From the beginning of my application process I had been hesitant about hiring a consultant for a variety of reasons, but now as I prepare to attend Columbia Business School next year, I can very confidently say that working with Gavriella was the best decision I made during the process. I interviewed five consultants and from the get-go I was confident that Gavriella was the right choice. She showed up to our meeting prepped on my background, was very candid about my strengths and weaknesses and proposed a concrete plan to move forward. The minute I knew for absolute sure that I had made the right decision occurred several weeks after we started working together. We were several turns into the all-important goals essay when Gavriella made the (at the time) very unpopular suggestion that we weren’t hitting the mark and that we should go back to the drawing board to make sure that we craft not just a good story but a great one. Most people would have said it’s good enough and forgone the extra work, but Gavriella was committed to our process and committed to my goal of getting into Columbia. She was always there for me to bounce ideas off, provided truly honest feedback, and at times just to listen to me complain about the whole process. No stone was left unturned from beginning to end and Gavriella pushed me day after day to make sure that I wasn’t just submitting a good application but a truly exemplary one. Gavriella guided me and helped create a narrative that showcased to the admissions board a full picture of who I am and what I am capable of.

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When I first started the MBA application process, I doubted whether my profile was competitive enough to get in to a top school. Melissa helped me identify and capitalize on the unique stories and experiences from my background, helping me craft applications where I could highlight my strengths and mitigate my weaknesses. I thought I knew what I wanted to write in my essays, but Melissa helped fine tune my ideas and pointed out experiences that she felt were unique which I wasn’t considering before. She’s also a skilled editor - I tend to be a verbose writer, and Melissa easily cut 200+ words from my essays while still maintaining the content and emotions of my story. Additionally, she is an incredible mentor and cheerleader, answering my questions candidly but compassionately and reassuring me when I was overwhelmed or anxious about the process.

Ultimately, with Melissa’s help, I landed interviews at 4 M7 schools, and was admitted into 2 of them - Chicago Booth ($70k merit scholarship) and Columbia ($50k merit scholarship)! Melissa even went out of her way to review my scholarship negotiation essays and a waitlist update essay for another program. I'm extremely happy with these results and am confident that Melissa’s support and guidance was instrumental in helping me land them. If you’re in the market for an admissions consultant, look no further!

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Julie-Anne played a huge role in my being accepted to my top three choice schools, Harvard Business School, Wharton/Lauder and UVA Darden in Round 1 of the 2020-2021 Admissions Cycle. While I had all the right pieces (720 GMAT, high GPA and strong recommendations), I struggled to develop my MBA story through my essays and short-answer responses. More specifically, coming from international development, I was completely lost about how to contextualize my background and skills through a business lens and articulate how I could contribute uniquely to the classroom.

Julie-Anne exceeded my expectations on every front. She was accessible, diligent, kind and strategic. She listened closely early on to understand who I was, why I wanted an MBA and what I hoped to do, and then used that knowledge to help me strengthen my voice in my essays. She read countless drafts, jumped on dozens of brainstorm calls when I hit a roadblock (even on Sunday mornings!), and calmed my anxieties the night before my interviews. She was highly professional and knowledgeable; I always felt that she knew exactly what she was doing, whether helping to tweak my resume or determine how to conclude my essays (and the results showed!). Her expertise on what the Admissions Committee values at each particular school heightened my applications and helped me to really shine. Also, the fact that Julie-Anne attended HBS, one of my top choices, and worked in consulting, my intended post MBA career, made her a real role model for me throughout the process. I highly recommend Julie-Anne!

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I worked with Nisha mostly on writing my essays for 3 top B-schools (HBS, GSB, and Booth), I found her guidance and help very valuable, as we started with a structured approach on how how to determine the theme of my essays, molded each essay into each school's format, and kept me on track on important details one should include on these essays, I would've otherwise not included.
Nisha was very knowledgeable about the project I needed to create, and also very flexible about making sure I could guide the project to keep it my own.
In the end, I secured acceptances to 2 B-schools and I was placed on the waitlist of my 3rd application. I am sure Nisha's support greatly helped me submit a much stronger application.

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I used 5 hours of Gavriella's services to help support reviewing/editing my applications. She really took the time to get to know me and my motivations. She was then able to provide concrete feedback on how I could increase the clarity of messaging across my application. Furthermore, Gavriella was able to offer valuable input on what admissions committees would be looking for.

I had a highly personalized experience where I felt she was truly invested in my success. Not to mention the quick turnaround times to review materials. I ended up getting into my two top choice (GSB & HBS). Gavriella was a key contributor.

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Gavriella helped me with several of my school essays and not only helped with content but also helped correct all my grammar. She really helped strengthen my essays and I got accepted to CBS and will be attending.

What I liked is that she spent time getting to know my background in an introductory call, which I think really helped her modify my essays. I also really liked that in correcting my essays she also included questions that made me think on what to add and remove. I would recommend Gavriella to anyone and she was really instrumental to my MBA admissions process.

