In brief:

Last year, I applied to business school without the help of a consultant and didn’t get in anywhere. This year, with the help of Katharine Lewis from mbaMission, I got into Berkeley Haas with a $80K scholarship, I got into Kellogg’s MMM program, I got waitlisted at Stanford GSB and I accepted my offer of admission at LBS with a £50K scholarship. Below, I will describe why our relationship was so effective, and why I think you should definitely retain her start-to-finish services.

More details about her exceptional service:

Katharine was incredibly supportive throughout the entire process, always going the extra mile because she truly cares about the people she helps. She has well-structured material and she is extremely talented at guiding you, helping you to self-reflect, think about your strengths, and what to showcase in an MBA application. She helped me on selecting between stories to make my story engaging, emotional, but also well-rounded. She then reviewed thoroughly every document I sent her (essays, short answers, and even emails I wanted to send to some alumni to network!). Not only did her help get me into all these schools, but she also taught me a lot of re-applicable skills along the way.

Applying to an MBA is stressful, and having Katharine around gave me confidence in my skills, myself, but also in pushing through hardships. On top of giving me advice, guidance, and reviewing diligently all my material, she also was there to support me emotionally and encourage me. She does not count her hours!

She also was flexible on timelines, always making me feel she prioritized me, answering emails so fast and answering any question I had. Katharine was also very patient and always happy to start-over if I was not 100% happy with an essay. She also is extremely honest and will tell you if she feels an essay needs improvement. This makes her one of the most trustworthy advisors/mentors I’ve ever encountered.

Once I was invited to interview, she helped me prepare for those and made me feel very confident going into interviews. Finally, once I was accepted into many schools, she helped me make my choice and made sure I was entirely certain of my decision. That is true start-to-finish service!

I truly recommend the mbaMission’s complete start-to-finish package with Katharine, as it includes unlimited reviews (believe me this is really important), real knowledge and experience in admission committees (Katharine was on Stanford GSB adm committee and she also knows a ton about Kellogg, HBS, and other schools) to help you "stand out". Katharine goes above and beyond, and the package is worth the price considering how many hours she spent helping me!

More details about me:

For context, I am a French woman who studied business undergrad in Canada and did not speak English before moving to the USA 3 years ago. I worked as a Deloitte consultant in Montreal, and then at Wayfair (e-commerce company) as a category manager for 2 years in the USA. I also created a non-profit aimed at helping entrepreneurs network in the USA. GMAT: 720 (better verbal, lower quant). I have done several things to help me get into a tier 1 MBA, but there are so many people applying with strong profiles! It is Katharine who truly helped me get into those top tier MBAs. Post-MBA, I want to pivot to

a new industry, but also change my career from working in big companies to early-stage startups and even launching my own startup one day.

My story was not easy to layout in an MBA application as I changed jobs every 2 years, only had ~4 years of experience, and wanted a different job and industry post-MBA, but Katharine helped me see the storyline and made my application so much better! I applied to 6 schools (all in round 2): Stanford GSB, London Business School, Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School, Kellogg MMM Program, and Berkeley Haas. I got 4 interviews: Stanford GSB, London Business School, Kellogg MMM Program, and Berkeley Haas. I finally got the results I mentioned before.

I hope this helps highlight how much Katharine helped me. Believe me, she is the edge to securing several offers from the best B-school worldwide! Don't forget that this investment can lead you to your dream MBA, so 200% worth it!

Cap
London Business School, Kellogg MMM, Berkeley Haas admit, $140K in total merit scholarship awarded and waitlisted at Stanford GSB

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I can honestly say I wouldn’t have made it through the MBA application process without Harshad’s help; he helped me to believe in myself when things were difficult, to craft the best stories for my essays and interviews, to come up with the best strategies to deliver results, and so much more. In the end, I ended up getting accepted to two of my top schools, and I was offered a full ride to one of them.

I contacted mbaMission sometime in the spring (R2 applicant) as I knew I had to put my best forward during the application cycle as an older applicant (31-year-old); my initial call with a different consultant was eye-opening, I could not believe all the feedback I received in such short amount of time. She suggested having a second “fit” call with Harshad as we both had engineering backgrounds. After our conversation, I knew Harshad was the one I wanted to work with as he knew exactly where I was at professionally and knew where I wanted to go.

During the next few months, I worked on improving my GMAT/GRE and though my test results were not ideal, Harshad helped me to stay positive and diligent to work on the other aspects of my application and networking with my target schools, which ultimately made a huge difference.

