Liza Weale Reviews

Some background: international applicant who has been working for the past few years in my country's public sector (defense). Did my undergrad and masters' in engineering at top 10 US schools. Thanks to Liza's help, I managed to secure admissions to MIT Sloan (with fellowship).

My background was extremely non-traditional. I knew that I had to get an admissions consultant who understood my story and was able to translate that into something that the admissions committees of top MBA programs would find attractive. Among the 5 consultants that I spoke to during my search, Liza was the one I was most impressed with. I felt that she was someone who was really excited about my candidacy, knew what exactly I needed help with, and what I could highlight to my advantage (even in the initial consult!).

There were several things that Liza did for me that stood out:

1. She was relentless in probing me for my story. I found it difficult to put together the initial brainstorming document because I was not used to talking/writing about myself. But Liza posed the right questions that helped me tease out the key traits/themes of my story.

2. Detailed, highly valuable interview prep. I was really nervous for interviews. But Liza's mock sessions made all the difference - She taught me how to structure my responses so that I could convey a clear story that the interviewer could follow and take away from. She reminded me to explain jargon that I was used to but my interviewer wasn't. She helped me to refine questions that I wanted to pose to the interviewer.

3. She is the best cheerleader! There were times when I felt demotivated and defeated because I was overwhelmed with work or got a rejection but she was always there with kind words and cheers!

Overall, I would definitely recommend Liza! She really puts in 110% for her clients. I would not have been able to get into my top choice (and get a fellowship) without her.

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Background: Female, nontraditional professional background, GRE Q160, V167, GPA 3.89

Accepted early decision to CBS.

I had a few introductory phone calls with other consultants, and after speaking with Liza, I knew I wanted to partner with her throughout this process. Liza was positive, but realistic, and it was clear – just during those 30 minutes - that she really wanted me to succeed.

Liza’s guidance at the beginning of the process was key to my success. She helped me define and communicate my short- and long-term goals, which are major components of the application. Liza also helped me identify my strongest and most compelling experiences/stories to focus on in my resume and essays. It was very important to have Liza’s expertise as I jumped into the applications.

Liza adheres to the MBA Mission's essay/application review turnaround deadlines, which she holds her clients and herself to. This policy helped me stay on track. I needed to send Liza my materials by a certain date in order to receive her feedback by a certain date. As someone who could tinker with my essays for hours on end, these deadlines were a huge help and kept me moving forward. Additionally, Liza never missed a turnaround deadline - I knew exactly when I would receive her very thorough comments and responses to my questions!

Lastly, rather late in the game, I was thinking about adding a more competitive school to my Round 1 applications. I was hesitant about adding another school, but when I reached out to Liza about applying, her response was something along the lines of, "Excited for you! Here’s what needs to happen." With Liza's support, I ended up applying and being accepted to this school. I'm thankful to Liza for advising and cheering me on throughout this process!!!

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First a little background on me: White, male, engineer from a large state school (GPA 3.7 / GMAT: 690 / 4 years of experience upon matriculation). Pre-MBA I have been working at a large management consulting company (Deloitte / Accenture / EY). So all in all, I felt like I had what was a very generic profile.

I knew early on that I would use an admissions consultant. I saw how competitive my pool was and realized that I needed a way to differentiate myself from the rest of the pack. I had a few calls with consultants and told them my list of schools. Some either immediately said that I was reaching too far and others seemed overly optimistic. I decided to go with Liza when she gave me honest feedback and said that while my schools would be challenging, they were doable. Ultimately I signed up for 3 schools (Darden, Fuqua, Johnson) and had these 3 schools as reaches / dream schools. For me it was all or nothing.

Working with Liza was what kept me sane during this challenging process. She did this through 3 key things:

1) Finding and developing my story - Liza did an amazing job of finding a thread in my story that was able to differentiate me from my peers and then pull on that thread. She helped uncovered both personal and professional stories that I had forgotten about and helped me make them come to life. By the time my applications were submitted I had a clear cohesive story that helped me stand out as a unique candidate.

2) Optimism - In a anxiety inducing process where self-doubt can often creep in, Liza was upbeat and provided constructive feedback in a manner that was motivating and made me want to improve. Her energy was contagious and necessary during this application process.

3) Invested - Liza was the first to say good luck and to ask how things went after an interview or admissions decision. I felt that she was just as invested in my applications as I was.

