I had an amazing experience with MBAmission and particularly my consultant, Jessica Shklar. She was an amazing thought partner and helped me get into my top choice school.

From my first meeting with Jessica (our free consultation), her advice was always on-point, honest, and very specific to the person I am / my specific candidacy. She thinks sharply about your strengths and weaknesses and helps you make the best case for yourself.

MBAmission asks you to compile a brainstorming document, and one of Jessica's greatest value-add's was helping me transform this long and unstructured brain-dump into 5 tangible ideas for an essay. For my main essay, I ended up coming up with my own unique version off of one of her ideas, but I don't think I could have gotten even close to such an incisive essay topic without her.

Jessica is also an INCREDIBLE editor. She will push you both on themes and word choice/sentence structure. One of her greatest gifts is also trimming down essays and cutting out unnecessary words.

In addition, I appreciated Jessica's help with interview prep. She ran a complimentary workshop before working with you 1-on-1 so for hourly clients like myself you can really maximize your time. In general, Jessica was very generous/lenient about how she billed me for time.

MBAmission as a whole is extremely prompt and stick to clear turnaround guidelines. During non-deadline times, Jessica often exceeded expectations in terms of these turnaround times.

In general, Jessica was a huge ally, thought-partner, friend and moral support throughout the process. I couldn't have done it without her!

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As an applicant from a nontraditional background, I knew I needed help with my essays if I wanted to get into a top program.

MBAMission and John in particular provided excellent, concise and direct instructions and feedback on all essays. Especially since John and I came from similar professional pre-MBA backgrounds, I felt he had a true sense of what I was going through and could relate to all of my questions and concerns.

There is no way my essays would have turned out as clear and direct without his guidance and I would absolutely recommend MBA Mission to anyone who is serious about getting into a top-ranked MBA program.

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Jessica is an amazing person and consultant!! She is very responsive and personable, right from the initial free to the hourly consultations. At first, I was impressed by her presentation on essay writing, and she has continued to amaze me as I brainstorm with her about my profile, recommending perspectives and resources which challenge me to stretch my scope and vision. Moreover, her efficiency is always delivered with care, and she has the remarkable ability to pinpoint my areas for improvement in essay writing and communicate them to me in a way that allows me to immediately understand and address in my essays. If you can even call it a writer’s block with MBA essay writing, I have no doubt that Jessica has helped me break through them time and time again and has made me a better writer.

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The 30-minute phone call I had with Katy for my free mbaMisson consultation completely changed my experience with business school admissions, and I am deeply grateful that it did.

I first spoke with Katy in the summer of 2013 when I was thinking about starting to put together applications. In less than half an hour, she helped me see that I was making a mistake by applying at that point in time. I had an almost perfect GMAT score, excellent grades, good extracurriculars, and fiercely devoted recommenders from the several years I had spent working in the nonprofit sector. I thought my profile seemed pretty good … but I was wrong. I had all of these boxes checked, but what I sorely lacked was the foundation of every effective application: an honest and engaging personal narrative that ties together your past and your future. In short, I had no idea why I wanted to go to business school (or, more accurately, I didn’t know how to articulate it yet). During our call, Katy suggested that I take another year before applying. She suggested that I accept the promotion I had just been offered at work, pick up a couple more extracurriculars, and above all, take the time to really reflect on what I hope to accomplish in my life and how that explains my desire to get an MBA. It was the best advice I could have been given.

For me, that piece of advice exemplifies some of Katy’s finest qualities—namely, her honesty and integrity. She had nothing to gain (and everything to lose) by giving me that advice. By suggesting that I hold off on applying, she actually risked losing a client in any number of ways—if I decided not to apply after all, if I decided to work with someone else, if I decided I didn’t need anyone as a consultant, etc. But what Katy cares most about is your success. This was evident to me from the very beginning, and it remains true today. I’m done with business school admissions, and she still checks in every now and then to see how things are going. (I’m starting at Kellogg in the fall—an outcome I’m absolutely convinced I could not have achieved without Katy’s help.)

I took Katy’s advice and spent the next year smoothing out the edges of my application and doing the self-reflection required to craft a strong personal narrative. The following summer, I hired her on an hour-by-hour basis as a soundboard for that personal narrative and for editorial feedback on essays. In our initial brainstorming session, Katy listened to my ideas, asked questions, and offered insights that helped me solidify my story and understand how to communicate it through the application. I know this will sound like an exaggeration, but that conversation was honestly one of the best conversations I’ve had in the five years of my adult life (i.e., since I graduated from college). I left that conversation feeling like no matter what happens with business school admissions, I’ll be able to look back on the process and feel that it was worthwhile if only because I learned so much about myself along the way. The process was tremendously valuable to my personal development, in large part because of the interactions I had with Katy.

I mentioned some of Katy’s best qualities already—honesty, integrity, shared goals, commitment. On a more tangible level, the list of her redeeming characteristics is long as well. Her professional background in the admissions office at Stanford GSB allowed her to give me an insider’s perspective on key aspects of my application. Her editorial advice was always helpful—when it came to essay writing, she gave me excellent feedback on everything from school-specific topic selection to grammar and syntax. Her responsiveness and availability are also top notch. mbaMission has a 48-hour response policy, but she always does way better than that. I remember one time she went off on a wilderness retreat somewhere in the Sierra Nevadas, but she was still responding to email because she had some crazy device that brings the internet to where the internet has never gone before. There was also a time when a school wanted to interview me on very short notice, and I wanted to do a mock interview with Katy that very day. She was, of course, more than happy to accomodate the short notice, and she sent me great follow-up notes soon after our call.

