I had the pleasure of working directly with Kathryn as my advisor throughout the full-time MBA application process. While I was somewhat familiar with the application process, having independently applied to several 2+2 programs during college, I knew I needed to seek guidance from an experienced MBA consultant to help me get into my dream school.

Like many prospective applicants, I was initially overwhelmed by the options available. Working with a consultant is a significant investment, and I was mindful of the risks of working with someone who lacked experience, did not understand my background, or did not align with my working style. As such, I did countless consultation intro calls with consultants (independent and those part of a bigger organization) to narrow my options.

I walked away from my call with Kathryn feeling very positive, not only because she was quick to respond to my consultation request or that she was actively engaging and learning about me, but also because of her extensive experience working with clients across the spectrum and how she encouraged me to embrace my identity. I felt comfortable sharing personal aspects of my life with her, which added depth and authenticity to my essays. I also appreciated her firm’s unique, structured process, which provided clarity and peace of mind.

For example, their approach to helping me define my career vision and steps to get there, led by Horatiu, my career narrative expert, and Kathryn was particularly valuable, as the research I did to make my case and get their support enabled me to build a differentiated narrative that truly reflects what I want to do. It took hard work with work sessions and lots of homework, but was worth the effort.

To be clear, Kathryn will push you to work hard throughout your experience with her. I spent a lot of time and effort researching schools, brainstorming, and drafting essays – she was with me in the trenches every step of the way, even when I hit some unexpected challenges with my LORs. I especially appreciated Kathryn’s quick turnaround times even though I knew she was also running a firm. She always made herself available (even during weekends!) whenever I had questions or grew anxious about the application process.

In hindsight, as much as the goal was for me to get into my dream school (which I’m happy to share that I did), I also developed a deeper understanding of the school, my career goals, and how to maximize my MBA experience, thanks to Kathryn’s guidance. I’m very glad to have worked with Kathryn and her team throughout the MBA application process and would enthusiastically recommend her to everyone!

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I had a fantastic experience working with Square One Prep this past admission cycle. I was fairly uncertain at the beginning of the cycle that I was a good candidate for top MBA programs and whether I wanted to commit to the applications, but Kathryn and her team gave me the confidence and structure that ultimately led to receiving offers from all 8 schools I applied to, several of which with full tuition scholarships.

The process started off with a Career Narrative deep dive with Horatiu, which was an excellent way to reflect on what makes you unique as an applicant and how to emphasize that throughout your school essays. Horatiu was professional and insightful, all while consistently driving for deeper and deeper reasoning. By the end of the process, I had tremendous clarity on my motivations and future.

As I moved into individual school applications, Kelsey’s positive energy and consistent probing created a great, trusting environment that enabled me to produce high quality essays that embodied my career narrative and gave deep insight into who I am as a person. Kathryn, Pat, and Kelsey held me accountable to a good rate of progress where I never felt rushed but consistently had to work hard to meet deadlines for all 8 of my schools.

Lastly, I had a great interview prep experience prep with Kelsey. She gave a me a solid framework of preparation that focused heavily on introspection and conciseness, which was exactly what I needed to nail my HBS interview with confidence.

I’d love to work with this team all over again and couldn’t recommend them any more highly!

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I had a wonderful experience working with Kathryn and Horatiu through my MBA application process. I engaged just prior to the Round 1 deadline after feeling unsatisfied with the status of my application. I worked with the team over the fall to ensure that there was no doubt I was putting my best foot forward for Round 2. The result: HBS and Stanford Dual Admit. I could not have done it without them.

Kathryn helped bring structure to my timeline and harmonized the story I told the admissions team across my resume, essays and interviews. While we baked in flexibility, she adapted as work obligations occasionally derailed progress. The Square One process is notably unique, and is structured to ensure you think through, and explain your goals in concrete terms. My biggest piece of advice is to trust the SOP process, as the value will become clear as you move through each step.

Upon reflection, working with Kathryn helped me identify my own weaknesses: Mainly that (i) I tend to be a flowery writer and (ii) I can be long-winded with a bias towards overexplaining. Kathryn helped me course-correct at each step in the way, bringing the most impactful details to the forefront of my narrative. Through the process of guided introspection, she helped me see what made me unique as a candidate and encouraged me to lean into it. The results speak for themselves!

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When I started my MBA application process, I had consultations with other very famous online firms, but it wasn't until a friend (who is also at HBS) recommended SOP that I found the right fit. From my free consultation with Kathryn, I immediately felt a huge difference; unlike other companies, everything here felt much more personal and tailored. This gave me the confidence I needed because I knew that reaching HBS required a level of detail that could bring every nuance of my life, career, and personality to light. SOP has a dedicated team for every stage of the application, and working with Kathryn was incredible. Her feedback was extremely constructive, but she went far beyond just the application itself.
She advised me with her point of view through professional decisions that could have impacted my candidacy, truly caring about making the pre-MBA experience smoother, more transformative, and less stressful. Even regardless of being admitted to HBS, Sloan, and Tuck, I feel my experience with SOP helped me evolve and prepared me for the challenges ahead. I started this journey thinking HBS was a very long shot, but SOP gave me the confidence to own my story and face my interviews like a champ!! I highly recommend them to anyone aiming for the top.

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I worked closely with Kathryn Lucas on my applications. Right from a free consultation through to final admit, she and her team held the pen, translating my personality and achievements into a be spoke application that would be irresistible.
Aside from the routine organized and disciplined approach, she brought a lot of thought leadership and sense of precision that only a few could. Her team was exceptionally supportive and patient and ensured that we did not miss timelines and targets. Kept spirits up when things didnt seem very encouraging and yet help the beacon of hope.
She and her team are fully supportive of every candidate and translate their strengths and accomplishments into a perfect package that great schools cannot deny.
I sincerely reveled at the experience of working collaboratively and would strongly suggest her involvements.

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I used SQ1 packages as well as their hourly services with Kathryn and Kelsey as my consultants and was able to get offers with significant scholarships from 8 out 9 schools (a combination of M7 + T15 schools) applied in Round 1 for the full-time MBA programs. I cannot express my gratitude enough for the whole team at SQ1 for their support and expertise during this strenuous process - they were patient, knowledgeable about the MBA application and admission processes, and above all, very dedicated mentors and cheer leaders. Before deciding on SQ1, I did many intro calls with other big name consultants and never felt like they truly understood my story and some even told me to aim lower. But not SQ1. When I spoke to Kathryn and later Kelsey, I felt truly heard. They were more confident about me than I was myself at the time, and that what made them truly special because you want to work with people / mentors who will cheer you on and root for you (and not tell you to aim low). SQ1 team cares, and that's something you don't see often in this admission consultancy industry.

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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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