As a white accountant coming from the banking industry with GRE scores that were not in the range that I wanted, I knew getting into a top business school would be competitive. I talked to three business school consultants, two of whom simply told me that my target schools would not be achievable with my scores and background. One of them said that they would not even partner with me because they did not think I would be a success. In addition, neither of those other consultants understood anything about how my GRE scores compared to those of students at my target schools. Luckily, I talked to Kathryn at Square One Prep. She was willing to spend an hour with me on our introductory call to address all my questions and concerns. She was the only consultant that understood how my GRE scores compared to those of students at my target schools, and she had the hard data to back it up. She was honest with me that the process of applying to my target schools would be hard work, but she instilled in me the confidence that I could succeed. She knew because she had worked with candidates like me and had also led those applicants to success. Kelsey, my personal consultant at Square One Prep, was immensely helpful throughout the process. She was patient yet responsive, and whenever I needed to work with her on something urgently, she always made the time to be able to discuss the issue at hand. She had a strong eye for detail and her creativity and perspective was immensely helpful in empowering me to craft my story so that I could convey it best in my applications. I ultimately was accepted to a top 10 school along with scholarships to two other top 25 schools. I could not be happier with my results, and I am looking forward to continuing my education to build my dream career!

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I worked with SOP for Round 1 applications (Fall 2023 intake), on a Premium package for 1 school. I thought Allison, Kathryn, and Horatiu were good partners and found their process and advice very helpful for managing the various parts of the application, especially my recommenders. I was admitted to the M7 school we worked on together, and much of the work we did together helped me get 2 other offers (T15) and a waitlist (T10) in R1. I also applied to 2 more M7s in R2 (HSW), and received one invitation to interview (TBD on the remaining school).

Things that were great:

1. SOP's work on my resume was excellent. I would have not considered crafting my resume the way we did together (b-school resumes are very different from professional resumes), and the upfront work I did with SOP carried through to all my applications across rounds 1 and 2. As a corollary, the discovery call and worksheets that I completed with my consultant were helpful both for self reflection and for getting specific advice/input from my consultant throughout the process.

2. I loved SOP's recommendation management process. Again, I wouldn't have thought to organize the process in the way SOP did, and it saved me and my recommenders a lot of time and hassle. Both my recommenders had to write letters for 6 schools, some of which had no overlap at all, but SOP's structure made it easy to navigate and feel confident about what my recommenders were submitting.

3. The career narrative work was excellent. We did this very early in our process, and at the time I didn't necessarily view this as a very important exercise. But having a detailed, data driven career plan before I even started writing my first essays made it very easy for me to answer all career related questions in applications and interviews throughout the application cycle.

Areas for improvement:

1. Iterating on written work was sometimes a struggle - I personally work better with live feedback and discussing why something works/something doesn't work, but I typically received feedback as track changes in my word doc. As a result, I sometimes received edits that changed my intended meaning, and the back and forth slowed us down. I would've preferred comments and actionable advice over inline edits, which would've allowed me to absorb the feedback and implement it in my own way. Along the same lines, I wish we'd spent more time brainstorming on essays before starting to write - I work better that way.

2. SOP's document library is massive, but difficult to navigate. I would've liked to have a smaller selection of curated essay/resume samples, or at least to have gotten a few relevant highlights for me instead of trying to skim through 50-70 files by myself.

I recommend SOP, and specifically applaud them for their methodical approach to applications. I think applicants who have some familiarity with the MBA application process, and already have a somewhat strong POV about their candidacy, stand to benefit the most from working with Allison and Kathryn. Best of luck on your B-school application journey!

