Debbie Choy Reviews

I spoke with several admissions consultants in the months prior to application season; as soon as I met Debbie, I knew she would be the best advisor to guide me through this process. Her extraordinary level of support, expertise, and tactical feedback made the application process seamless and stress free. Debbie knew exactly which parts of my resume and essays needed TLC, and her input made me feel confident in what I was putting forth as a candidate. Fast forward a few months and I've been admitted to my first choice MBA program with a scholarship!

I can't recommend Debbie enough.

Read More

I applied to 5 schools in total (HBS, Wharton, Kellogg, Booth and Columbia) and used a 2 schools package.

I really enjoyed working with Debbie, she was incredibly friendly and I feel that she really made the effort to get to know me as a person which came through in the feedback she gave to shape my applications.
There are three specific reasons that I would recommend Debbie:

1. Brainstorming and prioritising stories: With 8 years work experience and many extra curriculars I had so many things that I wanted to say but it was not possible given the tight essay word count. Throughout the brainstorming sessions she was able to distil my stories down to the few that were really impactful while making sure there was minimal overlap of attributes displayed so the schools could still get the 'full picture'. The brainstorming sessions left me with very specific (paragraph by paragrah) content to write.

2. Taking my first ordinary first draft and making it great: I am an Engineer, not a writer, I knew what I wanted to say but could not craft it in an entertaining or persuasive way. I feel that Debbie assisted me most when I sent her a content rich but quite ordinary sounding first draft and it came back, in some cases with more edits than original content, sounding more like an extract from a storybook. It was still my words and content but just sounded a whole lot better.

3. She stuck with drafts long after I was bored with them: I think my CV ended up at version 16, Debbie's attention to detail and discipline forced me to keep polishing my essays and documents to give me the best possible chance of getting an interview.

I received a number of acceptance’s (with scholarships) and decided to matriculate at Wharton.

Read More

Let me begin by providing some background about myself. I am an Engineer working in Healthcare sector in Nepal. I had a real tough time when I began the admission process, as I did not know how to present my candidacy in the right light.
That is where mbaMission came to the rescue. Debbie, my consultant, was really helpful in figuring out how to showcase my candidacy. She took the time to get to know me well then helped me in narrating events that highlighted my strengths. She was instrumental in creating my resume and essays.
In the earlier essays when I was still getting the hang of things we went through nine revisions, which shows her dedication to my candidacy. The mbaMission consultants are straight shooters and very upfront about what they do or do not do. Remember after all it is your application and you are responsible for it.
If you are looking to put your best foot forward in the application process they are the ones to go to. I was able to get into Wharton and they were instrumental in creating the application and the preparing for interview.

Read More

I hired MBA mission for the three school package. My consultant was Debbie Choy and I found her incredibly helpful. We began with identifying "selling points" and stories that I felt set me apart and showed my achievements, which we then used to mold to the questions in the essays. In particular, I found the brain storming calls very useful with Debbie. She was able to take the information I provided her with and turn it into a coherent time-line and journey which came out in all of my essays.

Having a consultant also really helped on the turn-around time with the essays. Debbie always provided thorough comments within two business days and usually after a few turn-arounds we were both happy with the essay. This was infinitely helpful when juggling applications with a full time job.

Another aspect of MBAmission that I really liked is that the consultants are happy to answer any small questions that you may have when writing the essay. There were several times when I would send an essay back and ask Debbie a few small questions or clarifications and I would always get swift and helpful responses.

I ended up getting into my first choice of school which was definitely the best fit for me and I am over the moon!! I am extremely happy I chose MBAmission and worked with Debbie and I am looking forward to starting my MBA!,

Read More

If you're looking for an easy route to complete your applications and for someone to write all of your essays for you, I would not use MBA Mission.

However, if you're looking for a thought-provoking, soul-searching service that makes you think critically about your career and how an MBA would help you accomplish that, MBA Mission is perfect for you.

Debbie was my consultant and she was tough in all the right ways. In no way did she write the essays for me; instead, she facilitated my own preparations for my admissions/essays. She brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table and was able to comb through all the various activities/stories/lessons I have gathered over the years, and help me identify key themes and threads that I used to weave into my writing.

In 2011, I applied on my own to full-time MBA and got dinged everywhere I applied at. in 2014, armed with a consultant who has been there before and knew what content would be relevant & interesting to admissions committees, I was accepted everywhere I applied!

I conducted free consultations with Stacey Blackman among other agencies, but MBA Mission stood out to me because of their focus on my performance - and ironically, their lack of a "guarantee" that I would get into one of the schools I would work with them on. From a business model perspective, that really resonated with me.

I could not recommend MBA Mission and Debbie enough!!

Read More

I engaged mbaMission after vetting a few other companies and was matched with Debbie Choy (note I chose her out of 3 potential matches). I was looking to submit applications to 3 very top schools in the first round, and engaged Debbie about 6 weeks before the first app was due. Below is more detail on the key things she helped with:

-Debbie provided a brainstorming document, which I then spent a long time filling out. We had a 1.5 hour call where we discussed all kinds of stories about me. This is where Debbie helped me identify what was important and what we wanted to convey to the admission committees.
-I personally think this is beneficial outside of the application process because you learn more about yourself and what really matters to you, and Debbie forces you to think about what you honestly want to do for a career.

