Helen Summers Reviews

Last year, I decided to apply for MBA programs in the US. However, as a French engineer, I didn’t know much about the application process. I had no friends or family with an MBA, so I was getting into complete unknown territory here. After reviewing all the requirements (GMAT, TOEFL, essays, extracurricular, recommendations, transcripts,…), I knew that I definitely needed help to succeed.

I found out about admission consultants on the Internet and scheduled free consultations with the biggest admissions consultant businesses. After few calls, I wasn’t very enthusiast as they only focused on my GMAT/TOEFL score (700/102) and my target schools. I finally scheduled a free consultation with Helen Summers from mbamission. It was completely different as she was genuinely interested in me and my story. I immediately knew I wanted to work with her. I chose to go with the 4-schools « Start to Finish » package. I ended up getting admission offers from 3 schools from the top 15, one with a scholarship.

Here’s few adjectives to describe the amazing experience of working with Helen :

- Demanding : The first few weeks, we brainstormed and discussed for hours about my background and my work experience to identify inspirational stories that could be used in my essays. I think this initial brainstorming was essential as it provided solid grounds for the my applications. She really pushed me to clarify my goals and deepen my story. (Why an MBA? Why now ? Why these schools ?) Helen didn’t want to settle for generic answers and I had to devote a lot of time to introspection in order to have a compelling story to tell.

- Responsive : Helen was very responsive in reading my drafts, adding comments, and sending them back always within 48 hours, sometimes on Sunday !! When I needed to schedule a call or ask specific questions, she always reached back very quickly. When we had to schedule mock interviews in January/February, she was available and always very punctual.

- Honest : All along, she offered me very honest and but constructive feedbacks. As a non-native English speaker, I definitely needed help to produce high quality essays and she didn’t miss to point out things that she didn’t like or understand (words, ideas, or a turns of phrase,…) I wrote between 5 to 8 drafts for each essay and I’m really proud of what we delivered. Helen also did a great job in preparing me for the interviews. The questions she asked me during mock interviews were spot on and the real interviews went very smoothly with no big surprise thanks to her.

- Kind and warm : Helen has been very supportive during the few months we worked together. I really enjoyed the time we spent on Skype during brainstorming sessions, essay reviews, or mock interviews. She is not only a great professional but also a very kind person that makes you feel supported in this long and stressful process.

In a nutshell, I definitely recommend Helen to anyone considering applying for an MBA, especially international applicants like me. I wouldn’t have done it without her !!

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Helen was honest and ended up being very accurate about my chances of admissions for the schools I was looking to apply to. She is easy to talk to and has a tough love approach which pushed me to put forward the best application possible. I also had a low undergrad GPA and Helen knew how I could shape my application to put my best foot forward.

She was extremely timely with her responses and it was easy to set time with her to ask any question I had throughout the process. She always had answers and never steered me wrong!

A few HUGE value adds stand out to me:

1. During the brainstorming sessions, when I would get stuck, she always had ideas and examples that got my brain churning. She was honest with feedback about stories and experiences that I came up with which really helped me shape my essays/interview answers.
2. For interviews, she had great advice on how to prepare, tweak answers and make a good impression. With her help, I was confident for the in person interviews which, I believe, made a big difference.
3. Throughout the time I was wait-listed, I was in constant communication with admissions. She helped me come up with talking points for in person admissions meetings and she helped me approach every email and update. All of this really helped me get noticed and I came off the wait-list quickly.

All in all, I don't know if I would be starting at my dream school in the fall without her and I am so thankful.

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I worked with Helen Summers as part of a successful Round 1 admissions cycle for three top-tier schools. I made the decision to apply rather late (end of July) and Helen helped me cull my list to my top schools so I could dedicate the appropriate amount of focus to them, worked with me to find my story, told me the blunt truths about my essay drafts, and assisted my preparation for the interviews. She was tremendously fun to work with and did not shy away from providing tough advice, which is exactly what is required. It was an excellent experience.

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Helen Summers was heaven-sent and instrumental in polishing my essays for Rd 1 applications. Her feedback was timely (<24 hr response) and critical when required, allowing me to refine final drafts. Her experience in the industry is clearly evident as her approach/feedback for each school was tailored accordingly. With 2 hrs of time, we were able to work on essay entries for 3 schools and complete a resume review. Helen surpassed all of my expectations. She was approachable and professional in all my interactions [called me on my BS at times too, which I needed :) ]. I highly, highly recommend working with Helen and mbaMission!

