I got exceptional application results with the Square One Prep (SOP) team. I applied to two schools (M7 and S16), got admitted to both and got a full scholarship from my dream school. Besides the results, the journey itself was transformative as well. The SOP team provided exceptional advice to strengthen my application, patiently guided me through every component and championed me to the finish line. Thanks to the SOP team’s work, I came out of the application more self-aware, communicating better and more confident, all of which are qualities that will benefit me in the long term.

It all started with the founder Kathryn and I cannot say enough how experienced and caring she is. I interviewed multiple MBA consultancies and many of them showed reluctance to take me as a client, given that I am an older applicant and came from a less-traditional background. But Kathryn believed in me from the beginning. She did warn me how competitive MBA admission can be, yet she believed that I have a good chance of getting admitted. This trusting partnership enabled me to be genuine, introspect and reveal myself in the application, which I believe was the key to my admission success.

In the middle of the application, my first advisor and I were not working well together, resulting in serious delays in my essay work. I asked for a chat with Kathryn and she quickly jumped on a call. She patiently listened to and fully understood my concerns and struggles. Within 2 days, Kathryn helped me find Lara, who became my trusting advisor.

Lara is very experienced in MBA admission, providing crucial advice to strengthen my application. Her attention to detail is exceptional. During our essay editing and LOR building sessions, she pointed out flaws in my drafts, big or small, with honest and actionable feedback. Sometimes we’d jump on a call to talk through the stories, trying to surface the deeper thoughts. In addition to the excellent advice for applications, Lara is also a life coach to me. She pushed me to think deeply on who I am and what I’m trying to accomplish with the MBA. All of the insights we discovered together were well presented in my application and the interview. I highly recommend working with her if you are also looking for a coach in your application journey!

Read More

I enrolled with Square One Prep 45 days prior to the 1st Round 1 deadline. I applied to 8 schools, and looking back, I honestly can't imagine going through this time sensitive process without their help.

After my initial consultations (which the team was super quick to prioritise given I had little time), the unique selling point that stood out to me about SOP was providing a very crisp, direct and personalized experience that would help me put my best foot forward in the applications. I decided on SOP because I realised that having someone who was available to me, understood my story and me on a deeper level would be more beneficial to me personally.

My consultant was Rahul Kalita, whom I chose for 3 reasons:
1. He had experience in my specific field (startup experience) that I was not sure of how to portray in my application, which meant he understood things I dealt with and could help me utilize those in my application.
2. He was an alumna of my top chop choice schools.
3. He was extremely personable, and fun-spirited, which would help me keep my calm throughout the stressful application process.

All of these reasons indeed ended up being important as we developed a great relationship.

All of these reasons indeed ended up being important as we developed a great relationship. We also got into a good working cadence: I sent him a draft late at my night (his morning), then he would send me his suggested edits and comments within next couple hours (which worked for me as I was in India and he was in US), then I would send him a new draft that night (and repeat). This was critical in completing applications for 8 schools in less than 2 months without sacrificing all the iterations that good essays require.

Another huge plus of SOP’s comprehensive services is that the founder (Kathryn Lucas) reviews all your “final” drafts (“final” because she will provide feedback that you will then need to incorporate). She is passionate about her work and cares deeply about the success of her clients (something you’ll likely sense in your conversations with her). It is invaluable to have another set of eyes (and an experienced set, at that) on all the essays.

I got my first admit to Oxford in an extreme time crunch. I am waiting to hear back on the rest of the schools. I know for sure that SOP helped me produce submissions that were much stronger than those I would have produced on my own and therefore enabled me to go through the application process with an increased chance of success. I would recommend SOP wholeheartedly to anybody who is looking to apply to a B-school, and is looking for a well-equipped companion in this journey to put his / her best foot forward.

Read More

I decided to apply for an MBA in late June 2021, skeptical about my chances as I belonged to an overrepresented applicant pool, carried relatively low work experience and had little time remaining for my target college’s R1 deadlines (5 top M7 schools)

Before beginning the application process, I reached out to several MBA consultants, and mostly received the same feedback – to either tone down my expectations, or save the application for another year. But right from the first call with Kathryn, Square One Prep stood out from the rest. Instead of just evaluating my profile based on my background and test scores, Kathryn pushed me to open up about different experiences in my life through a series of introspective questions. She encouraged me to continue aiming for the best schools, somehow believing that I’d find a good story to tell.

