mbaMission Admissions Consulting Reviews

Working with Jen at MBAMission saved my business school application process. I had taken my tests, chosen my schools, and prepared my essay topics, but when I sat down to start writing, it became clear I needed help. I was brutally honest in my 30-minute interview, which led to an exceptional match with Jen. I started working with Jen in August (later than they would prefer) and was still able to meet the Round 1 deadlines at my chosen schools.

Jen is amazing. She worked around the clock with me and was always patient when I struggled with essay topics or vague MBA program language. She is incredibly prompt and professional and, always, made me feel like I could do anything I set my mind to. I was so excited to email her after an interview to tell her that I finally understood what they meant by "fit" and that I had nailed the interview at my first-choice school - this feeling turned out to be mutual when I ended up getting in.

Jen helped me both be myself and take chances, like choosing to make a video over writing an essay, by asking the right questions and getting to know me.

I would recommend MBAMission to anyone applying to school.

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I worked with Nisha at mbamission and, with her help, went 2/2 with my target schools (one international and one domestic) in the early action round. Nisha was very responsive and always hit the review and essay turnaround timeline.

I had also worked with Stacy Blackman and found that the two services were quite different. Nisha was very focused on grammar and writing style – she spent a lot of time editing my essays – whereas my consultant at SB didn’t critique my writing so much as the content and stories within the essay.

Overall, I was happy with Nisha’s help, but she didn’t challenge me as much as I would have liked and her consultation didn’t feel as genuine nor personalized as my experience with SB.

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When I started my MBA journey, I knew that I wanted to work with an admissions consultant company. Coming from an education/non-profit background, I wanted more guidance on the business school process and most importantly, crafting the importance of an MBA degree into my life story.

I did my research when I was looking into different consultant companies. I took the 30 minute initial phone call from many different companies (ex: Stacy Blackman) and ultimately decided that mbaMission was the best fit. They understood my background and had the best grasp on the intersection of business and education. This was key to me because I knew that a well written essay and narrative was my shot to getting into a top 15 program.

The best part about working with Kate was her incredible ability to truly listen and and connect with her clients. During the brainstorming session, she really got to know me and my life story. Her depth and understanding allowed her to guide me in creating a clear and compelling narrative for my business school essays. When I was accepted into my top choice, they specifically referenced the powerful story in my essay. Without Kate, I wouldn't have been able to create a concise but moving story that explains how an MBA fits into my "non-traditional" background.

As someone that does not have traditional business experience, it was also great to have Kate as a resource for every other part of the application process. The MBA application process is pretty much like having another job, so having someone else to call or talk to was definitely a stress reliever. She was always available to chat over email or video chat about big or small questions. Sometimes we would go over important interview questions and other times she would just listen to me vent about the GRE and give me study resources. No matter what, she always responded quickly and gave out truthful advice.

If you are looking for someone that will help you realize exactly why you want an MBA degree and support you every step of the way, I would recommend working with Kate. She is a great person and an amazing consultant.

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I applied to five top programs, and Krista helped me throughout various stages of the process for each of the five schools on an hourly basis (brainstorming during the essay process, proofreading and providing suggestions for essays, mock interviews), and without Krista, I would not be where I am today—enrolling in Sloan in the fall with a scholarship for my first year!

1) Krista is incredibly personable and thoughtful—she truly got to know me – my interests, my aspirations, my work / academic experience, my background. She helped me tailor my application to reflect who I am and what I wanted to say, highlighting my strengths. For example, I had an “optional essay” for one of the programs I applied to that could be in any medium of my choice. Krista was familiar with my professional background (I work in hotel / property development). She suggested a website (something I would not have thought of) to showcase my work (lots of renderings/design drawings), which ended up turning out really well—a creative solution that was representation of who I am and something I was truly proud of. And this was because she put thought into what I should create that would best showcase and reflect ME as a person.

2) Krista was always timely at providing feedback and setting up phone calls—she was always available to chat whenever I needed to.

