School Package Reviews

I cannot recommend Melissa highly enough!
I spent a lot of time reading about b-school apps prior to starting the process, and my ambitions were to get into a select few of the top schools – or bust. And because of Melissa’s help I was accepted into Wharton and Yale!

Due to the time I spent researching, I was skeptical of the value of an admissions consultant but thoroughly explored my options anyway. After talking with several companies, I decided to work with Melissa based on the connection she developed with me on our call. She provided practical, tangible advice, had significant experience in an actual admissions department prior to mbamission and was very optimistic but realistic in a helpful way.


Not only did Melissa meet my high expectations, but I found the most valuable part of my experience was getting her advice on areas I did not expect to need help on. Every interaction we had, Melissa provided actionable guidance and helped me become a better storyteller. She helped me brainstorm the importance of my own experiences that I may have overlooked and use every opportunity in the application to reflect why that school fit my trajectory. Melissa and mbamission had a ton of useful data and insights on the schools I was interested in.

Melissa’s attitude throughout was positive and encouraging. I strongly felt she was genuinely interested in my success and designed her help based on my needs and goals. She was responsive to all of my questions and usually even had the answers I needed before I thought to ask.

The application process can be daunting from selecting schools, finding ways to differentiate yourself and creating meaningful ways to link your objectives to specific programs. Applying for MBA programs is a significant investment of time and effort, and I felt working with Melissa made a more than a big enough difference in my end result to justify the money. Choose Melissa!!

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I decided to hire Melissa from mbaMission following a free initial consultation and a fit conversation. We spoke of her deep industry experience and how she could help my fiancé and I achieve our goals. Throughout the process she was very supportive, frank and it became clear to me that she was invested in our success. The brainstorming process was a lot work to get through, but it really laid the groundwork of what would later become my essays. Her help and guidance for the essays of each school was instrumental; we discussed ideas for each essay in depth and these discussions were always very helpful in figuring out what to write. I often found myself reviewing essay prompts, completely stuck without a direction as to where to go, but Melissa was able to look back on my experience (from the brainstorming) and help me formulate a plan forward. Having much industry experience, she was able to help me understand what specific schools were looking for and how my experience was a fit. She was easy to work with and supportive of helping me craft compelling stories. I am happy with our outcome and with admittance to a few schools as result. Should I have not been so fortunate, I would very much look to collaborate again with her in helping me portray compelling stories of myself.

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I started the admissions process very late (September 2019 and I was looking to submit my applications for R2). My career had hit a complete dead end and I had no idea what my next steps were. I decided to begin the application process and study for the GMAT. At the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing. Melissa helped calm me down and laid out a very detailed road map that described all of the steps I should take, when I should take them, etc. The brainstorm exercise was maybe the best thing that I have ever completed. Going into that activity, I thought that there was nothing special that I had done since I graduated high school. The questions and the instructions on the brainstorming activity made me remember things that I had forgotten that I did and I used some of those memories for my essays. She is a former admissions counselor so she knows exactly what schools are looking for in a candidate. She also helped me craft my essays perfectly. Without her, I am positive that I would have never been admitted to a single school and I would still be stuck at my dead end job hating every single second of it. She is a brilliant, successful woman who truly cared about how I was doing and how I was handling GMAT studying and the application process. I could not recommend her more highly.

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I started my MBA journey in 2018, and despite having a decent GMAT score, I got dinged by many top B-schools. Re-applying to these schools was a significant challenge before me. After a lot of deliberation and research, I zeroed in on ‘MBA mission’ to help me with my applications.

I spoke with Susan in July 2019 and felt an instant connect with her with the way she listened to my story, gave her inputs on the possible weaknesses in my application and the steps I could possibly take to improve them. She explained to me about the rigour and focus it would take to put together a strong application and instilled so much confidence in me in our first interaction that I decided to work with her and bought a two-school start-to-finish package.

