Gatehouse Admissions Consulting Reviews

Over the past 6 months I took full advantage of mbaMission's start to finish package for three schools, Duke, Texas, and Michigan. I also applied to MIT, but did not buy a package for this one. I started out with 1 and ended up buying two more. Below is my background and overall experience working with mbaMission.

Background: I am a 29 year old male with an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, which I received in 2010. I have spent 6 years in the IT consulting industry, 2 of which were for a smaller firm (400 people), and the past 4 working for one of the big 4 consulting firms. My undergraduate GPA was 3.7 and my GMAT score was 670. Note - I took the GMAT 5 times (660, 590, 660, 640, 670)

Consultation: I started to look into mbaMission in May 2016, the year I applied, when I participated in their free consultation, which I highly recommend. You are going to be spending a lot of time working with your respective consultant so it is very important that you gauge the working style and personality of the consultant on your call. Make sure you take full advantage of this call to fully understand what you are buying and the effort you will need to contribute in the coming months.

School Selection: One of the very first items you hit with your consultant is a school selection call, which is a 30-60 min discussion about what schools you should be applying to. Note - make sure you do your homework and you use the consultant as a sounding board versus expecting them to tell you where to apply. The great part about the consultant is that they work closely with schools during the off season, meeting with admissions teams, and getting to know the programs at a more detailed level. Although this feedback can be found online, it will be invaluable to have it applied directly to your situation. My consultant did an outstanding job providing candid feedback about how my profile aligned with the schools I had selected. In my situation, I spent the past 6 months cold calling students and visiting programs to truly determine where to apply. To truly find your perfect school you will need to do much more than the 30 min call mbaMission offers. I would consider this call a final sounding board.

Brainstorming Call: Early on in the process the consultant will have you complete a brainstorming document. MAKE SURE TO PUT IN THE TIME HERE. I think mine ended up being over 30 single line pages in MS Word. This is by far the most important part of the process and will help your consultant really get to know you. Don't leave out any detail and be as transparent as possible. I often found my consultant referring back to this document and pulling out the most minute details that I had forgotten about or didn't realize would add value to my applications. At the end of the day, your essays are all about showing (1) here are my goals (2) here is how far I've come thus far (3) here is why I fit into your school and (4) here is proof I'll achieve what I just told you. One of my FAVORITE concepts was "proof points." Everything you tell a school needs to be backed up with some proof that what you're telling them will actually come to fruition and that you aren't just applying on a whim.

Essay Writing: Most of the process you will be working on your essays with the consultant, which is the most critical component. I will say that what you put into the process is what you get out. Do not expect the consultant to provide you content for your essays. They also do NOT write your essays for you. That is entirely up to you. The more you can research the schools, cold call students, visit the school in person, and read student blogs, the better the consultant will be able to help you. I found it invaluable to have brainstorming discussions with my consultant about how to share my story in the most effective manner, while weaving in characteristics about the school. The biggest thing the consultant taught me was that I should NOT focus on trying to write what the school wants to hear, but rather focus on my story and how the school will impact my career journey. The schools know themselves better than everyone else so they don't need us to tell them again. Furthermore, I thought the consultant provided a great outside view on how my stories would be perceived to the admissions committee. Going into the essays I had a few stories that seemed obvious that I wanted to share, but further realized that another story I had was much stronger outcome. Last, the consultant did an outstanding job of keeping me motivated throughout the process. Their ability to provide feedback and constructive criticism was motivating. They always helped me see the positives in what had been written which kept me motivated through a very stressful application season.

Interviews: If you have ever participated in a behavioral interview before you realize that they require a lot of preparation. Having a consultant to do mock interviews with was a life saver. For one of my interviews I had more than 15 behavioral questions back to back. Questions such as: Explain a time when you dealt with diversity, Explain a time when you dealt with conflict, Walk me through a time you motivated a team, etc. etc. My consultant taught me how to be concise, hit the key points, and move on. Without having worked through a few practice rounds, I would not have been as prepared as I was.

