This class was absolutely worth the money, and more, beyond what it costs. Angela is engaging and friendly, yet no-nonsense.

The classes were engaging and went at a steady pace - I never was bored or felt overwhelmed. If anything I would suggest that they be harder sticklers about doing the homework (I didn't do mine....) because, like the rest of the class, the homework was extremely helpful as well!

During class we worked on everything from essay writing (whooaa before I took this class was I ever way off) to the resume to getting in the mentality of the AdCom. I've been complimented on my resume many times but it looked like a piece of garbage before I learned what we did in the class.

Totally would recommend these guys - just pony up the cash and do it, you won't regret it!


And I say I got into "some, but not all" of my schools, but I haven't heard back from the yet, so I don't know. But did this improve my application? 100%

Read More

I took the mbaMission's application bootcamp in August and its a short, rigorous program that drivels down every generalist nitty-gritty of the application process into your head in a very short time. The class size was small so there was plenty of room for personal interaction.

Our instructor was Angela Guido whose extraordinary energy and depth of knowledge seemed a little intimidating at first, but she turned out to be extremely friendly and helpful. So in a nutshell, here's what you'll walk out with after taking this course -

1. Learn the factors that would help you pin down a healthy and balanced list of schools that you would want to apply to. Before knowing these factors, my choice of schools seemed pretty 'random'. Not only choosing a school for the right reasons very important in realizing your ambitions, but you're also able to convince the admissions committee a lot more convincingly that you're the right choice for them.

2. Learn how to write effective and powerful essays. Essays, of course, are the most important part of an MBA application and gives you an unlimited opportunity to shine. But its also the most slippery road down the path to a B-school. This course acquaints you with different kinds of essays and shows you how to brainstorm ideas, stories from your life etc. to create a powerful self-character and bring it across in the essays. Then there are numerous do-and-don'ts in the essays which can make or break an app. Angela conducted extensive practice exercises to help put us in ad-com's shoes and understand why what works, works and why what kills an app does so. This was very enlightening!

3. Learn the do' and don'ts of an effective resume, in a way similar to the essays.

4. An personal one-on-one essays analysis and critical feedback.

Ultimately, this course made me realize just how much work goes into preparing an surefire application but also gave me some very effective tools to work with. I've just started applying to schools and I use these tools everyday while preparing my applications.

The program could be a bit of a pinch in the wallet but I do believe that mbaMission are the best in what they do, and with Angela as the instructor I think it was worth the money. I would highly recommend this excellent program to anyone who is serious about getting into a top-10 B-School and wants a cheaper alternative to complete start-to-finish packages.

Read More

This class was very helpful in first understanding the expectations of the Admissions Committees, and how to put together a successfull application, including how to frame essays and write resumes. Angela provided examples and exercises that allowed us to think through some of the most critical questions, including what we hoped to accomplish through pursuing an MBA. She was also able to provide tailored feedback for each of the students, based on our backgrounds and goals in seeking an MBA.

The other benefit of taking this class was meeting other applicants, who were going through the same process. We were able to bounce ideas off of each other and review one another's essays.

Overall, this class provided a lot of help in preparing applications, and, even though it was only a couple hours on a weekend, made a big difference in the quality of my applications.

Read More

Jessica from mbaMission got me into my dream school.

When I started applying to B School I had the standard (aka boring) profile of so many adequately qualified individuals. Jessica wouldn't let that stand. Over several sessions she coaxed relevant and interesting stories out of me that transformed me into the type of exciting MBA candidate I hoped to be. She helped me show that I was more than just a consultant.... I was traveler, a dreamer, and a person who plans to make a difference in this world.

She helped me tell my story in a way I never could have done on my own. Thank you Jessica. I'm loving it at Haas.

Read More

Prior to the course I had invested almost $2,000 towards getting into b-school. How hard could essay writing be? I have ample experience and got a 6 on my GMAT essays.

Let the fantasy stop there. This course completely changed my perspective on b-school essays and really highlighted how unprepared I was, drawing attention to the nuances of the school's questions while at the same time providing the tools necessary to create a cohesive application.