The brainstorming document that she shared initially really pushed me to think through my story: strengths, weaknesses, achievements, failures. A full 1.5 hour session that followed really helped me create a concrete foundation for all my applications. She constantly encouraged me to do thorough research about the programs and school resources, learn about my fit with the school, and, most importantly, think through my story. Susan responded to my every query and would regularly schedule calls to make sure I am never stuck and always on the right track. She never shied away from giving an honest opinion and comments on my essays and provided constructive feedback to direct me towards the best version of my applications. On many occasions, I did feel all burned out and frustrated working on multiple iterations and drafts, but Susan really helped me piece together an effective and sound application.

She also helped me get the video component of the application right that one of my schools required. She made sure that I practiced it right to master this segment. I was elated when I got the interview calls from both the schools. Susan arranged mock interview sessions (and at a very short notice for Kellogg) with her that really helped me prepare for the most dreadful part (for me, at least) of the application process.

I got admitted to both the top schools (Cornell and Kellogg) that I applied to with her help. I would strongly recommend Susan to anyone and everyone who is headstrong about getting into a top B-school. I am really excited to be going to Kellogg this year and can’t thank her enough for making it possible for me.

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Jessica was my #1 resource and advocate during the application process. Coming from a non-traditional background was intimidating, as I had no other guidance or friends who had previously applied for MBA programs. Jessica is a wealth of knowledge; from her insights into AdCom to the depth of her essay edits, she guided me every step of the way. Jessica put structure around what can feel like a very daunting process and helped me tell my story in a compelling way. I am thrilled to have gotten into my dream school! I truly could not have gone through this process without her!

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Pursuing an MBA has been a life-long dream of mine, so I wanted to give it my 110% and work directly with an admissions consultant who could guide me through the process. I had multiple free 30-minute consultations across 6 different companies, but I felt an immediate connection with Krista from our first call. She was extremely kind, lively, and encouraging from the get-go, and I knew she would take the time to understand me on a deeper level.

Even before I paid for the school packages, she was quick to respond to emails and answer any high-level questions about the process/GMAT. To provide context, I had a below-avg GPA and GMAT score, but only wanted to apply to top 5 programs in round 2. While she was realistic in setting expectations with me, Krista was always SUPER encouraging and optimistic -- And she always made it a point to ensure I was putting the best possible application forward. In a process that could be quite stressful, you want to ensure that your consultant is always there for support...and I always felt this support and trust from Krista.

The first part of the process was filling out a brainstorming document about my life, work, projects, and aspirations. While it took me 10-15 hours (and ended up being 35 pages long...more than I knew I could write!), it served as an important element in the application process. Krista took the time to read through the whole document and help me build a well-rounded story. Rather than telling me what to write, Krista ensured that I was the author of my own essays, keeping the applications very authentic...And whenever I felt a roadblock, she would always refer back to the brainstorming doc and suggest stories that would fit well with the essays' themes/questions.

Krista was also great about keeping me on track in the Round 2 process -- She does an amazing job of sending friendly reminder emails and holding me accountable. When I felt stuck on one school's application, she reached out and asked that I send her whatever essays I've written. We then scheduled another brainstorming call to walk through some ideas and best ways to approach the essay topics, which made it much easier.

She set the right cadence for scheduling meetings, returning application drafts, and answering emails. And per the mbaMission policy, she stayed on top of the 2-day turnaround (most times, she was even faster). When I got to the interview stage, she was right there by my side to help me prep with mock interviews. Most questions she asked me during our mock interviews were eventually asked in my actual interviews...I would have been very underprepared if it wasn't for Krista, once again, holding me accountable!

Now, I'm fortunate enough to be fulfilling a childhood dream -- pursuing an MBA at a top program...And I'm thankful to Krista for supporting me along the way. Krista is extremely trustworthy and took a huge interest in learning about my family, life, personal goals and desires. She is truly an amazing friend, and I look forward to staying in touch with her in the future.

I highly recommend Krista as a consultant...she has really been a blessing for me!

