Gatehouse Admissions Consulting Reviews

To say that Liza has been an integral resource and partner to me throughout this process is an understatement. She made the daunting process of applying to MBA much easier and more fun, particularly her eagerness and passion to help bring out the best in me. I’ll highlight several that particularly stood out:

1. Liza’s uplifting energy has been very helpful throughout this stressful process. Applying to MBA is often daunting, but Liza’s passion and eagerness was a huge motivating factor.
2. Always readily available via email or call. Liza and I even met in person for our initial discussion on our initial ‘brainstorming’ doc, which was over 15 pages long!
3. Liza took the time to get to know me as a person and helped me connect the dots of recurring themes in my life to craft compelling stories.
4. Providing the type of essay feedback that would push for more details; the resulting stories would come out so much more ‘alive.’
5. Interview coaching was also extremely helpful. Liza completely upended the way I answered interview questions by crafting them in a much more refined yet concise way. This enabled me to go into my interviews feeling much more confident and prepared.
6. Liza also would check in with me from time to time just to make sure I am doing okay and she also sent me messages right before my interviews to wish me luck!
7. Also, never missing a deadline (48 hour turnaround -- without exception)

All in all, Liza was such a great partner throughout the application process. I ended up getting into Tuck and was waitlisted at Kellogg (For context: I am a female applicant working in the financial services sector and I have below average GMAT and GPA for both of these schools.)

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Background: female, Ivy League undergrad, banking+PE
Results: accepted to HBS and GSB

I was referred to Liza by multiple friends who had used her in prior years with great success. After our intro call it was immediately clear that Liza was my “must-have” consultant. I was just thankful that she still had spots available to work with me!

I can say definitively that working with Liza was the best investment I made during my MBA admissions journey. She served as a thought partner, sounding board, cheerleader, and mentor throughout my application process, and I could not recommend her more.

Liza stands out among a number of dimensions:
1. SHE FINDS YOUR STORY: Liza was relentless in helping me find and showcase my story. She knew exactly the questions to ask and threads to pull on to tease out my unique personal and professional experiences. Going into the process, I was not used to writing about myself, but Liza fostered an environment for reflective personal exploration. She helped uncover stories I had previously overlooked and helped me translate those experiences into compelling essays. By the time I submitted my apps, I felt that they were truly “me” on paper, thanks to Liza

2. SHE JUST GETS IT: From the very beginning, I felt that Liza had a deep understanding of my background. She had worked with many folks from banking/PE previously, and I felt that she “got” me and knew how to help me stand out among this pool of applicants

3. UNPARALLELED HONESTY AND THOUGHTFULNESS: Liza takes great pride in her work and holds both herself and her applicants to high standards. She put real time, thought, and energy into reviewing every piece of work that I submitted – from the brainstorming doc to essays to short answers. Her comments always explained both WHAT she was thinking and WHY. And she was very honest and direct. In the final days before one of my applications was due, Liza kindly but directly told me that she thought a section of my essay still wasn’t working – and then spent a few hours and multiple more drafts helping me MEANINGFULLY improve it. When Liza told me that my essays were “good to go,” I know that she meant it

4. NAILS THE PROCESS: Liza just nails everything related to organization, deadlines, timing, etc. She is very responsive to emails, never missed a single essay revision deadline, and did an amazing job keeping ME on track

Thank you Liza for helping me realize my MBA goals. I couldn’t have done it without you and couldn't recommend you more!

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Background: male, Canadian undergrad, engineering background, 6 years in specialized consulting in financial risk management
Schools applied: CBS, Tuck, Booth, NYU Stern
Admitted: Tuck, NYU Stern
Waitlist: Booth
Rejected: CBS

I came across Liza during one of her online seminars. Finding the seminar itself informative, I booked her for a consultation and decided to work with her for my application. I quickly realized after working with her how helpful and supportive she is throughout the entire process. My experience was quite positive for several reasons:

1. Despite the initial consultation being pro bono, Liza took the time to review my profile in detail and provided me with multiple actionable steps I can take to strengthen my profile.
2. Liza helped me understand the nuances, and strength/weaknesses between different schools. This helped me understand clarify the list of schools I wish to go for and helped me focused on a handful of schools that will help my career.
3. Liza not only understands the MBA admission process, but also takes the time to understand me as a candidate. Furthermore, while Liza is always empathetic and supportive, she does not hesitate to point out weakenesses that my profile currently display - points that I believe ultimately allowed me to craft a stronger application.
4. Finally, Liza is someone who's always in your corner. I bombed my mock interview right before the real interview, and Liza offered to do another one the morning of (7am) of the actual interview. I was grateful and took up on the offer and this ultimately calmed my nerves for the actual thing.

