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Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Heidi Wiese Granner
I truly enjoyed my time working with Heidi. Applying for business school was a truly daunting and complicated task.
I come from a very non-traditional background with a mediocre GPA. Heidi helped me craft my stories as well as my identity in my essays and personal statements. She took the extra time to truly help me identify what was important to me and better defined my goals and direction. I was able to tailor my strengths, experiences into one solid story for every program I applied to. Additionally she would provide insight on what each program was looking for to not only figure out which one was a better fit, but also better create a convincing story that I would be a great fit for their programs as well.
Heidi was very patient throughout the whole process and provided much advice outside of just the MBA applications. She gave great insight into the Consulting world, and even went above and beyond to understand the unique industry that I came from to better help me tailor my application to make sense in the business world. She was always early or on time in terms of responses or deliverables, and generously found time outside of her schedule for ad hoc calls.
Ultimately she kept me grounded throughout the whole process and I honestly look at my application materials and be proud of them. I was admitted to my two top pick Universities that eventually became quite difficult to figure out which one to attend!
Working with Heidi was a wonderful experience. If you're hesitant or am unsure about undertaking the process of applying to business school without help I would highly recommend Heidi!
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Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Heidi Wiese Granner
From start-to-finish, Heidi Granner has always been the most fantastic partner in navigating through the MBA application process. When I embarked on my journey, I knew I needed an Admissions Consultant to guide me along the way, and Heidi was recommended to me based on my work experience, perceived strengths and weaknesses, and style. Looking back, I would not have it any other way.
Heidi is an incredibly bright, optimistic, and caring person, personality traits that I cherished in working with her. While my background and credentials would seemingly check off general requirements at top schools, I thought it would be difficult to differentiate myself from the rather sizable pool of Asian male management consultants. Heidi helped me realize that I should focus on finding the experiences that shaped who I am as a person and not worry so much about the “uniqueness” of those stories. Starting with our first phone call, Heidi has been instrumental in pulling out the most significant aspects of my life and constructing those moments into stories that Admissions Committees found attractive.
Writing admissions essays requires a slightly nuanced perspective than traditional every day writing for work. Heidi brought in her invaluable experiences and helped me craft narratives that worked. Through every essay and iteration, Heidi provided invaluable feedback on improvements, both big and small. She truly left no stones unturned. Heidi patiently ran through practice interviews with me when we reached that stage of the process and helped me gain confidence to do well. And she was right there when decisions came out to discuss options and celebrate at the end.
It would not be the slightest exaggeration to say that I could not have navigated through the process successfully without Heidi’s guidance and support. She is also a phenomenal person whom I am privileged to now have a relationship with. I cannot recommend Heidi enough – you will be in the best of hands.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Heidi Wiese Granner
I was referred to Heidi Granner by a colleague I worked with, who managed to get accepted to his dream program. I wanted someone who knew how to work with someone who has a highly over-represented background (i.e. Asian male in finance) to be able to stand out amongst other excellent applicants.
I would say that it took a lot of consideration before I decided to work alongside an MBA consultant, but I can say for sure that I am glad I did. I will go as far to say that without Heidi, I do not think that I could have succeeded in getting into my top MBA school - HBS.
The thing is, there are many qualified and over-qualified candidates to get into these top schools. They all have amazing backgrounds and experiences that can definitely make them prime candidates for what these top schools are looking for. The most difficult part about all this however, is grabbing all these moving parts and shaping them into a limited amount of information you can convey to an MBA admissions committee. You can have also these unique things that have happened to you in your life, but trying to show everything in a jumbled manner is not the way to go. That's where I think Heidi really played a key role in constructing my story, pulling out key highlights, and showing admissions committee who I am without completely losing them in the details.
Heidi herself has experience as an admissions member for Chicago Booth, so she definitely knows what these top programs like to see vs. what they don't like to see. And it's not that they are looking for a specific form of individual, but rather someone who can CLEARLY show who they are and be proud of what they've contributed rather than someone who wants to impress with everything he / she has.
Heidi was instrumental in providing guidance and feedback in how I should think about my own profile and positioning, essay content, and interview practice. She is incredibly responsive (and very fast), and it makes it extremely easy to work with her. She will never leave you hanging amidst this incredibly stressful process, and it definitely gives you a sense of comfort that you are working as a team and that you are not alone.