Ultimately I was admitted to my dream schools of Fuqua and Darden and still waiting to hear back from Johnson. As I write this review it comes as no surprise that this is the 99th (or 100th) positive five star review she has gotten. While certainly not a cheap investment, it has paid itself back tenfold.

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A bit of background about myself, I'm a Middle Eastern female working in the banking industry with around 7 years of work experience.

At the beginning I was very reluctant to apply for any of the top school's MBA, as I assumed that my application would be easily overlooked. However, upon talking with Liza, she was able to significantly change my views and our conversation encouraged me to apply to my target school.

Working with Liza has helped me identify my goals not only in the essays, but also in real life. Her questions to my essays drafts made me highlight lots of unique points and qualities that did not cross my mind initially, and made my overall story in the essays logical and convincing.

She was able to let me extract the core story behind my essays, and helped me cut all the unnecessary details to represent my story in the most compelling way.

She has as well guided me through the interview process, which is a really stressful period to all applicants. She provided me with interview guidelines and we scheduled one mock interview (through Skype). The mock interview was great and really imitated the real interview! her feedback was very beneficial and helped me show up to the interview very well prepared and confident.

Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend Liza as a partner in the application process. With her guidance, I was gladly accepted to my target school (an ivy league)!

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First up, here's a bit of background about me and my candidacy: I'm an American female, from a non-ivy undergrad (3.8 GPA) with slightly below average GMAT (690). Pre MBA, I worked at a global Financial Services company with the goal of landing a spot at a top consulting firm post MBA.

I decided to work with a consultant on my business school apps early on, knowing that I could easily be overlooked if I didn't highlight the right details about my experience when I applied to top programs. I met with representatives from a few companies, however, decided to work with MBA Mission as soon as I met with Liza Weale.

I can't begin to describe how helpful Liza was throughout the entire application process - she helped narrow down my list of target schools, advised which areas of my background were most compelling and worked with me through countless revisions, until my application truly reflected that I was a competitive candidate. Ultimately I ended up working on two applications with Liza - Harvard and Columbia, and I was accepted to CBS! And when I was deciding between a new role and business school, she was a solid sounding board.

Overall, while I valued Liza's input on my application, I also truly enjoyed working with her, which made the process much more painless (dare I say, even enjoyable at times?) Needless to say, if you're planning to spend the money on a consultant, I highly recommend meeting with Liza.

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Background: Male, re-applicant, non-business undergrad, 5+ years consulting

After going through rejections the prior year (worked with a different admission consulting company), I knew I needed a different strategy to have a positive outcome this time around. I spoke with a few other companies and most of them were hesitant in taking me on as a client due to low GPA/GMAT stats. Feedback provided in initial consultation was that I should delay re-applying until improving my stats. Despite the feedback, I still felt there was a way for me to be competitive or even be considered for a top MBA program. I first heard about Liza from a friend who worked with her before and spoke nothing but great things. I decided to do an initial consultation with Liza and explained to her of my situation/background/low stats. She was very honest in her feedback saying that it would be difficult to be competitive and I should be prepared for backup options if not accepted again. Liza still felt there was a unique story that I could tell and schools would look at that positively if the story was told in an effective way. Knowing that I was taking a gamble given my low stats, I felt really comfortable after my initial discussion with Liza and knew I wanted to work with her on my applications.

I decided to re-apply to two top-20 programs. Initial activity with Liza was spent on the brainstorming document. I highly encourage you to spend ample time on this document so that Liza has all the personal stories/experiences which she will be reviewing prior to essay drafting. The more information you share in brainstorming, the more material Liza will be able to help you filter to determine what is powerful to include in essays or not. There were personal stories which I included from my childhood which I never thought b-school admissions would want to hear, but Liza was a true advocate in highlighting those experiences which I know helped distinguish myself from the stack of applicants.
Once essay drafting began, I always felt like I was telling the story I wanted to tell. Liza was a great supporter along the way who was not afraid to provide honest feedback if I was heading in the wrong direction or not making sense. Her feedback is extremely valuable and allows you to take a step back and self-reflect. Over the course of drafting versions of essays, I became more and more confident in the story I was telling. Liza would always ask me how I’m feeling about everything before any major deadline we set for ourselves. When it came time for interviews, she would personally send me a note hours before wishing me good luck which was really great. Those moments were very nerve-wrecking, but it was just nice knowing Liza was rooting for me.

