I had the opportunity to work with Melissa Merchant at mbaMission. I worked with Melissa starting in Spring 2017 throughout the end of R1 interviews. Throughout the process, Melissa was extremely helpful and patient; she was the primary reason I was able to get into my dream school of Northwestern: Kellogg.

For starters, I have a messy background that consisted of four different jobs in the span of six years. Melissa helped me craft a compelling and logical narrative that impressed the ad-com at both Kellogg ($$) and CBS ($$$)!

Melissa's two greatest strengths are her marketing background and her insistence on pushing for the best. After I submitted my initial stats and back-story to Melissa, she came back with 10, yes 10, different storylines to use for my essays. She has truly endless creativity. I would have NEVER thought to have written about the things I wrote about if I was completing the applications on my own. Melissa helped express my background into exciting and digestible stories, which is a testament to her background as a brand manager.

She also pushed me throughout the process. I was definitely frustrated at times when I had to submit the same essay for FIVE rounds of edits, but it was ultimately what I needed to be successful :) Consulting is not cheap, but you definitely get what you pay for and I'm thankful for Melissa and mbaMission. I would highly recommend her to anyone who is interested in traversing this difficult but rewarding process!

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Several friends recommended that I hire an admissions consultant for my apps, so I decided to give the free 30-minute consultation a try. My plan was to shop around different companies and consultants before committing, and my very first consultation was with Melissa. After the first few minutes with her, I was sold and knew that I didn’t need to look any further. After our consultation, the actual thought in my head was, “There’s literally nothing I would change about her and our dynamic, so I might as well end my search here!”

For me, the toughest part of the app process was essay writing. There were stories that I knew I wanted to share, but I couldn’t get the messaging down myself, and especially not within the word limits. Melissa helped guide my thinking to dig deeper, and at the end, my final essays were still very much "me" -- MY stories, and in MY words – just told in a MUCH more effective way. Her guidance for my resume and interview preparation was also tremendously helpful and insightful.

Melissa is everything you’d possibly want in a consultant – she’s reliable, personable, and knows what the admissions committee is looking for. I couldn’t be happier with my experience, and she’s one of the first people I called when I got into my dream school! I truly think that I wouldn’t have been able to get into all the schools I did without Melissa on my team.

Anyone in the market for an admissions consultant -- save your time and end your search here! I recommend Melissa 100%.

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I was recently admitted to the MIT Sloan Fellows Programme. I am an Indian entrepreneur with 11+ years of work experience and a 740 GMAT.

Taking this opportunity to review Harold Simansky, I would like to appreciate his support through out my application process. He has the following advantages that proved invaluable -

1. Extremely quick to respond and available 24x7. He often replied to my mails within minutes.

2. Is adaptable and understands the applicant's needs and story quick. I was running on tight deadlines for completing my application. Harold was flexible in his approach and fortunately able to work within my timelines due to which I could balance the application process with my work commitments easily.

3. Has great clarity of thought and solves queries instantly. As an entrepreneur with significant experience, I had many leadership experiences that I would have liked to share. Harold was quick to give me a feedback and help me remain focused on what I wanted to convey.

In addition, I would also like to thank Salma Qarnain from Stratus Prep, who helped me introspect during the application process. It was truly a rewarding experience working with her as well.

Thanks Harold and Stratus Prep for all the support !!
Ambuj

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When I decided to apply to B-School, I debated whether or not to use an admissions consultant. A friend of mine recommended I give mbaMission a try for at least the free 30 minute consultation. After speaking with Melissa in that initial conversation and getting a very positive impression, I decided that I would purchase a couple of hours for a second, and professional opinion on some of my essays. This turned out to be the best decision I made during the application process. My coach/coachee relationship with Melissa snowballed from there and I continued working with her throughout the entire application process because I kept getting so much value out of her feedback.

More than anything, Melissa helped me understand my story on a deeper level and in a way that would resonate on my applications. Furthermore, she helped me discover my potential by forcing me to dig deeper on every essay, resume bullet point, interview prep call, etc. Because I could tell she cared about my dreams and aspirations for business school and beyond, I was able to trust her throughout the entire application process. The value of having a coach and loyal friend (who I knew had my best interest at heart) in my corner while navigating the challenging process of applying to business school was immeasurable.

In addition to the soft skills and intangibles she provided, Melissa is incredibly smart and energetic. Her insight, expertise, and passion provided a much needed boost to my applications. I totally (and have already) recommend working with Melissa to anyone considering applying to business school. She helped me get into my dream school and I couldn't be more excited about what she helped me accomplish. I look forward to sharing future successes with her for many years to come!

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I used hourly services with Jen and it was immensely helpful in my business school application process and a key contributor to my success in admissions! I was initially hesitant to use an admissions consultant, but set up a free 30 minute consultation at the recommendation of a friend. A few minutes into my consultation, I knew I wanted to work with Jen throughout the application process. Right away, she pulled stories out of me to brainstorm essay ideas and provided great advice on which stories I should use for which applications. She was incredibly knowledgeable about the schools I was applying to and helped me tailor my essays, short responses, and resumes accordingly. I am so glad I made the decision to use mbaMission and I would enthusiastically recommend Jen as an admissions consultant throughout the application process!