3) She is detailed-oriented and constructive in her feedback on essays and short answers--and puts a lot of effort into tweaking language, style, and content based on characteristics of each school--something I would have overlooked without her.

4) She alleviated a lot of stress and a lot of my concerns about the process. I was initially really anxious about applying to business schools, but Krista was a constant source of support, guidance, and knowledge about the process—and I really would have been a lot less efficient and effective during the entire process without her help.

Overall, Krista made the whole process a lot more efficient and a lot more enjoyable than I had anticipated, and I am really happy with the final outcome—having the opportunity to attend one of my top choices in the fall! Thanks again, Krista!

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I chose John as my admissions consultant because I read that he liked storytelling and would help me tell my story to the Admissions Committee convincingly and authentically. He absolutely delivered. John and I went talked through my approach to the essays, and he guided me to craft my experiences in a structured way that would allow the Admissions Committee to find what they were looking for. We went back and forth on many drafts, and John pushed me to a winning draft of one of my Wharton essays. When John went on paternity leave, he ensured that I was in good hands to finish off the Wharton application (which eventually gained me admission).

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I hired MBA Mission because I was a non-traditional applicant who wanted a lot of guidance throughout the process. I sought out Angela specifically because of her involvement with the Forte Foundation.

Angela is very straightforward, but is good humored and easy to work with. She provided valuable feedback and information about virtually every facet of the application, but I never felt like she was nudging me towards a certain school or writing my essays for me. Anyone can point out candidate weaknesses, but Angela had specific ideas about how to “plug the holes” that were all achievable in a constricted timeframe. I appreciated how promptly she responded to my emails and edited my essay drafts. Everything I sent her was returned to me within 48 hours.

The school package is pricey, but I felt like it was money well spent. After I paid, I never felt like Angela was trying to nickel and dime me. I never paid for extra services even though she probably could have charged me in a couple of cases.

Thanks Angela!

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I met Angela through the Forte 2016 MBALaunch program. She was sharp, persuasive, and authentic. I respected her from the get-go and immediately felt like we’d get along. When it came time for applications and picking a MBA consultant, I knew Angela would be my top choice.

I have a wide network of friends/acquaintances that are in the business world, in b-school or are alums. As I was talking to folks to get a pulse of the different schools, I realized that all of them have different opinions which I was getting swayed by, and I needed a sounding board to stay true to myself in this process. A professional that would understand my life story, my goals, my dreams and not let me lose sight of myself as I applied – which is exactly what Angela did!

Angela essentially knew my entire life story after reading the 25+ brainstorming document I created prior to our first real call. She helped me think through the parts of my story that I wanted to share in that essay. My essay was a very personal life story about what I’m passionate about, why and how that came to be. After it reached a point where I felt it was final, I sent it to a 5 friends for feedback (3 applying to b-school, 1 at HBS and 1 alum). All of them had varying feedback, but they all said that I needed to vastly change my essay or at least ½ of it. One friend forwarded it to her brother. Her brother sent it to an HBS alum, who reached out to me and tore my essay apart. This was a week before the deadline, and he essentially told me I needed to start from scratch and apply round 2.

After hearing all of this feedback, I went back to Angela – confused and upset. I didn’t know what to do. Angela helped me process the feedback and think through it piece by piece. She fully supported me changing it if I wanted, but she helped me remember that this essay is a true reflection of me and my most honest and authentic answer to HBS’s essay prompt. I decided not making any changes to my essay and turned it in.

Ultimately, I was accepted into HBS! I was also accepted into Wharton, Kellogg with a sizeable scholarship, and Berkeley.

I know I couldn’t have applied to 5 schools during round 1 without Angela’s support for 3 of them. She helped me not only be true to myself, but also stay accountable. The MBA Mission turnaround time of 2 days to review submitted documents to consultants helped me not procrastinate and get my apps done in a timely manner. I turned in all 3 of my apps that I worked on with her many days prior to the deadline.

