Gatehouse Admissions Consulting Reviews

I had many friends who applied to MBA programs a year before I did, and most of them used a consultant. However, not a single one wanted to recommend their consultant to me as they did not find their consultants to be helpful or worth the cost. Eventually, I looked into mbamission and was matched up with Liza. I’ll be attending HBS next fall, and I’m really not sure if I could have gotten to this point without all of Liza’s help.
I purchased a 3 school start-to-finish package. It was worth the cost – it took over a year from first speaking to Liza to receiving the final decision from the 3rd school, and Liza was there to give guidance at every step of the way. The unlimited assistance was very valuable. Liza played a key role in everything from brainstorming my initial essay topics to helping fill out the short answers to preparing for the interviews. I had many questions along the way and Liza answered each question quickly and thoughtfully.
There are many reasons why I STRONGLY recommend Liza. Here are a few of them:
- Liza makes your essays better. Sounds obvious but most of my friends wouldn’t say that about their consultants. It’s not hard to tell someone what you don’t like about their essays or why you don’t think they’re good. I had several colleagues apply at the same time as I did and I saw the types of comments that they received from their consultants – no concrete ideas, no specific suggestions on how to improve the essays, just high level thoughts and a few grammar changes. Liza puts thought into every single sentence in your essay. Through the brainstorming, Liza got to know me so well that she was able to think of experiences from my past that I could reflect upon in specific places in the essays. She pushed me to make each essay the best it can be through 10+ iterations per essay.
- Liza is thinking about your applications even when you’re not. There were numerous times when I got emails from Liza with ideas even when the essays were in my court. I doubt there are many consultants out there that do that.
- Liza was always prompt in getting her comments back to me. Mbamission has a 2 day policy, and in a year of working with Liza, she was never late. Not once. As someone who works long hours, I can’t stress enough how helpful it was to know exactly when you would receive Liza’s thoughts. Liza also went above and beyond the hours she had to work. She was willing to have calls on weekends when work wouldn’t allow me to have weekday calls. She was willing to review my HBS post-interview reflection on a Saturday, because I interviewed on a Friday. None of my colleagues had consultants who were willing to do the same.
I got into my dream school and I couldn’t be happier. I highly recommend working with Liza if you’re serious about the MBA application process.

Read More

I consulted with Eric Hollowaty on 4 schools, was interviewed at all 4, and was accepted at 2/4. When selecting my consultant, I requested someone who would be honest with me at all times (no sugar coating) but who also would be my cheerleader throughout the process, and I got all that and more with Eric. He asked questions that provoked me to dig deeper on essays and interview answers and empowered me to view my own experience in an MBA-conducive way. He frequently returned my essays on an expedited schedule without charge, and his comments were analytical, insightful and always improved my work. He made himself available to me on late nights and weekends, frequently at the last minute - whatever I needed to get the most out of his services. He was 100% dedicated to getting to know me, my industry, and my post-MBA goals. I would recommend anyone seeking to enlist a consultant speak with Eric before committing to another service or person.

Read More

Going into the Business School application process, I wanted to concentrate on strengthening my applications through my essays to make up for my ok, but not great, GMAT score.

I had participated in mbaMissions’s free online workshops, and decided to sign up for their free consultation. I chose to work with Eric Hollowaty based on his past experience and its relation to my work experience. Eric listened to what my goals were, and instead of trying to alter my goals he accepted them and helped me become the best applicant for my target schools.

When I started working with Eric, I had already formulated my “story” for the most part, so I didn’t feel the need to purchase the full school package. I instead opted for the hourly option and used Eric to help fine tune my essays for the three schools I ended up applying to in Round 1. Our process was pretty seamless and while we only technically worked together for 3 hours, Eric’s feedback on my essays helped me shape the other parts of my applications and prep for my interviews.

