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Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
I am a non-traditional candidate by most measures (mid-30, minority, advanced degree, untraditional career goal and non-straight-line experience prior to application). I disclose this much information to underscore this point: your essay and interview prep will be greatly enhanced beyond your expectation once Jessica put her touch on them. She is straightforward, passionate, empathetic, experienced and effective. She guides you through all processes; you should follow her advice because she knows the difference between overpreparation and underpreparation and will definitely draw the line between the two to tailor your need/ability to deliver the results My experience working with her came after an extensive search for consultants. To illustrate my detour before I got to Jessica, I had this one consultant not respond to my email and my (desperate I supposed) willingness to work with her/him after s/he reviewed my resume I initially sent to her/him. I remember I said to myself: I must be a hot potato with a complicated life history that even the professionals are dropping me like one. Do yourself a favor and work with Jessica. -Stanford GSB admit
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
I could go on and on about why I would recommend Jessica to a close friend or anyone seeking a great admissions consultant.
I could tell them about Jessica's rapid and methodical brainstorming techniques to help you get great stories out in essays, her speed at getting work returned back to you, her expert editing to get your essay down from a long winded and unpolished essay into a sleek and powerful piece, her passion and dedicated commitment to make you succeed, and her ability to actually make the process FUN.
But really the true reason I would recommend her boils down to one reason and one reason only. She gets the job done. I had a less than stellar GPA and a less than stellar GMAT/GRE and Jessica helped me get into two schools and waitlisted at a third. One being my #1 pick where I will be going this Fall. Enough said!
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Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Helen Summers
Last year, I decided to apply for MBA programs in the US. However, as a French engineer, I didn’t know much about the application process. I had no friends or family with an MBA, so I was getting into complete unknown territory here. After reviewing all the requirements (GMAT, TOEFL, essays, extracurricular, recommendations, transcripts,…), I knew that I definitely needed help to succeed.
I found out about admission consultants on the Internet and scheduled free consultations with the biggest admissions consultant businesses. After few calls, I wasn’t very enthusiast as they only focused on my GMAT/TOEFL score (700/102) and my target schools. I finally scheduled a free consultation with Helen Summers from mbamission. It was completely different as she was genuinely interested in me and my story. I immediately knew I wanted to work with her. I chose to go with the 4-schools « Start to Finish » package. I ended up getting admission offers from 3 schools from the top 15, one with a scholarship.
Here’s few adjectives to describe the amazing experience of working with Helen :
- Demanding : The first few weeks, we brainstormed and discussed for hours about my background and my work experience to identify inspirational stories that could be used in my essays. I think this initial brainstorming was essential as it provided solid grounds for the my applications. She really pushed me to clarify my goals and deepen my story. (Why an MBA? Why now ? Why these schools ?) Helen didn’t want to settle for generic answers and I had to devote a lot of time to introspection in order to have a compelling story to tell.
- Responsive : Helen was very responsive in reading my drafts, adding comments, and sending them back always within 48 hours, sometimes on Sunday !! When I needed to schedule a call or ask specific questions, she always reached back very quickly. When we had to schedule mock interviews in January/February, she was available and always very punctual.
- Honest : All along, she offered me very honest and but constructive feedbacks. As a non-native English speaker, I definitely needed help to produce high quality essays and she didn’t miss to point out things that she didn’t like or understand (words, ideas, or a turns of phrase,…) I wrote between 5 to 8 drafts for each essay and I’m really proud of what we delivered. Helen also did a great job in preparing me for the interviews. The questions she asked me during mock interviews were spot on and the real interviews went very smoothly with no big surprise thanks to her.
- Kind and warm : Helen has been very supportive during the few months we worked together. I really enjoyed the time we spent on Skype during brainstorming sessions, essay reviews, or mock interviews. She is not only a great professional but also a very kind person that makes you feel supported in this long and stressful process.
In a nutshell, I definitely recommend Helen to anyone considering applying for an MBA, especially international applicants like me. I wouldn’t have done it without her !!
