Harold is a fantastic coach and I don’t know that I would have gotten my seat at Harvard Business School if it wasn’t for the strategic role he played in crafting my narrative for business schools. Early in the application process, Harold and I talked a lot about my target schools, my background, and my experiences that could lend to a strong application at each school. He helped me mold those into a clean personal/professional story and he coached me on how to articulate those succinctly in my applications. 5 out of 6 schools I applied to gave me an interview and I know that Harold’s help crafting each application to each school was key to that success. In addition to the technical stuff, Harold is empathetic and a great partner. He provided guidance and a friendly ear throughout the application cycle and I am so fortunate to have him in my court!

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Background:
I highly recommend choosing mbaMission, and Harold specifically. To provide some context, my application was an unusual one and Harold rose to the occasion remarkably. I’m from the Middle East. I have an engineering background and I have recently switched from Private to Public sector, and my goal from graduate school is to obtain a degree (or a dual degree) that focused on both policy and business. I started a bit late in the process. I submitted an application for MPA/ID program at HKS in December. Then, I decided to apply for MIT Sloan, to be a dual degree with the program from HKS. To hedge my bets, I also wanted to apply for the Master in Computational Analysis & Public Policy (MSCAPP) from the University of Chicago. Here was my challenge at the time: after I submitted my application to HKS in December, I was not very happy with my application and my test scores (high quant and not-an-impressive verbal). Furthermore, the deadline for both MIT Sloan R2 and Chicago MSCAPP were at the same day. I freaked out and realized I needed serious professional help if I wanted to increase my odds. Enter mbaMission. At first, I had a free session with Jessica. In only 30 mins, she gave me a lot of great advice! After some thinking, I decided to go with Jessica. She was unfortunately busy at the time to take on new clients. So, she suggested that I have another free session with Harold, given that he is an MIT grad and had previous clients from my region. I had another free session with Harold that extended for more than 30 mins. By that time, I already had free sessions for well more than an hour with mbaMission. I decided then to go with Harold, and I’m really glad that Jessica has recommended that we work together. I got excited to work with Harold so I took the start-to-finish package for both MIT and Chicago. Even though Chicago was a policy degree and not a business one, I still asked Harold to help me with it given that both schools were important for me to be admitted to, in addition to the fact that both were due at the same deadline.

Why go with Harold?
1. Crafting the right story:
o Laying the groundwork: Harold took enough time to understand my convoluted background and my aspirations in life. Like many who are seeking graduate school, not everything was a clear cut for me. I’m still figuring things out. In that sense, the process of understanding my story was a lot of work for both of us, but it was not a mechanical one.
o Drilling down on the important stories: After the brainstorming session, I uncovered parts of my story that I didn’t think they were worth speaking of in the first place. For example, I had a frustrating terrible experience with my start-up that I was not proud of to tell the truth. However, Harold advised a new angle on how to use this story in a way that reflected humility and growth, we are humans and not perfect creatures after all :).
o The right writing style while maintaining authenticity and your own voice: When writing something deeply personal I tend to be super conversational. While that’s good, maybe, some level of professionalism is still required. Harold was super helpful in pointing out when I went a little overboard with my style. That also meant that I often tend to exceed the word limit to get my point across (similar to what I’m doing now :)! ). As he puts it, he has a super power for cutting unnecessary sentences.

2. Navigating the nuances of the application process:
o Test Scores: As I explained earlier, I was not sure about my test scores. Balancing my test scores with my story, as well as being conscious of the limited time have, Harold advised me to maintain my current score and use the time I have to prefect my essays. This turned out to be a very pivotal advice as it allowed me to really focus on my essays. This was very bold of Harold to say, and counter to what many who knew my scores have advised. I trusted him and went with his recommendation (despite any outcome of the application process, his rationale made sense to me and it was all about prioritization of effort. It was still my decision to follow this advice or not!)
o Selecting recommenders: I had some difficult choices to make for determining which recommenders I should go with. Harold gave me great insights on how to set my strategy for recommenders (guess what, it worked!)
o How to engage with admissions team: Before meeting Harold, I was often not sure on how to approach certain topics with the admissions team. I didn’t want to on-the-nose with admissions. I thought it might backfire. However, Harold was super helpful in letting me know which types of communication with admissions are acceptable. He even helped in looking at some of the emails that I was about to send!