I worried that using a consultant would change the voice of my essays and sound disingenuous, so I did thorough self reviews of my essays before sending them to Eric. From there, Eric helped me highlight and extract aspects of the essays that I might not have realized were important pieces of my experiences and character. I really appreciated that Eric acknowledged both the effective areas of my essays as well as the areas that needed improvement. He worked efficiently within the time constraints I set for each essay review (3 hours goes by really quickly!) and returned my edited essays to me ahead of schedule every time.

I think the best part about working with Eric was the enthusiasm and excitement he showed when I was accepted to the three programs I applied to. He was very supportive throughout the entire process, and was just as thrilled about my acceptances as I was. Thanks Eric!

Read More

I chose Hollis Kline from mbaMission as my consultant after speaking with consultants from several other firms. During my free 30-minute consultation, she gave me clear and pertinent feedback on my profile. Her analysis actually helped me identify areas in which I could improve my candidacy and how I could position myself for my target schools. This was even before I had chosen my consultant!

I found it very easy to work with Hollis because her style of asking questions to develop my MBA profile helped me generate compelling essay themes later on. She took the time to understand my story, not just my academic and professional achievements to strengthen my positioning. Overall, her feedback and guidance were very thoughtful, and she was readily available to help when deadlines were approaching. I found that her punctuality and quality of feedback were perfect even when I would send a number of documents to review in a short amount of time.

Specifically, the biggest thing that stood out for me was that Hollis helped me draw a strong relation between my important life decisions and the experiences that led me to make those decisions. My essays would not have been nearly as good without her direction. More importantly, I got a sense of achievement because her reviews made me think deeply and come up with the content on my own. In the end, my content was original and impressive, and I got into the school of my choice despite a modest GMAT score.

I highly recommend Hollis as your admissions consultant. Do start with a 30-minute consultation with her and you will be glad that you did!

Read More

The first time I applied, I got dinged from 5 schools - no interview invites. Next year, I worked hard to figure out what went wrong and also decided to purchase a 4 school package with mbaMission.

I spent around a month just to figure out which consultant I wanted to work with and finally chose Liza Weale. I made this decision because when I spoke to her during the 30 minute free consultation, I was impressed by the fact that she could give inputs on how to improve specific points on my resume/ application (unlike some other consultants, from other firms, who would simply point out what's wrong but couldn't tell me clearly how to do it right). For instance, a consultant from another firm, after looking at my rejected application, told me that I had to take on a significant leadership role in my company within the next 2-3 months to actually have a chance at the schools I was targeting. Another said that my resume was typical of how others from my country would generally make it, it wasn't "American enough" - she couldn't tell me though how to make it more American. So, after all my research, I chose Liza because of her straightforwardness and ability to present achievements in the most impactful manner (that is, primarily, what the role of an admissions consultant is, I believe).

One thing that was certain from the very beginning, Liza was very professional. Not once did she fail to meet her turnaround deadline and this was done without compromising on the quality – I remember sending her 6-7 documents for review on a particular weekend and she was able to revert back on all of them by Tuesday!! Additionally, she was also kind enough to incorporate my requests for a faster turnaround than usual on a couple of occasions.

Coming to the work part, she initially helped me decide which schools to apply to - I eventually got in to a school that she had encouraged me to consider. During essay reviews, Liza always pointed out areas of improvement and gave me a direction to think, she never told me exactly what to write – which is a good thing because it made me feel that it was still all my work and Liza was there to guide me. Of course, we got stuck several times, especially on how to portray a past endeavor of mine where I hadn’t completely succeeded but which was a major talking point on my application. Liza helped me craft it in a way that demonstrated its impact and showed my failure as a learning step. Getting it right took 3-4 attempts but when I finally did receive my invite (call), I was told that my work on this endeavor was one of the factors they decide to offer me admission.

Another thing that I liked was that Liza would regularly encourage me push back on her suggestions and was mindful of how I felt about what I was writing. Almost every review of her was accompanied with some words of encouragement which is very important in such a grueling process (especially when you are a re-applicant).