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If you are looking to get into your target schools, but feel overwhelmed by the process and you need to get organized and motivated, I recommend working with Helen. She helped me get into 4 MBA programs including a full-ride scholarship to NYU Stern and a 3/4 of a scholarship at MIT Sloan.

A year ago I connected with different consultants (within mbaMission and with other firms) about my target schools and Helen proved to be the most qualified and most motivated willing to help me achieve my goals. I was struggling with a low GPA and an average Gmat, but Helen helped me make my application that much stronger by showing me how to effectively highlight the points I was trying to get across to admissions. Furthermore, Helen was very patient throughout the entire process, she genuinely cared about my success. She also polished my resume and interviewing skills. In the end I thought she was very responsive to any questions and/or concerns, extremely thorough in her feedback, and very experienced in the application process.

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When I first started the process of applying to business school I was really unsure if I wanted to use a consultant. Between GMAT prep class fees and travel expenses to visit schools, the cost of applying to business school adds up quickly and I wasn't sure if a consultant would be worth the cost. Since I knew people that had gone through the process of applying to business school, I had a solid understanding of the work needed to complete an application but I really needed a top consultant to help me craft my story and write strong essays...at least I thought that was all I needed.

Helen was recommended to me and after our first conversation, I knew I made the right choice. She helped me pull out the elements of my story that embodied who I was the most and pushed me to dig deeper whenever I got lazy in my writing. At times, I was so frustrated with the process I was ready to stop and Helen always lovingly brought me back on track and helped me create a plan to make the process less stressful. She provided edits and ideas very quickly and was always responsive whenever I got stuck. She also did a mock interview with me (with specific questions about my background) and coached me on how to give strong and thoughtful answers. Needless to say, many of the questions she asked me were exactly the questions I was asked in my real interview. Her mock interview was excellent preparation for the real thing.

In general, I saw Helen as more than just my admissions consultant, she was also my cheerleader and part time life coach. LOL I truly felt like she was invested in my success and because of her guidance and extreme talent in bringing out the best in people, I was admitted to several schools and will start at Stanford this fall. I couldn't be more excited! :)

I definitely recommend Helen as a top business school consultant. Thank you to her and the entire mbaMission team for helping me to achieve this dream!

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If you are thinking about applying to business school, and have the means to hire an MBA consultant, I would highly recommend not only choosing mbaMission, but going with Helen Summers.

As I begin my MBA application journey, I quickly realized how incredibly competitive the admissions process has become in today’s world, and I decided to hire a consultant in order to gain every possible edge. When choosing a consultant, I was looking for a few things: (1) excellent reputation, (2) full-service treatment (i.e. not only would look at essays but would review resume, recommendation letters, short answers, etc.), and (3) someone who had an MBA so they could prove that they went through the process themselves and could speak from experience. I landed on mbamission as they satisfied my first two specifications with the most highly rated reviews, and ended up working with Helen due to her familiarity with my top choice (Kellogg) as well as her excellent pedigree and the connection we quickly formed over the phone during our initial phone conversation.

Helen and I worked closely together for over 2 months on my Kellogg application. Using the “full consulting package”, we created a schedule for my application, including self-imposed due dates and regular check-ins. We did a thorough examination of my brainstorming document (a differentiator of mbamission and an extremely useful tool) and worked together on every part of my application. She was very timely and thorough with her feedback (always within the 2 day turnaround outside of holidays), and was always suggesting things that could make my application more competitive. She challenged me when she believed my writing could be improved, and her advice was very trustworthy. Above all, she was honest with me throughout the entire process. She did not sugarcoat anything, and that’s what made our relationship so sincere and cohesive.

The beauty of working with a consultant is the air cover that they provide you as well as the constant set of “well trained” eyes on your materials. Helen did this in spades and helped me achieve my goal of being admitted to my dream program. I would recommend her to anyone looking to get a thorough experience out of a MBA consulting partnership. Don’t be afraid of the sticker price…it will be worth the reward if you are willing to commit the time, energy, and enthusiasm.

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I had the extreme pleasure of working with Helen on my Round 2 applications for 4 business schools. I chose to purchase the start to finish package for all schools, as I knew I needed tremendous support. I would highly recommend Helen to those considering hiring a consultant for the application process.

