Jessica Shklar is someone you absolutely need on your team throughout your MBA application process. Although I only applied to one (top 10) school, got an interview, but in the end, was not accepted, there's nothing I would change about my decision to work with Jessica and mbaMission.

I must admit, I was quite intimidated by Jessica initially! She has a very impressive professional and academic background, understanding of the nuances of each school/program, and communicates with an incisiveness I would equate to Sheryl Sandberg's. Having worked with her the last 6 months, I can attest to her caring, genuine and down to earth nature, and consider myself very lucky to have had Jessica as my MBA consultant this year.

Jessica made a stressful period manageable - she was available to speak anytime, answered emails nearly immediately and was never late (but typically early) for her promised turnaround period. She provided unbiased opinions and advice, which was extremely valuable during a process requiring intense self-reflection, and was very supportive when I received the news I was not accepted.

For anyone like me - on the younger side for the average MBA applicant, not a banker/consultant, previous work experience doesn't fit many 'career tracks' or appear on drop down lists, might not project the most self-confidence or take ownership for all your professional accomplishments (yet) - working with Jessica will not only boost your odds at acceptance to a top MBA program, but also strengthen your ability to clearly, present your background and 'story' to potential employers, mentors, and/or colleagues...

After explaining the projects I'd led professionally over our brainstorming call, I sent my first CV and essay drafts to Jessica. She quickly responded with feedback, encouraging me to take more ownership for the accomplishments I described on our call, in my writing. She helped tweak my language and portray my experiences in a new light that anyone could relate to or understand, while never completely revising or editing the original content.

Jessica's guidance on how to best present my professional/academic background, and explain my short/long term career ambitions, has been extremely beneficial professionally and personally - I now take ownership for my work, confidently embrace my non-traditional path, and recently landed a dream job because of it.

Had I not worked with Jessica, I highly doubt applying to bschool and not being offered admission, would've been nearly as productive of a process in the end.

You absolutely won't regret your decision to invest in a consulting package with Jessica Shklar...even if you don't get in :)

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my profile.

-investment consultant for five years - I serve billionaire families
-undergrad - 3.8 GPA at loyola university - double majored in econ and finance
-GMAT score #1: 570
-GMAT score #2: 650
- I am a big bro for big brother big sister
- i had good letters of recommendation from my boss and two well respected clients

i hired adam from mbamission, because i knew i had to craft a unique story. my demographic is a dime a dozen, so i needed to stand out.

i hired adam to help me with my kellogg essays. the process was what i expected. i did all of the work, but asked the right questions, which forced me to improve my work. once we were almost done he helped me word smith.

i was admitted to kellogg and booth, though adam only helped with the kellogg essays.

i enjoyed the process. i learned a lot about myself and how to craft a story and ask smart questions (adam, did a great job at this).

yes, it was stressful, but i would be worried if it wasn't.

i would possibly recommend the service. it depends on the applicant and if they can afford to shell out $4k.

if you have any questions. please feel free to contact me.

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Background: 730 GMAT; 4 years experience at a boutique investment bank; 3.4 GPA at a state school

When I decided to apply to business schools in the first couple months of 2013, I reached out to a few MBA application consulting firms for free consultations, and I immediately clicked with Jessica Shklar from mbaMission. During our 30-minute call, she was able to point out parts of my resume that I was understating and suggested a few schools that she thought would be good fits for me.

I signed up for mbaMissions start-to-finish package and once essay questions began to be released, my first brainstorming session with Jessica was a complete success. Even though my brainstorming document was about half the length of typical clients, she was able to ask all the right questions about my background and experiences to piece together a coherent and compelling "story" for me that I never would have thought of on my own.

After that call, I reviewed my notes and began drafting my first essay. Upon submitting my first draft, Jessica promptly reverted back to me thorough and extremely helpful comments while also making sure that I continued to write in my own voice by always being open to discuss any questions or concerns. She also kept me on track and periodically checked in on my progress given that the two schools I was applying to (HBS & Booth) had relatively earlier deadlines. Even my recommenders had nothing but compliments for her style of input. Once the time came to submit my applications, we did one final review of the entire application for each school, including all the short answers, and I was very proud of the applications I was able to produce.

