MBAmission has an extremely solid process for start-to-finish MBA application completion. Beginning with their brainstorming document they helped me create an idea of what was and was not important to include in my essays. The fact they have been through the process provided them an amazing advantage and unprecedented insight into how I could best succeed with each school I applied to.

I did have some concerns however int that over time there were instances that I often had to wait extensively for revisions, and had to remind my consultant about these important deadlines that were due. Overall, however, my consultant was attentive and strongly concerned that I put forth my best application at the schools which would be right for me. Without my consultant I would not have been able to address the key points that needed to be addressed to convey my candidacy for each school. While this seems like a simple process, little things such as connecting dots from every 6 months of my career is something that MBAmission helped me achieve.

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I reached out to MBAmission when applying for my MBA because I was concerned about some disciplinary issues that I had faced during undergrad.

I was connected with Jessica who was in a word - superb! Jessica did 3 key things that were essential to my successful application. 1) She helped me manage my anxiety by offering specific examples of MBAmissions' success with candidates like myself 2) She provided a plan of action to address the issue in my application and 3) Offered hands-on editing support to the optional essay I had prepared. Jessica set me at ease and helped me get over this daunting phase of the application process.

I was so impressed with her, that I engaged her for further assistance editing my essays and short answer questions. She was quick to reply and was very prompt in sharing her feedback. Her edits went beyond minor wording fixes, to address content, themes, and flow. Her suggestions were insightful and actionable, making the editing process productive when it could have been stressful.

After hearing back from schools, I am thrilled with my options. I truly believe I couldn't have done it without Jessica!

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Very simply, I'm not sure I would have gotten into Booth - my first choice school - without Helen at mbaMission. After sending in my brainstorming material, Helen helped me uncover the key themes in my personal story that I wanted to highlight in my application. She helped me frame the application and suggested an overall organizational structure. Helen's greatest strength was speaking directly. She provided blunt, honest, and constructive feedback. And, she was always right. Helen won't project manage you, and you'll need to own your deadlines and the pacing to get things done. But, if you're looking for straightforward and substantive input on your work, Helen might be the perfect fit. You'll never be confused about what she thinks is working and what isn't.

Ultimately, I produced an application I was really proud of and the outcome was as good as I could have possibly hoped for - thanks to Helen.

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I first heard about mbaMission through MGMAT and given that i had a very positive experience with MGMAT i felt comfortable in choosing them. I did, however, talk to consultants from at least 3 other consulting firms since i knew that getting help on 4 schools was going to be a significant short term investment. Of all the consultants i had researched, i felt that no one other than Angela had such positive reviews and client feedback history on various online forums, including GMATClub, spanning several years.

Once i signed up and had Angela as my consultant, she sent over a very thorough brainstorming document which took me more than one entire day to fill out. It forced me to think about EVERYTHING that has happened in my life so far, which was great because it helped me build a clear and concise picture of why i want to really pursue an MBA and several schools' essay questions themselves were answered through stories narrated within the document. We scheduled our first call and discussed the strategy for which 4 schools i would work with her on. We chose Stanford, MIT, Wharton & Booth.

Before we started on a school, i tried restructuring my resume from a coding/technical-jargon filled page to a more business school resume and sent it to her for review. She came back with several important highlights and indicators as to where i need to put more content or expand on a bullet more to show impact/result. In the meantime, we also discussed our strategy for the first school and i got to work on the essays as well so that i wasn't idle while she was reviewing the resume. I really liked this tandem work ethic because we were both then working on a document without wasting any time in between and it carried on till we were done with all the schools.

Six reviews of the resume later, after we couldn't identify any bullet/heading/formatting to improve on, my resume looked completely different than what it was to start off with. It presented my achievements and the results/impact that i've had in a very succinct and meaningful manner and in which i definitely could see how it was much better for business schools than what i had been able to do on my own. We went through a similar number of reviews for each essay and also reviewed the short answer questions within the schools' online application forms.

For each of the schools that we worked on we would schedule a call to discuss what the general strategy should be for me to answer the question properly and what stories about me i should definitely mention in the essay. Angela also answered any questions i had regarding any parts of the application from the schools we were not working together on. There was no doubt that she was definitely concerned about my outcome; apart from answering all my questions she highly recommended applying to a safety school myself as a back up several times since i was applying to only M7 schools. When the deadlines got closer she would even reply to any questions and even send back essays over the weekend even though she didn't have to as per the contract.

When i got an interview invite from MIT she coached me through the interview process, conducting a mock interview, giving me suggestions on structuring my thoughts and what to ask at the end. She also shared with me a list of questions other mbaMission clients had been asked so far in the interview process this season.

