I graduated from a non-target Bachelor's programme (uni is ranked 551-600 worldwide on QS) from a developing Asian country. I also had a months-long gap on my CV, and absolutely no idea on how to achieve my dream of breaking into the Russell Group. With just 5 hours of consulting time, she got me through multiple essay drafts, gave input on my short answers, and even gave me 1 interview dress rehearsal. From this standing start, I got into LBS.

Screw LSE and Imperial; I somehow found myself in the best UK school possible, in my context as a pre-experience student.

Jen Kedrowski is competent, knowledgeable about her domain (UK schools), and generally fair when it comes to billing her hours.

Don't trust the process; trust in Jen.

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I was very fortunate to get in touch with Krista Nannery at MBA Mission through a free 30-minute consultation. Immediately, I felt at ease because I felt like she understood where I was coming from - my background, what I wanted to achieve, and where I wanted to go with the MBA program. To be honest, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to pursue my MBA when I first got in touch with Krista and the entire MBA admissions process seemed so daunting that I thought about waiting another year to apply. After listening to my story, however, Krista helped me formulate a clear picture of my goals and helped me prepare for the application process even though I was starting just two weeks before the R2 deadlines.

Krista became the biggest advocate and cheerleader throughout the process. Having started so late in the game, I worked on some of the essays just days before R2 deadlines and somehow Krista always turned them around within a business day. The feedback she provided was so instrumental in taking my essays to another level - she encouraged me to think creatively about my experiences and to convey them in a manner that delivers the strongest message to the admissions committee. She was very knowledgable on different programs and what each school was looking for, which helped me determine which aspects of my experiences or personality should be emphasized in each application to ensure it gets presented in the best light. Krista is also an amazing writer - she will be able to pinpoint areas to enhance in your essays in subtle but such effective ways, which is so important when writing admission essays with specific word count requirements.

Most importantly, Krista was so supportive and encouraging during the entire process; sometimes I felt like she believed in me more than I believed in myself. She gave me a ton of confidence and helped me stay true to myself during a process that can sometimes be overwhelming to navigate on your own. I really cannot thank her enough for guidance and I would highly recommend Krista to anyone looking to enhance their MBA candidacy. As for results, I was accepted to my top choice program with a significant scholarship and I owe it much to Krista's help.

Thank you Krista and mbaMission!!!

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Whether you think you need a consultant or not, everyone, and I mean everyone, should at least have a free consultation. There is no special formula to guarantee admission, but having someone with experience is invaluable. I truly believe that Rachel and I put together my best possible candidacy.

This isn't Rachel's first rodeo and mbaMission definitely takes notes on attributes, application approaches and experiences that has made past candidates successful - so when Rachel makes a suggestion, it comes with insight and knowledge that only someone with experience can provide. It's OK to disagree with Rachel and she is very open to your opinion, but at the same time trust her.

The application process is a marathon, not a sprint, and you two are a team. Rachel takes time to fully digest your life story - from childhood to the time of your candidacy - in order to highlight themes, interesting facts and other strong points. In order for you two to be successful at putting together your best application, the appropriate time is needed for the process to work. Rachel maintains constant communication throughout the process to help guide you as you construct your application(s).

Interview preparation in general is awkward. No matter how bad you want cancel the Skype interview prep with Rachel, fight through it. Nailing the actual interview with the school is so important and there is a fine line between sounding like a robot - and having automated responses - and being well-versed in the practice of interviews. Rachel provides great advice on how to structure responses (yes, even the order for sub-bullets of a response) to help the response flow smoothly or tease future responses, which may help guide the interview in your favor.

Highly recommend reaching out to Rachel if you're new to the MBA application process. Also, starting the application process in April or May will help. You will be surprised how fast spots fill and how detailed this process will be. Most likely you will be working full-time through it all, so allow time for Rachel to do her work and try not submit a first draft a week before the deadline. Rachel and I had 10+ drafts on everything. I think the results from my applications are objective proof of the time and care that the team, Rachel and I, put into everything.