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I had the pleasure of working with Jen throughout the duration of my application process to NYU Stern. I was matched with Jen after my free 30min consultation where I explained what my goals were to one of the leaders of mbaMission. Jen proved to be just as good as advertised. She had amazing feedback on all aspects of the application which helped me tell one cohesive story. Her feedback was prompt, helpful, and gave me the boost that I needed to feel confident about my chances of getting admitted to school. As someone that did not have an elite GMAT score, I knew I would need some guidance to make the rest of my application really stand out, and Jen gave me all the tools that I needed. I am so grateful to have worked with her, and would recommend her services to any future MBA applicants looking to get a leg up on the competition.

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I worked with Melissa on a 2-school package, and truly appreciate the time she put into every step of the process. From our 30-min consultation, she was really helpful in setting expectations about what was realistic and building my confidence that I could get into one of my target schools.

Melissa was really helpful in talking through potential essay topics in the application process, taking the time to get to know me as a person and highlighting stories and qualities I hadn't thought to talk about. She was extremely timely and thorough with essay edits, editing countless drafts of each essay. She answered all of my silly questions, and helped me feel confident throughout the process, which was something I definitely struggled with. She went above and beyond in the interview process, making me feel prepared not just for the interviews that were part of the school packages but for all of the business school interviews I had. In the end, I was admitted to both schools with scholarships! I can't thank Melissa enough for all of her help and support throughout the process and would highly recommend her to anyone embarking on the business school application process!

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Let's be honest, getting into a top MBA programme is not easy. Perhaps the easiest bit is the grades and the GMAT. Its straight forward and you just have to study to get the right score/grades. The difficult bit is actually deciding which school to apply to, navigating through the application process and in the end, perhaps the most difficult of them all, making a selection.

I worked with Harold to apply to 6 schools. My working with Harold actually happened by coincidence. I was first matched with another consultant with whom I felt like I was not connecting very well. Stratus offered to switch the admissions consultant I was working with and paired me with Harold. This experience showed me that they really do care and want me to succeed. Stratus is really there to help any way that they can throughout the process.

Harold is very experienced at MBA Applications. He knows what schools want to hear and how you can structure your applications to stand out from the crowd. His help on my applications have been invaluable. I had so many ideas on how to structure these very short essays and I really struggled to pick which ones are the stories I should tell. Harold helped me every step of the way and explained what I should do and why I should do it. Beyond the essays, he was always there to talk to me whenever I had a question. It really was a tremendous support to have an expert by you to bounce ideas off of.

Perhaps my most memorable experience is when Harold recommended a certain MBA programme to me that was not on my radar. He found a school and a programme that had a specialization in the area I wanted to work in. School is such a good fit and my application was so successful that I got accepted into the program with a 50% scholarship despite having a GMAT score that is 40 points below the average. I must say, scholarship more than justified the fees I paid to Stratus.

In the end, I benefitted greatly from working with Harold. Not only I succeed in getting into the schools I wanted, I also learned a lot about myself and the career that I want to pursue.

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Summary: Rachel helped me gain admittance to my dream school, Wharton! If you are contemplating the benefits of using a consultant, I would tell you to stop thinking about it and begin working with Rachel. Without Rachel's guidance and encouragement - I would not have even applied to my first choice school.

My Story: As I began the application process for MBA programs, I had a few friends suggest that I look to leverage an admissions consultant. Skeptical at first, but figured I had nothing to lose by a conversation, I scheduled two free 30 minute sessions; one with a competitor company and another with Rachel. As I was pleased with my first conversation with a competitor, I had high expectations before I got on the phone with Rachel. From the first 5 minutes of my conversation with Rachel, I knew she was the person I wanted to work with. Not only was Rachel familiar with the information I supplied before my consult - she came with recommendations and suggestions - something I did not expect from a free session. I thought my GMAT score would limit me on gaining acceptance to a top-tier program, but with Rachel's encouragement, I immediately began working with Rachel on my application and essays to Wharton.

Throughout the process, Rachel was my cheerleader, mentor, and personal coach. Rachel was extremely timely on providing thoughtful, candid feedback (in a good way) and challenged me to present my "best self" in my application. Rachel has a brilliant approach to storytelling and creating a coherent narrative. Rachel took the stress out of the application process for me and helped me achieve my goal of gaining acceptance to a top-tier MBA program.

I cannot thank Rachel enough for encouraging me to apply to my dream school, guiding me throughout the entire process, and helping me gain acceptance. Rachel exceeded every expectation I had and I would highly recommend Rachel to anyone who is considering applying to business school.

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Harold and Stratus were incredible and well worth the cost.

I began the application process early and worked with Harold for many months to begin refining my story to be as strong of a candidate as possible. Working with Harold through reflection periods were key to my success on the essays and crafting the right story to catch the admissions committee's eye. I know I would have written a completely different essay had it not been for Harold's insights into my own patterns of behavior that he identified just from speaking with me and understanding my background.

Harold went above and beyond every time - spending many hours on the phone and even meeting with me in person when I visited Boston to get a better understanding of who I was as a person and applicant.

As well, the complete Stratus package is incredibly thorough. With personalized interview assistance, multiple essay readers, brainstorming tools, etc. you are positioned for success and to be the most competitive candidate you can be. I would recommend the full package to anybody looking at business school who is willing to do thorough career and personal reflection.

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