Looking back at the process, I can't imagine having done it without Katy’s help. Whether you need a start-to-finish type of package or just targeted help on certain pieces of your application, look no further than Katy Lewis. Deciding to work with Katy will be the best decision you make during this whole process.

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I reached out to MBAmission when applying for my MBA because I was concerned about some disciplinary issues that I had faced during undergrad.

I was connected with Jessica who was in a word - superb! Jessica did 3 key things that were essential to my successful application. 1) She helped me manage my anxiety by offering specific examples of MBAmissions' success with candidates like myself 2) She provided a plan of action to address the issue in my application and 3) Offered hands-on editing support to the optional essay I had prepared. Jessica set me at ease and helped me get over this daunting phase of the application process.

I was so impressed with her, that I engaged her for further assistance editing my essays and short answer questions. She was quick to reply and was very prompt in sharing her feedback. Her edits went beyond minor wording fixes, to address content, themes, and flow. Her suggestions were insightful and actionable, making the editing process productive when it could have been stressful.

After hearing back from schools, I am thrilled with my options. I truly believe I couldn't have done it without Jessica!

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I used the hourly option from MBA Mission and thought Jen did a fantastic job! I did not feel that I needed comprehensive application help so the hourly option worked well for me, allowing me to focus on revising drafts of my essays and short answers. In only 4 hours, Jen was able to help me complete 4 separate applications. Jen always provided thoughtful comments that helped focus my essays and clarify potential misconceptions. Her comments were timely (even during crunch time). I was particularly impressed by Jen's ability to cut words when necessary. Overall, a great experience! Thank you, MBA Mission and Jen.

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I was struggling with whether or not to work with a consultant. Would it be worth the money? After hours of work on my essays and only minimally helpful feedback from my parents and friends, I decided to work with John from mbaMission to help get my essays to a better place. John was able to provide very specific and helpful feedback from the perspective of someone in an admissions office. Because he didn't know me as well as many of my friends, he was able to point out parts of my narrative that were confusing or didn't speak for themselves. He didn't have all of the back story, only what was written on the page. This objective, outside point of view was extremely beneficial. In some cases, it caused me to rethink my essay topic all together which, while painful at the time, was worth it in the long run. In other cases, it encouraged me to continue with a train of thought and make it even better. This December, I was admitted to two of the three programs I applied to and received merit scholarships from both. I don't think this would have been possible without John's support. The one thing to keep in mind is that mbaMission has certain turnaround times so make sure you plan ahead and lead plenty of time for edits. Ultimately, yes, it was worth the money and was very encouraging and helpful throughout the process. It was great to know you had an 'expert' on your side.

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I really enjoyed having John help me out. The hourly services suited me well, and John was very efficient to make the hours count. I have used John's help in all possible ways: phone, email, CV review, essay review, interview preparation by phone -- all very helpful and I think it does make a difference. Especially for the CV and the interview prep, I think it really made a difference. John is very pragmatic and that really helps, especially for international applicants like myself. You will want to hear things straightforwardly, and with John there is no grey area. Without any doubts, I do recommend John to future applicants.

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I worked with John Sisk, and he helped me get into my first choice b-school despite having a sub-700 GMAT. John was timely, professional, and best of all he was honest. I met with a few other admissions consultants who were clearly trying to pump me up to get a sale.

John's work with my essays definitely exemplified mbaMission's value prop. Because all the consultants have backgrounds in journalism, they are able to help you hone your story effectively. Since there are thousands of business school applicants with similar credentials, articulating your story succinctly and convincingly is a critical differentiator. John understands this concept, and he was spot on in directing me through my essays, and I saw the results -- just got into my top choice school! I highly recommend him, and mbaMission, if you're looking to make yourself stand out as an applicant.

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I initially contacted Angela in mid-July for a free 30 minute consultation to talk through my admissions strategy and she remained an advisor throughout the process. Round 1 applications were due in about 6 weeks and I had not done anything other than taken the GMAT. She provided a gameplan and assured me that if I worked efficiently, I could get the applications in on time for round 1, which in my case, would give me slightly better odds.

Angela gave me honest and open feedback and delivered great value to me. My resume transformed tremendously. I had all the right experience, but she helped me convey it concisely and in a results oriented manner. She was also very helpful with brainstorming essay topics. Not only did she give honest advice on essay topics, but her background as a writer was a true differentiator. When B-schools get 10,000+ applications, I knew my essay had to be unique and engaging and Angela has stellar experience advising students on how to remain engaging and on point, while still inserting creative personality.

She stayed in contact with me throughout the whole process and held an "interview seminar" which trained me on how to organize an answer to any question and how to use stories from my past to engage the interviewer and give relevant examples.

Most important, Angela has an effervescent personality and a joy to work with. She genuinely wants to see you be successful and was a great resource to help me through this process.

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