Strengths:

This was an all-inclusive packaging, and when they say all-inclusive, they mean it! Essay brainstorming, support in outlining approach, editing, and more. Short answer review. Incredible knowledge of business school landscape, and great test prep guidance,

Everyone should work with Krista Nannery and mbaMission, especially if they are on an expedited timeline or are looking for help in figuring out how to best position themselves/their story for business school adcoms.

If you are considering working with a consultant, I can't recommend Krista Nannery enough. Krista is incredibly professional and always clearly conveys deadlines, out of office timelines, and expectations to ensure a seamless working relationship. She always hits her deadlines (often turning work around more quickly than expected), was honest without ever being unkind, and quickly understood the best way to work with me/help me shape my story for what I wanted to convey to these schools. Her knowledge of what these business schools are looking for, and how to differentiate for each, is unmatched.

She took the time to get to know me, my industry, and my goals and helped provide fabulous templates to brainstorm/brain dump important details about my professional and personal life. She took her review of these brainstorming documents very seriously, asking questions that ultimately unlocked my strongest essays, and she made the daunting task of writing application essays feel approachable. She was very helpful in editing my essays with a focus on keeping the important content while prioritizing brevity, and she ensured I was fully prepared for interviews with sound advice and support. The work didn't stop there either. She helped me assess my options once I was admitted to schools and make my final decision on where to attend!

Overall, Krista is a wonderful human being and consultant!

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Strengths:

1-1 interactions and ability to really engage with the consultant.

Would make the product better:

pricing

Michael was excellent to work with! He was extremely helpful throughout the process, working with me to better understand my Post MBA goals and how to articulate them meaningfully to admissions. It can be very challenging to reflect on short and long term goals, but Michael was there to eagerly coach me along the way. He also offered thorough feedback throughout the application process and has a real knack for identifying ways to make essays more concise. When it comes to communication, Michael was very responsive to ensure all my questions were answered quickly.

No doubt he contributed greatly to my highly successful admissions round including acceptance to Johnson/Ross/Darden/Tuck/Kellogg. I even received substantial scholarship money at many of these schools. At the start of my application process, I couldn’t even imagine such results. If you are serious about getting admitted to a top MBA program and are willing to put in the work, then I would highly recommend working with Michael. You will not regret it!

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I don’t think I would have been able to secure an admit to the MIT Sloan Fellows program if it hadn’t been for Harshad. At the start of my application journey, I spoke to multiple consultants and coaches across India and the US, but none gave me the conviction or confidence that I could actually get into MIT.
Several consultants in India even advised me to steer away from top U.S. schools, citing my overrepresented background as a barrier. Many of the U.S.-based consultants felt too transactional.
That changed the moment I was referred to Harshad by a former Stanford student who had worked with him. From our very first conversation, I felt a sense of clarity and confidence that he was someone who could help me put together the strongest possible application.
Working with Harshad was seamless. He was extremely organized, structured in his communication, and often reviewed my drafts well before the agreed turnaround time. He never watched the clock, our calls regularly went beyond the scheduled time, and he always ensured we had fully addressed the discussion’s purpose.
What truly stood out was his honest and critical feedback. Whether it was for my essays or my mock interview prep, he pushed me to bring out my best. Even after receiving the admit, Harshad has continued to stay in touch, offering his advice on next steps and sharing his perspective on post-MBA opportunities in the U.S. I honestly doubt many consultants would have done the same.
While I was initially unsure about the investment required to engage with him, in hindsight, it was completely worth it. Without Harshad, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve my dream of getting into MIT. I’m incredibly grateful for his support, not just as a consultant, but also as a mentor, a friend, and a brother.
I highly recommend him, and I can say with complete confidence that he will make a meaningful difference in your application journey.

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Strengths:

Harshad grasped the specific requirements of each program and guided me in refining my essays for succinct, targeted responses to the questions.

Collaborating with Harshad Mali of mbaMission was pivotal to my MBA application success. His understanding of each target school's culture and admissions nuances provided the foundation for a winning strategy.
Aiming for a combination T10 MBA/T3 real estate program, I was concerned that I would not be able to overcome my younger age disadvantage. Harshad was honest about my inexperience but skillfully addressed this by developing a unique strategy that leveraged my volunteer work and family history, positioning my background as an advantage for top-tier admissions committees.
Throughout the process, Harshad kept me on task with specific, actionable feedback that refocused every part of my application. He took the time to understand me deeply - exploring my professional ambitions, personal motivations, and family influences. With this holistic approach, he helped me build a narrative that resonated with NYU Stern’s focus on EQ and leadership.
Harshad’s strategic insights and dedicated support enabled me to secure a spot at NYU Stern T6/T2, my target program. His expertise was truly transformative, and I enthusiastically recommend Harshad Mali to any applicant targeting the top-ranked MBA programs.