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It all started with a free 30 minute consultation which is when I realized the value Jessica would add to my application. I had tried many other consultants and none of them were bad. But this 30 minute conversation blew me away. I can assure you that no other consultant will really invest so much into studying your profile and offering you free advice loaded with value and that too for free.

Then comes the next good thing. They will never press you to purchase their services. Actually, they dont need to. I am sure any applicant will be convinced about them after a single conversation.

Jessica helped me - a true mentor, pressing me to deliver my best, and supported me with her expertise and making me delve deeper at every step to discover my true potential. I will forever be thankful for her support and inspiration.

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When I decided that attaining an MBA was going to be the next step in my life, I knew that I was going to need help in the application process (especially given the fact, I only planned to apply to one program). I knew that I was going to seek help from an MBA admissions consulting firm – but did not know which one I was going to choose. After having multiple 30 minute (free) consultations with a few firms (e.g. Stacy Blackman, Veritas Prep, and mbaMission), I decided that I liked mbaMission best.

However, I am not writing a review to compare mbaMission to other firms. I am writing a review of the work Kate Richardson (my mbaMission admissions consultant) performed that allowed me to get into the Johns Hopkins/MICA’s Design Leadership program with a merit-based scholarship.

Kate is truly a great consultant. She catered to my needs and made the admissions process smooth and even quite fun. I would say the top three things that Kate helped me with were: 1) essay writing/editing, 2) strategy and detail, 3) staying true to myself.

As it pertains to essay writing/editing, Kate helped me recognize what stories in my life were going to make the strongest impact on the admissions committee and helped me outline what specific parts of those stories were going to be most pertinent to illustrate. Furthermore, once I started writing the essays, Kate provided insightful notes on my drafts that allowed me to fine tune the tone, clarity, and vividness of the messages I was trying to get across.

Regarding strategy and detail, Kate helped me ensure that the content of my essays, recommendation (only one is required for the program I applied to), and Linkedin profile all dovetailed one another. This is extremely important given the fact that the essays I had to write had 500-word limits. It is not efficient or effective to say the same things in multiple essays or have your recommender share the same story you wrote about in an essay (unless he/she has significantly different things to say than you do). With Kate’s help, I felt confident that my materials never overlapped, but complemented one another.

Thirdly, Kate never pushed me to write or do anything as it pertains to my admissions portfolio that I felt wasn’t me – which I think is most important. I felt that the application I submitted was the best representation of myself that I could have provided the admissions committee (while staying true to what I believed needed to be said).

In closing, if anyone is thinking about get an MBA and has the capital to hire an MBA admissions consultant during the admissions process, I highly recommend Kate without reservation. She is knowledgeable, intelligent, and easy to talk with. More importantly, she gets the job done.

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Jessica is incredible. I was very knowledgeable about the MBA process coming in, but still wanted a professional to review my essays and help with interview prep on an hourly basis. I selected Jessica based on her glowing GmatClub reviews.

I applied to 5 M7 schools Round 1 in Fall 2016, interviewed with 3, accepted to 2 (waitlisted at 1). Due to my schedule, I was unable to begin working on my applications until July. Jessica's targeted insight into what adcoms and specific schools were looking for helped me develop a roadmap for the two months before applications were due. She's also very gifted in helping you realize the best stories and themes to showcase in your applications. Jessica is honest in all of her feedback, which is invaluable, yet supportive in making you feel like you have a real shot at your reach schools.

Jessica is very conscientious of helping you get the most out of your time with her. Even during her busiest periods, she often turned around essay edits before the standard MBA Mission 48-hr response time and responded to any questions within 1-2 hours. When I added an application to my list with less than two weeks before the deadline, Jessica worked with me to do three reviews of the essay in just over a week.

Ultimately, I was admitted to Chicago Booth, Columbia, and waitlisted at MIT. I can't thank Jessica enough for her help and highly recommend her to any aspiring MBA applicant!

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