At the moment I’m writing this, I’ve just finished and sent my applications for HBS and Wharton R2, it’s still some weeks before interview invitations and a couple of months before final decisions.
Even with that said, I cannot recommend Katy enough. Ever since the free consultation she went further and beyond than what I expected and even experienced with other consultants at their respective free consultations. She was very open with me about my initial GMAT score which was not good enough for the schools I wanted to apply, furthermore given the date where I achieved a “decent” GMAT she was also very clear to me that I wouldn’t be able to land a 1R application and that we should better work towards R2. This very honest and mindful advice was key for me and I’m sure that many other consultants could have tried to seize the opportunity to rush an application and free one more client spot for R2, but not Katy.
So we started working for R2. The very first day of work she sent me all of the material I would need for the whole application process, which proved to be much more challenging and burdensome than what I had anticipated, but Katy helped me to go, firmly, one step at a time, putting attention to all details. During the first sessions she helped me define which schools I had a better chance given my profile (so I changed from Stanford and Berkley to HBS and Wharton…). As I am a Latin-American applicant coming from a family business, the differences in these programs were not very clear to me, so her insights for this initial and crucial part of the process were invaluable. Furthermore, and specially for someone coming from my background she helped me identify how should I present myself to the AdComs, what stories should I bring into my essays, and very very importantly how to choose and coach my recommenders.
Before continuing, I have to address Katy’s amazing skill to help me trim my essays, reducing a lot of clutter and to make them very clear, concise and directed specifically for the programs I had chosen.
Regarding the recommenders, given my background, it was the part of the application that I had the least idea on how to approach. Katy helped me identify my best fits given the stories I shared with them and how the fitted the rest of my application. Furthermore, she was in contact with them and guided them through the daunting recommendation writing process. If you are a Latin-American applicant, coming from a family company or even a regional company, I cannot stress on how important is that someone guides your recommenders during this process, as the very concept of Letter of Recommendation expected by the AdComs is very very different to what is/was in my recommenders heads.
Finally I have to recognize and thank Katy enormously because she went trough the whole process with me being available practically all the time, even despite all the holidays that come just before R2: Labor day, Columbus, Veteran’s, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s… And I didn’t even had to use express services nor anything like that.
Even if I don’t get admitted to any program (I applied with Katy only to HBS and Wharton, because that’s as far as my budget could go, but I applied to 3 other programs on my own) she helped me to give my best shot possible at ALL my application processes, because I learned so much about me and how to go through the application processes in general. I am sure that working with Katy was the best decision I could make, she really pours herself completely to help you; your application matters to her as much as you, as simple as that.

tl;dr: Katy is an amazing consultant, your application matters to her as much as to you. Amazing support. As LatAm applicant from family business background, LoR support was key for me. Tip: book early w/her.

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Dan was so helpful from the very beginning to the end. During our first call, I was very unsure about the schools I wanted to apply to and whether or not they were the right options for me. He spent a lot of time researching the programs and understanding what I wanted to get out of an MBA to help me narrow down my choices. He also connected me with several students which also helped my decision making process.

During the application process, he spent a lot of time suggesting ideas and helping me rework my essays. There were times I didn't even know where to begin with my essay and he was able to give me suggestions on what to talk about. He was also extremely patient and he always responded to my questions / provided edits for my essay in a very timely manner, making this daunting process a lot easier.

The MBA process is very challenging. Going into the process, I knew that even crafting the perfect application might not guarantee admission into the school I want. But I didn't want to have any regrets and I knew I wanted to take advantage of all the resources that were available to develop a strong application, and with Dan's help I was able to do that.

Happy to say that I got into my top choice and I couldn't have done it with him!!

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Harshad’s help throughout the whole process was incredible and it was with his help that my application was as strong as it could be. Even though my age is younger than the average age of most MBA students, I was still interviewed by all the schools I applied to and got accepted into a top 10 school. I know I would not have been as successful without his help! His support is very strong and he is extremely good at breaking down and polishing your experiences to create a compelling message for admissions. As I have a technical job, it was through this that we clearly broke down my achievements so they could easily highlight my fortitudes for an MBA. Furthermore, as others have stated his feedback is concise, straight to the point, thorough and insightful. He will make sure your application components are the best they can be and succinctly express your achievements – extremely useful when you want to capture your story in word limited essays! Finally, he always provided feedback in a very timely manner allowing me to submit my applications without any rush. The whole process, from brainstorming for the essays to submitting the applications was definitely made easier by his help! I am extremely grateful for all his support and apart from being great at his job he is also a friendly fun person to work with, making the whole process a lot easier and enjoyable. I have absolutely no doubts about recommending Harshad and am extremely thankful for all his support!

