School Package Reviews

I had the absolute privilege of working with Melissa during a time of immense turmoil in my life, and her unwavering support and expertise proved to be instrumental in my journey towards securing my place at a top 20 business school. I got the 6-school package and from start to finish, she exceeded my expectations and I cannot recommend her enough.

I met Melissa through a former client who was a friend/professional connection who had nothing but incredible things to say about her. After our intro call, I knew that she was going to be perfect for me. Her personality, capabilities, and experiences were exactly what I was looking for in someone to guide me through this process.

One of the standout qualities of Melissa was her exceptional ability to craft a compelling narrative that effectively showcased my strengths and unique experiences. Her experience as former Admissions Director at Rice Jones means she knows what schools want and how to package yourself to best market yourself to admissions committees. I had good scores and grades from undergrad but I hadn’t worked traditionally in years as I had been at home working in a stressful situation at home taking care of a loved one suffering from health issues. While I KNEW this experience was the right thing to do I felt that I had undermined my chances of success by taking such a risk so early in my career. Melissa being the expert at her craft that she is took the time to understand my personal and professional background, and her insights helped me articulate my story in a way that resonated with admissions committees. Her guidance was invaluable, ensuring that my application still stood out among fierce competition while remaining authentic to myself and my story.

It is easy to forget that Melissa is a dedicated Mother and an extremely popular consultant. She delivered feedback and edits well ahead of schedule, allowing me ample time to review and make necessary revisions. Her organization and attention to detail instilled a sense of confidence and peace in me throughout a process that can be discouraging and hectic. I never once felt that I was competing for her attention or that her focus was anywhere else but on me during our times of working together. Her recommendations were never generalized and instead all felt like they were tailored for my personality and situation. It was easy to remain calm knowing Melissa was sweating the details as much as I was.

What further sets Melissa apart from others is her ability to create a safe and non-judgmental environment. Despite the insecurities and self-doubt that accompanied this process, she never made me feel judged or inadequate. Her warm and supportive approach made it easy for me to open up and share my ideas or concerns. What is great about Melissa is that she is also going to tell you exactly what you need to hear even if it isn’t what you want at the time. It’s tempting to think your first draft of an essay or initial answer to a practice interview question will be perfect but it is often not and far from it. And Melissa helped ensure only the very best essays and answers to interview questions will be presented when the moment comes. Because of the trust and relationship we developed it was very easy to absorb tough feedback without feeling a need to be defensive. You can TELL just through both her actions and words that she genuinely cares about your success and worked tirelessly to help me achieve my goals.

Working with Melissa was an absolute pleasure, and I cannot recommend her highly enough. If I had to repeat this process I’d hire her all over again without a second thought! She will be the best thing to happen to you in this process.

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It's been a pleasure to work with Jessica, she has a great knowledge of all the top MBA programs and what the schools expect from the candidates. She has the ability to make your profile to seem stronger by investigating your full profile starting from your childhood till now. She's got a great work ethic which makes you relieved that there's a great support behind you. She clearly declares a roadmap by analyzing your strong and weak parts and then evaluate you whole profile. By the help of her strategy and vision, I'll be pursuing my MBA degree at one of the top schools in the US.

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John helped me navigate the challenging process of applying to four of M7 business schools, resulting in being admitted to Booth and waitlisted at Wharton despite below-average test scores for a private equity applicant applying in R2.

What sets John apart is his ability to truly listen and understand unique backgrounds and experiences. In my case, I had a unique life story that included numerous setbacks and challenges. For years, I was unsure how to reconcile various stories and experiences to showcase my strengths in a coherent story that ties them all together. However, John took the time to identify the key experiences and focus areas and helped me develop a compelling narrative that highlighted my resilience, leadership skills, and ability to overcome adversity in personal and professional contexts.

Furthermore, I struggled with standardized testing and despite trying several times, had below-average GMAT/GRE scores that initially made me doubt my chances of admission. However, John was able to help me focus my application on other strengths of my application that demonstrated my academic abilities and potential for success in business school.