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Jen was a fantastic resource and supporter - she was a huge factor in my application successes. I cannot overstate how much she helped me to shape my personal story to shine through in my essays and interviews. Her responses are tailored, detailed, and thorough, and her feedback is extremely helpful. Her responses and suggestions helped to elevate my essays to the level that I required to be successful. I cannot recommend her enough to any MBA aspirant targeting top programs. I would absolutely advise applicants to use her as a resource. At the very least, use the free consultation to see for yourself.

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I worked with Susan on mbaMission’s start-to-finish package for 4 schools (M7), targeting Round 1 deadlines. Susan was an amazing guide through the whole process, keeping me on track to putting together applications that represented me well.

Susan has a wealth of knowledge on school-specific aspects of the application and what each school is looking for in different parts of the application. She really helped me connect the dots to craft a great narrative and taught me how to market my strengths to the admissions committee.

Susan was incredibly punctual in reviewing and providing feedback on my essays, sometimes even getting back to me ahead of schedule to help me meet my timeline. Her feedback was definitely challenging, but after working through it my application looked a lot better. She was also readily available over the phone to clarify any of her comments. My interview prep session with her was also helpful - she gave me constructive feedback on the key areas that I could definitely improve on during the days leading up to the actual interview.

It was not easy to meet the R1 timeline, even though I had started quite early. When I was falling behind, Susan didn’t shy away from giving me a wake up call and pushed me through the process. At the end of the day, I’m really happy that I got accepted to one of the programs! I highly recommend Susan for anyone looking for a consultant.

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Susan has been on my business school journey with me for years, and I know that I would not have gotten to the end without her guidance and support. I started working with Susan as a college senior applying for deferred admissions programs. I knew I wanted to pursue an MBA but had no idea what the admissions process would require (I was definitely a little unprepared going in!). Working through the Complete Start to Finish Package with Susan was a complete gift – she helped me take a step back to understand my strengths and how all of my experiences fit together to tell that narrative but also where I was a little weaker and how we could strategically approach this aspect of my application. This established a great framework for the application and really helped to tell my story in a way that I was confident about. But, actually writing that story turned out to be incredibly hard. As an engineer, I had absolutely no experience writing essays or storytelling and it definitely showed! Susan really helped to transform my writing style. Her feedback is direct and she knows how much to push you to generate your best work – I went from writing long stories that were mostly “fluff” with no real content to understanding how to write strong narratives with concrete examples to really illustrate the topic. This is more than just a goal for business school applications; it is a lifelong skill that Susan helped me to build – one that has already benefited me in my career and will continue to do so in business school.

Although my first try at business school applications did not result in an offer, it provided a great opportunity to reflect and take the time to make my application even stronger. I always knew I would reapply to business school and throughout the next few years, Susan stayed in touch and was an amazing sounding board when I was trying to round out my experiences and strengthen my story. When it was time to reapply, I chose Susan again as my consultant because not only did she know my story, but I knew she was rooting for me and would give me the push that I needed to submit my best application and one that I was really proud of. I worked on a few different schools with Susan this time and chose schools that had every type of essay and interview possible – written, video, case interviews, etc. Like the first time, Susan’s feedback was invaluable and helped me to build interview and communication skills that are applicable in the “real world” and will propel me to become a stronger student, employee and leader. But, the thing that I benefited from the most this time around (besides applications that I am so proud of) is a strong sense of what I want to do with my career and how I can get there. The Complete Start to Finish Package gives you the opportunity to dive deep into your experiences, strengths and interests (which ultimately pointed me in the direction of what I wanted to do in my career). But, it was Susan who helped me lay the foundation of what I would need to do to get there and how an MBA at my target school was a necessary piece of that puzzle. Her insistence that I do my research to understand the industry and the skills needed for that role helped me develop not only a strong application but a plan that I am excited about. This process with Susan was personally instrumental in preparing me for business school, and I feel ready to take on all that it offers.

Susan embodies the perfect balance of support and feedback. She takes the time to really understand her clients as individuals and constantly strategizes to help them realize and highlight their unique strengths. She never wavers from her goal of pushing you to do your best work, and the result is always something that you will be proud to call your own. I look back on my time with Susan and am so thankful for all of the effort because without her, I would not be headed to London Business School (my dream school!).

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I was a military applicant with a low standardized test score and an unconventional story to share. Initially, I reached out to mbaMission only for strategic advice—I thought that I had a good understanding of what information I needed to present, but I wanted a second opinion to ensure I was hitting the mark. After speaking with Julie-Anne, I immediately realized how helpful it would be to have someone guide me throughout the process. Julie-Anne was a coach, supporter, and teacher throughout the most challenging points of the application cycle. She took time to get to know my ambitions, reasoning, and most importantly, “me” as a person. Her perspective helped me improve my essays by navigating blind spots, presenting my weaknesses in a positive light, and helping me better explain my path. In advising me on how to realize my “potential,” Julie-Anne helped me get into an M7 business school (Stanford/Harvard). Julie-Anne went far beyond my original expectations and I’m so thankful for all of her help!

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