Overall, if I had to go through the process again, I would 100% use mbaMission without a doubt. Sure, it can be costly, but it is the future of your career on the line. I had spent over a year studying and preparing for the GMAT and if I put 110% into my applications and didn't get in, I would have strongly regretted not using a consultant. Using a consultant gave me the confidence that I was giving it all I had. At the end of the day you are investing over $100K into a graduate program to further your career. Yes, $100K! It is worth a small portion of that to know that you gave it your best shot at the end of the day.

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My stats: 3.5 years of experience in consulting. GMAT score in the low 700s. GPA above 3.7.

As I started to think about apps, I felt like I was a strong candidate, but didn't know how to best convey that to schools. I decided to hire Liza, because:
* She stressed that it was my job to do the work and tell my story. Her role was to provide feedback.
* She was candid, like she wouldn't pull punches with feedback, but also knew how to deliver feedback in a helpful manner.
* She was super knowledgeable about the schools I was targeting.
* She was just an enjoyable person to interact with.

Other consultants had bits and pieces of these qualities, but none offered the complete package.

A few of the biggest ways Liza helped me are:
* Identifying MY story. Liza persuaded me to address and own a few aspects of my background that are atypical. This made me a non-generic candidate and helped my authentic self come across. In three of my acceptance calls, I was complimented on my thoughtfulness and candor.
*Essay editing. Liza suggested ways to add depth and dimension. She tightened up the prose into something pithy and lucid. There were dozens of drafts, and she always had great feedback.
* Logistics. Liza kept the big picture of deadlines in mind and organized the work accordingly. I was pretty much ready to submit apps a week in advance of their deadlines.
* Interview prep. Liza helped me learn how to tie things back to resultsand to emphasize the challenges faced. She helped me identify my 'best' stories and understand how I came across.

In the end, I applied to five top ten schools, received interview invites at all five, and was accepted into four, including my top choice.

Would recommend Liza to anyone without hesitation.

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I currently work in PR. I applied to business school because I am looking to transition into a role in brand management in luxury goods. I purchased hourly services with mbaMission and worked with Liza Weale.

Liza first helped to transform my resume -- it was previously focused more on responsibilities and now highlights more of my accomplishments/results achieved. Liza also really helped to shape my story and showed me how my experiences in PR/Events were not dissimilar from brand management. She helped position me as a competitive candidate, and I don't think my candidacy would have been viewed as favorably if I hadn't worked with her on how I was going to present my background.

Every step of the process, Liza provided great insights, and I really felt as though she was rooting for me the whole way. Her support was incredible throughout the admissions process. She really knew exactly what to anticipate and how to prepare me for everything. Liza also prepped me for my interview and helped give me the confidence I needed to succeed.

I highly recommend working with Liza. She was a game changer for me, and I know she has the ability to work with applicants from all different backgrounds and help them to highlight their strengths and present their best possible application to a school.

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I come from a traditional background for business school applicants: Ivy league undergrad, average GPA, high GMAT, and 4 years of work experience in asset management then financial technology in NYC.

I had first taken my GMAT without knowing whether if I'd apply, but after I got a great score- decided to give it a shot. When I first started looking into business school applications, I was overwhelmed by the process. I looked into several consultants by first scheduling the 30 minute free consultation with each. When I spoke with Liza, I knew right away that she knew her stuff - she went straight to critiquing my resume and giving me individualized advice during that first 30 minutes, rather than some more "fluffy" stuff that other consultants talked to me about.

Going with Liza got me into my first choice school (Columbia ED). I signed up for the hourly services, and saw Liza as being extremely efficient at using our time together. From the brainstorming sessions, Liza helped me come up with themes and main stories for my essays based on the 15 page long brainstorming document I completed for her. The edits she then made on my essay drafts were always on point and made my essay much more succinct and more coherent. I was always surprised at how little time she used up to do all of the edits- which were a big positive surprise as an hourly client.

I'm very happy with the services Liza provided me. She took a lot of the stress out of the process and it was apparent to me right away that she knows exactly what she is doing and what needs to be done to get her clients to their top programs.

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I was referred to Liza by a friend who ended up at HBS, so I figured she would be great... but she exceeded even my expectations. I came in with ~3 years of investment banking background, and the last year in a family business. The goal of business school for me is to hopefully meet great people, take valuable coursework, and when I graduate to hopefully be able to take the family business to the next level.

