I chose the 'start to finish package' with Rachel - I was applying to a top 5 business school I had my heart set on and it was a bit of my reach numbers wise (GPA/GMAT). I can confidently say I would not have gotten in without Rachel's help.

Rachel is a journalist with experience conducting admissions interviews, which makes her ideally suited to listen to her client's background and help craft his or her "story". Rachel picked out pieces of my background that I may not have noticed would make me interesting to the admissions committee. She didn't sugar coat: She told me not to use some of my essay ideas and worked with me to come up with better ideas. In retrospect, my original essay ideas would not have gone over very well.

Rachel was amazing throughout the entire process and always responded quickly and knowledgeably to my questions about all aspects of the admissions process. The interview prep was invaluable and I felt that I was very prepared for the kind of questions that would be asked.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Rachel and feel that mbaMission is extremely well organized and constantly adapting to the competitive MBA admissions environment.

Read More

With many years of experience writing documents and being a fairly expressive person, I thought writing an essay would not be a problem for me. After tearing up many versions and numerous start-overs, I remembered the presentation Angela made at a MBA fair. So I took up their free consulting offer. Angela was very very helpful in giving me all the reference so I decided to work with her. At first I was worried the essay would not read like my own if I get help. It turns out Angela is very good at facilitating and asking the right questions to help me express myself in the essay. Also her experience helped me avoid common pitfalls in writing an essay. She is a great guide in making writing the essay less agonizing and a great partner in describing me in my essay.

Read More

I initially considered hiring an admissions consultant as a result of my insane work schedule - I was looking for support during the brainstorming process and for guidance to help me streamline the application process as a whole. I reached out to two friends of mine who had both been accepted into their top schools the previous year, and each of them emphasized the value of working with a consultant and explained that they provide so much more than brainstorming and general guidance.

Coincidentally, both of my contacts had worked with Jessica Shklar and guaranteed that she would be a great fit for me - professional, responsive, and willing to push her clients. Jessica's (and I'm sure other mbaMission consultants) knowledge of each top program was beyond impressive, and the insight she provided for each of my questions (which were plentiful) was extremely valuable. Before working with Jessica, I had determined what "stories" I would focus on through my essays, but after a 2-hour brainstorming session with her early on, she did a fantastic job of teasing out additional experiences that I had not considered which provided a more holistic picture of who I am as an applicant and as a person.

While working on my essays, Jessica was extremely responsive and most often provided feedback and constructive criticism within 24 hours (company policy is within 48 hours so earlier was always a bonus). I recall times when I considered an essay complete after the second or third draft, but she pushed me to provide more articulate details - or clarify my decision making process within the essay - or scrap everything after the first paragraph and start over (that was fun!) - which resulted in a much stronger final product.

While I am confident that I had a strong application going into this process, I am certain that my presentation was significantly strengthened by working with Jessica Shklar, and do not believe I would have been admitted to my dream school (MIT Sloan) without her support. I cannot say enough to recommend Jessica, but will warn you that she hits her max # of clients earlier than most (she was at max capacity when I first reached out to her but fortunately one of her clients decided to wait until R2 so I took his/her R1 spot - lucky me!).

Best of luck to all future applicants - the letters of acceptance are worth the months of work.

Read More

I offer my highest recommendation to Akiba. I’ll try to sum up my experience with Akiba in 3 brief points.

1. Akiba helped me tell my story with integrity, creativity, and purpose. Always a patient listener, Akiba made the effort to get to know me. This paid off -- her in-depth knowledge of me and my experiences helped her deliver valuable insights throughout the application process. Often times her insights would be pulled and patched from conversations we had months earlier.

2. Akiba didn’t sugar coat anything. I was seeking honest feedback, and that is what I received. I was happy to hear “we need to re-think this… this could be stronger… I don’t really like where you’re going here.” This ‘real’ communication ultimately made my essays stronger. (She also offered tons of positive encouragement throughout the process). She was especially talented at restructuring sentences to lose the fluff and emphasize what was important.

3. I am extremely happy I had to the opportunity to work with Akiba. There is no doubt that my applications were stronger after working with Akiba. My partnership with her earned me interviews at 2 top 10 schools and a sizeable scholarship from a top 15. I am now reviewing offers from multiple schools. If you are going to work with MBA Mission, seek Akiba out. You won’t regret it.

Read More

I worked together with Angela on a hourly basis to craft, and edit my essays as well as edit my resume.

The process was amazing, and Angela was very efficient, organized and helpful. We were working on a tight deadline 1.5 weeks from start to finish, to complete the brainstorm, 3 essays and my resume. All of her work was very thoughtful and insightful. Even though we had a tight deadline, she was able to break out the work into batches, and we plugged away at it.

When I was being generic in my responses she was blunt and honest, and did not let our time deadline effect the quality of work. She pushed me ( in a good way ) to uncover my true motivations, feelings, and emotions, and had me effectively express myself them in my essays.

Her editing skills are second to none, and really helped me create essays the flowed, and read well. Some very helpful tips and hints helped to perfect my applications.

I was recently admitted to Stanford GSB and couldn't have done it without her! I would highly recommend her.