In summary, I had a great time working with Liza, appreciate the dedication she displayed throughout the experience, and would recommend her to anyone who plan on going through the same process.

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Liza has been a fantastic resource throughout the entire MBA admissions process, and I could not be happier with the support she has provided. My background is a bit non traditional, as I'm an engineer from a large state school with 6+ years of work experience at large tech firms. I was initially reluctant to use an admissions consultant, but given how challenging and competitive the process is, I reached out to a few consultants to see if a top 10 school was even achievable. Most consultants I talked to were either too cookie-cutter or apprehensive with me applying to only "reach" schools. However, Liza took my personal story and background into account and provided honest, specific, and pointed feedback that started me on the path to be successfully admitted to a top 5 program.

There are three areas where Liza helped the most: 1. Coaching, 2. Real Life Experience, and 3. Specific Feedback. From a coaching perspective, I didn't have many resources or mentors to talk with about applying to an MBA program, let alone a top school, but Liza was able to give me a great overview and roadmap for how the MBA admissions process worked. I realize a lot of this information is online, but being able to talk through it and strategize together really helped me to plan out my application and what schools to focus on. The "story" is so important, and this process was more internal and reflective than anything, which helped me put into words why I wanted to go to school and what i wanted to do after graduation. Also, Liza is a graduate from Sloan, so she has gone through the process and is able to tailor her information and feedback to what top MBA programs are looking for. When going through the application and more importantly the interview, I felt very prepared. I would recommend anyone do at least one mock interview per school, as Liza was incredibly helpful to calm my nerves on interview day. She treated the interview as the real thing, and I felt as if I was talking to the admissions committee. On top of that, Liza provided very specific and actionable feedback, whether that was how I answered a mock question, what I wrote for an essay, or what I wanted to do after graduation. This was the most helpful part of the process, as it is a journey with constant refinement, which I think truly made the difference for me.

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Liza was an absolute pleasure to work with. I applied R1 to three schools: Stanford GSB, HBS and Wharton. While I didn't use Liza as my primary consultant (I worked with her only for my HBS interview), I realized quickly after engaging her for interview prep how helpful she would have been throughout the entire process. I used a different consulting firm as the primary resource for my application essays, but would recommend working with Liza if I could do everything over again -- even though I was admitted to my top choice school.

Background: Caucasian male, top 5 undergrad, liberal arts background (English major), 4 years at a top-tier investment bank in IBD, 1 year as a product manager in CPG
Admitted: GSB
Waitlist: HBS
Rejected: Wharton

Liza was recommended to me by a close friend who had applied the prior year and was admitted to HBS. They had worked with her for interview prep and had a fantastic experience. My experience was also quite positive for several reasons:

1. Liza cares about who you are and takes time to really understand your goals. I was shocked at the level of detail and commitment that she provided me even though I only worked with her on interview prep. Because she took time to understand me, the pointers she gave me during our mock interview were incredibly helpful, and I was able to apply them during the interview itself

2. Liza really understands MBA admissions and helps clarify uncertainties. She helped me to demystify the admissions process, and more specifically, the interview's importance with respect to an overall application. This made me more confident going into my interview because I had a clearer sense for what I was getting myself into and how important it was

3. Liza understands the nuances between schools and helps you tailor your story to each one. This is very important for the HBS interview, as much of what they are looking for is driven by fit for the school

In summary, I cannot recommend Liza highly enough. She was empathetic and supportive, and while I did not work with her on the application for the school that I am ultimately attending, I know she would have shown the same level of dedication and support throughout the process overall.

