Collin Brady Reviews

Happy to report that I have been accepted to the MBA programs at Oxford SBS, Cambridge Judge, and INSEAD! I got rejected by LBS - which Kathryn let me know was the school that I was least likely to obtain acceptance for ahead of time. She’s a pro!

Kathryn was referred to me by a Haas MBA grad who attributed a significant amount of secured scholarship to Kathryn’s insights. I’m so glad she was!

I couldn't have had as competitive of an application without them! Their direction and timely guidance was super valuable, all with the attention and care of a close confident. 

I am so thankful that I chose to work with SOP!

From the first minutes on the free consultation, I knew that Kathryn was 100% passionate about supporting applicants achieve their goals.
Shout out to Collin, my direct consultant, and Horatiu for their support!

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I am technically a nontraditional applicant; I’ve been a nurse for 8+ years. I knew my competition for business school would be steep, but I knew that to give me the best odds hiring a consultancy was the best way to go.

In choosing which consultancy I took many free consultations. Each one ranged from 15-30 minutes, except one. That was with Kathryn at SquareOne Prep (SOP). During my initial call she listened with intent, she was transparent, but most of all, after hearing my story she told me she believed I could make the leap to business school. No other consultancy gave me this feeling and belief. Afterwards, she offered to take another call with me if I had anymore questions, but that initial call combined with SOP’s team-based approach wrapped up my decision.

Being nontraditional and not truly understanding all the avenues b-school would open up, SOP’s career narrative was integral to my entire application process. Luis was my career narrative advisor. He guided me through an intuitive and research heavy process that took time, but ultimately paid off. It gave me directions I ideally want my career to go. The goals he helped me establish were high but believable and also true to who I was. This process was as much about figuring out my goals as it was learning more about myself and what I want to accomplish in life.

Finding the right advisor to work with is an important part of choosing a consultancy. With SOP I was able to interview many advisors, all of whom had multiple years of experience working with prospective students. All of them were established in their careers and former b-school grads with high accomplishments pre and post b-school. The diversity of their trades and functions allowed me to find an advisor in an industry I am interested in, which aided my essay and resume development. I ended up choosing Collin, whose career is in an industry I want to end up in. His knowledge and experience in this industry helped during the career narrative piece, school selection, and also brainstorming sessions where we discussed my career in healthcare which he is very familiar with. He was transparent and efficient, and pushed me with each essay. I truly enjoyed working with Collin and highly recommend choosing him as your advisor.

What I think is most important when looking for a consultancy is looking for a team that pushes you to your limits and helps you reach your max. The team at SOP does just that and what they are incredible at doing is extracting the best of your abilities, stories, and insights and putting that into a cohesive story that turns out to be your application. You as a prospective student have the history and have done the work in the past, but SOP will help you realize the significance, the importance, and the potential of your past and make it work for your future.

Choosing a consultancy is an investment in yourself and your future. Choose a team that is as invested in your future as you are. For me SOP was that team and with their knowledge, resources, and skills I received an admit to a top 15 school! The work I did with them in 2021 has put me on a path that will forever change my life.

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Square One Prep was so critical for my MBA application. Even before I hired them, they were generous enough to meet with me and discuss a plan for my application. They even stayed in touch with me for over a year to check in and see how I was doing with my career and test prep. Once I hired them, they were able to help me build the strongest application possible. Because I worked full time, they worked with me at night and on the weekend. Through support from my advisor, Collin, and Kathryn, I created an application that was well thought out to the very last detail. Even work that I did not think was that important at the time turned out to be extremely valuable at a later time. They were also able to help me think through the path that I wanted to take after my mba - I had a good idea of the direction I wanted to take but they helped me take that a step further by having me plan out a year by year career pathway which was very important in telling admissions committees my story. They guided me through everything - including resume building, career narrative development, interview preparation, and everything else in the application process. I honestly believe that I would not have gotten into my top 2 choices of mba programs without Square One Prep.

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Square One Prep provided me with the guidance and support I needed to build the best application possible. Kathryn, Collin, and the rest of their team were with me every step of the way to build my story and highlight my most authentic self in my application. Going into this process, I was especially worried about applying to top schools with a lower GMAT score, but Collin and Kathryn reassured me every step of the way that if I put in the hard work, we, together, could make it happen. I am thrilled to say that with great success, I got into almost every program I applied to, and even with substantial scholarships! I truly cannot thank them enough for their hard work and support.

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Before I talked to Kathryn I had already started a bunch of applications for an MBA, however I didn’t even know if I really wanted to pursue a business degree at that point of my career and life. It took one phone call with Kathryn to define and legitimate my goals and their alignment with the pursuit of an MBA and to feel empowered beyond what I thought was my actual capabilities.

From that point on, I started building my own career narrative and thought of my past achievements from a different perspective, finding new values in my experience and knowledge, and validating my desire to make significant and everlasting change.

I worked on a brand new resume and then constantly challenged myself to dream bigger, even though my chances of success were really low given a low GRE score and a bit different background than most, as an international MD working in clinical research. I was able to focus on only a few, prestigious school and built a strong application, which was the result of a deep understanding of my own self and perspective. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of work! But my advisor and all the SOP staff I interacted with made it a smooth and motivating experience. At the end of it all, I did tell my interviewers who asked about the application process that it was almost like “therapy” because it really was!

I was admitted to Booth, Kellogg and UNC and all of the qualities that I believe they all appreciated were all part of me already, but they would not have been able to be surface without the help of SOP.

