I reached out to mbaMission after being waitlisted Round 2 at Wharton, and they promptly put me in touch with Cat Ho, a Wharton alumna. She advised me on my waitlist strategy and update letter. Without her guidance, I do not think I would have been accepted. Here’s what made the difference:
• Candid feedback: Cat immediately identified the gaps in the application I submitted and conveyed exactly what signal to send the adcom. Cat guided my narrative so that every detail came together in a way that would be most compelling for the adcom to read.
• Strategic insight: In addition to helping with the waitlist update letter, Cat provided advice on the actions I should take to stay engaged in Wharton’s process and the respective timing for each.
• Professionalism: Cat was direct but encouraging, was always prepared, and exercised exceptional judgment in determining which ideas to push me to write about and which ideas to avoid.

I submitted my update letter about 3 weeks after being waitlisted, in early May. In July, I was admitted off the waitlist to Wharton’s Class of 2028. In hindsight, I wish I had worked with Cat on my application itself, rather than wait until getting waitlisted. In any case, credit for my outcome is due to Cat and mbaMission.

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Thanks to Cat’s guidance and help, I got admitted to Wharton, the only school I applied to in Round 1. I 10000% recommend Cat to anyone targeting HSW or other top MBA programs. Her professionalism, structure, and deep admissions insight will significantly elevate the application. Beyond admission results, this process also helped me better understand myself, such as my achievements, strengths, weaknesses, and long-term direction. Working with Cat was not only an application journey but also a meaningful period of personal growth.

Initially, I did thoughtful research on many mbaMission consultants to collaborate with. Cat came to my mind for three main reasons: 1. We both come from a sales & trading background; 2. Wharton was my first choice, and Cat is a Wharton MBA graduate; 3. As an ABC who is fluent in Chinese, I believed we would share similar perspectives and communicate efficiently throughout the process, which turned out to be very true.

We started working together in May, which I initially thought was quite early since I was only applying to one or two HSW schools and was busy at work. However, Cat never took a relaxed approach. She designed a very structured weekly schedule for me to follow. I am naturally a procrastinator, so having clear deadlines made a huge difference. Cat’s disciplined process effectively eliminated my tendency to delay work. Whenever I was slow to respond, she would proactively check in to see how things were progressing. I really appreciated this level of accountability and support.

And for the essay part, I am grateful to Cat for her guidance on my essays. Because of her Wharton background and deep understanding of the school’s culture, the essay drafting process was both efficient and enjoyable. One method I particularly loved was her request that I started with bullet points rather than fully written sentences. This approach made it much easier to generate authentic content before refining the narrative. Another thing worth mentioning is although Wharton opened its Class of 2028 application in mid-July, Cat asked me to begin drafting essays as early as June. This early preparation allowed the entire process to progress smoothly. Thanks to her familiarity with Wharton, my essays became highly polished, professional, and clearly aligned with the school’s values and culture.

Cat’s professionalism and deep familiarity with both the sales & trading industry and Wharton admissions were also invaluable in refining my resume. After multiple revisions and detailed feedback, I can definitely say this is the best resume I have ever had. She reviewed my resume from an admissions officer’s perspective, frequently asking for clarification when something was unclear and encouraging me to provide additional details. She then helped me restructure sections to make my experience more impactful and easier to understand. Most importantly, Cat leveraged her own sales & trading experience to guide me in presenting measurable achievements, including strong performance metrics. These insights were super valuable and played a strong role in strengthening my application.

For the interview preparation, I had a great experience conducting mock TBD discussions with two mbaMission consultants. In addition, Cat provided very detailed guidance for the ten-minute personal interview following the TBD. Her preparation helped me stay focused, confident, and calm throughout the interview process.

Additionally, I also enjoyed working with Cat on other parts of the application. Her meticulous attention to detail ensured every section reflected my best self. Even for activities and awards, she asked thoughtful questions and helped refine the wording to maximize clarity and impact.

And during the entire application season, I had some concerns about my application and performance of interview, I emailed Cat and Cat always reassured me and provided thoughtful encouragement, which largely helped ease my anxiety. So I’m super glad and lucky to work with Cat and highly recommend Cat to anyone who targeting an MBA program.

Thank you again, Cat!

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I truly cannot recommend Susan highly enough. She was in my corner every step of the way and consistently went above and beyond what I expected from an admissions consultant.

