When I considered taking the first steps in the MBA admissions process, the only word that accurately describes my feelings at the time is “intimidated.” From reading online posts about the process to talking with others who had gone through it, it felt as if everyone had some great story, some “golden ticket,” that I simply didn’t have. I didn’t come from a traditional finance or consulting background, was not sure my academics were up to snuff, and genuinely felt overwhelmed by the prospect of researching schools, writing essays, and soliciting recommendations. I decided to request a free consultation with mbaMission given that extremely positive feedback on their consultants was pretty universal.

When I met with Jen, I immediately felt at ease. I shared my general sense of trepidation, and she immediately, even during a 30-minute consultation, asked questions about my professional and personal background that forced me to understand that every person has a valuable story that is worth telling. Her natural ability to make me feel confident in the story I could tell, without creating unrealistic expectations on admissions results, was critical in my decision to work with her.

Throughout working together, from a 2.5-hour brainstorming session to (many), “Hey Jen – I’ve got a quick question” emails, Jen always made me feel like I deserved to be part of the MBA admissions process – like I deserved to participate and give it my best shot. She did this by always making time for me, by answering my questions both promptly and thoroughly and never giving the impression that I was just “one of many clients.” During our brainstorming session, for example, she asked questions that forced me to think about how very personal details of my upbringing that I had shared with her impacted the way I approached a project at work that I had mentioned. She is able to make this less-than-obvious connection and ask these types of questions because she genuinely cares about her clients as people and is committed to their success.

In terms of essay and interview preparation, Jen forced me to critically analyze each school’s essay prompts to figure out what from my story would naturally fit into what they were looking to learn about a candidate, as opposed to forcing something unnatural in for the sake of trying to impress them. Her comments on my essay and resume drafts were always precise and actionable – they allowed me to move forward and make improvements as opposed to creating additional questions for the sake of asking more questions. Her feedback on mock interviews was similar – “You discussed Topic X well – go into that more” or “Try to phrase Topic Y differently.” Her feedback was always valuable, well thought-out, and allowed me to make meaningful improvements.

Jen’s action and people-oriented approach immediately made me realize I had a worthwhile story to tell. I went into the process and applied to five schools, hoping to get interview invites from one or two at best. With Jen’s help, I received invites at each of these five, including three M7 schools. In the end, I was accepted into four of the five schools, including two M7’s (one of which was my top choice) and two others with significant scholarships. I am extremely thankful for Jen’s guidance and support and wholeheartedly recommend her for others looking to put their best foot forward in the MBA admissions process.

Read More

I worked with Jen Kedrowski from MBA mission to get her consultation on my MBA essays for my application to Duke's Fuqua school of business (Weekend MBA program).
Firstly, she is very personable and easy to approach. She is an extremely talented essay writer and I got a feeling that she is partnering with me through my application and not just someone who provides an hourly service.
I interviewed multiple other companies and individuals before I chose Jen to partner with me for delivering an effective personal message to the admissions committee. A couple of key differentiating factors as to why I chose her are - she adopts a personable and caring approach than a corporate approach, she was able to state clearly on what and when she can deliver based on my expectations and my friend recommended her. She holds on to her delivery commitments until the application is submitted and after.
I got her help on my essays and resume - 30-minute brainstorming and 2.5 hours for the essay and resume edits.
I provided a lot of material on my essays - personal and work-related accomplishments. She helped prioritize and on certain occasions asked good questions to get to the root of the why I did that activity to be able to succinctly and effectively deliver the message to the admissions committee.
I reviewed her work with alumni from Duke and they were impressed with the message delivery as well.
Hence, this recommendation is not only coming from me but also from university graduates from high ranking universities. I would definitely recommend her for her essay and resume writing/ editing skills.

Read More

I had the pleasure of working with Jen in 2015 for my MBA applications. I give her credit for helping me get into my number one choice, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Jen gives great advice on essays and general MBA application strategy in general. On top of that she is very friendly and easy to work with. I consider my MBA an investment so I wanted to get into the best school I could and therefore chose to use MBA Mission to make sure my applications were the best they could be. The services are not cheap but they are worth it because better schools offer a better return on investment so swallow your pride, get out your check book, and use Jen, you won’t regret it.

Read More

Jen provided really helpful feedback on essays and and my mock interview, helping me hone my story and tell it in a concise and compelling way. Our communication was mostly by email and she was always quick to respond.

If I had to offer one piece of constructive feedback, it's that I think Jen could have pushed me even harder by being more frank with her comments on the content of my essays. Her feedback on structure, wording, etc. was spot on, but I found several friends and family members who weren't afraid to tell me I had missed the mark in my response to a prompt and that I needed to alter my overall approach. In hindsight, I think Jen was a bit more forthcoming with feedback like this. (Important note, this may be a result that I was using Jen on an hourly basis, so she admittedly didn't know me as well as she might have if we were working together more extensively).

Read More

Working with Jen on my MBA apps was an absolute pleasure. She came highly recommended, as she worked with my wife on her apps two years ago, and exceeded even those high expectations.

I had a solid GMAT score coming in, and was relatively confident in my ability as a writer, so I was very much on the fence about engaging with an MBA consultant. However, from the moment I had my 30 minute consultation with Jen, I was sold. I can confidently say, working with Jen was absolutely worth the fees (I credit working with her for a substantial scholarship I received from my top M7 choice, which paid for every penny of her fee many times over).

Jen began by talking through my MBA goals, and discussing the various schools on my list. I had a few ideas re: potential essay topics, and she walked through the pros and cons of each, along with some suggestions for how to brainstorm my story.

