Kathryn and Lara were absolutely instrumental to my business school application process. Being somewhat late to the game, I only started to consider attending business school 4 months before the R2 application deadline. Kathryn had to counsel me through (1) deciding whether to apply this year or next year and (2) figuring out which schools to apply to. At that point, I had called 4-5 different consultants and received 4-5 different recommendations. I eventually went with Square One because Kathryn's advice made the most sense to me and I really felt like she believed in me.

Coming from a traditional investment banking/private equity background, my main concern was crafting a story that would differentiate me and make-up for my lack of post-college extracurricular activities. Kathryn and Lara were with me every step of the way, from brainstorming ideas to editing my essays for grammar. Lara, especially, had to deal with chasing me down to hit the interim deadlines, hopping on the phone at various hours of the day to troubleshoot writer's block, and responding to mildly panicked emails. She was always encouraging, patient, and responsive. I have no doubt that Square One was the reason why I got the interview and was eventually admitted to two top 3 business schools.

I was very lucky to be able to work with Kathryn and Lara and would recommend the Square One team to anyone who is considering business school.

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It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Kathryn and Joe (my Square One Prep "SOP" advisor) were the sole reason I got into business school. Coming off an unsuccessful attempt at business school applications in the previous year, I was ready to give it one more shot and SOP was exactly the right company to partner with. Having had worked with another b.school consultant in the past and after talking to a few others on the phone, its clear to me that SOP is worlds apart. This is because Kathryn applies a very methodical/process driven approach to the b.school application experience which includes a 4-hour call to get to know you, a career narrative session (which will guide your essays), a strict timeline and a 2 level review approach to the essays. This process helped me avoid allot of the mistakes I made in my first attempt at business school apps. But over and above this, you can tell that SOP really cares about you and wants you to succeed. Kathryn would always push me to stay on schedule and wouldn't give the final thumbs up on my essays or career narrative unless it was up to her very high standards, even if it meant getting on multiple calls and re-writing my entire essay(s). Joe was incredible to work with; hard working, smart, supportive and its safe to say that the strategy he provided me for the Wharton case study interview helped me win that interview.

Overall, I would highly recommend SOP for anyone who wants to get into their dream school. In fact, if Kathryn does decide to work with you, you're pretty much more than half way there.

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What really stood out from the very beginning during Kathryn’s consultation call until the very end of the process was SOP’s confidence in my candidacy and applications. Also, what really differentiated them from the other consultants I spoke with was their focus on success/differentiation rather than deficiencies in my candidacy. Not that they don’t address the weak points- I certainly had some and we addressed them head on in the applications and I’m happy to say that it worked- given my results! I got into 3 out of 4 schools I applied to- including INSEAD, which was my top choice and Wharton, which I thought was a long shot.
Working with Eva made this stressful process a lot less stressful. She is very easy to talk to, succinct and straightforward with her opinions/advice and is a hands on editor which really helped to get the essays done faster! Although the stories and essay topics were entirely mine, I couldn’t have picked out the specific stories and anecdotes that I did for each essay without Eva’s help. I honestly never thought my simple childhood memories and life events would end up shaping such strong essays! Kathryn’s advice and involvement was really instrumental in shaping my career narrative and final edits on essays.
They ensure no stone is left unturned and I’d definitely recommend SOP to anyone looking to go to business school!

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Kathryn and Square One Prep are single-handedly the reason why I had a successful run with my business school application process. Coming from a non-traditional background in entertainment and television production, I didn’t think I was “business school material” at the beginning. Kathryn gave me both the confidence and the tools to move forward with my applications.

There’s an art to these applications that Kathryn and her team understand better than anyone else – certainly better than I did. She helped me construct a narrative around both my career path and future goals that stayed true to myself but also helped turn me into a great candidate. From resume creation to essay brainstorming and revisions, they truly help you become the best applicant that you can be. Additionally, I found her mock interview prep to be crucially helpful. She prepares you in such a thorough manner that I knew I was getting the best advice possible.

