I worked with Susan on a 3 school package for R2 and was admitted to 2 of 3 schools, with a financial award granted at one of the schools. A total shocker and wonderful surprise to receive after 6 months of hard work and grueling hours. All schools in top 5.

Pros of working with Susan:
She's direct and candid. If it sounds like you don't have well-formulated or reasonable career goals, Susan picks up on this immediately and puts the breaks on all other aspects of application prep until this piece makes sense. Career goals are incredibly important to the admissions team, so spending a good amount of time brainstorming this aspect is well worth the time and effort.
Accountability. Simply having someone waiting to receive a revised essay draft is incredibly motivating, and necessary, when completing a long and arduous process like b school applications. Susan keeps you honest - did you sleep through the last revisions? That's a waste of your time and her time. Knowing that Susan is going to review and critique your work during each draft ensures you're putting in the necessary work along the way and not simply cramming at the final hour.
Interview prep. The mock interview sessions with Susan were surprisingly helpful. I assumed I was a well-spoken candidate with little room for improvement here, and while that was generally true, it was very helpful to work through framing answers to tough questions with Susan ("what is your Plan B if your career goals don't pan out?").

Cons:
Susan took more time than necessary during our calls to introduce the point of the call, often repeating information I already knew about the overall b school application process. It would be helpful if she discussed with her clients how much prep they had completed on their own so less time was used during the short calls to hear repeated information. I work best when being able to formulate my thoughts out loud, but sometimes felt Susan did more of the talking during the calls. Don't be afraid to push back, and you'll have a more productive relationship with Susan. She's open to it, you just need to be comfortable steering the conversation from the get-to to ensure you get what you want out of each call.
School selection discussion. Susan sent me an excel doc where I had the opportunity to list features of a b school program that mattered to me, and give each feature/attribute a ranking. This would in theory help me sort through which programs are a good fit for me. I appreciated the excel doc and understand the school research should be completed by the applicant, but would have appreciated a bit more of an opportunity (separate call(s)) to discuss my thoughts/opinions of each school with Susan. She has a depth and breadth of knowledge and I had a feeling she could have shared more about each school I was considering. Granted, holding back this information is probably in part to ensure the applicant has ownership in the process, but a little more opportunity for discussion would have been helpful in the beginning of the school exploration process.

In summary, I would definitely use Susan again and recommend her to friends. She's open to feedback while working together, truly invested in seeing her clients succeed, diligent in keeping clients on task, an excellent editor, direct, and encouraging. I enjoyed working with her immensely and attribute my acceptances to our hard work together. Thank you, Susan!

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At the start of the MBA application process I was really worried about my low GPA. I knew I had a story to explain it, but I felt overwhelmed by how I'd present it and how not to have it sound defensive.

I contacted a few admissions consulting services for free consults and found mbamission to be one of the most thorough. For that reason, I decided to work with mbaMission.
I realised that I was not going to apply for MBA schools again, and so went 'all out' and decided to purchase a 4-school package. Retrospectively, it wasnt absolutely necessary, but I wasn't going to leave anything up to chance.

I was paired with Kate, and from the beginning she was detailed in the strategic approach to my story. And that's really the crux of it -- her ability to help you convey your story in the most enthralling, yet accurate way. I do not believe I could have done this without her help! Kate was responsive and provided great commentary to my story and tailored it well for the different essays and schools.

Of the 4-schools, I was admitted into 2 (one with scholarship). These are two top 15 schools for someone with an equivalent US GPA of approx 2.8 -- not bad!

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My main concern going into the application process was my weak undergraduate GPA. I was referred to MBAmission (and Katy in particular) by a former student of the program that I wanted to apply to - the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. During my initial 30 minute conversation with Katy, she was receptive to my concerns and I felt that she was taking a genuine interest in my story. Speaking with Katy initially was a breath of fresh air and it renewed my sense of confidence in what I wanted to do. After I hung up the phone, I made the decision to move forward with my application despite my concerns. It was a huge benefit having someone with Katy's knowledge and experience on my side and, at the risk of sounding corny, I truly felt like I had a partner on the path to admission.

Katy made sure that I stated my needs up front so that there was no time (or money) wasted in our work together. I made it clear that I wanted her to help me with my essays and resume only and she was totally fine with that. I never once felt like I was getting a sales pitch on additional services or that Katy was pushing for additional time, etc. I've seen some other reviews asserting that this service is only as beneficial as you make it and I'd like to reiterate that point. DO NOT come into this expecting your consultant to do the work for you. They will make suggestions and guide you a long the way, but the work is yours to do.

