mbaMission Admissions Consulting Reviews

From the first conversation I had with Debbie, I knew I was in the right place. I am happy I chose to work on my application process with her. She helped me do a lot of introspection, understand my aspirations and find the best way to communicate them. I can actually say that this process helped me to get to know myself better.
I worked with Debbie on a three school package. I ended up applying to five different schools and got an offer from three of them. Debbie's feedback was very honest and to the point, and she really helped me to put my best foot forward on my essays. You could really see that she invested time in reviewing them. When it came down to interview preparation, she helped me structure my thoughts and boosted my confidence. Even for the schools we did not worked together, her advice equipped me with a structured process to outline my essays and prepare my application.
Now, I am glad to say that will be attending my dream program at a M7 in 2021!

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TL;DR: Debbie helped me get into HBS (my top choice) and MIT Sloan, and got waitlisted for Stanford GSB. I applied to only these three schools, and I have no doubt these results wouldn't have been possible without Debbie's insight and feedback on my essays and applications.

I first talked to Debbie over phone to see which service was the better option for me. Debbie walked me through the details for hourly and package options and at the end I decided to proceed with hourly service bc of my limited budget.

I started working on the applications around mid August and was very concerned about the limited time I had until R1 deadlines. Debbie ensured me that I still had time to bring up solid applications if I focused on them. I started working on my essays and had no idea what to write, and even if I wrote something, I was totally insecure and in doubt about the contents and the fact that they might be unsuitable for an MBA application. I went through many rounds of reviews with Debbie—removed many contents from my first drafts, added new contents, and improved whatever I had first—significantly improving my essays at the end. Debbie’s comments and feedback gave me a huge peace of mind about both my essays' contents and the their format, style. I can safely say that without Debbie’s comments and insight, there’s absolutely no way I could have achieved the results I got from these three schools.
Debbie was very easy to work, patience, positive, and flexible in the process. As mentioned before I started working my applications too late and there were many instances when I needed high-level feedback on the same day. Debbie was ALWAYS open to quick, high-level questions on certain applications questions I had or something specific in the essays I had doubt on. I remember I had MANY high-level questions just 1 or 2 days before HBS, GSB, and MIT deadlines. I sent my questions to Debbie through email and she always got back to me by the end of the same day. This alone was a HUGE help. Also, mbaMission has a policy that they would review the essay drafts within 2 days after sending them to the consultant. There were a few occasions that I needed my draft gotten back to me the same day or in just one day. Debbie showed flexibility on this when it was close to the deadline and gave the drafts back to me earlier than she had to. Again, a great help and peace of mind before final submissions.
In summary, Debbie was a huge help and source of direction both on my essays and my application questions. My experience with an MBA consultant and results I got couldn’t have been better.

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I worked with Debbie for a very short amount of time – initial consultation and 2 hours of edits - but she provided me much more than I expected out of such a short time!

When I had an initial session with Debbie, I knew mbaMission/ Debbie would be the right choice because she was familiar with application strategies based on my background (international student, finance) and I loved her positive attitude! However, I ended up deciding on a different consultant because I wanted to have someone in the same time zone to reach out to whenever necessary. Later, I had a couple of occasions in which I question my consultant’s essay and resume style, so I asked Debbie for a second opinion on my resume and essays only for my top choice school, Wharton. She got my "story" from my resume/essays and gave me some hints on how to convey real episodes that lead to my future goal.

I would highly recommend working with Debbie – even for a short hourly service – to anyone who is looking for a consultant. I couldn’t have made it to Wharton without her help!

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Nisha was a fantastic partner in the application process from start to finish. In our second virtual meeting, we talked through a questionnaire aimed at translating my best experiences into an attractive admissions story. Nisha was great at bringing the storyteller out of me. As I work in investment management, I needed a sounding board to determine which finance jargon to leave in and which to omit in my essays, resume, and interview prep. Nisha helped me strike this balance. I initially chose to work with Nisha because she herself had gained admission to my target school and she is intimately familiar with the program. I did not know what to expect working with an MBA consultant – this was an incredible experience from start to finish!

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I was initially recommended to MBAmission by a colleague, but I was unsure as to who I should work with and a couple of people recommended Michael because of his expertise in translating experience and career aspirations into a compelling application. In the initial 30-minute free consultation, Michael helped me set clear goals, create a work plan, and answered my most pressing doubts. This convinced me he was the person I wanted to work with in the application process. Michael helped me tell my story in the best manner possible and then pushed me to go beyond what I had originally planned, making my application much stronger. In the end, I got into UC Berkeley which was my number one choice for a school and with a scholarship to boot! This would not have been possible without Michael’s dedicated guidance and help. With the scholarship, Michael’s fees more than paid for themselves. I strongly recommend him to anyone looking to get into a competitive program.