All in all, Heidi has been a sheer pleasure and more importantly, a real help that has translated to concrete success for me. Thank you Heidi for working with me through many months of my MBA application journey!
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Heidi Wiese Granner
When I decided to apply for business school, I knew I wanted support from someone who is experienced and has a strong professional background. After speaking to several admissions consultants, I chose Heidi and I could not have made a better decision! Right from the start, Heidi was candid and encouraging. She pushed me to brainstorm essay ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of if I had just gone with the most “obvious” themes. Because of our interactions, my essays became much deeper and reflective than what I could have done on my own.
As someone who is very organized, I really appreciated Heidi’s timely replies and fast turnarounds. Even though we had a 12-hour time difference, we managed to stay on schedule and I submitted all four of my applications for round 1 on time.
Heidi’s support really helped navigating the business school application and interview process much easier. I highly recommend her!
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Heidi Wiese Granner
After speaking with a handful of consultants at both boutique firms and big name companies, I decided to work with Heidi Granner. Other consultants felt I was too "high risk" to take on as a client since I had a low GMAT, GPA, and only 3 years of experience. Heidi was the first to show compassion and confidence in pulling together a great application. She was realistic in telling me which schools to target and worked with me on my essays on an hourly basis. Since I was applying to 3 schools, the hourly option was best for me. Her turnaround was quick and even ahead of schedule. The improvement from my first draft to my final drafts were incredible. Heidi was forthcoming with opinions if an essay lacked substance but always gave me the option to choose whatever topic I chose. I really appreciated her thoughts and took her edits very seriously. I'd highly recommend working with Heidi on your MBA essays.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Heidi Wiese Granner
The Beginning:
Once I decided I wanted to apply to the top full-time MBA programs, I reached out to several highly-rated admissions consulting firms. After numerous conversations and profile evaluations, I chose to work with Heidi. To me, Heidi checked all the boxes and more: MBA grad (Chicago Booth), admissions committee experience (Chicago Booth), impressive background (MBB consulting), and exceptional reviews. But most importantly, during our initial phone call, I felt a strong connection with Heidi and believed she had a genuine interest in me and my goals.
Working with Heidi:
Heidi did an excellent job of turning what can be an overwhelming process into a manageable game plan. She was with me every step of the way. When we were brainstorming for essay content, she left no stone unturned. Her feedback on my essays, resume, and short answers was clear and invaluable. She was also a terrific mock interviewer. Additionally, Heidi suggested certain activities that I believe helped strengthen my candidacy.
For me, the MBA journey has been a time of deep reflection. I felt very comfortable working with Heidi and never had second thoughts about running an idea by her or sharing a story I never told anyone. In fact, she now probably knows me better than most of my friends do!
The Result:
I was accepted to my dream school (M7) and will be attending this fall! I truly believe Heidi helped maximize my chances of getting into an MBA program. Heidi is not only an amazing admissions consultant, but also an incredible mentor and person. I feel very fortunate to have worked with her. I highly recommend Heidi!
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Heidi Wiese Granner
I worked with Heidi Granner during the Fall 2018 application cycle. I purchased the "start-to-finish" package for four schools and it was the best investment I have ever made.
Heidi was extremely easy to work with, always available, and turned documents around promptly - often before the official turnaround window. Her feedback was always clear and insightful. The MBA application process can be brutal, and working with Heidi made the process significantly less stressful. I am extremely thankful to have worked with her.
In brainstorming and writing essays Heidi was invaluable in helping me to clarify my thinking and find my unique stories/experiences. When it came time to interview she had me better prepared than I could have ever hoped for. Overall, Heidi was a crucial partner in my MBA journey and I absolutely could not have done it without her.
Thanks to Heidi I will be attending my dream school, HBS, this fall.
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Heidi Wiese Granner
I am in the unique position of having had the chance to work with Heidi twice on MBA applications (once for full time programs and once for part time programs). Prior to working with Heidi, I had elected to work with a "budget" (but still not cheap) service that did not provide the high level of service I would have expected.
While applying to full time programs a few years ago, I worked with Heidi on an entire three school package and added two additional schools via hourly services. Heidi provided good constructive criticism throughout the process. She was quick to provide responses, positive, and extremely knowledgeable. Over the course of working with Heidi, my essays evolved immensely, creating a cohesive and compelling story. Without Heidi's guidance, I would have never been as successful in my application process as I was (I was invited to interview at all five schools I applied to, interviewed and was accepted at one, and decided to cancel the remaining interviews). Unfortunately, due to work circumstances I decided not to enroll in a full time program.