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Making the choice to apply to business school is a hard decision to make. It is not always clear why you should go, when to apply, or even if you should apply all together. While most MBA advisors would encourage you to apply to generate business, Kathryn and the team at square one prep actually helped guide me through this decision, spending many hours discussing where I wanted to take my career and how business school could help me get there. When I felt that in 2021 I wasn't ready to apply, they supported my decision and allowed me to defer working with them by a year and this is what I think makes them so great, they adapt their working style and support to each candidate. Whether it was Kathryn and Horatiu helping me craft my career narrative or Cindy my advisor working on each essay, they all took the time to get to know me and help craft a story that was true to me and my goals.

As a result of their continuous and tailored support, I was admitted to 4 schools, Kellogg, Wharton, Tuck, and INSEAD all schools based on my resume and prior academic experience were likely reach schools! I definitely could not have achieved this without the Square One Team.

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I cannot recommend Square One highly enough! The Square One team coached me through every aspect of the application from essay ideation through execution. Their team based approach meant that I received multiple opinions on each component of my application, ensuring that it was as strong as possible. As a result, I was accepted to both GSB and HBS. Kathryn, Sooky, and Wendy were incredible partners throughout the process and made what otherwise could have been a tedious process fun and engaging. Definitely use Square One if want to make sure the best version of yourself comes through on paper!

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My experience with Square One Prep was amazing from start to finish. From the initial conversation with Kathryn, I could tell the team truly cared about helping candidates achieve their business school dreams and that initial feeling never waivered throughout my time working with Kathryn, Kelsey (Advisor), Wendy and Cristina. The team went above and beyond to help me develop my post-MBA goals into a compelling career narrative, compose the most powerful essays while never drowning out my voice and prepare me for subsequent interviews. The business school application process can be incredibly stressful at times and the Square One Prep team helped to keep me on track at during the most difficult parts of the process. I am especially grateful of Kelsey’s help in this regard – she truly made this journey feel like a partnership and she was with me every step of the way to make sure the applications I turned in were the absolute best.

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Square One Prep is unlike any other admissions service. There is immense value in having an entire team help you with your application. A career narrative coach worked with me to help me define my career vision and really pushed me to hone and improve both my ideas for next steps and the ways in which I articulated them. Then, Allison's responsive, dedicated expertise, combined with Kathryn's final approval and input on all of my application materials, set me up to have a bulletproof application. I am so so thrilled with my school acceptance results and my scholarship packages and I have the incredible SQ1 team to thank for it.

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GRE: 319

Accepted schools: Columbia, Stern, Anderson, Mcdonough (60K Stipend).

Waitlisted schools: Sloan and Berkeley. I can post an update once I finalise the process.

I was first introduced to Square One Prep by a friend that had a positive experience with Kathryn and recommended that I reach out. I honestly had no idea at the time that people actually used advisors for MBA applications. I had a first call with Kathryn, without having much idea of what the actual process for MBA applications was as I had been focusing on preparing for the GRE. The MBA application process is really demanding and stressful given that you have to juggle it with a full-time job and most likely with standardized test preparation as well (in my particular case). Hands down I can say that it really helps to have an advisor that can be there every step of the way to guide you. Square One is very structured, they help you from creating your CV to navigating the waitlist in the later stages. Their structure and expertise facilitate your life a great deal as an applicant. Throughout the entire process I have had a team of SOP giving me advice and giving me guidance. I consider myself a very demanding client, and the SOP team (Kathryn, Kathleen, Cristina, and Wendy) helped me navigate everything smoothly. There were several times when I wanted to give up on the GRE and Kathryn motivated me to keep going. A special thanks to Kathleen and Cristina as well who answered all of my questions and were an incredible resource! I was really happy when I was accepted to Columbia, Stern, Anderson, and McDonough (with a 60K Stipend)!

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From the first call, Kathryn and the Square One team were so involved and committed to helping me meet my MBA goals. Wendy helped me find my direction, Cristina helped me keep on track, Kathryn was my sounding board and Anna (advisor) helped me craft my story. I really could not have done as well by myself and I’m so glad that I found this team! Square One went above and beyond, because they not only helped me with the application process, but they also helped me improve my self-confidence. Anna especially helped me with this, and I know that I gained a friend through the process. Thanks so much team!

