The team at SquareOne has really made my application process a very smooth one. I appreciate how they structured the various activities that need to be completed at different stages and kept me on top of timelines so that I could focus on crafting my materials. Huge shoutout to Kathryn Lucas for managing everything, Horatiu Stefan for leading the career narrative process, Kelsey Kephart for keeping my materials on track, and last not least, Liz Berman for working with me side-by-side on every detail and keeping me positive. The team has been instrumental to my serving multiple offers with scholarships!

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I worked directly with Kathryn and can't recommend her enough!

She has 17+ years of experience and that totally reflects when you work with her. I got connected with her via a free review of my profile and she knew exactly what I am capable of. To help me build faith in choosing her, she also connected me with a few of her previous clients from my background.

She gave me a pretty honest review of my situation and advised me to reappear for GMAT. I took her word and my score improved drastically. While writing essays/building resumes - she has a strong work ethic and works really hard on you, gives realistic goals (in terms of timelines) to do your homework and is super active in communication.

2 moments that stood out for me were first when I went through a crisis in my personal life 4 weeks before R2 deadlines and second when I was anxious before one of my interviews. She was able to calm me down in both cases and got me through that phase. Later, when my partner needed some advice, she helped both of us as well. Beyond being a great MBA coach, she is an amazing human being!

Another advantage of going with SOP is their team: they have folks who were on various adcoms. Also, they have a solid portal with lots of data (resumes, essays etc.) of past successful applicants.

All in all, I am very happy that I went with Kathryn and would recommend her to everyone!

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My experience with Square One Prep was incredible. Before I started working with Square One, I felt an overwhelming sense of doubt about MBA applications: I didn't think I had a compelling story to tell, and I worried that all of the effort would be for not. One of the first things Kathryn and Square One did for me was instill confidence. They believed in me, and I in turn began to believe in myself.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of Square One's process is that they push you to really think about why you want an MBA. I did not know what my career goals were initially, but my work with Square One helped me to develop a real, genuine career narrative that allowed me to write more convincing essays and interview more confidently. I cannot wait until school starts to actually pursue these goals, all of which were developed through my work with Square One.

Ultimately, Square One gave me the tools and the confidence to get into a dream MBA program, and I am incredibly grateful

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Working with Kathryn from Square One Prep has been a life-changing experience for me. Not only because we worked extremely hard towards the goal of getting an offer from the best Business School in the world, Wharton, but also because the way in that Kathryn approaches the application process allowed me to discover so many things about myself that I wasn’t aware of, including; identifying and organizing my short, medium, and long term goals, developing a career narrative based on what I aspire to become one day, and discovering skills that I did not know I had. Her dedication is impressive, when I had a question, no matter the day or time, she was always there to steer me in the right direction and provide useful advice. Her familiarity with the application process (which can be overwhelming at times) made my process a lot friendlier and successful.

I would 100% recommend her and Square One Prep if you are trying to secure an offer from the best graduate school programs in the world.

Stefano

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After three painful rejections with previous consultants, I was hesitant to try again. Working with Kathryn completely transformed not just my applications, but my sense of self. As an Indian applicant working at a T-1 Venture Firm in the Bay Area applying to elite programs a third time, I was burned out. I needed someone who could energize me as well as help me find the authentic voice that had been missing from my previous attempts.

Kathryn flipped the script in one cycle: Harvard Business School + Stanford GSB admits and a 50 % tuition scholarship. I cannot recommend her enough! As I told her at the end of submitting my applications, the new sense of self and professional clarity were worth enough to me. The dual admit later on was just a cherry on top.



Many things set Kathryn apart from my prior consultants:

First, she has a rare balance of empathy and decisiveness. Rather than simply polishing my essays, Kathryn guided me through a process of self-discovery that clarified my personal narrative, professional direction, and unique value proposition. *She spent 8 hours getting to know me over the first 2 days*. I felt deeply heard, and challenged, by her. She asked me “Why?” until we unearthed two foundational personal stories I’d never have put on paper. Those moments became the spine of every essay and ended up being quoted back to me in my HBS interview and by the GSB Dean of Admissions on Admit Day. Compared to prior quick rejections, I was thrilled with this outcome.

