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Harshad Mali Reviews

Company: mbaMission

With an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a BE in mechanical engineering from the Government College of Engineering in Aurangabad, India, and an ME in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Harshad Mali has enjoyed a successful career as both an engineer and an entrepreneur. In addition to having worked in design and product development within the automotive industry for the truck manufacturer Navistar, he has traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, and South America to evaluate and create supply chains for critical hardware. After graduating from Chicago Booth, Harshad co-founded a consulting start-up to address the operational and product commercialization challenges faced by small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies. His corporate and entrepreneurial experiences have given him valuable insight into the various career paths MBAs pursue. An avid mentor and coach, Harshad has participated in university career fairs, discussing professional goals and career paths with graduating students, and has also freelanced as an MBA essay consultant.

5.0 /5 Average Rating
Based on 88 reviews
February 26, 2022
AdityaSharma27

Joined: Aug 08, 2021

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
760 Q49 V46 (Online)

Best Decision I Made!

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Working with Harshad has been the best decision I took during this admissions cycle. I worked with Harshad through mbaMission's four school package and his work was worth every penny. Right from the first brainstorming session, Harshad has been extremely interested and passionate about my background and goals. As we went through my applications, he has become my most trusted advisor and even a close mentor. I can always trust Harshad to never sugarcoat any advice. This has consistently ensured that my applications were of the best quality. Working with him has also made a better writer in general - even when I write reports at work, I find myself asking "What would Harshad say."

Harshad has always exceeded his turnaround time and I am actually in awe of how hard he works. Additionally, the meticulous detail of his work came through all the edits and suggestions he made for my resume and essays. He will continue editing and asking for revisions right until the draft is perfect. I also appreciated the fact that every time Harshad recommended changes, he always took the time to explain why such changes were needed.

Most importantly, it is abundantly clear that Harshad truly cares about getting the best outcome for me. With his help, I got into a truly amazing MBA program and I would highly recommend him to anyone starting out on their MBA journey.

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February 12, 2022
nishantjayaswal

Joined: Jul 30, 2020

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
740 Q51 V39 (Online)

Harshad will bring out your best application

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I had decided to submit my applications early in the cycle and hence started researching and talking to consultants. I spoke with few of the highest rated consultants but the level of comfort I felt after my conversation with Harshad stood out. Considering the genuineness of the conversation with Harshad, I decided to work with him.

Coming from a highly over represented demographic, I was worried about standing out as an applicant. Harshad understood my story very well and helped me bring out my uniquenesses and my strengths. There were many occasions when I was satisfied with my content but Harshad felt we could do better and pushed me to submit the best possible application. Harshad’s style of reviewing documents and giving feedback is highly organised and this ensured that we stayed highly productive at all times. Harshad’s turnaround time was excellent throughout the process and he made sure we stayed on track throughout the process and submitted all the applications before the deadlines. Later, Harshad also took my mock interviews for all the schools from where I was invited for the interview and this helped me build further confidence before my interview day.

As a result, I got into one of my dream schools. I am sure that I couldn’t submitted such high quality applications without Harshad’s help. I am really grateful to him for being a partner in my MBA applications journey.

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December 23, 2021
Karimharb

Joined: Nov 22, 2018

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Harshad is definetly the best!

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I had started my journey of applying to business schools with a different consultant from another company but didn’t achieve any tangible outcomes. After working with Harshad, I could tell the difference in the quality of work. From the first call, Harshad provided me great advice on how to choose the programs that would best fit my career goals. I had a broad idea of what I wanted to achieve from a macro perspective, however Harshad helped me figure out how to narrow down my goals and bring out my life stories. He helped me organize my thinking process and structure my applications holistically. He was always very honest with his opinion and never sugarcoated my work just to make me feel better, until I presented the work with the highest quality. His feedback and editing style motivated me to present the best quality of work; my essays produced terrific content and flow. Whenever I was stuck with an essay question by not tackling the point, he would schedule a meeting to make sure I would tackle that point correctly. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to complete the process with such quality and get into my school of choice without Harshad. I highly recommend Harshad as your consultant to ensure a smooth process to complete your application!

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December 21, 2021
Drucifur

Joined: Jun 23, 2021

Posts: 25

Kudos: 39

Verified GMAT Classic score:
760 Q50 V42

3.3 GPA and Poor ECs makes M7

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If you're anything like me, hiring a consultant seems a bit extra. I figured I could write decently well on my own, my resume was okay, and the interviews won’t be that bad. So why should I pay so much money for what I anticipated would be only marginal improvements to my overall application? Well, after working with Harshad, I can tell you exactly why.

Essays: Harshad takes a deep look at your life story (personal and professional) to pull-out the anecdotes that will resonate best with the AdComs. My instincts were totally off at first, but Harshad’s knowledge of each school’s specific essays saved me from writing about something that wouldn’t hit home. After that, every round of editing was thorough. Harshad does an excellent job of trimming extra words to make the word count without trimming important content. His email responses were very fast (<1 working day normally, 2 days max).

Resume: Harshad provides an excellent resume template and knows how to rephrase bullets to make them more punchy.

Other application parts: Harshad reviewed all the short answer questions in my application too. Same treatment as the resume. Very worth it.

Recommenders: Harshad provided a thorough guide for working with recommenders. This advice is 100% worth following. He also helped me manage one recommender who had limited English writing proficiency.

Interview prep: I practiced interviewing with friends and family, but nothing was more valuable than Harshad’s mock-interviews. He asked realistic questions, provided candid feedback, and tested me similarly to the real interviews. This was perhaps the most important part of the whole package.