Once we got started, Katy dug into my history i.e. work experience, reasons for wanting an MBA, etc. She helped me to identify some general themes that centered around my story and that would allow me to best represent myself through my resume and essays. At the conclusion of our time together, I came away with finished essays and a resume that I was really proud of.

I was ultimately accepted into Emory and I truly don't think it would have been possible without having Katy on my side.

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It was so helpful to have Dan Richards' insight throughout the bschool application process. Sometimes the hardest thing is to begin writing, and it was a great motivator for me to be able to report back to him on my progress. Dan was direct and insightful - I was glad to be working with someone who has had so much experience, and came highly recommended. There were a number of times during the essay editing process that it felt like he magically knew how to phrase what I was struggling to convey. I was also impressed by the quicker than expected turn-around time on feedback. Crucial if, like me, you're up against a deadline! Mom and Dad may be the best cheerleaders, but Dan helped get me to the finish line! Was it worth the money? 100%

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I’ve worked with Katy for my “ding” review. As an HBS alum and an ex-admissions person, Katy really understands every detail of how an application will be reviewed by the school. She gives candid and insightful feedback on my application, some of which I’ve never thought about before. She doesn't impose her opinion, but works together with me to explore what is best for me. In the end, she has helped me make what I believe to be the best decision on how I should move forward. I recommend Katy to not only first-time applicants, but also reapplicants who want to sharpen their packages and start again.

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I am what an Admissions Committee might call an "unconventional" MBA candidate - I took no math classes in college, and my career experience was entirely creative. As a result, I decided that having some sort of professional assistance during the application process to help me construct my narrative was going to be a good decision.

After speaking with a few different consulting companies, I came across mbaMission, and more specifically, Kate Richardson's profile. The reviews for both Kate and the company were overwhelmingly positive, and I was pleased to discover that an "Hourly Services" option was offered at a competitive rate ; I basically knew what I wanted to say in my applications and where I wanted to apply, so I didn't need a "package" deal with tons of additional services. I really just needed an additional form of guidance, and more importantly, a voice of reason.

Once I began working with Kate, I found her to be direct, a clear communicator, realistic about my school prospects, and very fast in responding to my questions (of which I had many!). She didn't try to sell me anything unnecessary, and overall, we created a winning application essay that represented me in my best light.

Ultimately, I earned admission to a Top 25 program, and even received scholarship $$$. There is no question that I couldn't have done it without Kate's professional expertise and moral support through such a grueling application process.

If you'd like to find someone to help you with your MBA applications who is extremely knowledgeable about many different programs and will respond directly to your needs with no time wasted, look no further than Kate Richardson at mbaMission.

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My main concern going into the application process was my weak undergraduate GPA. I was referred to MBAmission (and Katy in particular) by a former student of the program that I wanted to apply to - the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. During my initial 30 minute conversation with Katie, she was receptive to my concerns and I felt that she was taking a genuine interest in my story. Speaking with Katy initially was a breath of fresh air and it renewed my sense of confidence in what I wanted to do. After I hung up the phone, I made the decision to move forward with my application despite my concerns. It was a huge benefit having someone with Katy's knowledge and experience on my side and, at the risk of sounding corny, I truly felt like I had a partner on the path to admission.

Katy made sure that I stated my needs up front so that there was no time (or money) wasted in our work together. I made it clear that I wanted her to help me with my essays and resume only and she was totally fine with that. I never once felt like I was getting a sales pitch on additional services or that Katy was pushing for additional time, etc. I've seen some other reviews asserting that this service is only as beneficial as you make it and I'd like to reiterate that point. DO NOT come into this expecting your consultant to do the work for you. They will make suggestions and guide you a long the way, but the work is yours to do.

Once we got started, Katy dug into my history i.e. work experience, reasons for wanting an MBA, etc. She helped me to identify some general themes that centered around my story and that would allow me to best represent myself through my resume and essays. At the conclusion of our time together, I came away with finished essays and a resume that I was really proud of.

I was ultimately accepted into Emory and I can honestly say that it wouldn't have been possible without a partner like Katy on my side.

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I used the hourly service because I mainly need help with proof-reading my essays and finding the right "story" to tell. My consultant has been very responsive to all my questions, and gave many useful comments on where I could provide more context and how I can make the essays clear and powerful. I also used mock group interview service, although it's a bit expensive, it helped to give me an idea of what kind of group dynamic and interaction I expect to experience in the real setting. I appreciate their nice and encouraging style, but I think sometimes they could've been a bit sharper on pointing out where I needed to improve. Overall it's been a positive experience working with mbaMission.

