I had a thoroughly wonderful experience with MBA Mission and received my admission notice to my first choice school (Columbia) two weeks ago. I had an average GPA (3.3) from NYU Stern, above average work experience, and a fairly good GMAT score of 740. I used mbaMission's service to apply to Columbia, my first choice school and a bit of a reach through Early Decision, together with Wharton (reach school) and Cornell. In my opinion, if you already have a fairly strong resume and a decent GMAT score, it is worth it to give MBA Mission a shot to help make the most of your chances for the top schools.

I first heard of MBA Mission through a strong recommendation from my GMAT study program and decided to give it a shot in May. Within two days of signing up for their 3 school program, I was paired by with Debbie Choy, a senior consultant with the company. Debbie quickly walked me through what the service would cover - resume preparation, essay editing, general recommendation letter advice, as well as interview prep.

Throughout the process, Debbie was very courteous and professional. Less than a week after signing up for the service, Debbie walked me through the common patterns of essay topics and helped me piece together my past accomplishments, achievements, and extracurricular / community services; we then brainstormed together and strategized my MBA "story" and recurring themes that we would use on the admissions essays. By the time we were ready to tackle the actual essays, I felt that we already had a game plan in place and that I was well prepared. As an extra measure, Debbie asked me to make outlines of each essay for each school to give the essay shape and focus. As a result, even from the very first draft I felt confident in what I was writing and that my essays conveyed the right message. However, the essays needed further refinement and polish, as well as to remain within the word limit and

All together, Debbie and I went through about 10 drafts for each essay for each school. Given that I applied to three schools with MBA Missiion's help and each school typically asks for 3 essays, plus one optional essay where I had to explain a dismal grade in Calculus, we went through no less than 40 drafts for my applications.

The turnaround time for the essay was within 2 business days of when I emailed them to Debbie, often much earlier. I worked on other essays while Debbie reviewed my current drafts to make my time more efficient. Upon receiving a draft back, Debbie would not only comment on the essay and suggest changes, but also clearly state her rationale for the changes on the email. If I was still unclear, I could always shoot her an email back for a prompt reply. With each consecutive draft the essays were refined and perfected. In the end, when I strongly felt that I had the best essay draft possible, I let Debbie know that it would become the final version for submission.

Once I finalized the essays, our attentions quickly turned to the next critical piece of my application, the recommendation letters. Most schools generally ask for two letters, one from a current / immediately prior supervisor and one more of a student's choice. Debbie started by asked me to compile a list of esteemed professionals that I had extensive contact with and knew my professional development and growth over the past few years. Once we established whom should write the letters, Debbie and I identified a list of attributes that would enhance my application. For instance, since I had received a rather dismal grade in calculus, Debbie suggested that my supervisor should bring up my quantitative skills on the recommendation letter in order to mitigate any fears that the admissions committees would have on my ability to handle the course load. In the end, I was able to reach out to my two recommendation letter writers with a concise but essential outline of what should ideally be included in their recommendation letters in order to maximize their effectiveness. Once the letters came back, Debbie was able to look them over and provide a very high level review on what worked and what didn't. I was able to convey these changes to my recommenders before they submitted their final copies.

At the very end, Debbie did a high level review of my entire application with me before I sent it away to the schools. Approximately two weeks after submitting the application, I was contacted by both Cornell and Columbia for an interview. Debbie immediately scheduled a review session with me going over the concepts, themes, and patterns on the interviews. MBA Mission compiled lists of frequently asked questions of each school from previous clients so I had a chance to look over those questions in advance and prepare and plan for my responses. When I felt confident enough, I scheduled a 30 minute mock interview session with Debbie and received much needed feedback on what I did well and what I needed to improve on. When the actual interview date came I walked in confident and well prepared. The interview turned out much easier than what we prepared for.

No more than two weeks later, I received a phone call from Columbia Business School notifying me of my admissions!

In short, with your own hard work and MBA Mission's help, you will be able to put your best foot forward to those "reach" schools that you've always wanted.

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I applied to 3 schools in 2012 and was promptly rejected. These schools were, Yale, Booth and Columbia. Luckily for me I decided to avail the services of an admissions consultant and chose Angela Guido from mbaMission. Important thing was that nothing much changed between my applications (my work experience and GMAT scores were pretty much the same). Angela was quick to point out the weaknesses in my applications. Right from the one hour free session with her I knew what was wrong. I applied to 5 schools in the next cycle. This time around I got into Duke and got waitlisted at Johnson and Kellogg. I was also invited to interview at Wharton but could not make it. Booth was the only school where I did not get an interview. I did at least 4 versions of each essay for each school and Angela was very patient with me. Angela's greatest strength is to understand a candidate's background even better then the candidate. This enables her to link a candidate with the target school and provide context to the applications. I will recommend Angela anyday. Thank you Angela.

