mbaMission Admissions Consulting Reviews

Kate is the perfect mix of professionally capable and personable. I have an unconventional background and short WE which made it challenging to apply to top 20 schools. Kate was very patient in the early stages when I was trying to figure out how to tell my story. Here are the things I was impressed by later on as we delved in the application process:

1. Documents: Kate was such a big help in my resume and essay drafting. She really helped me phrase things in a non-technical way without losing their significance. She offered a fresh perspective on the dos and don’ts for business school application for a young applicant who’s only been in the technical field. For my essays (on average 2 essays/school x 5 schools), she made detailed editing and gave valuable input on re-wording, themes and ideas of each essay. I easily went through at least 3-4 drafts with each essay. Kate thoroughly looked through them and responded to my comments on every single draft. The thing with essay writing is, even if you’re extremely savvy in business jargon and good at writing, it’s still nice (& necessary) to have someone else’s perspective on your essays because you should never assume other people (Adcom) would react to what you write the same way you do, and this is where consultants who know how Adcom thinks come in. I got interviews to ALL BUT ONE school I applied to, which I could’ve never done without Kate’s help.

2. Content: Kate is REALLY thoughtful and efficient in her communication. For example, I’d tell her my concerns, and she’d respond with her take on the issue and multiple solutions to resolve the problem. This pattern persisted all the way from September to April, from drafting essays, attending events, to selecting letter writers, communicating with schools, and then to waitlist strategies and negotiating scholarships! Even when I didn’t ask, if she had material that she knew would be of help to me, she’d send them to me. She takes client’s concerns seriously which I appreciated. Kate also doesn’t beat around the bush if something does not look right. She gives honest, direct and constructive feedback every time. Remember you’re paying thousands of dollars for quality, which is content in the most efficient way possible, and Kate lives up to that expectation.

3. Timeliness: Kate never failed to be responsive. This is something I was really touched by. Around the Holiday seasons when according to mbaMission schedule or her vacation, she didn’t need to respond to any emails, she swiftly responded to my inquiries (not document editing) because a lot of R2 deadlines were right around the corner. She had in mind the schools I was applying to and understood my priority. This is not to say that you should submit documents and expect her to edit them for you when she’s on vacation! The fact that she checked her email AND RESPONDED with thoughtful feedback within a day really showed that she cared, and I appreciated that.

I'm very happy with the result and glad Kate was there throughout the whole thing. Highly recommend Kate for those in need of guidance along the way!

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I was a little late in the game as I only started the process in August. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to work with Kate throughout the process (brainstorming, essay editing, interview preps and mocks, etc). She was very good at identifying my strength and right stories to tell. She was very responsive and always offered good ideas. As an international student with an OK GMAT (730), differentiating my profile was the key, and she did a great job on that. I was admitted to Booth!

If you are trying to differentiate yourself in application, I highly recommend Kate! She will exceed your expectation!

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Right from the moment I started working with Harshad on my MBA application journey, he has always been there by my side and motivated me to bring out the best in myself and this helped me build a strong and authentic application – one which wouldn’t have been possible without his support. Harshad treats your success as his own and this trait of his is evident through all his efforts throughout the application process. Harshad always provides constructive criticism and doesn’t hold back from giving you his honest and straightforward opinion and this quality has helped me correct course numerous times be it while editing an essay or preparing for interviews. What makes him the best is that he is relatable! Whenever I have had my self-doubts about the whole MBA process, he has always highlighted my strengths and reassured me that this is indeed possible, often times quoting from his vast experience. His pep talks and positivity has helped me transform into a confident and self-sufficient MBA candidate. I strongly recommend Harshad for anyone looking for a MBA consultant!

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When I first started the MBA application process, I was very confused and had no idea what admissions committees were “looking for.” During my initial calls with Harshad, it became abundantly clear that he was the person I needed to guide me through the process. He was extremely attentive to my concerns about weak points in my profile, and he could provide direct answers to all my questions about various schools, essays, etc.