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I worked with Heidi during 2018 Round 1 and 2 cycles and came away extremely disappointed with not only the result but also the process. Considering how much time and money I invested into the services, I was unhappy with the level of effort Heidi put into reviewing my materials especially after the first school was done, and also with the level of expertise in managing my expectations as a client. Both of these reasons led me to have to reapply this year and despite Heidi having the audacity to ask if I wanted to pay for more services, I of course declined and was fortunately able to gain acceptance on my own without using any of the materials that we worked on together. I now know that hiring Heidi and mbaMission was a big mistake and I would never recommend them to any future applicants.

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Before deciding which admission consultant company to choose, I conducted several free consultations to get a sense for the different approaches and also for the consultants I would be working with later on.

I found it very helpful that Jen, who conducted the initial consultation, was also the actual consultant who helped me create my applications later on - at some other firms the initial consultations were not conducted by the actual consultants. From the beginning I had the feeling that Jen was very knowledgeable and that she provided exactly the advise that I felt I needed. Therefore, I decided to work with her.

This decision turned out to be perfect, as she managed to help me demonstrate my strogest self in my applications. She took several hours in the beginning to understand my background thoroughly which allowed her to probe my application at later stages, as she always hat alternative situations in mind that I could possibly leverage.

I found the process extremely smooth and not stressful at all. Jen was approachable and always replied within the company's turnaround time. Quick questions were answered much faster.

Therefore, I can only recommend Jen to anyone applying to business school. Jen's knowledge, experience and communication style made her the perfect consultant to work with. Her support exceeded my expectations by far.

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From the get-go, working with Debbie was a fantastic and seamless experience (and I'm not just saying that because I got into my dream school, HBS, with her guidance). When I started the process early in the summer, I had an extremely vague idea of how to approach my application. I had a rough sense of what type of work I wanted to do post-MBA, but I wasn't sure how I'd draw a direct line between my professional, academic, and life experiences and the amorphous concept of my future career.

From the moment I began working with Debbie, that began to change. During our kick-off call and brainstorming sessions, I began to delve much deeper into the experiences that I've had. I think most people (or at least would like to imagine) aren't predisposed to constantly think about how great they are, or the great things they've done, but the application process requires you to do so. Debbie expertly coaxed these details out of me and helped me construct an application narrative that still felt deeply authentic; she never tried to impose anything on me or my application that felt uncomfortable.

As we continued through the process, Debbie was responsive and respectful, and ultimately guided me through an extremely introspective period of my life. Debbie also helped me prep for my interviews and set me up with her colleague on short notice for school-specific interviews (i.e. HBS). She always felt like a genuine partner who was most interested in my success and, if I had to go through the entire process again, I would do it the exact same way with the exact same counselor. I learned a lot about myself along the way and I'm certain that my experience would have been much different (see: worse) without Debbie's expertise.

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Background on me: White, male, finance, small school (GPA 3.9 / GMAT: 680 / 5 years of experience upon matriculation). Pre-MBA I worked at a relatively unknown firm.  So all in all, I felt like I had a somewhat weak profile compared to the whole of the applicant pool. 

I knew that I would need to use an admissions consultant to differentiate my self from a competitive applicant pool. I spoke to a few consultants and told them my background. However, Jen truly stood out because she generally understood my background and on a free consultation helped me start to craft my story. She seemed to be generally enthusiastic about the process too.  Ultimately I signed up for the complete package.

Working with Jen helped me tremendously throughout the entire challenging process.

Jen helped me tremendously when finding and developing my story - taking what I said/wrote and crafting it into a coherent story. Jen's main strength is her story telling ability. She has a unique talent of transforming somewhat incoherent details into a compelling narrative. She helped me uncover both personal and professional stories that I had forgotten/didn't think were relevant and helped me make them come to life. I believe that my applications were sent in with a clear cohesive story that helped me stand out as a unique candidate. Also, the mock interview prep was thorough and very helpful. And most importantly, I felt that she was truly invested in my success. We were a team and by the end of the process, I felt that we had built a strong professional relationship. She was one of the first people I notified when I got into my top choice and I could tell that she was genuinely thrilled for me. That meant a lot. I couldn’t have done it without you, Jen!
While certainly not a cheap investment, it has paid itself back tenfold.

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Kate's guidance and support throughout the admissions process was second to none. I was offered admission to Booth, Kellogg, and Tuck, each with scholarships, and I couldn't have done it without Kate!

Kate led me in developing and communicating my personal brand by guiding me through a process of self-discovery (many phone calls and Skype sessions of brainstorming and questions). She helped me see patterns within my interests and education and work experience that enabled me to tie together my story, why I needed an MBA, and why now. By being straightforward about the weaknesses in my application (a shorter work history and somewhat jumpy resume), Kate helped me address these weaknesses within my written application and prepared me to answer questions around them in interviews.