While I had chosen only a 4 school package, I was also applying to other schools on my own and Liza often answered some questions related to those schools – which gave me a feeling that she also genuinely wanted me to get into a good school and that working with me was more than just a commitment that she had to fulfill.

I got accepted to one of the top 5 schools and got an interview invite from another (which I couldn’t convert). Additionally, I also have an interview invite from another school that I had applied to on my own. Considering what happened last year, I am so glad I made the right choice this year. I would strongly recommend Liza to anyone looking for guidance on their application.

Read More

At first, I was highly skeptical about hiring a consultant because I wondered whether I would be able to get into my top choice schools without the hefty cost of hiring a consultant. Though I will never know if I could have done it on my own, since I ultimately did decide to work with mbaMission, I do not regret my decision at all!

I first spoke with Liza back in July to get a sense of a) what a consultant would be able to provide and b) what it would be like to work with Liza specifically. Though I spoke with other firms and other consultants as well, I fell in love with the concept of working with Liza right away!

During the next few weeks, Liza helped me with putting together my essays, my resume and my recommendation packets for my recommenders. She provided great insight and guidance on whether to take my story and always pushed me when she thought I had more to say or share (even when I did not know I had more!). Not only was she able to provide very tactical feedback on sentence structure, vocabulary choice, etc., she also provided big-picture thoughts (e.g., why did you choose this example? Is there something more here?). Most importantly though, Liza was at my corner, cheering me on at every single step of the way. It meant a lot to me that she cared so much about how my case would be presented to the admissions committee. Although I had other people read parts of my application, she was the only one who saw every aspect of my application (and the only one I trusted doing so, especially since some of these essays can get very personal). As my trusted advisor, she knew how all the pieces would fit together and whether or not the “true” me was coming through. Through the process, Liza became not only a mentor but a friend and without her emotional support, I do not know if I could have finished all my apps in time.

One of my proudest moments of 2014 was being to email Liza and tell her that I got into one of my top choices. I highly recommend at least looking into working with Liza—she is not only extremely smart, but also very caring and supportive.

Read More

I scheduled my free thirty minute consultation with Liza because of the testimonials I read online about both Liza and MBA Mission. I had no intentions, at the time, of signing up for the consulting service, but thought it would be a great half hour review of my resume and story; however, after only a few minutes into the call, it was clear that Liza was an expert – her knowledge, her insight, and her ability to jump right into business thoroughly impressed me.

I knew where I wanted to apply and the areas in which I needed help in, and thus, I opted for the hourly option. Liza took the time to get to know me through a background assessment, ensuring I highlighted my best attributes for the applications. In her feedback, Liza was honest and comprehensive, but what impressed me the most was her genuine passion and commitment to me. Liza encouraged me to find myself and be true to who I am. Her ability to remember things I said during our calls, or minute details she would bring to life, helped truly show my voice in my application.

As I was just about finished with my essays for two of the three schools I was applying to, I changed my plan of action and decided there was only one school for me. Liza was supportive and agreed it was my best fit. When I shared the good news about my acceptance, Liza’s congratulatory note made my day. Liza built a positive and sincere relationship with me, and from the other reviews I read before engaging, it is evident she does this with all of her clients.

There is no doubt in my mind that Liza is an excellent partner for Business School applicants, and I highly recommend her.

Read More

Liza is incredibly talented. She is everything you could want from a consultant, and was instrumental into getting me into both Sloan and Tuck. I don't have enough good things to say about Liza, but if you are considering a consultant, you should definitely hire her.

A little background on myself - this was not my first time applying. Last year, I applied to Sloan, Tuck, Wharton, and Kellogg. I was waitlisted to three of those schools, and ultimately rejected from all of them.