3. Interview prep:
o By far this was one of the most aspects I benefited from using Harold’s services. He prepped me really well for the interview. I walked to the interview with much more confidence compared to what would’ve been the case had I done it myself. The style of the interview and the questions he asked me was very close to what I got in the interview.

4. Making an incredibly concise and powerful CV
Important final note: When soliciting professional help for your applications, know that not one consultant would have a wand that would magically get you admitted. It’s really hard work form your part. The consultant will guide you every step of the way, but it’s your own application, your own voice and above all else, your future. As helpful as Harold was to me, I had to put in a lot of effort and make sure we were always on top of things and on schedule. A great advantage of Harold’s help was the constant guidance. In my previous experience without Harold, I would always get bogged down into very minor details that would make me lose track of the big picture. After using Harold’s help, he acted as a true anchor for me during the application process. Of course lets address the elephant in the room, this is not a cheap service! So this is a personal choice that depends on your financial situation, how badly you want the MBA and how comfortable you felt in the free session. Chemistry is important with the consultant! So use your free session wisely and only go when comfortable. If we go back in time, I would go with Harold every single time, regardless of being admitted or not!

Final result: Full disclosure, I got admitted into both MIT Sloan and Chicago . I opted to go with MIT (in addition to HKS, where I will start at next fall hopefully)

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Harold was the best admissions consultant for me and he played a huge part in my success of getting accepted into Columbia Business School. Our work together focused on breaking the application process into individual components and developing a well though-out plan before any writing began.

Harold and I were successful for the following reasons:

Harold began the process by getting to know everything about me and took the time at the beginning to understand my story. Business school applications can be a very time-consuming and difficult process that requires organization and a well thought-out plan before the writing process begins. In this way, he is remarkably efficient at time management and we saved a lot of time by getting fully acquainted with my story in the beginning.

He showed me how to organize my thoughts and how to best showcase my characteristics and abilities for admissions committees. Harold was amazing at walking me through the thought process on writing essays. As someone who struggles starting an essay, Harold helped instill confidence in my writing ability and helped me get started. He also gave me clear and concise instructions on how to navigate each essay, especially focusing on the attributes and characteristics each school is looking for in a candidate. His insight was a major help.

Lastly, his turnaround time on essay comments was excellent. He communicated to me when he would have time to read through my essays almost immediately and he always returned comments well before his deadlines.

If I were to go through the application process again, there is no doubt in my mind I would choose Harold Simansky again!

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I've been working with Harold for over a year now, and couldn't be more grateful for the support he's provided. From the get go, he listened to my interests and passions, and helped me find the unifying thread that brought that all together into a strong story.
Harold is incredibly knowledgeable about different schools, the application process, and career paths. He has opinions about different programs, which is refreshing. He is able to balance making space for your own needs and desires while sharing his genuine thoughts. Having his expertise helped me feel stable within this opaque process.
What I appreciate the most about Harold is his patience and empathy. Applying to an MBA program can be an anxiety-filled and emotional process. Through it all, Harold was always there to listen without judgement. He took an interest in me as a person and was really invested in my success. This is what makes him such a rare and valuable consultant — that he is able to combine his expertise with his emotional intelligence.
Under Harold's guidance, I was admitted to 5 schools: MIT, Berkeley, Wharton, Yale, and Kellogg, and waitlisted at Stanford.
I would highly recommend working with Harold and am so grateful to be one of his clients.