I was a reapplicant, and in the middle of Summer 2016 decided to just apply to Columbia's J-term program. My undergraduate GPA was high but GMAT was on the low-end for Columbia, which I was worried about. The process is stressful, and having someone like Liza there to help is invaluable. If you are set on attending business school, Liza and MBA Mission should just be seen as part of the cost. Liza was great at demonstrating how to show my strengths in my application through stories/experiences, and ultimately it paid off. Liza was also extremely helpful with positioning my accomplishments to date and framing my future goals in my application.

I do not think I would have got into Columbia's J-term program without Liza's help, and can not thank Liza and MBA Mission enough.

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Review MBAmission / Liza Weale

I applied to a total of 6 schools (CBS, Ross, Wharton, Stern, Yale SOM and INSEAD), 4 of which I worked on with an MBAmission consultant, Liza Weale, namely CBS, Ross, Wharton and INSEAD. I was a Round 2 applicant for all of these schools, except for INSEAD, for which I was a Round 1 applicant to the January '17 intake. I got admitted to all schools except for CBS and Yale (for which I did not even receive an interview invitation). By way of background, I am a female in my late twenties and live in Europe. I did my undergraduate in the United States and then worked in a few different fields, namely in law and retail. I was recommended to work with Liza Weale by a friend who worked with her a little over a year ago and who got admitted to the only MBA program she had applied to. We had free Skype conversation in the summer of 2015 during which she told me about the process of working with an MBAmission consultant, and gave me tips as to what my timing and focus should be in the coming months. I was able to meet Liza in-person during a trip to New York, but most of our work was done by e-mail and Skype.

Working with Liza throughout the process was extremely valuable, and I doubt that I would have had these great results, had I gone through the process alone. Liza was helpful on three distinct levels: 1) giving me a structured approach on how to tackle the b-school apps, 2) helping me build my story, connect the dots and give me strategic advice and 3) on helping edit/cut my essays, short answers and resume. Firstly, Liza was tremendously helpful in informing me about the business school application process, which I felt very removed from, given that I was living abroad and did not have any family members who had gone through the process. She was very familiar with all the schools (and respective applications) that I was interested in applying to, but also helped me discover other programs which I had not been considering. Liza helped me structure my time, encouraging me to work on very specific parts of my application at given times, making the entire process much less overwhelming than it could have been.

As I alluded to earlier, my work experience since graduating from college was not linear, and I worked in a few different fields. This meant that my "story" was not particularly evident to put forward. Thanks to our brainstorming exercise, Liza helped me establish the common thread that linked my different experiences and tied to my career goals. This process also helped me think about and frame post-business school goals-- a key part of the application. Liza came back to this brainstorming document throughout the entire process and advised me on which experiences to highlight in different parts of the applications. For each school we worked on together, we had a 45 minute Skype call to brainstorm ideas for each question of the application. Liza always came well prepared to each of our calls, and helped me map out a strategy for each application.

Following our brainstorming sessions for each school, I would prepare drafts for each question and send them to Liza. She was extremely helpful when it came to helping me focus/clarify my thoughts and cut my drafts to respect the word restrictions for each essay/school. In terms of timing, Liza always got back to me with new drafts (with track changes and comments) two working days after sending her my drafts. When I had quick questions, she would respond very promptly, during the same day.

Liza was an ally and partner throughout this stressful and intense process. She always demonstrated understanding and empathy, and helped me keep my spirits up in tough times. The first b-school response I received was a negative one, which made me doubt my applications to the other schools. Liza helped push the negative thoughts away. On a personal level, I felt like Liza and I got along well. I would very much recommend working with MBAmission during your MBA applications, given the breadth of their resources (the insider guides, the huge amount of data that they've gathered from their work with applicants) and the knowledge of their consultants, who have worked with so many applicants. I cannot speak for any other consultants (although I'm sure they're all good), but I certainly would recommend working with Liza!

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Eric's coaching and essay comments helped me gain admission into the Booth, Haas, and Anderson part-time MBA programs. I leave very impressed with MBAMission, including my initial 30 minute consultation. I chose to go with Eric because his background in investment research aligned with my goals in pursuing an MBA. From the beginning, Eric offered me very direct and detailed advice. My initial goal was to get into a full-time program, but Eric helped me see that a part-time program was likely a better fit for my ultimate goals.