I decided this next time around to hire a consultant, and Liza was the perfect fit. I had spoken to a number of consultants just to get a sense of their backgrounds and to see if there would be a fit, and I could tell that Liza was perfect for me. Having gone to Sloan and having been at Bain as a consultant, I knew she had the experience of actually having been through what I was going through, not just the experience of helping past kids get into good schools.
She does not bullshit around. She does not tell you what you want to hear - she tells you exactly what you need to know to improve your essays, or resume, or to guide you through your interview. She navigated me through what was an incredibly demanding time, giving me the appropriate guidance and direction when necessary. She kept me on task when deadlines approached, and gave me a schedule to adhere to. She went out of her way on multiple occasions to get me things back in time (even before she was obligated to) so that I could work on them over the weekend. I felt like one of my interviews didn't go so well, and we completely recalibrated how I prepared and that was so critical to me doing well for the second school.

While her services (and those from similar companies) are not cheap, I feel like if getting into a top school is a seriously goal of yours, hiring Liza is 100% worth it.

Read More

The decision to work with an MBA Consultant is undeniably a tough one – is the significant sum of money worth the benefits? Are these so called benefits quantifiable? Is there any guarantee of success? The answers to most of these questions probably fall into the grey “maybe” area for most of us. Therefore, those of us that do decide to work with MBA consultants hope that we have picked the right consulting firm to skew the probability of success in our favor (because – hell, I don’t care if it increases my probability of getting admitted into my dream school by only 5%.. that 5% could mean the difference between getting in and getting rejected!) After having gone through the process over the last year, I can (with some degree of confidence) state that choosing an MBA consultant is so much more than that – it really matters who the consultant you’re working with is, and not which consulting firm they are affiliated to. The right consultant can take that uncertain “maybe” and turn it into a definitive ROI. And that’s where Liza Weale comes in.

In my mind, there are 5 qualities that make a good MBA consultant:
1) Knows the school
2) Provides a different perspective/angle
3) Can market you as an asset
4) Is an excellent wordsmith
5) Actually cares about you/goes out of their way to ensure your success

1) Knows the school: Right off the bat I knew that I wanted to work with Liza for my MIT Sloan app because of her extensive experience with the school. Liza really knows how the Sloan adcom thinks and was able to craft my essays to match their expectations. This was a significant benefit, as the Sloan adcom is very different from other schools and students often make the mistake of using generic essays that focus on all the wrong things from Sloan’s perspective. If MIT Sloan is your first choice – do everything you can to work with Liza!

2) Provides a different perspective/angle: I feel that this is very important in bringing out the versatile facets of your application and personality. I would much rather work with someone who has the ability to provide a different angle to my story than someone who thinks/behaves like me. During my initial 30-minute free call with Liza (when I was still uncertain on who I wanted to work with), I was immediately struck by Liza’s ability to provide not one but many different perspectives on my accomplishments and milestones. In those 30 minutes Liza almost completely changed the way my Resume looked – for the better! I knew then that Liza was the person I wanted to work with for this journey.

3) Can market you as an asset: This is a vital skill for any MBA consultant. They are literally helping you sell yourself to MBA schools. A marketer at heart and by profession, Liza is really able to help you put the best “you” forward in your essays.

4) Is an excellent wordsmith: 10-15 iterations per essay. That is literally the number of iterations Liza had me go through before we concluded that the essays were perfect. During those iterations my essays were transformed from incoherent (and lengthy) ramblings into succinct pieces of art (lol I don’t really think they are pieces of art but you get the point). Liza has a knack of removing that one badly-worded phrase in your essay that you’re stuck on and replacing it with something awesome.

5) Actually cares about you/goes out of their way to ensure your success: This. I had contacted Liza really late in the game for R1 application submission and she was already overloaded with clients by then. However, Liza always kept me on schedule, was always available for a quick counseling session, and was very responsive with her emails. All in all I never felt that she was neglecting me or was only in it for the money – she actually cares about your application and is as apprehensive as you are when the decision time is due!

I recommend Liza Weale unreservedly as the MBA consultant to work with – because she gets results and helped me get admitted into my first choice school – MIT Sloan!

