I knew I wanted to work with an admissions consultant, so when I started the process, I took advantage of the 30 minute free consultation most consulting firms offered and "interviewed" several of them, including Stacy Blackman, Stratus Prep, Expartus, Veritas and mbaMission. I ended up choosing mbaMission based on fit.

My consultant was Debbie Choy. I worked with her on a 4 school package for round 2. I personally applied to 5 schools and also the Consortium (an application on its own) and was admitted into 4 schools (waitlisted at the 5th) as well as the Consortium.

Debbie was instrumental to my success. She worn several hats and served as my:

1) Project Manager - the business school application process was extremely overwhelming and had a lot of to do's. Debbie structured the process in a manageable way and was by my side through every step of the process.

2) Supporter/Advocate - I didn't have much confidence going into the process. I didn't have a spectacular GMAT score or an impressive background. However, Debbie was able to help me tell my stories in a compelling way. I never felt uncomfortable around Debbie. Even when I felt like my essay was poorly written or my interview prep answers were not good enough, Debbie always cheered me on while providing constructive feedback and teaching me how to improve. Before I started the process, I was prepared for not getting into any schools, and I told myself that I would be happy getting into 1 out of the 5 schools I applied to. It was a true surprise when I found out that I was accepted into almost all the schools I applied to, some with scholarships.

Overall, I had a pleasant working relationship with Debbie. I would be happy to recommend her to anyone!

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I worked with Dan on a 3 school package, two of my schools were a stretch due to my low GMAT score, which made me doubt if i should even apply. I was also nervous about spending a ton of money hiring a consultant only to not get in anywhere. After talking with Dan he pointed out that the rest of my application was strong and to attempt the GRE to see if that would ease my application. We worked through essays interviews and even through the wait list approach when I was wait-listed at my top two schools. I am happy to say that in the end I was accepted to all three programs I applied to and I wouldn't have been if it weren't for Dan's support and advice through this process. My money was well spent! If you have any doubts in your application I would recommend hiring a consultant they help you from start to finish all essays interview prep etc. and more importantly help you find the right way to make your application stand out.

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I recently decided to attend UCLA Anderson this fall for the MBA Class of 2018, and with Kate Richardson's help from MBA Mission was awarded a $60,000 scholarship as well.

I applied to several schools, and going into it alone before deciding to hire the help of a consultant, I was pretty clueless about what I wanted to write about in my essays as well as about other factors.

Right off the bat, Kate was extremely easy to talk to, and after learning more about me, pointed me in the right direction with regards to my essays, while she also helped give me a clear sense of my goals that helped determine which school and programs I'd eventually apply to.

For me, Kate's biggest strength was the help she gave me with my essay writing. Kate is an extremely strong writer, but also a great creative thinker. I can honestly say that Kate helped me materialize some ideas for how to structure my essays that I would never have considered on my own.

Usually I hate writing, but working alongside Kate, it became a fun challenge to come up with unique and insightful ways of expressing myself through pen and paper.

I'm extremely pleased with how the entire MBA application process went and how Kate helped me every step of the way, and I'm happy to recommend her MBA consultancy services to anyone who might be thinking of applying in the near future.

Thanks,

Tim

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The GMAT was my biggest obstacle. After finally getting the score that I wanted by the end of October, I felt leagues behind my peers in terms of timing. Here I was, with R1 deadlines long past and 5 daunting applications to complete in less than 2 months. I was in a panic. I was against the idea of using a consultant at first, but my best friend recommended MBAMission. She stressed that MBAMission doesn't do the work for you, but creates a roadmap to guide you through the stress of applications.

After talking to Krista on the phone, I was sold. She was sharp, resourceful, eloquent, and most of all - versatile. When I told her my unique passions and career aspirations, she didn't try to mold me into the perfect candidate; instead, she worked with me to enhance what makes me different. Throughout the process, Krista gave me complete freedom in terms choosing topics I wanted to write about. She encouraged me to come up with ideas that reflected personal aspects of my life and provided constructive criticism and insightful feedback. Because of Krista, I was able to dig several layers deeper and be true to myself, rather than putting together an application to "impress".

