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Jessica Shklar Reviews

Company: mbaMission

After graduating from Harvard College with a degree in anthropology, Jessica Shklar worked in nonprofit education, first doing curriculum development for an adult education center and then in the admissions office of a small university in Los Angeles, where she advised applicants to both the undergraduate college and several graduate programs, including business school. While there, she developed and delivered workshops around the country on Selecting the Right College and How to Write an Effective Application Essay. Having been accepted to every business school to which she applied, including Stanford, Kellogg and Yale, Jessica ultimately chose to attend HBS, where she completed her MBA with distinction (graduating in the top 10%). After starting work, she volunteered in the New York City public school system, helping high school seniors with their college applications. She has worked at several Fortune 100 companies, including American Express and JPMorgan Chase, where she was the quality leader and a senior vice president for Chase Home Finance. Jessica is also a Six Sigma Master Black Belt, with specific expertise in Six Sigma deployment and initialization.

Source: http://www.mbamission.com/about/?display=team&name=jessica-shklar

5.0 /5 Average Rating
Based on 214 reviews
February 24, 2019
2ndhalf

Joined: Apr 04, 2018

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

You Need Admission Consulting Service Even You Are Senior Management

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My daughter recommended Jessica to me. At first I thought that I did not need consulting service because I had more than 20 years business leadership experience in top global IT companies in SAP, Oracle, Dell, Fujitsu, Compaq and DEC. After first 30 minutes call with her, Jessica changed my opinion completely. She reviewed my profile with very much deeper insights. She supported me to know more about who I am, what I want and how I should do for my goal. And she recommended several programs fitted to me shortly after our talk. I am very impressive in her rich experience and expertise in admission consulting and her quick and strategic thinking and professional consulting methodology. Then I purchased Jessica’s hourly services and experienced more about Jessica’s great value to my application and career development. I believe, I could not get offer from London Business School “Sloan Master in Leadership and Strategy” without Jessica’s strong and prompt supports. After I joint the Sloan program, I found that more that 60% of our classmates are master holder and there are several PhD holders. More of classmates have more than 20 years management experience. Jessica supported me to analysis my strength and weakness, how to present myself, how to write well essay in short time. My recommend to other EMBA, Sloan program and executive program applicants is that Jessica’s excellent consulting service is valuable to your time and money although you are senior and experienced in business management.

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February 23, 2019
Ricky8908

Joined: Mar 14, 2016

Posts: 6

Kudos: 0

Got into my dream school - never thought it was possible!

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I highly recommend working with Jessica if you're looking to apply to business school. She got me into my dream school, and I genuinely wouldn't have gotten in without her guidance. Here's how it played out:

I decided to apply to R2 on a whim, and reached out to Jessica for an initial consult. During our first call, Jessica sought to genuinely understand why I was applying to business school, and what factors differentiated me from the rest of the applicants.

Over the next few months, Jessica acted as a thought-partner in every step of the application process. She would help distill and curate my essays, refine my resume, and even helped me prep for interviews. I was constantly emailing Jessica with questions, and she was exceptionally responsive.

The result was me getting into my #1 school (which I wasn't even going to apply to as I didn't see myself as competitive)! There is no question that Jessica helped make my application much more compelling. If you're thinking about that dream school, go with Jessica.

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February 22, 2019
lilian0226

Joined: Feb 22, 2019

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Recommend Jessica

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I have worked with Jessica for more than a year for my MBA application and re-application. Compared to other consultants I worked with, she has been an outstanding admission consultant. She is very interested in learning about my stories, and provides valuable insights on how my stories can fit into essays. Also, with extensive experience in admission consulting, she shares specific knowledge about the business programs I'm interested in, and gives specific suggestions about the schools. I would not image how my application will look like without her assistance. Jessica's help is very much appreciated. I would recommend her without any hesitation!

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February 22, 2019
romnico1

Joined: Feb 22, 2019

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
680 Q49 V34

A Simple Choice: The Best !

