I wanted to attend the NYU Stern Part-Time program for Fall 2017; unfortunately, I was facing a major hurdle a low undergraduate GPA. I reached out to MBAMission and after reading the GMATClub reviews I decided that I wanted Katherine (Katy) Lewis to help me with my MBA application. Katy had glowing reviews, helped individuals with low undergraduate GPAs before, and was located on the west coast, which I felt made working with her outside of my working hours much easier.

Katy was extremely helpful throughout the process, she was very responsive and never missed the turn-around windows. We started off with a brainstorming questionnaire, to help craft the themes of my essays and was very perceptive, she was able to identify things about my background that I had never thought of before which made for very effective essay topics that highlighted the uniqueness of my candidacy. She was also able to help me analyze my undergraduate transcripts to identify patterns that laid the groundwork on how to address my GPA issue. With her help I was able to craft amazing essays, a powerful resume, and an impactful set of application answers that resulted in my acceptance into the NYU part-time program.

I would highly recommend Katy, who was amazing to work with, easy to talk to, insightful, and is very familiar with the nature of part-time programs and its students, and especially of how they compare to full-time programs and students. I would not have been able to gain admission to NYU without her, and when I told her the great news, and she was as thrilled as I was! She was helpful even after I was accepted and her job was done, by sending me resources and information that would help me finance my MBA.

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The MBA application process, as it stands today, is challenging - it requires huge amounts tactfulness, perseverance and optimism. Katharine’s coaching through the process helped me realize the importance of several subtleties (in addition to obvious aspects) in presenting my case, and her enthusiasm helped keep my morale at elevated levels through the process.

Tactfulness: While there are several aspects of your application you can’t change (GPA, GMAT score, Demographic group, Brand affiliations) there are several other aspects, obvious and obscure, that you can play around with to affect you candidature. Katy, armed with her years of experience coaching applicants, helped me champion every available open lead. For instance, she helped me sort through my aspirations to identify a long-term goal that was ambitious, yet achievable given my background and recruiting at HBS. She then helped me articulate my goals in a meaningful way and encouraged me to model my essays, around life events that were generally aligned. She made several other golden recommendations regarding referrals, essays, interviews etc.

Perseverance: Writing an application is hard work. I did 10-12 iterations on each essay/response following feedback from Katy, my wife and friends. Katy was patient and quick going through my drafts and gave me succinct directional feedback on each iteration. She was always available to discuss ideas and helped me understand where each idea could fit into my story. The same before and after each one of my interviews.

Optimism: Time and again, during the process, one tends to wonder whether the effort is worth it. The anxiety of doing well at work, taking tests, finding time to write your essays, attending networking events, figuring out your career and most importantly enduring the long time-gaps between steps in the process can be tough to deal with. This is where working with Katy helps the most. Her cheerful persona and perpetual enthusiasm helped keep up my morale and focus. I’d often chat with her just to find enjoyment in the process while looking forward to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

If I had to apply again, I’d do it under Katy’s mentorship all over again. I wouldn't have made it to my schools of choice (HBS, Wharton, Booth) were it not for Katy's coaching!

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Heidi is the reason I was able to turn my application around from a ding into an acceptance and get into my top choice MBA program. As a result, I only had to submit one MBA application. As many applicants, I realized that my Personal Statements / Essays and the Resume will need to be exceptional. Heidi was essential in helping me craft a differentiated personal narrative that was articulated in my essays and strengthen my resume by highlighting the impact of my role in my company.
Looking back and reading the first draft of my essays and comparing them to the final product strikes a difference of day and night. My essays contained an arrogant tone, which often appears as we write about ourselves, and would be considered application-denied material. However, Heidi was able to transform those first drafts into a powerful narrative that helped frame my unique differentiators. Heidi was also very successful in turning my resume from a job description and overview of responsibilities into a strong narrative of my impact, strengths, and success. Furthermore, her input into the other portions of my application based on her specific knowledge of what each school wants was invaluable and saved me from making multiple disastrous mistakes.
Along with Heidi’s superb eye and laser focus on creating a winning application, what I really enjoyed about working with Heidi was that the process didn’t become overly time consuming. Heidi was able to pick up where I left off and provide sufficient feedback for me to continue iterating my application. 100% of our collaboration happened via email, which was very impressive.
Working with Heidi was the best decision I made and I would highly recommend Heidi at MBAMission as your admissions consultant!

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After spending several weeks preparing my essays, I thought it would be a good idea to purchase an hour or two to make sure they were going in the right direction.

Even after many of my own revisions, Nisha helped me make the most out of my very restrictive word counts so that I could present myself in the best way possible.

By far the most important experience was that Nisha was able to get back to very quickly when I was approaching my deadlines, even though there was a 15 hour time difference between us. I felt that Nisha genuinely cared for me and wanted to make sure that she did everything she could to make sure that I succeeded.

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Katy helped me see the application process as an opportunity for structured self-reflection. There were two aspects to her coaching. First, she helped me understand what I value, where I want to go and what I have done so far. Katy facilitated that process through writing exercises and follow-up discussions. Second, she helped me create a narrative that communicated my story to an objective party and explained why business school is the obvious next step. Here, Katy supported me through the process by reviewing multiple drafts of my essay and helping me prepare for my interview.

Katy managed to remove much of the mystery surrounding the application process by helping me understand my motivations and how to effectively communicate them. Thanks to her support I was admitted to my top choice.

