A lofty goal that I only achieved through Kelsey's help!

I found Kelsey around the middle of August last year through a friend who recommended her. At the time, I had only been seriously considering applying to business school for about a week. I knew I was determined to apply in Round 2, but I had absolutely no idea how to navigate the process. Looking back, I can confidently say that without Kelsey’s help, there is no chance I would have successfully applied to seven schools within the timeline I was targeting.

When I first spoke with Kelsey, I had just signed up for a Manhattan Prep GMAT course with about 15 other students. As an aside, that course was probably the worst investment I made during the entire process. Every person in that class intended to apply in Round 2, but of the five students who completed the course, I was the only one who successfully applied and was admitted to business school that year. I can honestly attribute that outcome to Kelsey.

As a former varsity student-athlete, I never went through the traditional college application process, so I had little understanding of what applying to schools actually entailed. During our first conversation, Kelsey was refreshingly honest. She made it clear that what I wanted to accomplish would be extremely difficult and that success would require significant sacrifices and commitment on my part. She did not try to "sell" me on anything (in fact, she emphasized from day one that this would be a true partnership).

At first, that honesty intimidated me and probably even discouraged me a little. But in hindsight, it was exactly the push I needed. At that point in August, I had no standardized test preparation or experience and virtually no understanding of the application process. Kelsey advised me to focus exclusively on test prep for the next few weeks and said she would check back in once I had made progress. Importantly, she intentionally held off on charging me for services because she wanted to make sure I could first achieve the scores necessary to realistically apply on time. Even while we paused formally working together, she continued checking in and making sure I stayed on track.

By mid-September, Kelsey and I set an ambitious goal: applying to seven schools on4 T-15 and six M7 programs. Rather than locking into a large package upfront, we decided to evaluate my progress as we went before committing to more. Somehow, by the final days before the R2 deadline, we achieved exactly what we had set out to do.

As a former athlete who has worked with many high-performance coaches, I can confidently say there are very few people who master the art of coaching (and client services) the way Kelsey does. She does not sugarcoat anything. She is incredibly fair, honest, and effective (both in how she bills her time and in how she improves every aspect of an application). Throughout the process, Kelsey was there for me on both the best and worst days. There were moments when I genuinely did not think I could keep going or believed I would never make it to the finish line. Every single time, Kelsey pushed me forward.

Even once we finally got slightly ahead of schedule, she continued pushing me to improve further, constantly refining my essays by strengthening stories, and helping elevate every detail of my application. Thanks to Kelsey’s organization, structure, and proven process, I was able to confidently hit submit on an extremely ambitious timeline without feeling completely overwhelmed at the finish line.

A few of the many ways Kelsey changed the trajectory of my application process include:

1. Helping me tell my story in a way that enabled me to genuinely standout from other applicants
2. Connecting me with significantly better test prep resources on an incredibly compressed timeline (eg raising my score drastically in only two weeks before Thanksgiving)
3. Turning around essay edits within hours, regardless of when I sent them
4. Keeping every aspect of the process on track, from essays, recommendation letters, video essays, standardized testing, and application logistics
5. Providing constant moral support via text/phone/email throughout the process
6. Coaching me honestly and directly, especially in areas where I needed to improve most

This list is far from exhaustive, but these are the aspects that stand out most as I reflect on the four months we worked together.

If you are considering going through the business school application process alone, I would strongly encourage you to think again. Working with Kelsey was one of the best investments I could have made. Not only did she dramatically increase my chances of admission, but she also helped me maximize the value of the entire process by positioning me for opportunities that once felt completely out of reach.

Finally, I’m incredibly grateful to share that I was accepted to Wharton, Booth, Columbia, and Stern, and I am currently waitlisted at Stanford GSB. When I started this process, those schools felt like distant dreams. Kelsey helped turn them into reality.