I could not be more grateful for working with Harold. I approached him as an unconventional candidate, at nearly the 11th hour before deadlines. But Harold was at the ready. He assured me he was all-in for the final push across the finish line, and he was certainly a man of his word. Harold responded nimbly, providing a clear plan of action, ample encouragement, and generous availability.

While working on my essays, Harold maintained a tight turnaround and constantly sharpened the content with specific and incisive notes. He had a firm grasp of each school and knew how to tailor my story to the personality and principles of each program. If I ever I had a question, he was ready to jump on the phone as soon as possible. And his expert knowledge helped me identify specific points of connection between my goals and the unique offerings of each school's curriculum and clubs.

Because of Harold's smart and supportive guidance, I was admitted to two Top 10 MBA programs and received a substantial scholarship offer.

In short, Harold was a hero that came to the rescue. I highly recommend him!

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Going into the application process being almost 30, from India and with an ok score only served to make me skeptical if this was the journey I needed to pursue over the coming months. All it took was one consultation call with Jessica for me to dive in and avail a multiple school package with her. From my end I did everything wrong as I kept extending my GMAT exam dates or couldn’t get past the dreadful score but in the end Jessica stood by patiently and kept encouraging me to put my best foot forward and trust in myself.

Heading into December and with only a month left before the round 2 applications were due, I was tremendously impressed with the roadmap that Jessica created to get me back on track be it getting LOR/ editing resumes/ having a detailed brainstorm session and last but not the least creating an extensive structure for each and every essay. Over the next month we worked arduously on getting each and every application fine tuned to perfection. To this day I wish I could get a walk through of how she manages multiple clients and yet manages to churn out everything within the deadline proscribed and with impeccable perfection.

In using her structure and creating a thought process around what my story was, I was able to apply and get admitted into 4 programs. Even though I was waitlisted for the schools I had sought her help on, I would be wrong to not admit that they were stretch schools given my profile. The fact that I am still in contention is only a testament to how far Jessica’s expertise and help came handy during the process.

I have no qualms in recommending Jessica and her expertise about the MBA application process to any prospective student.

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I 100% can say I would not have gotten into any business school without Susan's help. Although I have lived in the US for a few years for work, I was quite unfamiliar with the unique process of applying to US business schools when I first got started. My initial kick-off call with Susan was a bit of a "wake-up call" for me on this, as Susan was able to candidly and thoroughly explain the actions I would need to take to maximize my chances of admission.

When I first started thinking about the business school process I was only thinking about it at a macro level but not about the specific ways in which I should approach it - i.e., setting clear and actionable clear goals, developing an overall story, brainstorming application stories (applicable for both essays and interviews), and meticulous attention to detail in every single thing I wrote as part of my application submissions (down to even the 25 words or less mini essays).

Susan was exactly what I needed to get this done. She kept me focused, pushed me when I needed to be pushed, kept me on track despite a busy work schedule, travel and late hours in the office etc. I think the most valuable part of Susan's help (although there were obviously numerous aspects) was that she was 100% honest and direct in her feedback. When I think about this now, I realize that Susan was always doing this because she acts like your "first line of defence". If your essays and materials make it past Susan's review, then they'll be in stellar condition and will blow away any admissions committee reading them. That being said, I found working with Susan more of a partnership than her "spoon-feeding" you through the process. If you wan't to work effectively, you must be willing to put in the work and constantly striving to meet the standards she sets for you (just any good mentor or counselor would).

My time with Susan and what I learned with her extended beyond more than just putting together business school applications. The way she made me think about my own career goals and the self reflection she required of me (I think we spent the most time on the "brainstorming" process at the beginning of the package more than anything else, which was extremely valuable), continues to benefits me and has allowed me to be incredibly focused in my post-MBA career goals even now that the whole admission process is finished. I hands down would not have reached this point in my life and career without her.