I immediately signed up with SOP, and could soon tell that this would be the right call. The MBA application process can be an exhausting mental rollercoaster, so I was glad to have Annie, my advisor, share this with me. She became equally invested in my applications right from the beginning and provided much-needed honest feedback to help me deliver quality essays and prepare well for my interviews. Annie is extremely diligent, really approachable, incredibly supportive, and looking back – the very best person I could’ve had to navigate through the challenges of these applications. I also received tremendous support from Wendy, who spent several hours helping me draft a leakproof, ambitious yet well-grounded career narrative, that became the core for all my applications.

I went on to receive interview invites from 3 colleges, and finally got accepted into my dream school!

Square One Prep’s encouragement and support was critical in my journey, and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND them for the MBA Applications. They’ve got an absolutely amazing team, who’ll have your back and put you in the best position to achieve your business school goals

Read More

At SOP I've seen the advisors are rooting for your success and make sure that you're doing the best you can. Horatiu really helped me navigate through my career plans and carve out a precise career goal. Sooky was the constant cheerleader who was patient with my long lines of edits and redoings. Kathryn was always available and ready to help. In the short time that we spent together, I learned a lot. Alongwith the incredible people, the processes and the structure at SOP really helps you navigate through the ambiguity of the admission process with confidence.

My best wishes are with SOP :)

Read More

I worked with Square One for Round 2 applications during the 2021-2022 cycle. I interviewed ~6 firms and consultants. The prior year, I had worked with a reputable firm and thought that I did not receive the support and quality of work I was looking for, so I was careful to choose the right consultant. After my initial conversation with Kathryn (founder), I felt comfortable in the hands of Square One. During the conversation, I spoke about my background and why MBA. Kathryn listened to my story, having a candid response about my candidacy and story that felt personal and empowering. I felt other firms were heavily focused on marketing or were boastful, but I did not feel any of this with Kathryn.

The next step was to find the right advisor that I would work closely with. I interviewed several advisors before talking with Lara. I believe all the advisors I spoke with were strong, but I immediately connected with Lara during our initial discussion. Her authentic style made me feel highly confident and comfortable partnering with her for my business school applications.

The Square One process was structured to move things along but tailored in helping me access my motivations and key moments of my story. The process started with school selection, which measured the risk of school admittance. I was a high-risk candidate, given my <3.0 GPA. Then, there was a narrative process with Wendy (narrative expert) and Lara, where I met over multiple sessions to talk about my ambitions and form a business case of what it takes to reach those goals. I found this process invaluable as I was not interested in developing a case just for admission purposes.

Then, I began working on essays with Lara over a few months, a process that was highly introspective and therapeutic. Her pre-writing calls and comments on drafts were insightful and helped direct my writing to be full and personal. During the semi-final drafts, my essays were sent to a team of editors, which included Kathryn, to make sure that my stories were clear, understandable, and ready. My writing came out real, professional, and passionate. The team was kind enough to work with me through tight timelines, even turning around comments on the day of application deadlines.

At the interview stage, Lara spent significant time with me, helping me understand my unique touch in interviews. At this point, I realized I had approached interviews wrong my whole life, almost as a test, but she helped me come as my whole self and communicate my thoughts in a clear spoken and sincere way.

Overall, I was accepted to Wharton. I don't think I could have had this successful outcome with any other group and am so happy I chose Lara and Square One.

Read More

A friend referred me to Square One Prep and I cannot recommend them enough.
Telling my story took a few calls to nail down, but Cristina, Horatiu and Kathryn helped me stay on track with my applications, guiding me through the unknowns of the application process and ensuring I put my best foot forward. Our work from program selection, essay editing and interview prep to comparing offers helped me find my best fit. The team was not afraid to tell me when I was not doing my best in the process and pushed me to produce my most genuine applications.
I am very excited to be attending a wonderful program this fall with significant merit aid!
Thank you Cristina, Horatiu and Kathryn!

Read More

Thanks to Kathryn, Annie, Horatiu, and the rest of the SquareOnePrep team, I breezed through the application process for business school. Their all-inclusive approach to helping me construct my career story helped me concentrate on what was important to me and enabled me to show my best self to business school admissions committees.

What is the rationale behind SOP?

I spoke with a few MBA consultants from various companies. As far as I'm concerned, I don't want to work with someone who either overestimated or underestimated my abilities. My first conversation with Kathryn from SOP was positive, but she also pointed me what I needed to improve upon based on the results of my application. Her words of wisdom were a great boost to my self-esteem and practical in nature.