Kathryn often reminded me what my prior apps, and most people miss: that admissions committees and alums are human. They want to _feel_ something when they read your work and sense that they are truly getting to know you (fun fact: we even included little personal, emotional tid-bits even in formal places like my resume). This is just something my prior apps were missing. The materials Kathryn and I created together moved even my parents to tears - capturing an authentic, graceful power in remarkably few words.

The end result: During my collaboration with Kathryn, I experienced a profound shift in confidence that friends, family, and professional colleagues noticed before I did.

Second, Kathryn makes surgical, candid edits and has a “pen-down” discipline. Every draft—resume, essays, even recommender packets—came back dripping with color-coded notes. Some tweaks, some brutal truth. Zero guesswork. When she felt I was over-working pieces, she stopped me. For example, because we completed our work well in advance of the deadlines, I kept unnecessarily re-working essays. I still recall making some 2 a.m. perfectionistic revisions and sending them to her, only to get an immediate reply: “Stop and realize it is time to trust what you have created: Submit tonight.”

Third, Kathryn went the extra mile at every stage. From those initial calls when I was on the fence about reapplying to working with me painstakingly and patiently on my application components ," to coaching me for the interviews – three rounds that were tougher than the actual interviews. Her guidance was both comprehensive and precisely calibrated to my needs.

The results speak for themselves: admits to both Harvard and Stanford after previous rejections. But like I’ve said, the true value transcended admissions results. After trying two other consultants who charged $10K each, I am so glad I went with Square One Prep. I enjoyed their unique approach to first build a stronger me, transform how I look at myself in the mirror, and only then use the newfound clarity and confidence to write a winning application.

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SOP has been instrumental in my MBA Journey. Kathryn and her team are very thorough in their approach; I was impressed by their involvement in every step of the process from the career narrative construction, essay brainstorming, to the prep interview. I am very satisfied with their professionalism, their commitment, punctuality and work ethic. Moreover, their platform has been very useful to keep all of my schools’ application processes (what must be constructed and submitted) organized; it would have been very tough for me to manage all the moving parts and requirements for each school, especially given that each school’s requirements are different. In addition, SOP’s emotional support in this stressful time has been invaluable. For example, I struggled with my GMAT grade, and they helped in several ways, from recommending a specialist, to giving me the confidence and strategies to approach the whole application process even if my grade was not ideal. I truly recommend them.

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Kathryn changed my life, and I am so grateful for her guidance! I did a discovery call with her in 2021 even though I couldn’t afford her firm. I’d read that she gives amazing, honest consults. So I wanted to take advantage of the 30 minutes she offers. She didn’t spend 30 minutes with me. She spent almost two hours. She encouraged me to wait and apply later since it was the last round and I didn’t have a test score yet. But I was eager to try now. Her team offered to work with me at an extreme discount, understanding that I was financially supporting my parents and 5 younger siblings. We built a strong application, but I couldn’t get my test score where I needed it (not even close). I applied anyway in the last round. I was rejected. I then worked on getting a much stronger test score and reapplied last year – again the last round as I managed to get a decent test score, but too late for R2 – this time Kathryn and her team worked with me for free – yea, free. I got waitlisted.

Kathryn then worked with me directly for R1 and while she didn’t work with me for free, she gave me a generous discount. I applied to fulltime programs this time instead of part-time. All in Texas as I want to stay close to my family.

From the very beginning in 2021, Kathryn and her team was not only motivating and honest but also amazing human beings who genuinely cared about my success. They took the time to understand my story, background, stats, and potential, helping me identify where I would be the best fit. I especially appreciated how deeply she pushed me to think about my career narrative, challenging me to reflect and articulate my goals with clarity.