Even if you feel organized and prepared, the ROI of this program should compel you to invest just to ensure you're on the right path and are truly sharing a UNIQUE, powerful story with your schools.

Angela's no-nonsense attitude allowed me to get direct feedback and focused more of my attention on where it counted - crafting an honest, genuine story for my schools.

While I am still applying and cannot tout acceptances, yet, I can certainly tell you that I would have been a direct-deny for both schools without this course.

Thanks, Angela!

Read More

The mbaMission Application Boot Camp exceeded my expectations. It completely changed the way I am going about writing my essays. It helped me truly understand what the admissions committees are looking for and taught me how to write compelling and vivid essays through storytelling. The boot camp helped me understand my strengths, identify my accomplishments, and ultimately get a better sense of who I am in order to build my essays.

Angela Guido is a great instructor. She has a passion for helping others and is an expert in getting the best out of everyone in the classroom. She has the unique ability to see things for what they are and help you turn them into a compelling story. She made me feel comfortable and confident about the application process. Angela created a comfortable environment to share and learn from my other 5 classmates. It was extremely helpful having other students to learn from and bounce ideas off of.

I am currently completing my applications and feel confident that Angela has put me on the right track. I would recommend this boot camp with Angela for anyone who is looking for a competitive edge in your application process and want to learn from the best.

Read More

I can't tell my business school application story without talking about Jessica Shklar from mbaMission. By helping me find my voice, Jessica gave me the tools I needed to articulately convey my 3-dimensional self to the Stanford admissions committee and secure admission.

Three days before I submitted a round 1 application, I had a crisis. My GMAT score, which I'd expected to be top notch fell below the Stanford average. I had to make a decision - apply round 1 or take it again and apply round 2. Deciding to give this my very best shot, I decided against submitting the round 1 application. My mentor suggested that in addition to working on retaking the GMAT, I reach out to Jessica to have her look at my essays. I am so glad that I did!

Jessica didn't 'spruce up' my essays for me. She compelled me to stop writing things I think the admissions team want to hear and instead focus on honestly telling my story in a colorful way that allowed a 360-degree view of my real self to shine through - embracing my personality, highlighting my core strengths, and being honest about my areas for development. Jessica is an enabler and a mentor. She provided me with tangible frameworks for honest self reflection and invaluable writing techniques to honestly tell my story. By focusing on harnessing my voice instead of superimposing that of another's, like most consultants do, Jessica guided me to produce the best application that I could. I was so impressed by how committed Jessica was - she always responded on time! Never a second late. In fact, her promptness, passion, and professionalism challenged me to give my application everything that I had. After I submitted my application, Jessica remained a refreshing source of counsel and support.

As soon as I got the interview notification, she was there for me providing me with concrete ways to structure my responses so that I don't just ramble or give in to nerves. This helped me feel confident during my interview - I could relax and be myself because I knew I was well prepared. Prospective students always ask me whether or not they should use a consultant. I always say the same thing - if Jessica can take you on board then YES YES YES!

Nothing compares to having a coach who will push you to be honest, focused, and articulate.

Read More

Helen was great in helping me with the application process. She helped me target schools in my GMAT range and provided me with assistance in writing my application essays. Helen gave me constructive criticism and helped me learn how to enhance my resume to its fullest ability as well as how to construct and interesting and informative essay. She was very quick to respond to my inquiries and was very easy to contact and work with. The turnover time in between drafts and her critique was at the most 3 business days;she was very very efficient, yet gave me an very detailed criticisms. I would highly recommend her as a consultant .

Read More

I was initially skeptical of working with a high-priced consultant, but MBAMission had me wowed after the one hour complementary consultation.

The consultant asked me to articulate the reasons for my “top choice” schools at the time, and then proceeded to rip them apart. After learning about what I wanted out of my experience, my background, and my scores/work experience, she was able to draft up a list of 5 schools – a couple “reach”, a couple “target”, and a “safety” program – all within the top ~15 US MBA programs. I was wowed at how quickly she was able to see through my bs reasoning and methodically select a target list for me. After doing extensive research on her suggestions, I ended up applying to 4 of the 5 programs she suggested, and using MBA Mission to help me with my application.

