| All Reviews > Jessica Shklar > Jessica Shklar Reviews |
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
Jessica was my #1 resource and advocate during the application process. Coming from a non-traditional background was intimidating, as I had no other guidance or friends who had previously applied for MBA programs. Jessica is a wealth of knowledge; from her insights into AdCom to the depth of her essay edits, she guided me every step of the way. Jessica put structure around what can feel like a very daunting process and helped me tell my story in a compelling way. I am thrilled to have gotten into my dream school! I truly could not have gone through this process without her!
REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by school email address [?]
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
To start, Jessica takes the success of her students as truly truly her own. I was shocked by the amount of dedication and energy she brought to presenting my application in the best light, and I can confidently say she does the same for all her students.
Besides having a profound insight into what admission committees are looking for in an applicant, she made it a point to believe in me and my story, allowing me to be proud of my application, and enabling me to put my best foot forward through the entirety of the process.
I applied to H/S/W. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe I’d get into all three. Words cannot express how grateful I am for Jessica’s help – an “admission’s consultant” sure, but also a special friend and coach! If you get the opportunity to work with Jessica, you will find yourself lucky for having done so and thankful you did.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
Jessica was friendly to work with and returned drafts in a timely manner. Would recommend if you are looking for a more structured consultant. Jessica and the mbaMission consultants often work with many clients at any given time and have a process of their own to cycle through drafts and other deliverables. As a result, there is little to no flexibility on deadlines and process standards, but you will be guaranteed to receive feedback by a certain time.
I did appreciate that Jessica would always provide helpful ideas while respecting my decisions to take a different route several times. She was efficient in moving forward rather than debating when time was precious and we had different opinions. As with any process of this nature, expect to take ownership of your work and be realistic even if you are lucky enough to have additional leverage from a consultant.
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Jessica Shklar
Jessica provided invaluable advice throughout the re-application process. She helped me decide which schools to focus on. Jessica was most helpful in reviewing my essays. She was quick to respond and met her deadlines. I am so glad that I got to benefit from working her. I'll be attending at top business program this fall! I would recommend that anybody work with Jessica. She has a special skill for understanding the heart of an applicant's story. As a nontraditional applicant, I felt uniquely supported by Jessica's abilities. She came from the nonprofit education world, as well. Jessica knows how to frame nontraditional stories in a way that speaks to top programs. Thank you Jessica!
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Jessica Shklar
Jessica is an absolute dream to work with. I was extremely impressed by her diligence, organisation and thought that she gave my application. Her input was extremely helpful and extremely timely (something that should not be overlooked, given tight timelines for schools). I think her greatest skill is her input. Not only is it extremely well thought through, but it also is extremely simple to understand and actionable. Yes, MBA applications are stressful particularly when applying to multiple schools, each with tight deadlines, but from the moment we had our introductory call, I felt at ease with Jessica and knew she would help me achieve my goal of getting into my dream school (and she did!). If in doubt, just have the introductory call and you’ll see what i mean.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
mbaMission has a collection of resources, templates and guidelines for its consultants. Its a great company because their standardization and databasing makes it so that a consultant that simply follows instructions and pulls on archived resources would likely be quite helpful. Jessica routinely exceeds the expectations set forth in the agreement by responding faster than prescribed, tailoring the already high quality templates to your story, and straight up creating content when it makes sense. Her veteranship in this space is valuable - anecdotes about past clients and wisdom from discussions with other consultants and adcom personnel help significantly. She's talented at synthesizing what she learns about you to help you answer the questions that these applications pose
REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by score report [?]
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
Jessica must be one of the best admissions consultants out there. I came to her after an unsuccessful application process, and over the course of the ensuing year, she helped me to drastically improve my admissions story and my application materials to tell it.
Jessica works as a consultant full-time, which I strongly recommend over part-time consultants. Jessica will be your most valuable counsel and sounding board throughout, and she will ensure every word of your application helps to present the most compelling version of yourself. Along the way, she’ll also help you clarify and focus your own goals and plans. Additionally, the mbaMission team has a wealth of resources and knowledge that are available to you. Jessica is a valuable investment and I encourage you to consider working with her on your admissions journey.
Jessica knows the business school scene like the back of her hand and can also help you with joint degree programs too (e.g., MBA/MPP). Her depth and range of expertise will be especially valuable to you. Even if you think you have your plan figured out, you may surprise yourself. When I made a pivot mid-cycle on the type of joint degree program I was pursuing, Jessica was able to pivot with me and continue to guide me. I cannot over-emphasize the value of having an all-around elite consultant to manage through the many twists and turns you could encounter.
From start to finish, Jessica brought me into her world of professional admissions coaching and support. She has an extensive, organized process that sets clear expectations for her and for you and ensures everything gets done on schedule. Your engagement with Jessica begins with a rigorous brainstorming period involving detailed questions to help you gather the stories and experiences that will inform your application, which also helps Jessica really get to know you as a person. Then, you should expect to spend much of your time going back and forth with Jessica on essays. As application deadlines and interviews come up, you’ll have specific instructions to follow in order to ensure you submit a strong overall package and that you are prepared for the next steps. Throughout, Jessica is honest and direct, while still maintaining a comfortable and trusting space for you and her to work together on your grad school undertaking.