Product mbaMission Hourly Services
Consultant Daniel Richards
I signed up for an hourly package with Dan and was incredibly pleased with the experience. He is very professional and knowledgeable about the b-school process and I had a lot more piece of mind working with him. It was incredibly helpful to have someone I could email my random questions to (and trust me - there are a lot more of them than you will expect!).
Dan's excellent writing skills make him a wonderful editor - especially as you're trying to meet the essay word counts. He is also acutely aware of the stresses around meeting deadlines and often got edits back to me before the "technical" due date we had agreed on in our contract. I can't emphasize enough how much I appreciated this.
Dan stayed super communicative during the entire process, checking in on interview invitations and following up on open items. I highly recommend you add him as an adviser as you go through the MBA application process.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jeremy Shinewald
I decided to apply to business school very "late in the game" mid-last summer, with no GMAT score and little direction on how to to structure myself as an applicant...but I knew I only wanted to go to a top school. Come in Jeremy Shinewald, who I have since dubbed "half friend, half my MBA consultant" after sticking with me over the past 8 months.
Considering I only finished my GMAT in December and applications were due January 3rd; Jeremy was part of the process through the ups and downs of not hitting the GMAT score we needed, to re-editing application essays (50+ times as the application story evolved) to finally being admitted to my top pick, Wharton.
Not only would I not have been able to apply this year as I was so originally "lost" in the process, I most certainly would not have been able to gain admission to a school like Wharton without Jeremy. He was dedicated and committed, talking me through the process always and was on call. He went above and beyond any consultants "job" - he took my application to heart and took my success personally.
Jeremy is the founder of MBAmission and manages a team of 20+ MBA consultants - the value of his access to this team (he brought in others on the team when needed) and his personal depth of knowledge is incalculable. I never felt like I was his second priority to his firm. In fact, I felt like I was his main priority throughout. I truly can't emphasize his responsiveness enough. It was clear that he cares very deeply for every client, as the founder of the firm and gets the micro right, letting the macro take care of itself.
When an MBA cost are high and the opportunity cost sometimes even higher, working with a company such as Jeremy's MBAmission is a no brainer in my book. Presenting yourself as the strongest applicant and bettering your chances to a top school is a long term investment I would make any day. I could not recommend Jeremy more.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Harshad Mali
After being rejected from all the schools I applied to last year, I felt I needed some professional help to be successful and I’m happy I picked Harshad to guide me through this challenge. With his help I was able to secure 3 offers of admission from some of the top-10 schools with substantial scholarship $$$.
He was incredibly helpful since the first 30 minutes consultation when I immediately appreciated his “we’ll make it happen” attitude. He was capable to identify the weaknesses from my previous applications and provided great insights to help me reflect on my achievements, redefine my career goals and strengthen my personal brand. The opportunity to work with a person who could deeply understand me on a personal level was fundamental to my success: he was truly there to fight this battle with me.
Harshad’s encouraging consultation style helped me to grow confidence in my work, kept me motivated throughout the application and boosted my morale when I was feeling discouraged (and trust me, there will be moments of discouragement!) At the same time I appreciated his frankness in pointing out my errors and his guidance in resolving my weaknesses. He always provided clear and compelling explanations in support of his recommendations so that I could understand the thought process and develop my own critical judgement.
Overall his ability to reshape my profile and develop a customized strategy joined with a great competence as storyteller made him the ideal consultant to work with. I wish I had him on my side on the first application round to avoid the unnecessary pain of failure.
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant John Sisk
Applying to business school is a daunting task. It’s both difficult and unnatural to compile everything about you into a neat, comprehensive package and then present it to admission committees who will be making a decision that directly impacts your career trajectory. John did an amazing job breaking down the process into manageable pieces, which both calmed my nerves, and gave me direction throughout the process. What I found most helpful when working with John was his ability to adapt as the application process unfolded. I worked with John for almost a full year, and in that year a lot of things changed in my personal and professional lives, which altered my approach to finding the right business school for me. However, John was able to adjust our process along the way, culminating in my acceptance into my dream school. I can confidently say that I would not have been able to get into my top choices without John, and for that, I’ll be forever thankful. I can’t thank John enough!