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For my MBA Application process, I simply wanted the best. From the get-go when I had my first consultation with Jessica in 2017, I sensed a connection with the person which would become my mentor. At the time Jessica was already fully booked and so combined with her recommendations to improve on my test score as well as wanting to work with her I delayed my application to 2018.

Even before I started working with her she would keep communication with me to follow-up on our first conversation and on how have I had improved since. This behavior, combined with many other exceeded my expectations, I felt she truly cared and was committed to help me at building the best application I could ever present. And so, I took the Complete Start-to-Finish Package for three (TOP 10) MBA Schools.

I knew that my case was challenging as an international coming from an unusual background with a mix of professional experience, and in addition my GMAT score (just below 700) was not my stronger aspect. Nevertheless, I trusted Jessica, she knew exactly what to do and was with me throughout the whole process. Jessica‘s personality is straight to the point, there is no waste of time, and she will tell you when things are not right, she definitely puts the time (going over nine drafts for one of the essays), and is pretty much always available (I remember sending her a quick question e-mail at midnight and couple minutes later receiving an answer – WOW!). She is knowledgeable and knows how to help you build the best story of yourself.

I realize that having a consultant for MBA applications is expensive and so before making such commitment make sure that you do your research, for me it was simple, I wanted to be with the greatest, that is why I chose Jessica and the results speak for themselves! I have been accepted to my second and third choice (both Top 10) with a +50% scholarship at both, and I am interviewed at my number 1 choice (which was a huge reach considering my scores).

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February 22, 2019
queenpoet

Joined: Jan 18, 2018

Posts: 7

Kudos: 4

Self-reported Score:
730 Q47 V44

Would do it again in a heartbeat

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I feel very fortunate to have worked with Jessica Shklar from MBA Mission this year. She was kind, direct and helpful from the start and I don't think I would have survived the grueling admissions process without her. Beginning with our 30 minute consultation, she helped me to understand what made me unique and how to bring my previous experiences together into a cohesive and powerful story. She helped me substantially with the essays and short answers, and helped me feel confident with the package I put together. She was also prompt in answering any question I had, no matter how small. I would not hesitate to work with Jessica again and have already recommended her to close friends who are considering applying to MBA programs.

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February 22, 2019
laughrjk11

Joined: Feb 22, 2019

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Wouldn't be here without her

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Before Jessica I was like a lost duck. I had no idea what I should be doing to prepare my application for business school and I had no idea how to navigate the entire process. Luckily, I contacted her far enough in advance so that we could discuss a plan. After our initial discussion I was definitely overwhelmed by how much I needed to do but at the same time Jessica made it all seem much more manageable and took much of the stress out of the process. I came in with a low GPA so I really didn’t have that high of expectations. Jessica helped me to formulate my story in a way that brought out the best aspects of myself that I hadn’t even considered. Yes, she was fantastic at helping me bring out my voice in my essays and preparing me for my interviews but it was the discussions with her about my life experiences that really stood out to me. She forced me to be introspective in a way that I had never been and helped me to take a hard look at my life and relate my past experiences to what I wanted to do moving forward. Without her I would have never even known where to start. People say “you don’t know what you don’t know” and with the application process this was very true for me. I went from having low expectations to getting a scholarship to a top 5 school. Jessica, THANK YOU!

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February 22, 2019
ajp429

Joined: Feb 22, 2019

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
700 Q48 V38

Jessica Shklar mbaMission

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To say that Jessica Shklar made miracles to get me into Wharton, Colombia and Yael is an understatement, I am an out of the box non-traditional applicant to say the least. I have severe dyslexia with middle of the pack scores. Jessica found the diamond in the rough fleshed out what turned out to be an incredible story and an undeniably amazing application. It was clear throught the process how much time she was devoting to my application as she knew my story better than me! She was so helpful, professional and kind that I am genuinely sad that the process is over. I look forward to keeping in touch with my new friend.