My recommenders commended on Liza’s assistance during the recommendation letter drafts. Even though I did not see what they wrote, I knew that Liza knew my story better than anyone else and made sure the recommenders brought out my strengths. She worked closely with my recommenders and helped them frame their stories which resonated well with my overall goals. Knowing that Liza was on my side every step of the way, I know that my recommenders had all the tools and information needed to write an effective letter.

The overall end result was that I was invited to interview to both my programs and accepted and a waitlist to the programs which I was rejected from nearly a year ago. I know this would not have been possible without Liza’s support throughout this entire process. Liza is definitely a gamechanger and helped me represent myself in the best way to admissions committee. If you are in the process of applying for business school, Liza is without a doubt the only way to go. Even though she was my admissions consultant, along the way she became a friend who truly wanted me to succeed. Best decision ever.

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Background: Male, Ivy Undergrad, banking+PE+ops role
Results: accepted at Harvard and Stanford

I could not speak more highly about working with Liza. I was referred to her by a friend who had used her Round 1 in the same year (I worked with her for Round 2). After doing intro calls with 3-4 consultants it was immediately clear to me that the two of us clicked and she would be the ideal consultant for me to work with. Her spots fill up fast, so if you are interested I would definitely recommend getting a spot with her as soon as possible.

Liza made the very daunting task of answering abstract questions like "What else should we know about you?" and "What matters most?" very personal and attack-able. Her approach makes you actually look within yourself to really think about the right answer. She's incredibly good at asking you questions about how you feel, and then helping dissect that into a key theme or two that make for a great essay and hold true to the person that you actually are.

You'll begin by assembling a detailed brainstorming document. While this does take time, it is well worth the investment. From this, you'll be able to work with Liza to figure out a whole range of potential essay topics, and what's more, you'll also be able to recycle this work for your short answers on the application and also for stories on the interview. It is well worth the time.

In terms of essays, Liza provided appropriate guidance and feedback at all levels. Before I got going writing, we'd make sure there was at least an underlying theme that could be a good essay, so we'd avoid wasting time on a bad topic. Then, she was very open and honest with feedback. Sometimes, she would think the initial draft was nearly complete. Other times, she would provide very specific and helpful feedback and it was back to the drawing board. It was clear that she spent significant time reviewing my essays, and combined that effort with her massive knowledge on MBA applications to help me write the best essays. Each time I would revise, I could tell that the essay was getting stronger, and I thought the end product was not only a great business school essay but also one that was uniquely me and did convey my personality and answer the question appropriately.

I know for a fact I could not have done this stressful process without Liza. She was there to hold my hand as much as I needed each step of the way, and more importantly gave me confidence in myself -- both as an applicant in general and specifically when it came to the application items we were creating together. I could not recommend her more highly. It is clear she pours her heart and soul into her clients and is a huge advocate for them. I greatly looked forward to each of our interactions. TWO THUMBS UP!

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Background: Male, Ivy undergrad, banking + PE

I originally heard about Liza through a few friends who had worked with her, and now I know exactly why they spoke so highly of her. I’m confident that I wouldn’t have been as successful in my application process had it not been for the guidance Liza provided – she’s worth every penny.

Before choosing Liza, I had spoken to a handful of consultants , all of whom had provided me with some helpful thoughts on how I could position myself in the application process. While Liza did the same, her approach was different; Liza was able to establish a genuine connection in a short intro call with me. I could tell she would be honest and forthright with me on my chances while also providing me with a sense of confidence; a true belief that I am capable of getting into a top 5 MBA program. Based on friends’ recommendations and the level of comfort I felt with Liza, I decided to go with her and purchased the complete package.

Going into the process, I felt concerned about my ability to differentiate myself (coming from an overrepresented male/banking/PE background), but Liza quickly put my fears at ease. During the essay process, Liza had an innate ability to bring out exactly why I took the path I did and helped me craft a story around how my upbringing and experiences have shaped my future career goals. Throughout the entire application process, Liza had this uncanny ability to provide constructive criticism in the most enthusiastic way possible; her comments always motivated me to do better, and it made the work that much easier. I was astounded at how my essays transformed between the first drafts and final products, and I really couldn’t have done it without Liza’s guidance.

Above all else, Liza is always on your side. She’s incredibly nice, considerate, and is constantly checking up on you, not just to make sure you’ve submit things on time, but to just say “how are you feeling?” – she provides an extra level of comfort and you get the feeling that she really, truly wants you to succeed. When I was rejected at one of my top schools, Liza was just a call away as a sounding board to hear me vent. When I was accepted at another of my top choices, Liza was ecstatic and overjoyed, just like I was! She’s there every step of the way, and you’ll never feel alone in the process.