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Working with the Square One Prep team has been without a single doubt the best decision I could make when choosing a partner to guide me through the MBA application process. I talked with 5 different MBA prep companies when making the decision, and since my first call with Kathryn, I knew they were the perfect partner! In my first call with them, we had an amazing conversation and they really took the time to get to know me as a person and beyond the typical information that MBA prep companies want to know (GMAT score, GPA, work experience, etc.). The advisor I worked with thoroughly guided me through each step of what can be a daunting and intimidating MBA application process, helping me define a very detailed and genuine career narrative, and working with me to nail down every component of the application. Her guidance with the essays was unparalleled, helping me think through the structure of the essays and challenging me to always put together the best possible version of my answers. She was always available and ready to hop on a call and brainstorm ideas or clarify doubts, which was truly a blessing given my hectic and unpredictable work schedule. I would 1000% recommend to anyone working with the Square One Prep team to ace the MBA application process!

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When I contacted Square One, I didn’t think I had what it takes to get into business school. But admissions firms offer free consults so I spoke to some to confirm my suspicion. All of them did, expect Kathryn. My call with her was different. Kathryn asked me questions other firms didn’t. For example, she was the only admissions advisor to ask me WHY my GPA as what it was, and then ask more questions as I probably didn’t give a very clear answer at first because I was embarrassed and shy. My GPA was terrible, a 2.48/4.00. I also left college after two years with a sub 1.00 GPA and had just graduated in May 2021 at age 34. Here too, she asked my WHY my path was what it was. She didn’t just tell me that my GPA and path were problems. Other firms did. They did not talk to me. They talked at me. Kathryn talked to me for close to 2 hours, not just the prescribed 30. She told me that she believed in me and would help me believe in myself.

What I gained from working with Kathryn – how I think about my past and my future, how I can make the most of business school, is invaluable.

She built a schedule for us to follow so I’d never worry about time. She understood that I am busy leading two companies. We did everything as a team. I didn’t know she’d help me as much as she did with all the application components.

In our first week, she spent 10 hours on calls with me so she could build my first draft resume, which was a huge help as I had never built a resume – I’d worked at my family company and then done entrepreneurial things, so there was no need. We then made it stronger as a team, and I was stunned by it by the time we were done. I actually began to believe in myself, just as she said I would.

The attention Kathryn brought to helping me build a strong resume she also brought to helping me build strong essays. I kept trying to sell and brand myself, and so I wrote a lot of bad essays. Some of her edits of my work were more like rewrites except that they somehow retained my voice. Kathryn steered me toward sharing things I couldn’t believe business schools would want to know about me. She connected with my heart. Just like with my resume, as I completed essays I began to feel more optimistic.

Kathryn brought the same attention to my career path work, which we did with Horatio who was my career lead. The work I did with him became even stronger once Kathryn helped me mold my career path into a goals essay. Horatiu was great though. He was patient as I had no idea how specific I needed to be, I thought I could just say that I want to keep growing my business. He asked me a lot of questions to ensure I knew what to research in order to build a strong career vision. Kathryn pushed my further to build it into a real business plan.

Also, with the LORs, we built packages for my recommenders which was important because neither of mine had ever written one, so getting a lot of support was critical. Kathryn was instrumental.

I secured interviews at Columbia, Wharton, Harvard, and Yale, 4 of the 5 schools I applied to! By this time, she knew me, that I could struggle in interviews. She went above and beyond to help me prepare. We did 6 mock interviews for Harvard and full preparation for all the other schools. I saw how much she cared about me and my success. When I got into Yale I was amazed. With Kathryn’s help I almost got into 4 schools and did get into one of the best in the world. I can’t wait to start!

To anyone who wants a guide through the application process, someone you can trust will always be honest and focused on helping you grow and succeed, and will go above and beyond for you, look no further than Kathryn.

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