| All Reviews > mbaMission Reviews |
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
For my MBA Application process, I simply wanted the best. From the get-go when I had my first consultation with Jessica in 2017, I sensed a connection with the person which would become my mentor. At the time Jessica was already fully booked and so combined with her recommendations to improve on my test score as well as wanting to work with her I delayed my application to 2018.
Even before I started working with her she would keep communication with me to follow-up on our first conversation and on how have I had improved since. This behavior, combined with many other exceeded my expectations, I felt she truly cared and was committed to help me at building the best application I could ever present. And so, I took the Complete Start-to-Finish Package for three (TOP 10) MBA Schools.
I knew that my case was challenging as an international coming from an unusual background with a mix of professional experience, and in addition my GMAT score (just below 700) was not my stronger aspect. Nevertheless, I trusted Jessica, she knew exactly what to do and was with me throughout the whole process. Jessica‘s personality is straight to the point, there is no waste of time, and she will tell you when things are not right, she definitely puts the time (going over nine drafts for one of the essays), and is pretty much always available (I remember sending her a quick question e-mail at midnight and couple minutes later receiving an answer – WOW!). She is knowledgeable and knows how to help you build the best story of yourself.
I realize that having a consultant for MBA applications is expensive and so before making such commitment make sure that you do your research, for me it was simple, I wanted to be with the greatest, that is why I chose Jessica and the results speak for themselves! I have been accepted to my second and third choice (both Top 10) with a +50% scholarship at both, and I am interviewed at my number 1 choice (which was a huge reach considering my scores).
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
I feel very fortunate to have worked with Jessica Shklar from MBA Mission this year. She was kind, direct and helpful from the start and I don't think I would have survived the grueling admissions process without her. Beginning with our 30 minute consultation, she helped me to understand what made me unique and how to bring my previous experiences together into a cohesive and powerful story. She helped me substantially with the essays and short answers, and helped me feel confident with the package I put together. She was also prompt in answering any question I had, no matter how small. I would not hesitate to work with Jessica again and have already recommended her to close friends who are considering applying to MBA programs.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
Before Jessica I was like a lost duck. I had no idea what I should be doing to prepare my application for business school and I had no idea how to navigate the entire process. Luckily, I contacted her far enough in advance so that we could discuss a plan. After our initial discussion I was definitely overwhelmed by how much I needed to do but at the same time Jessica made it all seem much more manageable and took much of the stress out of the process. I came in with a low GPA so I really didn’t have that high of expectations. Jessica helped me to formulate my story in a way that brought out the best aspects of myself that I hadn’t even considered. Yes, she was fantastic at helping me bring out my voice in my essays and preparing me for my interviews but it was the discussions with her about my life experiences that really stood out to me. She forced me to be introspective in a way that I had never been and helped me to take a hard look at my life and relate my past experiences to what I wanted to do moving forward. Without her I would have never even known where to start. People say “you don’t know what you don’t know” and with the application process this was very true for me. I went from having low expectations to getting a scholarship to a top 5 school. Jessica, THANK YOU!
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
To say that Jessica Shklar made miracles to get me into Wharton, Colombia and Yael is an understatement, I am an out of the box non-traditional applicant to say the least. I have severe dyslexia with middle of the pack scores. Jessica found the diamond in the rough fleshed out what turned out to be an incredible story and an undeniably amazing application. It was clear throught the process how much time she was devoting to my application as she knew my story better than me! She was so helpful, professional and kind that I am genuinely sad that the process is over. I look forward to keeping in touch with my new friend.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
Jessica was critical in my admission to HBS—I truly feel I couldn’t have done it without her. I first spoke to Jessica during a 30 minute free consultation (I did these with all of the major companies). Right off the bat I felt Jessica truly believed in me, was my main cheerleader, and was invested in making me successful.
I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better experience working with Jessica. I was very daunted by the business school application process and how to tell my story (I had a series of jobs that seemed unrelated on paper and wasn’t sure about my career goals). I was blown away by our first brainstorming session—Jessica has the unique ability to ask the right questions and is a gifted story teller—I left our first brainstorming session with a clear story and direction for my HBS essay (none of which I had planned to write about!)
Jessica reviewed every word on my application including my resume, essays, and short answer with incredible detail and care. Her promptness and thoughtfulness while editing were simply incredible—she pushed me to think, clarify my goals, and suggested major improvements, all while preserving my voice. She kept me on track and stopped me from second guessing myself, all while making sure I was truly proud of and happy with every single thing I turned into the schools.
Once the applications were all submitted and I heard back regarding interviews, Jessica was critical in helping me prep for those as well.
I give Jessica my highest possible recommendation—she’s sincere, cares about her clients, and extremely good at what she does. Thank you so much, Jessica! I really appreciate it!
REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by score report [?]
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Melissa Blakeslee
Coming off a zero admit season I was desperately seeking good advice and counsel for my reapplication season. As part of my search, I reviewed the list of consultants on mbaMission website and decided to set up a 30 min complimentary call with Melissa. I was intrigued by her experience leading the admissions committee at an actual business school, and wanted to get her thoughts on my candidacy and approach.
While I decided to go with an Indian consultant for a school package due to budgetary constraints, I didn't want to miss out on Melissa's expertise and decided to go for hourly services with her.
I loved Melissa's direct but positive & encouraging approach to my questions, and while initially I was apprehensive about how the whole "hourly" service will work, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of value I was able to derive from it. I used Melissa's expertise in fine-tuning my resume, reviewing essays for a couple of schools, getting answers to miscellaneous questions, and I finished it with a mock interview. For those who may be apprehensive about spending 4-5K to get such expert advice as a full package, I'd say the "hourly service" is a great way to not miss out on some very valuable support and guidance.
Melissa's feedback on essays and story structure was crucial (specially for Fuqua's 25 things) and she also suggested some super edits to resume bullets which were minor changes but greatly increased the impact of the bullets. The mock interview was also very helpful as we focused on pace and tone apart from the stories. I also sought her advice on things like interviewing with alum vs on campus and it was reassuring to make those decisions knowing that I was not doing it alone.
I had final offers from Chicago Booth, Kellogg & Duke Fuqua and I have no qualms in admitting that Melissa had a material effect in ensuring these great results.
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Melissa Blakeslee
Prepping for the GMAT and GRE (I took both) was an exhausting process. I've always been a solid student (GPA 3.8), but I kept missing the mark on these standardized tests. I wasn't very happy with my scores, and was thinking of applying round 3, to start school in fall 2018. Melissa was instrumental in my decision to wait, get the best scores I possibly could, not rush the essays, and apply round 1, in order to start school in fall 2019. I followed her advice and will be starting school in about 6 months at USC Marshall. Her honest assessment of my candidacy was so appreciated. I don't know if I would've made the cut had I applied in round 3 last year.
When it came to essays, I didn't know where to begin. Melissa really helped me hone my focus, and again, her honesty was greatly appreciated. One of my essays was so far away from where it needed to be that Melissa declined to give notes on it, and instead suggested that I start over with a different approach (she specified the approach). I was paying hourly, so I'm very grateful that she didn't waste time correcting an essay that was so poor to begin with.
Melissa is awesome in terms of communication, time management, and giving helpful, honest feedback. I would highly, HIGHLY recommend.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Helen Summers
I was skeptical about working with an admissions consultant at first but a colleague of mine strongly recommended Helen Summers.
I figured my resume was already polished and I knew how to brainstorm and write essays but Helen really helped bring my application to the next level. The detailed brainstorming process was extremely helpful and after establishing the essay framework for my first school it was very easy to modify my story for other applications. Helen challenged me to be more thoughtful and concise which allowed me to highlight a more holistic view of my background. It was also a big advantage to be able to set up mock interviews with the mbaMission team.
I was accepted to all three schools I applied to and would definitely recommend Helen and mbaMission to other applicants.
One consideration for future applicants is that I felt the start-to-finish package for 1 school was sufficient to get me through my other applications.
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Katharine Lewis
Katharine was critical in my preparation for business school applications! Her schedule fills up, so I locked her in as a consultant in January of 2016, when applications were not submitted until September of 2016.
In my case, Katharine's most influential interactions happened early in the process. She was the perfect river guide in self-reflection and discovery. Who am I? What people, events, and decisions have made me this way? What drives me? What do I want? I think I wrote up about 30+ pages of personal history before our first full working session. She knew more about me than most people ever do.
Because of her influence, I felt like I was able to tap into my most authentic self and write genuine, compelling essays. This led to admission to Stanford, Wharton, and Kellogg. Harvard declined to interview. I matriculated at the GSB and will graduate this year!
Give Katharine a call and see if she's a fit for you! I'm soooo glad I did.
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Nisha Trivedi
I come from a non-traditional background and wanted to bring on a consultant to help round out my profile. After shopping around, it was abundantly clear that Nisha not only was competent and knowledgeable, but also that she is incredibly friendly and fun to work with. It took almost no time for me to completely buy into her wealth of knowledge and trust that her input and direction was always correct for my situation. She was incredibly quick turning around essay critiques, often sooner than the company's stated 48 hour turn around time. She was also incredibly supportive along the way and judicious with her billing, which made me more and more likely to seek her advice on even the smallest matters. I applied to 4 schools and was admitted to all of them, including receiving a scholarship offer from one of my reaches. There is no way I would have been able to achieve this without Nisha. Can not give her enough stars!