Having Krista was imperative to getting everything done on time. Although we had a tight deadline, she never made me feel stressed. On the contrary, we were a fantastic, symbiotic team. She would turnaround comments within a day and get on the phone whenever needed.

I can confidently say that the outcome is better than I ever expected. I got into all the schools I applied to R2 and am now going to my dream school in the fall!

At the end if it all, I consider Krista not only a fantastic consultant, but a mentor and a great friend. I highly recommend her and MBAmission to anyone going through the stresses of the application process.

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This year was my 2nd go-around attempting to business school, and I found Katy to be instrumental in the process. Being an over-represented candidate (white male, finance), Katy did a great job helping me suss out key differentiating factors and experience I had to offer. More importantly, I honestly think Katy truly just wanted what was best for me, and wasn't pushing an agenda of a specific school or anything of that nature. I was 50/50 whether I wanted to go to school or not and Katy offered up some really good advice around the pros and cons of going to school vs not, and helping me figure out what I want to do next. While I ended up deciding to go to school, when I was leaning towards not, Katy was just as happy that through the experience I had gained a better sense of what I wanted to do with my professional career next

Lastly, I want to stress that I really appreciate how much Katy seemed to be working as hard towards my acceptance goals as I was - she took calls on weekends, over holidays, on short notice, etc - definitely super invested, which was really important to me.

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After looking at the extremely competitive admission statistics for top business schools, I decided to work with consultant Kate Richardson to identify strategies to differentiate myself. I was immediately impressed with Kate during our initial brainstorming session. Kate challenged me to think of a breadth of life, academic, and work experiences that would show why I wanted to attend business school and why I would be a desirable student. This discussion proved instrumental for crafting responses to essay prompts and interview questions.
Throughout the application process, Kate motivated me to write essays that were unique and consistent with my story. During our revision sessions, we would discuss what I wanted the admission committee to learn from my essays and how potential responses would contribute to my overall application. I was also impressed with Kate’s knowledge of top business schools. She had very useful advice about the types of responses that each school would find more compelling.
I am very glad that I opted for the all-inclusive school packages with Kate. While I initially assumed that a consultant would be most valuable for the essays, I did not realize the value in having Kate help me to adapt my resume for a business school application, to prepare me for my interview, and to provide guidance for the myriad of short answer questions on the applications. It was comforting to know that I could email her at any time and receive a quick and detailed response.

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I worked with Helen Summers and she was tremendous. She was very "on the ball" as soon as we started, and helped me keep to a tight schedule, as I applied to three schools Round 1.

A few things that come to mind when I worked with Helen:

-Clearly understands the admissions process and how to work with the candidate to bring out the best of the person. I know she was able to use facts and stories that I didn't think were relevant and bring them all together in my application. Her insights on my essays, short answers, and even how to interact with the various ad com's and others were key. I was very pleased with how my essays turned out.

-Very honest with me throughout the process, from school selection to essays and interview prep. She told it to me straight, even during the free consultation. That's what ultimately led me to choosing her.

-Responsive. Always met the commitment to respond within two business days and was able to accommodate other quick turn requests.

-Easy to work with. Never made things stressful for me.

Overall, I am very happy that I worked with Helen, and I thought it was worth every penny.

Food for thought as you consider whether to hire a consultant or not: you are investing so much money into the admissions process, and (hopefully) investing in a two year MBA program, why not put your best foot forward on your applications? I know having someone to work with who has been through the process and understands how the Ad Com reviews an application was an invaluable resource for me. Yes it's expensive to hire a consultant for a school package, but I got into a great program with a below average GMAT (660) because Helen helped me articulate why I would be a great candidate.

