I was a skeptic of MBA consultants before the application process began, but having got through the process intact I can say with confidence that Melissa was well worth the investment. Here's some takeaways from my experience:

1) Melissa's professionalism and service completely exceeded my expectations. I read a lot of horror stories on these message boards, especially with hourly clients. I was worried that I might get treated like a second class customer, but if anything, I got more than I was billed for. Melissa was ALWAYS available, responded quickly, was MORE than fair when it came to billing and helped me get the most out of my money. More importantly, I always felt like Melissa genuinely was interested in my application. I never got off a call with her and thought "well I could have just googled that," she always had advice or insight that was specific and useful to me. I think she really cared about where I got in - sometimes she was even emailing me for updates on my applications!

2) To me, one of the most helpful aspects of having a consultant was that it helps set expectations throughout the entire process. Melissa's personal experience on an MBA admissions committee was extremely helpful, as she was able to give specific, personal advice on how to approach each step and what to expect. I also felt completely prepared for interviews - not just what questions would be asked and how I would answer, but also the atmosphere and the overall experience.

3) Melissa was extremely helpful when it came to deciding how I would frame my story. In the first couple weeks of talking with her, I completely reshaped how I was going to tell my story. She suggested I include a ton of information I was going to leave out, and I really feel like the things she pushed me to include in my app (mostly extracurricular type stuffI never would have included without her advice) really helped stand out and were huge talking points in interviews.

4) Maybe the biggest reason to have a consultant is just to have a "voice of reason" throughout the process. I could throw any random question I had her way and she would always give me an honest and really helpful answer. It's great to have an EXPERT review your essays and resume and get tangible advice.

For me, the bottom line is that this was well worth the investment and it made my entire experience better and less stressful. It's certainly possible to submit a decent application without a consultant, but if you are serious about getting into a competitive program then I would highly recommend working with Melissa or another consultant.

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I hired Angela in July 2016 to assist me with round one applications. I did a 3-school package with Angela and ultimately was able to adapt the essays I worked on with her to apply to 5 total schools. I was accepted to one of the schools I did with Angela (a top 5 school) and offered a generous merit scholarship there (~75% tuition, for 2 years.) I was waitlisted at one of the other 3 schools and rejected at one. I was accepted to both of the two schools I applied to outside of the package (both top 15 schools) and received full ride merit scholarships and Forte Fellowships at both of those.

Working with Angela was very enjoyable. She is friendly and really helped me understand the process. She helped me decide which recommenders to approach and which schools to apply to.

Angela's insights on my resume were invaluable. My resume was 100% different and much, much better after her comments and suggestions.

She reviewed my essays carefully and we went through multiple rounds of revisions. She helped me identify which of my experiences would be most appropriate for the essays, and then tell them in the most compelling way. Angela has a really strong understanding of what each school is looking for and how to strategize accordingly.

I think the best thing about working with Angela is her upbeat personality that helps keep you sane throughout this crazy process.

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I went into the b-school process early, but totally blind. I heard about mbaMission through Manhattan GMAT and decided to set up a free 30 min consultation. I could not have been more impressed with Melissa from the start. She provide a valuable framework for how to think through the process early on and help me decide if this was the right time for me to apply. She got me thinking about all the right questions early on and helped me identify potential weaknesses in my application and worked with me on a strategy for overcoming those.

After deciding that I was going to apply to schools R1, I signed up for the hourly package. Melissa would hop on a phone call with me right away and quickly responded to all my emails. She calmed me down when I would get overwhelmed with the process and would talk me through anything that I was stressing about.

I decided to apply to 4 schools all of which I felt could have been a stretch. Melissa gave me great tailored advice for each school and was extremely quick at getting my essays back to me. Her feedback was always clear and concise, and most importantly, very specific to each school. The resume guidance I received was particularly valuable.

When I got into 3 of the 4 schools (dinged at HBS), Melissa was there to talk through my decision with me. She was such a reassuring, calming presence throughout this whole process.