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I was extremely busy at my work during the admission season, and knew very little about admission process when the application deadline was only around 3 months away. So I chose to get Debbie Choy's help. I summarized some most important insights from Debbie as below, which turned out to be very true and helped me to be very efficient during the process.
1. Recommendation of what schools or programs suit me best;
2. What the admission offices are looking for from applicants, and what makes the applicant different from others;
3. How to write essays that present yourself better;
4. Debbie controlled the application schedules very well. She always gave responses within the time as she promised, and would also check in me when I was a little behind on things that needed to be done;
5. Debbie also had a mock interview with me, which turned out to be very similar to what I experienced in real. It made me very prepared and confident during the interview.
Overall speaking, Debbie has a very clear, easy and sense-making process for you to follow in order to complete the admission process. I felt it was just a matter of time and process to get admitted by your dream school, as long as you follow her process. I strongly recommended you to use Debbie's help if you would like to maximize your acceptance possibility, and make your process as easy as possible.

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Going into the admissions process, I was hesitant to use an expensive consulting service, but all of the schools I wanted to go to were reaches, so I knew I needed help getting in. I ended up using Dan's hourly service to apply to 3 top 15 schools and ended up getting into my second choice w / $.

Dan's style is to give you honest feedback - he won't sugarcoat anything. Because of this, Dan is great at helping candidates identify and address their weaknesses. Part of the reason I initially chose him was because of his writing background. His ability to articulate an applicant's goals succinctly is remarkable. He's also highly efficient and very responsive. Lastly, his interview prep was particularly relevant: in my real interviews I ended up being asked most of the same questions that we reviewed in our interview prep.

With Dan's help I ended up getting a scholarship with a value that far exceeded the cost of the consulting services. I would highly recommend him to any prospective B school applicant. 5 stars !!!

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I got partnered up with John late into my application process and looking back am very very glad I did. Working with John was a seamless process - I was able to walk through my general thought process on application plans, school visits, interview preparation, and general story. John was thoughtful, methodical, and efficient with this consulting services. I would absolutely recommend him to other prospective business school applicants, particularly those who are looking for an organized and structured approach to applying to schools. In the end, John was able to help me get admitted to my top choice and was kind enough to do a de-brief call to reflect and also start to plan the first semester in my full-time MBA program!

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Initially I felt a little intimidated by the idea of working with an MBA admission consultant because I knew that MBA application process is all about deep self-reflection and authentic storytelling. I was not sure if I could truly open up myself to and go through the process with someone I did not know before. But because mbaMission has a great reputation, I decided to give it a try and called them for a free 30-minute consultation. That then led me to Jen, who completely shaped my MBA application experience!

Jen challenged me to go above and beyond in my applications: The very first essay draft I sent to Jen was Stanford’s classic and difficult essay. Jen sent me her written feedback in 2 days and I was totally amazed by her detailed notes and thoughtful critique. And then she called me to walk me through her notes and guided me to think deeply about the “why” part of the question. I already put some serious thoughts into the essay but Jen encouraged me to dive deeper and taught me how to do so. I knew then I had to get Jen’s help for my other schools and decided to purchase packages for all my others schools with Jen!

Jen was always there for me: I had about 2 months to finish 6 schools’ applications and each of the schools asked for something different in their essays and interviews. And as an international student, I was also worried about messing up those cultural nuances in my applications. Jen helped me with every step for every school including essay brainstorming, essay editing, resume polishing, interview preparation, and an additional scholarship application process for one of the schools. Jen was so knowledgeable, responsive, patient, encouraging and honest that I felt extremely comfortable to ask her any questions and share my thoughts/feelings/concerns. I remember I would call her before my interviews to practice some questions or just chat about the interview, and then walked into every interview feeling very confident and fully prepared. I could not imagine getting such amount of guidance and support from anyone else!

Finally I was admitted to 4 top business schools! I am so grateful for everything Jen did and she means much more than an admission counselor to me – She is a true friend and mentor.

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I first spoke to Melissa the summer before applying to school for my 30-min free consultation. She definitely seemed knowledgable, but I was hesitant to spend so much money on something I thought I could figure out for myself. Well, fast-forward about 8 months and I'd only been accepted to 1 MBA program out of 9 that I applied to. Stuck on 4 waitlists, I purchased 3 hours of consulting with Melissa to help me navigate my way off 1 or 2 waitlists. She listened carefully to my questions and concerns and was able to quickly analyze what I told her and provide instant, strong, practical feedback. She helped me thoughtfully and tactfully explain major professional updates and worked with me to make sure I communicated appropriate and impactful updates to admissions offices. It made a real difference. I was immediately accepted into Johnson with a last-minute, last-round application and was accepted into both Stern and Ross after submitting waitlist update letters. My only regret is that I didn't sign up to work with her sooner!