While he was ultimately spot-on with this initial advice, he fully supported me in pursuing both full-time programs and part-time programs. He pushed me to quickly network with current students at all the schools I applied to, which was invaluable, and helped me brainstorm my approach. I started the process later than is advisable, but Eric told me exactly the themes I needed to communicate in my application and essays. He helped me brainstorm my strategy for approaching writers of my letters of recommendation and prepare for interviews. In the essays, he did not tell me what to write, but instead coached me on what I needed to get across (proven leadership experience, fit with the programs, etc). Eric worked with me to bring out the very best of my story. His comments challenged me to either think more critically about an element of my story, explicitly make a link I wasn't making, or edit out unnecessary detail. The final applications encapsulated an excellent summary of me and my value proposition to the programs.

I chose hourly services because I felt comfortable with a transactional relationship, and given my time constraints, wasn't sure I would get value out of a package. Eric was very efficient with my purchased time. I feel like I received a great value, and found his help invaluable in gaining admission to three programs. Eric also helped me learn how to sell myself better, which I think will payoff for me in many other areas of life and career.

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Choosing Eric Hollowaty as my admissions consultant was the best decision I’ve made for my application – looking back I don’t regret it for a second.
I had prepared for the GMAT myself but I knew that essay writing and in general selling myself was my weakest skill. Moreover, I decided to apply to only one (!) top business school and I definitely wanted to give it the best possible chance of success. Eric is the best professional coach I’ve ever worked with – not only does his coaching helped me to submit a great application and get admitted, but it had a tremendous impact on my whole professional career. I learnt how to craft a compelling cover letter and build a strong business case in no time…
I work within a top professional services business and yet mbaMission impressed me with the top-notch quality of every bit of their work and the completely flawless service delivery. Writing wasn’t an easy thing for me but Eric was restless and didn’t stop pushing me to perfection. When I was stuck, he was always finding a way to foster my inspiration – I wouldn’t have make it without his help.

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I started the MBA application process late in the admissions season, having taken the GMAT in the second week of December, hoping to complete second round applications. I spoke with Eric Hollowaty at mbaMission the week after the GMAT and told him I intended to try to complete three applications to top 10 business schools in three weeks and asked for his help. Eric was eager to work with me and suggested an hourly package due to the timing of my applications.
As an individual with a finance background, I needed to really differentiate myself in order to be accepted. Through conversations and drafts of my essays, Eric was able to extract a truly unique story from my background that seemed rather mundane to me at the onset of the process. His ability to detect true differentiators in my background helped craft a perfect admissions story. Eric really pushes you to expand on all of your points to get the most out of your essays. Furthermore, Eric has deep knowledge of all of the top business schools and knows the types of people that they are interested in which helped tailor my story to each school that I applied.
Eric’s advice and guidance throughout the process enabled me to write excellent essays and tailor my resume for business school. The result is that I got in to Wharton and Columbia and couldn’t be more pleased with the services!

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I won't lie -- I was not sure if I needed a consultant at first. As a green MBA applicant just starting the process, I felt that maybe the value add wasn't quite worth the cost. My free, initial conversation with Liza proved me wrong.

During our initial chat, Liza started asking me all the hard questions I needed to confidently master. Liza was always honest, and it was from there that our relationship began. Her experience and expertise lends her to have a general understanding of what is "market" in the MBA universe. It is her candid, yet careful, honesty that won me over. The application process is a long, brutal process that really forces one to face his/her self, and Liza was the first step for me to face it.

She served as a valuable resource in the coming weeks and months. She was quick to answer any and all questions I may have, no matter how big or small. She was very active in my brainstorming process and helped me expand my initial ideas. Importantly, she reviewed my essays and sometimes provided an outside perspective that I would not have thought of on my own.

Even after the application process, Liza was responsive and helpful to answer any additional questions I may have. And even during my acceptances (and rejections), she remained engaged and enthusiastic.

You can tell that she really cares about and shares in the successes of her clients. And by these reviews, you can see that her clients feel the same.

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