Read More

I applied to HBS, Wharton, MIT and Columbia and got into 2 schools of my dreams and waitlisted from the other two! Few years ago, I worked with another bulge bracket consulting firm, applied to same schools and only got interview invitations from two schools(I withdrew from the process before having the interviews). I contribute much of this success to Eric. Comparing my past experience and stories from 10+ close friends and colleagues who have worked with different MBA consultants in the past 1-2 years, I can say with confidence that my experience of working with Eric was by far the most productive and helpful.

Having worked as an analyst at an investment bank, I would describe working with Eric as such: (1) he was my “associate” at times, giving me detailed and extremely hands on comments/advice when necessary, (2) but also a keen “managing director” at other times, guiding me with high level comments that sometimes shifted entirely the topics/stories to elaborate on essays (critical as this served as the backbone of my entire application). (3) And at all times, he made sure I was actively incorporating comments and doing the thinking/writing, which was important in maintaining my voice and sounding genuine and personal throughout all the essays. These three I believe are key success factors in getting into top schools.

Specifically, key attributes which set Eric apart were:
- Timeliness, Efficiency & Approachability – He always gave me feedback before the promised deadline and was always available/approachable for any short or long comments/questions (for example, he will look at your essays on the plane, at his sister’s wedding during weekends or very early/late in the day, if necessary). He is extremely flexible and if possible, never make you intentionally wait the entire 48 hour response period guided by MBA Mission. While you are aware that the consultants have the whole 2 days to get back to you, frustration will build when your consultant is unwilling to flexibility work around it. With Eric, this will not be the case.
- Sharpness & objectivity – Eric knows what the admissions are looking for and quick to point/pull them out from your various life-long anecdotes. For example, having an investment banking background, I feared that my career background and aspirations would sound too dull/typical for the “why MBA and career goal?” essays and came up with a career goal that was geared towards a more seemly unique industry. I was excited to have come up with a more unique story for MBA essay purposes and presented to Eric, who quickly commented that it did not sound convincing/genuine enough and would serve me negatively. He advised that I stick to my original/true career goal but worked with me in really specifying/shaping the details of the examples/motivations, which led to a very dense, effective essay. In writing more personal essays, I again feared that my life story would be too dull (it seemed I did not have a failure, success or family-related anecdotes that critically stood out), but with a what may seem like a typical story, he really pushed and challenged me to go layers further in conveying the motivations for particular actions I took in the past. Again, this led to an extremely dense and personal essay which I believe served me well, being one of the more over represented candidates from finance background.
- Depth and exhaustiveness of feedback/advice – Again, Eric knows what is/is not important in the eye of admissions and he will give you an exhaustive comment on the key points you should focus on (some often going over couple paragraphs in writing or through phone calls, whichever he judges to be more efficient/effective). For example, on my personal essays, he provided detailed comments on stories I should eliminate but highlighted parts he felt I should deep dive into by asking me “why did you feel this way?”, “what made you…”, or “your response to these motivations conflicts with other motivations, think again” etc,. These various detailed “why” comments really pushed me hard to think, think and think and led me to write an essay that was deeply personal and genuine. You want your consultant to be able to push you to think but at the same time spend time thinking only on stories that matter so at the end, you end up actually finishing the essay on time. So equally important on that end is that he will make sure you don’t waste your time “thinking” over parts that are not critical.

Eric is one of the most professional individuals I have come across in any field; every moment you are working with him, you can tell he is genuinely dedicated to his career and reputation as a consultant (this compares to some other consultants who has other jobs on the side or working as a consultant as an in-between job). During the 6 months I worked with him, I thought how great it would be to have a colleague/boss with similar working style/work ethic like Eric!

Finally, personally, he is sincere, nice and just extremely pleasant to talk to. I have a brother and a cousin who will be applying to MBAs next year, and I will recommend no one else but Eric!

Read More