When i finally got an admit to MIT i couldn't have been more thankful and relieved. All of a sudden my initial hesitation to spend so much money on a consultant seemed totally worth it. Without Angela's expert opinions, suggestions and coaching i don't think i would have had as good a chance to get into my dream school. Even though i didn't make it to the other 3 schools i worked with Angela on, looking back i now realize the importance of 'fit'. While i was researching the application process, i had heard of how important 'fit' is and how each school had a distinct culture but i didn't think much of it until i actually interviewed at MIT and met people there and saw how much i can relate to them. I feel i got into MIT because of my personal story and how much more it identifies with MIT's culture as compared to other schools and Angela was instrumental in bringing that out in me.

I would highly recommend Angela Guido if you're looking to apply to business school and hire a consultant. Its great to have someone with several years of experience reviewing your work and guiding you during such a crucial stage of your career.

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After my initial MBAmission consultation, during which I gave brief descriptions of my career path, aspirations, and target schools, I was connected with Melissa Merchant. Melissa’s help has proven to be instrumental for my acceptance into Duke Fuqua. Since Melissa went to a Bschool that has a similar collaborative culture as Fuqua’s, she not only shared her experience of living and learning in such tight-knit communities but also helped me arrive at the conviction that Fuqua is the right program for me. During our brainstorming session, she gave a refreshing perspective on my past experiences and helped me understand how my strengths are aligned to the characteristics of an ideal Fuqua candidate. Her edits of my essays were absolutely outstanding: she fixed my grammar, transformed my sentence structures, and enriched my writing style. She also asked encouraging questions in her edits to prompt me to give more examples to support my point.

While working with Melissa, she was incredibly responsive: she often returned her edits to me well before the 2-day return policy. She also gave her edits back to me on Fridays so that I can re-write over the weekend.

I highly recommend Melissa and MBAmission to anyone who is applying to top MBA programs. They will guide you through the process, help you craft your best story, and offer insight that you need along the way!

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The email that I wrote to Katy after submitting my applications summarizes how I think about my engagement with her.

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Katy,

With all submissions behind us, I want to take a moment to reflect on our engagement so far.

When we started in June last year - I had already spend some time brainstorming, and was lugging this 25 page memoir that I had written and a pile of post it notes/ideas/stories. What I desperately needed was a channeling force - to help shape what my restless mind was conjuring into something meaningful. Katy, you became that channeling force to me.

Irrespective of the outcome, I want to take this moment and thank you for all your support in the journey so far.

Here are the highlights of our engagement:

-Your first green signal - "You are really ready to start writing your first draft' was pivotal. As someone who over-prepares, I had not been able to say this to myself. Seeing the first draft gave me the confidence to keep the ball rolling from then on.

-Your patience was incredible. There were so many backs and forths, but I didn't see your enthusiasm waning at any point. It is so easy and enjoyable to work with you - and your humor adds a lot. Your signature smileys :) in every email and a distinct warm and lively writing style is always such a delight to read.

-Your approach of making a clear suggestion, yet never coming across as pushy created a very respectful and collaborative space. All through the process I felt you were on my side, and really wanted me to succeed. At so many times your 'I LOVE this essay', 'I think your story is great' - gave me that right boost.

-You sharing your understanding of the DNA / culture of various schools during our phone conversations helped me develop a clearer picture of every school I was applying to. While this really helped during application write-ups, I now have a greater visibility into which school is a closer fit to my needs/goals.

-Thank god for your sanity checks. "Fashion makeovers" - that's a first! I have laughed so many times on this one :)

Thank you so much once again for being a wonderful coach - who now I can call a friend! :)

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I have a non-traditional career path and was originally interested in Jessica because of her work with people like me. After my first (free) half-hour consultation, I knew that I HAD TO work with Jessica in order to help me gain admission to business school. In that first meeting she completely tore my resume to shreds, but spent the time to try and understand my motives and who I was - thereby finding a way to reconstruct my resume in a way that would positively reflect my accomplishments. I knew that without Jessica, I would be at an ultimate disadvantage.

Jessica first and foremost wants to get to know you - and from there truly helps in crafting your story in the most positive and flattering light. She doesn’t fabricate things, she just takes all of the self-doubt and self-deprecation out of your story and gives it structure. My background looked all-over the place despite my ambitions - I majored in English in college, pursued acting, then quickly began working in the non-profit sector after realizing acting wasn’t for me. I felt my past belied what I truly wanted to do and Jessica saw that and found a way to structure my past (which was true, despite my self-consciousness) in a way that was competitive and appealing to adcom committees.

Jessica works tirelessly with you - from resumes, to an exhaustive recommendation packet, interview prep, to each and every essay and short answer question. She also is a wealth of knowledge on the application process and answered my many anxiety driven questions. But she is also not afraid to utilize her network; there were times when she got second opinions on my questions or my essays from her colleagues. She gets back to you very quickly - often times within just a few minutes.