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To start, Jessica takes the success of her students as truly truly her own. I was shocked by the amount of dedication and energy she brought to presenting my application in the best light, and I can confidently say she does the same for all her students.
Besides having a profound insight into what admission committees are looking for in an applicant, she made it a point to believe in me and my story, allowing me to be proud of my application, and enabling me to put my best foot forward through the entirety of the process.
I applied to H/S/W. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe I’d get into all three. Words cannot express how grateful I am for Jessica’s help – an “admission’s consultant” sure, but also a special friend and coach! If you get the opportunity to work with Jessica, you will find yourself lucky for having done so and thankful you did.

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Jessica was friendly to work with and returned drafts in a timely manner. Would recommend if you are looking for a more structured consultant. Jessica and the mbaMission consultants often work with many clients at any given time and have a process of their own to cycle through drafts and other deliverables. As a result, there is little to no flexibility on deadlines and process standards, but you will be guaranteed to receive feedback by a certain time.

I did appreciate that Jessica would always provide helpful ideas while respecting my decisions to take a different route several times. She was efficient in moving forward rather than debating when time was precious and we had different opinions. As with any process of this nature, expect to take ownership of your work and be realistic even if you are lucky enough to have additional leverage from a consultant.

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mbaMission has a collection of resources, templates and guidelines for its consultants. Its a great company because their standardization and databasing makes it so that a consultant that simply follows instructions and pulls on archived resources would likely be quite helpful. Jessica routinely exceeds the expectations set forth in the agreement by responding faster than prescribed, tailoring the already high quality templates to your story, and straight up creating content when it makes sense. Her veteranship in this space is valuable - anecdotes about past clients and wisdom from discussions with other consultants and adcom personnel help significantly. She's talented at synthesizing what she learns about you to help you answer the questions that these applications pose

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A little bit of my background:
Chinese with an engineering degree and working in investment. I decided to apply for an MBA in the US to get more exposure in PE/VC. 720 GMAT, Near perfect GPA.
I could have brainstormed with a local consultant, but I believe that working with a US based consultant is a must so we can craft a story that would catch the eye of a top US school Adcom.

I started my application with another admissions firm 2 years ago, and was finally dinged without interview.

I did not lose hope and decided to have another try the year after. I was struggling between staying with the former firm or test a new one, and contacted mbaMission for a free consultation. Julie-Anne Heafey was strongly recommended to me, and she was willing to review my past application to pinpoint areas of improvement. She pointed out elements that could be presented from another perspective and I directly felt that she could strengthen my application substantially. I bought 3 schools packages and kicked that application journey off.

Julie-Anne was particularly helpful during the story draft stage. As a former consultant, she knew what questions to ask to find the root cause, all the why’s and external factors that led to any decision or accomplishment.
She really wanted me to write the story myself, so she kept introducing new questions to dig deeper.
At the end, I felt that my story was very unique and assisted me to stand out.

As compared to the former firm’s consultants, MBAMission’s consultants are working full-time. Julie-Anne was there, supporting me, and answering quick questions on the spot and it REALLY ease the process as I also have a busy work schedule.

I also submitted application on 2 schools on my own, and was invited to interview at HBS, MIT, Yale, and Booth - was so ecstatic! Remember, I was dinged without interview prior application cycle.

A word on the interview prep:
mbaMission interview guides are updated regularly and tailored to each school, so feel free to download them for free.

Julie-Anne’s support was crucial. I rehearsed couple times before the interview prep session with Julie-Anne, but there was still room for improvement.
As she knew every details of my application - just as an Adcom would for a non-blind interview - she always prepared a list of challenging questions to see how I react. We then reviewed my performance and she provided me insightful feedbacks and ways to sound natural and not scripted.

Finally, Julie-Anne is very resourceful, and by working with mbaMission, you have the support of the entire team as well.
Working with Julie-Anne is one of my best decisions, and thanks to her, I am attending my dream school this fall!!

She helped me make the impossible possible. THANK YOU!!

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