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Kate Richardson earned her MBA from the University of
Chicago’s Booth School of Business and has a BS in psychology from the
University of Illinois. After earning her MBA, Kate worked for several years in
management consulting at Axiom Consulting Partners, a boutique strategy
execution firm. Kate’s work at Axiom focused on ensuring that clients had the
right organization and talent in place to execute their business strategies. As
a principal with the firm, she also co-managed its recruiting program,
including hiring MBA interns, and mentored entry-level consultants. While at
Chicago Booth, Kate was actively involved in the Business Solutions Group and
the Dean’s Student Admissions Committee and was also an Admissions Fellow,
reading applications and conducting on-campus interviews. Kate has remained
involved in the Chicago Booth community since graduating by serving as
communications chair for the Booth Alumni Club of DC and as an alumni
admissions interviewer. Before attending business school, Kate worked in human
resources for Pepco Energy Services and KPMG. Kate brings a passion for identifying
and developing future business leaders to her work at mbaMission. Originally
from the Chicago area and having spent most of her professional career in
Washington, DC, Kate now lives in Columbia, South Carolina.
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Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Kate Richardson
At the start of the MBA application process I was really worried about my low GPA. I knew I had a story to explain it, but I felt overwhelmed by how I'd present it and how not to have it sound defensive.
I contacted a few admissions consulting services for free consults and found mbamission to be one of the most thorough. For that reason, I decided to work with mbaMission.
I realised that I was not going to apply for MBA schools again, and so went 'all out' and decided to purchase a 4-school package. Retrospectively, it wasnt absolutely necessary, but I wasn't going to leave anything up to chance.
I was paired with Kate, and from the beginning she was detailed in the strategic approach to my story. And that's really the crux of it -- her ability to help you convey your story in the most enthralling, yet accurate way. I do not believe I could have done this without her help! Kate was responsive and provided great commentary to my story and tailored it well for the different essays and schools.
Of the 4-schools, I was admitted into 2 (one with scholarship). These are two top 15 schools for someone with an equivalent US GPA of approx 2.8 -- not bad!
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Kate Richardson
I am what an Admissions Committee might call an "unconventional" MBA candidate - I took no math classes in college, and my career experience was entirely creative. As a result, I decided that having some sort of professional assistance during the application process to help me construct my narrative was going to be a good decision.
After speaking with a few different consulting companies, I came across mbaMission, and more specifically, Kate Richardson's profile. The reviews for both Kate and the company were overwhelmingly positive, and I was pleased to discover that an "Hourly Services" option was offered at a competitive rate ; I basically knew what I wanted to say in my applications and where I wanted to apply, so I didn't need a "package" deal with tons of additional services. I really just needed an additional form of guidance, and more importantly, a voice of reason.
Once I began working with Kate, I found her to be direct, a clear communicator, realistic about my school prospects, and very fast in responding to my questions (of which I had many!). She didn't try to sell me anything unnecessary, and overall, we created a winning application essay that represented me in my best light.
Ultimately, I earned admission to a Top 25 program, and even received scholarship $$$. There is no question that I couldn't have done it without Kate's professional expertise and moral support through such a grueling application process.
If you'd like to find someone to help you with your MBA applications who is extremely knowledgeable about many different programs and will respond directly to your needs with no time wasted, look no further than Kate Richardson at mbaMission.
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Kate Richardson
I used the hourly service because I mainly need help with proof-reading my essays and finding the right "story" to tell. My consultant has been very responsive to all my questions, and gave many useful comments on where I could provide more context and how I can make the essays clear and powerful. I also used mock group interview service, although it's a bit expensive, it helped to give me an idea of what kind of group dynamic and interaction I expect to experience in the real setting. I appreciate their nice and encouraging style, but I think sometimes they could've been a bit sharper on pointing out where I needed to improve. Overall it's been a positive experience working with mbaMission.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Kate Richardson
I am an international applicant and decided to work with mbaMission all based on the google research. I was originally looking for someone native and experienced that could help me polish my essays but what happened after was a fantastic and rewarding life experience.