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February 22, 2019
tkmba

Joined: May 20, 2018

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Jessica is amazing!

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Jessica was critical in my admission to HBS—I truly feel I couldn’t have done it without her. I first spoke to Jessica during a 30 minute free consultation (I did these with all of the major companies). Right off the bat I felt Jessica truly believed in me, was my main cheerleader, and was invested in making me successful.

I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better experience working with Jessica. I was very daunted by the business school application process and how to tell my story (I had a series of jobs that seemed unrelated on paper and wasn’t sure about my career goals). I was blown away by our first brainstorming session—Jessica has the unique ability to ask the right questions and is a gifted story teller—I left our first brainstorming session with a clear story and direction for my HBS essay (none of which I had planned to write about!)

Jessica reviewed every word on my application including my resume, essays, and short answer with incredible detail and care. Her promptness and thoughtfulness while editing were simply incredible—she pushed me to think, clarify my goals, and suggested major improvements, all while preserving my voice. She kept me on track and stopped me from second guessing myself, all while making sure I was truly proud of and happy with every single thing I turned into the schools.
Once the applications were all submitted and I heard back regarding interviews, Jessica was critical in helping me prep for those as well.

I give Jessica my highest possible recommendation—she’s sincere, cares about her clients, and extremely good at what she does. Thank you so much, Jessica! I really appreciate it!

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April 30, 2018
nixx89

Joined: Sep 11, 2015

Posts: 0

Kudos: 0

Verified GMAT Classic score:
640 Q44 V34

Jessica is Outstanding

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I cannot express how deeply grateful I am to Jessica for supporting me through the entire MBA process – from the brainstorming sessions, to the essays, and interviews and perhaps more importantly, the life changing conversations. If there is one thing that I can say for certain it is that applying to an MBA program is a journey and not a destination. What Jessica excels at is really allowing you to find your story and craft your journey. There were multiple points in this process where I had to deeply reflect on what my deepest priorities were and Jessica was masterful in helping me through this thinking. In addition, she is an exceptional writer who really simplifies complexity, whilst preserving the integrity of your thinking. As i reflect on my time working with Jessica, I am confident that she has made me a better story teller, but I am as grateful for her endless curiosity, desire and commitment to stretch my thinking, find my deepest values and express them with clarity.

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April 28, 2018
logan395

Joined: Dec 11, 2012

Posts: 2

Kudos: 0

Best in the business!

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Going into the application process, I honestly felt like my profile was fairly mediocre for the schools I was targeting. As a white male from the finance industry and working at a largely unknown company, the competition was abundant/tough and my numbers weren’t anything special. Like many, I was initially reluctant to use a consultant because of the cost; there’s no doubt it’s a big decision. But a good friend referred me to Jessica and told me she was the best in the business and that I had to work with her. The opportunity to go to a top b-school is once in a lifetime and I’d seen it open incredible opportunities for others, so I figured I’d give it my best shot and try to get any edge I could in the application process. After all, I’d already committed to the idea of leaving the workforce for two years and spending my life savings (plus some) on school itself – so might as well do it right.

Now at Columbia Business School, I’m still pinching myself because just a few years ago this didn’t seem like a possibility. And I can say with great certainty that it wouldn’t have been without Jessica’s help. Jessica helped me tell my story in a way that took my borderline profile and made it a standout one. She’s passionate about getting the best out of her clients, and she understands the application process and the perspective of admissions committees better than anyone. Always a straight shooter, she’ll constantly push you and tell you exactly what you need to hear. It wasn’t always fun or comfortable, but I wouldn’t have wanted to do it any other way because it resulted in the best possible application. She’s truly as invested in your success as you are at each and every step of the process – she was just as excited as I was when I got accepted to Columbia. In retrospect, I can’t believe I ever considered going through the application process by myself. If your dream is to attend a top business school but you think it might be a bit of a stretch, then I can not recommend Jessica enough.

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