Thus, a few years later when I decided to apply to part time programs I did my best to track Heidi down in order to build upon our past experiences and work with her again. Once again, she was prompt and provided good criticism while helping me quickly and efficiently craft new applications from my old and some new material. With her help I was admitted to both programs I applied to.
Overall, Heidi challenged me throughout the process and not only helped my applications evolve but helped me become better as well. Without her assistance, I would have never been able to develop the well-rounded applications I ended up submitting.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Heidi Wiese Granner
Applied to 5 different schools, four among them were part of the elite M7 group. Not a single ding. Invited to interview from all five of them! Now, I am on my way to enroll at my dream school, Chicago Booth! Yes, my decision to work with Heidi turned out to be a killer deal for me. But the problem with quoting just impressive statistics like these is that they are but a snapshot of a nearly year-long process and very often don’t exactly reveal the entire story. Heidi made me realize that success rates alone don’t define a consultant. It is the experience that counts. Working with Heidi was one of the best and most memorable part of my entire application journey and when I say this I am least guided by the end results. It was a realization that hit me barely a couple of weeks after I started working with her. Patient, diligent, considerate, accommodative, and I can go on with more and more adjectives to describe her. But above all, it was her comforting presence and her cheery outlook that made me feel so self-assured. At no point during the entire process did I even have an iota of doubt about the outcome. Being an Indian male with an engineering background, it was supposed to be insanely difficult to differentiate me from the entire applicant pool. But Heidi managed to do exactly that in style. I still remember the very first call we had, when Heidi, after having read my entire biography, zeroed in on seemingly inconsequential stories of my life as must-haves in all my application essays to differentiate myself from the Indian applicant pool. That statement from her stands out as a remarkable prophecy today. And it was not just about creating quality essays. Being a Booth graduate herself and having been a consultant at one of the Big 3 consulting firms, she’s not just an admissions consultant but a perfect mentor to guide you in your post-MBA goals. I can confidently state today that my business education journey started the very same day I started working with Heidi. Long story short, if you are ever looking for a person who would go beyond being just an admissions consultant and stay with you as a friend/mentor/counsellor to guide you and steer you through the rigorous application process then Heidi is the one you should be looking for. I have extremely fond memories of my application journey only because of Heidi and they are mine to cherish forever!
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Heidi Wiese Granner
I was incredibly fortunate to work with Heidi Granner on my business school applications. I purchased the start-to-finish package for two schools, which I used to apply to HBS and Stanford GSB. With Heidi’s help, I was accepted to both, and this fall will be attending my dream program, Stanford GSB.
A bit of profile background on me: I am a white male working in finance (two years in IBD followed by two years in PE); 3.9 GPA; 730 GMAT.
Going into the application process, I knew one of my biggest challenges would be distinguishing myself within a highly overrepresented pool of applicants - white males working in finance. Heidi offered invaluable advice that helped me craft my unique story. As with any mbaMission pair, Heidi and I kicked off our partnership with a brainstorming session. I was skeptical going into the session that I would come out of it feeling good about my essay topics (after all, this was our very first call), but two hours later I had outlines for each one. I was blown away by Heidi’s perceptiveness in picking up on common themes across my life and developing them into powerful stories I hadn’t considered.
Heidi is incredibly easy to get along with. Applying for MBA programs is a fairly emotional process - applications force you to dig deep and show a vulnerable side of yourself on paper. Heidi’s friendly and approachable demeanor made this process much more comfortable. She was easy to open up to, which allowed me to probe topics I otherwise wouldn’t have considered and write about myself and my goals in an honest way.
Heidi’s feedback on my essays and resume was always prompt and clear, allowing me to efficiently edit my materials throughout the process. We stuck to each deadline she set, and she graciously made herself available for ad hoc calls. In what can often be a hectic and stressful process, I never once felt like I couldn’t rely on Heidi to provide timely, thoughtful feedback.
All of this is to say that you will get far more than your money’s worth working with Heidi. She was an invaluable guide and sounding board to me. While I’m happy to be done with the application process, I will truly miss our partnership together, and I couldn’t have accomplished what I did without her. I cannot recommend Heidi highly enough!