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To the reader, I’ve sat in your shoes and faced the uncertainty of whether or not I would get any benefit from an admissions consultant after committing a lot of money upfront. I had read the horror stories online and had friends with negative experiences. I did the 30 minute free consultations with a few firms to narrow down my selection. I promise that, if you choose Melissa, you’ll have a terrific experience. I worked with Melissa on a five school package and all five schools I applied to were M7 schools. In addition I was working on a very tight timeframe – we started working together in mid-November and I hadn’t taken the GMAT. Yet with Melissa’s encouragement, support and help I was able to submit all five applications and was admitted to three M7 schools including with a significant fellowship and scholarship. I’m delighted to be attending my dream business school in the fall and Melissa was the driving force behind that. I can’t recommend her highly enough.

This is why you should hire Melissa:
1) Dedication: Melissa is completely dedicated to her clients. Given I was applying to five top schools all in the second round, Melissa and I were working right up to the early January deadlines. She was sending me edits on drafts on 26th December, New Year’s Eve and on New Year’s Day. You can ignore mbaMission’s statement that consultants reply in two days and don’t email you on holidays – Melissa replies much faster than that and is very flexible if you have deadlines. She is always happy to have calls. We had everything from two hour long brainstorming sessions to email exchanges over the wording of a 50 word short answer question. We’ve had multiple calls over school decisions and mock interviews. In short, you’re hiring someone who will partner with you through this arduous process.

2) Expertise: Her Kellogg MBA and experience as Executive Director of Admissions at Rice’s MBA program speak for themselves. She has the expertise and track record to guide you through everything from school selection to essay editing to interviewing. She will challenge you and give you frank feedback on your candidacy. She has seen it all and so can always help you.

3) Support and Encouragement: I can promise you that taking the GMAT and applying to business schools while working at a demanding job will be difficult and you will be faced with setbacks. I was concerned because I was an older candidate from a very competitive applicant pool applying in the second round to the best MBA programs in the world. Melissa gave me the encouragement and support to realise that my candidacy could stand-out and that I could be successful even on a tight timeframe. She also gave me the confidence that I didn’t need a safety school.

4) Essay Topic Selection and Editing: The essays are a key piece of the application and it’s where Melissa added significant value. She helped me select topics that showcased my unique strengths. She constantly pushed me in each mock draft I sent her to “show rather than tell” and use examples about how I could have an impact. She tailored each essay to each school I applied to. Melissa is excellent at decoding the sometimes cryptic essay questions to ensure that you’re answering in the right way.

5) Mock Interviews: Melissa is great at giving you mock interviews. I felt so well prepared going into every interview I had. Melissa even gave me a separate mock interview after a mock team based discussion to ensure I was prepared for other parts of the school’s interview. I walked out of every interview thinking I had really excelled and that Melissa had put me in a position to succeed.

In conclusion, hire Melissa. She’s going to be your best advocate in a very trying process. She has the skills and expertise to ensure you put your best foot forward. She has the dedication to meet any deadline and provide her insight on any question, no matter how great or small it is. She has the personality to encourage you to keep pushing ahead. Hiring Melissa was the best decision I made as part of the process and it will be the best decision you make.

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Applying to business schools can be a testing experience that requires a lot of self-reflection. I started using Harshad as a pay by the hour consultant to help tighten my stories. After working with him for a few sessions, I realized that I was going to need more help in coming up with my unique stories that would stand out in my applications. I upgraded to the full time package, and it was the best decision and money I spent in the application process.

Harshad has a unique ability to connect with the people he works with. We have only communicated over the phone and email, but I found myself quickly trusting him. I opened up about events in my life that I have told few people. He brought out powerful stories and emotions, some of which I had buried deep down inside myself.

Harshad will also very honest with you and is a great communicator. He will let you know if you produced a strong piece or a piece that needs more work. If he does provide constructive feedback, he does so in a way that never feels personal. I always felt that Harshad was rooting for me every step of the way.

All in all, I cannot recommend Harshad enough. He will bring out the best version of yourself and help you distill that version onto paper.

I was accepted into two great schools, and I have no doubts that Harshad was a big part of me getting into those schools.

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