I was a non-traditional applicant with little understanding of the differences in MBA programs and the amount of work required during the application process. I hired Helen in mid-November to help me through this process. Despite having an accelerated schedule with only about 6-8 weeks to complete my applications, she really took the time to understand my background and experiences. Helen provided great advice on which schools I should be targeting given my background, stats, and interests. She was very realistic with me during my school selection phase by explaining that M7 schools would be reach schools for me, but other top 15 programs would be more reasonable (she was absolutely right).

Helen was always friendly, honest, and genuine in our interaction, especially on essay reviews. She provided great ideas during our brainstorming sessions on topics I could use in my essays and didn’t hesitate to tell me if I needed to shift the direction of an essay after I had completed a draft. She really pushed me to dig deeper and provide specific examples in my essays in order to more clearly define and convey my ideas.

I interviewed at 3 of the 4 schools I applied to and Helen helped me prepare for all 3 through mock interviews. The questions and style of mock interviews were very similar to my actual interviews. Helen was very authentic with me and provided specific feedback on how I could improve my answers during my interviews.

My experience in working with Helen was fantastic and I would recommend her to those looking to get into a top business school. I would not have been accepted to any of the programs I applied to without Helen’s help.

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If you want to get into your dream MBA programs, I highly recommend using Helen Summers from mbaMission. I applied to Cornell, Duke, and Darden and was accepted to all three with a full ride to Cornell and 1/3 tuition scholarship to Duke. Before working with Helen, I did not think it was possible to get into all three schools, let alone with multiple scholarship offers, and I know that would not have been my outcome if I had not worked with Helen.

Helen first encouraged me to retake the GMAT, even though I really did not want to, but I am so glad she pushed me to do so. I then had an acceptable GMAT score and strong GPA, but my work experience was very low (only 2 years).

Helen took the time to get to know me and helped me incorporate things into my essays that I would not have thought to include. She also helped me shape my story, which was very important given I only had two years of work experience and the "Why now?" question was very important to address. My first essay went through over 10 drafts, and the difference between the first draft and the final one was night and day. She also helped me with my women's weekend essays which was a huge help.

The best parts about working with Helen are listed below:

-She is extremely responsive and organized. Her turnaround time with essay drafts was often well within the 48 hour requirement (often even within 24 hours). She sometimes even worked on the weekends so if I sent something to her on Thursday or Friday I would get it back before Tuesday. She responded to emails (quick questions) even faster, typically within a few hours.

-She made the process much less stressful. When I was struggling with an essay topic or unsure about how to ask a question to an admissions person, I simply emailed Helen asking if we could have a quick call. She is so nice and calming, so even just hearing her voice on the other end of the line made me feel much better!

-She provides open and honest constructive feedback. Her comments really made me think and pull out my best experiences to incorporate into my essays. She was also very helpful in cutting out the "fluff" in my essays to help me stay within the word count. In addition, she gave my recommenders feedback on their recommendations and encouraged them to provide stronger examples which helped round out my application.

-She genuinely wants her clients to succeed and will do everything she can to make that possible. She 100% knows what she is doing (the process, the schools), so I completely trusted her advice and feedback.

Again, I would HIGHLY recommend Helen if you want to get into your dream business schools. She went above and beyond my expectations and is well worth the money. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about her and guarantee she will make your application much stronger.

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I can not say enough about my experience working with mbaMission consultant, Helen Summers. Helen came highly recommended from a colleague of mine and surely did not disappoint.

My goal was to gain acceptance to Columbia. I had achieved an acceptable GMAT score but knew I would need to really tell my story in a unique way via the application essays. I was aware of the solid reputation mbaMission had and was recommended to Helen by an HBS colleague of hers. I signed up for hourly services.

I do not come from the typical banking/consulting field and was concerned with how that would show through my application. Helen took the time to get to know me, and helped me to better tell my story, and how the Columbia specifically would help me to achieve my goals.

I thought I would quickly use up the hours that I had purchased but Helen was incredibly efficient in reading my essays, marking them up, and sending back with 1-2 days. She was honest and fair with her time and I actually was amazed with how valuable her feedback was, in such a small allotment of time.

She helped me to cut out the "fluff" and effectively illuminate the points I was trying to get across to the admissions team. I appreciated her candor and honest feedback, and can't say enough about her expertise around the admissions process.

I was accepted to Columbia and am incredibly grateful to Helen for all her help along the way.

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