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I started with just one hour of service, thinking I would have an essay or two reviewed for structure just to calm my nerves about the process. Once I started with Nisha, I realized I was getting a lot more. She was able to dissect my own ideas in a way that I hadn't been able to see them. She really took the time to understand what I was trying to convey and had no problem pulling in other MBAmission consultants when she thought they might have a useful angle. She also did not hesitate to push me. She demanded perfection, yet supported my in a way that really just worked! I am certain that I would not be smiling with two acceptance letters at this point if it was not for her truly caring. I could go on about her ability and passion but I will just leave at this. Working with Nisha was the best decision I made through the whole MBA process!

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When scoping out admissions consultants, I had only one simple criteria – someone that cared and would serve as an advocate and a friend throughout the process. In the saturated landscape of admissions consulting, Melissa is someone who will go the extra mile for her applicants. Her relationship with clients is not transactional, but vicarious. I can readily attest to Melissa’s empathy and care for her clients, along with her deep knowledge of the admissions world from her own experience as an admissions director.

Working with Melissa was a fantastic experience. She was always responsive, reliable and speedy with turning over reviewed documents. She made constructive and meaningful suggestions to my personal statements, and helped me prioritize the most important qualities to highlight for each of my target programs. Beyond the logistics, she helped to bring a sense of ease and comfort with her upbeat personality to an otherwise daunting application process. I remember a specific instance where Melissa offered her assistance to prep me for interviews even though it meant running over the remaining hours available– that is how much she invests in her applicants. Melissa also provided career insights from her rich experiences, which is something I did not expect from an admissions consultant.

With Melissa’s valuable support and guidance, I was able to gain admission to Kellogg, HBS, and Wharton!

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I was a skeptic of MBA consultants before the application process began, but having got through the process intact I can say with confidence that Melissa was well worth the investment. Here's some takeaways from my experience:

1) Melissa's professionalism and service completely exceeded my expectations. I read a lot of horror stories on these message boards, especially with hourly clients. I was worried that I might get treated like a second class customer, but if anything, I got more than I was billed for. Melissa was ALWAYS available, responded quickly, was MORE than fair when it came to billing and helped me get the most out of my money. More importantly, I always felt like Melissa genuinely was interested in my application. I never got off a call with her and thought "well I could have just googled that," she always had advice or insight that was specific and useful to me. I think she really cared about where I got in - sometimes she was even emailing me for updates on my applications!

2) To me, one of the most helpful aspects of having a consultant was that it helps set expectations throughout the entire process. Melissa's personal experience on an MBA admissions committee was extremely helpful, as she was able to give specific, personal advice on how to approach each step and what to expect. I also felt completely prepared for interviews - not just what questions would be asked and how I would answer, but also the atmosphere and the overall experience.

3) Melissa was extremely helpful when it came to deciding how I would frame my story. In the first couple weeks of talking with her, I completely reshaped how I was going to tell my story. She suggested I include a ton of information I was going to leave out, and I really feel like the things she pushed me to include in my app (mostly extracurricular type stuffI never would have included without her advice) really helped stand out and were huge talking points in interviews.

4) Maybe the biggest reason to have a consultant is just to have a "voice of reason" throughout the process. I could throw any random question I had her way and she would always give me an honest and really helpful answer. It's great to have an EXPERT review your essays and resume and get tangible advice.

For me, the bottom line is that this was well worth the investment and it made my entire experience better and less stressful. It's certainly possible to submit a decent application without a consultant, but if you are serious about getting into a competitive program then I would highly recommend working with Melissa or another consultant.

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I went into the b-school process early, but totally blind. I heard about mbaMission through Manhattan GMAT and decided to set up a free 30 min consultation. I could not have been more impressed with Melissa from the start. She provide a valuable framework for how to think through the process early on and help me decide if this was the right time for me to apply. She got me thinking about all the right questions early on and helped me identify potential weaknesses in my application and worked with me on a strategy for overcoming those.

After deciding that I was going to apply to schools R1, I signed up for the hourly package. Melissa would hop on a phone call with me right away and quickly responded to all my emails. She calmed me down when I would get overwhelmed with the process and would talk me through anything that I was stressing about.

I decided to apply to 4 schools all of which I felt could have been a stretch. Melissa gave me great tailored advice for each school and was extremely quick at getting my essays back to me. Her feedback was always clear and concise, and most importantly, very specific to each school. The resume guidance I received was particularly valuable.

When I got into 3 of the 4 schools (dinged at HBS), Melissa was there to talk through my decision with me. She was such a reassuring, calming presence throughout this whole process.

I felt that Melissa always wanted me to succeed and was doing whatever she could to help me achieve my goals. I could not have been more pleased with my consulting process with both Melissa and mbaMission.

I am going to my dream school and am so excited for what is to come!

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I worked with Nisha at mbamission and, with her help, went 2/2 with my target schools (one international and one domestic) in the early action round. Nisha was very responsive and always hit the review and essay turnaround timeline.

I had also worked with Stacy Blackman and found that the two services were quite different. Nisha was very focused on grammar and writing style – she spent a lot of time editing my essays – whereas my consultant at SB didn’t critique my writing so much as the content and stories within the essay.

Overall, I was happy with Nisha’s help, but she didn’t challenge me as much as I would have liked and her consultation didn’t feel as genuine nor personalized as my experience with SB.

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