Harshad’s feedback is very direct and honest, which I enormously appreciated as we worked on my applications; he replied to my messages as promised or even earlier, even late at night, during the weekends, and the holiday breaks. The first reviews can be tough, but that is the nature of his work as this will help you submit the best version of yourself. I remember looking forward to my calls with Harshad as they filled me up with energy and encouragement to keep moving, to a point where writing essays, even during stressful times, became fun.

In short, Harshad is a kind, fun, smart, and hard-working consultant who has the best interest in your success and the results speak for themselves. I will ALWAYS be thankful to him.

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Dan helped me with a one school package to an m7. After a string of rejections applying R1 on my own, I turned to Dan's help in identifying unique aspects of my profile and crafting a really unique story that spoke to my background and potential contributions to the class profile. I had a lot of concerns regarding what to convey in my essays and thinking my background didn't really have any unique or interesting points to craft a compelling essay behind. With Dan's help he identified some unique aspects to my story and helped me highlight what I thought was a minor aspect of my background (a part-time job I had in college) to become a compelling story for my admissions profile.

Dan was extremely efficient with his comments and his ability to streamline my writing and help me more concisely express my points in my essays were extremely valuable. Comparing the results for the applications that i did on my own versus the ones I had Dan's help with, I noticed a huge difference in results, clearly speaking to the help that MBadmissions offers and Dan's expertise in this space.

Besides the essay editing services, the interview prep was also extremely helpful as Dan's advice on how to concisely discuss my work experience and doing a mock interview helped give me confidence during my interview.

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I could not be happier that I worked with Katy and mbaMission. Katy was an amazing partner: she was knowledgeable, motivating, insightful, kind, and everything ran like clockwork. Honestly, she made the process fun.

I am a strong writer, and was initially skeptical of using an admissions consultant. I did a few calls to sense it out, and when I spoke to Katy I immediately knew I wanted to work with her because she (magically) intuitively understood my career experience, interests, and how I was thinking about business school. She had such a deep understanding of the schools I was interested in, I knew she could guide me as I crafted applications.

Katy's help was more profound than essay writing: she helped me see themes in my life and career that I hadn't been able to articulate but are absolutely true. I felt totally authentic through the entire essay-writing process, but I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to write the essays that got me admitted to my top choice schools without her.

Katy was always there when I needed help or advice in the application process, and she reminded me of important timelines while also giving me time and space when I was busy with work. It was as stress-free as possible.

After I got interview invitations Katy was extremely helpful at preparing me -- she went above and beyond, and gave me extra help when I was nervous about one interview. I did interview practice with other people, but working with a professional (and more neutral party than a friend!) was very useful.

Beyond all the tactical admissions help, Katy helped me understand the schools themselves. She knows these places thoroughly, and gave me useful insight into which would be the right fit for me.

Katy is wonderful, and I hope you're lucky enough to work with her!

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My only advice on MBA applications: work with Katharine!

Before signing up with Katharine, I did trials with a couple of other firms and consultants. Katharine stood out immediately. During the 30-min call, she not only understood my strengths and weakness right away, but also gave me genuine advice on what I should be working on. I’ve had consultants told me that there was no way I could get into a top 10 program. But guess what, Katharine helped me get into 3 of the top 10, including my dream school! The conversation and experience with her are just totally different from what I had with other consultants and I could tell immediately that she was the consultant I wanted to work with.

After signing up, I was even more sure that I made the right decision. She believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. From her years after years of experience, she could accurately sum up my strengths and build a stellar narrative of my story that’s both accurate and honest. She saw the strengths in me that I failed to see. And she advised on how to improve the weak areas of my application that eventually became strengths in my candidacy. Instead of being just an MBA consultant, she’s also more like my life mentor. After each and every phone call, I felt like I gained a deeper understanding of myself and just went through a therapy session. To me, that’s the most important part of an MBA application: to reveal my true self and let all my strengths shine through. Her advice is gold and her ability to assess my applications in a holistic view really helped me.

Having Katharine by my side through this MBA journey has been the best decision I’ve made.

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As a re-applicant, just the thought of going through the MBA application process again can be stressful. Looking back, it's fair to say that I would not be where I am today without Krista's help and guidance through my R1 application.