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As somehow who was balancing a lot of work in a short amount of time leading up to business school applications, I truly believe that Square One Prep was the perfect choice to keep me on schedule and push me to submit my best application. Their team-based approach was very unique compared to the 10+ other services that I spoke with and is what ultimately led to my decision to chose Square One. They have experts on every aspect of the application (resume, career narrative, essays) and provide / update a detailed timeline as you begin to work through your deliverables. They will also hold you accountable to hit your deadlines which is exactly the push I needed given my busy schedule. Colin, who was my day-to-day advisor, was available to hop on the phone with me whenever I had questions or was struggling to come up with ideas. Kathryn was also very involved in the entire process, providing her detailed thoughts on every aspect of my application.

All in all, I have nothing but good things to say about Square One and truly believe they were an instrumental part of me getting accepted to Columbia. My biggest advice for any applicants who are considering, or have already chosen to work with, Square One is to trust the process. Especially during the times when you feel you may feel overwhelmed, just know that their biggest priority is making sure that you submit your best application and will do everything they can to get you there.

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When I decided I wanted to pursue an MBA, I honestly had no idea what to expect from the application process. Not only I am the first person in my family to attend graduate school in the US or pursue an MBA, but I also made the decision just a month before my first application was due. A friend recommended Square One after her own wonderful experience with the team. Kathryn was quick to reply to my email and set-up a call, speaking with me for well over the 30 minutes allotted time to understand my background, discuss my goals, and provide honest feedback on my applicant profile. The advisor I had reached out to before speaking with Kathryn had responded to my request with 2 one line emails - one asking for my job title, and the second saying she would not recommend applying as my role was still “analyst.”

After our initial conversation, Kathryn and her team designed a schedule for both schools I was applying to and were extremely flexible with my busy work schedule. The team and I spent several calls discussing my career goals and introducing companies or fields I wasn’t previously aware of to help me define what I want to do over the next 5 - 15 years. Separately, my advisor, Collin, spent hours with me on everything from talking through biotech companies and trends, to answering my (likely hundreds of) basic questions on MBAs, and much in between.

What started out as a confusing, behemoth (and honestly frightening) process was made simple and well-defined by Kathryn, Collin, and the rest of the team. I’d recommend Square One to anyone considering an MBA.

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Admission into a top school wouldn’t be possible without square one. I began the program confused and scared like most MBA applicants and registered for a 1:1 session with Kathryn. As my conversation with Kathryn continued, I realized she’s the owner of SOP! For the owner of the company to be spending time learning how she can help me get into business school meant so much to me. Further, she was willing to chat for over an hour and a half, diligently answering all the questions I had about the process going well beyond the time other companies give you for a consultation. This is when I knew I would sign with Square One Prep.

I began the process a young African with 2 years of work experience and a 3.0 GPA. (hardly the ideal b-school candidate on paper) but with the help of Kathryn, Collin and the rest of her team, we were able to show my top school why I deserved to be a part of the program.

I’ll be attending Wharton this fall and I’m still giddy! SOP helped me take a major step in my life and I’m forever indebted to them!

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The MBA process is a whirl wind process that is full of both too much and too little information. You’ll listen to advice from mentors, alumni, friends, and family all while trying not to take what you read on blogs and forums too seriously. It is a vast ocean of perspectives and possibilities and I wanted someone to be my rock to guide me through it. SOP was my rock.

I was recommended to SOP by a colleague who had actually used another consulting service that translated into two waitlists at Wharton and HBS. After pivoting to SOP who guided her through the waitlist process (an adventure in and of itself), she got into both.

The word she used to describe her SOP experience was “honest” and honesty is exactly what I got. My 30 minute intro call with Kathryn lasted easily over an hour giving me a very frank perspective on my profile. Most importantly, Kathryn told me my dream schools of Wharton and HBS were possible, if I was willing to put in the work. Kathryn wasn’t just selling me by telling me what I wanted to hear. In fact, Kathryn was very frank in saying if I wasn’t up to snuff for a school she would tell me. Her honesty is what cultivated a trusting partnership with SOP, which is crucial in this process. There will be times when you believe you’ve written a knock out essay full of insights gleaned as you stared at yourself hard in the reflection of your laptop screen. Nope. “Doesn’t work”, is what you’ll hear back. Having a partner you trust across Kathryn, your SOP advisor, and the whole SOP team you work with (a whole team!) knowing they are pushing you to bring out the best in your application is what gets you to that next level.

This process is full of emotional swings and speculation. Throughout the entirety of it, I was able to rely on Kathryn and my SOP advisor to give it to me straight and drive me to create the application that got me accepted Wharton’s HCM program. It was a dream that I didn’t fully believe was possible until Kathryn gave me the confidence that it was and then provided the support to make it a reality.

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TLDR: Interviewed 5 admissions consultants. All of them (including square one prep) told me to focus on top 20 schools vs top 10. Ended up getting into MIT Sloan with Collin/Kathryn's help. (Out of applying to Sloan, Wharton, and HBS with them)

They were amazing to work with in many ways. Here are the ones that stood out the most:
1. The mix of working with the leadership team and my consultant worked out really well. The leadership team had the background of helping others through hundreds of applications, and my consultant was exceptionally well informed of my chosen industry.

2. Career Narrative discussion- Meet with your consultant, Kathryn, and the career guide to determine how to make your career path reasonable and easy to follow. They don't hold back any punches, neither should you expect them to.

3. Dedicated staff to keep everyone on task. Square One Prep never missed a deadline and also held me accountable. The chief of staff is very detail oriented.

Collin's knowledge of my industry was extremely helpful. He could understand my background better than any other consultant that I talked to, and it clearly showed when we started working on the essays.

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