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I feel fortunate to have worked with Katy on my re-application to the Stanford GSB and MIT Sloan. Working with Katy was an outstanding experience from start to finish. From our very first free consultation, it was clear that Katy not only had a deep understanding of the MBA admissions process, but also was genuinely passionate about helping clients succeed.

Katy really understood me – my background as an applicant from Asia, my career aspirations and what motivates me. I would recommend anyone to work with Katy if they are looking for someone who can guide them not only through the applications, but also through a journey of self-discovery. Katy was professional, friendly and encouraging throughout our time working together. Thank you Katy!

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I feel incredibly lucky to have had Melissa by my side throughout this amazing journey. I’m so so much grateful that she was with me from the very beginning till just a few days ago, when I got that call from GSB!

Melissa guided me in connecting the dots of my story, helping it absolutely shine. Her memory (she remembers every small detail!), genuine kindness, and proactive inspiration were invaluable—not just along the way, but especially when I needed her the most. She was always approachable, supportive, and made our conversations feel like I know her many years, not just a couple of months. Moreover, Melissa consistently stayed ahead of every deadline outlined in our contract, often working weekends to ensure everything moved forward smoothly.

She is honest, smart, and incredibly inspiring. Working with her never felt like a typical client-consultant relationship; instead, it felt like creating something awesome with a good friend. (Tip: If you decide to work with Melissa, definitely ask her for a cool gif!)

Melissa was the thoughtful partner I could only have wished for, a wonderful friend (she still is!), and the brightest guiding light for me. I wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone shooting for the stars! ❤️

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I might be biased, but Katy Lewis is simply the best. She helped me get into Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth, Northwestern Kellogg, and a few other top10 programs with half- and full- merit-based tuition scholarships.
As an older candidate in the biotech industry, and a Chinese candidate, I know it is very challenging to get into top MBA programs, not to mention half and full rides. But Katy helped me realize my dream.
I feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to work with Katy on my applications. I would never get into Stanford GSB without her. There are SO MANY things that I am grateful for her, and here are a few key takeaways:
1. The brainstorming sessions. For me, this is probably the most valuable experience working with her. I remember I sent her a 30-page brainstorming document and she read it all and subsequently spent 4 hours with me to figure out my story and my differentiators. It helped me connect the dots, and made me realize the pattern of my life events and the theme of my story. It also inspired me to dive deep into my past experiences and learn how to tell my story. I loved the theme she helped me developed and till this day, I still believe that it truly reflects who I am as a person. And it also constantly serves as a reminder that I need to continue to scaffold on what I have built
2. The editing. She has a fast turnaround time, even when she is on vacation! When I was waitlisted by Stanford GSB and rejected by HBS in round 1, she offered to look at my round 2 materials for free when she was on vacation during Christmas! I really appreciate it. In addition, she is one of the best writers and very detail-oriented! In some of my documents, she even found that I spelled my boss's name wrong!
3. The mock interviews. There are so many useful materials on OnTrack, and I loved these. But my absolute favorite material is her own PowerPoint summaries - very detailed instruction, and very useful tips, and I used it as a "bible" for my interviews. I also loved our mock interview sessions and how she help me phrase my answers and tell my stories.
4. Last but not least, she is such a kind and wonderful person! Extremely smart, and deeply cares about her clients. She is a great mentor and friend! It was a long process and I am grateful that I have her as my mentor!
Highly recommend her!

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Strengths:

Support throughout the whole process, wealth of various resources, high level of service

Would make the product better:

N/A

I cannot recommend Susan enough—if you’re looking for an MBA consultant, she’s truly the best! After several free consultations with other consultants (one during which the consultant made me cry), I immediately connected with Susan during our first conversation and knew she was "the one." I came in unsure of how to tell my story, and within 10 minutes, she helped me craft a compelling narrative about why I was pursuing my MBA.