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Background: Male, Engineering Undergrad/Grad, Software Engineer @ FANG.
Admitted: MIT Sloan, Stanford GSB.

I struggle to express just how incredible Liza was during this entire process. I’ll start by saying she is a wonderful person. I started quite late and was honestly very hesitant as a result, but from the first introductory phone call with Liza she was incredibly reassuring, understanding, and ready to formulate a game plan that worked well with my tight timeline. I especially enjoyed Liza’s positive vibe and her uncanny ability to guide while ensuring that my own narrative was represented throughout my entire application, telling my authentic story was important to me, so I appreciated her holistic approach very much.

By virtue of Liza’s genuine interest in my story and her follow up “why” questions whenever we met, I became much better at telling my story (by the time I got to the 1 minute video for MIT’s app, I was an expert at articulating who I was). Updates were frequent and feedback was fast! I honestly couldn’t ask for better help.

Most importantly, all throughout the application process, I got the sense that Liza really, truly enjoys what she does, and brings every bit of her energy to helping her clients achieve their goals of admission to a top MBA program. She made what seemed a daunting process one of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had. I highly recommend Liza as an admissions consultant, she helped me realize I could tackle the infamous “what matters most” essay and get admitted to Stanford GSB, for that I am eternally grateful. Thank you.

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When I first began my search for a consultant, I was surprised at how many 5-star reviews Liza had. Now that my journey's complete, I can confirm that she really is an incredible consultant and partner in the admissions process. Comparing my own experience to those of my friends who worked with other people, I can definitively say Liza provided the best guidance. Searching for a good consultant is a huge shot in the dark, but finding a good one can really make a difference and for that reason, I cant recommend Liza enough.

A couple things I really enjoyed about my experience:

1) Liza is extremely organized: she makes sure to set timelines, is very reliable on turnarounds, and kept me organized through the process
2) She knows A LOT: I could really see how experienced she was during brainstorming / knew the answers to every question I had
3) She is positive: this means A LOT when you are feeling super stressed or the first couple turns of your essay feel like they suck - Liza provides the encouragement and confidence you need to succeed

My background is in finance and media corp strategy. Thanks to Liza, i got into a top 3 school. I really couldn't have don't it without her!

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I want to start by saying that Liza was amazing to work with and I couldn’t recommend her more! I worked with Liza on Round 1 applications for HBS, Kellogg & Stanford GSB and I'm excited to be attending HBS this fall.

Background: Male, engineering at top-20 undergrad, MBB consulting / PE, 730 GMAT
Admitted: HBS, Kellogg
Rejected: Stanford GSB

Liza was recommended to me by multiple colleagues and everyone I spoke with had an extremely positive experience working with her. Nonetheless, I still evaluated multiple admission consultants; however, none compared to Liza. From our fist conversation it was noticeable how much Liza cared about making my candidacy a success. I also remember how she took the time to really understand my goals for the process.

While many others have noted many of Liza's amazing characteristics, I'll highlight three that I found most beneficial.

(1) Liza takes the time to get to know you as a person. Business school applications can be very personal, so while this may feel insignificant I think the time Liza took to get to know my personal story paid many dividends through the process.

(2) Liza is deeply knowledgeable about the admissions process. Because Liza has so much experience coaching candidates, she understands where you should be in the process at all times and is very familiar with what admissions teams are looking for in candidates. And even though Liza does have a lot of experience to draw from, Liza still did a great job ensuring the process was specifically tailored to what I was looking to get out of it.

(3) Liza gives great feedback and while she will push you to tell a story admissions teams will find compelling, she also ensures your story remains authentically you. I have a more traditional background on paper, but there were specific points about my personal background I felt were important to highlight. With Liza's guidance I was able to tell a story that combined the softer components about my background & ambitions that made me unique with firmer accomplishments that highlighted my capabilities.