In terms of results, Susan helped me apply to 3 schools (NYU Stern, UVA Darden and Duke Fuqua. I received 50% and 70% scholarships at Darden and Fuqua. The skills that Susan taught me about the application process made me feel so confident about it all, that I ended up applying to several other schools on my own (using Susan's mantras and approach), and was admitted to and received partial scholarships at Northwestern Kellogg and Dartmouth Tuck. ( was also admitted to London Business School. I ended up choosing to go to Kellogg and telling Susan about the great news was one of the most rewarding and proudest moments for me throughout the whole process!

In summary, I could not recommend Susan more highly (especially if you, like me, are someone that benefits from direct and honest feedback, as well as candid guidance and steerage if you are feeling a bit lost at the start of the whole process). I will be forever grateful for her help as it was truly life changing. Get working with her today!

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Harold is a fantastic coach and I don’t know that I would have gotten my seat at Harvard Business School if it wasn’t for the strategic role he played in crafting my narrative for business schools. Early in the application process, Harold and I talked a lot about my target schools, my background, and my experiences that could lend to a strong application at each school. He helped me mold those into a clean personal/professional story and he coached me on how to articulate those succinctly in my applications. 5 out of 6 schools I applied to gave me an interview and I know that Harold’s help crafting each application to each school was key to that success. In addition to the technical stuff, Harold is empathetic and a great partner. He provided guidance and a friendly ear throughout the application cycle and I am so fortunate to have him in my court!

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Background:
I highly recommend choosing mbaMission, and Harold specifically. To provide some context, my application was an unusual one and Harold rose to the occasion remarkably. I’m from the Middle East. I have an engineering background and I have recently switched from Private to Public sector, and my goal from graduate school is to obtain a degree (or a dual degree) that focused on both policy and business. I started a bit late in the process. I submitted an application for MPA/ID program at HKS in December. Then, I decided to apply for MIT Sloan, to be a dual degree with the program from HKS. To hedge my bets, I also wanted to apply for the Master in Computational Analysis & Public Policy (MSCAPP) from the University of Chicago. Here was my challenge at the time: after I submitted my application to HKS in December, I was not very happy with my application and my test scores (high quant and not-an-impressive verbal). Furthermore, the deadline for both MIT Sloan R2 and Chicago MSCAPP were at the same day. I freaked out and realized I needed serious professional help if I wanted to increase my odds. Enter mbaMission. At first, I had a free session with Jessica. In only 30 mins, she gave me a lot of great advice! After some thinking, I decided to go with Jessica. She was unfortunately busy at the time to take on new clients. So, she suggested that I have another free session with Harold, given that he is an MIT grad and had previous clients from my region. I had another free session with Harold that extended for more than 30 mins. By that time, I already had free sessions for well more than an hour with mbaMission. I decided then to go with Harold, and I’m really glad that Jessica has recommended that we work together. I got excited to work with Harold so I took the start-to-finish package for both MIT and Chicago. Even though Chicago was a policy degree and not a business one, I still asked Harold to help me with it given that both schools were important for me to be admitted to, in addition to the fact that both were due at the same deadline.

Why go with Harold?
1. Crafting the right story:
o Laying the groundwork: Harold took enough time to understand my convoluted background and my aspirations in life. Like many who are seeking graduate school, not everything was a clear cut for me. I’m still figuring things out. In that sense, the process of understanding my story was a lot of work for both of us, but it was not a mechanical one.
o Drilling down on the important stories: After the brainstorming session, I uncovered parts of my story that I didn’t think they were worth speaking of in the first place. For example, I had a frustrating terrible experience with my start-up that I was not proud of to tell the truth. However, Harold advised a new angle on how to use this story in a way that reflected humility and growth, we are humans and not perfect creatures after all :).
o The right writing style while maintaining authenticity and your own voice: When writing something deeply personal I tend to be super conversational. While that’s good, maybe, some level of professionalism is still required. Harold was super helpful in pointing out when I went a little overboard with my style. That also meant that I often tend to exceed the word limit to get my point across (similar to what I’m doing now :)! ). As he puts it, he has a super power for cutting unnecessary sentences.