I could go on and on about my time working with him, but I think it’s best to highlight what I feel are a few of his greatest strengths.

1) He was a friend, not just a consultant. Harshad truly wanted to get to know me as a person. During our initial brainstorming call, he continued to ask follow up questions as we dove deeper into my stories; it was clear he wanted to understand the underlying meaning each one had to me. And this is one of the many ways he was able to push me to write essays that truly reflect who I am as a person. It never felt like he was “working” or “doing his job,” just a friend who genuinely wanted to help me achieve my goals.

2) He didn’t let me settle for “good enough.” There were a number of times throughout the process where I would send Harshad a draft I thought was solid. On paper, the essay was logical and “made sense.” However, Harshad recognized there was significant room for improvement; he knew these essays didn’t cut deep enough. So he pushed me to continue to dive deeper into my stories until I found something that truly reflected who I was and who I am today. On my own, I would never have pushed myself through this process of deep self-reflection. Looking back, my final essays were night and day compared to my earliest drafts.

3) He was a rockstar consultant all around. Harshad went above and beyond his duties as a consultant: as others have mentioned, he consistently provided feedback on my drafts far in advance of his firm’s required timeframes. Furthermore, he is extremely knowledgeable about the application process as well as the similarities and differences between various top MBA programs. He was also instrumental in helping me drastically cut down the word count on my preliminary drafts without losing the true meaning/message behind my stories.

Since I’m sure some people reading this will be interested to hear how things worked out… I am super excited to say that I’ll be attending an M7 school later this year with a 50% scholarship! I absolutely would not have accomplished this without Harshad. I can’t recommend him strongly enough.

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Working with Harshad throughout the application process was extremely rewarding. I had a very unique and difficult timeline/situation, but Harshad worked with me through it all and supported me during each phase of the process. Harshad is an amazing storyteller; he was able to bring out my best qualities and help me put them into words to show the AdCom what I could bring to a program. He is able to do this because he takes the necessary time to get to know his clients and he is a diligent listener. Harshad was not just interested in my professional background; he cared about what motivated me, he asked questions about my family, my childhood, everything. Personally, my favorite aspect of Harshad was his honesty. As someone who did not have much time to waste, I really appreciated his direct approach--it showed me how much he cared about the quality of my applications and that he knew the quality of work I was capable of.

With the help of Harshad, I was able to land 4 admits to top 10 schools and I know for a fact that I would not be where I am today without him. I signed up with Harshad thinking of him as a consultant, and I am leaving the process thinking of him as a friend. Thank you, Harshad!

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I’m 30+ years old. I went to a small state school. I was out of a job for 15+ months. Before my current career, I worked blue-collar jobs. My GRE quant was <65%. I had a family tragedy in the middle of the application cycle.

Despite ALL that, with Jessica’s extraordinary guidance, these are my results:

Applied: Stanford, Harvard (MBA & MPP), Wharton, MIT, Berkeley, Yale, Virginia, UCLA, UNC, Georgetown
Interview invites: EVERY. SINGLE. SCHOOL!
Outcomes: 9 admits!!! 1 waitlist & 1 ding. Candidly, both non-admits were cuz I screwed up the interviews. C’est la vie :)
Funding offered: $257K (from various schools)
Attending: Joint Stanford MBA and Harvard MPP (with amazing named fellowship)

The results speak for themselves, but I'd like to share more about Jessica.

At heart, Jessica is a storyteller. She took a block of stone (over 30 pages of my stories/vignettes and hours of phone calls), and helped me sculpt a masterpiece.

One story highlights many of her strengths: for the GSB essay, I was struggling for an opener. Jessica mentioned a short phrase I’d written in my 30+ brainstorming pages. And voila, I had an intro which tied the whole essay together.

This small story shows her eye for detail, her work ethic, and most importantly, her tradecraft of shaping narratives that both tug at the heartstrings and engage the intellect.