Jessica is very knowledgable and passionate about her work — a critical combination that you should demand from an admissions consultant. She is a talented strategist who can walk you through important decisions during your application process, such as recommender choices and more. Jessica even helped me evaluate whether to accept a new job I was offered during my application process. Jessica and her colleagues at mbaMission are a great resource for the latest thinking from admissions committees and accurate news/chatter on relevant developments in the world of admissions. Having access to good counsel and intelligence will only help your applications.
Importantly, Jessica and the mbaMission team do this job full-time…unlike many consultants who do admissions consulting part-time. I strongly encourage you to select a full-time consultant, like Jessica.
For anyone on the fence about whether or not to hire an admissions consultant, I encourage you to consider all the costs that go into graduate school, and that you think about paying for admissions consulting as a (relatively small) part of that overall cost. Hopefully, it will help you get into your top school; if not, at least you won’t have lingering doubts about whether you could’ve done more. Even before receiving my admissions decisions from schools, I was very pleased with Jessica’s efforts because I knew she helped me prepare the best possible version of my application.
If you are considering hiring a consultant to help you apply to grad school, I strongly recommend Jessica — commit to her early, before her spots fill up! She is someone you want on your side. Jessica has been a true partner on my application journey. I will be forever thankful to Jessica for helping me achieve one of my dreams.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
Before deciding to work with Jessica, I had free consultations with other admissions consulting firms. I left all these consultations disappointed - they didn't provide any valuable advice and most of the time discouraged me from applying to my dream schools. And then I came across mbamission, and immediately felt a connection to Jessica after reading her bio on their website (and the reviews on gmatclub)
After my initial, 30-min free consultation with her, I was beyond excited to work with her! The packages were way above my budget, but I took the risk of buying a 3-school package and drowning a big chunk of my savings as an international student from an emerging country. However, I'm glad I did it.
Today I can happily say that working with Jessica was the best decision that I've made in a while. She not only helped me gain admission to Wharton, but she also helped me see the worth in myself. I've now also become more skilled at articulating my thoughts as a non-native English speaker, and this has helped me greatly at work too. I've come to know myself much better, am so much more confident. It's all thanks to Jessica - she had confidence in me, and showed me that I had strengths that I wasn't even aware of before.
A few more things - Jessica doesn't sugarcoat anything, but she'll be your biggest supporter. Whatever you dream of - she'll be there to support you and make sure that you put forward the best application possible. I can't recall the times I've sent her emails at awkward times of the day, about random things that I was freaking out, and she was always there to respond! She almost most of the time responds before the 2-day deadline - I haven't met anyone as committed to her job as she is.
I can't recommend her enough to anyone considering working with an admissions consultant. Jessica will always make you feel as if you're her only client, and will be your best friend throughout this tough process!
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
I worked with Jessica to prepare a R1 application via a 2 school package. The free consultation in the beginning before I even signed up for the package was what sold me. Right from the beginning, she was very straightforward in terms of evaluating my application, and I felt that she was earnest in trying to really give a me a free consultation as opposed to making a sale. She went straight to some crucial questions, and provided insightful initial feedback. Throughout the process, Jessica made the application process much less stressful in the following ways:
1) Very professional and organized, made the 2-business day turnaround with every single e-mail or piece of writing I sent her, no matter how small
2) Multiple edits of an essay until I felt like it was the best expression of my story and message that I could make
3) Insight into applying to b-school from a unique background. Preparing my application with Jessica made me feel confident in my chances despite my background.
4) Review of nearly every single word that I submitted in my application, I truly felt I had another pair of eyes working with me throughout the entire process
5) An extremely helpful mock interview that was very close to the real interview. Provided insightful but realistic advice prior to my interview
6) Extremely supportive throughout the entire process, from creating a story, preparing the rest of the application, the interview process, and the waitlist process. It was always comforting to receive check-in emails throughout the process, including anxiety-ridden days like the day before application submission, day before interview invites, day of interview, waitlist period.
I was waitlisted at my top choice in R1. While discouraged, I received support from Jessica throughout the next grueling few months. She helped me craft an update letter that ultimately led to an acceptance off the waitlist at HBS!
Overall, Jessica was instrumental to my success in this application cycle, and I cannot imagine going through this process without her. I highly recommend applicants to at least schedule a consultation with her to see for yourself the ways that she may be able to help augment your application process. In the grand scheme, the school package was definitely worth it, as it made me feel that she was always on my side working with me to get the best application possible.
REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by score report [?]
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
I cannot understate how important Jessica was to the success I had applying to top programs. Even beginning from our first brainstorming call, I knew she was deeply invested in my success and took the time to get to know me and really understand my story.
Her knowledge of the nuances of individual programs was immensely helpful, and I felt that together we really tailored all of my apps to individual school values. Jessica is an excellent storyteller/writer/editor and really helped me sharpen my narrative. Her edits, which were often returned ahead of schedule, were always crisp and insightful. I have no doubt that the applications I eventually submitted were far more professional as a result of working with her.
I feel Jessica really stands out in the level of mentorship/support she provides to her clients. Whenever I had a random question about a program or was feeling uncertain about a portion of my app, she would provide thorough guidance via email or pick up the phone at a moment’s notice to guide me.
Overall, I was admitted to 5 M7 programs, including numerous scholarship offers. I firmly believe I would not have had that success if it were not for Jessica and her expert guidance.
I highly recommend working with her. You will not be getting some general, unspecific advice—you will be getting highly tailored, individualized guidance from someone who has an unparalleled amount of industry knowledge and cares deeply about the success of her clients.