The four key components of their services are Resume, LOR, Career Narrative and Essays.

Resume: Many hours of phone calls with Annie, my academic adviser, were spent developing my résumé, and she pointed out many aspects of my academic and professional achievements that I had overlooked. In the end, the resume that was created using SOP was quite thorough and compelling in its content.

LOR: Even though I had previously applied to a master's programme and submitted a professional letter of recommendation, this LOR prepared with SOP for MBA was very striking and had a number of personal & professional tales. The SOP presented my supervisor with a wealth of information to consider when making their recommendation.

Carrier Narrative: The nicest part about SOP is that they take 3-4 separate sessions to set short-term and long-term objectives. This encouraged individuals to look at various career objectives, companies, and the impact they had on society, and eventually a clear path post MBA short and long term goal was established.

Essays: Each of my meetings with my adviser was helpful and supplied me with a wealth of useful information, which helped me write more effective essays.

Overall, I'm glad I selected SOP for MBA consulting, and I know it would have been exceedingly tough for me to be in the place I am now if it hadn't been for their help. Thank you SOP, and thank you Kathryn!

Read More

When I started my MBA application journey, I decided that getting an MBA Admissions consultant was worth the investment. I spoke to a few consultants at the large firms, and I settled with one advisor. Shortly after, I received an email from GMAT Club, and there was an ad in the email for SOP, saying that almost everyone that uses SOP highly recommends it. I was intrigued, so I checked the recommendations on GMAT Club, and they were glowing. I then explored the website, and I was shocked to find out that at SOP, a whole team looks after you - including SOP’s founder, Kathryn. This setup was unlike the large firms where the advisor you choose is the one you work with throughout the application(s). I was even more intrigued, and I decided to schedule an introductory call with Katheryn, which was unlike any other experience, mind-blowing and humbling.
Katheryn was more thorough than the several hours of calls I had already had with the other firm in just that first introductory call. She took such a deep interest in my story and knew exactly how to help me. I could tell from that first call how passionate Kathryn is about her work. I was so surprised by how she connected to me and my story in that call, and I knew right then and there that although it would be expensive to purchase a package on top of the one I had already purchased, I HAD to work with SOP. Katheryn is careful and thoughtful about the process - she even schedules a call with three different advisors that she believes will pair nicely with you/your personality/your story. This step makes so much sense, and it is entirely intuitive. The amount of work that goes into MBA applications is exhaustive, so it is great knowing that you ‘click’ with your advisor, who will be working most closely with you.

I am so lucky and grateful to have worked with Allison; she is friendly, efficient, and responsive. She pushed me to refine my work over and over. Sometimes I thought that a particular essay was good enough, but she suggested we change something to improve it.

The career narrative work with Wendy was one of the most valuable exercises that will be useful during the essay writing process, coffee chats with MBA schools, interviews… etc. I can’t emphasize how important and beneficial it is.

The editing team, the tracking system, the LOR process, and everything at SOP was efficient and yielded results. I am so grateful to Kathryn, Allison, Wendy, and the rest of the SOP team have helped me achieve a dream. Thank you so much.

After trying more than one admissions firm, I can confidently say that SOP is above and beyond. For any aspiring MBA student starting their MBA application journey reading this, I am not trying to convince you to use SOP right away, but I highly recommend you, at least, have a free consult with Kathryn - you have nothing to lose!

Read More

Kathryn, Afiya, and the SquareOnePrep team were incredible in guiding me along my business school application journey. Their comprehensive approach to helping me craft my career narrative brought into focus what I cared about and allowed me to showcase my best self for business school. The collaboration and constructive criticism helped me hone my essays to a degree that I was humbly surprised by the essay’s strength! Lastly, and most importantly, SquareOnePrep did not give up on me even when I felt liking giving up on myself. When I really needed it, they worked with me to build a strategy for a waitlist and I eventually got into my top school.

Read More

Square One handheld me through the entire application process: school selection, career goal building, resume/; essay development, and interview preparation. The team was always readily available to answer my questions and helped me create a story that grabbed the attention of all my top schools. The work we created enabled the admissions committees to look past a lackluster test score, which I was very nervous would lead them to reject me without an interview. I got waitlisted at 5 top programs and an offer with a full scholarship at Darden! Because of Darden's generosity, I didn't try to covert at other schools. There is no question that my applications were more robust and that I got more traction due to Square One's guidance.

Read More