The consultant I initially spoke to matched me up with a senior consultant at MBA Mission with a similar work experience background to mine – Helen Summers. Helen is fantastic!! I literally cannot say enough positive things about her. Here are a few:

- Helen is a straight shooter. When she sees bs/poor logic in your essays, interview responses, etc, etc she isn’t afraid to tell you.

- Helen pushes you to think deeper. Very rarely is your first essay/short answer idea the best one. It takes iterations to find the best story to tell and the best angle to take. Helen consistently pushed you to go deeper instead of taking the superficial/overdone/unconvincing but easy to write route. The essays I ended up crafting with Helen’s guidance are some of my most poignant writing, where my personality really shines through.

- Helen doesn’t write the essays for you. You put in the hard work. She is simply a very honest sounding board and editor. This is especially important since business schools want to hear your voice, not the voice of a consultant.

- She is a perfectionist. Some of my essays were on draft 11 or more before they were considered done. She looks at word count, grammar, syntax, flow, content, how gripping the story is, etc, etc.

- Helen is great at resume assistance. I thought I was already a fairly strong resume writer, but she really helped me articulate my accomplishments in a role, rather than my responsibilities. She also helped me do it in a way that made my accomplishments clear to a reader that would not necessarily know about my industry.

- Helen does her research on the schools. She knows the trend in interview questions for a specific school/ round. This makes interview prep twice as effective.

- Helen is super-responsive. About 70% of the time, she responded to me well before the official turn-around period. Of course as application deadlines approach she’ll have more work, so budget your time accordingly.

- Finally, Helen was super invested in my success. She genuinely wanted to see me succeed. The application process is super successful and it was fantastic to her guidance and support throughout.

I opted for the all-inclusive package. It’s expensive, but for me it was well worth it. Here are a few reasons why:

- You get unlimited essay editing. I cannot tell you how beneficial this is. I would write a draft and get comments back, rewrite, and then get more comments back. Had I only been able to submit for editing once or twice, my essays would not be nearly as tightly-written.

- Having a consultant forces you to keep momentum. I am a huge procrastinator, but having manageable chunks (ie. edit v7 of my essay, edit v2 of my resume, etc) helped me not get overwhelmed and keep going.

- The package includes help with and edits of all the fields in the application. This is a huge area for minefields as you have very few characters to articulate your biggest challenge in a role, etc. Definitely take advantage of this part of the package.

- The package includes resume help, mock-interviews, and all sorts of other super-helpful guidance.

All in all, I had a very positive experience with MBAMission and Helen Summers and would recommend both highly. One final thought – if you are having a hard time justifying the price, remember that after all is said and done, b-school will cost you roughly $200k. It is a huge investment. Spending a little extra to make sure you have the strongest application possible and upping your chances of getting into your preferred programs is well worth it.

Read More

After hearing about this company at an MBA open house I was immediatly interested in hiring them to help me apply to school.

I have a different background than most MBA applicants. My work, life, and education experiences are completely different. They helped me compose the strongest application possible to each school- highlight my strenghts, show them off properly and show how big of an asset I could be to the schools I was applying to. When I had a major change in my life that affected the schools that I was applying to and the programs that I was applying for my advisor was flexible, understanding and willing to give me as much of her time as possible to ensure that my applications were great, got out on time and would be to a standard that was worthy of the schools that I was applying to.

Without the help of my advisor I would have been lost and would not gotten in to my prefered MBA program. The school packages are even better, they allow me to work through the entire application with my advisor, I even consulted with her on some of the short answer questions. The fact that she was there to help me answer the questions, the essays, which school to apply to and expecially Interview prep made it all the better. She was able to answer any questions I had about B-Schools and even some of the school I was thinking about. I recommend their services to anybody that I talk to.

Read More