To me, the goal of an application -- something more subtle than the explicit goal of getting accepted -- is getting the Adcom members to be YOUR advocate. Jessica understands that. And that is exactly what we did. The amazing and humbling outcomes I’ve had were only possible with Jessica on my team.

I enjoyed working with Jessica so much that, crazy as it sounds, I actually miss the hellish application process! That speaks volumes in itself.

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After taking the GMAT, I was a bit lost in terms of where, to begin with, the application process. I couldn’t decide how to best position my non-traditional healthcare background.

Nisha helped me tell my story more effectively and challenged me to be introspective about why I am pursuing my MBA. Working with her helped me to more clearly define my short and long-term goals, which became imperative not only for applications, but also for business school meet-and-greet events and, later on, interviews. Throughout the entire process, Nisha was prompt, encouraging and thoughtful in her feedback. I applied to 4 schools and was accepted to three with varying merit-based scholarships (including my “reach” school!), and am wait-listed at the fourth. I believe I would not have come nearly this far if not for Nisha’s guidance.

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To kick off this review, I will say I am not the most straight forward candidate. I have a sub-par (<2.5) GPA, no alternative transcript, and 3 years of work experience at a no-name tech firm.

Every MBA consultant either turned me away, insisted that I apply to part-time programs, or asked that I apply to lower ranked schools. However, I was determined to join a full-time top 20 program and needed a coach to guide me through the process.

Harshad was exactly that and much more. Right from the start he was honest and let me know that if I wanted to punch above my weight, I'd have to approach the process swinging, and that he would help guide me through it. Harshad was always available at a moment's notice and truly helped me refine and craft my essays, story, and pitch. Harshad truly is an awesome story-teller and can really bring out a top notch applicant in anyone he works with.

In the end I not only gained admission to a top 20 full-time program, but I did so with a bloody full scholarship! To this day I can't believe it. Looking back at my essays that I attempted to write before I met Harshad and comparing them to my completed essays after working with Harshad, it is clear that there is no way I would be where I am today without him.

To anyone thinking about working with Harshad - biting the bullet and hiring him saved me two years worth of MBA tuition (>$120k in tuition fees!); unbelievable!

I would recommend Harshad to anyone who is going through the application process. There is no doubt Harshad will put you on the path to achieving your goals!

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Rachel was recommended by a friend who loved working with her. My experience was exactly the same! From the beginning she was very professional, knowledgable, and honest (which is something I really appreciated). She truly helped me figure out the ins and outs of the whole application process which can be very daunting, and she constantly checked on me to make sure things were going according to plan. She pushed me to work hard and I really appreciate all her help. I’ve recommended her to a few friends thinking about their MBA and I suggest if you’re curious at all about getting an MBA, to schedule a call with her. As I mentioned, she’s very honest and will let you know if she can help you or not.

Thank you, Rachel!

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I had the pleasure of working with Krista after speaking with many other consultants and she was absolutely fantastic. From our very first call, I knew that she was someone that I could trust and be comfortable around.

What I loved about Krista:

- From the start, I could tell that Krista is very experienced and organized, which made the whole chaotic application process much easier to navigate and enjoyable. She knew what had to be done, kept me on track, and turned everything around super fast.

- Krista was really great at helping to ease my stress. Throughout the process, I often approached her with problems that seemed like a huge deal to me, and every time she was able to provide simple and elegant solutions. I knew that I could rely on her anytime I had a question/concern and would be able to receive great advice promptly.

- She is an excellent writer and communicator. Krista has a simple, clear, and beautiful writing style that made my essays much more compelling. I loved that she never tried to take away my voice, but simply took what I wrote and gave smart suggestions to enhance it.

- Overall, Krista is just a wonderful person to work with. She is fun, kind, relatable, supportive, and she was always cheering for me. I was very comfortable talking to her and I genuinely enjoyed all our conversations.

Ultimately, I was admitted to the Booth MBA program and I don't know if I could've done it without Krista. I highly highly recommend her to any future applicant - you won't regret it!!

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