2. Navigating the nuances of the application process:
o Test Scores: As I explained earlier, I was not sure about my test scores. Balancing my test scores with my story, as well as being conscious of the limited time have, Harold advised me to maintain my current score and use the time I have to prefect my essays. This turned out to be a very pivotal advice as it allowed me to really focus on my essays. This was very bold of Harold to say, and counter to what many who knew my scores have advised. I trusted him and went with his recommendation (despite any outcome of the application process, his rationale made sense to me and it was all about prioritization of effort. It was still my decision to follow this advice or not!)
o Selecting recommenders: I had some difficult choices to make for determining which recommenders I should go with. Harold gave me great insights on how to set my strategy for recommenders (guess what, it worked!)
o How to engage with admissions team: Before meeting Harold, I was often not sure on how to approach certain topics with the admissions team. I didn’t want to on-the-nose with admissions. I thought it might backfire. However, Harold was super helpful in letting me know which types of communication with admissions are acceptable. He even helped in looking at some of the emails that I was about to send!

3. Interview prep:
o By far this was one of the most aspects I benefited from using Harold’s services. He prepped me really well for the interview. I walked to the interview with much more confidence compared to what would’ve been the case had I done it myself. The style of the interview and the questions he asked me was very close to what I got in the interview.

4. Making an incredibly concise and powerful CV
Important final note: When soliciting professional help for your applications, know that not one consultant would have a wand that would magically get you admitted. It’s really hard work form your part. The consultant will guide you every step of the way, but it’s your own application, your own voice and above all else, your future. As helpful as Harold was to me, I had to put in a lot of effort and make sure we were always on top of things and on schedule. A great advantage of Harold’s help was the constant guidance. In my previous experience without Harold, I would always get bogged down into very minor details that would make me lose track of the big picture. After using Harold’s help, he acted as a true anchor for me during the application process. Of course lets address the elephant in the room, this is not a cheap service! So this is a personal choice that depends on your financial situation, how badly you want the MBA and how comfortable you felt in the free session. Chemistry is important with the consultant! So use your free session wisely and only go when comfortable. If we go back in time, I would go with Harold every single time, regardless of being admitted or not!

Final result: Full disclosure, I got admitted into both MIT Sloan and Chicago . I opted to go with MIT (in addition to HKS, where I will start at next fall hopefully)

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I knew I needed a consultant to reach my MBA dreams, and spoke with around five different people before choosing Dan. Other consultants told me that with my qualifications I was a slam-dunk for M7, but Dan was the only one who remained logical – and told me that with hard work, there was a good, but not guaranteed, shot. I liked that approach best and it really pushed me to go that extra mile on my apps. I purchased the 7-school package with him and applied to 3 others on my own (I know, I’m crazy.)

Dan was consistently timely and effective. (Just know that you will need to make sure to be on top of all of your own progress/deadlines.) That being said, he was always available. We went through many, many iterations of all of my essays and resume: he really shines in his ability to shape an essay draft into something great. He even had me send in my choices for the application drop down menus and short answers for his approval, which was great peace of mind.

I received 8 interview invites, and Dan graciously let me swap out one of my seven included mock interviews for a school that we didn’t work on together. The mocks were extremely helpful and I went into all of my interviews feeling confident and fully prepared.

I was admitted to two M7s and received three full merit scholarships to T15s. I ultimately chose Kellogg, my top choice – and Dan’s first suggestion from day one, I must say – which we successfully navigated the waitlist for together. We were even able to negotiate a hefty scholarship on top to boot. I am over the moon with my results and would suggest him to anyone in a heartbeat.

If you’re looking for a consultant to reach your goals, go with Dan. Working with Dan was an investment that paid for itself many times over, and I’d suggest him to anyone who is looking to reach their best potential. Thanks Dan!!!

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Harold was the best admissions consultant for me and he played a huge part in my success of getting accepted into Columbia Business School. Our work together focused on breaking the application process into individual components and developing a well though-out plan before any writing began.