I was matched with Kate Richardson, a very expeirenced associate from mbaMission. She was very nice and patient from our first talk. I felt so comforted that I found someone I could ask for help and expressed my anxiety during the application process. Kate helped me so much on my self-positiong of my choices for schools and gave me helpful advices on my future career planning. Even standing from the point of an international student, I felt Kate very professional handling all the questions, which truly helped me a lot during the application. My application process was not as smooth as I expected and I got waitlisted and rejected from my dreaming schools but Kate was always there helping me analyze and get out of the desperate situation. Finally I got the offers from several schools out of my package. And Kate was very nice to help me list the all the pros and cons and gave me useful advices objectively.
I appreciate her very much for everything she has ever done for me during the process and now I would like to recommend her as the first choice of MBA consulting associate for all the international students.
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Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Kate Richardson
I recently decided to attend UCLA Anderson this fall for the MBA Class of 2018, and with Kate Richardson's help from MBA Mission was awarded a $60,000 scholarship as well.
I applied to several schools, and going into it alone before deciding to hire the help of a consultant, I was pretty clueless about what I wanted to write about in my essays as well as about other factors.
Right off the bat, Kate was extremely easy to talk to, and after learning more about me, pointed me in the right direction with regards to my essays, while she also helped give me a clear sense of my goals that helped determine which school and programs I'd eventually apply to.
For me, Kate's biggest strength was the help she gave me with my essay writing. Kate is an extremely strong writer, but also a great creative thinker. I can honestly say that Kate helped me materialize some ideas for how to structure my essays that I would never have considered on my own.
Usually I hate writing, but working alongside Kate, it became a fun challenge to come up with unique and insightful ways of expressing myself through pen and paper.
I'm extremely pleased with how the entire MBA application process went and how Kate helped me every step of the way, and I'm happy to recommend her MBA consultancy services to anyone who might be thinking of applying in the near future.
Thanks,
Tim
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Kate Richardson
After looking at the extremely competitive admission statistics for top business schools, I decided to work with consultant Kate Richardson to identify strategies to differentiate myself. I was immediately impressed with Kate during our initial brainstorming session. Kate challenged me to think of a breadth of life, academic, and work experiences that would show why I wanted to attend business school and why I would be a desirable student. This discussion proved instrumental for crafting responses to essay prompts and interview questions.
Throughout the application process, Kate motivated me to write essays that were unique and consistent with my story. During our revision sessions, we would discuss what I wanted the admission committee to learn from my essays and how potential responses would contribute to my overall application. I was also impressed with Kate’s knowledge of top business schools. She had very useful advice about the types of responses that each school would find more compelling.
I am very glad that I opted for the all-inclusive school packages with Kate. While I initially assumed that a consultant would be most valuable for the essays, I did not realize the value in having Kate help me to adapt my resume for a business school application, to prepare me for my interview, and to provide guidance for the myriad of short answer questions on the applications. It was comforting to know that I could email her at any time and receive a quick and detailed response.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Kate Richardson
Kate and I met through mbaMission as she was highly recommended, especially given she was an alumnus of a target school of mine. While my target schools were all ‘top ten’ programs, Kate knew my lower GPA and GMAT score would be a challenge and was incredibly constructive in putting together a competitive, cohesive story targeted at each school I applied to. She was also very helpful in strategizing mitigants to weaknesses in my application based on her admissions experience and worked on ways to even further highlight my strengths. From the very beginning, Kate was supportive of my school selection decisions and patiently walked through tweaks to my resume, essays, and emails on almost weekly calls. Ultimately, I was admitted to my top choice school and I attribute much of my success to Kate.
Of Kate’s many qualities, perhaps her strongest is that she is very experienced in the industry and shows it. This was particularly helpful in identifying my top strengths for the application process and tailoring them to each school I applied to. At the beginning of our partnership, I filled out a lengthy essay response to a set of her questions ranging from where I was from, to my future goals, to my biggest accomplishments, to my family; after carefully reviewing my responses, Kate was able to identify and target the top accolades, stories and achievements I could use to develop a successful application package for business school. Her genuine interest in my story was tangible throughout the process and by selecting key points to differentiate myself, I was able to craft a unique, competitive application package. Kate was also very dedicated throughout the process and it never felt like my time was getting cut off or I was not getting what I paid for. No matter how busy she was, Kate would take the time to hop on the phone, send an email, or word of encouragement when it was needed. This was greatly appreciated, especially during such a daunting and ambiguous application process.