Overall, I could not be happier with my experience working with Liza – it was everything I was hoping for and I wholeheartedly recommend her.

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I’m a woman working at an investment firm. It was fairly late in the cycle when I decided to apply to business school. I was introduced to Liza through a friend who worked with her and got into HBS. From our very first call, Liza had my absolute trust! It couldn’t be any clearer to me that she was someone who was truly dedicated to her job, and she was extremely experienced and knowledgeable. I actually interviewed five other admission consultants from top firms, and she was by far the best – there was no comparison. Unfortunately I was too late in the process and Liza was booked up for the start-to-finish package, and wasn’t able to take me on. So I somberly settled for my second pick at a competing firm. Unfortunately, my second pick full-time consultant regularly missed deadlines which weakened my trust in him along the process. Although Liza was booked up, she graciously agreed to work with me on an hourly basis – even though we were so close to the deadlines. We worked together for about 6 hours, including essay reviews and interview prep. Through the process, Liza encouraged me to dig deeper and reflect more on each of my experiences. She really helped me transform my essays: we removed all the cliche statements and the final product was much more unique and reflective of me as a person. Even once my purchased hours were up, Liza was still available as a resource and answered my emails generously in her own time.

Another thing I would highlight is that MBAmission has a two-day turnaround policy, and they do not miss deadlines. I initially didn’t realize how important this would be. But remember that applying to school is a very stressful period, and you should work with someone who is reliable and who will be there for you when need.

At the end, I ended up getting into both my top choices – and I’m very grateful to Liza for her help. Not only she helped me with my application, but also she was absolutely there for me along the process.

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Profile:
Male, Caucasian, 730 GMAT, Top-50 Undergrad College (non-ivy), Large Corporation

Results:
Accepted: Stanford, Kellogg
Waitlisted: Harvard

If you are looking to get into a top b-school, my advice to you is to partner with Liza Weale (and do it early before she reaches her capacity for the year…which she will). She will make you work your butt off because she cares so deeply about seeing you succeed. Be ready to self-reflect. Be ready to take feedback in stride. Be ready to give your all to this process. If you do, you will not be disappointed. You will walk away more self-aware, more self-confident, and with a better idea of how you want to leave your mark on the world. And if you do these things well, there is a good chance you’ll find success in the application process.

In my opinion, the hardest (and most important) part of the application process is getting to know yourself inside and out-- what makes you tick, why you do the things you do, what you want to do with your life—and then communicating this clearly and effectively through essays and interviews. This is no small task; in fact, it’s really really hard and I think it is impossible to do well without someone else pushing and challenging you throughout. Whether it’s a close friend, parent, or a consultant like Liza, find someone to fill this role. I would be hard pressed though to find many friends, parents, or other consultants that care as much as Liza does and that put in the kind of effort to help you put your best foot forward as Liza does (it’s crazy because she starts as a stranger and quickly becomes your biggest fan).

Liza first had me fill out a brainstorming document to help her get to know me (essentially 20+ pages of my life story) and then spent hours on the phone asking me question after question about it. From our very first conversation, I was struck by 1) how good of a listener she was, 2) how much she wanted to authentically get to know me, and 3) how fast she picked up on what was most important to me and how well she was able to think of essay ideas around these things. I had been spinning my wheels for months leading up to our initial conversation and after talking with her it was amazing how I left finally feeling a sense of direction. I then remember sending my first draft of HBS’s essay to Liza for feedback the week after this, thinking that it was pretty great. She turned it around a couple days later basically ripping it to shreds (in the most constructive and polite way possible!). 8 drafts later, I could not have been prouder of how far it had come and how it spoke to who I am and how I want to make my mark on the world.

Liza helped me in a similar way for Kellogg and Stanford—it took MANY hours of me writing, getting feedback, revising, and re-writing, but I felt incredibly pleased and proud of the essays I submitted when all was said and done. Liza also helped me transform my resume from corporate jargon into something that really packed a punch and helped me think of ways to write short answers in a way that was clear and powerful. She never missed a deadline and always came back with meaningful and thoughtful input. She was the best person to help me prep for interviews because of how well she got to know me. She was the first person after my parents I contacted after finding out from Stanford and Kellogg. Liza is incredible, and she will remain a friend for years to come. In my opinion it is well-worth the money to partner with a consultant, and if you do, you would be a fool to not choose Liza.

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