-Debbie also helped me create a resume (B School resumes are a bit different than work resumes, so I had to create a new one). She helped with wording, formatting, and deciding what to include/exclude.

-Then we started on the essays, and Debbie first helped me structure the essay (I was very impressed at how quickly she could pull together an effective structure after just getting to know me), and then I would create a more detailed outline based on the agreed upon structure.

-Once we finalized an outline (sometimes this took one attempt, and other times it took a few revisions), I would write the first draft. Debbie would review and provide comments, questions, suggestions, better syntax etc. and ultimately we would go back and forth until we both liked the essay.

Overall, I completed the 3 applications on time and got into one school, and got interviews or am still in process at the others. Debbie helped me from beginning to end (even after I was accepted). Debbie is rock solid on all aspects of MBA consulting, but I also think her true value comes from her ability to quickly understand someone and then provide legitimate personal and professional advice. Highly recommend Debbie!

Read More

I have long known that I would need some experts help to get into a top MBA program. With a well-below-average GMAT score and a relatively young age (25 years-old), I was already down the list for the admission committee. I knew I needed some real extra effort to stand out. This is when I made the decision to sign up for a free 30-minute consultation call with MBAMission. I specifically chose Liza Weale coz I trusted she would know what I must do. Liza felt and suggested that I should sign up with Debbie Choy to help me out with my application. Though I never knew or talked to Debbie, I trusted that Liza saw a chemistry between me and Debbie. And boy, was she right! It was by the far the best decision I made. From application to interview, everything is nice and smooth with her honest/effective/constructive/candid feedback and golden suggestions. No detail is too small with Debbie. You would seriously be surprised with how fast and smart you start getting. Debbie was the exact definition of going above and beyond. She’s even sent me her feedback at times when it was a weekend or a holiday, something I agreed on the contract not to expect at all. I am really a different and a better person now after knowing and working with Debbie.

To give you an more of an idea on how awesome Debbie was, I have signed up for 4 packages and I winded up needing to use one only (Because the first was to my dream school). This is how super good she was. Working with Debbie Choy was the real secret behind going into my dream school.

Again, choosing to work with Debbie Choy was be far the best decision I made.

Read More

I honestly don't think I would have gotten into Stanford without the help of Debbie. I was hesitant about using a consultant at first just because of the price, but I have to say that it was worth it. For me, it kept me on track with deadlines, forced me to brainstorm and think through my experiences, and in general helped my essays be better than I ever thought that they could be. Everything exceeded all my expectations.

Essay help:
1. The brainstorming that you do is the most important thing. They will help you better present your experiences, but there's nothing that you can make up. You have to put in a great deal of work.
2. I only did one school, but the process in general still requires a great deal of commitment. Debbie is amazing at editing and can help you find concise ways to present yourself, but you have to take a stab at trying to do so yourself first. The misconception with some people is that consultants will do your work for you. This is absolutely not true, as they just give you more suggestions and additional perspective on the school.
3. The 2 day turn around is great, but the issue here is that it is a 9pm deadline, which made it difficult for me personally. I start working at 10pm a lot, so it forced me to do more rushed editing than I would have liked.

Debbie is very efficient, as I had expected there to be much more back and forth and many more drafts. However, I was happy with my essays much earlier than I had expected to be. I would recommend that anyone applying to Stanford GSB at least speak with Debbie, as she is incredibly knowledgeable and understands the culture well (She went there). She's very honest and will give you direct feedback, and there's no time wasting with paragraphs or sentences that don't work.

Read More

I highly recommend working with Debbie Choy at MBA Mission after applying to business school this past January. Debbie gave expert insight about each step of the application process and provided guidance on how to write the best essay for each school. Even with my unpredictable work schedule, Debbie was extremely patient and understanding with me and ensured that my applications were the strongest they could be.

When working on essays, Debbie provided comments that forced me to fully understand the unique aspects of my background and my motivations for attending business school. She always provided suggestions to improve the essays and ultimately let me make final decisions about content and tone. Debbie knew exactly how attack the even the most difficult essay prompts required by Stanford and Harvard which is known for its open-ended essay prompt. Debbie also answered questions I had about selecting people for recommendations for each of the schools I applied to. Lastly, she was especially helpful when I needed to prepare for alumni interviews and provided immediate feedback during our mock interview session.

While it may sound cheesy, Debbie really helped me grow as a person through the application process and I am forever grateful to her for all of her assistance. Working with Debbie and completing the applications helped me understand why I wanted an MBA and what I expect to achieve during business school and after graduation. While Debbie is an expert for all of the top MBA programs, I highly recommend her for any applicants interested in applying to Stanford GSB – Debbie is an alumna and has amazing insight into the application process and the program.

Read More

I did not have the best GMAT score, and I had hoped to overcome that obstacle with a strong resume and strong essays. Debbie from mbaMission helped me to write stellar essays. We worked for a couple months back and forth via emails and a couple phone calls. She helped me to get specific and concise with my experiences highlighting the stories that made a real impact. Debbie emphasized a "show don't tell" attitude in my essays. It took some time and effort, but it paid off. I ended up with multiple offers from the top schools I had applied to, each one with a scholarship or a Graduate Assistantship offer. I attribute much of my offers to the work of mbaMission and Debbie.

Read More