That said, Jessica doesn’t sugarcoat anything. When I got lower than expected GRE scores (quant score hovering around 70%) she frankly told me that I needed to really expand my business school search and never told me once that I would “get into” any specific school. She just made sure I crafted a well-rounded application and hoped for the best.

I applied to eight schools - all in the top 25 and was accepted to four and wait listed at one (Georgetown, UNC, Cornell, UVA, wait listed at Dartmouth). I could not have DREAMED of these results. Given my profile I was not expecting to get into any top 15 schools and was truly shocked and flabbergasted that I had a multitude of choices -with money! I COULD NOT have done this without Jessica.

I’m still waiting to hear back from Dartmouth (and Jessica is still working with me as I navigate the wait list process) but have also happily and ecstatically accepted my offer to Darden - an option I couldn’t have dreamed of six months ago, especially given my profile.

I would not be going off to a TOP business school in the fall without her. I cannot thank her enough for what she has done for me. She is a rockstar!

SIDE NOTE:

MBAmission is expensive. I spent a lot of money working with Jessica but it was worth EVERY penny. Business school is expensive but also an investment, so think of getting a good consultant as a part of this investment. If you can, why wouldn’t you try to get any advantage that you could in the admissions process?

Also, while I praise Jessica - you also have to put your work in. I worked incessantly for months with Jessica - but she won’t do the work for you. If you don’t put your all into the process she (or any consultant) won’t be able to help you - she will not write or rewrite essays for you at all. She will use what you give her and guide you, and excellently so.

And lastly - if you want to work with Jessica, book early, she fills up!

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My admission success (admitted to Wharton, MIT Sloan and INSEAD) would have never happened without Katherine Lewis. We have worked together for two years. The first year, I applied to two schools and did not get in. Katy did not let me give up. She not only motivated me to work harder but frequently went out of her way to help me submit six applications the following year. As a result, I got admission letters from Wharton, MIT Sloan, INSEAD with a substantial scholarship from Wharton. We are in touch till this day.

There are many fantastic things about working with Katy. But the following are probably the most important:

1. Responsiveness/always being there – Katy was really there for me whenever I needed her, even during the holidays and weekends. She was sending me revised essays within a day! She was always available to talk whenever I wanted to ask for her advice. When I was in Poland, she would literally work around the clock to make it work despite the time zone differences. I have always felt that she is as committed and engaged in the process as I was. I have never felt that she had other clients – although I know she had. She helped me to apply to 6 schools in 1 round!

2. Honesty and pushing back – I am educated in Eastern Europe. We are not used to writing essays in an “American way” and it took me a lot of time to adjust my style and understand how to tell my story. What I truly appreciate about Katy is the fact that she was always giving me an honest feedback, teaching me how to keep the message simple and learn how to “show” instead of “tell”. Her questions would make me think deeper about the underlying reasons and messages behind the story I wanted to tell.

3. Deep engagement and support – Katy frequently went out of her way to support me. I felt that she truly mentored me on the whole admission process, thinking with me on how to improve my GMAT score, which recommenders to choose ( I changed them from first year to the second one), which schools and programs to apply to. She did not have an easy time with me – I have sent her 40 pages of my bio before we started working with each other and she helped me to extract main massages. All of my essays had dozens of iterations. Katy's patience with me was incredible.

4. Getting to know you – I believe that trust is extremely important while working with a consultant. Katy made me feel since the beginning that I am important to her as a person. She made me feel that she was truly interested in my dreams, challenges, and career. Due to that, she was able to understand me on a much deeper level. Hence, my essays were much stronger, much more personal. I truly hope that we will keep in touch. And I more than recommend working with Katy to anyone!

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John Sisk was an incredible and invaluable help throughout the admissions process, breaking down the daunting task of brainstorming, writing and applying into small, non-intimidating components. I still can't believe how efficient and streamlined the process was. Sisk helped me refine my career story and shaped my application into the strongest I could make it. Due to his guidance and strategizing, I was invited to interview. And thanks to his rehearsing with me, my interview went really well, and I will be joining the Stanford GSB class of 2016. It is definitely worth working with Mbamission if you want to get into your dream school. Thank you again John!

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I had a great experience with mbaMission - as a non-traditional applicant I felt extremely intimidated by the process, but felt that my consultant, Susan, had my back every step of the way. She was particularly useful when I was in a bind to get my applications done on a quick timetable, and asked all the right questions to get me where I needed to be. She pushed me to really get my story straight as why I need my MBA to accomplish my goals, something I struggled to do on my own. She also was very accessible by email at all times. I highly recommend mbaMission for anyone - as I got into my first choice school.

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