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Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Katharine Lewis
I worked with Katy on my Round 2 applications starting in October 2017. At the time, I was weighing a couple of other options, but ultimately decided to go with Katy because of the rapport we immediately established during our 30-minute kick off call and I have been thrilled with that decision ever since!
Katy was incredibly helpful and methodical at every step in the process, and I can say without a doubt that I would not have been able to get into my top schools without her guidance. I was nervous at the beginning because I felt that I didn't have a good grasp of what the top programs were looking for and was somewhat concerned by my GMAT score (V44/Q45).
Katy gave me confidence throughout the process and helped me to refine my story so that I was able to effectively message my candidacy to a variety of programs. She quickly answered every question I had, and her feedback to my drafts was always thoughtful and productive. One thing that really made our partnership effective was how she often provided her feedback in the form a reaction rather than line-editing. That allowed me to retain my voice while at the same time sharpening the points I wanted to convey.
While several other reviewers focus on how valuable her feedback was on their essays--which are undoubtedly important--I found that she was incredibly helpful in interview prep and also served as a sounding board for one of my recommenders who was unfamiliar with the process. These attributes, in addition to her being a very kind and generous person, made Katy absolutely wonderful to work with.
Long story short: If you are considering working with Katy, you should do so. I consider her a friend and will always be grateful for her assistance in this intense process!
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Daniel Richards
My biggest concern while applying to business school was whether I would be able to communicate my story to the admissions committee in a compelling manner. This was partially due to the fact that my story (I felt) was quite unique, having had significant leadership experience in the non-profit sector. Hence rather than looking for an editor who would help me word my essays better I was looking for a guide who would truly understand me and help me present myself holistically. I found such a person in Dan.
The amount of efforts he took in understanding me: my passions, my worries, my ambitions and me as a person were remarkable. There were times I would push him to move to the "real deal" (writing essays etc.), but Dan being Dan would figure out a compelling way to convince me that there was more introspection required. This for me was the real deal breaker.
When I got to editing my resume and writing my essays, Dan helped me "cut through the crap" and get to the point. His ability to call a spade a spade and tell me very clearly what NOT to do helped me narrow my options and stay focused on my core story. He would never shy away from giving me a "Re-do" on the essay, and I found this attribute particularly refreshing, saving a lot of precious time for me. Sometimes I would not agree with him and we would debate endlessly on a line, a phrase and sometimes even the entire idea, this however made it clear to me how invested he was in this. We were in this together!
Fun fact: One of the things we debated on was whether I should apply to Kellogg. Dan was convinced that I should, I wasn't. End result: Today I'm going to Kellogg :)
The journey of applying to b schools is quite stressful and I guess everybody needs a friend who you can rely on, who can give honest feedback and be with you through the ups and downs. I found such a friend in Dan. Somebody I'll definitely keep in touch with and somebody I would highly recommend for anybody starting the b school application process for the coming years!
Product mbaMission School Package
Consultant Jessica Shklar
I came to Jessica as a re-applicant and having been through the process before, I was somewhat skeptical that I needed too much more guidance other than cleaning up my story and repurposing my prior materials. However, it became very clear from our first interaction that she could help me do so much more. During our brainstorming session, she helped bring out both professional and personal experiences that I hadn't even considered talking about before. What I appreciated most about working with her was her uncommon ability to force me to form a story myself even as she helped me talk through several anecdotes, acting as a guide while allowing me to make my essays and overall application truly personal - this also speaks to her incredible patience. While she is a very nice person, she didn't let this keep her from being a tough critic of my writing, and she pushed me to go through several drafts of all of my essays, without going overboard and being too picky over minute details. While she certainly helped edit my essays, she generally stayed hands-off when it came to the content, again allowing me to make the story truly mine. Her help was especially important given my background as a relatively traditional applicant coming from finance applying to the top 3 MBA programs, of which I got into one. I truly believe she helped make a difference in presenting myself in the most effective, yet honest way and would recommend her to anyone.