started thinking about my personal narrative - that common thread that stitched my whole life together. When we spoke on the phone, she knew my story inside-and-out and shared the elements of my background that she thought would be compelling for my Berkeley Haas application. I won’t go into the details of my story, but to summarize, she was able to distill my accomplishments and background down to a single, spot-on word; my “personal brand,” if you will. Moving forward through the process, I tied every part of my application back to that single word. This not only made the process easier, but it kept my story cohesive and strong.

Katy's magic transformed not only my application, but frankly how I thought about my past experiences in general. It was oddly therapeutic - a bonus that I never thought I would glean from an MBA application process.

After the brainstorming session with Katy, I wrote my essays - which she helped me edit for clarity. Perhaps it’s that Harvard Law degree, but Katy really knows how to get to the heart of the story in a succinct way that ensures the most salient points shine.

But I have to say, as thrilled as I was with my essays and the story they brought to life - the real magic was brainstorming with Katy. All the editing in the world can’t replace the value of a compelling and cohesive narrative. And when it comes to finding that story, that narrative - and tying it to insider knowledge of the schools and what they are seeking - Katy simply can't be beat!

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