I felt that Melissa always wanted me to succeed and was doing whatever she could to help me achieve my goals. I could not have been more pleased with my consulting process with both Melissa and mbaMission.

I am going to my dream school and am so excited for what is to come!

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About three years ago, I was on this exact page reading these reviews. Although it was blatantly obvious that Angela was amazing from all the reviews, I also noticed that many of these reviewers had very strong profiles and ended up at schools that I could only dream of attending. My background was by no means a clear stand out for a top business school: sub 3.0 GPA, average GMAT, non-traditional work experience, etc. I pretty much felt that I had little to no chance with my profile regardless if I used an MBA consultant or not. I always wanted to go to business school but where I was in my career, it only made sense to go if it was top ranked school, which seems to be the case for a number of people nowadays. Nonetheless, I decided the worst that could happen was receiving politely crafted rejection emails on random mornings and the slightly funny thought that a whole bunch of Adcom people would never be able to get back the time that they wasted going through my application. So, I scheduled the free 30-minute consultation with Angela.

Best. Decision. Ever.

Within 5 minutes into the consultation, Angela cut me off and bluntly condemned my negative mindset. In the next 25 minutes, Angela completely reshaped my story, highlighted unique aspects that I completely glossed over, edited my resume, gave me a list of schools that I would be a good fit for, and created a detailed roadmap for me. I remember sitting on the couch thinking “Did this lady just hand me a brand new and somewhat reasonable 5-year plan? Okay then, I guess I’m going to business school!” By the end of the consultation, I also concluded that: 1. People who write reviews on Gmatclub actually tell the truth (I’ve been skeptical). 2 Angela was exactly who I needed to work with.

Fast-forward to present: Now I get to finally write one of these testimonials as a reviewer who be attending one of those dream schools, with a sizable scholarship too! I cannot express my gratitude for everything Angela has done for me and as many others have already said – I definitely could not have achieved this without Angela.

I don’t want to get into too much detail because I really hate and suck at writing, but there are just a couple of things that I wanted to share.

My journey to business school was quite rough. It ranged over two and half years and I would be completely lying if I told you the journey wasn’t the most exhausting, draining, and sometimes discouraging experience that I have ever gone through. I took the GMAT five times, wrote over a hundred essay drafts, enrolled in numerous supplemental classes, and got laid off from a job somewhere in-between.

Angela was literally the only person that gave me the type of confidence that I needed to keep pushing forward. Just knowing that she had my back every step of the way motivated me so much. She made it clear that she wouldn’t let me submit an application that wasn’t my best work and she also made sure that she put in her best work for me as well. I can't even count how many emails, calls, and Skype sessions we’ve had, each of which Angela gave her full attention, humor and all.

Yes, Angela is a master at story crafting. Yes, Angela knows exactly what each school wants. Yes, Angela keeps it real. Yes, Angela connects with people. Yes, Angela… [insert skill]. But as I am writing this, I realized that the two most valuable things that Angela did for me wasn’t what I would have thought in the beginning. The first - Angela asked all the tough questions that nobody asked me, many of which were extremely personal. The second - She truly and genuinely valued my passions and always reminded me to never waver from them. Both of these things not only shaped my application obviously, but it also allowed me to think deeply and meticulously and to be honest with myself. I was able to dial in on what was important, move on from disappointments, and perceive challenges as opportunities. While I embark on my next journey, Angela will be right there with me as I continue to put all of those lessons I learned from her into practice.

Angela is so much more than an MBA consultant. She is a mentor, motivator, life coach, career coach, friend, and just an overall marvelous wonderful person. Never in a million years would I have thought a person who I found on this page years ago would had such a profound impact on me and my career. Thank you Angela!!

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Angela truly is a ROCKSTAR.