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I first spoke to Krista Nannery in the summer of 2015 when I was interviewing b-school admission consultants for help during 2015-2016 admission cycle (matriculation in Fall of 2016). Right off the bat, in our first call, I found Krista to be extremely warm and pleasant to talk to. She had so many rich perspectives to offer on the admissions process and quickly honed in on the interesting aspects about my life and started giving me thoughts on how to market myself effectively. Given that I had gone through the admissions process unsuccessfully in the previous year, she even went through my prior applications and pointed out what I did wrong in those applications. After interviewing numerous different firms, I ultimately hired mbaMission and Krista for help with four school applications using the “start-to-finish” package.

Having successfully gone through the process now, I can easily say that hiring Krista is one of the best investments I’ve ever made. While she helped in a variety of ways – the following areas really stood out:

1) She was intimately familiar with the process

Having been part of admissions committees, Krista was intimately familiar with how most admissions committees think and what they like and dislike in applications. This allowed her to astutely point out the flaws in my application that could cause concern for admissions committees, and the strengths of my application that I should make sure to highlight. For the potential gaps in my application, she even gave me advice on steps I could take to remediate those gaps and strengthen my application. Her perspectives here really helped us come up with a strong application strategy and story for the four schools that I ended up applying to

2) She came up with really creative ways for me to tell my story

Through the brainstorming process, Krista took the time to really understand me as a person and get a feel for what my passions are and what makes me tick. She reviewed my 20 page brainstorming document (one of the essential steps of the mbaMission process is a brainstorming process that they make applicants go through) and came back to me with several really detailed questions about my background.
Once I had answered all of her questions, she started coming up with a variety of neat ideas for me to showcase certain aspects of my story. I’m generally not a big fan of writing, but the way Krista helped me showcase my stories actually made the entire process A LOT of fun for me. Thanks to her, I was able to write some of the strongest essays I’ve ever written and ended up truly enjoying the entire application process.

3) She was a true thought partner

Throughout the application process, Krista was a thought partner for me in every sense. Whenever I was spinning on an essay, she would get on the phone with me immediately to give me ideas and quickly get me back on track. I’m not sure whether she was doing a lot of prep before each one of these calls, or if this just comes naturally to her, but on every phone conversation we were having about a certain essay – she had at least 3 – 4 good ideas on what I could mention in that essay to make it impactful and leave a good impression. I was so impressed at the end of each conversation, and so happy with the ideas and the direction I got from her. This kept me from spinning and allowed me to end up with strong essays quickly. The previous year, when I had applied unsuccessfully to schools, I was averaging between 17 to 20 iterations on each essay before getting it to final. Working with Krista this time around, I had a strong essay completely finalized by the 4th iteration at the latest. I have a tendency to overthink things and get in my own way at times, Krista prevented me from doing any of that and kept me efficient and on track at all times.

4) She was timely

I can’t stress this one enough. I was initially a little worried about the fact that Krista was based in London (I’m based in New York), but the time difference here ended up being a true blessing. MbaMission promises a 2-day turnaround on all essays, but most of the time Krista responded ahead of schedule. Generally, I would send her an essay in the evening, and because of the time difference, I would have it back in my inbox with rich feedback by the time I woke up the next morning. I have a really demanding job and it’s hard for me to get away from work during the day sometimes to have personal calls. Because of this time difference, I was able to wake up earlier in the morning some days and have a call with Krista before going into work. This was just yet another benefit that kept me on track and on schedule.

Throughout the process, I felt as though I was Krista’s only client. I consider her to be not only a consultant that I hired, but a mentor and a friend that I will continue to reach out to in the future for advice. I’m happy to say that with her help, I got into several Top 10 schools and will be attending Berkeley-Haas this fall. I highly recommend mbaMission and Krista Nannery for anyone going through the application process.

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I am an international applicant and decided to work with mbaMission all based on the google research. I was originally looking for someone native and experienced that could help me polish my essays but what happened after was a fantastic and rewarding life experience.
I was matched with Kate Richardson, a very expeirenced associate from mbaMission. She was very nice and patient from our first talk. I felt so comforted that I found someone I could ask for help and expressed my anxiety during the application process. Kate helped me so much on my self-positiong of my choices for schools and gave me helpful advices on my future career planning. Even standing from the point of an international student, I felt Kate very professional handling all the questions, which truly helped me a lot during the application. My application process was not as smooth as I expected and I got waitlisted and rejected from my dreaming schools but Kate was always there helping me analyze and get out of the desperate situation. Finally I got the offers from several schools out of my package. And Kate was very nice to help me list the all the pros and cons and gave me useful advices objectively.
I appreciate her very much for everything she has ever done for me during the process and now I would like to recommend her as the first choice of MBA consulting associate for all the international students.

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