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Background: Caucasian Male, Non-Ivy Undergrad, Sub 3.0 GPA, Chemical Engineer

Results: Attending Top 5 Program, Accepted to 3 Top 10 B-Schools

To anyone looking to maximize the strength of their candidacy, I would highly recommend using Liza as a consultant! After having interviewed multiple consultants, I was referred to Liza by a friend attending HBS. From our initial phone call until now, Liza has taken complete ownership of my story and my application process. As a candidate from an unremarkable undergrad program and sub-3.0 GPA, I went from an applicant hoping to breach the top 20, to a future student at a top 5 business school; working with Liza allowed me to achieve these results. Liza’s book of clients fills up very early in the process, so I would recommend signing on with her as soon as you establish that you would like to attend a top business school.

Liza’s tenacity, reliability, and support throughout my process was astounding and unwavering. She took immediate ownership of my story, and ensured that I did the same by having me fill out an exhaustive brainstorming doc; while the document was arduous, the content was directly applicable to every facet of the application process. Liza then helped me to develop and articulate my story in the most convincing manner, working as a teammate to generate ideas, put them into action, and refine them into their most effective form, all while keeping me on track to meet the schools’ deadlines.

Throughout an uncertain process, Liza was honest, supportive, and incredibly empathetic. It was clear that my success was her success, and throughout every step of the process, we worked tirelessly to evolve my candidacy into one worthy of acceptance at multiple top 10 programs. Liza enabled me to change my own life, and I could not be happier with my decision to take her on as a consultant/partner.

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My background: Female, 5 years in finance/investment banking at a BB firm, ivy league liberal arts background (poli sci/econ major), 730 GMAT, 3.7 GPA

Admitted to HBS, Wharton and MIT Sloan, received merit-based scholarship at Wharton and Sloan. Rejected from GSB. Worked with Liza on HBS and Wharton.

Less than a year ago I hadn't opened a GMAT textbook and right now I'm on my way back from an admitted students weekend at a school I could only dream of getting into. It's surreal and 100% would not have been possible without Liza.
I was referred to Liza through a friend and decided to set up a 30-min free consultation to see what kind of advice I could expect from an admissions consultant and what she thought about my candidacy. I knew I had certain "on paper" strengths (good GPA, ivy league school, solid firm/professional experience), but was concerned about my lack of leadership/involvement in activities outside of work and that my profile was otherwise overrepresented. In the 30 minutes, Liza gave me honest and actionable feedback, including ways to address weaker spots in my application and a plan for tackling next steps. The overwhelming process seemed much more manageable by the end of our call, and I felt more confident in myself as a competitive applicant. She was clearly a pro and I didn't hesitate to sign up.

Liza is a dream to work with in so many ways, but she was especially helpful in two key areas. First was helping me craft my "story" - by the end of our brainstorming session she was able to tease out the key theme weaving together all the seemingly random life anecdotes I had written down. I never would have thought of that seed idea on my own but it was perfect, which is a testament to how well she understands her clients. Her feedback was invaluable throughout the essay writing process and I almost always took her suggestions, from high level structural changes to word choice. And when she indicated  she was comfortable with where drafts stood, I trusted her and didn't sweat any more iterations.

The second area where Liza was critical was interview prep. I didn't realize how underprepared I was for the HBS interview until we had our mock. After that, I had a much better understanding of what the real interview would be like and the types of questions I could expect. I was very well prepared for the interview day of and most of the questions I got we had workshopped or raised during prep.

I'm honestly not sure I would have completed a single R1 application, let alone four, if I hadn't had Liza in my corner. She's your constant champion throughout a long and draining experience.  There were some really stressful times when I was running up on deadlines, crushed at work and taking the GMAT for a third (!!) time less than a month before R1 apps were due. Liza was always there urging me on and helping me believe in myself, whether with an email or reassuring phone call. She is compassionate and truly cares about her clients, but she will definitely push you to be disciplined and invest the time and work required to get the most out of this process.  She is unfailingly positive but what I appreciated most was her honesty. She approached every issue or conversation in a measured way but did not hesitate to call out where things need improvement and never inflated my expectations one way or another. This is exactly the type of person you want as an advisor when going through a process as important as this one.

There is no way I would be considering the options I have now without Liza and I can't recommend her enough. THANK YOU, LIZA!!!!

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