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Jessica really helped my application shine. From my initial consultation, she gave me advice and really took the time to understand my background. I have a 2.9 GPA and never thought I could get into 1 of my target schools.

Jessica's core skill, besides knowing the ins and outs of the admission process, is storytelling. We spent hours carefully refining the story until it was perfect. Not only is Jessica a great storyteller, but also she goes the extra mile. If it were late responses or fast turnarounds, she was extremely reliable and helpful throughout by 3-school package journey.

I would recommend Jessica to any underdog applicant - a great story with Jessica's help will go a long way.

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When I began my journey of looking for an MBA admissions consultant, I was told multiple times to hold off and wait to apply till I had a better GMAT score. However, when I met Devi Vallabhaneni with mbaMission, my experience with her was different. She looked at my overall profile and told me where I needed to focus on - aka, my GMAT score. She advised me on how to make my application show that I was strong in quant through things such as my work experience and recommendations since my GMAT score was not portraying that.

Additionally, I struggled with the timing of when to submit my application. I was moving from India to the states in the midst of the pandemic and didn't know if I had it in me to go for round 1. Devi helped me pace myself and set achievable goals so that I could meet the round 1 deadline.

Where Devi helped me the most (which, in my opinion, was not her responsibility, but she did from the goodness of her heart) was the in between of submitting my application, going through interviews, and waiting to hear back from the school. I was extremely anxious, like extremely. Devi lifted me up every time we talked. She reminded me of my strengths and encouraged me to stay optimistic.

Sure enough, I got into the only school I applied to, my dream school - London Business School. And when my anxiety set in about thinking that LBS may have given me a handout and that I did not match up to my peers, I got a scholarship for half my tuition, which solidified my candidacy even more.

Devi not only helped me get into my dream school but also helped me map out my future to achieve my full potential.

As you can see, I highly recommend mbaMission and Devi Vallabhaneni.

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Stop wasting your time on forums and Youtube videos that claim to reveal the secret of the HBS interview. Work with Devi!

After receiving the HBS interview invite, I spent hours reviewing countless articles and videos to prepare and decided to buy coaching sessions with Devi. I came to the 1st mock with Devi as if it was the real interview and was really confident. I was ready as I asked several friends to review my material and did multiple mock interviews. I thought I did well, but the reality was cruel... the performance was terrible.

Devi went straight to the point and gave me feedback and tips to improve, and most importantly what kind of structured answers I should give. I was using the STAR method but my answers were either lacking details or too long.

Because of her help, I improved over time (she always gave me homework after each session) and really knew how to approach the interview. She imparted practical knowledge to me, and eventually I became more confident and ready to answer any questions I would be asked.

Thank you Devi for being a tremendous coach!

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I worked with mbaMission and Devi Vallabhaneni for the 2020 MBA application cycle (2021 start). I recommend going with a start-to-finish package as Devi was an amazing resource throughout the entire application process.
To begin, Devi and I walked through just about every detail of my personal and professional life and educational background. Devi then helped me to extract stories that would make the most impact in an application, even though I may have overlooked these myself. Devi and I spent the most time on my essays and resume. She helped me to trim parts of essays that would not be seen as important to admissions committees and make my resume more quantifiable and impact oriented.
I found that Devi’s background and familiarity with the schools to which I wanted to apply and my desired post-MBA career were particularly helpful. It goes without saying that Devi was always punctual and thoughtful. She was straight forward and did not tell me what I wanted to hear but what I needed to hear. Her guidance and help led to being accepted into on of my top program choices, and for that, I am super thankful to her and the mbaMission process. I certainly found the cost of the start-to-finish package to worth it.

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I can highly recommend Heidi Granner and mbaMission to any applicant looking for guidance throughout the MBA application process and having doubts about the strength of their profile. For the context, I'm an international student with certain profile strengths, but quite a few issues to overcome or mitigate (age/I'll be in my mid-30s upon graduation, non-posh and trendy finance background, number of pre-MBA employers, ok but not stellar Gmat, non-MBA recommenders etc.). Working with Heidi was definitely one of the best, if not the best decision I have made during my pre-MBA journey. She provided an invaluable guidance throughout the process, from narrowing down the list of target schools to brainstorming on essay topics, packaging the career story and specific achievements into a comprehensive but easily digestible narrative, and preparing to various interviews. Despite the frenzy of the pandemic, deferrals offered to quite a few international students last year, and my own skepticism about my chances of admission, I managed to achieve an 80% success rate on my applications to T15 schools on the first try. Of course, using a consultant requires a lot of time and effort invested into the process, but professional support definitely pays off, and I am very happy with the achieved results. I would refer my friends and colleagues thinking about an MBA in the US to Heidi without any hesitation.

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