When I worked with Kathryn directly this time around, I realized why she owns a company, Shea unique ability to connect with you on a deeper level, ensuring your voice and vision shine throughout your application. With my latest application Kathryn guided me step by step from refining my resume and crafting thoughtful essays to securing impactful letters of recommendation and preparing for interviews. Through this process, I not only grew more self-aware but also discovered insights about myself that I never realized before. Kathryn’s patience and responsiveness kept me on track. She never let me lose sight of my potential, constantly cheering me on while providing constructive feedback. Her approach is rigorous yet incredibly supportive, and it felt like she was as invested in my success as I was.

For me, this journey became much more than just submitting MBA applications, it was a transformative experience. Thanks to Kathryn and her team, I was admitted to top programs with scholarships! If you’re looking for someone who will challenge you, guide you, and help you achieve your MBA dreams, Kathryn and the Square One Prep team are unmatched. They will take care of you, hold you accountable, and ultimately set you up to win, not just with your applications – with life.

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I was referred to Kathryn and her team by a close friend who had a successful experience with their services, gaining admission to M7 schools. Working with my advisors—Noah, Horatiu, and Kelsey—truly elevated my candidacy. They went above and beyond to help me shape a compelling resume, essays, and career narrative that fully showcased my strengths. Their genuine investment in my success was evident in every aspect of the process. This thorough preparation paid off in my interviews, leading to admissions at both M7 schools I applied to, and a sizable scholarship at one. I couldn’t have achieved this without their guidance and highly recommend their services to anyone serious about pursuing an MBA!

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Certainly applying to business school is such an intense process. If I were in the same position starting my application process, I would blindly partner with Square1Prep again. You really need the right people by your side.

I knew that I had to work hard if I wanted to achieve my dream of getting accepted to a top MBA program. When I finally got the GMAT score I aimed for, I was only 2 months away of Round 2 deadlines. I didn't know if I was competitive enough or what strategy I needed in order to maximize my chances of acceptance and scholarship. Partnering with Square1Prep was the best decision I took. Kathryn and her team really know the application process and have a very structured and easy to follow planning tool that allowed me to have realistic expectations of which and how many schools to apply. I ended up with a very ambitious but realistic plan to apply to 8 schools. I managed to do it! Not only did I put a lot of effort but also the team at Square1Prep, and Kathryn specially, were really out of their way to help me achieve that goal with incredible results.

Apart from that, I would say that they also helped me grow personally. Self awareness is key in the application but it is not directly proportional with the time you invest in it. Depth and right guidance is crucial. I think that starting with Robin, my consultant, to Horatiu, my career narrative expert, to Kathryn and Kelsey as my Leadership team, all of them were instrumental in making me believe in myself, my story and my ambitions. Their guidance delivered with honesty and kindness was crucial to allow me to really understand how I had evolved over my lifetime and how that was important to who I am as a person and my potential. I stopped feeling that my lack of extracurriculars made me a bad candidate. Instead, I focused on making all those unique things about myself shine and ended up with the most personal and powerful application.

I will be forever grateful with Kathryn and her team for their kindness, honesty and efficiency. They made my application process as easy as possible (though it's very hard work), my application materials as impactful and competitive as they could get, and, finally, made me a more confident and self-aware person. Thanks team.

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I am immensely grateful to Square One Prep for their invaluable guidance throughout my MBA application journey. Their expertise and personalized approach were pivotal in helping me define my goals and develop a compelling narrative that resonated with the admissions committees. Their unwavering support and attention to detail ensured that I presented the strongest possible version of myself. But more importantly, their encouragement and calming presence helped me maintain focus and composure during what can be an incredibly stressful process! Take a deep breath and relax! I highly recommend Square One Prep to anyone seeking comprehensive and effective guidance in the competitive MBA admissions journey.

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