If you are looking for someone that will truly make the grueling application process enjoyable and less stressful, please give Jessica a call, as she was always genuinely invested in my success all the way from school selection to essay drafting to interview prep and even post-admission advice. There was no way I would’ve gotten into Booth without her wonderful advice.

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First off, I 100% recommend mbaMission to anybody who is serious and dedicated to getting into a top MBA program. The start-to-finish consulting service was clearly organized, professional, and very thorough. You absolutely get your money's worth.

With that being said, I was lucky enough to work with Rachel Beck who is not only a phenomenal writer but a fantastic story-teller. Right off the bat she was able to draw out pieces of my history and string them together into a cohesive and comprehensive story illustrating who I am and where I want to go. The entire process took a lot of soul-searching, but if you are willing to put in the time, you will absolutely reap the benefits of a clear and all-encompassing application.

Rachel was fantastic to work with and I could genuinely see that she cared about me and my future. All emails, inquiries, and drafts were promptly responded to. She also followed up at various times during the application process to check on my progress. Most important, though, was that she gave me honest feedback that helped craft a strong application about my goals going forward. She let me know what was going to work and what was going to face-plant. I'm a born critic, and have no problem calling anybody out if they are slacking or not putting in 100%. I can say with utmost certainty that Rachel put everything into helping me succeed. She is the type of person that strives to help others anyway possible. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised how much effort she put into the entire process, start to finish.

I wholeheartedly would recommend Rachel for anybody seriously contemplating a top B-School. If you are looking for a consultant with strong writing skills, an honest opinion, and a very hard work-ethic, then Rachel is your girl!

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I signed up with Dan in May for a three school package, unsure if I would be a great candidate for top 10 business schools. By September I had gotten into my top choice (and a top 10 business school). I highly recommend Dan for several reasons.

First, he is extremely knowledgeable and helps de-mystify the process for you. I had done my research on schools through forums and blogs but I still had a lot of questions and Dan was willing and able to answer all of them. He also helped me set a schedule to keep me on track and get my applications done on time. In fact, I was able to get my application to my top school submitted one month before I had planned! This definitely helped my chances since I was applying to a rolling admissions school.

Additionally, my essays would not have been nearly as strong without his help. He knows what the admissions committees are looking for. Several times I figured my essays were good enough but Dan would push me to keep re-writing until I had an excellent essay. He definitely will tell it like it is and provide honest feedback which you might not get if just a friend or family member is reviewing your essays.

Furthermore, Dan really helped me articulate my story and journey to getting an MBA. He was able to help me determine which parts of my story to highlight that would make me a unique and strong applicant. Dan helped me weave this story into my responses during our mock interview which ultimately allowed me to nail my actual interview. I had done several behavioral interviews before, but the MBA interview is different and Dan was a great coach.

I truly would not have been as strong of a candidate without Dan’s help. He played a critical role in my applications and interviews.

For those who are hesitant due to the price of the services – this is a small price to pay compared to the tuition of business school. Spend the money now to give yourself the best shot of getting into the schools you want. You won't regret hiring Dan and mbaMission!

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I'm really grateful to Jessica and mbaMission for helping me craft the most compelling story and for being great support during the incredibly difficult MBA admissions process. Jessica helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses as an MBA candidate, and she gave an objective opinion every time. Now that I'm in the first couple weeks of business school, I am finding that the consulting sessions are still paying dividends. The resume that I'm now using to get internship opportunities has been edited and crafted with Jessica's help. But most importantly, I continue to use the narratives Jessica helped me uncover now that I'm looking for internships.

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Dan is fantastic. First off, even before I had engaged him as a paid client he gave me very honest feedback about what I could expect and whether or not the schools I was considering were right for me both in terms of fit and the strength of my application. I also love how rather than holding your hand to craft an “ideal” cookie-cutter application for the schools you’re applying to, he puts a bigger focus on helping you to tease out what your own compelling story really is. His feedback was always insightful and his easygoing manner made him a pleasure to talk to and work with. Highly recommended.

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I was a fringe candidate applying to a top business school. The bottom line is that I would not have been accepted without the help of mbaMission, and specifically John Sisk. He single-handedly improved my application by advising on my resume, essays, and anything else I needed. He also helped me develop my personal story, which is a must for admissions departments. Although expensive, I view it as a necessary investment for anyone pursuing an MBA at a top business school. I enthusiastically recommend John and his services. The service is unparalleled and the quality of his advice holds weight with top business schools.