Throughout the entirety of the stressful & arduous process that is B-School Applications, Angela was there as my support system with wise words and humor. If you want to work with someone who will actually make the b-school process FUN, look no further than Angela. Granted, she will have you work your tail off to squeeze every morsel of anecdote possible out of you, but it will be more than worth it in the end.

After filling out 20+ pages of her brainstorming document, Angela was immediately able to laser-in on the key storylines & themes that would be the best representation of who I really am and what drives me for my essays. Working with Angela took me on a journey through my past chock-full of self-discovery and self-realization around every turn. Her no BS, no fluff approach will help you find a true representation of who you are and what unique characteristics make you a great candidate. Angela can't change your stats, but she can help you make the rest of your application the best it can possibly be.

The X-Factor that makes Angela so awesome is how much fun she is to work with. Every call involved lots of laughter and each email was littered with lighthearted emojis. Throughout the process, it felt like I was not just working with a consultant but was working with a friend. She has an aura about her that immediately makes you comfortable talking to her and sharing all of your deepest, most meaningful stories with.

To summarize: if you want to put your best foot forward in the b-school application process AND have fun, work with Angela!
(p.s.- if she had edited this review, she would have cut it down >200% and still gotten the same points across, that's how good she is :) )

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I had a terrific experience working with Harold. His advice, guidance, and support throughout the application process was quite helpful. His assistance made my application process much more manageable, and less stressful.

I applied to four schools. He offered valuable insights on how I should approach each program's application and his feedback on my essays always seems to be on-point.

I appreciated how he would push me to drive to greater levels of detail and specificity in my writing to make my essays really come alive.

He was also highly responsive. I could always count on him to get back to me with answers or feedback quickly, or to at least acknowledge that he had received my email and would get back to me as soon as he could.

I was accepted into two of the programs to which I applied, one with a scholarship. I withdrew from one of the other programs, and was rejected by the fourth program.

In short, I really appreciated having Harold on my side and I would definitely recommend him to anyone exploring MBA admissions consulting services.

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Having never applied to a program outside my country (Pakistan), let alone a top global leadership program, I had little idea about where to begin with when I started thinking about applying to a business school. My initial thoughts were that a good GMAT score was all that was needed. It was not until I took 30-minutes free consultation session with Helen Summers from mbaMission that I realized that GMAT is just part of the whole story. She broke it to me that business school application consists of many parts that tell a coherent story together. She was also very honest in telling me that my age and my experience were not going to be attractive features of my application to a full-time program. However, she didn’t discourage me and recommended that I should either apply to a full-time program that targets mid-careers (there are only three in the world by the way) or an executive program. After contemplating for some time, I decided to apply for MIT Sloan Fellows Program. I knew that a novice to admissions process like me needed guidance to produce a good quality application. So, I contacted Helen again who referred me to Harshad Mali.
Me and Harshad had an introduction over email and he gave me a bunch of documents to go through. This initial phase primarily consisted of me going through a lot of material and thinking about my own personal story. Scant guidance at this stage was by design so that originality is forced out of me. However, after the first brainstorming session, Harshad grabbed the reins of the process and started guiding it in minute details. At one crunch moment when I had lost all hope of submitting a quality application before the deadline, it was Harshad who kept encouraging me and kept giving me the right feedback till I submitted my application right on time.
Harshad is no make-you-feel-good consultant when it comes to essay reviews. He is very direct in his feedback and he makes sure that he informs of this reviewing style in the initial introduction call. And frankly speaking, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The first review of my essay came back with a scathing critique and red marks all over, making me instantly realize what was wrong with my approach. I promptly corrected myself and from then on, it was smooth sailing.
Another feature that made me feel warm was that Harshad was able to connect to my life story at a personal level. This enabled him to bring the best out of me and help me write essays that truly represented me. I felt like I completely owned everything I wrote as my personal authorship and Harshad was only guiding my efforts while he had a very good idea about what the final product would look like.
Whether requested or not, Harshad was always there whenever needed. It didn't matter whether it was day or night, weekday or weekend. We were working in completely opposite time zones. But Harshad made sure that this wasn't a hindrance in our communication.
The efforts paid off and I got invited for the interview. For a starter like me, this was a huge achievement and this wouldn't have been possible without Harshad's help. But of course, our finish line was the final acceptance. So Harshad prepared me for the interview as well. We had a mock interview one week before the actual one. Again, he was very honest in his feedback. It included coaching on things as important as how to tackle behavioral questions and things as trivial as how to keep a smiling face all the time.
I finally got admitted to MIT Sloan Fellows. This was something that I couldn't think was within my reach when I started thinking about applying to B-Schools. I can safely say that this was only made possible with Harshad's help. I strongly recommend him to any B-School aspirant. And if you are from South Asia, Harshad should be your top choice.