Once I engaged with her (i.e. after the free consultation), she set up aggressive but achievable deadlines to ensure I got my apps submitted in time, and helped keep me on track throughout. Her encouragement was invaluable as I got through the (often quite emotionally involved) brainstorming process, and her critical eye helped me focus my thoughts into several cogent essays. Right up till the moment I hit submit, she helped me fine tune my apps, with the result I could rest easy after the apps flew out the door, knowing they were as good as they could possibly be.

I engaged with Jen in mid-November, and had my apps done before Christmas. After Christmas when I found out my interviews were happening, she went well above and beyond to help prep me for my interviews and put me on the path to success. Even after I got in, she stayed in touch, helping me source pre-MBA programs run by the top firms in the field I am interested in getting into.

Jen truly was a trusted friend to me throughout the MBA app process, using her experience to quell any stress I felt at any stage of the process. I very strongly recommend speaking with her if you have any interest at all in getting into a top MBA program.

Read More

I graduated from a non-target Bachelor's programme (uni is ranked 551-600 worldwide on QS) from a developing Asian country. I also had a months-long gap on my CV, and absolutely no idea on how to achieve my dream of breaking into the Russell Group. With just 5 hours of consulting time, she got me through multiple essay drafts, gave input on my short answers, and even gave me 1 interview dress rehearsal. From this standing start, I got into LBS.

Screw LSE and Imperial; I somehow found myself in the best UK school possible, in my context as a pre-experience student.

Jen Kedrowski is competent, knowledgeable about her domain (UK schools), and generally fair when it comes to billing her hours.

Don't trust the process; trust in Jen.

Read More

Initially I felt a little intimidated by the idea of working with an MBA admission consultant because I knew that MBA application process is all about deep self-reflection and authentic storytelling. I was not sure if I could truly open up myself to and go through the process with someone I did not know before. But because mbaMission has a great reputation, I decided to give it a try and called them for a free 30-minute consultation. That then led me to Jen, who completely shaped my MBA application experience!

Jen challenged me to go above and beyond in my applications: The very first essay draft I sent to Jen was Stanford’s classic and difficult essay. Jen sent me her written feedback in 2 days and I was totally amazed by her detailed notes and thoughtful critique. And then she called me to walk me through her notes and guided me to think deeply about the “why” part of the question. I already put some serious thoughts into the essay but Jen encouraged me to dive deeper and taught me how to do so. I knew then I had to get Jen’s help for my other schools and decided to purchase packages for all my others schools with Jen!

Jen was always there for me: I had about 2 months to finish 6 schools’ applications and each of the schools asked for something different in their essays and interviews. And as an international student, I was also worried about messing up those cultural nuances in my applications. Jen helped me with every step for every school including essay brainstorming, essay editing, resume polishing, interview preparation, and an additional scholarship application process for one of the schools. Jen was so knowledgeable, responsive, patient, encouraging and honest that I felt extremely comfortable to ask her any questions and share my thoughts/feelings/concerns. I remember I would call her before my interviews to practice some questions or just chat about the interview, and then walked into every interview feeling very confident and fully prepared. I could not imagine getting such amount of guidance and support from anyone else!

Finally I was admitted to 4 top business schools! I am so grateful for everything Jen did and she means much more than an admission counselor to me – She is a true friend and mentor.

Read More

I used hourly services with Jen and it was immensely helpful in my business school application process and a key contributor to my success in admissions! I was initially hesitant to use an admissions consultant, but set up a free 30 minute consultation at the recommendation of a friend. A few minutes into my consultation, I knew I wanted to work with Jen throughout the application process. Right away, she pulled stories out of me to brainstorm essay ideas and provided great advice on which stories I should use for which applications. She was incredibly knowledgeable about the schools I was applying to and helped me tailor my essays, short responses, and resumes accordingly. I am so glad I made the decision to use mbaMission and I would enthusiastically recommend Jen as an admissions consultant throughout the application process!

Read More

I had the pleasure of working with Jen throughout the duration of my application process to NYU Stern. I was matched with Jen after my free 30min consultation where I explained what my goals were to one of the leaders of mbaMission. Jen proved to be just as good as advertised. She had amazing feedback on all aspects of the application which helped me tell one cohesive story. Her feedback was prompt, helpful, and gave me the boost that I needed to feel confident about my chances of getting admitted to school. As someone that did not have an elite GMAT score, I knew I would need some guidance to make the rest of my application really stand out, and Jen gave me all the tools that I needed. I am so grateful to have worked with her, and would recommend her services to any future MBA applicants looking to get a leg up on the competition.

Read More

I had the pleasure of working with Jen on an hourly basis to help with my MBA applications. I first called Jen for the 30 minute free consultation in a total panic about my future (ha) to which she was not only helpful, but also a friend. Jen and I maximized our hourly services together and her strength was really noticeable in shaping my story into something each b-school I applied to would resonate with. Together we worked on a strategy for schools, essays and applications, and mock interviews. I come from a very technical background (geologist!) and Jen was able to translate my industry specific experiences and jargon into a relatable story for admissions.

Even on an hourly basis, I felt that Jen really knew my story inside and out, and was rooting for me the whole way. She fielded more than a few panicked phone calls/emails during the process (especially after my HBS interview!). But more than a consultant, I feel that Jen was a friend who had been through the process herself in the past, could understand the tough nature of it, and had my back the whole way through. She believed in me when I needed it most.

With Jen, I was invited to interview at 5/6 schools to which I applied, and ultimately was admitted at most of them. I've accepted my offer to attend HBS in the fall and truly couldn't have done it without her.

Read More