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John was incredible in guiding me through all aspects of the admissions process. I had just taken the GMAT for the 2nd time when I first talked with John towards the end of October and was fairly happy with my score but unsure of the best way to move forward in the process. John and I worked together on our game plan from there, and because I was adamant about going to business school in Fall 2016 we decided to move on from the GMAT (although my score could've used a little bit of a boost) and start focusing on the applications instead. He was instrumental in helping me choose which target schools to apply to and I appreciated how up-front and honest he was about my candidacy strength for some of the programs I was considering. I'm glad he talked me out of applying to a couple that would've definitely been too much of a reach for me based on my below average GMAT score. John and I completed four applications from late October to early January, and he was great in putting in the extra effort as needed to help me successfully meet the aggressive timeline we had put together. He was especially helpful around the application deadlines, too. I would say that John's biggest strengths were to help put together a strong story and personal statement, helping tie all of my life experiences together for the more creative personal essays and video essays, his feedback/encouragement during interview prep, and his level-headed voice of reason throughout the ups and downs of the process. I am 100% confident that I would not have been admitted to the schools that I was admitted to and that I would not have received any of the scholarship offers that I was awarded. John was instrumental in helping me make the final decision on where to attend business school this fall, too, and I'm very grateful for that as well. John seemed to genuinely care about me and my future plans and I really liked how passionate he was to help me be successful in getting into my target schools. I now consider John a friend after going through this process with him and I'm confident that we'll stay connected moving forward. Overall it has been a great experience working with John and I highly recommend him for anyone considering applying to b-school.

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Kate and I met through mbaMission as she was highly recommended, especially given she was an alumnus of a target school of mine. While my target schools were all ‘top ten’ programs, Kate knew my lower GPA and GMAT score would be a challenge and was incredibly constructive in putting together a competitive, cohesive story targeted at each school I applied to. She was also very helpful in strategizing mitigants to weaknesses in my application based on her admissions experience and worked on ways to even further highlight my strengths. From the very beginning, Kate was supportive of my school selection decisions and patiently walked through tweaks to my resume, essays, and emails on almost weekly calls. Ultimately, I was admitted to my top choice school and I attribute much of my success to Kate.

Of Kate’s many qualities, perhaps her strongest is that she is very experienced in the industry and shows it. This was particularly helpful in identifying my top strengths for the application process and tailoring them to each school I applied to. At the beginning of our partnership, I filled out a lengthy essay response to a set of her questions ranging from where I was from, to my future goals, to my biggest accomplishments, to my family; after carefully reviewing my responses, Kate was able to identify and target the top accolades, stories and achievements I could use to develop a successful application package for business school. Her genuine interest in my story was tangible throughout the process and by selecting key points to differentiate myself, I was able to craft a unique, competitive application package. Kate was also very dedicated throughout the process and it never felt like my time was getting cut off or I was not getting what I paid for. No matter how busy she was, Kate would take the time to hop on the phone, send an email, or word of encouragement when it was needed. This was greatly appreciated, especially during such a daunting and ambiguous application process.

Throughout my MBA application, Kate was not just a consultant, she was a partner. I can proudly say I was recently admitted to my top choice school and I couldn’t have done it without her.

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Susan Kaplan is an excellent Admissions Consultant. From our initial consultation and assessment, Susan did not sugarcoat anything or spoon-feed me. She asked the important questions that matter and guided me in the right direction if ever I ventured astray. If your experience turns out to be anything like mine, you will quickly realize that the uber-introspective MBA application process will require weeks of hard work, focus, and dedication. I wholeheartedly recommend signing up with Susan Kaplan and mbaMission if you’re serious about going to business school.
I signed up for the Two School Complete Package, despite applying to a total of four schools in Round 2. The two schools that I chose not to opt for mbaMission’s direct services for had essay prompts that followed the standard “Why MBA / Why Now / Why Here” structure. Don’t fret - once you nail down your story with Susan’s help, you can apply most of those principles across multiple schools. The extensive guidance that Susan offered in editing multiple resume drafts, essay outlines, rec letters, and (of course) main essays, were invaluable to my success in this process. Her feedback was always quick, candid, and constructive.
I’m proud (and still shocked) to say that I was accepted to three schools and waitlisted at the fourth! Thanks to Susan and mbaMission, I will be getting my MBA at my dream school (Top 3) this fall!

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