John has a rare talent for helping applicants uncover their unique strengths and tell their stories in a compelling and authentic way. Not only did he help me gain admission to the best business school, working together foremost helped me understand myself better.

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I recently had the pleasure of working with Jessica Shklar as my MBA consultant for the school application package, and I cannot recommend her highly enough. Jessica's guidance and support throughout the entire process were invaluable, and I am truly grateful for her expertise.

From the beginning, Jessica took the time to understand my background, experiences, and aspirations. She helped me refine my career goals and identify the unique stories that would showcase my strengths and make my application stand out. Jessica's collaborative approach not only made the process enjoyable but also allowed me to learn and grow during our time working together.

Thanks to the materials we created and the insights I gained from working with Jessica, I was able to apply to other schools with confidence. Although I did not get into HSW, I am thrilled to share that I have been accepted into an M7 school - a testament to Jessica's exceptional guidance and support.

Jessica's expertise, dedication, and genuine interest in my success made her an invaluable partner throughout my MBA application journey. For anyone considering an MBA consultant, I wholeheartedly recommend Jessica Shklar. With her help, you will undoubtedly put forth the best version of yourself and maximize your chances of success.

Thank you, Jessica, for your incredible support and for helping me achieve my goals.

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When I first started thinking about my MBA applications, I was nervous. The idea of fixing up my resume and writing an essay centered around me seemed like an impossible task. It all turned around when I first started talking to Nisha. Immediately, she gave me the confidence I needed to tackle my MBA applications. She helped craft my story based on the brainstorm document that I filled out and gave great ideas on which essays would contribute to my story. She always turned around revisions super quickly and replied to any questions that I have just as quickly. When it came to the interview, she gave great ideas on how to tackle each problem (also based on the brainstorm document) and how to structure each answer. I got into both my MBA programs with amazing scholarships.

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My experience working with Jessica has been phenomenal. She is experienced, perceptive, and dedicated – qualities that make her one of the best partners in the MBA application process. And that’s exactly what working with Jessica is: a partnership. I always felt like I had nothing but her full support every step of the way. While she would provide me with feedback informed by well over a decade’s worth of experience, I very much appreciated how she made it a point to frame them as suggestions and emphasize that I was in the “driver’s seat.” I was looking for someone who would work with me, not for me, and that’s exactly what Jessica does.

Jessica cares deeply about her clients’ success, even before they are clients. From the moment I did my introductory call with Jessica, I was beyond impressed with her willingness to help me, staying in touch with me over the coming weeks as she helped me work through testing strategies and application timeline options. As the application cycle progressed, Jessica was there to provide encouragement and empathy when I’d receive disappointing news, but she was also the first to celebrate my successes.

Throughout the process, I was constantly impressed by how responsive Jessica was to any questions or concerns I had. In addition, she is incredibly organized and efficient, churning through drafts and interview prep sessions all while still providing extremely valuable and specific feedback. It’s important to note that Jessica’s feedback is sometimes brutally honest – she doesn’t mince words. But that’s exactly what makes it so valuable. Jessica has extremely high standards and she holds you to them – but in the end, it’s worth it.

Working with Jessica allowed me to put my best foot forward, and I would highly, highly recommend her to anyone else who’s looking to do the same. I’ll be attending HBS next year, an outcome that wouldn’t have been possible without Jessica’s help.

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Susan was instrumental in helping me gain admission to my top-choice schools. I opted for the Start-to-Finish package, and Susan provided me with invaluable guidance throughout the process.

From the outset, Susan invested considerable time in getting to know me and my background. She employed a strategic approach to identify my unique strengths and determine the target schools that would best suit my profile.

Susan was adept at crafting compelling narratives that were both creative and coherent. Her ability to distill complex ideas into clear, concise language proved especially valuable, given my tendency to be overly verbose.

With Susan's guidance, I was able to construct compelling arguments that demonstrated my suitability for each of the schools I applied to. Her keen eye for detail and honest, constructive feedback helped me refine my essays until they were polished and persuasive.