Read More

I cannot recommend mbaMission highly enough and specifically Jessica Shklar. I don't know if I could have gotten into HBS without her. To say that she was instrumental in my MBA application is a massive understatement - she literally transformed my application and my essays, made them come alive. I think the most difficult aspect of these applications is that no matter how much time, heart, and soul you pour into them, you still self-doubt and over-analyze. The amazing thing about working with mbaMission's extremely talented writers is that you can rest easy with the knowledge that you will really, truly submit your best possible application - you don't have to worry about whether you could have done something better. Not only do you get external affirmation from an expert who has read thousands of these essays, but you also will have fine-tuned it with her to the point where you feel happy with your application, and I think that this is critical to stay sane and happy throughout this process.

mbaMission, specifically Jessica Shklar, are by far the best consultants out there in my opinion. I have spoken to friends who have tried other consultants - the problem with others is that 1) they may not care as much or really give it their all...Jessica responded immediately to a million e-mails a day from me with depth, knowledge, and guidance, and every draft I got back was insightfully edited word-for-word (she entertained my debates and over-analysis of literally every single word); and 2) they are not professional writers in the way that mbaMission consultants are - Jessica is a brilliant, gifted writer who will bring your essays to life and make sure your story comes out comprehensively, compellingly, and powerfully enough to resonate with the AdCom. She framed so many of my essays into words that I was unable to get on paper myself. She has the ability to cut through a jumbled, non-sensical mess of words on the paper and say, "This is what you are REALLY trying to say. This is the crux of it, the meaning that is coming out. Try saying it this way instead..." Her suggestions every single time were so brilliant I counted my lucky stars that I had found her.

Jessica truly exceeded all of my expectations. I did not think that I could find a consultant who would be there for me as much as she was, through every single line, draft, and question. The best thing about her is that she is a straight-shooter - no bs, no nonsense, no sugar-coating. She tells you how it is and doesn't waste time. If your draft is no good, she will tell you, but then help you to improve it step by step. She will not rest or allow you to submit until you both are 100% happy with it. And she helps not just with the essays (though at essays there is no one better in my opinion), but also with the entire application, interviews, etc. Hire mbaMission and Jessica Shklar - best decision you will ever make if you want to get into the school of your dreams!!

Read More

My experience with mbaMission consultant was a great one. Starting with the brainstorming document, I was able to get great stories to tell on my applications and bring out the best part of my personal experience. Once I decided on the schools that I wanted to apply to, I was able to go through the essay questions with my consultant and determine the best stories to tell in each one. Although the process was stressful at times, getting help from the consultant allowed me to time my application process, and not wait until the last minute.

I was recommended this company when I started the process, and would I definitely recommend mbaMission to anyone considering having a consultant help them in the admissions process.

Read More

I signed up for the Application Boot Camp in August 2011, primarily to kick myself into gear for the application essay-writing process. Boot camp definitely got me started brainstorming ideas for essays, but, more importantly, the class provided me with a clear framework for developing a strong application narrative. Angela led the class with enthusiasm and a great sense of humor; she's super smart and "with it," and I found her really helpful in guiding my thinking about which stories to choose for the schools I applied to. I also left the class with a fully revised, ready-to-go resume, which was great to have on hand, ready to go during application time.

Overall, this class was a great way to start the process, and you get bang for your buck. I feel like I got the personalized benefits of one-on-one consulting in a collaborative, group setting. I also enjoyed the other people in the class, and I found their feedback on my work useful. One person in the class even set up an e-mail list for ongoing feedback and collaboration, which I thought was great. (Although I must admit I didn't use this forum because I felt on such solid ground after the class.)



- The extent to which the class enabled you to get a better sense of who you are, your accomplishments, and your future

- The usefulness of having 1:1 feedback on your work from a consultant

Read More

I didn't expect to be such an active participant in mbaMission's MBA Application Boot Camp. It was surprisingly interactive with a lot of great exercises that showed you effective story telling techniques for your essays and how to build an outstanding resume. I learned what the admissions committees look for as well as what my strengths and weaknesses are in my application.

Angela is an exemplary consultant. She is upbeat, open, honest and extremely knowledgeable in this field. I was impressed with her ability to connect with all of the students in the course and respond to all of our questions thoughtfully and adequately. She always provided us individual constructive feedback especially in the end during our final one-on-one meeting. With her help, I left the course knowing precisely what more I needed to work on and with greater confidence.

Even though I don't plan to apply until Fall 2012, I feel got a solid start on the overwhelming process. This course truly exceeded my expectations. It was money definitely well spent. I would highly recommend this course to all MBA applicants.

Read More

I took the GMAT in early December 2011, and got a good enough score that I decided I would try to do one application for the Round 2 deadlines. I signed up for a 30-minute free consultation with MBA Mission, where I got some good feedback, and decided that I would sign up for the boot camp.

The boot camp is a great way to get started with your first b-school applications, particularly for those who are brand-new to the process and haven't been planning to go to b-school for the last five years. The instructor, in this case Angela Guido, answered basic questions like what are admissions committees looking for, how to shape your essays, and what to put on your resume.

This class is not going to magically transform you into a brilliant writer, but it may improve your storytelling abilities and it may help you find the right subject/event to share with the admissions committee.

The best value by far from the class is the essay review that the instructor provides, which included line edits as well as a 20-minute private conversation on the phone. Angela gave me very insightful comments, and helped me find the right direction for my essay. I ended up scrapping the essay that I shared with the class entirely, but am confident it was the right decision.

Angela gave excellent advice and direction, and she really helped make the class a comfortable, interactive one. I was nervous about the online format of the class, but she pulled all of us onto the microphone and got us to talk. It felt very close to a live class and I appreciated that.

Having attended some of mbaMission's free seminars, I noticed there was some overlap in content given in the class, which is understandable--most of the other students likely hadn't seen mbaMission's presentations before.

Overall, I would say this is a great deal for a great price. Once I finished the class, I approached the rest of the application process with much more confidence. It was a great way for me to begin my applications.

Read More