She helped me with everything from identifying schools and exploring potential career paths at the beginning of the process to navigating final decisions and, once I was admitted, getting into the right mindset to actually begin business school.

Susan helped me take a lot of scattered thoughts about my experiences, goals, and motivations and turn them into a cohesive story that made sense not only to admissions committees, but also to me. The brainstorming process she led me through forced me to think more deeply about what I actually wanted from business school and my career, and I came out of the application process with more clarity and direction than I expected. That made not only writing my essays much easier, but even completing the career-related pre-work for my MBA program.

Susan also helped me navigate waitlists, difficult admissions decisions, and scholarship negotiations, continuing to strategize with me even when things didn't initially go the way we had hoped. Ultimately, I was admitted to three of the four T15 programs I applied to and will be attending with a significant scholarship, and I KNOW that would not have been the outcome without her guidance.

Susan is also a rare combination of direct and comforting. I always trusted her to be completely honest with me and tell me what I needed to hear, but whenever I came to her convinced that something was a problem, she somehow had a solution and a path forward. She was equal parts advisor, coach, cheerleader, and, occasionally, big sister/mom, all while being an incredibly sharp businesswoman who knows this process inside and out.

The MBA application process had more ups, downs, and nuances than I ever anticipated, and I genuinely don't think I could have navigated it nearly as well without Susan's guidance, patience, and belief in me. I am incredibly grateful for everything she did for me and would recommend her without hesitation to anyone applying to business school.

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Working with Katy was one of the best decisions I made during the deferred MBA admissions process. She is an outstanding teacher and coach who took the time to understand me, identify the strongest parts of my story, and help me communicate them authentically. Her feedback was always thoughtful, honest, and specific, but what stood out most was how positive and encouraging she was throughout the process. Katy helped me prepare extensively for my interviews, sharpen my answers, and develop the confidence to present myself at my best. At times, I genuinely did not believe results like these were possible, but Katy helped me maintain the right mindset and believe in my candidacy. I ultimately received deferred MBA admission offers from Kellogg, Chicago Booth, Berkeley Haas, and UCLA Anderson—an outcome that exceeded my expectations. I am incredibly grateful for Katy’s guidance and would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a knowledgeable, supportive, and genuinely invested admissions coach.

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Strengths:

Cat worked with me around my schedule and specifically tailored our time to my personal strengths and weaknesses. She was extremely knowledgeable about the process and helped to ensure the timeline was well within parameters to optimize chances of success

Would make the product better:

I can't offer too much by way of recommendation improvements, the only hitch now is that AI provides so much "essay improvement" that it has become ubiquitous. I would ensure that in the evaluation of essays and applications, that individuals be compared to AI assisted essays for the purposes of ensuring a university doesn't receive them with the same incredulity they would of any other person attempting to pass off work that isn't genuinely theirs. Its a new problem we didn't really need to address, nor would I have required it personally, but would be a recommendation of mine for future applicants

Cat worked with me around my schedule and specifically tailored our time to my personal strengths and weaknesses. She was extremely knowledgeable about the process and helped to ensure the timeline was well within parameters to optimize chances of success: Fantastic service, constant contact, real actionable insights in a structured a timely manner. Personally, the application would be the place where I would have the greatest comparative advantage in writing; but Cat was able to help tailor my responses to compensate for some difficulties in my undergrad experience as well as a less than perfect GMAT math score. Her help was instrumental. Fantastically professional and would 100% utilize their services again, and specifically, Cat Ho in particular! 10/10 would recommend

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I couldn't have gotten in without Michael's help. He was the best across so many facets of the application process. He helped me extract my strengths to weave a strong foundation, while identifying areas to improve as I went along. He gave pointed, constructive feedback that was actionable, and with a perspective I couldn't have had without someone with his experience. From my resume to my essays, he helped create a story I was confident in, and helped me earn admission to the only school I applied to (NYU Stern). Any time I sent him something to review, I was confident he'd return it quickly and with specific things to action that would strengthen both the individual part and overall application package. He also genuinely cared in my success and made me feel confident. Couldn't recommend enough!