I was impressed by Susan's responsiveness and the quick turnaround time she provided for feedback. Her candid approach, while challenging at times, helped me to produce my best work.

In the end, Susan's coaching proved indispensable. Thanks to her efforts, I was admitted to Kellogg and Booth with generous scholarships and waitlisted at Sloan. I wholeheartedly recommend Susan to anyone seeking a thoughtful, caring coach to guide them through the admissions process.

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Overall: Krista is fantastic. I cannot leave a more positive or heartfelt review. Working with Krista was the best decision I made during the application process and the result: “The answer is yes!” (I got into HBS, my dream school!) The b-school application process is stressful, time consuming, emotional and overall exhausting. Having a guide like Krista was truly life saver. She is a dream to work with and without a doubt worth the investment.

Bedside Manner: Warm, supportive, honest, insightful, professional, bubbly. Gets to know you as a person beyond your application. Cheerleader, cares about you and is invested in you.

Essay specific: What made Krista really valuable during the essay process beyond just an objective third party’s feedback were 2 things: First, she provided very specific guidance on the structure and content of the essays. After filling out the comprehensive brainstorming doc (~19 pages), brainstorming with her over zoom and proving bullets on my ideas for a particular essay, there was so much content to work through. Krista not only digested all this content, but knew it by heart and came to the session with a blueprint for each essay - 250 words on x, 100 on y, then 400 on Z. This took all guessing away from the essay writing and let me focus on telling my story in the best way possible. It was a huge time saver and took away all of the guesswork.

Second, Krista understands how to speak the language of each school and what resonates with AdCom. Every school has a different culture, different things that they look for in students, different ways AdCom evaluates someone’s story. Krista’s deep first hand knowledge and experience on how to speak to each school and how they’ve historically reacted to someone’s story was invaluable to me. My story never changed, but the way I told it and what I highlighted did depending upon the prompt and the school. This was, for me personally, the single biggest value add. Krista was brilliant in helping me craft my story to speak to my target audience in a compelling way. No 2 essays of mine were alike.

Beyond those two points, the feedback she provided was always spot on. She was extremely responsive and detailed. Extremely adaptable to my feedback and the overall evolution of the essay. And always trying to show you at your best.

Interview Prep: Krista prepared me extremely well for all my interviews (5 in total). There wasn’t a single question I wasn’t prepared for or hadn’t thought about due to our prep together. She also gave very specific feedback to each answer I gave drawing on her accumulated knowledge of me.

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I entered the MBA application process with a lot of unanswered questions, knowing it was a daunting process that would require ongoing support from an unbiased third party. I'm fortunate that I had the chance to work with Nisha for almost a year as I navigated decisions on which schools to apply to, how to structure my application, and how to fine tune my essays. From our first meeting, Nisha listened to my ideas, thoughts, and questions very closely. I could always trust her to respond promptly, make herself available as soon as I needed her guidance, and I knew from her many years of MBA consulting experience that I was in good hands. Nisha understood my goals from an MBA program and could gently suggest new schools or application approaches that accommodated my personal strengths and weaknesses. Her feedback is very direct and constructive, and she knows how to encourage you over a prolonged application process. I'd recommend working with Nisha to anyone considering getting support from a professional. Thanks to Nisha's support, I'm joining Kellogg's 1Y MBA program next month and am excited for my future.

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I worked with Rachel on the 3 school package: Wharton, Booth, and CBS. I wanted to start out saying the outcomes went beyond my expectations. I wouldn’t be able to receive all the offers without Rachel’s input. I don’t have a clean and straightforward background and thought those are all biggest ding points. Rachel stepped in to comb through my story and helped build a strong narrative for me - collecting all my shiny points. Her brainstorming session is so powerful. She has the best intention for me and is a great resource on all things considered, and time and time again went above and beyond to help me. On top of that, her previous background in journalism has made my essays so much stronger. I’m always caught up in awe about the power of language upon receiving her edits. Her turnaround time is quick! She is my mentor and coach, I’m so thrilled to have chosen working with her and strongly recommend her!

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