As I built my resume, short answers, and essays to tell a cohesive story, Kate's feedback was exceptional. Always timely and professional, Kate understood what I was trying to convey and made suggestions that helped me best articulate it. She was so thoughtful, remembering (and reminding me!) of small details from our prior conversations that, once incorporated, brought my essays to the next level. Another big value-add was Kate's in-depth knowledge of each program and its students/culture. While sometimes I used similar anecdotes for essay questions and/or short answers, no two answers were the exact same, as each was adjusted to fit the school's values. Kate was key in helping me show how I was a good fit at each particular school. The same held true when it came down to interview preparation: Kate helped me prepare for each school's interview, quizzing me on questions she typically sees asked at specific schools and giving me tips on how to make my responses less cookie-cutter and more unique to the values of each school. I attribute my interview-to-admit success rate to Kate's help in preparation.

After receiving the calls with good news, Kate was one of the first people I told because I was so appreciative of her help. She saw me at my best and my worst, and she was a great sounding board for all things MBA-related (and some things less-MBA-related like a potential company switch pre-MBA). I highly recommend working with Kate to anyone applying – she is the absolute best and will help you find success in the application process!

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Background:
I knew I wanted an admissions consultant to help: (1) synthesize my story and goals succinctly to stand out from the crowd, (2) provide insight into which schools were targets/reaches based on my ambitions and risk-tolerance, and (3) answer one-off/random questions + ease my nerves throughout this marathon of a process.

Kate's Approach:
I had an intro call with Kate to determine 'fit' and in that call, I walked her through the main reasons I wanted an admissions consultant. I felt confident Kate would meet those goals, and after a few weeks into working with her, she surpassed all of them! We started working together in May 2019 with my resume and brainstorming my story/goals. Her turnaround time was always within the 2-business day policy of mbaMission, and at times, even sooner. What I loved about her approach was that she: (1) is flexible (including setting up last-minute calls or answering emails quickly) (2) genuinely listens to my comments/questions/concerns and (3) is happy to review any/all materials related to schools' applications that we were working on together (I got the end-to-end package for multiple schools).

Overall Review of Kate:
I highly recommend Kate to anyone seeking an admissions consultant. In addition to the reasons I listed above, I also believe she has patience, detail-orientation and dedication to see her clients succeed. She's genuinely interested in her client's success and I definitely felt that way while working with her. For anyone considering an admissions consultant, I recommend understanding why you feel that you need one and set those expectations upfront with your consultant as I did with Kate -- It helped us form an easy, trustworthy relationship that, I believe, ultimately aided in securing admission at two T15 schools! Thanks, Kate, for your incredible guidance!!

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When I started the MBA application journey, I didn't know how necessary or valuable a consultant would be. I chose to work with Katy after reading her reviews online and chose her because she had worked in Stanford admissions, which at the time was my top choice. When we did our initial consultation, I told Katy that I was applying to Stanford, Haas, and Wharton. I didn't think I was "good enough" for HBS and didn't give it fair consideration because of this lack of confidence. Katy immediately told me that after looking at my profile she thought I should apply to HBS and having went there herself, told me about how great her experience was. I was shocked and flattered that an alumna thought I was worthy and so I decided to apply and Katy worked with me on my HBS application. We worked on about sixteen drafts of my essay, sending it back and forth to each other and it slowly came to life. Katy's help was priceless. I wouldn't have initiated a lot of the essay changes if I was working alone on it. I probably would have stuck with some of the original content that was not as strong, but when you have Katy reading it with you, she suggests ideas more objectively and challenges you to keep taking the essay to the next level. The second item that was helpful to me was organizing the information for my recommenders. Katy had an excellent template that made me a lot more confident in what I was asking my recommenders to write. She also read their letters and gave them feedback and both my recommenders said Katy was extremely helpful and appreciated the feedback as neither one of them had ever written MBA recommendation letters. I got interviews at all four programs I applied to and Katy offered to do mock interviews for all of them. Her mock interviews were very similar to my actual interviews and she had so many resources to help me prepare and feel most confident about them. In the end, I was accepted to HBS and I know for a fact that I would not have even applied if it were not for Katy saying she saw potential in me. For me, she was a true mentor. She gave me confidence and encouragement in every single email and conversation and helped keep me accountable and motivated through what can be a very long and stressful journey. I think a common struggle applicants have is always doubting if they are doing the right things in their applications and actually presenting the bet version of themselves. Having Katy there to give me that assurance and remove that doubt was invaluable. I am so thankful for Katy's help and encourage everyone to choose her as their mentor.

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