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Strengths:

Harold is incredibly detailed, proactive, and patient throughout the entire admissions process. He pays close attention to every aspect of an application and is always willing to go the extra mile to improve it. One example that really stood out was when I became concerned that my essays might sound too AI-generated after running them through an online AI detector. Even though it was probably more of my own paranoia than a real issue, Harold never dismissed my concerns. Instead, he patiently worked through multiple rounds of revisions with me until the essays sounded more natural, authentic, and true to my voice. His responsiveness, attention to detail, and genuine commitment to helping his clients succeed made a huge difference.

Would make the product better:

Honestly, I don't have any meaningful suggestions for improvement. The level of support, responsiveness, and attention to detail exceeded my expectations. Harold was always available when I needed guidance and consistently provided thoughtful, actionable feedback throughout the process.

Working with Harold was one of the best investments I made during my MBA application journey. He genuinely cared about my success and treated my applications as if they were his own. Throughout the process, he was extremely detailed, proactive, and incredibly patient. Whenever I had concerns or doubts, he took the time to address them instead of rushing through the process.

One example that really stood out was when I became worried that my essays sounded too AI-generated after using an online AI detection tool. Even though this was probably more of my own concern than an actual issue, Harold never brushed it aside. Instead, he patiently helped me revise multiple essays over several rounds until they sounded more natural, authentic, and reflective of my own voice. That level of dedication gave me tremendous confidence going into the application process.

In the end, I was admitted to two M7 business schools with scholarships, and I genuinely believe Harold played a significant role in that outcome. His strategic advice, meticulous feedback, and unwavering support helped me present the strongest version of myself. I would highly recommend Harold to anyone applying to top MBA programs.

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Strengths:

An excellent consultant who knew everything possible about applying to top MBA programs and how to successfully apply to them!

Would make the product better:

Nothing, was great! Slightly expensive, but that was understandable for the quality of the product.

mbaMission was essential to my MBA application process. They had excellent resources and information on all the top MBA programs. But most importantly, my consultant, Kimberly Hoey, was extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and guided me smoothly through the entire process from beginning to end for my applications to both CBS and NYU. Her knowledge of the schools, their application processes, and how to best stand out to them gave me the best possible chance of success with my applications. She was also extremely friendly and organized in her communication, and was always available to hop on a video call to discuss any questions I had and help guide my application development. It was a real pleasure to work with Kim. Given that I was admitted to NYU, I would highly recommend Kim and mbaMission! Thanks to their excellent guidance and knowledge, I was able to achieve my goal of attending one of the best MBA programs in the country!

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Melissa's biggest strength is her ability to set a very high standard while giving honest, actionable feedback. From the very first round of essay drafts, she pushed me much harder than I expected, not by rewriting my story, but by asking the right questions and challenging me to think much more deeply and introspectively about my experiences and goals. That process ultimately made my applications significantly stronger.

She also has extensive experience working with MBA applicants across top programs, so her guidance was grounded in a clear understanding of what admissions committees are looking for. I always appreciated that she was candid and never overpromised outcomes.

On the logistical side, she was consistently responsive, timely, and easy to reach by email, which made the process much less stressful.

One thing that stood out to me was how supportive she was when I decided to postpone my applications by a year. She was thoughtful and understanding about my decision, helped me think through how to best use the extra time, and continued to check in over the following year without any pressure. It genuinely felt like she cared about helping me succeed on my own timeline.

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Strengths:

Emphasising what a strong application actually looks like, tailoring my strengths to each school, drawing out my authentic voice even when I struggled to, and rigorous interview preparation.

Would make the product better:

N/A

I did five GMAT attempts and never hit the score I was aiming for, so when I started working with Jen I had pretty much written off my chances at Oxford, Cambridge, and LBS.
Jen made it clear from the start that the GMAT is only one part of the application and she pushed me to reflect on who I am and what my strengths are. The early calls were spent figuring that out: my background, my strengths, what I genuinely connected with at each school. She was good at pulling that out of me even when I could not articulate it myself.
From there we worked through the essays and resume together, iterating a lot and ensuring that each of the applications was tailored to each school.
We had an interview prep call before each one with a full mock and a rundown of what to expect. The aim was to make sure I was representing myself in each interview and staying natural.
Ultimately, I got into all three schools with a scholarship at one, and I would never have done it without Jen's help and dedication to her clients. I can't recommend Jen enough, especially if you're targeting UK schools.

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