Professionalism: Harshad responded incredibly quickly. Even when I was behind on my work with deadlines approaching quickly, Harshad always responded immediately (whether holiday, weekend, or the middle of the night in his time zone)! His responses were always thorough. Also, I live and work 5-8 time zones away from Harshad, but he was always flexible about scheduling meetings to accommodate my needs. Most importantly, Harshad is candid without being rude. He tells you what you need to hear.

Overall, I’m quite sure I would not have gotten into any M7s without Harshad’s help. Even if he charged double, I would still pick Harshad again.

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December 20, 2021
yyzbos

Joined: Dec 25, 2019

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
760 Q50 V44

Harshad was there for me in every step of the process, from explicitly choosing the schools with the best academic and social fit to getting interview invites from 3 M7 schools, and eventually, an admit from one.

Given the reflective nature of the MBA application, I wanted to work with someone who genuinely understood my history and vision, i.e. I wasn't just another client for them. After talking to several consultants (who constantly suggested that I shouldn't aim for M7 schools), Harshad was the only consultant who highlighted the positive aspects of my applications during our first consultation. After that, it was an easy choice. He and I worked on five schools, and I eventually got into the school of my choice.

Harshad believed in me, pushed me to give my best, from essays to interviews and was a constant support during the emotional rollercoaster of the application process. He went above and beyond and took calls even on the weekends as we pushed closer to the deadlines. Not once did I have any issues with turnaround time.

His stellar advocacy has exceeded my high expectations. I highly recommend him!

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December 16, 2021
hellomba2024

Joined: Jul 04, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Harshad Mali is da man

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Great and thoughtful advice throughout the application process. Harshad reshaped my application to make it more on point and overall it was a great experience to work with him and would recommend him highly to others. He really helped to improve my application which allowed me to get an admit from a top top school and put on the waitlist for the top school! Thanks again Harshad. His advice and feedback was direct, honest and most of all very useful on a holistic basis for the applications. The MBA application is a daunting process so its great to work with someone who knows the ins and outs of the whole process.

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July 22, 2021
nsundar2

Joined: Feb 19, 2020

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Harshad took my application to the next level!!

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Applying during the most competitive admissions seasons was excruciating. However, Harshad's constant support and honest feedback helped me to stay on track. Moreover, Harshad is very dedicated to his clients. There have been many instances when I was very close to the deadline and Harshad turned over his feedbacks even during weekends and holidays. Harshad is also very empathetic and that helps to bring out our originality when writing the essays. He also goes above and beyond in giving suggestions to schools that I applied to on my own. Finally, Harshad also showed genuine interest in my career goal and helped me to tailor my essays accordingly, and suggested I apply to schools that I hadn't even considered before talking to him.

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June 20, 2021
vsahni

Joined: Jun 20, 2021

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

You will not regret this decision!

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Harshad is one of those no-nonsense and to-the-point coaches that will help you level up your MBA apps. From the time we first spoke during the free consultation, Harshad was genuine and empathetic with me about my ambitions and how to turn them into reality. His feedback and editing work on the essays was by far the most value-added aspect of the consultation, which turned my VERY rough drafts into essays with substance, relevance, and flow. He is extremely adept at breaking down the essay questions and what the ad coms are looking for in response so that your essay responses are clear and concise. He will work with you to revise your draft as many times as you need (believe me as I needed SEVERAL edits before I felt good about mine). He is extremely professional and responds sooner than the SLA time, and working for long stretches of time to help you meet your deadlines. Overall, his communication style and rigor is ideal and I would recommend him to anyone who is in the market for an MBA admissions consultant!

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August 07, 2020
nyjets555

Joined: Dec 13, 2015

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Highly Recommend!

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I chose to work with Harshad because of his direct communication style. From the onset of our partnership, Harshad never minced words about my strengths and weaknesses, making it easier to focus on executing a coherent strategy to maximize my candidacy. With Harshad's support, the application process went more smoothly than I was expecting - he pushed me to unearth stories and anecdotes to use in essays that I wouldn't have thought about on my own and was receptive/supportive when I (on multiple occasions) asked for his perspective on differing drafts for the same prompt. Overall, if you are willing to put in the work to make your application shine, I highly recommend Harshad. His support greatly helped me gain acceptance to a couple of M7 programs!

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April 26, 2020
alf2022

Joined: Apr 26, 2020

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Working with Harshad is one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.

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I can honestly say I wouldn’t have made it through the MBA application process without Harshad’s help; he helped me to believe in myself when things were difficult, to craft the best stories for my essays and interviews, to come up with the best strategies to deliver results, and so much more. In the end, I ended up getting accepted to two of my top schools, and I was offered a full ride to one of them.

I contacted mbaMission sometime in the spring (R2 applicant) as I knew I had to put my best forward during the application cycle as an older applicant (31-year-old); my initial call with a different consultant was eye-opening, I could not believe all the feedback I received in such short amount of time. She suggested having a second “fit” call with Harshad as we both had engineering backgrounds. After our conversation, I knew Harshad was the one I wanted to work with as he knew exactly where I was at professionally and knew where I wanted to go.

During the next few months, I worked on improving my GMAT/GRE and though my test results were not ideal, Harshad helped me to stay positive and diligent to work on the other aspects of my application and networking with my target schools, which ultimately made a huge difference.

Harshad’s feedback is very direct and honest, which I enormously appreciated as we worked on my applications; he replied to my messages as promised or even earlier, even late at night, during the weekends, and the holiday breaks. The first reviews can be tough, but that is the nature of his work as this will help you submit the best version of yourself. I remember looking forward to my calls with Harshad as they filled me up with energy and encouragement to keep moving, to a point where writing essays, even during stressful times, became fun.

In short, Harshad is a kind, fun, smart, and hard-working consultant who has the best interest in your success and the results speak for themselves. I will ALWAYS be thankful to him.

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