I would recommend Kathryn and any member of her team to anyone who is as bewildered by the initial MBA application process as I was. Their system is straightforward, meaningful and incredibly effective for getting applicants into the best schools possible. When you work with Square One Prep, you will get the most personalized and detailed help available to help you reach your end goals. With Kathryn's help, I got into both Columbia Business School as well as a dual degree MBA/MFA program at Stern and Tisch that only accepts 5 people a year! I can't recommend them more highly.

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I cannot say enough good things about Square One Prep, and in particular, Amalia and Kathryn.

From the very beginning, Kathryn and Amalia pushed me to celebrate my own unique story and to articulate my goals with confidence. When I put together a career narrative with all the "right" ingredients (logical/linear path, easily definable positions, etc.), both Kathryn and Amalia pushed back. They'd been listening so intently during our conversations, that they'd picked up on my real career goals — literally before I had! They encouraged me to create a plan that both made sense and truly resonated with who I was and wanted to be. We went back to the drawing board, and the resulting product was a set of goals that encapsulated all of my passion. I then got to carry this passion — my authentic story — into every essay and interview. This made my candidacy more compelling, but it was also personally empowering.

Kathryn and Amalia worked with me through a months-long waitlist process, while on vacation in Europe, and on Christmas Eve (and everyday in between!). They had a personal investment in every aspect of my application. While I only partnered with SOP for 3 schools, I credit them for my success across the board. My story is mine, but my ability to tell it with confidence and clarity...Kathryn and Amalia made that possible.

I'm thrilled with my results, and I'll be attending a Top-5 school in the fall.

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When I first decided to apply to business school, I immediately felt overwhelmed with the thought of the application process - the essays, interviews and all the work that goes behind it.On top of that, I knew I came from an overly represented demographic – Indian females. If it weren’t for Square One Prep, I wouldn’t have known where to even start the process. 

Kathryn does a brilliant job at making this long arduous process easy and manageable for you. She will make sure you keep to the deadlines she’ll create for you and will ensure you put your best foot forward. What I was most impressed about Kathryn was her attention and interest in your career goals and why you want to pursue an MBA. She not only helped me craft a beautiful story for my essays but also helped me develop a career narrative. Kathryn went out of her way connecting me to other applicants/ personal network so I could work on my goals effectively.

Kathryn is honest when giving feedback which at sometimes can feel harsh going through this difficult process. But you need to trust she’s doing this to make you look the best in your application and interviews. She has an ability to push you - outside of what you think you are capable of. I was amazed at how I and my essay story grew working alongside with Kathryn. 

Kathryn was always available for any questions/ concerns I had during the process and to review my work. There were times when I fell through on the milestone deadlines that S1P created for me but Kathryn would quickly notice and help me get me on track. Even though Kathryn supports multiple applicants, it never feels so! She’s always genuinely interested in you getting into your top school of choice.  

Getting into HBS has been a childhood dream and I don’t think it would have been possible without Kathryn’s continuous support and encouragement. I honestly can’t believe the success I’ve had with my applications and I don’t think that would have been possible without Kathryn! 

Thank you for all your help!! 

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I was a client of Square One Prep after being referred from a former classmate and was ultimately accepted to a top school where I applied. Square One Prep was the right choice to prepare all the applications and was without a doubt an invaluable benefit to my candidacy. Without Kathryn and her team, I probably wouldn’t be attending my dream school in the next couple of months!
I paired up with Eva who was a great source of motivation (which was critical to write the best essays and applications). I truly had a fantastic experience with Eva who wasn’t my initial advisor, but who made up immensely for the lost time at the beginning of the process. Regular calls with Kathryn and Eva around career narrative gave me a sense of full support from the team.
When I think of my first draft of resume and essays, I know that Square One Prep was instrumental to craft the best stories, filled with self-reflection, creativity and logic, to support my applications. Their approach is very methodical and served as a guide for me during these weeks of preparation.
I know Square One Prep was the best decision I took and I am recommending this team to current colleagues and anyone considering an application advisor ahead of b-school application process. I even got in the process an unsolicitated scholarship!

