I interviewed 5 consulting companies, but the thing about Monica that caught my attention was that she genuinely cared about my story and saw my potential when others didn’t. With the other companies, they tried to steer my school selection to easier programs. I got the impression they wanted to ensure a high success admission rate. With my initial profile, they were probably right. My GPA and GMAT scores were below the averages of the schools I was applying to and my story was unstructured. Monica was different. She saw my passion, believed in me, and was 100% honest with what it would take to get there. If you want someone who will help you get into your dream school, then go with Monica.

Monica laid out a plan to address my GPA and GMAT. We deferred round 1 applications, and I focused on GMATs for a few extra months to boost my score from the 600s to the 700s. Then, she recommended that I sign up for a corporate finance class and obtain an A to demonstrate my academic capabilities. With those milestones complete, the brainstorming session with Monica launched the frame work for my story. As I told Monica various accounts from my life, she always had such great follow up questions that highlighted the heart of the story and how we could incorporate that into the essays. She was phenomenal at helping me write essays that flowed like a conversation telling the reader who I was. For some of my essays, I had 7 or 8 drafts and Monica would always promptly return her corrections with good clarifying questions.

When I got my interviews, I was a nervous wreck. I remember I bombed my first mock interview with Monica. However, she thoroughly walked me through my interview to help outline my responses and did it in such an uplifting manner. Through the entire application process, she was extremely encouraging. It gets daunting and stressful as you’re crafting these applications and prepping for interviews, but having Monica there to encourage and guide me made such a huge difference. When I finally had my real interviews, I aced them.

I am so glad I chose Monica as a consultant. She was pivotal in helping me get to know myself better and creating a strategy that would get me into the perfect school. I got into Haas, and I am absolutely thrilled. I can’t recommend her enough.

John was a pleasure to work with and helped me manage an incredibly stressful waitlist process. After completing applications without an admissions consultant I found myself waitlisted (after interview) at Stanford GSB, MIT Sloan, and Wharton. John provided a logical and informed process to address my scenario and successfully navigate the waitlist. Even though the schools publically posted that they didn't need additional information, John helped me find ways to positively communicate with them and tip the needle in my favor. I found him to be responsive, and he always provided value added advice.

My only regret is not hiring John as my admissions consultant earlier so I could have avoided the waitlist process in the first place!

I can honestly say that without John's wisdom and coaching I'd be going through the admissions process all over again. Because of him I'll be attending Stanford GSB in the fall!

Jess was wonderful to work with! I had the pleasure of working with her for two years, and throughout the entire process, Jess was incredibly supportive, knowledgeable and thorough.

Jess really worked with me to identify key differentiating points of my skills and experience and then clearly communicate my story in the admissions essays and interview. She is a fantastic writer and helped me articulate ideas in a very succinct way.

I ended up getting into my dream school and I thank Jess over and over for all of her insight and hard work to help me achieve my goals! I would definitely recommend Jess for your MBA application experience! Simply the best!

My MBA application process was very stressful and having Angela's guidance and support made it a lot easier. I always enjoyed our conversations, which promoted introspection, guided my brainstorming process and always made me feel better. Our conversations were useful not only for my application, but also to think about what I want to do after my MBA and for my summer internship.

Having been an MBA candidate herself, it is easy for her to identify with us and understand the stress that this process entails and is thus very empathetic.

The advisory was very useful in defining the story I was going to tell through my essays and I really appreciated that she took the time to get to know me in order for the essays to truly transmit my essence.

I would certainly reccommend her to my friends!!!

I worked on 3 schools with John - a safety, a target and a reach school. I'm happy to say I got into both the target and reach schools (despite having many scores/numbers below the target metrics), and turned down the interview invite to the safety school. John helped take the various ingredients that make up who I am (as he was able to pull together via the lengthy brainstorming doc), and help me create an application that the adcom would find compelling and interesting. I don't think I would have been able to do this alone. He was prompt on returning materials and a good sounding board when I was nervous about interviews etc. Ultimately any experience with a consultant is contingent on the effort and engagement you put into it, and I'm happy to say John met my expectations in that regard.

If you are thinking about applying to business school, and have the means to hire an MBA consultant, I would highly recommend not only choosing mbaMission, but going with Helen Summers.

As I begin my MBA application journey, I quickly realized how incredibly competitive the admissions process has become in today’s world, and I decided to hire a consultant in order to gain every possible edge. When choosing a consultant, I was looking for a few things: (1) excellent reputation, (2) full-service treatment (i.e. not only would look at essays but would review resume, recommendation letters, short answers, etc.), and (3) someone who had an MBA so they could prove that they went through the process themselves and could speak from experience. I landed on mbamission as they satisfied my first two specifications with the most highly rated reviews, and ended up working with Helen due to her familiarity with my top choice (Kellogg) as well as her excellent pedigree and the connection we quickly formed over the phone during our initial phone conversation.

Helen and I worked closely together for over 2 months on my Kellogg application. Using the “full consulting package”, we created a schedule for my application, including self-imposed due dates and regular check-ins. We did a thorough examination of my brainstorming document (a differentiator of mbamission and an extremely useful tool) and worked together on every part of my application. She was very timely and thorough with her feedback (always within the 2 day turnaround outside of holidays), and was always suggesting things that could make my application more competitive. She challenged me when she believed my writing could be improved, and her advice was very trustworthy. Above all, she was honest with me throughout the entire process. She did not sugarcoat anything, and that’s what made our relationship so sincere and cohesive.