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I worked with MBA Mission consultant Angela with a one school package deal. From the start, beginning with my 30 minute in-person consultation with Jeremy, the founder, I had a great experience, and throughout the nine month process of working directly with Angela, I learned so much and was able to create an application that really reflected what I could bring to the table. Angela really pushed me to unearth my own voice, pushing me to tell my story in a way that felt both genuine to myself but also compelling to a reader. She was really good at giving high-level directions but then leaving it up to me on exactly how I should execute and improve.

She's obviously very passionate about this work, and helping her clients to grow through the process via discovering their own voice. She also graciously offered all her clients an invaluable interview workshop, which really trained us on effective interviewing, and how to verbally make my story more compelling.

As an atraditional applicant, I came in unclear on how to best way highlight my unique attributes while also emphasizing the contributions I could bring to each school - despite her unfamiliarity with my industry, Angela had a unique ability to really synthesize and identify patterns across my work experiences, and use that understanding in pushing me to articulate my unique value proposition.

I grew and learned so much in the process of working with Angela - although I ultimately wasn't accepted to the school that we worked on together, the materials we created drove the content of my other applications and overall really made me a much stronger candidate. And even post-applications, Angela has been invaluable resource in connecting me with students at the schools I'm considering and even in planning pre-MBA plans. I would highly recommend working with her!

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I worked with mbaMission, in particular Angela Guido, from the beginning of my MBA application process to the end. Angela turned out to be a great resource for me, even before I began writing my essays. She really helped me to think through the major events and stories in my life, and, through her probing, allowed me to see them from various angles that could add to my application. As for the essays, Angela’s biggest value-add was helping me dig into my past to arrive at the real root of the answers to the questions the schools were asking. From there, she helped me frame the big picture response to ensure that the themes I wanted to highlight came through.
Almost as useful as Angela’s feedback was being on a strict timeline with deadlines. Dual-tracking multiple applications with a full time job meant I needed to continuously work on my essays. Because mbaMission has a two-day-turnaround policy, I was forced to work on my essays as soon as they were returned to me in order to get them back to Angela quickly. This allowed me to get through many iterations of my essays, in a short timeframe, until I was confident in the final product. One area where I thought Angela could have been more helpful was in her specific comments in my essays. Sometimes she would highlight a piece of an essay she wanted changed, but she didn’t always give concrete guidance on how to best accomplish what she wanted to see.
Aside from Angela, I found mbaMission’s materials to be very useful. Their guides for the various schools helped me to develop my “Why [School]” essays, while giving me insight into the differences between MBA programs. Furthermore, their interview materials were great and left me feeling very prepared.

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I highly recommend working with an admissions consultant at mbaMission. I have been admitted to a top five MBA program, the school of my dreams. I have applied twice to this school however, once on my own (and got dinged), and the second time with the help of an admissions consultant. Therefore, I feel like I can speak from experience on what a world of difference it makes to work with a professional admissions consultant and, ultimately, what is the decision maker on whether you get in or get dinged. The first time I applied, I was dinged without an interview. I was absolutely devastated and a friend recommended contacting mbaMission. I was set up with consultant Rachel Beck. Rachel was amazing, right from the start. After examining my application, Rachel pointed out the mistakes I made during my first application, and brought to my attention some aspects of my profile which I did not even know were interesting from an admissions point of view. Rachel worked with me on my re-applicant strategy and on repositioning my application in a way that I still presented the same facts about my candidacy during my second application, however this time around by following Rachel's advice I was highlighting the aspects of my candidacy which the admissions committee finds truly interesting. The results spoke for themselves, within three weeks of my application I was invited to interview. Rachel then worked with me on prepping for the interview, and we even did a mock interview session with Rachel which was extremely helpful. During the mock interview session Rachel asked me all the interview questions which I ended up getting at the actual interview. She also helped me rehearse my responses and, again, the advice that Rachel gave me was brilliant. I felt like my actual interview was extremely easy-going and I felt very confident about my responses to the interviewer. Shortly after, I received news that I got into the school of my dreams. I know for a fact that I couldn't have gotten in without Rachel. Rachel knew exactly what a top business school is looking for in applicants, she helped me find the strong points in my candidacy, and she really helped me believe in myself and in my chances of getting in. I also really enjoyed the actual work process with Rachel, she was always so helpful and responsive, and all our sessions were very productive and fun at the same time. I am extremely grateful to Rachel for helping me make my dream of attending a top MBA program come true. I highly recommend mbaMission and working with Rachel Beck, trust me their advice can make a world of difference for the success of your application.