Krista's expertise lies in her familiarity with international applicants and their global experiences, as well as her unique ability to "sell" an applicant's candidacy by emphasizing on his/her strengths. I think the application essay is by far the most important item to work with a consultant on , and in that respect, Krista knows exactly what adcoms are looking for and will work with you to bring out your most powerful strengths for the adcoms to consider.

Krista is very quick to respond to emails, has a highly-organized work/turnaround schedule, and is always available through video chat to talk over the most minute of concerns on my application. This means that you will in turn have a highly-organized application schedule as it is in sync with hers. I am a frequent traveler and sometimes had a 15hr time-zone difference with her, but thanks to her organization, it was completely fine. Krista is relentless in editing essay drafts; she will demand nothing less than a state of near-perfection from you. That being said, she is also effective in communicating the reasoning behind every edit.

Throughout the entire process, I firmly believe Krista was invested in my candidacy as much as I was. Thanks to her dedication, I was admitted to 3/3 of my R1 schools (HBS, Sloan, Wharton). Krista, thanks again for everything you've done for me, and all the best on your future endeavors!

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I had such a wonderful experience working with Melissa and mbaMission. When we started the process, I thought I knew what I wanted to write in my essays. Melissa asked questions that totally transformed my essay into a compelling narrative. When I had questions, Melissa answered them candidly and quickly. She always provided me with direct and helpful feedback on my essay, resume, and even testing strategy. Ultimately, I applied to school as the absolute best version of myself, which resulted in my acceptance into HBS, GSB, Wharton, Booth, and Berkeley. Without Melissa, I am confident I wouldn't have gotten accepted into these programs. If you're still searching for a consultant, snag Melissa now before she reaches capacity for the cycle!

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Working with Melissa was an absolute pleasure and was worth every penny spent. I truly believe I wouldn't have gotten in without her help.

She helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses for applying to specific schools, and proactively helped to find ways to cover off those weaknesses and exemplify strengths without being boastful - both of which helped make me more competitive in the admissions process.

Melissa is also excellent at helping make your essay writing as efficient as possible. This helps get more information into your essays while still ensuring it all tells a holistic story. She is really helpful at connecting the dots of your candidacy into personal themes that are also relevant to the school you're applying to.

Finally, she's extremely proactive and responsive to questions specific to your situation. There are no stock answers - everything is tailored to you.

I highly recommend MBA applicants consider her as their consultant.

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Jen has been the best cheerleader to guide me throughout my MBA journey. From our very first call, Jen was super resourceful. She was able to help piece together fragmented life experiences into cohesive stories that exhibited an abundant amount of colour and authenticity. She helped uncover both professional and personal stories that had been completely overlooked, helping create the best possible version of myself on paper! I am not sure if I would have been able to highlight my entire life’s story and post MBA trajectories in merely 500 words without her help! She helped me concisely and thematically express my ideas without me ever losing my personal voice. If I ever make something of myself and have stories worthy of telling the world, Jen would definitely have to be my editor (if she’d have me!!!)

Jen has this smiling voice that always instantaneously put me into a jovial mood as soon as I would hop onto a phone call with her. I remember there had been several instances in which I had become increasingly frustrated with the writing process. As soon as I expressed my concerns, she not only knew exactly what to say to placate those negative thoughts, but she also laid out action items to specifically help tackle those roadblocks. I was fickle about picking the right schools, changing my mind several times. Each change was met with undying patience and supportive advice, ultimately helping me realize that selecting the right schools should be influenced by internal factors of what schools are truly the right fit for you, over external factors. I never had to worry about sounding silly with Jen. No question or idea was ever deemed foolish. She was able to create a supportive environment for me to grow and learn more about myself than I ever had. This was the first time in my life in which I truly enjoyed the journey of a process, and I have Jen to thank for that. Thank you Jen for all that you have done! Jen and I joke that I am a cheerleader for my clients at work, hence the reference in the beginning. Well, Jen has played that role amazingly for me throughout this process. Anyone would be so lucky to have Jen in his/her corner cheering him/her on through to that MBA finish line!

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Two years after working with Jessica, as I’m about to graduate from my MBA, I am still seeing what a value she has been to me, not only in the MBA application process, but in job recruiting and post-MBA as well. In my job search, the HR director for a multi-national company repeated over the phone how powerful and impactful my resume is. 85% of the resume is directly from what Jessica and I worked on, and for the other 15% I have updated since then using the skills and messaging she taught me. Additionally I have used a lot of points and messaging from the essays we crafted together for cover letters to companies and top consulting companies (MBB) that I got interviews for.

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