The beauty of working with a consultant is the air cover that they provide you as well as the constant set of “well trained” eyes on your materials. Helen did this in spades and helped me achieve my goal of being admitted to my dream program. I would recommend her to anyone looking to get a thorough experience out of a MBA consulting partnership. Don’t be afraid of the sticker price…it will be worth the reward if you are willing to commit the time, energy, and enthusiasm.

I took my time choosing an admissions consultant- first, because there are so many options out there! Second, honestly, I wasn’t sure if I bought into the idea. Couldn’t I do as good of a job passing my essays around to a few friends and getting their feedback? (Short answer: no.) When I spoke with Susan, I appreciated her straightforward approach. In our initial consultation, I never felt like she was pushing anything on me, but rather giving candid feedback and giving me options to consider. In that 30 minute conversation alone, the ‘food for thought’ she provided made me realize how much I stood to gain from working with Susan, and it was easy to pull the trigger after that.

Throughout the application process- brainstorming, writing essays, preparing the resume- Susan helped me sharpen my focus. She called me out when I was trying to skirt an issue or avoid adding extra details, and pushed me to spend more time thinking through each of the components of my application (Why does this matter? Do less telling and more showing!) so that the final product was true to my best work. She NEVER gave me the answer, or rewrote things for me, which I also appreciated.

Susan helped me get into Kellogg, my top choice, and I can’t thank her enough. You have everything to gain from working with Susan, and nothing to lose!

Jessica had rave reviews from my former manager (“simply the best”), and I used her for Round 1 of the 2016-2017 cycle with 2/2 admissions at HBS and Wharton.

Both a business executive and perceptive storyteller, Jessica is unique. She outperformed at every step, packing our time with prompt, actionable feedback delivered with off-the-charts energy and humor.

In our first conversation, she quickly synthesized my profile (strengths and specifics to improve – e.g. trying the GRE) and cited information on schools I hadn’t unearthed in hours of research and calls. During our sessions, Jessica took time to understand the influences that have shaped me, and my future goals. She then drew out my most compelling accomplishments and experiences, weaving them into a memorable yet strategic narrative that stood out to my target schools.

In particular, she is an exceptional writer. She is skilled at understanding the point you are trying to communicate and crafting a succinct, accessible way to get it across. She helped me tell a very context-specific story in a way that was clear and persuasive to any reader, which I believe got me into my top school.

I worked with Jessica on my brainstorming, essay (editing again and again until every word had weight), and career goals. She also demystified the process by providing honest answers on what schools expected and how I matched up (How to use the short answers, or present a low GPA?).

My engagement with Jessica gave me the edge I needed to get into my dream school, and clarity and focus going forward. Work with Jessica – you will not regret it!!

If you are considering a top school I highly recommend that you sign up for Jessica Shklar’s free 30-minute consultation and you’ll quickly understand why I decided to hire her on the spot for the complete start to finish package. She is exactly what you need her to be when you need it – a strong critic when your work/writing isn’t your best (trust me she’ll know), a strategist providing advice on how to create rapport with admissions officers (a key differentiator for candidates when you’re applying to M7 or T10 schools), and a mock interviewer prepping you for yours at the top school you apply to. She won’t do the job for you, but will give you the guidance, suggestions, hand-on work, and be a sounding board so that you may succeed throughout every step of the MBA application process. I was not a perfect applicant but Jessica helped me maximize my strengths and address my weaknesses and the results exceeded my wildest expectations landing a spot at a top school! Simply put, she’s a true partner in your corner helping you out!

After a year and a half of working with Jessica, I am more focused in how I approach everything and a much better writer than before, both of which have me better prepared for B-school this fall at my dream school. Thank you Jessica!!!

I have no doubt that I am attending a Top 15 school because of my work with Jessica. I did a ton of research on both consultants and companies: mbaMission in general and Jessica in particular was undoubtedly the best decision I made in the application process. Seriously: her slots will fill up quickly; lock her in as soon as you can!

I did a few 30 minute consultations, and just minutes into my talk with Jessica, I was sold. As a non-traditional candidate, other consultants did not fill me with confidence; Jessica made me feel like my story and candidacy had value – and that it was precisely what made me non-traditional that would get me into a target school. And then she helped make it happen.

She has a tremendous gift for drilling down the parts of your story that are both most compelling and that will help you the most with adcoms. The first brainstorming session - and the 20 page document she had me submit beforehand – helped me shine a spotlight on what points I want to focus on and develop a cohesive narrative of my work and personal history. To say that she’s gifted at this is not hyperbole – she truly possesses an unbelievable talent at teasing out the most impressive parts of yourself while crafting an engaging narrative.

She has so much insight into the adcoms for top schools and the best and varied ways to approach each individual app – this is info that no amount of googling will help you get and gives you the edge you need to make your app stand out.

Every step of the way, she goes above and beyond. She makes you feel like she’s genuinely interested in your success and that the relationship is so much more than transactional. When I didn’t think it possible to shorten my essays any more while preserving meaning, she did so again and again; she was a miracle worker. When I got an interview invite for a school I didn’t even work on with her, she sent me a list of common questions and was available for help. When I had an unfortunate debacle with my transcript, she polled her fellow mbaMission consultants and went out of her way to help me come up with a plan that ultimately landed me where I am today. She’s brilliant, fierce, feisty, thoughtful, knowledgeable, and compassionate – all characteristics that make her a joy to work with.

I could go on and on about her virtues and value, but trust me when I tell you this: she is the best of the best.