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My friends and family questioned my decision to hire a consultant given the ROI; however, I knew that I needed the guidance only a consultant could provide. After reading the reviews of various consulting firms via GMAT Club and other sites, I decided to use mbaMission. Prior to the formal start of my engagement, I was contacted by Jeremy, the owner (much to my surprise given the size of the firm!), and he assigned me to Susan Kaplan after determining what I was looking for in a consultant.

Susan was fantastic from the start! I value direct, honest feedback, and she began the engagement by explaining the process, along with my candidacy strengths and weaknesses. Once application season kicked into high gear, she was fabulous at maintaining a high level of communication, as well as providing words of encouragement (all of you know that this is a brutal process and can wear you down at times!). I was accepted into both of the programs to which I applied, including one that was considered more of a "reach" for me. My investment in mbaMission paid off 10x, and I would highly recommend anybody on the fence to go forward!!!

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Hi all! I am writing to recommend Helen with FLYING colors. Her name was sent my way by several people, both students and admissions officers who are familiar with her work. I set out to apply to one of the most competitive business school programs, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and with Helen's help I was able to apply and got accepted in Round 1!

Helen was extremely thorough. She really leveraged the brainstorming exercise to identify key elements of you application that you should highlight. She also asked the tough questions to ensure that your story is tight and make sense. She is also very straight forward and realistic. She was not afraid to point out where the weaknesses were in my application and how we could compensate. She gave me honest feedback on my essays telling me when what I wrote was just fluff. She also continually pushed me to be better saying, "This is good but I know it can be better."

Helen is EXTREMELY experienced and qualified. An HBS alum herself she knows the process and is very blunt in letting you know what it takes. Also, she know how stressful the process can be and was very accessible when I needed her and was great about turning around feedback in very quick timing. She was also ALWAYS willing to hop on a call and talk through any questions I had on her feedback.

I can honestly say I would NOT have gotten in GSB without Helen! I hope many of you can have the same great experience I did!

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Dan was super smart, knowledgable and helpful throughout the process. He helped me brainstorm essay topics, edited and proofread my essays, helped revamp my resume and provided general guidance along the way. He helped me better understand how the admissions committee thinks and how they would view the application. This was especially helpful because I was somewhat of a nontraditional applicant. He was super responsive to my emails. And he's just a cool guy. Very genuine and easy to connect with.

At the end of the day, I'm not sure I should have worked with an Admissions Consultant at all. Not because Dan wasn't great. He was! But I already knew a lot from reading books and blogs about the process, and talking to students, alumni, and others. So I was pretty well informed. I think I could have gone through the process without a consultant and received the same results.

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For those just starting the process,

When I first started balancing the admissions process along with a full time job in financial services, I was certainly overwhelmed. I was unfamiliar with the admissions process, what would be expected in my essays, and how to differentiate myself. But with Rachel's help, the daunting process became much more seamless. Rachel was flexible, patient, and really worked tirelessly to help me discover "my story." There were countless brainstorming sessions just to get to know me, which ensured my personality/goals were properly condensed into 250-word essays.

Rachel's career in journalism certainly helped. Once we found my story, she really showed the difference between "telling" it and "showing" it. Together, we found ways for my words to "jump off the page" so the admissions committee could understand who I am without me telling them.

But aside from the brainstorming and numerous edits of my essays, Rachel became a real confidant and someone I could trust to guide me through the process. There were many panicked phone calls and late night emails, but she always responded promptly, reassuringly, and insightfully. I can't imagine how I would have gone through the process without her. After I heard that I had been accepted to my first choice, there was only one person I had to call first, and that was Rachel. I highly recommend her to those just starting out.

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I highly recommend working with Rachel Beck at mbaMission; this was the BEST decision I made during the admission process.

Rachel is innovative, dependable, organized, genuinely caring and always on time. From the start, she helped me to break down the intimidating application process and create realistic deadlines for myself. mbaMission’s comprehensive approach, to attack each school’s application with an initial brainstorm and then work on iterations of each essay was crucial for keeping me organized while applying to 7 schools. Rachel was always able to provide an answer to any question or review an essay within 2 business days—she is super organized.

By taking the time to get to know me and learn about my experiences, Rachel was able to help me think of new angles to essay topics. She always had a new idea of how to spice up or reframe a story.

Whenever I hit a roadblock—whether I was stuck on an essay topic or worried about video interviews—Rachel would take the time to talk me through the issue and find a solution. If ever Rachel did not have specific information about an application off the top of her head, she would be sure to follow up with her team to best answer my questions.

Not only does Rachel have inventive ideas about approaching applications, she provides great moral support through this trying time and helped me to keep a positive attitude.

I’ve been accepted to 4 of the 6 business schools to which I applied and also received scholarships from 3! Working with Rachel Beck was a great return on investment and true pleasure!! I appreciate all of your hard work!

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