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I had zero intention of using a consultant during the MBA application process; I thought that applying to business schools would be like applying to colleges and I just needed to buckle down for a few days and write some essays. I scheduled the first call with Kathryn because a friend recommended Square One and I thought I had nothing to lose. I remember ending our call feeling overwhelmed--applications were due within the next 2 months and I hadn't even narrowed down my list of schools to apply to!

Kathryn and my consultant, Eva, created a timeline for me and helped me apply to all schools on my list round 1--while working my full-time job. I could not have pulled this off without their help. Moreover, I felt like I had a team of experts on hand at every step of the process. At one point, I attended a school's info session and wanted to scrap my entire essay. Kathryn and Eva were immediately available to talk through all of my concerns. Interview prep was another part of the application process that I had overlooked and I quickly learned that business school interviews are not like job interviews! With Eva's coaching, I felt completely prepared for every question that came my way. Lastly, Kathryn and Eva helped me successfully navigate the waitlist process--something I wouldn't have known how to approach otherwise. Applying to business school is a tremendous amount of work, but Square One Prep helped make the workload manageable and alleviated a lot of the stress from the process.

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I had strong test scores (GMAT 770), some interesting experience, top 5 undergrad school, but also average grades (3.2 GPA) and had bounced around in my career a lot. I was pretty much clueless about where I had a chance of getting into. Ultimately, I would described my results as mixed, but Kathryn gave me tons of confidence and working with her was a joy.

I called 10-15 consultants for free consultations since I knew I would need a lot of help presenting a clear, succinct narrative about my varied experiences. Almost all of them told me I had no chance at HSW (and maybe they were right) and discouraged me from applying. One even told me I should wait a year and then maybe I'd have a chance at a top 15 school. My feeling was that most consultants are highly motivated by their acceptance rates, so they're incentivized to take fewer risks with their clients.

The thing that really struck me about Kathryn was that she actually encouraged me to shoot above my expectations, and she conveyed a real conviction that she could help me get there. The fact that she was willing to risk hurting S1P's acceptance rates by having me apply to HSW convinced me that I could trust her 100% and that she really thought we could accomplish those goals together. This was in stark contrast to many of the other consultants I spoke with, and convinced me she was the advisor I should work with.

Kathryn is extremely diligent and accessible. She helped me at crazy hours day and night, and she was immediately responsive if/when I wanted to make last-minute changes on due dates.

She makes you feel challenged throughout a tough, extensive, honest reflection process, but you come out with lots of confidence and a better understanding of yourself. It's a surprisingly introspective process. She asks questions you might not have thought of, and uncovers experiences from your past you forgot about or didn't realize were relevant. She does a remarkable job of helping you discover what's important to you and what will be important to present about yourself.

Kathryn was helping me craft a narrative about my experience in the human capital space, which I suspected might be challenging at some places but unique/compelling at others. I was disappointed to be rejected without interview at H/S/W + Sloan -- I thought S1P and I had done a great job putting my best foot forward, but of course I knew all of these might be reach schools for me. The good news is that I was accepted with a $25K fellowship at another M7 school, which I was thrilled about. Again, my career background was non-traditional and I got a huge range of feedback from different consultants, so it really was difficult for me to gauge how strong a chance I had at each of these schools. That said, Kathryn helped me build strong applications I was confident in, and even though I was rejected from 4 of my 5 schools, I think the unique case she helped me build really stood out and paid off with a big win at one of my top choice schools.

The fellowship more than paid for the cost of S1P's services, and I suspect without them I would have been either rejected or accepted without fellowship. So I think the investment in S1P actually saved me money in addition to helping me get in.

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I’ve had a great experience working with SOP and managed to get a $60k scholarship at a top 20 school. Their resume service is impeccable: my consultant Kunal helped me articulate my work experience in a way that made my resume really stand out.

Kathryn really “gets” what’s needed to reveal a good application – I figured this out while discussing career goals, where she knew and could logically explain career goals that don’t make sense and ones that do. I believe this is very important in the admissions process.

The other great thing about SOP is that while they’re very structured in their approach and push you to stick to deadlines, they’re also a source of encouragement and support. Kunal took personal care to coach me into giving my best when my confidence levels weren’t high. I think this is a crucial, intangible element that helps with emotional preparedness during the process.

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