Throughout the entire process, it was clear that Susan genuinely cared—not just about me, but about each of her students. She took the time to deeply understand my background and goals, and the level of thoughtfulness and care she brought to every draft, phone call, and email was beyond anything I expected. Sometimes I honestly wondered how she balanced so many students with the level of personal attention she gave me.

Despite my lower GMAT score and thanks to Susan’s incredible guidance, I was accepted into a few top-tier programs and will be heading to UChicago Booth this fall! I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with her and know that she will remain a lifelong friend and mentor.

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It’s a difficult task to be able to summarize an entire business school application process into a single testimonial; it’s an even more challenging task to distill a person’s entire breadth of personal and professional experiences into a series of compelling essays and short answer questions that sneak in just under a restrictive word limit. Katy was able to masterfully do just that, and then some.

On paper, I come from a very traditional and overrepresented professional background when it comes to business school applicants (investment banking / private equity). But I also had a lot of unique and seemingly unrelated interests and experiences that I, at least, hoped could differentiate me if I could figure out how to actually tell them. That was always my biggest anxiety when setting out to begin my application process: I had a complicated story that risked being “all over the place” and incoherent if told incorrectly. I was also on the fence about working with an admissions consultant having never worked with one before. I did introductory meetings with around 10 consultants across a number of firms and none were quite able to see the “real me” behind the traditional background quite like Katy was. I met with Katy twice, but I knew after our first 30-minute intro call that I wanted to work with her. I felt like she was really able to “see” me and my story, which was an immediate weight off of my shoulders.

I won’t shortchange the difficulty of the application process, but Katy really did a wonderful job segmenting it into “digestible” bites to tackle, and she staged it in a way such that I never felt overwhelmed or behind schedule, even with an extremely demanding job. Pretty quickly, Katy was able to masterfully weave a series of disparate an unrelated experiences into a single, cohesive narrative, plucking the right threads from each in a way that I know I would have struggled to do on my own. This, alone, made the whole experience of working with her worth it for me. But it didn’t stop there; Katy was always available to answer my one-off questions and pull form her experience having sat on the “other side of the table” at Stanford. I very much valued her opinion and guidance when it came to the process-related questions and with how to best position my application.

When it was all said and done, I applied to Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton, I was invited to interview at all three, and I was admitted to 2 of the schools and waitlisted at the third. While I am obviously ecstatic with the outcome, before hearing back from the schools I was actually quite calm. I knew that, regardless of what the outcome would be, that I had put my best foot forward. And I knew that, with Katy’s help, I was able to put together an application that I was really happy with and confident in submitting. I am fairly certain that I would have had neither the smooth application process nor the outcome that I did without Katy’s help. For that, I will be forever grateful.

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I met Susan after experiencing a devastating rejection from HBS following an interview. This was my third attempt at top-tier schools, and needless to say, I was feeling defeated. However, Susan’s approach was a game-changer. She was incredibly patient, offering a fresh perspective on my story. She took the time to review all my past applications—something my previous counselor didn’t do—including those from 2019 deferred admission applications.

Susan went above and beyond to understand my long-term plans and truly pinpoint what I wanted the admissions teams to know about my journey. She helped me refine both my short- and long-term goals, crafting essays that resonated with the values of HSW. While I didn’t gain admission to HBS, I did secure interviews at GSB and Wharton, thanks to her guidance.

What stood out the most was how accessible and supportive Susan was. Whether it was through emails or late-night phone calls when I was overwhelmed, she was always there, providing calm, thoughtful advice. She even went the extra mile by advising me on what other schools were looking for in essays and interviews, even though she had no obligation to do so. Thanks to Susan’s expertise and unwavering support, I received offers from 9 colleges including CBS, Booth, and Kellogg, was waitlisted at 4, and had only one rejection.

When it came time to make my decision, Susan was again instrumental. She was candid and insightful, helping me evaluate the cultures of the campuses and guiding me toward the right fit. In fact, she knew which school I’d choose before I even realized it myself!

As for the waitlist process, I cannot emphasize enough how crucial Susan’s support was. After being waitlisted by MIT, Wharton, and GSB and facing the added challenge of losing my job, Susan provided invaluable support in helping me craft compelling updates to strengthen my applications. Her guidance during this difficult time was crucial.

In conclusion, I wholeheartedly recommend working with Susan. She genuinely cares about her clients, takes the time to understand them, and builds meaningful connections. I’m confident that even though my MBA application journey has ended, I’ll stay in touch with Susan for years to come. She truly is amazing, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.

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