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From my very first conversation with Harold, I knew he was the perfect mentor to guide me through the physically and emotionally draining MBA admissions process. For reference, I come from an extremely over-represented cohort. What really stood out for me was that he "listened" to my entire story for the first 15 mins and took into consideration all that I had to say before sharing his thoughts on how I should position my application. All the other consultants I had spoken with tried to force fit my story into a certain profile type even before I had the chance to explain the nuances in my story.
Working with Harold during the actual application process was also a breeze. He was very responsive and would provide comments on essay drafts, resume and other short answers within 12-24 hrs. He was very encouraging throughout the process and acted like more of a mentor than simply a consultant.
As is the case with most applicants, we have a tendency to solicit feedback from family/friends/colleagues - most of which can be extremely differing and confusing. Harold made sure to address each piece of external feedback that I received. What really stuck with me was that he did not diminish or belittle the external feedback but clearly explained his point of view and showed me ways I could incorporate some of that feedback into my application without complicating the overall narrative.
I was extremely happy with my experience and would definitely recommend Harold to any future applicants.

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I only had one month left to write my essay before the application deadline. I was so fortunate to have Harold to go through the process with me. Harold can understand my profile quickly and transform it into a story that appeals to the admission committee of my dream school. Whenever in doubt, I can always arrange a call with Harold and e-mail him. His quick response and accurate answer assure me that I did not waste my time and I was on the right track. The application process can be very stressful. However, there is nothing better to have a mentor, motivator, and friend like Harold who is dedicated to ensuring you have the best version of yourself in the application and get admitted to your dream business school.

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Harold was extremely helpful throughout the application process. I appreciated that he could focus on the fundamental building blocks of an application (short-term/long-term goals, program fit, etc.) rather than get bogged down in minutiae. He helped me focus my story from a slew of different ideas.

This was my second year applying, and I found his advice to be invaluable around what to change from the prior year application. He was able to make a time-condensed hectic process more straightforward. Overall, he is very conversational and a pleasant person to work with. Would recommend to anyone going through this process.

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When I started considering my applications for business school, I knew I needed to not only flesh out my story but also position and deliver a meaningful message. Harold was integral in both the brainstorming and composition of my application profile both of which helped to round out my message and overall candidacy.

I think one of Harold's best traits is his ability to understand your background and help you conform your story into a tight narrative. This was evident to me during our first correspondence in which we brainstormed all of my experiences I could potentially draw from. I appreciated all of his assistance and guidance and would definitely recommend him to a peer.

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I decided to apply for my EMBA at Sloan really late in round 2. I started my application process late November and I engaged Harold one month before the dateline and I don't think I would have made it and finish my application without having him coaching and preparing me for the admissions process.

Harold was an amazing mentor and consultant. He helped a lot during the brainstorming stage of my application and walk me through the different aspect of how I should position my submission. He was detailed in his approach, provided tons of feedback, reading materials (he has a lot of good tips) and was always on time with his reviews and comments. He gave tremendous amount of insight to the admissions process and got me to focus on what mattered the most in a short period of time.

One thing I really appreciate about Harold is that he is always available to me when I needed him. I live in Asia and being in a different time zone he was always accommodative and offered to work with me so that it fits my schedule.

During the interview process, he worked with me closely to do several mock interviews. His interviews questions got me mentally ready for my face-to-face with Sloan.

I think the whole admissions process would have been extremely daunting if not for Harold. Harold is also really patient and works well with clients remotely and in different time zones. I would highly recommend him. (and yes, I got admitted).

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Harold was an excellent advisor during a very stressful time. He was very clear on expectations of what he needed from me to do his job which made the process go very smoothly. I felt that he genuinely cared about my progress and was there for me via email and phone call if necessary. When we got to crunch time and submission deadlines were approaching he put the extra time to accommodate my needs and was an invaluable asset. He has incredible industry knowledge and provides objective/specific feedback on how to tell your most effective story. From the school selection process to the essay writing he was realistic and supportive and made this incredibly stressful process much more manageable.

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