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I had the pleasure of working with Katy Lewis of mbaMission for my application to Columbia Business School and was ultimately admitted. As someone in my mid 30s who had always been working in academic biomedical research, I was initially unsure about how to put the best representation of myself through my essays. I spoke to a couple of different admission consultants from various companies but Katy was the main person who I felt a good chemistry. Moreover, she was able to give me a very balanced assessment of my situation in our first contact and I really appreciated that. In my 3 hours with Katy, the first 1-1.5hr was spent on brainstorming about my past experience and really got to the root of why I want to go to business school. This was an extremely important exercise between it gave Katy a chance to get to know me better while giving me the confidence that I could craft a strong story for my essay. During the actual essay writing phase, Katy was extremely efficient in turning around essay drafts that I submitted to her, typically less 24hr and with very helpful insights that were specific to me. Of course, I was absolutely happy with the final version of the essay. Even after the paid hours were up, Katy continued to check in on me and even gave me advice when I was waitlisted, which was a big surprise for me. Overall, my experience of working with Katy was extremely positive, not just because of her in depth expertise but her sincerity in rooting for my success. In conclusion, I have no hesitation in recommending Katy Lewis to anyone in search of a mentor/advisor for the MBA application process. In my humble opinion, it was money well spent!

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Upfront and honest: Hiring an admissions consulting service was the best decision I made during the MBA application process, and if I had to do it all over again (thankfully I don't!), I would work with Susan again in a heartbeat.

Small caveat: I worked in the undergraduate admissions office at a Top 25 school in undergrad, and learned that the most important part of an applicant's application is not necessarily the "stats." Most everyone applying has around the same GPA/test scores, so just numbers alone help an applicant achieve parity with the rest of the applicant pool - not necessarily differentiation. The story that supported the stats, i.e. essays/letters of rec, was really where applicants separated from each other and unique students stood out.

Therefore, I applied the same insights to the graduate school application process. Knowing my grad school stats (3.4 GPA/650 GMAT) were going to be "average," the essays were going to be an critical part of my application in order to breakthrough the applicant log jam.

However, I had no idea where to start, what to say and how to say it. When trying to fit years of work experience and undergrad accomplishments into 250 words or less, having a clear perspective on the key points you want to say is mission critical before ever putting finger-to-keyboard. That is when I started working with Susan, and she absolutely saved me!

Here is what Susan did that was tremendously valuable:
- Gave me a place to start. The initial brainstorming sessions were painful soul-searching endeavors, but she knew the right questions to ask and how to ask them in a way that got me to be honest with myself about who I am, who I wanted to be, where I wanted to be and what made me unique.
- Helped me understand the application game. With her background in marketing, Susan helped me to understand that applications are really just an exercise in building your personal "brand." She helped me to look through my background, and recognize the experiences that were worth building a brand around.
- School-specific optimization. Susan also provided unique insight into each school I was applying to, the elements they're looking for in an applicant and how I could tailor my brand story to align with what each school was looking for.
- Time efficiency. Susan also kept our time streamlined so as to maximize efficiencies, which I appreciated. This mentality extended to the essay writing process itself, where she was also able to help me self-edit down (some times brutally, but necessarily) to the most important parts of what needed to be said in order to maximize every word.

I applied to four schools, each with approximately 2-4 essays and several resume iterations (professional and activities.) Susan provided feedback on time in every instance, helping me to meet deadlines as needed.

Additionally, Susan also provided encouragement when things were on the right track and honest feedback when an essay had gone awry. When words begin to swim in front of you, knowing I could trust her to give me real feedback made the process less stressful and more productive.

I also worked with Susan for interview prep, and highly recommend the experience as well. Susan knew me as an applicant and was able to identify my key strengths/weaknesses along with suggestions as to how to address them in an verbal format. The mock interview along with her real-time feedback was particularly beneficial.

In the end, I got into 3 of the 4 schools, including my top choice, and was wait-listed at the other school. I am very pleased with how everything went, and I have Susan to thank for the positive outcome.

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