Harold and I were successful for the following reasons:

Harold began the process by getting to know everything about me and took the time at the beginning to understand my story. Business school applications can be a very time-consuming and difficult process that requires organization and a well thought-out plan before the writing process begins. In this way, he is remarkably efficient at time management and we saved a lot of time by getting fully acquainted with my story in the beginning.

He showed me how to organize my thoughts and how to best showcase my characteristics and abilities for admissions committees. Harold was amazing at walking me through the thought process on writing essays. As someone who struggles starting an essay, Harold helped instill confidence in my writing ability and helped me get started. He also gave me clear and concise instructions on how to navigate each essay, especially focusing on the attributes and characteristics each school is looking for in a candidate. His insight was a major help.

Lastly, his turnaround time on essay comments was excellent. He communicated to me when he would have time to read through my essays almost immediately and he always returned comments well before his deadlines.

If I were to go through the application process again, there is no doubt in my mind I would choose Harold Simansky again!

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Dan is focused, honest and transparent about what you need to achieve your goal which worked perfectly for me. He was incredibly patient and when reviewing my essays and worked me hard till my essays were as strong as they could be - He wanted my application to be as competitive as possible and for all my qualities to shine through. He was also very quick to turn around feedback as he understands the urgency and need to keep things moving, which kept me driven and on-track. I was able to hit all my deadlines because of that. Overall, with Dan, I felt like I was ALWAYS moving forward and moving closer to my goal. I got into a Top Ivy League Business School with his help.

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I purchased the full package from Susan, and I was accepted to my number one choice, Columbia Business School (CBS). I highly recommend working with Susan, and quite frankly, I would not have been successful without her. She is motivating while also empathetic, and no doubt has a wealth of knowledge about MBA schools and the MBA application process.

Susan’s knowledge about CBS and its values and criteria shaped the way I approached my application and essays – and she has the same knowledge for any school you apply to. I can’t understate how important this is. Every call, despite my hours of research online, she would bring up several points that would improve my application and essay for CBS specifically and that only someone with her experience could know.

Beyond her wealth of knowledge, my favorite thing about working with Susan was her ability to remain empathetic and motivating, at the same time as challenging me to dig deeper. By “dig deeper” I mean two things: (1) MBA applications (in particular the essays) take a lot of self-reflection. She will push you to truly understand what motivates you, and it truly comes out in the essays. And (2) while you write and own all of your essays, she works with you to ensure that everything you do and write has purpose and makes sense in layman terms, which is particularly useful if you have been in industry for several years.

I would recommend Susan without hesitation.

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Jeremy knows exactly how to transform a candidate’s character traits / experiences / life story and articulate them in a way that is easily (and attractively) digestible for admissions offices.

The MBA application process is a very expensive “black box” between tutors, consultants, applications, school visits, online programs, etc. The scariest part of which is that you never truly know that you are on the best possible path towards admissions at your target program.

Jeremy takes the “black box” and lights it up for you. He is the most experienced person I have come across during my MBA application process by FAR, he knows the ins and outs of every school, is one of the best communicators that I have ever encountered, and is very easy to work with. These skills enabled Jeremy to help me in the most efficient and enjoyable way as I navigated the process, ultimately leading to admission to my top target school.

From the first phone call, I could tell that Jeremy knows this process cold. Furthermore, his ability to dictate prose and work with me to craft my story in an articulate and professional manner for admissions officers gave me comfort that I was putting myself in the best possible position to secure a position in the class of 2022.

Lastly, my final recommendation is to not be intimidated by Jeremy’s cost. What you spend with Jeremy will be returned back to you 10-fold during the process in terms of stress mitigation, time spent going in circles, and more (regardless of your MBA admissions outcome). You should plan to book Jeremy a year in advance and commit to putting in the effort with him throughout that timeframe to ensure a successful process for yourself. Jeremy’s reputation does precede him, deservedly so, and he does book up 6 – 12 months in advance of the first round application deadline. Hire Jeremy before his slate gets filled with other candidates.

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