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I initially started trying to tackle MBA applications on my own. Right before Round 1 deadlines I realized my applications were not nearly the caliber they should be to get into one of my ambitious schools. I was initially very shocked at how expensive an admissions consultant could be but settled on Stratus Prep quickly after talking with some of their staff and appreciating how easy they were to talk to.

I worked with Harold Simansky and immediately we began crafting my story. His push to make me dig deeper was a tough experience, but ultimately so rewarding as we were able to create a solid framework for my strengths, story, and where I'm looking to go. The experience itself really helped me understand why I wanted an MBA and what some realistic goals were.

Harold was able to help me write and shape essays that were lightyears ahead of the essays I wrote by myself. He helped me shape each essay for what the school and prompt were looking for, and cut out any material that really didn't provide a purpose or differentiating factor. I was nervous about how quickly I would receive feedback, but always impressed by the speed and quality I received, even as I was finishing applications around Christmas time.

In the end, I got into a great program I really didn't think I had much of a chance with. I'm so grateful for the help that Harold and all the Stratus Prep team was able to provide.

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I initially met Angela as a Junior in college through a free profile evaluation. I had recently taken the GMAT and was starting to think about how I would craft my story for my MBA applications. Angela provided candid advice based on her extensive coaching experience and also gave me a strong shot of encouragement to aim high in terms of the schools that I was targeting. I’m very glad that Angela was one of the first people I spoke to.

Over a year later, Angela and I crossed paths again when I joined Forte Foundation’s MBA Launch program. She facilitated a fantastic Webinar regarding approaches to essay writing that helped us to better structure and edit our stories in order to build competitive and authentic applications.

It’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know Angela better over the years and I’m excited for the value she will continue to create for many ambitious future leaders. I highly recommend working with her.

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At the time of writing this review, I have not yet heard back from all of my schools. I am awaiting four and have an interview for one upcoming.

What I can confidently say is that my experience with Harold has been nothing short of extraordinary. I believe that he and I connected well right off the bat and he quickly grasped unique details about my background that could help me stand out in the selection process.

I knew Harold and I would mesh well when right away he was willing to forego initial formalities and take a unique "brainstorming" approach to my introspection - and what we established was truly remarkable and customized to my background.

Along the way, with numerous edits and iterations of essays, Harold was very direct with keeping me focused on clear answers to the essays and ensured that every inch of my essays was adding value in one form or fashion. For each school, multiple Stratus Prep counselors reviewed my essays and offered feedback - also extraordinarily insightful.

Harold is very accessible, despite having a number of other clients, and was able to keep tabs on my working on multiple schools at once. For my last application, I decided to pursue it within a week of its due date, and without hesitation, Harold helped me make it happen with ease.

Harold was extremely genuine and honest when it came to school selection - encouraging me to apply to a couple "stretch" schools but then directing me towards schools more in a "target" range that he felt were a good fit for me. After conducting my own research of the schools he recommended, I was impressed with how right he was.

I am confident in what I submitted and in my upcoming interview(s) because of my work with Harold. I can also say that, based on feedback I received from both of Stratus' other senior consultants, that working with any of them would be incredibly helpful.

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