Throughout my MBA application, Kate was not just a consultant, she was a partner. I can proudly say I was recently admitted to my top choice school and I couldn’t have done it without her.
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Kate Richardson
I worked with Kate Richardson on an hourly consulting basis for my business school applications. I was initially apprehensive about utilizing an admissions consultant because I thought I knew the story I wanted to tell and had many friends who recently applied to top schools. That said, I am extremely glad that I decided to work with Kate and am sure that my application process was smoother and more successful with her help. The expertise, guidance and support she provided were invaluable throughout my application process; I now have Kate to thank for being accepted at Wharton and HBS!
I chose the hourly service because I had a good idea of where I wanted to go with my applications but I wanted someone to review my essays. I would send Kate initial drafts of my essays and she would respond with comments/questions and often we would get on the phone for an hour or so to discuss my thoughts and progress. The hourly service was perfect for this approach and even though there was very little hand-holding, I got exactly what I wanted out of it.
I am confident that my essays were greatly improved after each discussion with Kate. I would often come to her with loose ideas and she would help me explore and tease out those ideas until we found exactly how they could fit into my essay. I must say that she listened to a lot of my rambling thoughts and somehow managed to identify the best parts that could fit into essays! In addition, there were often times when I would accidently mention red flags or problem words to my schools. Kate had incredible knowledge of what each of my schools were (or were not) looking for and was able to flag these items to be edited.
I should also note that Kate was a very helpful outlet to vent my anxieties to and confirm that I was on the right path. I would often look for a knowledgeable response on questions such as….am I way behind on this essay? How many drafts should I have done by now? Is everyone else doing this differently than I am? Having someone with the knowledge and background like Kate can put your mind at ease during this stressful process.
I was ultimately asked to interview at each school I applied to and accepted at two of the three schools. I had a great experience working with Kate and would highly recommend her!
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Kate Richardson
When I first started looking into admissions consulting services, I had a specific idea of what I needed. I was confident I was applying to the right schools, but I knew my essay writing skills were a bit weak. I was matched with Kate and my entire experience working with her was very enjoyable. I never imagined how much I would get out of the experience. She was always cognizant of what I needed and was very accountable in the usage of time.
The concise feedback I received on my essays was tailored to my specific concerns. The comments really helped me focus my ideas. By the time I was working on my 5th application, I had a sort of writer's block. Kate provided the combination of constructive feedback and "cheering section" support that I needed. This 5th application was for the school that I ended up choosing to go to. I am forever grateful for Kate's help in getting through the application process.
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Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Kate Richardson
Applying to business school was an overwhelming experience for me. I was a non-traditional applicant and struggling with how to present myself. I knew what I wanted schools to know about me, but wasn’t sure how to express all of that eloquently in essay form. When I contacted mbaMission, I specifically requested a consultant who would be comfortable working with an unconventional applicant, because it was important to me that I stay authentic to myself throughout the process.
Working with Kate was such a pleasure from day one. She is incredibly insightful and knowledgeable when it comes to what various schools are looking for, and is an outstanding editor. I applied to a giant number of schools (a total of seven in round one). She was extremely organized and kept me motivated while I was nearing the finish line, especially given all those different deadlines and essay topics. Kate was full of very honest and straightforward feedback, while still managing to be kind and encouraging. Most importantly, Kate was really able to draw upon my strengths to create compelling applications, and asked me all the right questions while I was working through the essays. After submitting each application, I was certain that I had put my best foot forward, and that confidence in myself and in my story would not have been possible without Kate’s help and expertise.
I am 100% convinced that I would not have had the same successes in being admitted to top business schools if I hadn't worked with Kate on every application. I’ve already recommended Kate to friends of mine going through the business school application process right now. Kate is such a gem for anyone applying to business school, and it was truly a pleasure to work with her.